I've been on plenty of mission trips going all the way back to jr high days, and I reached a point where I felt that sending my dollars to people already on the ground was more impactful than jumping on a plane.  This opportunity was different, though. Global Missions Project uses musical performances as a means to bring the Gospel to foreign people groups. I went with a 20-piece big band to a communist country that is typically closed to Christianity.  However, a Havana pastor named Alioth Gonzales (pictured with me below, left) has some key contacts within the Cuban government and he was able to get our group into the country on a cultural exchange visa rather than the typical religious visa. This gave us access to all venues including musical student conservatories and public performance theaters. Alioth also happens to have developed a close relationship with a Cuban concert pianist named Frank Fernandez who is known and loved throughout Cuba AND Russia. He turned 80 at th...