trust.

Are you familiar with the team building exercise “The Trust Fall”? It’s where you climb up a pole or a tree to a platform 6-12 feet above the ground, cross your arms over your chest, and fall backwards into the tightly joined arms of two rows of people standing below you. You fall backwards into this net of arms and the idea is, when they catch you, you will have magically learned what it means to trust the people on your team. Make whatever analogies and draw whatever conclusion you will from this exercise. The only conclusion I ever drew from it was NOT to trust people. Why? My team didn’t catch me. It took a long time to rebuild my trust in that team.

“Trust is difficult to rebuild, even when there is forgiveness.”

That quote is from a sermon given by Archer Leupp at his church in Peshtigo, WI. The sermon is entitled “Losing the Weight of Unforgiveness.” As I listened to the sermon I was struck by many things, that phrase in particular struck me above all the rest.

It reminded me of my surreal encounter with three of our coffee farmers in Rwanda: Claudette, Clementine and Jean.

If you’re not sure about whom I am speaking, then you and I should connect and have a conversation about this amazing story!

Clementine and Claudette are two women who farm coffee alongside Jean—the man responsible for murdering their respective families during the 100 days of genocide in 1994.

When I asked Clementine how it is possible to forgive the man who murdered her father and three of her siblings in cold blood and not just to forgive him but to share land with him, to work side by side with him in her daily labors, and to share with him her hopes and dreams for the future. She told me that it was and is made possible by three things, “the government [who gave her the land and coffee trees], through farming coffee, and by the power of God.”

Can you believe that we’re a part of their story?
We drink their coffee!
We’re a part of what made and what continues to make this reconciliation possible!

You, me, Archer, Ali, Brian, Michael, Lauren, Cindy, Janvier, and so many more of you with whom I have connected and so many more of you I haven’t even met yet! We’re all a part of this story.

See? It really is SO much more than just a cup of coffee.

**Archer’s sermon can be found on FBC Pestigo’s webpage: http://fbcpeshtigo.com
**A .pdf of The Reconciliation Story can be obtained by shooting me an email asking for it! Christina@drinkcoffeedogood.com Or giving me a call at the office @ 1-866-875.4369