Quick Pitstop Before Acts 28

"When disciples followed a rabbi, they followed him closely so they would never be out of his sight, never be someplace where they couldn’t hear him speak. They followed him so closely that his sandals often kicked up dust."

May you be covered in His dust.

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Every week for over a year, I’ve sent out a chapter from the book of Acts.

But this week… we’re taking a quick pitstop.

I’m heading to Cuba on Monday. And what I’m walking into is hard to describe.

So instead of Acts 28, I want to tell you a story. Not from the Bible this time. But from Cuba.

This is the world I’m stepping into.

Cuba is another world.

Minimum wage is $16... A MONTH.

Can you imagine? Working 40 hours a week for four weeks and earning $16???

Minimum wage isn’t for teens working at McDonalds.
There are no McDonalds.
There’s no fast food.
There are no grocery stores.

As in NONE.
ZERO.
On the entire island.

$16 is what you get paid for any job run by the government... which is basically everything.

Gas station attendants: (all owned by the government) $16 a month.
Teachers: (it’s illegal to homeschool) $16 a month.
Hotels: (all owned by the government) $16 a month.
Doctors: Same. $16 a month.

Cuba’s communism runs deep.

There were more prosperous days when Russia supported them, but it’s deteriorated beyond recognition.

When I visited 2 years ago, I was told there were intermittent blackouts. I was there 10 days and didn’t experience a single one.

At times last year, 80–85% of the country was without power for 18 hours a day. This isn’t just flickering lights. I’m talking about full grid collapses. The kind where people go to bed in the dark and wake up in the same darkness.

No fans.
No refrigeration.
No internet.
No cell service.
No water, because pumps don’t work.

When I visited in May, they were getting 3-4 hours of electricity a day.

Yes. You read that right.

PER.
DAY.
Every day.
That’s all they get.

And when the power does come back, it’s unpredictable. They try to rotate it, but there’s no warning. You’re cooking rice and the stove shuts off. You’re charging your phone and suddenly you’re offline.

If it’s 3am or 9pm, everyone gets out of bed to use the rationed electricity.

And yet… the pastors and the families we’ve met… keep going.

They meet in patios and porches.
They study by cell phone light or wait until 2am when the power finally kicks on for a few hours.

This is the backdrop of ministry in Cuba.
No electricity. No rations. No stability.
Just desperate people, and a desperate hunger for Christ.

And the church is growing.

That’s the crazy part. They’ve got nothing… and they’re seeing fruit we can’t even imagine. The darkness is real. Physically and spiritually.

But the light is stronger.

“But can a family of 4 or 5 survive on $16 a month?”

Of course not.

Bare minimum with absolutely no extras, takes $150 a month to make ends meet.

I don’t know a single pastor who owns a car.
Most pastors preach on the patio of their home.

“How do they survive?”

Some receive money from family who escaped the island.
Almost everyone works on the black market.
It’s illegal but the government doesn’t enforce it.
If they were to shut it down, I think everyone on the island would starve.
The economy would completely collapse.

One pastor told me that everyone he knows wakes up with the puzzle, “How will I invent something for my family to eat today?”

He told me about a doctor who wakes up at 4am to buy bread from a baker so she can sell it to her “customers” before she goes to the hospital for her first shift at 8am.

I talked to a 17 year old who told me that every teacher he knows sells SOMETHING.

“Like what?” I asked.

“Snacks.
Pencils.
Shoes.
Clothes.
Whatever you need.”

You know what he asked me?

“Are McDonalds hamburgers really that good? What about Dominos pizza?” 

The look on his face when he asked. The anticipation of the answer. It was like I was about to share something unbelievable. He had to know. “Is it as good as it looks? Tell me!!”

What do you say???

I’d bought pizza in Cuba before.
Weird bread.
Almost no sauce (that didn’t taste like pizza sauce. But it was red)
Almost no “cheese.” I have NO IDEA how they make their cheese but I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t ACTUALLY cheese.

Mannnn. If I could bring him back to the States for just ONE WEEK…

I’d let him try it all.
A real slice of pizza.
A hamburger with real cheese.
A full fridge.
A hot shower.
A church with lights on and air conditioning.

And then I’d remind him:
None of that is what makes the Church grow.

The gospel does.

And the gospel is spreading in Cuba.

In the dark, they’ve found the Light.

I’ll be back next week.

I love you,

George
Uncovering Scripture

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George Sisneros is a full-time missionary in Guatemala and the founder of Ordinary Missionaries and the El Rosario Christian Academy for Boys.

He’s been married to his wife, Vonda, for 26 years. He’s a father to nine children, five adopted.

In 2024, George and his wife expanded to Cuba, joining forces with nine pastors committed to transforming lives through the gospel.

You can get George’s bestselling book, Do You Love Me? Giving up the American Dream to Serve the Underprivileged, on Amazon.