Group Sends 83,000 Bibles to Cuba to Fulfill Christianity's 'Incredible Growth'

A missionary nonprofit group with the Southern Baptist Convention recently announced that thousands of Spanish-language Bibles are being sent to Cuba in response to the growth of Christianity in the region.

The Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board announced in a press release last week that a shipment of 83,723 Spanish-language Bibles departed southern Florida last week and are expected to arrive in Cuba's capital of Havana this week.

Kurt Urbanek, the International Mission Board's strategy leader for Cuba, said in the press release that in order to ship the Bibles, his group had to undergo extensive negotiations with the Cuban government, and they were ultimately permitted to ship the Bibles in late 2014.

"We are grateful the Cuban government opened the doors for the Bibles, Urbanek said.

Urbanek added that the need for Bibles in Cuba continues to grow, and that's why a shipment like the one sent last week is so important.

"The growth is so incredible, that's why Bibles are so important," he said in the press release.

In late 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama announced plans for the United States to re-open relations with Cuba after decades of hostility that came from the Cold War.

The president said in a statement in December of last year that the U.S.'s relationship with Cuba was an "outdated approach" to diplomacy.

In the wake of the U.S. announcement to re-open a relationship with Cuba, the country's international tourism has skyrocketed as visitors from other countries attempt to see the Caribbean country before it becomes more modernized.