The work of Maranatha Volunteers International in Cuba continues to evolve in response to the country’s worsening economic climate.

In the past year, the Cuban people have been suffering from a lack of basic necessities, including food, water, electricity, fuel, medicine, and personal hygiene products. The few supplies that are available for purchase cost more than even employed citizens can afford.
“The situation is pretty horrible,” said Aldo Pérez, president of the Cuban Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, “but in the middle of that, God is with His people.”

Maranatha stays active in Cuba amid the turmoil, sending shipping containers full of basic necessities and developing plans for congregations to have new places of worship.

During last year’s Cuba-focused #GivingTuesday campaign, generous donors raised more than US$250,000. In February 2023, Maranatha used these funds to send four shipping containers full of food, medicine, and other essential items to distribution points across the island. These resources aided more than 5,000 families, representing roughly 20,000 individuals. Since that first shipment, two more containers are full and ready for transport from Panama.

A nationwide labor strike shut down Panama and postponed the containers’ voyage to Cuba. The supreme court in Panama ruled on the case in question on November 28, prompting the country’s gradual reopening. “It’s hard to say with absolute certainty, but we believe the containers will be on their way soon,” said Kenneth Weiss, Maranatha’s chief operating officer.

The clock is ticking for the Cuba Adventist Theological Seminary in Havana, which depends on the containers of supplies to keep its doors open. Built by Maranatha in 1995, the seminary is a pillar of Adventist Church growth on the island but currently struggling to feed its 70 students.

Amid economic stagnation, the 40,000-member Adventist Church in Cuba is still flourishing. Of the island’s 168 counties, 161 boast an Adventist presence. “The only way the people in Cuba can survive is through faith,” Pérez explained, “and we offer them faith and hope in Jesus Christ.”

Maranatha usually supports Adventist Church growth through the construction of new church buildings, but Cuba’s situation presents unique hindrances to this strategy. In the past, congregations have faced delayed building permits and the costly shipment of construction materials from other countries.

“It’s expensive. It’s time-consuming. It’s complicated,” said Don Noble, Maranatha president, of the construction process in Cuba. The solution? Renovation. This month, Maranatha leadership is preparing to purchase ten houses across Havana for just US$3,000 apiece. The plan is for local crews to remodel the homes’ main rooms into places of worship and any extra space into living quarters for pastors.

Since 1994, Maranatha has been working in Cuba to build and renovate Seventh-day Adventist churches. Despite economic circumstances that complicate the work in Cuba, Maranatha has been successful in building or remodeling more than 200 churches all over the island, in addition to the seminary in Havana.

The original version of this story was posted by Maranatha Volunteers International.

The original version of this story was posted on the Inter-American Division website.