A group of Presbyterians got some hands on experience in coffee farming during a recent trip to Nicaragua. The eleven-member delegation, which included staff from the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP), World Mission and Equal Exchange, spent a week learning about fair trade and how the coffee is grown, processed and shipped to other countries.
A group of Presbyterians got some hands-on experience in coffee farming during a recent trip to Nicaragua. The 11-member delegation, which included staff from the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP), World Mission and Equal Exchange, spent a week learning about fair trade and how the coffee is grown, processed and shipped to other countries.
One of our planet’s worst earthquakes leveled Managua, Nicaragua, in December 1972. A medical doctor and missionary, Gustavo Parajón, raced to action. Within hours he had mobilized others to feed those left homeless. This ecumenical, Jesus-loving, outward-looking group called itself the Council of Protestant Churches of Nicaragua (CEPAD). Today and for most of its more than 40-year history, CEPAD has helped people feed themselves and avoid the need to emigrate.
Sa-wing! Bam! Whoosh! When you hit it just right, you know. Through years, decades, nearly two centuries of trial and error in the mission field, I think we Presbyterians may have found the sweet spot on this one. The way we are moving forward in mission involvement in Honduras is feeling like a step in the right direction, bringing a concrete, engaged way to be partners in mission.
When you purchase that cup of coffee on the way to work each morning, have you ever thought about where it comes from or who grows and picks the coffee beans? Who benefits financially? The Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) is once again offering people an opportunity to get a firsthand look at the coffee farming business in Nicaragua.
Along the way Kathy nurtured partnerships and continued to build connections with others, leading her to participate, plan, worked behind the scenes at the Peacemaking Conferences. The Peacemaking conference has nurtured three generations of the Runyeon family as they educated themselves and those around about injustice, violence and what people can do to work for peace at home and abroad.
