Macau + Coffee

 

Its no secret that i enjoy coffee… correction, i heart coffee.

Its becoming a delightful passion of mine ever since i moved up to the Northwest in 06. Blake coffee was a thing that i associated “Black Angus man”, caffeine addicts, and the likes, to which it never occur that it would one day be the taste of choice for my own preference. But it has, ever since my palate has developed a nuance from tasting wine.  It continues to be one of the favorite things i look forward to tasting wherever i travel outside of Sea/Tac area.

(Its just so fascinating how 2 types of coffee beans make up such a diversity of favors from different tropical regions and its unique cultural and technical mechanics that go into farming, harvesting, washing. drying, and roasting the beans. You drink it black-unfiltered, unadulterated, no sugar coating… and you really begin to appreciate its distinctive qualities that seperates it from others. No single coffee from the region, farm, and roasters are alike! That is just fantastic!)

Every metropolitan city all around the world drinks coffee. And every city has quality cafes that serves up good coffee for anyone who fancy’s such small wonder that gets served up in a cup. 

In the three weeks of walking, busing, and googling through the hundreds of streets in Macau; i’ve been searching and tasting the coffee the locals and foreigners drink. Majority of the people drink McCafe coffee (always with milk). People with money go to the handful of Starbucks in the Casinos ordering fraps and lattes. There are handful of local cafes (next blog) serving up decent to quality coffees and pulling down shots through quality espresso machines. 

I’ve discovered that Macao residents like their coffee medium roast. With two latte tasting under my belt, i’m concluding that it has something with the Australian coffee influence and the New Zealand milk thats sold and popular in the grocery stores.  They get their beans mostly from Central America, Jamaica (Blue Mountain), Brazil (Portuguese influence?), and China (yes China!).  No Kona, no African, no Asian… meaning no dark Roast! Ladies and gents its not Seattle/Tacoma anymore. 

So far I’ve had really excellent Columbian, Costa Rica, and Brazilian! Thanks to the HH kona coffee ($80 per pound in Macau!) i brought from Hawaii, i made handful of friends with the baristas, who fix me up a cup of espresso or their daily brew when i go visit them. We’ll do cupping together and share our enthusiasm for brewing techniques… they enjoy my excitement for each cup!

All to say that coffee in Macau has been decent, but there is definitely room for growth and demand! At the book store, there is even a chinese magazine just for coffee- not much informative with actual coffee content, its more about the fashion and lifestyle of people who associate themselves in it; which tells me that their is a new coffee culture brewing. Besides the friendship’s been great- God has been opening doors to people’s hearts over a cup.

What has been even more exciting is the fact that i can actually see how my calling for missions is merging with my growing passion with coffee. I can actually envision how missions, christ community, and missions can actually be expressed anew here in China in and through a cafe…. Its like i’m beginning to see how they can actually of the same and i sense the freedom to pursue both. 

Stay tune for further thoughts on Cafe, community, and missions. 

Our #1 Supporter

(insert John in picture

Abide

So much has happened in the past weeks.

2 weeks ago, Heidi Baker came to speak and I got to experience my first multiplication miracle.  Cookies were multiplied. Yes, cookies.

This past week, $18,000 came in for our school in 2 days, including for us.  Thank you to everyone that gave.  Generosity is such a beautiful characteristic of the kingdom.  It opens people’s hearts.

There are miracles of signs and wonders…and then there is the miracle that happens inside the heart, which is Jesus’ favorite.  And there’s something about seeing someone on their face before Jesus in complete surrender, awe, brokenness, and beauty that sends chills up our spines, and warmth in our hearts that lets us know…THIS IS WHAT LIFE IS ABOUT.  Knowing Jesus.  He’s so good.

It’s been a struggle, with me being a staff and John being a student.  I often feel split a gajillion ways.  Multi-tasking is already a weakness of mine and to combine it with deciding whether to spend my time with Jesus, John, students, or on the computer/phone catching up with people…has really stressed me out.

But it doesn’t need to be.  I’m learning again…to stop.  Go to the feet of Jesus.  Lay it down.  And let Him lead.  He knows what can wait, and what He has next.  Abide.

