The Transformation of Nations

Our coffee farm is Finca Esperanza, The Garden Of Hope. Because hope is the heart of our story.

In 2010, I visited Villa de los Ninos, the Village of the Children, a foster home, orphanage, and care center. The keeper of the center put a baby in my arms and asked if I would like to meet the mother. I looked around for other adults in the room, but there were none. Only a young girl, perhaps twelve years old, watching cartoons in the corner. The keeper called the young girl over and introduced her as the mother.

My heart twisted as I held this beautiful baby, realizing this young mother was a victim of incest. Then, I heard the Lord ask me, what will you do about this?

In that moment, I knew God had been preparing me, not only to be a teacher, but to be a father. This girl represented so many young women without a voice or hope. We began a women’s center in Coban, Alta Verapaz, which today offers hope to 250-300 clients a week.

Throughout the years of falling in love with a people and a culture, we had also fallen in love with coffee. And a visit to a Guatemalan coffee farm changed my trajectory. During my visit to the farmer’s home, who has become one of my dearest friends, I observed all his interactions centered around his family and coffee. We would wake up and have a cup in the living room. Coffee was served with lunch, and again with dinner. We talked, laughed, played games, and enjoyed life together over those cups of coffee.

Walking around his farm, I asked what he did with the beautiful produce he cultivated, and he said, “My grandfather taught me to plant for the patron and the ladron. I plant for the abundance of the padron—myself and my family, but I also plant for the ladron, the thief. Because I know there will be those who steal from me, and I hope that one day they will see how good the patron is to them.”

In that statement, I experienced a spiritual awakening: how God gives us so much in hopes that one day, we will realize His goodness.

When you buy coffee from Burning Bush, you are helping support our Women’s Center in Coban. You are supporting women and young girls who have known the ladron more than a person should experience.

But our humble coffee farm can’t produce everything you need. We now work with women who farm in Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and the surrounding areas. Our products come from farms around the world. Farms that now have hope.

We have started programs to individualize the product for local farmers, helping them to get more than the minimal dollar for their crop. We worked to bridge the gap between the farmer, exporter, and roaster, bringing them to the table to meet long-term needs and build long-term relationships.We want to see economic transformation affect sociological changes in Guatemala, and around the world.

We invite you to join us in a work that encompasses the rich history of farmers and their families—the transformation of nations, one story of hope at a time.