A Journey to Cuba and the People Who Refuse to Give Up

When you’re in the dark and everything feels uncertain, the last thing you want is to feel alone. Right now, the people of Cuba are facing one of the darkest periods in their recent history, and they need to know they are not alone.

In January, a group from First Presbyterian made a journey into that darkness to bring a little light and hope to our brothers and sisters in Cuba. As the situation continues to worsen, it is more important than ever to share their story.

In Cuba, most people go without electricity for 22 hours or more each day, and live with the psychological toll of never knowing when the lights will come on. Right now, the entire country has gone dark again, as the national power grid is down. Most people are also struggling to find food and water. On two occasions, I heartbreakingly witnessed women in the middle of the street reach down into the sewer to find water.

While Cuba’s economic struggles are complex, U.S. restrictions have significantly limited the island’s access to fuel, trade, and international banking—heavily impacting the ability to obtain basic daily necessities and leaving citizens struggling.

First Presbyterian has been partnering with a seminary in Matanzas for nearly a decade. This latest trip was not only to bring supplies (shoes, medical equipment, and medicine), but to celebrate the opening of a second campus in Havana. Thanks to the generosity of our congregation, FPC helped purchase the building that houses this new location. At the dedication ceremony, it was noted that this undertaking alone speaks to the good that can come when the people of the United States and Cuba work together.

At the Matanzas campus, our FPC travelers were hosted at the Seminario Evangélico de Teología (SET) by Ary and Beidy, the school’s rector and his wife. For several in our group who had visited multiple times, it was like coming home to family—they were treated to overflowing hospitality made up of love, shared food, laughter, and connection—despite limited means.

The seminary is not only educating women and men to help lead the spiritual lives of those in Cuba, but both campuses also serve as sources of clean water for the surrounding community. Solar panels now power the kitchen and water pump at the Matanzas campus, another project made possible by FPC funds.

But perhaps the most important thing is this: the students, who could have left Cuba as so many have, choose to stay. They feel called to become beacons of light across the island, dispelling the darkness, sharing hope, and reminding the Cuban people that God is still with them.

Ary shared how we can support them:

“For us, your personal presence—your physical presence among us—is even more powerful and necessary than the economic help… because many people think, including people in churches, that God forgot us, that God has abandoned us.”

But God has not forgotten Cuba. Because of partnerships like the one between First Presbyterian and SET, the Cuban people are not facing this darkness alone. The lights may be out, but the light is not gone. As long as we show up, in person and in spirit, we bear witness to that truth together.