Lutheran For Life got to engage in a little Gospel-motivated international equipping recently. At the request of LCMS International Mission, I returned last month to Safe Harbour Lutheran Church in George Town, Grand Cayman. I had first visited these saints last fall to introduce them to our message that God’s gift of life makes every human being a precious treasure. This year we put that privilege into practice.
The congregation is reaching out to 44 refugees from Cuba. They’ve arrived over the last year, and have applied for asylum. Some embarked on small motorized watercraft but ran out of fuel, and others floated the distance of over 200 miles on nothing more than rafts made of rubber tires or water bottles. Sea and storm swallowed several detachments of traveling companions. Most of the refugees left behind children or parents, intending to secure their passage after establishing themselves at their destination. They hope eventually to enter the United States for economic and political liberties. Even if they don’t succeed or survive to achieve and enjoy them, perhaps their children can.
The refugees reside in a Caymanian detention facility. They completed its cinder-block construction themselves in exchange for the shelter and sustenance they are receiving. A chain-link fence crowned with razor wire separates them from convicted criminals. Cayman’s courts have denied their first application for asylum. Weeks have become months awaiting an appeal hearing, with little information offered. They hunger for any update. Prison staff provided a list of lawyers, but the Cubans have no currency to afford the fees. The few times immigration officials have visited, the refugees have felt laughed at through the gates—“like we’re not even human” (though no one can confirm this suspicion since the officials only speak English and the refugees only understand Spanish). To call public attention to their plight, one of the pilgrims attempted “escape” by scaling the front barrier into the waiting arms of the government agents. Last report had him imprisoned. The center’s guards treat them well, however, even occasionally bringing them gifts.
We assembled outside the dormitory and sat on picnic benches under a canopy in the dusty yard. Summer heat (89°F) and humidity (80%) magnified the midday sunshine. Four guys played a beat-up board game given them on one of the church’s previous visits. The crowd included a number of men in their mid-forties, a twenty-something woman, a teenage girl, two or three senior individuals (not older than sixty-five), a gentleman reading a volume of Lutheran theology (translated into Spanish), and one currently expecting couple. She’s in her sixth month, and relatives are caring for the three older siblings. Imagine the complications of fleeing while being with child—but Cuba’s communist history overshadows its Catholic background. The abortion rate there equals almost twice that of the U. S. and amounts to the second highest in the world (only Russia has more).
Everyone hugged Yolanda, the Safe Harbour member serving as translator. She’s less than two decades removed from coming as a Cuban refugee herself. We handed over some shopping bags full of donated clothing (including many infant items) as well as a few fresh fruits and veggies to ensure sufficient nutrition for the mother-to-be. Relying more on Yolanda’s gift of tongues than my three years of high-school Español, we recited the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer together. Many of the refugees had not encountered Christianity or Scripture before landing at Grand Cayman. With words from Matthew 6:25-33, Romans 8:31-39, and Luther’s explanations to the First and Second Articles (all read in Spanish!), I assured them that the Heavenly Father will sustain them in both body and spirit for Jesus’ sake. Then they poured out the concerns of their hearts to me for over an hour.
As we departed, Yolanda double-checked her list of shoe sizes. She and her fellow parishioners would be shopping in advance of next week’s visit. What a blessing that Lutherans For Life could accompany her in embodying the Gospel of Life, especially because Safe Harbour—like the Cubans—presently has no pastor of their own. And what an opportunity perhaps to impact (infect?) the secular culture of Cuba somehow with Christ’s compassion toward all people!