THREE MONTHS

So here we are! Three months old! I kinda can’t believe it and yet, it's been so real, each and every day.

Thank you all, again for the support. Truly, truly, truly. We sincerely mean that and we understand now when we have heard others say it. We literally couldn’t do what we are doing without you all. Yes, God has made a way. And yes, we could travel and buy coffee and work with churches and encourage believers. But very shortly, we would have to stop. Without you, we would have a backstock of coffee. We would have no churches and no brothers and sisters in Christ to share and testify with. We wouldn’t be as passionate. And who knows what doors wouldn’t be there? Basically, all that to say… Thank you for being a part of the GOSPEL COFFEE CREW!!

And because we are now three months old, we’d like to give you a little three-month recap!

Month one, February! We were just getting started, brainstorming, and getting the logistics of what it looked like and meant to be a non-profit. But shortly after starting, we began planning the trip to Oaxaca. There was an opportunity for some of our crew to go to Mexico for a different reason and since we were going to be there, we thought it made sense to combine the trips.

We began planning and talking to Ciro, the pastor in Piedras Negras who is our connection to San Pedro Yaneri. We started getting more details about the coffee and the church we were connecting with. He told us about his mom and the few families that are a part of the church there in the village. Excitement built as we planned for our trip and yet at the same time, realizing the feat we were about to undertake, which was to bring back roughly 200 pounds of green coffee beans from the mountains of Oaxaca. And in reality, we didn’t even have an understanding of the logistics and coffee information that experts would have. However, God truly covered us and provided for us.

In March, we traveled to Mexico!! The journey was full but successful, and it was clear time and time again that God had gone before us, was with us, and was coming behind us. We brought the beans in our duffle bags and wheeled them right through customs, no problem! We brought it to our roaster and he roasted them. He didn’t tell us much until it was cupping time. Coffee cupping is a process to analyze a coffee sample and gain insight into overall quality and more specific characteristics (such as acidity or body) and flavors.

On April 1st, we had our first coffee cupping as Gospel Coffee! It felt like a big deal. This was it. This was the coffee that we were going to provide to our customers.

“Lord, please help it taste good.”

This was a common prayer of our crew the week leading up to the cupping. Then, we cupped. It was a fun experience and our roaster, who is also a friend, stayed pretty stoic to not give anything away. He is excellent at roasting and tasting and all things coffee. At the end of the cupping, we discussed it.

This was the moment of truth. Here’s what our roaster said.” I don’t know if Jesus touched it or what, because this coffee should not taste this good.” PRAISE THE LORD!! Our prayers had been answered. He said because of the way it roasted and the oddities of it, he wasn't sure what was going to happen. But the taste was amazing! What a delight!

Finally, the coffee came to you all! And we shared at churches and with our friends and community. You all have given so much love and support that allow us to keep going. Thank you for being faithful to be open to God and what He is doing.

And… we started prepping for another trip. The crew of Gospel Coffee is involved in a ministry called Armored Outreach International (AOI). We come alongside and support and refresh ministers and ministries through a myriad of ways, including retreats, leading worship, teaching Scripture, hosting camps, and many other things. One thing that AOI is doing is going to Uganda to support a woman named Olive and the ministry that she is a part of there. We’ve shared a little with you before but it’s amazing how God orchestrates a beautiful story when we are willing to be used and moved by Him.

Last year, AOI sent two women to go help Olive for three months. Then, we sent two more at the beginning of this year. Now WE get to go. We leave on June 18th and we are there for two weeks. Our goal is to come alongside Olive with the needs of her ministry and community. She has planned a worship and community outreach event, evangelism, and church leadership training for us to be a part of. We will also probably be teaching in the bible studies at the school and in the weekly community groups.

Because we as people have a heart to help support ministries that are centered on sharing the gospel and making disciples, we have decided that Gospel Coffee would like to support Olive and the work in Uganda. So as a Gospel Coffee crew, we are hoping to connect with and buy green coffee to bring back to the US. In the future, we will hopefully be able to support Olive by buying green coffee through her and the ministry. Right now, we are still in the detail stage and seeking direction from the Lord. He has opened so many doors in Africa, so we believe this is the next step. We are just looking for the right door to walk through.

In addition, after sharing about this opportunity at a church, a man named Joe Hubbard came up to our crew afterward. He shared with us about his ministry, Standing in the Gap Ministries, and something amazing that happened. During the pandemic, they started posting their teachings online. Somehow, a man named Willis from Kenya saw them and created his own branch in Kenya. Joe excitedly said they would love to send our group to Kenya if we were willing. They want us to come alongside and encourage and support the body of believers there. He communicated that their ministry hasn’t been able to send anyone and would love to send us. WHAT?!?! That is amazing and we started seeking the Lord if this was where He was leading us. Come to find out, the ministry in Kenya is close to a coffee farm and would love to be able to sell green coffee to us as Gospel Coffee. So after seeking the Lord, we decided we would go.

The plan is that after Uganda we will be driving to Kenya to come alongside Pastor Willis and the ministry of Standing in the Gap - Kenya branch. We will help and support and work with Pastor Willis in all that he has planned for us to do. We believe we will be visiting widows, prison outreach to both men and women, and fellowshipping with different churches in the community. We are excited to have the opportunity to go and to encourage our brothers in sisters in Christ around the world!

A couple of other noteworthy things! While in Oaxaca, we had the opportunity to bring back a Bible in the indigenous language of the village! It was absolutely amazing what God did and it still blows our minds (more to come on this specifically). We are in the process of duplicating it, so we can give more Bibles to the people because they only have one or two in their heart language.

Since this opportunity, we’ve realized although there are a plethora of Bibles in the US, that is not the case in many places abroad. So, we desire to give Bibles in the language of the people we serve, in both places in Africa. We are still planning the “how” of this process, but our “why” is simple. The Bible is the Word of God to his church. We need it to live and to grow in our relationship with the God we love and serve. We desire for our brothers and sisters in the family of God to also have easy access to God’s love letter and words for them.

Friends, thank you for reading and for caring. God is continually opening doors and directing our path and we are taking it step-by-step in obedience. We pray that as we continue being obedient, God would continue lining out our way and would bring connections with the people He desires for impact. We want the kingdom of God to be spread. He is the only hope in this world. And life with Jesus is the only true life. So hopefully, you'll join us. Whether that's simply by purchasing and drinking Gospel Coffee, telling all your friends, financial support, or petitioning for us before God in prayer. We need each other as the body of Christ and as ambassadors for the way of Jesus and life in the Spirit.

Shalom from the Gospel Coffee Crew

Oh, and p.s. We are planning another trip for the fall.

Stay tuned. God is taking us on a mighty adventure.