Serving Jehovah for Some 70 Years in Cuba

I recall that life in our little village was peaceful. We lived close to some of our relatives, including aunts, uncles, and grandparents. We had enough to eat and lived a happy life.

When I was about five years old, my parents began to study the Bible with Walton Jones. He was a zealous evangelizer who would walk about ten hours just to reach our village. Each time he came, many in my family would gather at my grandparents’ house for hours to discuss the Bible with him. My parents, along with my uncle Pedro and aunt Ela, loved what they were learning and soon got baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Ela is almost 100 years old and continues to serve as a pioneer in Cuba.

At that time, Jehovah’s Witnesses could worship freely in Cuba. We were well-known for preaching from house to house, carrying briefcases and handbags full of valuable Bible literature. And we did a lot of walking! I have fond memories of serving Jehovah during those “favorable times” of my early life. But there were “difficult times” ahead.​—2 Tim. 4:2.

DIFFICULT TIMES ARRIVE

When I was about five years old, my father and my uncle traveled to another part of the island to attend an assembly. Sadly, during that trip, they both contracted typhoid fever from contaminated water. I can recall that after they returned, my uncle lost his hair but survived. However, my father passed away. He was just 32 years old.

After my father died, my mother decided to have our family move in with her brother who lived in the village of Lombillo. That meant leaving our relatives, including our grandparents, whom we dearly loved. But we continued worshipping Jehovah as a family.

On August 26, 1957, I got baptized in a reservoir near Lombillo. I was ten years old. Little did I know that in less than two years, life would change dramatically for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Cuba. In 1959 the government was overthrown and a communist regime took over.

We now found ourselves under a government that placed much importance on military service. That affected Jehovah’s people, who in all lands maintain their neutrality in political and military issues. As a result, we progressively lost the considerable freedom of worship that we had long enjoyed. The government eventually banned our Christian activities, and hundreds of faithful brothers were sent to prison. Some were frequently beaten and deprived of food. At times, the food served contained blood, which the Bible forbids us to eat.

Despite the challenges, we continued to meet together to worship Jehovah. (Heb. 10:25) We even held assemblies on farms or in other locations throughout the country. I remember one time when a brother allowed us to use his large sheep barn as a venue for the assembly. We weren’t able to clean the barn beforehand or even take the sheep out of it. Nevertheless, we held the assembly and had literal and figurative sheep come together!​—Mic. 2:12.

We appreciated the hard work of the brothers who helped us obtain spiritual food in those days. For example, assembly programs were prerecorded on cassette tapes and then circulated throughout the country. At times, just two brothers would be assigned to prepare, deliver, and record all the talks on a program. Because the brothers would record the tapes in clandestine locations, we would at times hear roosters and other interesting noises in the background. If the assembly location had no electricity, a brother would pedal a stationary bicycle fitted with a dynamo to generate the needed electricity. That way we could power the cassette player and hear the program. We may not have had ideal circumstances or the amount of printed publications that fellow believers had in other lands, but we never lacked spiritual food. And we certainly enjoyed serving Jehovah together.​—Neh. 8:10.

BEING PIONEERS AND PARENTS

Once I turned 18, I began serving as a regular pioneer in the town of Florida. About a year later, I was appointed as a special pioneer in the city of Camagüey, the provincial capital. That is where I met Emilia, a beautiful Witness sister from Santiago de Cuba. We began dating, and within a year, we got married.

I began working full-time in one of the many government-owned sugar mills. Emilia and I were no longer able to serve as pioneers; still, we wanted to devote as much time as we could to spiritual activities. I arranged to work the 3:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. shift at the mill. I didn’t love waking up so early, but the schedule allowed me to stay active in the ministry and to attend all the meetings with Emilia.

In 1969 our first son, Gustavo, was born. I had been asked to resume the full-time service in the circuit work. At the time, serving as a circuit overseer while taking care of a family was common in Cuba. That began one of the happiest but busiest chapters in our life. Emilia and I felt privileged to be offered the opportunity to serve our brothers and sisters in this way. During that time in the circuit work, our son Obed was born, then Abner, and after some years our daughter, Mahely.

When I look back on the years we spent in the circuit work, it makes me happy to see how Jehovah blessed his people in Cuba. And he certainly blessed our efforts as parents to instill love for him in the hearts of our children. Let me explain what life was like for Emilia and me in those days when we were doing circuit work.

