Get on the Bus!

The girls have been working and taking turns going to the Bakery, Cumi Cafe'. Like any new business we had days that were slow and days that were better. The girls have a team of our that has been cooking early in the morning at my house and then the others go to the Bakery. It has been a joy and a delight to see these girls, who are extremely shy, start asking people, albeit very timidly if they wanted a cinnamon roll when they would come in the door, where before they would run into the only other room we had there, which was the bathroom, to escape having to talk to the clients who came in the door.

Slowly, they started coming out of their shells, when I told them to go to the schools and see if the teachers wanted to buy anything. They went reluctantly,but they saw that the teachers wanted to buy and so did the students, but still it was slow go. They were still feeling a little embarrassed about going, until one day, we saw a huge group of ladies getting off the bus with their baskets of food that they had been trying to sell in the next town. They were all exhausted and the girls took note. They came to us and asked if we could buy their products. Some of these ladies were our Basket Ladies. They hadn't sold anything all day. I pointed out to the girls that these ladies would go anywhere to sell their goods for their families needed their income for food. I told them God had provided for us that we had food and had the security of where we are living. I told them how much I admired these ladies and they agreed. I told them we were blessed that we didn't have to travel far away and that we could sell our bakery items right here in Yamaranguila. So everyday, we would pray before they started their day and things were slowly getting better. But today, one of our girls, who is fun and crazy at the farm, but extremely shy around people she doesn't know, did something radical. Our bakery is located in front of the bus stop. There are about 10 busses that come back and forth in front of Cumi Cafe'. I had mentioned early on in the first weeks of the bakery, to go and ask the bus driver if they could get on the bus, and I was met with icy stares. I didn't even need a translator for what they didn't say, which was, "Not IN THIS Lifetime!" So this girl, who normally is pretty shy and can barely get her words out, had a plate of cinnamon rolls and just jumped on the bus and sold everything on the plate! When I arrived a few minutes later they were still laughing and overjoyed at her bravado. I was there because they had sold all their baked goods and the team at home had replenished their supplies and so I made an extra trip into Yamaranguila to keep them going. The other girls wanted to do the same thing, and sell on the bus, but were too scared. Then when the next bus came, one of the other girls, grabbed her plate of pastries, and followed the first girl. They got back off the bus, with everything sold again. They were absolutely overcome with joy and laughing deliriously. They next bus came and our oldest employee, who is 28, didn't want to do this. But our brave bus vendor, needed more product on the bus, so I told the older girl, "Please go and bring her this plate. She was like "What?" I pointed at the plate and told her to hurry. She looked at the plate and looked at me and said, "What?" I said, "Get on the bus, she needs you", "Me?", she says. "Yes, you". She took up the plate and went out the door at a slow pace. They were gone for just a few minutes and came back with empty plates, laughing and back slapping, high fiving, and telling tales of the commentary of the people on the bus about their baked goods. The older one, who was so reluctant to get on the bus, was telling the younger girl, "We need to be prepared for the next bus and have everything wrapped nicely in plastic to be able to do this right". So they were on it. I had to leave them to go and carry the little girls to their Bible club meeting at a campesinos house. Meantime, as I left, people were coming in for coffee, people were out front at the tables just talking and we were all so excited that we were so busy. The oldest girl, said, "This is the first fun day we have had ever here at the bakery". She went on to say how tired she was, and the other girls concurred at the end of the day, when I went to pick them up, but they were so excited that we had such a good day and all that was left was a few cupcakes. Cumi Cafe' was a vision to give the girls an outlet to see how life is outside the farm. When they were in the farm, as they grew older, a desire to get out of the farm to see the world, was overwhelming to some and they just left. This bakery, so far, has been such a blessing to the girls and to the girls who stay at home. They get coupons from me when they have a good report at school and they have gotten all their chores done. They get to buy on Friday night, which is movie night and on Sunday. So everybody is happy. I am happy as a Mom, watching our girls grow in so many areas of life. I watched them "team work" today, and step out of their comfort zones and help one another, and come back so euphorically laughing. The vision of the bakery is also to let it be a place of ministry. Just as I see them stepping out in more confidence in the area of sales, I am praying that they will do the same in evangelizing people who come into the bakery and the people waiting on a bus. I pray for myself, that I would quit responding with "What? Me?", and I pray as the body of Christ we would just all just "Get on the Bus" and share what we have with a hungry world. Maybe as we leave off the bus, the world will see what joy we have in sharing what we have with others and want to find out the source of our joy. I want to close with this. There was a man today, who came in for coffee and a piece of cake. He bought a few more pieces of cake to carry home. He left to wait on the bus and then a few minutes later, the same man, tenderly assisted an older lady inside the bakery and sat her at the table and bought her a coffee and a piece of cake and then just left. I was so blessed to see this. Estephania, attended to her and she gave her some rice to carry home, that had been donated by Kids Against Hunger from Heritage Church, Moultrie, Ga. The girls give this rice to people that we see at the bus, who look they are having a difficult time. Sometimes they just give a piece of banana bread or a cinnamon roll. Estephania has been ministering to this lady in the past, but only from a distance and from the outside of the Bakery. Now the lady has come inside. It is coming... Blessings from the "Get on the Bus", Honduran MOM