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May 2002
Just Coffee
God has shown you O mortal what is good And what does the
Lord require of you? To do justice and to love mercy And to
walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8).
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
In January of 2000, my colleague Chuy Gallegos and I met at the
Good Egg with a breakfast group of the Mountain View Presbyterian
Church in Loveland, Colorado. The topic was how do we respond
as people of faith to the immigration crisis. (Since I arrived
on the border in 1998, over 1,700 people have died in our deserts
trying to arrive at jobs in the United States.) A member of the
group challenged us to seek to address root causes.
"Over the last three years, Agua Prieta/Douglas has been
a primary crossing point for undocumented folks looking for jobs
in the United States. The flow of thousands of persons from the
south of Mexico to the border each day is witness to the fact
that 'justice is not flowing like a mighty stream.'"
I had shared the dream of Hermano Eduardo Perez Verdugo, a Presbyterian
from Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico. Hermano Eduardo
dreams of creating a coffee cooperative that would enable people
to stay on their land. He speaks for many of his fellow Mexicans
when he says, "Salir de nuestra tierra es sufrir." ("To
leave our land is to suffer.") I asked the group to pray
for us to be instruments of God’s will. I trust they have
done so, for over two years later, the dream is becoming reality.
We are in the process of forming a "Just Coffee" cooperative
with 50 families of the Ejido Salvador Urbina in Chiapas. Just
as your prayers have helped nourish the dream, we want to invite
you to continue participating in this "Just Coffee"
cooperative in which you and your church can receive delicious,
organic coffee with the knowledge that those who grew and harvested
your coffee are receiving a price that enables them to support
their families with dignity, and to continue living on and cultivating
their land.
Over the last three years, Agua Prieta/Douglas has been a primary
crossing point for undocumented folks looking for jobs in the
United States. The flow of thousands of persons from the south
of Mexico to the border each day is witness to the fact that "justice
is not flowing like a mighty stream." There are areas of
the world where, through no fault of their own and through no
natural disaster, persons can no longer support their families
from the fruit of their labors.
The majority of these folks leave their lands because the price
of their farm products given them by large companies has fallen
dramatically. Daniel Cifuentes, one of six Presbyterian coffee
farmers from the Ejido Salvador Urbina who form part of the Lily
of the Valley Church, says his family was being paid 350 pesos
(about $39) for each 57 kilo (125.4 pounds) bag of coffee.
The ministry of Frontera de Cristo has provided spiritual support
and compassionate service to many brothers and sisters like Daniel
and Eduardo who come to the border seeking ways to provide for
their families. However, the gospel has convinced us of the need
to address the root cause of the current crisis. In other words,
we need to "do justice" as well as "loving mercy
and walking humbly with God."
For many of us in the United States, coffee is an integral part
of our lives—we might even say that we couldn’t live
without our cups of coffee in the morning. For many peoples in
the tropical areas of the world, coffee has been an integral part
of their livelihood. However, thousands of families who have cultivated
coffee for years are no longer able to provide for the basic necessities
of their families.
Brother Eduardo first shared with us the desire to begin a coffee
cooperative in which coffee farmers in Chiapas could receive a
just price for their coffee, a price that would value their work
and enable them to remain on their land. He said that what he
and his community desired was not charity, but justice. We pray
that you will participate in this cooperative that will enable
you to receive quality organic coffee at competitive prices. In
addition, and most importantly, you will know that the farmers
who grew your brew have received a just price and that the fruit
of their labors will allow them to live with dignity on their
land.
Isaac Cifuentes, Tommy Bassett, Miriam, and I will be leaving
for Chiapas on Wednesday, May 23, to meet with families of the
cooperative. We will worship and fellowship together and they
will teach us about the coffee-growing process. In addition, we
will reserve between 5 and 7 thousand pounds of the next coffee
harvest that begins coming in in November 2002.
In addition to receiving 3 to 4 times the price they will receive
from large coffee cartels (at least $1.26 per pound), the members
of the coffee cooperative will share the profits from the sale
of coffee. The green coffee will be brought to Agua Prieta to
be roasted, ground (if desired by the client), packed and shipped
within five days of order.
We would appreciate an opportunity to talk with your Mission
Committee about the Just Coffee Cooperative via conference call.
Also, if you are interested, we could come and share in greater
depth about this effort to "do justice" and to allow
you to drink justice with every drop of coffee that flows from
your coffee pots.
Dreams are becoming reality. We would love to have you as partners
in celebrating yet another foretaste of the Kingdom of God where
justice will flow like a mighty stream and all God’s children
will be in right relationship with God and with one another.
Grace and Peace,
Mark S. Adams, (for) Frontera de Cristo
If you’re interested in buying coffee or getting involved
in any way, contact:
Frontera de Cristo
Attention: Just Coffee
PO Box 1112
Douglas, AZ 85608
fcristo@c2i2.com
The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 248
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