This is the Friends of History Debating Society. I'm John Bachelors with my friend and colleague Bill Devlin, the Reverend Bill Devlin, who's a busy man, there's only one of him, not a robot yet, but he's headed to Cuba. He's been there many times. I spoke to him once, late at night,

in a square in a secondary city of Cuba, where the square was all lit up with the glow of iPhone or smartphone screens.

They all came out at night to charge their phones and talk to America. It was a charming vision of what Cuba has become a desperate

culture with the people doing the best they can, completely alienated from a government

that's indifferent to them.

There are food shortages, there's every kind of inconvenience, there's suppression of small

businesses, there's a shortage of cash, and many Cuban, young Cubans have been

emigrating to the Americas, especially all the way through the Darien Gap to Texas and into the US where they're

welcomed even though they're not here with papers. All of that is behind us now. The

question is why is Bill going there what does he do in Havana

that is needed build this is a routine evangelical mission to you you will be in

Havana this time to do what bill? Yes and good day

John thank you I've been going to Cuba since 2007 when it was very very difficult

to get into.

You only could fly in one or two days a week.

Now I've been there.

This will be trip number 56 when I go in August,

late August of 2024. I've been doing humanitarian work there. We've also

helped some of the Cuban pastors, the evangelical pastors I work with establish small

businesses, small stores that provide food and other personal

hygiene items because all the store shelves and all the stores there as people know and as you know John are run by the

government the store shelves are bare B A R E they are empty and so what we've been it what we've been able to do is to bring food in and containers from

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