Christmastime is Here!

We just finished a wonderful visit with my parents who flew out from the NW.  Poor things were starved for sunshine and I believe we aided in drying them up during their two week stay with us.  They got to see Origins Coffeehouse for the first time...that was a special moment for all of us.  They have prayed us through this entire process and so feel a deep connection to this place.

During their time here we decorated Origins and set out holiday inventory.  One of our evenings was spent tying bows on mugs I picked up here and there at thrift shops so that we can offer our "Buy a Box of Tea (or bag of coffee), Get a Mug Free".  So far it's been a wonderful incentive!

I also have had time to put up decorations at home, of course while listening to Christmas music (my favorite CD this season will be Michael W. Smith's new one, "It's a Wonderful Christmas").  I reminisce while I set out the Christmas Pyramid given to us by our exchange student's family while in Germany two Christmases ago.  What a wonderful memory that is!  I had to post a photo of our family drinking hot chocolate and gluwine in the Weihnachtsmarkt in Stuttgart.  While there, we dropped into a Fair Trade Gift shop.  We can't help but wonder if that was but another seed planted to prompt us to open Origins.

And so as another day draws to a close, with just the five of us at home again, and Christmas and memories in the air, I am filled with reassurance and hope that our God has been faithful and good, and He will continue to be just that for us.  The people He puts in our lives to enrich and bless us, and the experiences He allows us to have to deepen our understanding of Him and His world are what we consider some of His greatest gifts to us.

Here's wishing you all a wonderful Advent Season as we look forward to celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus!

Almost Half a Year!

It's hard to believe we're coming up on 6 months of being open.  We've seen the LORD provide over and over.  We've come to deeply appreciate our staff as they run the business on the front-lines, volunteering to take on more responsibilities and helping the business to take shape. 

Adryan taking on Justin, two of our favorite boys in town.

Don & Anthony challenge each other at Chess Night (Thursdays) at Origins.

Summer was good.  The community showed support through it all.  Our icebergs and blended lemonades were a hit.  We managed to create many addictions and therefore repeat customers.  Our bakers continue to turn out beautiful and scrumptious creations, causing some to ask if we catered.  We had live music every Friday night but 2 since opening....we paid the bills, payroll, and taxes on time.
College students are back in town and that was a shot in the arm.  Now we're playing catch up with ordering more inventory, not only for our consumable products but our gift items.  I LOVE ordering more from our co-ops, knowing that we are part of the solution to keep individuals out of poverty.

Selina, our last exchange student, and boyfriend, Niko, playing chess one Thursday night with our daughter, Marissa.  We were excited for them to see the coffeehouse.

Jacob and Aaron

Now that the business is moving along smoothly, we feel we have room to focus more on the mission of the coffeehouse.  Coming soon, we'll be hosting our first ever "Fair Trade Educational Week" at Origins.  We plan to spotlight the co-ops we support, educate the how's and why's of making Fair Trade choices, and also educating the public of the on-going evils of human trafficking and how to be part of the solution.  More to come!

Marissa's Poem: Origins

Origins

************

A big sign welcoming you

some bamboo blinds for decor

You walk into a cozy sight of books and tea and jewelry

But the thing that meets you above them all

The smell of coffee very strong

You order what you want

"It will be ready in a minute"

said with a friendly smile 

assures you that you came to the right place

It's comfortable, cozy too

You feel that you know everyone

The dim lights,

Soft guitar,

Tells you that you are at 

Origins

By: Marissa Kendall

Turning Toward Summer with Friends at Origins

Our daughter, Kaelie, and Lillian  are enjoying time together at Origins.

 Our youngest playing checkers with friends on the first day of summer vacation.

Amanda and Mandy recommend drinks to the Lingafelter family.  The special that day was a Tropical Iceburg...beautiful and delish!

Brad listens to Savanna's ringtones while the rest of the Hall family enjoy their time at Origins.  Also, we can see baby Sawyer sampling his mom's smoothie.

Recent Gezellig

Good friends gather for good conversation at Origins on a Friday night.

Peyton Wade with his sidekick guitar, strumming some lovely melodies. 

Exchange students, Franzi and Ludo, hanging out with Audrey and Lillian, and sipping some DELICIOUS drinks!

The Place to Be

Apparently we're the flavor for the day - Origins is the place to be.  We love hearing how much people love the atmosphere of our coffeehouse, some making it their "office", others meeting regularly with a mentor or staff or class.  We have a group of retired women that come in on Mondays at 9 am, like clockwork.  We love seeing our nephew over in the orange corner sipping on an Orange Creamsicle smoothie and reading a book.  It's fantastic to have all generations gather for live music and pie on Friday nights.


