Sometimes outreach can bring its own rewards. As most people who know us realise, Debbie and I can be defined as coffee snobs. We like good coffee, hate instant and will go the extra mile for a good brew. At home we grind our own beans are partial to Starbuck espresso beans as our bean of choice.

We also frequent a local Starbucks on a regular basis, so much so that we know all the staff on first name terms, they know what we drink and how we like it to be made and we know about their lives, hopes and dreams and they know about our faith and church. We do this as a means to bring Gods love into their lives and because we are fond of them!

So today we got a small token of reward for doing so. We had to buy some substandard beans yesterday as our usual supplier had ran out of our usual beans. On first taste this morning it failed quality control, “That’s weak, flavourless and disgusting” and we were wondering where we could get some fresh beans from. We were due to have a coffee over lunch at our Starbuck and off we toddled. While getting served one of the girls asked us what bean we used at homing, knowing we use Starbucks coffee at home, we told her and she produced a free bag of the stuff for us. As we are good friendly customers, she wanted to give us her weekly, free allowance of coffee.

So now I need this to be translated to my other areas of outreach, the local Indian takeaway, my cousin’s pizza shop and a couple of white vans serving unidentifiable pig product at the side of the road……..

See even when life kicks you in the nuts (bad coffee purchase and a horizon of poor brews for a day or so) God comes through with the goods!

(PS I have some of the nasty stuff ground anyone want it? … might make nice errrr no it won’t, I had better throw it out.)