“I don’t know where to start,” Brandy admitted.
Yes, those were his first words after the greetings were out of the way during our call to discuss this week’s blog post. As every good cop show has taught us, the best place to start is the beginning. But in this case, the beginning is a bit muddy. And while we will get around to talking about actual mud, let’s start with something more universally appealing: coffee.
Coffee
At the end of 2024, Brandy was already thinking ahead, wondering how he would juggle coffee harvest season while hosting mission teams. The harvest has been good this year, which is obviously a major praise, but it still comes with its own set of challenges. In particular, the Lighthouse team—whose sponsorship program is the largest—was set to arrive, and there was some concern about whether the coffee would demand attention at the same time. Coffee is harvested in batches, collecting what is ripe and leaving what is not ready yet. The final harvest was likely to happen the same time as the team.
As it turns out, coffee operates on its own schedule.
“It wasn’t in our hands because it all depends on the coffee,” Brandy explained. “But the coffee allowed us to wait a week. It was ripe that week, but not so ripe that we couldn’t delay the harvest.”
That delay was a blessing, not just because of staffing logistics but because of one crucial resource: trucks.
Trucks
Speaking of which… not everything the last couple of weeks has run as smoothly as a well-brewed cup of Honduran coffee. A couple of trucks are currently out of commission, and on the Thursday of Lighthouse’s visit, one of the largest trucks decided to take an unscheduled break. It ran fine all day, was parked for the nightly devotional, and then promptly refused to start afterward.
Thankfully, the Lighthouse team was able to finish their work without any transportation hiccups. A mechanic has already revived one of the trucks, but the other two are still awaiting repairs.
Mud
And now, we’ve arrived at the mud.
The weather in and around Gracias has been unpredictable the last couple of weeks. The mornings have been drizzly, but by 10:00 AM, the sun is back in full force. As you might guess, drizzle plus dirt roads equals mud. And muddy roads mean slippery, slow travel.
On Sunday of the Life Community Church team's trip, it took Brandy and Rachel an extra 45 minutes to get to church due to the road conditions. Thankfully, the afternoon sun has helped dry things out—at least until the next round of rain.
When asked if the mud made it easier to install a playground during LCC's visit, Brandy just laughed.
“No,” he said. “But we’re went to play in the mud anyway!”
Prayer Requests
As always, we appreciate your prayers. Please pray for:
- Continued safety for the teams and staff.
- Quick repairs for all vehicles.
- Safe travels despite the mud.
- A smooth coffee harvest.
Thank you for being part of this journey with us—whether through prayer, sponsorship, or simply following along. Your support means more than you know!
- posted by Christi.
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