Just as the seasons change outside, so do the seasons of life and The Press is no different. This September we started back into our normal routine after a lovely break during the summer months. The Press has been going well, yet we've been plagued by one major issue that is a core value of any coffee shop... that being our coffee machine. Since September when we re-opened our coffee machine has not been working so we have only been selling filtered coffee. And even though I'm a huge fan of our filtered coffee, mostly because of the amazing quality (compliments http://www.eacoffee.co.uk/), I still long for a frothy cappuccino or latte every now and then, don't you? Plus I know how incredible the Ethical Addictions coffee will taste in this form! Especially coming into the harshest winter months.
So since September I had been making phone call after phone call trying to chase down a man to come and look at our machine but with no success. These are the glamourous parts of running a small business venture! Then Vineyard Church Dungannon (vineyarddungannon.co.uk) held the Explore 58 Conference in October and we had a miracle take place. The miracle came in the form of one of the attendees offering to pay for our coffee machine to get fixed. Let me just say this is a very generous offer due to the cost of labour coffee engineers charge. So thank you A. for the gift of fixing our coffee machine!! I'm still buzzing from your generosity! We also had another donation towards equipment which is fantastic because recently our panini presses have been acting up, or more accurately not toasting.
I tell you these things to show the reality of following after a dream God has given you. I believe with my whole heart that God is on this venture. He's given me a whole lotta grace multiple times in the form of people's patience, prayers being answered in a timely fashion and in the form of some of the most amazing volunteers! Now I'm human like anyone else and things like a broken coffee machine can eventually drag you down week after week so when these two things happened it felt like a little stamp of confirmation that I am in fact pursuing what I'm supposed to pursue. Now has the coffee machine been fixed yet? No, but it will be very soon. Have we gotten a new panini press, no, but we have funds available now to invest in new equipment. I had been going through a season where the steam was running out, my leaves were falling off the tree and I wasn't sure if any were growing to go back. But just in time God stepped in, He touched things to change them because I could not. That's what the seasons are all about, watching God change things, where we cannot. So I'm thankful for the winter months coming up. I'm thankful that very soon I will be sipping a latte and eating a freshly toasted panini. My question is this: Will you come join me? Will you invest and invite your friends along? The Press could be so much more than a coffee shop but it will take you to make that happen and I hope in time it will be.
Happy winter days!!!
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