.jpg)
It had been seven years since Mark last visited Cuba, and I was grateful the Lord allowed us to return together. Our desire for this trip was to reconnect with and further foster relationships we've been cultivating since 2018. Immediately upon arrival, our friends Yirina and Yadiel greeted us with open arms. I first met Yirina in 2023 when she was my Airbnb host, and since then, she has become a close friend of the mission, wholeheartedly supporting Ride Nature's goal of bringing the Gospel to Havana's skate community.
Our first night in Cuba was an adventure in itself. Yadiel, Mark, and I found a vintage '50s Buick convertible and hit the road west for a couple of hours to Boca Mariel, a small beach town. We had received an invitation from a local surfer who contacted us, hoping we would come and establish relationships with his surf community.
Upon arrival, he welcomed us into his modest home, and it wasn't long before his living room was filled with friends and family. The room was saturated with curiosity as everyone eagerly listened to our message about how surfing could be used to share the Gospel. We shared our vision of starting a small surf club focused on discipleship and spiritual growth. After some conversation, he led us to one of their surf spots, but as we arrived, we were wrecked to see such a beautiful coastline blanketed with trash—yet another reminder of the constant struggles so many third-world countries face.
.jpg)
We immediately felt the call to return soon with a team for a beach cleanup and to help educate the community on ways to better steward the beautiful creation the Lord has given us. During our visit, we also had the opportunity to connect with a local pastor whose relationship with the young surf community had been strained. His church provides the only clean water source for the town, and due to theft and damage to the system, he now has to hire security to guard the water tanks. To cover the costs, he charges a donation for each refill, which has left a bitter taste in the mouths of many locals.
We spoke with the pastor, helping to bridge the gap between him and the surf community, and we are now working on a plan to facilitate free access to the water. We're even considering installing a secondary filtration system to ensure the town has reliable and consistent access to clean water. As of today, Julio, the pastor, and the surf community are in healthy communication and have coordinated future Bible study dates.
It was a beautiful reminder that even in the midst of challenges, the Lord is ever present and at work.
After leaving Mariel, we drove back to Havana with our top down, soaking in the cool night sky as we reflected on the experiences that had just unfolded. The next day, we set out on another two-hour journey, this time, east of Havana to Yadiels home in Caraballo, a small agricultural town where power shortages are an ever-present struggle. It's not uncommon for Caraballo to have fewer than six hours of electricity per day—during our visit, there was no power at all. On our way to Caraballo, the journey was full of challenges—our car kept breaking down, and at one point, we rolled backward down a hill for half a mile! Yet, through it all, we felt God's hand guiding us.
When we finally arrived, we were welcomed into Yadiel's small, humble home, where his mother eagerly awaited to host us for dinner. While waiting for our meal to cook, we walked through the town and visited Yadiel's gym, which he has been running for nearly a year. Yadiel, once Cuba's national boxing champion, is a man of peace in Caraballo. His gym is the only one in the community, and he hopes to leverage it as a place for ministry, offering Bible studies for those who train there.
.jpg)
We met with two more pastors and their wives during our time in Caraballo. We encouraged Yadiel to build relationships with every pastor in the town—advice he immediately took to heart, and he is now offering free gym memberships to each of them. The pastors were excited to hear about new strategies for reaching those who might not otherwise walk into a traditional church setting. We are currently in talks to host a training conference on evangelism, discipleship, and church multiplication for 30+ pastors in the area. Churches in Cuba are often small and humble, operating out of homes with very few resources.
We are confident that with little, we can still equip others to reach the lost and inspire them to engage with seldom-reached communities like skateboarders, surfers, and rock climbers.
That evening, we organized an impromptu basketball game, which attracted a good turnout from the local community. This provided an incredible opportunity to hand out Bibles, share my testimony, present the Gospel, and forge more connections for Yadiel to pursue after we leave.
As I write this on Sunday afternoon, I am excited to share that Yadiel went to church this morning after not attending for a long time. Past experiences had hurt him, but our time with the pastors was a monumental turning point, allowing him to reconnect with the church.
Our final day in Cuba was a day of reconciliation in Havana. Over the years, some relationships among the skaters and potential leaders had fallen apart. We met for conversations over breakfast; on our walk to eat, we encountered Reiner, a young man with no shoes, sitting on the side of the road asking for alms in devotion to a tiny statue of Saint Lazarus. I asked him why he was there, and he explained that he had prayed to Saint Lazarus for his daughter's healing and had vowed to ask for alms for three days in gratitude.
I sat beside him, and as our group gathered around, we shared how Jesus Christ is the only one by whom we are healed and how he had been misled by idolatry. I had him read Exodus 20:4-6:
"You shall not make for yourselves an idol, or any likeness of anything in the heaven above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…"
After reading the passage, he looked at the money he had collected, and Yadiel told him to rise, put the money in his pocket, and reject the idol.
Reiner stood up, threw away the idol, and declared that a miracle had occurred—that the Lord had seen him!
He walked with us, and after our friend Christian gave him a copy of the New Testament, he began reading the Gospel of Matthew as we continued on our way. Reiner joined us for breakfast, received a pair of shoes, and began new relationships that we believe will lead him to Christ. Christian is now in communication with him and has started a Bible study. Please join us in praying Reiner receives Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
This trip, though brief, was not about holding events but about continuing to build the relationships God has entrusted us with. Ministry is always relational—we can't share what we don't have ourselves.
Our heart desires to see the Gospel impact those who are marginalized, the least, the last, and the lost.
It doesn't matter what tools we use. In Cuba, it's action sports. Praise God for giving us access to a community in His name. We are praying to return soon with new boards for the surf community, skateboards for the skaters, and basketball and baseball equipment for Yadiel and his community. Most importantly, we hope to bring more Bibles and devotionals. We humbly invite you to join us in this movement of sharing the Gospel and making disciples of all nations!
