“I studied trade and economics in school and psychology at the university. I didn’t finish my degree because I got pregnant.

I come from a humble family and my mother couldn’t give me what I needed.  I suffered bullying and took the lowest road out—prostitution. I was 19 and did it for a few years. Many girls in Cuba turn to prostitution to survive. 

I wanted a better life, so I came back to church. I met a good man, but he wasn’t a believer. After a while, he started going to church with me. We have been happily married for 15 years. and we are giving our kids a better life than I had. 

My husband and I lead the youth at our church, and my joy comes out when I sing with them. They call me mom, and I cry when they succeed. God has used the hard times of my life to create a place of love for them. I also dream of going on a mission trip to Angola in Africa to help people there.  

When I was 19, I didn’t think my life could be like this. My mother told me if I worked with Christ, I wouldn’t have so many hardships. I hated hearing this, but deep down I knew she was right.

There is a poem that says Cuba and Puerto Rico are as two wings of one bird.  You could say the same thing about Cuba and America. We could be a bigger bird when America is the other wing. We need both wings to fly together.”

Yudith

(This story is from my trip to Cuba at the beginning of January.)