From Blight to Blessing: Singing of God’s Goodness on the Coffee Farm

This week’s blog post begins a little differently — with a moment of praise and worship. Go ahead, jump in if you know it:

“ ’Cause all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God…”

That song — “Goodness of God” by CeCe Winans — came to mind for Brandy as he reflected on the story of the coffee farm. And once you hear what God has done, you’ll understand exactly why.

Let’s rewind.

When Brandy first joined the ministry, he stepped into a role he hadn’t exactly trained for: overseeing a coffee farm. And not under ideal circumstances, either. The farm had been hit by a devastating blight.

“There was no hope for the farm to recover,” Brandy shared. “We brought in the experts, and they gave us two options: stop working with the farm… or start all over.”

Not exactly the kind of multiple-choice question you want.

The final decision landed on Brandy. So he did what he could do — and what he knew to do. He prayed. The staff prayed. Visiting teams prayed. One moment, in particular, stayed with him.

“I remember a pastor visiting the farm and giving a short devotional — maybe three minutes,” Brandy said. “He prayed for healing over the land. And after that prayer — after all of those prayers — I started to see things changing.”

The decision was made: give the farm another year.

That first harvest?

“Pathetic,” Brandy said, with a laugh that only comes from hindsight.

But then something shifted.

The next year’s harvest was good. The year after that was even better. And this year?

This year, the harvest has already surpassed last year’s total — and they’re not even finished.

The final picking of the season is underway, and it’s taking longer than usual — not because of problems, but because of abundance. What normally takes a week is stretching well beyond that, simply because there is so much coffee still to gather.

And the quality? Brandy has already submitted samples to two laboratories. The verdict: this year’s crop qualifies for a specialty coffee rating. From “no hope” to exceptional.

But for Brandy, the story of the farm has never been just about coffee. It’s about people.

Over the past three years, he’s gotten to know the workers — learning their names, their families, their stories.

“I was talking to one woman,” Brandy said. “Many families save what they earn during harvest season to use throughout the year. She told me that two of her sons graduated from high school because of this job.”

He paused, then added, “This year, others have told me how grateful they are that they don’t have to travel far from home to find work.”

Even the children are part of the story. It’s common for kids to work alongside their parents during harvest season, earning their own money. Recently, as Brandy paid a group of them, he asked if they would be going to school.

“They told me they were only working Saturday — because they start school on Monday.”

The money they earn often goes toward their own school supplies. And with that comes something more than provision — something deeper. Pride. Ownership. Dignity. A quiet understanding that God provides, sometimes through the work of their own hands.

“It’s great to remember this is one of the purposes of the farm,” Brandy said. “I think God is blessing us to be a blessing to others.”

And isn’t that the thread running through it all?

A farm that looked finished… now flourishing.
A harvest that once seemed impossible… now overflowing.
A community once limited by opportunity… now growing, working, and thriving.

So yes — go ahead and sing it again:

All my life You have been faithful.                                                     All my life You have been so, so good.

Because sometimes, the goodness of God looks like healing land. Sometimes it looks like full coffee branches. And sometimes… it looks like a child heading to school on Monday, proud of what they earned on Saturday.

Now that’s a harvest worth celebrating.

 - posted by Christi