Abba Java

The Blind Side

abbajava — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 01:32:41 +0000

We recently saw the movie The Blind Side. My son was probably too young to see it, but we took him anyway. The blind side is the side in football that the quaterback’s back faces when he drops back to pass. He doesn’t have eyes in the back of his head, so it is called the blind side.

The movie had a huge impact on my son Jordan who is now seven years old. Big Mike, the star in the movie, was from the hood. Big Mike’s mom lived a tough life in the hood. Jordan connected with Big Mike. Being black and being adopted by a white family was the first way Jordan connected. The second way was when Big Mike went back to find his mom in the hood.

When Big Mike went back to the hood, my son Jordan gained a better understanding of the hood. He begin to put a face with true poverty and true danger that exist there. It stirred lots of emotion in Jordan, because he realized his roots are there.

After the movie, Jordan begin to ask questions about the hood. The questions eventually lead to him asking questions about his birth mom Jessica. Jordan wanted to know that his birth mom was safe, and the area she was living in was safe.

It’s been a while since we have seen the movie, but Jordan still longs to know that his birth mom is ok, and the area she lives in is safe. He has lots of questions about the hood, and we do our best to answer them.

Abba Java was created to help orphans, specifically orphans in Zambia, where our daughter Gracie is from. Since the movie “The Blind Side”, we have been blind sided by Jordan’s unquenchable passion to see his birth mom’s community taken care of. So we have decided to create a domestic connection to the underpriveladged kids of North Nashville. We are going to use Abba Java to help orphans in Zambia and underpriveledged kids in North Nashiville.

We are going to partner with an organinzation called T.A.P. We are going to work with young children, and train the older kids in our coffee shop to be baristas. A young adult who has been trained to be a braista can go anywhere in the wolrd and get a job in a coffee shop.

Blind sides in football can be dangerous! Blind sides in life can be dangerous as well, unless it is God who is doing the blitzing! May we be open to His will, and be obedient to His calling!! May our vision be His vision, and may we be close enough to Him to hear his voice and respond to his call and stay on His path.

That Still Small Voice

abbajava — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:20:57 +0000

The number one question we get asked when we do Abba Java events is “Where are you located”? It’s been a tough question to answer, because we really only have an online location.

The question was asked so many times to myself, that I begin to ponder a possible location. So I gave the question to God…

The answer that God gave to me was, Trevecca University, in Nashville. So, one day I jumped in my van and headed over to find that location. I felt like the Lord was telling me to look on the outside of the campus. My first trip didn’t turn out anything…

I headed back a second time, and the second trip ended up the same way… When I got back to my office the Lord spoke to my heart, and said go back to the campus, but take a tour of the campus.

I called my friend up that works at Trevecca and got a tour set up. We toured the campus, but didn’t see anything. As I was about to leave the campus for the third time, my friend pointed at a building that had escaped the tour. I got out of my car walked into a newly reconstructed building to find a brand new coffee shop that had never been open for business!! I knew right when I saw the unopened coffee shop, that this is where God was leading me!! It took three times, but I finally pressed in enough to hear that “still small voice”.

The first Abba Java coffee shop will be opening in eight weeks. It will be a different coffee shop. The vision is to create a cool place for students to hang out, but also connect them to the world and especially to orphans across the world. We will use the coffee shop as a runway to send students and individuals across the world!

So if you are in the neighborhood in March, come by for a cup of joe, and get connected to the 143,000,000 orphans that are in the world today!

143,000,000 orphans in the world

abbajava — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:33:54 +0000

The number above is overwhelming! Just seeing the number numbs your soul. Seeing the number brings you to place where you begin to wonder if one person can really make a difference… My daughter Gracie use to be apart of that number, but today she is free from that number. Gracie is doing well in Franklin, TN. The picture below is a unique picture that allows you to see an authentic picture of how she is doing today. The picture tells me that she has been on a journey, a tough journey!! When you look into her eyes you almost feel like you are catching a glimpse of her soul. You also see a gentle peace, as if she realizes that America is that new chapter in her life that she has accepted. Her smile is natural, revealing a deep rooted joy that she has, but also behind that smile are lots of questions that momma and daddy will answer very soon. Gracie is a tough cookie!! She is very talented, and will grow up one day to be a beutiful strong women of God!

abbajava — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:03:19 +0000

I need Africa!!