THE CIRCUIT WORK UNDER BAN

In the 60’s and the 70’s, we really began to feel the effects of the ban on our work. Kingdom Halls were closed. Our missionaries were expelled from the country. Many young brothers were arrested and sent to prison. And the branch office in Havana was shut down.

Because of the ban, we could visit congregations only on weekends. So each congregation got a two-weekend visit. We traveled light and often used a bicycle, since that was the most discreet way to get around. Of course, our visits were not publicly announced. We had to make it seem as if we were visiting relatives. That was rather easy to do. In fact, we felt so much like family that we had to be careful not to lose sight of the fact that we were visiting with a spiritual objective. (Mark 10:29, 30) Still, we needed to be discreet. We were often followed and interrogated by the police. Our hosts even risked being arrested if we were discovered.​—Rom. 16:4.

During this period, we met many brothers and sisters who showed remarkable generosity despite having little materially. The mosquitoes in some areas seemed to outnumber the people, but friends would kindly provide us with their only mosquito net so that we could sleep more comfortably at night. Others were willing to host us even though they had very little food to share. In fact, we would at times bring our own food to share with the hosts.

We could not bring all our children with us when we visited congregations. So we would travel with just one child while my mother and my sister cared for the others at home. Actually, traveling with a baby served as a protection. On occasion, we were searched by the police, but we had hidden materials in the dirty-diaper bag​—a spot that the police would not search.

I admire Emilia so much for all that she did to care for the children while supporting me during our years in full-time service. As for me, I was able to balance my secular job at the mill with my responsibilities as a circuit overseer. How? Sometimes, I worked a double shift once or twice a week so that I could have the weekend off. Later, though, my work assignment changed. I became a team lead and was scheduled to work seven days a week. I could not refuse this schedule. But I discovered that as long as I gave my team enough work to stay busy on the weekend, they would cover for me while I visited congregations. As far as I know, my bosses never noticed that I did not show up to work on weekends!

REMAINING JOYFUL DURING TIMES OF CHANGE

One day in 1994, the brothers taking the lead in Cuba summoned all traveling overseers​—80 of us—​to a special meeting in Havana. What a joy it was for us finally to meet one another after all those years! At that meeting, we first discussed some organizational adjustments. Then came a shocking announcement. The brothers told us that they were planning to disclose our names to the authorities! Why do that?

They explained that they had been meeting with government officials with the goal of improving the relationship between the government and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The authorities had requested a list of all the names of the circuit overseers. We all agreed to submit our names. From then on, the discussions with government authorities yielded good results.

Eventually, we were able to meet and preach openly, although legalizing our status as a religion was not yet on the table. We later found out that the authorities already knew the names of some of the traveling overseers but wanted us to confirm what they had.

In September 1994, we were given permission to reestablish a branch office. As it turned out, we were able to use the very building that had been shut down 20 years earlier.

Then in 1996, Emilia and I got a phone call inviting us to serve at Bethel. After getting over the initial shock, I reminded the brothers that I still had two children at home, who were my priority. The brothers kindly considered my situation and later confirmed that they still wanted us to serve at Bethel. We accepted and started making plans to move as a family to Havana.

Frankly, at first, I did not find Bethel service enjoyable. I had spent so many years in the traveling work that my mind and heart were in the field. I struggled to sit behind a desk. But my fellow Bethelites and especially my wife, Emilia, helped me to adjust my viewpoint. In time, I regained my joy, and now I happily serve at Bethel.

Emilia and I are no longer young. We are overjoyed, though, to think of all the brothers and sisters whom we have been privileged to know and to serve with over the years. We are especially happy to see our children, as well as our grandchildren, serving Jehovah. We feel similar to the aged apostle John, who said: “No greater joy do I have than this: that I should hear that my children go on walking in the truth.”​—3 John 4.

Now after serving at Bethel for almost 30 years, Emilia and I do our best to carry out our assignments despite daily battles brought on by cancer and old age. During our years in Jehovah’s service, we have had some challenges, but we rejoice that we have been able to serve “the happy God” for some 70 years here on the island of Cuba!​—1 Tim. 1:11; Ps. 97:1.