We truly love Colombia and the people in it! Julian, Carolina, and the Ninós team are like family to us and we were excited to be with them again this past spring.

This trip was even more exciting because we introduced an enthusiastic team of 12 who came from our home church in MN to the Ninós family! It was a huge blessing for the Ninós Foundation to have so many people learn about their ministry to refugee women and children.  

Summer Camp for 350 kids in the gang-controlled slum in Cité Soleil, Haiti.

Every year The Luken Foundation provides summer camp so the children in the slum of Cité Soleil will have a safe place to be.  The camp runs from July through August! It's the best time of the year for these children. Our hope is to someday have 500 children attend.

"Women (from Venezuela) who have had to leave their country for political reasons and with destroyed lives - full of many kinds of abuse, feel no motivation to move forward when they arrive in Bucaramanga, much less to take care of their children.  At this time, Ninos para Dios  Foundation provides them with the support they need to begin restoring the well-being of the entire family by caring for and loving them and their children.

As for our beloved Haiti, we haven't been back for over a year. There's just been too much risk in traveling with the gangs controlling about 60% of Port Au Prince and surrounding areas. Luken has been on lockdown - seems like the whole year - but he's still been able to regularly feed 150 children in The Luken Foundation program in Cité Soleil. Your generosity has played a big role in this, so THANK YOU! Thankfully all of the children have continued to be safe even in the violence.

We are headed back to Colombia in a couple weeks! When we were in Bucamaranga, Colombia, in May 2021, we met a couple who wanted to start a childcare center for the Venezuelan refugee women who had turned to prostitution to survive. This isn't to encourage prostitution but to allow the children to go to a safe place - instead of being left alone - when their mothers work.

Y’all are crazy!
Ok, that has been said of us but it can also be said of you! Steve and I remain blown away by the support we receive for this ministry! It seems often Steve will share that we received a donation and I say, “WHAT?!”, because of your generosity. Amazing!

How is it that we get to be the ones who are trusted to share the funds YOU provide? We are so humbled and blessed to be the middleman! Your coffee purchases and donations are greatly appreciated; more than you know. We would not have a ministry without your support!

So why are we called crazy?!
We’ve had people tell us that because we go into a dangerous slum while we’re in Haiti. That we spend time with the gang leader of the sector that Luken’s facility is in. That we go knowing there's been gang fighting, aware that we are hearing gunfire. But, we trust our team in Haiti! We’ve been turned away from going into Cite Soleil before and we trust that will happen again, if need be.ned away from going into Cite Soleil before and we trust that will happen again, if need be.

As Americans, this year has brought us things we never imagined. The rioting in Minneapolis was a reminder for us of the life Haitians’ experience on a weekly basis. We have witnessed these riots first-hand numerous times in Haiti, but we've never seen them in our back yard. We now know how it feels to be in lockdown and have curfews, but we still have a wonderful life when compared to the trials our dear Haitian friends experience day after day.

As Americans, this year has brought us things we never imagined. The rioting in Minneapolis was a reminder for us of the life Haitians’ experience on a weekly basis. We have witnessed these riots first-hand numerous times in Haiti, but we've never seen them in our back yard. We now know how it feels to be in lockdown and have curfews, but we still have a wonderful life when compared to the trials our dear Haitian friends experience day after day.

In mid-March, about 45 minutes before our departure to the airport, some uncertainty became evident, not because of COVID but because of kidnappings and riots in Haiti. We weren’t sure we would make it to the coffee roaster and realized we wouldn’t be able to visit a few of the artisan groups outside of Port that Brandy works with at her shop, one boutique. We got mixed messages from our Haitian friends about going: “it’s safe if you’re smart”, “you should come only if it’s critical”, “the safest place is in God’s will”… The very last-minute decision was made to cancel the trip and several days later Haiti shut down due to COVID.

Going on these trips can be life-changing knowing that my heart will be broken by those who are suffering, but on the flip side, I'm always reminded and blessed seeing that there are good and caring people in this world that sacrifice so much to help others. It was an amazing trip!

It seems like an impossible situation, but we can't just sit back and watch things implode.

Java Relief is doing something about it. We are not a big mission-based organization, NGO, or even a church with resources, but we can't just sit around and watch our friends suffer. Together with the Luken Foundation, we are trying our best to help the families in the slum of Cite Soleil through this tough situation.

Here is a text I received from Luken, a friend and hero of ours that lives in Port Au Prince, Haiti, who volunteers in the slum of Cite Soleil. I reached out and asked if there was anything we could do.

Java Relief is now in its first retail location at one. boutique and it's an amazing concept.

A few months ago Brandy came to me and said, "I never wanted to open a retail shop, but I feel like God is moving me toward this." I thought, "How is this ever going to work?" I know retail is a tough business these days; it seems the Amazon monster is eating retail shops for breakfast and we don't have a lot of extra money laying around to pour into a risky endeavor. But with that said, I know when God speaks to Brandy there's no turning back. The last time she came to me with, "I'm thinking God wants me to do something", she ended up giving a kidney away — to a complete stranger! 

"All the street markets were closed because of the gunfire, it was like a ghost town.  For the first time, I heard gunshots and they were close. The last three shots made me duck. God is great and I am glad we went in!" Ricky Burge

We came alongside Hope last December but only this summer have we really gotten to know, and love, her and her beautiful children.  One of the qualities I find so inspiring about Hope is that she wants to be better.  She wants to move past the trauma of her life whereas some people say they want better or different but really aren't willing to do the hard work to get there.

We have exciting news for you! We've partnered with small coffee farms and a micro-plantation in the mountains of Haiti. We're roasting these single origin, organically grown, arabica coffee beans and are ready to send them to you!

We went and I can say it was one of the most impactful and joy-filled moments in my life. As we climbed out of our vehicle, we had former gang members waiting for us. They were there to protect us and were happy to see us again.

We love a vacation with a purpose.

This was a vacation and not a mission trip, but we often approach vacation thinking about opportunities to reach out to the community and get to know the locals, so before we left I connected with a ministry called Hope Haven.  A new shelter for children at risk that was built in an old strip club.  The staff and volunteers at Hope Haven provide a literacy program, individual and group therapy, hot meals and a safe place for neglected and abused children. 

Ever since the first thought of Java Relief, we’ve wanted to offer coffee from Haiti.  With a connection from EcoCafé Haiti, we’ve found that might be possible.  So on December 31, our family flew to Haiti to find a quality bean, and of course, to visit the children in the orphanages and Cité Soleil.   With our amazing friend Luken, as our driver and translator, we rented a 4-wheel drive and started off on what would be a true adventure!

Pastor Cenor shared the current needs of the orphanage. He showed me his freezer and refrigerator that were broken down. He said, "We have no way to keep anything cold for the children. No milk, no meat." If that's not bad enough, they also need a new washer. Right now they're doing all the laundry by hand. Can you imagine? Laundry for 24 children plus Cenor's family. That's a lot of laundry!

"My pimps would let me sleep whenever we didn’t have customers. It’s the worst thing to be woken up from a nightmare only to have the real nightmare continue. Or when you hear the other girls getting beaten or slapped or cussed at while their bodies and souls are crushed in two."

This is from "Hope".  The young lady that we introduced you to in December.  Java Relief is supporting her and her young children so she can continue to live in safety and freedom.