It’s hard to believe just a week ago I was touring the Selva Negra Coffee Estate in Nicaragua with a few folks from my partnership, Standing Stone Coffee Company. Our quick 5 day excursion was filled with knowledge about coffee, discovery about sustainable coffee farming, building up the Kingdom through fair wages, clinics, schools and celebrations and growing in the depth of creativity from our Creator.
Below is a blog post I wrote on the Standing Stone Coffee Company Blog where you can find more posts from the trip along with photos!
From Granada To Huntingdon
The SSCC Gang in Nicaragua
It’s 3:10AM Eastern Time as I sit on my yoga ball/office chair. It was a long day of traveling, waking in Granada, Nicaragua and heading to bed in Huntingdon, PA. Thanks to an iced soy latte and a head full of thoughts, I’ve unpacked, checked Facebook, gleaned the e-mail of advertisements, relished in a hot shower and decided to use my remaining caffeinated-steam for a post-Nicaraguan blog.
Despite the relativly short length of the trip with the Standing Stone Coffee Company Crew to Nicaragua (5 days), one cannot underestimate the power of travel, especially international. Personally, this adventure being my first beyond the borders, the trip changes my perspective on the big things and the little things of life.
For instance, I paused before rinsing my mouth in the faucet at the house was a simple yet profound reaction. Nicaraguan water contains dangerous bacteria and other elements unsafe for drinking. A simple “hello” and “thank you” in the states felt secondary to “hola” and “gracias”. Flying into Atlanta, a city decorated brighter than the night sky, was such a metropolis metamorphosis from Managua’s landscape of mountains, volcanoes and tin roofs.
However, saying good-bye to 4 other great folks from the trip from the area brought to my attention the beautiful bond formed from such an excursion. Gazing at the coffee cups of other air-bound travelers made me question if my neighbor knew coffee was a cherry before it was brewed into their cup. Learned about the Selva Negra Coffee Estate showed me a personal depth to coffee, the process, and especially the people. Estate owner, Mausi Kuhl, spoke of the difference relationship-based coffee is making in the country. Malnutrition has decreased, beautiful and magnificent people are able to enjoy more of life, and even the children are smiling wildly as they danced and exhibited a warmth similar to the heat at the equator.
There is much to share, much to continue learning, and much to continue pursuing to love our neighbor down the street and love our neighbor hundreds of miles away.