abbajava — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:32:59 +0000

“Africa is amazing. Africa is a million and one things. It is a land of contradictions, and a land of great controversy. Africa is more diverse than any other place on the planet. It has experienced the greatest combination of foreign thievery and foreign goodwill. It is plagued with individuals who are hurting, dirty, and dying. It is plagued with rich leaders. It is strong, joyful and resilient. Africa is filled to the brim with song, dance and soccer. It fills your lungs with life with every burnt breath. It fills your eyes with tears with every sight. The sun blazes, the rain pours. It has more sky than your eyes could possibly take in. Africa is humbling. Africa rips the heart out of your chest and buries it in the rich red soil, knowing that you will someday return, to see the growth. And there is no doubt it will grow. Africa is dangerous, welcoming, and addictive. It is prosperous. It is poor. It is all too overwhelming. Africa knows the value of friendship. Time is not money in Africa. And money goes a long way. Africa holds a mirror up to your soul – letting you see all your selfish desires, and not letting go, until you’re completely broken.” Unknown!!!

abbajava — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:14:37 +0000

Just coffee… Really??

abbajava — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:11:38 +0000

We found out just a few weeks ago that Gracie’s grandfather passed away from complications from diabities. While we were in Africa I had an opportunity to spend some time with him and his lovely wife. Mary. Gracies grandfather was a very hard working man. Mary, Gracie’s grandmother is also very hardworking women. Each day she walks 10 miles (one way) to the congo to get wood for fire, so she can cook. I struggle to get off the couch to put something in the microwave!! Gracie has Mary’s “fire” for life. I know where Gracie gets her passion and energy, she gets it from Mary. Mary had 8 children, 6 of them have died. Today, Mary is a widow. She lives with Elizabeth, Gracie’s sister and her half brother. You can see Elizabeth in the picture above, you can also see a picture of Mary and her husband who is in heaven.

Bill and Marci Hoover, who we support through Abba Java, has decided to help her! They are obeying the call of the scriptures to take care of the widows and orphans. It does my heart well to know that the Hoover’s are willing to reach beyond the regular stuff to help Gracie’s grandmother and her sister Elizabeth! When you buy a bag of Abba Java, your not just buying coffee!! When you buy a bag, your touching lives on the other side of the world!!

Pure and Faultless

abbajava — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:33:47 +0000

We support orphans in Zambia, Africa. We have met a lot of these orphans on our journey to bring our daughter Gracie home from Africa. Abba Java was created to tell the story of the orphans and to raise financial support to help them with food, educational, and medical needs. Bill and Marci Hoover are our connection to these kids and the cause. They are amazing people who are living out James 1:27 everyday of their life. They have been doing this for over 13 years in Zambia. James 1:27 tells us that pure and faultless religion is to look after the widows and orphans in their distress and to avoid the pollution of the world.

Bill and Marcie have avoided the worldly pollution and our great examples of what it truly means to be a Christian. Their actions are pure and faultless… They educate, they love, they encourage, they meet the very basic needs and most difficult needs of the children who have been forgotten by their own society. I am encouraged by their actions, and reminded to fight harder for these kids who do not have a voice. I will not fight by my own strength, but will constanly call on the power of Jesus Christ to give me ideas and wisdom on what and how do to what he wants me to do. Today, he wants me to sell coffee and raise a little money, so today I will do that for Him and for them. Join us in our fight to help these orphans by buying a bag of coffee or by joining the “High Five Club” today abbajava.org.

This Coffee Thing is Getting Crazy!

abbajava — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 02:21:25 +0000

We created Abba Java to tell the story of our journey to Africa and to draw interest to the need to help orphans across the world. We also created because we didn’t want to beg for money to help the orphans we met. So the Lord told us to create, so we created… Abba Java, “Coffee With A Cause”. We started roasting coffee in April, and we haven’t looked back.

Each week Abba Java allows me to tell the story time and time again. We are selling lots of coffee and raising lots of money for the orphans in Zambia. We currently have 13 fundraisers going and are selling coffee across the country!!

We are excited about what God is doing and the doors he is opening!! Our coffee is very fresh and is of the highest quality! Join with us today as we fight for the children of Zambia and enjoy a good cup of coffee at the same time!

2009 Summer

abbajava — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 02:14:16 +0000

Summer has almost come to a close! What a summer it has been! The pictures say it all! Gracie is happy and full of passion. Jordan is trying to figure out what to do with this new person who has stepped into his life and into his space! Our summer days were filled with lots of bike rides, scooter rides, ball playing, and tree climbing. We also spent many days at the pool.

Gracie has adjusted amazingly well. We have our moments of course, but we couldn’t have asked for a better summer! Jordan has turned out to be an awesome big brother, who loves to protect her from bad commercials on the tv to cars coming down the street. Well, Jordan has started school and Gracie is getting ready to start school. She is so excited about going to school!! We will publish more picutes soon and have some updates about the oprhans in Zambia.