Gainesville minister visits Cuba

GAINESVILLE - A Gainesville minister recently spent two weeks in Cuba as part of an outreach sponsored by his church. It was Rev. Victor Lamar Johnson's first trip to the communist nation.

Rev. Johnson, an associate pastor at Antioch Baptist Church, says the program ministers to about 25 Church of God of Prophecy churches in Cuba.

"Five are in the west provinces, five in the eastern provinces, and the rest in Havana," Johnson said during a taping for this weekend's Northeast Georgia This Week. (Sunday at 8:05 on WDUN NEWS TALK 550.)

Johnson said there's a certain amount of freedom of religion in Cuba, but definitely not as we know it in this country.

"No politics in the church," he said. "You can't talk about the government (in the church). You have to stay with the Bible, the word of God."

"My mission was to tell my testimony, because there are so many members of the church...that are alcoholics...because they are an oppressed people. It's part of their way of life."

Rev. Johnson said he believes Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro uses alcoholism to oppress his people.

He said he was pretty free to travel at will while in Cuba. Johnson said the cities are "poor" and dirty, but the countryside is beautiful, with mountains and some jungles and populated, in large part, by farmers. He said he saw lots of oxen- and horse-drawn wagons.

Rev. Johnson said the Cuban people were "some of the warmest people I've seen. They want to know about the free world and the only way they're going to know is if somebody goes (and tells them)."

"I think that's part of our mission and that's what I'm trying to do."