|
(Allen
McDaniel)
One evening in 1978, I was sitting at a kitchen table at the home
of one of the families in our church in New York. My wife Alice
and I, with a few others, were having some coffee and cake — along
with a lot of prayer. It was just good fellowship! We had been praying
for a number of different people and things, as the Lord led us.
All of a sudden, I had an incredibly strong impression to pray for
the country of Cuba, its people and its leaders.
I shared
that with the others at the table, and as we began to pray, the
Lord gave me a vision of a mighty moving of the Spirit of God across
Cuba. That vision was confirmed by what the Lord spoke to others
at the table and God spoke to me about what He was going to do there.
That was
the beginning of a burden in my heart for the people of that island
and a focus of prayer. Over the years I would make many attempts
to gain permission to visit Cuba to preach the Gospel. In 1985 I
was granted an audience with members of the Cuban Mission diplomatic
staff based in the Czechoslovakian Embassy in Washington, D.C. It
would be 2002 before I first preached in Havana!
Cuba Fact
Sheet:
Fidel Castro
led a rebel army to victory in 1959. Cuba's Communist revolution,
with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa
during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The country is now slowly recovering
from a severe economic recession in 1990, following the withdrawal
of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually.
| Location: |
Caribbean,
island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean,
90 miles south of Key West, Florida |
| Population: |
11,263,429
|
| Average
life expectancy: |
76.8
years |
| Natural
hazards: |
The
east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to October (in
general, the country averages about one hurricane every other
year); droughts are common |
| Religions: |
Nominally
85% Roman Catholic prior to Castro assuming power; Protestants,
Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented
|
| Ethnic
groups: |
Mulatto
51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% |
| Languages: |
Spanish |
|
|
Source: The
World Factbook
|