Role Change

“Men are the leaders of the household.”

“Husband is the head of the home.”

All true. and Amen.

John has definitely been the spiritual leader in this relationship (what a relief!) I’ve loved that from the very beginning of our relationship, he initiated with his commitment to God that we will pray together every single night as we dated across the seas no matter how tired or busy we were. And I happily agreed.

Then we married and I stepped in to support him in ministry as he pastored. He’d have meetings, and I’d be waiting for his schedule to clear up.

Now we’re in Hawaii and the roles have changed. I’m staffing my husband! John asks me quite frequently, “do you have a meeting? What time does it end?” as he sits in the room and waits, looks for ways to help.

People we meet ask us what we’re doing on campus and after we share, we are always met with the eyebrow raise and a “really?”. And people don’t know what to say or do. They often say, ohh that’s great….with a wink.

We chuckle, laugh, joke, and in the end, realize it’s not about position. John is still leading our home. He has the security in Christ to know who he is in Him and lovingly shares that he’s a student and his wife is his personal counselor.

I’ve honestly been amazed watching John. It’s very refreshing to see again how we step into who God calls us to be despite the title or position we are given. Jesus modeled it! He came as a baby, while yet still God, and just obeyed the Father.

Arrival

Transported from a cold and wet Washington to sitting in sunny, sweaty Hawaii.

John and I stared at each other wide-eyed on the plane as the speaker overhead declared, “We are now descending into Kona, Hawaii.  Prepare for landing.”

We have arrived.  To the Promise Land.  Not the eternal one, but the one God had been speaking since last year.  Can I get an AMEN!?

Highlights:

• hearing the voice of God, together.

As staff, we’ve been praying for outreach locations that the Lord wants us to go.  Now that I’m married, I’m learning quickly that God truly wants us to hear Him together.

It was a several day process.  During prayer, God gave me a couple clues: “poor and the needy” ” a place I hadn’t thought of”, then gave John a couple clues:  a picture of a flower that he didn’t know.  We quickly looked online for the flower and found that it was the national flower for a certain country which was NOT on our radar.  I wanted more confirmation so we asked God for a word and got Matthew 6:30-31 and here’s what it said:

If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works.

God’s so funny. and So cool.  Thanks Jesus. *high five*  The location will be announced later as it is currently confidential

Our DTS has 40 students from all over the US, Canada, Norway, and Brazil.  The first week, we had a teaching on Listening To God by Donna Jordan.  It was beautiful and intense as students began to learn to actually be still and listen to the Lord after asking Him questions in prayer.  By the end of the week, so many students were so overwhelmed by God’s love as He spoke Words of Truth to them as they listened, and many received so much healing.  John and I have been so blessed to receive His words for our marriage (and many words about having lots of children hahaha) as well as being used by God to minister unto others.

Every day is an adventure so far.  Many more to come…

Fast Forward!?

We needed several things to fall into place for us to go to Kona.  and OMG the last piece just fell into place 2 hours ago.  So fast forward hyper blog it is.

We had one missing piece left…and talk about coming down to the wire to wait for it.

DTS starts January 5, everything’s in place…except, we don’t have renters to cover our house stuff while we’re gone.  And we knew if the house didn’t get rented, then no way can we go.

But God gave us faith… so we prayed and waited..and then she came.  The one that God knew about all along.  The perfect renter.  She’s in transition only needing it for 6 months, financially stable, older and responsible, a neat freak, and a beautiful person inside and out.

Can I just say, it is excruciating to move forward when everything is not in place?  Buying a plane ticket, resigning from job, telling everyone we’re going to Kona, when actually, at the moment we know we can’t with the present situation…it can be absolutely loco.

Yet there’s this peace I cannot explain to you that surrounds you when it’s obedience to Him.  There’s this feeling that you are entering into that deeper place of trust with God, beyond what we can see or feel or touch.  It’s freeing.  We were gaining freedom to obey in all circumstances.

And then God shows up big time!!!

