5Crawfords

The team PART II February 23 The Young Life Nicaragua ‘La Finca’ camp here, like every other Young Life camp in the world – including Woodleaf, the Young Life camp I both attended as a kid and worked at many times in High School – focuses on reaching kids for Christ through living out in nature, having lots of fun and exciting activities, and introducing them to God in a low pressure but compelling way. But something else we’re learning about on this project is…coffee! With 150 acres here at the camp, and at an elevation of 4800 feet, growing coffee has become a major part of running and funding the camp. It’s a great model for ministry – using the resources of the ground, with local labor, to help pay for local kids to come to camp. But first, a bit about all they’ve taught us here about coffee. (And yes, this really was the trip I was ‘randomly’ assigned to! ;) ) The finished product - available online from Young Life. Coffee was first discovered in the 10 th cent...

PART I Saturday, February 21 Off to a project trip again! It’s been just over a year since my last actual project trip (the trip to Egypt in late September wasn’t a project). At 8 days, this will be one of my shortest trips, which I have to say is nice. I’m still not a traveler at heart. The team in Houston - waiting for the flight to Managua. Some notable points on the trip down: ·          Leaving Colorado Springs, once again I’ll miss a major weather event as the largest snowstorm of the season is bearing down on us. Fortunately, and against initial predictions, the storm isn’t expected to hit until about 6 hours after we fly out. ·          Flying through Houston, this trip not only marks my first time in Latin America, it’s also my first time “in” Texas. The Houston airport strikes me as a bit of patchwork. Since there’s room, it seems they’ve just added bits on as needed. ·  ...