And yet, we feel we can't take credit...God has simply poured out His blessings on this venture.  We wake up feeling uncertain about ourselves and the newness of it all, but we lay it again at the feet of the One in whom we are certain, and we "do the next thing" as Elisabeth Elliot would say.  At the day's end, after closing out the register, we thank Him for all He has done.  This is His place, it is all about what He wants to do, who He wants to touch and how.  


And for that reason alone, we hope that Origins continues to be, "the place to be." 

Yes, We're Open!

Thanks for hanging with us as we worked through the first couple weeks of being open. Many of you are wanting updates, so I apologize that it has taken this long to blog again!

In a nutshell....it started with a bang and continues to go well.  Though I couldn't sleep the night before our Grand Opening and felt sick to my stomach, and probably cried 10 times (!) it really was a great day! (I know that this was because of being stretched to the max and because everything was so foreign to me.  God continues to show me that this is His doing, and by His strength this has come to be.)

The response from our community has been overwhelming.  People walk in and say things like, "I can't believe this is in Haviland," or "I love this place", and even a few " I can really feel God here."  We are humbled and grateful that what we have offered, all our planning, ideas, and service has been received  with open arms.  We hope to always be a blessing to those who walk into Origins.

Our staff has been incredible, surpassing all my expectations, and because they are so capable and responsible, within the first week, I was able to have a sense of normalcy again, and can be at home with my family.  I often feel guilty if I'm not there, but they are all doing so great!  Thank you, Molly, LeAnn, Eliot, Hannah, Mandy, Annalisa, Amanda, and Ashley for being awesome baristas!  Thank you Danae, Shannon, Marcy, Amanda, and Mandy for baking like pros!  

Also, Ryan has really gotten excited about the business side of it.  I feel such a burden lifted as he takes on this aspect of the ministry.  I know the LORD knows the desires of my heart, and so as I give myself away for His kingdom, I believe that He will do just as He promises.


We ask for continued prayer support from anyone who would like to do so, as we totally believe that this was born and bathed in prayer from the start.  We hope to continue to lean on God's provision and to always give Him the glory.

There has been so much work going on the last week and what's so great about it is, everyone is doing what they do best, and it's looking awesome.  We will start cleaning tomorrow and that will be a deep cleaning!  Sawdust is everywhere!  
People have been great to stop in or just ask what they can do to help out....There's plenty so we keep 'em busy!  Today it was vacuuming, staining, painting, while the crews worked on trim and sheet rock.  Ron's put in so many hours helping in so many ways, we would be lost without him.
This weekend we also got the window stickers that my dad made for the coffeehouse and they turned out beautifully. We're hoping to get a sign over the store front as well as two out on the highway.
Prayer concerns at this point are for staff training, learning the espresso machine and cash register and making a schedule that works for our staff and our budget.  

Moving In

We are moving in today! Woohoo. It feels wonderful to be able to begin moving our things into the building on Main Street today. It's been a long time coming and this marks the beginning of an entirely new phase in the opening of Origins. I am certain that we will find new things we haven't before noticed; some that are real benefits to us, and others that introduce challenges yet un-thought of. We have accomplished so much up to this point, and now we get to see it as it all starts coming together into the real thing. What an exciting point in the process!

First Merchandise

We were so excited to receive our first box of merchandise all the way from a township in South Africa!  Inside were gorgeous and unique works of bead art by a lady named Catherine.  Our contact that is promoting this artist's works are the Stanfields (family of the Ballards and Stanfields of Haviland), who are part of a YWAM ministry there. The link to their website is www.kevandton.com  They live and work within their community in educating those vulnerable to sex trafficking, ministering to AIDS victims, and in countless other ways to reach the poor with the message of hope in Jesus.  We know that Catherine is part of their ministry and are looking forward to sharing her story in the future.


We are honored to carry a line of this art in our coffeehouse and pray that it is a blessing to those who enter, those who purchase and mostly to Catherine and the Stanfields.

Heart of a Servant

This is a photo by Hannah Williams, one of those servants who is giving of her time and gifts to help us get a website up and running.

I just have to say how amazed I have been with the recent calls, emails and face-to-face conversations with people who have voiced a willingness to help us.  We have had a handful of people tell us they'd like to help in various capacities, many without wanting pay.  These are all answers to my prayers.  Seriously.  I have prayed that the LORD would bring others alongside us who would be willing to be part of this ministry, that they would understand the heart of the ministry.  I'm greatly encouraged.


I say that as I work away on the budget, trying to figure out all the unknowns so I can give the bank an idea of how we'll come out after sales and expenses......how do you make a budget not knowing how much you'll sell?  This is definitely not my area of expertise!  I'm trying not too worry...it's hard, though.


