So here i am after this 11-month trip around the world. One would
expect to be transformed simply from traveling to new and interesting
places and
cultures. 
I suppose I have a new familiarity with travel, but I
also received something I never knew I could gain. God completely and
totally transformed my soul. He revealed to me new things about who He
is and who He created me to be! I’m forever changed and I often find
myself asking, “Is this my life? Did God really choose me?� The answer
is: Yes, this is my life and He did, in fact, choose me. I am blessed
and I don’t think I even fully grasp its magnitude. The more the Lord
reveals to me and empowers me, the more I discover the ordained
possibility to have a substantial influence in the Kingdom, if I choose
to grab hold of it. That is why I’m writing this now. I want to tell
you about what God has so profoundly and intricately placed on my heart.
One specific thing I learned about on the World Race is that I have a
deep-rooted desire for the reconciliation of people to their Maker. I
remember realizing one day, with tears streaming down my face, just how
much I desire to see people truly conformed into the image of
Christ…it is a desire of my heart to see people pursue, achieve, and
savor a relationship with the One that created them so wonderfully and
fearfully. One thing that makes my heart come alive is when people are
given a chance to succeed when the
odds are against them and the hope that fills their eyes and heart
when they complete a task that they didn’t think they could do or
people said they never could do. God has taken this desire of mine to
plant a seed, water it, and feed it. The plant that seems to be growing
looks a lot like a coffee tree…
God has positioned in my heart a Kingdom Dream to open a coffee shop
that loves, empowers, and encourages the reconciliation of all things
to its Originator. Essentially, I see this coffee shop as really being
the Church. The shop will employ the homeless, mentally ill, and
physically handicapped…anyone that is in need of hope and a chance to
succeed. It has been really cool to see how the Lord has orchestrated
this dream. With my degree (Family and Human Services with a minor in
Psychology), intern experience with mentally ill adults, and my senior
seminar project on Transitional Employment for the mentally ill, I see
just how God has given me a broken heart for anyone who is persecuted
and looked past because of situations and or diseases they have. The
shop will also run honestly and with high integrity. Therefore, we will
get our coffee directly from farmers from countries around the world
and our produce will be organic and local in order to promote healthy
living and support local businesses.
A couple things that the Lord has also spoken to my heart about is
remaining in Him, and the need for community to really bring this to
fruition. In John 15: 5 Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the
branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him he it is that bears much
fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.� God has complete and
total control of this dream. He will bring to fulfillment what He will,
but He desires to use the hands and feet of His children. As long as
this coffee shop is abiding in the Original Designer it will bear much
fruit. First Corinthians 12: 18-26 says, “But in fact God has placed
the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there
are many parts, 
but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t
need you!� And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!� On
the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are
indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat
with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated
with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special
treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to
the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the
body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If
one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored,
every part rejoices with it.� That being said, I will be utilizing the
Body of Christ to bring this Dream to its completion. I am the
visionary. I see it. But what I don’t see or know how to do is
logistics of a business, managing employees, conducting direct trade,
buying from and supporting organic farmers, and in all honesty, I
haven’t the slightest clue how to actually make espresso. That’s why I
need people. I know that the Lord has blessed His children with the
gifts that will help get this coffee shop up and running. So I will be
looking and depending on the Body to bring this together. After all,
it’s God’s baby…I’m just the ‘thumb’ in this Body.
My aim is to eradicate the spirit of apathy and hopelessness. I want
to empower people to feel like they can do anything with God as their
Captain, despite their apprehensions, inadequacies, or the constant
comments of never measuring up or amounting to anything. In this
‘church disguised as a coffee shop’ I want people to know that they
belong before they believe, they are accepted before they are
acceptable, and they are forgiven before they repent.
God has been showing up HUGE in my life. He has obviously given me a
dream (and a lot to say about it apparently…hehe). God has solidified
my foundation as a woman of God—I know who I am as His child and heir.
He has time and again been my Provider—financially, with my physical
and mental safety, relationships with family and friends, and the list
could go on and on. My faith and hope have grown exponentially. And
with all this seemingly cliché talk, He continues to give me
opportunities to walk out what I’m learning and professing with my
mouth.
I have learned about community. Again with the Body analogy, I have
learned that I not only want, but need and depend on my brothers and
sisters in Christ, to live a life that is in pursuit of conforming
myself into my Savior’s image. So, I want to ask for your help and
partnership. I have an opportunity for 6 months of training which will
be preparation for the larger ministry—the coffee shop. I will be going
to Mijas, Spain to study at G42 (http://www.g42leadershipacademy.org/about/what-is-g42)
where I will dream, be discipled, and disciple others. By the end of
my 6 months of training, I hope to have tangible goals, contacts, and
the shameless audacity to catapult this Kingdom Dream. I would love to
have your prayers, support, and financial support if the Lord is
leading you to do so! In total, this school is $6,000 ($1,000 per
month). This is bigger than me, and it will never be accomplished
without the tools, money, prayer, and encouragement that the other
parts of the Body possess! Please consider getting on board with the
Kingdom coming to earth via a cup of coffee! You can give online at http://www.g42leadershipacademy.org/donate.
Just click on the button that says ‘Intern Support’ and once you fill
in your information you can put my name down when prompted. Or if you’d
rather pay by check you can send one with my name in the memo to:
G42
P.O. Box 130611
Houston, TX 77219-0611
Your gifts are tax deductible! Thanks for reading about what God has
done, is doing, and has yet to do! Thanks for being a part of my life!
Bless you big!
In Christ Alone,
Megan Rouse
