A Thriving Community

 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2023


After our first overnight in Agua Prieta, we spent the morning at Cafe Justo as their guests for breakfast and their delicious coffee!  We shared a time of fellowship and reflection before going to one of three Children's Enrichment site that Frontera de Cristo manages. The staff serves children through upper elementary, providing breakfast, lunch and makings for a small dinner with each student.  We presented the director, Marina, with a collection of books that we had brought along to donate.  The staff treated us to lunch and we were on our way back to Café Justo where Daniel, one of the founding members of the co-op, took us on a tour of their 

coffee roasting enterprise.  From the first 7 families from Chiapas who started as members of the co-op, the "robust" sales have enabled them to expand to now serving 45 families, providing a competitive price for their beans without markups by middlemen with the big companies.  Many of the churches represented already purchase regularly, and I'm sure more will come on board after learning about the benefits provided. 


We then went across the street and were treated to a tamale-making class by the local Presbyterian Women of Lirio de Los Valles Presbyterian Church. What a fun afternoon! The women ranged in age from 20 to 80+ and they graciously worked with to us prepare them for our shared meal.
While they cooked, we joined them for worship. So much energy, mindfulness and goodwill was a joy to experience. We then got to sample our wares and the tamales were delicious. 

As a thank you, we gave the eldest señora a Presbyterian Women apron and what she lacked in communication with words was expressed ten-fold in her pride in showing it off to every single person in the room.  It was priceless!  A mariachi duo serenaded us during dinner and we eventually said our farewells. 





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