Some of you have asked how the girls are doing.  I've had them all at home since I gave birth to our firstborn, and I think that I'm so busy during the day, that I don't worry about them.  They are going through a lot of changes, and encountering testing (something I never did until high school level course work), homework after schoolwork, less time to play and create, some drama (in the 6th grade).  However, we have seen the LORD answer specific prayers for them, and what's cool is, they realize it.  So the answer is, they are doing okay.....we'll see how long we last at this phase.  We are a close family, enjoy being together and enjoy being at home.  God will show us, I'm confident.

A walk through the soon to be coffeehouse.

I decided tonight that Hannah doesn't have to have all the fun and I should do some posting, too. She truly nailed it on the head in her post about the crepe machine. God is continuing to prove his faithfulness and I am reminded through my fear (and sometimes unbelief), he is strong in our weakness. He continues to open doors as we try to faithfully walk through them. He is answering prayers and providing just as he says he will.

We met Oscar in the building last night and it was fun to talk with him about the changes we are going to make as far as the electrical and plumbing are concerned. I am really starting to visualize what our coffeehouse is going to look like and could almost smell the coffee and hear the music as we walked around the room. There is still so much to do before we are going to be ready to open, but I am convinced more and more each week that we are truly following God and I'm excited to see what he has in store for us as he continues to bless our steps in this ministry.

- Ryan

Equal Exchange...what a gem!

I just wanted to link a page that tells more about Equal Exchange, the company we're going with to supply our coffee and hot chocolates.  They have been super to work with and have sent samples quickly for us to try.  Here are some of the fast facts about the company.  Their Fair Trade track record is impressive!

http://www.equalexchange.coop/fast-facts

Monsieur Crepe

It isn't often that I've thought that God would do this, but I think He's laughing at us!  Saturday morning, as I made crepes for breakfast, Ryan and I talked about how serving crepes occasionally at the coffeehouse would be a real treat.  I was going to be heading to the thrift shop in Greensburg (the Care 'n Share) and thought to myself, I should start looking for a used crepe machine (like I'll ever really find one!)  


At the beginning of the week I was feeling a bit stretched....I was beginning to doubt how we were actually going to do this.  What was this going to cost us as a family with our time?  Will sales be enough to cover the finances of the business?  Would others catch onto this vision and come alongside us?  


The LORD again, let us know that He was with us.  He gave us a wonderful message at church through our pastor about living with abundant joy despite our circumstances.  It was a reminder to surrender our troubles to Him.  Later that evening at the Morfords, Kenny and Michelle blessed us with their confidence and excitement, but more than that, they offered to help us with accounting and bookkeeping.  I nearly cried!  This is an area I feel very inadequate.  The next day, Hannah W. emailed and basically volunteered her time 3 days a week to help with whatever we might need help with.  Unbelievable!  Later that day, DeAnn Garrett joyfully volunteered her creative skills to help us get our logo digital.  It literally felt like the LORD was smiling down on us.


However, yesterday took the cake.  Not only did I come home with  3 cafe tables (for a total of $13!), and miscellaneous kitchen items and fabric, I spotted a crepe maker, "Monsieur Crepe!"  I could almost hear Him laughing (I know I was!)  What are the odds that a  cute little crepe machine in a tiny shop in a little town in KS was there the morning I made crepes, thought about looking for one, and was still there the day I shopped?


Yes, laughing!

Lattes at Hannah's

Yummy! Today LeAnn and I visited Hannah to check out all of the new purchases for the coffee shop. It feels good to see everything coming together so well. The shelf full of mugs, saucers, decor, etc. is vibrant and beautiful and makes the reality of the whole experience come alive for me. The furniture Hannah has been pulling together looks perfect for the atmosphere we are hoping for.

During our visit, I even pulled a couple of shots on one of the new machines, it was fun to feel all of the techniques coming back to me as I made drinks for myself and for Hannah. Tasty, and so pretty too!

After all the inspiration from our visit, I think I am finally ready to start painting my art board that will hang in the shop, Lord willing (if it turns out).

The Machine

Just a quick post to let you know that we had a great trip to Denver as a family and came home tighter than we left because we were carrying an espresso machine and 5 boxes of miscellaneous parts plus 2 grinders.  Yay!!!!!  We've been praying about this specific purchase since we decided to open the coffeehouse, and we got a great deal through Craig's list on this equipment at $750!!!!  This particular machine is a La San Marco dual Espresso Machine model#85-16M-2 for all you coffehouse pros out there. :)  


Not only did we bring home this machine, but we got a call from an old friend (Renee Forsythe) and she offered another smaller machine to us for a donation to the charity she works with....long story made short, we rode home with a very, very nice home espresso machine, that we could use as a back up if we need to...until then we shall enjoy practicing on it!  BTW we have a Krupps brand little one at home that we use several times a day and this will certainly be a step up!


We'll post pictures later, but just had to share how the LORD has once again made a way for us to get what we need. For those of you who have been praying we appreciate you more than you know....this is a faithwalk for us for sure!


-Hannah