Do you know how geese fly?
Many of you have probably seen a flock of geese, they fly in a “V” formation and they take turns as the leader, falling back and allowing others to lead for a turn. This is the leadership strategy of Bella Goose, the cafe my team got the honor to join in furthering the Kingdom in Thailand as it is in Heaven.
The leadership at this cafe is top notch (I may be biased since they are World Race Alumni). Both families we were hosted by and who ran the cafe are Kingdom focused, business savvy, hilarious, and tender hearted people. They took us in as their own and made sure we had everything we needed to be successful and encouraged us in our journey as we finished our last country. The best advice I received from these wells of wisdom was to leave it all on the field, to make sure all things are said, all emotions are felt, all feedback is on the table, and no resentment or unforgiveness is left at the end.
Under this strong leadership is an amazing staff. They are fully empowered and extremely friendly. We became close friends with a few of the baristas. They not only served us at their jobs in the cafe but also showed us around Thailand and let us have cultural experiences along with them. Their hearts are pure and their love for their country and people is so strong.
Supporting Bella Goose means supporting the community. The business model of business-is-ministry and ministry-is-business rings true within the walls of the cafe. The staff they hire are local Thai people and their cafe profits go to support the Gateway which is a ministry that helps serve organizations like Connie’s Home (more on this below), Community Homes, and Whispering Willows who help rehabilitate women coming out the sex trafficking industry (which is a huge industry and is just a few blocks from Bella Goose). Knowing this made eating and drinking at the cafe just another way to impact Thailand for the Gospel.
Within our ministry hours, I personally worked on spreadsheets for the business, trying to format and streamline information so that it was easy to collect data but also was easy for everyone to use. I also researched and looked into the labels and coffee bags they currently sell their coffee beans in. Since this dealt with the printing industry it felt right to step into.
Both of these tasks along with the business hours and constant computer use gave me a lot of feelings since this is a small portion of the life I had left to go on the race. In working in this capacity I realized a few things. One, that God gives us skills and experiences that might just be setting us up for something you have no idea is coming in your life. He is beautiful in that He equips you with everything that you need to walk in obedience to Him. And two, this confirmed I am not ready to work corporately again, at least not in this season (see my future blog on What’s Next? Coming soon!).
Mocha v. Mocha
Part of the fun of this ministry is that it’s a cafe. So helllllooo daily mochas!!
As partners with Bella Goose we wanted to help with their competitive advantage and give them real feedback of their products along with getting a scope and inside look of the competitors in the area. So we set out and visited at least 2 other coffee shops each week.
It was a unique way to get to experience Thailand and see the vast abundance of coffee shops each with their own flair. We had an extremely quiet one where anything above a whisper got looks, we visited one that had music at a club-like decible, there were tiny ones where our team of 7 couldn’t all fit inside, and one with an entire koi pond within its walls.
It was a fun way to spice up our work day, bond as a team, and experience Thai culture. We also made connections and shared the Good News of Jesus every chance we got! A win, win, win.
Connie’s Home
People joked when I left for the race that I would come back with adopted children, and it was all fun and games until I entered Connie’s Home, a Thai orphanage. If I could have taken all of these sweet children home with me I would have!!
My expectation of the race was a lot of what it looked like to work with Connie’s Home, so I was glad to get to experience a ministry like this (but also glad God challenged my ideas of mission work and what that can look like). We sang songs with the kids, did an activity and then my favorite part was just sitting on the floor and playing with them. Shocking to no one, I found myself in tears by the abundance of joy and love from these little kiddos.
Connie is a woman of God who just keeps saying yes and moving when the spirit leads. The Lord opened big doors for her and she still runs this orphanage where God continues to show up in huge ways, blessing these kiddos with an amazing, loving place. Not only does Connie open her home to children, but she also helps with the rehabilitation of incarcerated women and those who struggle with addiction. This home truly is a beautiful picture of grace, love and God’s redeeming story!
Thailand in general was the sweetest way to close out the World Race for me. The culture was rich, the surroundings were unmatched with breathtaking wonder, the people were welcoming, and despite a lot of brokenness, the light of the Lord was so evident.
So beautiful! Thanks for sharing!!!