Praise God!   Lord, may she be blessed by you and Your presence in this home.

The Confirmation

So Debbie was praying about future, marriage, relationship, as she was dating John.  So was John.

In February, she heard 2 distinct words:  ”Kona, January”

Pish posh! she thought.  I’m moving out of Kona and into Washington.  Why would we come back in January?  John’s committed to youth ministry, and he couldn’t possibly leave in the middle of the school year.

“Kona January” came again.  Even stronger.

Debbie prayed, “God if this is you, then confirm it by telling John too.  I’m not going to mention a thing to him.”

A few days later, John and Debbie talk on the phone and John says, “Hm, I feel like I’m getting unsettled and we’re going to be somewhere next January! I feel like I’m getting shifted into something different!”

???? Debbie thought to herself.  No way.  She just laughed and said dont’ be silly.

A few months later, John sneaks his way over to Kona to propose to Debbie.  That’s when he began to think…hmmm, are we supposed to be in Kona in January?   He didn’t tell Debbie until before he was going to leave.  He looked at her and said, “Hey Debbie, how do you feel about being in Kona in January?”

She looked at him stunned.  God, yous a cray cray.

So the journey began.

Stay tuned

so…i said i would post the ways God has come through…and I will!  It’s coming!

Journey, my friends. The Journey.

It’s quite interesting how God works…a mystery some would say.  A riddle, perhaps.

Why does God ask us to do impossible, really weird, and at the least, very inconvenient things?

For example, “moses, put your staff out to part a whole sea”.

or, “Elijah, lay on your side for many many days”

or, “Abraham, sacrifice your son”

WHAT?!

Yes, God is pretty ridiculous.  yet He’s good…so how does this all work?

John and I found ourselves hearing something quite inconvenient and financially impossible.

It wasn’t to part a whole ocean, or to build an ark and collect every animal in Tacoma.

It was to go to Kona, Hawaii in January.  Now that may seem simple enough, but dude, Noah couldn’t just BUILD AN ARK, I’m sure he had to quit his job, come up with tons of wood, and deal with looking like an idiot in front of all his friends and family if the rain didn’t come.

Here’s what it looks like for us to go to Kona in January (to do a missions training school).

quit youth ministry, come up with tons of money, and possibly look like fools in front of everyone if the money didn’t come in.

hmmm sounds familiar…

As we’ve been walking toward Kona, each step has been heavy and painful.  And then we realize…it’s not about Kona.

It’s the journey, my friends, the journey.  

God can be so deliciously sneaky. That’s John and my conclusion.  He’s sneaky.  As we move forward to fight to obey and be right before Him and Him alone, He is surely refining us and teaching us to walk totally in faith.  So we are savoring each and every step.

Is losing our reputation worth it?  yes.  He is worth it.  If you’re gonna fail, fail trying.  That’s obedience.  and success in Jesus’ world.   Thank you Jesus!

Kids, don’t try this at home.

I woke up this morning to a white window. Yes, white with Zero Visibility. Fog everywhere. Can’t see anything. Nada. Zip.

Now, what do you say to your husband when he looks at you with bright and hopeful eyes and says,

” babe, the mountain’s calling my name this morning! I’m going hiking! Be back in the afternoon!”

I looked at him, the white outside the window, then back at him again, then the white.
Will I win this battle? I ask myself…
but I don’t want to be a widow!… I tell myself again.

So we have a quick talk about the scary animals in the mountains, and the dangers of not being able to see anything while hiking a mountain.

He still insisted. Now, the dilemma was “maybe I’m being too overprotective and crazy . Maybe it’s just one of those things I need to chill out on, or maybe let him learn his own lesson. Ah yes, thats what it is…
But wait, the consequences of this lesson could be death!!!

Back at Square one.

Long story short, he went. I’m praying at home. Please pray that my husband doesn’t slip and fall into a crevasse or get attacked by a mountain lion or cougar. Thanks.

On a positive note, I’m feeling much better from food poisoning/ stomach flu. JUST SAY NO TO MCRIB. Spare yourself the pain.

But really pray for my husband.