Walking the Walk

By Rosalie LoPinto, 09.27.06

Church leaders jailed, invasions of privacy, harassment, intimidation, sometimes even physical violence - this is everyday life for people of faith in Cuba.

According to the U.S. Department of Human Rights, Democracy and Labor,Christians, Jews, Muslims and small religious groups regularly face indignities and sometimes even atrocities.

How do these decent, law abiding citizens cope? How do they reconcile religious mandates to be kind and merciful with resentment toward their oppressors?

Miriam Rigal, Cuban by birth, offered her take on the response of those in her homeland who share her faith.

"These are Christian people who believe in forgiveness,” Rigal said.

Veteran missionary John Blondo shares the same perception as Rigal. Blondo spent several years serving in a communist country. While there, he observed people who were compassionate toward those who mistreated them in the name of the government.

“They pray for a life transformation for those in authority over them. The reality is that persecuted Christians understand that they are not just fighting against a human government or system,” Blondo said. “They have a keen sense of reality regarding the spiritual battle in which they are engaged. They consider it an honor to suffer for the name of Christ.”

According to Blondo, persecuted Christians often feel they are better off than those who live in free societies.

“They pray for those who are so comfortable in the West," Blondo said. " [For them] it is an honor to be Christ's servant.”

Adamant about observations she made on a short-term missions trip to Cuba last year, Rigal believes there is an unstoppable wave of spirituality washing over Cuba. She personally encountered a number of young people who converted to evangelical Christianity - often because of reported supernatural occurrences. These transcending experiences seem to lift believers above their circumstances and even above their natural resentment.

“Those who truly know God forgive Castro for his many abuses and pray he finds salvation before it's too late,” Rigal said. “That is what I heard from the people I met."

Rigal believes the climate in Cuba is just right for a major reversal of the national philosophy.

"The next revolution in Cuba will be led by the Spirit of God," Rigal said.

She believes the impetus behind this revolution is the hope gripping people of faith in Cuba. That hope was given a focal point in 1998 when Castro ordered the uncovering of an immense statue of Jesus Christ which now overlooks Havana Harbor. He had concealed the statue for several decades prior but chose to unveil it in honor of Pope John Paul’s visit to the island.

Rigal sees this unveiling as symbolic of what is happening in Cuba.

"I stood by the statue, and to me it spoke of hope,” she said. “Jesus has been watching over Havana."