I am sharing my personal experience of the Jubilance Cuba tour 2026.  This is only a condensed account and I am sure my team members would have much more to share.  

 

Dec 27, 2025 was the day we left Pearson and flew to Cuba.  Months of planning, preparation, securing members to join and rehearsals preceded that.  We anticipated obstacles but God’s work began even before we left.

 

· Two weeks before departure, Air Transat announced pilots were walking off the jobs. 

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· Some members regrettably fell ill or dropped out for personal reasons, hence we needed to find replacement of musicians  and/or singers. 

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· Our hotel reservations in the first city, Holguin where we were going to hold our concerts, fell through because of the  hurricane devastation back in October.  The hotel became inoperable due to damages so we were booked temporarily at a  club/resort further out from the city until something else came up, but the price shot up a few times and  far exceeded our  budget.  

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· There was the religious visa. We each paid US$200 and just sat and waited at Cuban Government’s mercy.  As we found  out later when we were in Cuba, Pastor Ariel said it was a miracle to get such approval as details of our large group on  where, when, and what for each and every day and moment must be presented for the process.  

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· Outbreaks of chikungunya, a mosquito borne illness, had been reported.  Vaccination is quite expensive here in Canada  and one version is not recommended for seniors because of lingering side effects, yet a second version is not available in  Canada.  (Amazingly we actually did not see any mosquitoes!  Praise God for his protection.)

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· We had five Christmas concerts here in GTA in December, so between the two repertoires we had to rehearse and be      ready plus some songs in Spanish.  We found ourselves in a pressure cooker.  

 

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Mission Impossible, one might start to think?  

Our director, Manne, reminded us constantly, we have to pray and we must have faith.  God has taken Jubilance on missions to more than 50 countries in over four decades, why would this one be different.  Indeed Faith matters!  He tapped each one of us on the shoulder to be his ambassador to go and share the message of God’s love and hope, God will get us through, this is His mission. What was ringing in my ears then was what Moses said to the Israelites:  Fear ye not, stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord.  

 

We held 10 concerts for the two weeks we were there.  Responses from the congregations were just beyond our expectations.  Not so much about our performances as we were not there to “perform.”  People were passionate and hungry for Jesus and deeper down inside, hope is what they longed for.  

 

We encountered our first power blackout in our very first concert.  In the middle of a song, we heard a loud snap and it turned dark.  It startled us!  The electric piano went silent.  Strings and wind instruments went quiet because they each played into a microphone.  All of our microphones and speakers were out.  And more importantly we couldn’t see Manne!  Panic set in but very quickly we regained our composures and completed the song thanks to generators.  Thank God!  It hit us again at the next concert and this time we did not even flinch.  We continued singing joyfully and confidently as if we were smirking back at Satan saying you can’t touch us!  I think the angels were singing together with us.   While this may sound like just a fun adventure, it makes you feel real sad to see darkness in the neighbourhood when we returned to our residences.  We saw occasionally a dim light shining through a window from either a flashlight or a solar charged pot light. This is the norm for people in Cuba.  I can go on and on about what little, I mean little, they can obtain for their daily needs.  

 

On our second or third concert, as we normally would take the opportunity to do alter calls, one of our team members invited the congregation to stand if they would like Jubilance to pray for them.  I stood up, like a few other members seating at the front row to get ready.  I turned to see who needs prayer.  Oh my! More than half of the congregation were up on their feet.  We cleared the bench! Normally the singers are the first to go into the congregation to pray for the Cuban people.  This time all singers, musicians, and whoever was wearing the Jubilance blue outfit went to work.  Then every concert was like that.  Many people we prayed for were weeping, trembling and repeating words like “Gracias, Gloria a Jesus, Gloria a Dios.”  While most of them didn’t understand our language, you see their deep appreciation through their eyes, their handshakes and hugs.   Praise the Lord as His presence was definitely felt in the Cuban churches.  

 

There was one very profoundly exhilarating moment in all the concerts when we sang How Great Thou Art (one of Manne’s favourites).  Some congregations made the request for Jubilance to sing it again at the end of our presentation, and they all joined in singing in Spanish.  Some congregations wasted no time and just got up on their feet to join us singing in Spanish.  There is no language barrier when it comes to praising God.   What a sight and what a blessing! 

 

Once we were at a church in a rural area. Actually a very nice church that holds about 300 people.  When we got there, the Pastor said he is expecting more people to come than the capacity can hold.  So we did an “outdoor” concert.  Didn’t expect that at all but what a wonderful idea.  Then you see people came in droves by large buses, small buses, trucks, motorcycles and on foot.  There was one other church with a group of people who literally came in a packed “dump truck.”  No roof, just a square box with standing room only.  God knows how far they had to come from.  But they came and orderly seated themselves on the left side of the sanctuary and quietly awaited the concert to begin.  You felt their burdens to hear what God was going to bring them.  

 

Few churches where we held our concerts were in remote areas.  We actually had a guide riding with us on the bus who helped the drivers to navigate the poor roads.  In one instance, we had to be dropped off at a distance then walked up to the church on dirt roads.  When we finished, we had to find our way back to the bus on foot in darkness with the help of flashlights.   But we got to share some laughs with one another as we found our way and see the stars blinking at us as if they were cheering for us.  

 

Yes, fatigue caught up to us, and we experienced all the inconveniences (even a little gross at times) like 

· power blackouts

· toilets with no seats

· no toilet paper (we had to bring toilet paper to the churches)

· no water in many of the washrooms (you had to hold your breath because of the pungent smell and hold a flashlight at the   same time because there was no electricity) 

· cold showers

· bad roads

· creepy crawlers in the room, and it goes on

 

We just laughed it off among ourselves.  It didn’t matter.  Our spirits were high as we knew God has been and will continue to be with us all the way.  It was gratifying to be able to do what God commissioned us to do.  

 

In the last few concerts as the Spirit moved us, Manne made an impromptu addition of singing:

 

Be still and Know that I am God

I am the Lord that Healeth Thee

In Thee O Lord, Do I Put My Trust

 

in response to the congregation, kind of like a departing gift to remind them to trust in the Lord.  

 

It was a real privilege to go to Cuba and many thanks to Manne for sharing his vision from God and allowed us to be part of this ministry.  I invite everyone to remember Jubilance and the people in Cuba in your prayers.  May the deliverance of our Lord come upon that nation in His time.

 

- BILL FAN