Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

A Cuba missionary journey: Witnessing faith amidst hardship

William Lynes, MD
Physician
December 27, 2023
Share
Tweet
Share

I had the honor and privilege of visiting Cuba for a missionary trip this past week. As I ponder that amazing time, I will put my thoughts in this essay.

Cuba is a small, sad country in the Caribbean. While one can see the tropical beauty and its former potential, the country has been ruined by a communist government and an overarching U.S. embargo, whose presence is now unnecessary. The Cuban people have nothing. They have little to no food, medicine, gasoline, or oil. Clothes, shoes, and paper are hard to come by. But while oppressed with incredible shortages and needs, the populace is amazing, open, friendly, hopeful, and, most importantly, hungry for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our group of six Christian missionaries flew to Havana, the capital, but spent most of our time in the central Cuban city of Santa Clara. The experience at the Havana airport began my education. It was a run-down rattle-trap facility full of government agents, guard dogs, and corruption. The only advertisements in the city of Santa Clara were government billboards proclaiming the hero status of the brutal Che Guevara.

We visited a deteriorating Seventh Day Adventist campus, where a printing facility, lacking digital machinery and hungry for paper, struggled to produce Christian documents using 1890s printing presses. It was so encouraging to see the dedicated staff who were thankful for their salary of $20 per month.

In our time in Havana, however, our visit to an important government administrator was my first clue as to the beautiful spirit and faith of the populace. He was a born-again Christian, on fire for Jesus, and dedicated to spreading the word. He was excited about a large Christian concert planned to be broadcast this Christmas, for the first time since the revolution, throughout Cuba and streamed on the internet. Our six-thousand-dollar donation toward their concert would go a long way to pay the meager ten-thousand-dollar budget. He unlocked several shipping containers of their precious Bibles with pride and excitement.

We spent the remainder of our short visit in the central city of Santa Clara. Here, we met an inspirational rest stop attendant with a charming smile and beautifully maintained short, gray braided hair. She wore red and light blue governmental garb and red canvas tennis shoes. Her character and love were evident that day as she invited our group into her house, wanting our prayers for her ailing mother.

Our host lived in a once-wonderful two-story house with a tiny spiral staircase to the second floor. She told us of the proud history of her physician father, who lost everything in the revolution. Still possessing the now-deceased man’s medical textbooks and diploma, we met her nurse sister and two sons. Our prayers at the bedside of her ailing mother and presentation of a Bible were so appreciated by this wonderful, faithful Christian woman and family that I began to see this nation’s spirit and believing population.

In Santa Clara, our task was to present each of our testimonies to a respectful and appreciative flock in tiny home fellowships constructed with love and pride. One was a small home where half of the dwelling was modified by walling off the living quarters, building a narrow sanctuary for church services. We saw immersion baptisms of individuals in their only pair of clothes and an assembly of worshipers singing gospel music to the Lord.

Our four testimonies encouraged the so-appreciated audience of pastors and congregation, for they saw what Jesus spoke of in John 16:33. He says: “In this life, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Our testimonies showed that even physicians, attorneys, and accountants from the rich country of the United States had tragedies and tribulations in their lives. They hungered for our stories, waiting up to eight hours for our arrival. And then the overwhelming experience of these people who are so poor in possessions but rich in spirit, who offered humbling, inspired prayers for our healing.

I will never forget my experiences in the island nation of Cuba. I went there to minister to the people but received so much more from a populace who hungers for the Gospel. Praise God that the Church is alive and thriving despite an attempt by a despotic, atheistic government to crush the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you, Lord, for your power and faithful dedication to the people of Cuba.

William Lynes is a urologist.

Prev

From fear to empowerment: Beating breast lump anxiety [PODCAST]

December 26, 2023 Kevin 0
…
Next

An approach to conflict resolution: More than one thing can be true

December 27, 2023 Kevin 1
…

Tagged as: Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
From fear to empowerment: Beating breast lump anxiety [PODCAST]
Next Post >
An approach to conflict resolution: More than one thing can be true

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by William Lynes, MD

  • Should transgender athletes compete in women’s sports?

    William Lynes, MD
  • Tragic turn in the OR: A rookie doctor’s race against time

    William Lynes, MD
  • Unmasking physician burnout: a survivor’s story and solutions for a healthy medical profession

    William Lynes, MD

Related Posts

  • My healer, please guide me on this journey

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Where is the line between faith and medicine?

    Moses Anthony
  • Medical school ends with a leap of faith

    Orly Farber
  • A young mother’s medical school journey

    Choryon Park
  • A patient’s frustrating prior authorization journey

    Leslie G. Bank, PT
  • From physician to holistic healer: my journey on Clubhouse

    Holly MacKenna, MD

More in Physician

  • Love on life support: a powerful reminder from the ICU

    Syed Ahmad Moosa, MD
  • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

    Patrick Hudson, MD
  • From basketball to bedside: Finding connection through March Madness

    Caitlin J. McCarthy, MD
  • The invisible weight carried by Black female physicians

    Trisza Leann Ray, DO
  • A female doctor’s day: exhaustion, sacrifice, and a single moment of joy

    Dr. Damane Zehra
  • The hidden cost of malpractice: Why doctors are losing control

    Howard Smith, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • “Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

      Jeff Cooper | Conditions
    • Do Jewish students face rising bias in holistic admissions?

      Anonymous | Education
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting

      American College of Physicians | Physician
    • A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how

      Ankit Jain | Education
    • Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?

      Jacob Murphy | Education
    • The hidden bias in how we treat chronic pain

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
  • Recent Posts

    • Why true listening is crucial for future health care professionals [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Love on life support: a powerful reminder from the ICU

      Syed Ahmad Moosa, MD | Physician
    • Surviving kidney disease and reforming patient care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

      Jeff Cooper | Conditions
    • Antimicrobial resistance: a public health crisis that needs your voice [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • “Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

      Jeff Cooper | Conditions
    • Do Jewish students face rising bias in holistic admissions?

      Anonymous | Education
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting

      American College of Physicians | Physician
    • A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how

      Ankit Jain | Education
    • Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?

      Jacob Murphy | Education
    • The hidden bias in how we treat chronic pain

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
  • Recent Posts

    • Why true listening is crucial for future health care professionals [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Love on life support: a powerful reminder from the ICU

      Syed Ahmad Moosa, MD | Physician
    • Surviving kidney disease and reforming patient care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

      Jeff Cooper | Conditions
    • Antimicrobial resistance: a public health crisis that needs your voice [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

A Cuba missionary journey: Witnessing faith amidst hardship
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...