Coffee Team - Last Day

The coffee team has just said goodnight and have settled into their hotel in the Bujumbura for their last night in Burundi. They arrived back down from Kayanza yesterday and have spent the past two days in debrief meetings and more coffee cuppings.

I have limited first-hand information on the details of the coffee-end of the trip, but from what I have heard, things with Poul went extremely well in his time with the coffee farmers, and although there are no easy solutions, there is a great deal of hope for the future! The team reported the farm visits and cuppings went very well, and the FH staff were very interested in Poul's valuable insight and expertise. Please continue to pray for this aspect of the partnership and that God might orchestrate some amazing things as a result of this trip!

Steve Mebs and Jason Deboski were been busy filming in Kayanza, and are excited about the many interviews they captured with FH staff, Coffee Farmers, parents of sponsor children etc. There are amazing stories to be told, and they can't wait to share them with you. One of those stories is about the long road the women and children walk, upwards of 2-3 times a day, to get water from a source about an hour away. Steve and Jason walked this road with some of the kids in the community to get a better understanding of how great the need is for a clean water source within the community, and how heartbreaking it is to see 3 and 4 year olds lugging gallons of water in dirty jugs up a dusty hill multiple times a day.

A high note for the team was the time they were able to spend with their sponsor children and their families. This can be an incredibly emotional time, when sponsors are able to see firsthand the immense need for sponsorship, as well as the amazing impact it has on not only their sponsor child and his or her family, but the community as a whole. 


Another highlight was their time at Mufumya Baptist Church on Sunday, here is a bit of their experience.


"They took an offering after the second sermon while waiting for the third to start. It was amazing. The first, included money and a 'first fruits' offering where ladies with baskets on their heads brought the first harvest in. They collect beans and keep them in storage for those who need them either due to poverty or emergency. This choked me up. People with nothing, giving their "firsts" away.

Sermon 3 was about to begin, but first the visitors were welcomed. Mike gave a little encouragement speech and opened with "Amahoro".  They loved his bad Kirundi and applauded!  Then he spoke about SPAC and FH, and told them that he was so pleased to announce that his son was with him on this trip.  They loved that too.  Then he mentioned that his son's wife had been to Mufumya in November, and that upon her return she told him that he had to come and visit. They exploded in applause!  It was so welcoming. Such a blessing. We have honored them, simply by visiting we have honoured them.

I was asked if I wanted to say a few words and I couldn't resist. I took the mic and told them "ne ei twan Jason".  They loved it!  Then I told them that my dad had been to Burundi 3 times and I have only been once and I already knew more Kirundi than he did. I thought they were going to make me mayor right there on the spot. They were laughing and clapping so loud, it was hilarious.

Then I got serious and told them I wanted to thank them. I wanted them to know that they had been a great encouragement to me. They had shown me what it meant to truly welcome someone. They had shown me what it meant to be in community and how to love each other, and that I have so much more to learn from them."





Please remember to keep this team in your prayers as they prepare to make the journey home tomorrow. Again, they have tight connections and a long, virtually non-stop trip ahead of them. Please pray for saftey, sleep and and some great debrief time together as they reflect on all God has done on this trip.


Thank you so much for praying both teams through these trips. Please continue to pray for the staff of FH Burundi, the people in the communities of Kayanza, and for God to be glorified in this partnership.


If you haven't done so already, you can get a sneak peek of some of the trip photos at www.stevemebs.com/photos


Blessings.