2nd April, 2006

MARK ELLIS

Assist News Service

In the mountainous coffee growing region of southern Oaxaca, Mexico, the campesinos say you get so close to God you can hear him breathing.

These rugged slopes are filled with coffee plants somewhat hidden amid the lush foliage. The coffee farmers - ‘campesinos’ as they call themselves - traverse the steep terrain harvesting the shiny red berries that will end up in frothy cappuccinos and other coffee drinks.

The smaller farmers in this mountain village are descendants of Mixe and Zapotec Indians. For the most part, they will earn about a US dollar a day, barely enough to provide the basic necessities of life. Because of economic pressures, many families will break apart as the young and restless trudge north toward the land of promise. Many will end up as farm workers in California and other states of the US.

BRINGING THE GOSPEL TO COFFEE FARMERS: Growers First founder Dave May and sister Kim. “The hardships they live with are incredible,” says Dave Day. “Many live in huts made from sticks and mud,” he notes. “Many don’t have running water.”

“The hardships they live with are incredible,” says Dave Day, founder of Growers First, a ministry doing the work of the Gospel among small family coffee farmers in these mountains. “Many live in huts made from sticks and mud,” he notes. “Many don’t have running water.”

Some never survive their journey north to escape these adversities. “We’ve had three farmers die trying to cross the border,” Day says. “It costs $US1,200 to $US2,300 to cross the border. That’s two to three years wages.”

Day meets a surprising number of believers among the campesinos first reached by Wycliffe Bible Translators in the early ’50s and ’60s. A loose network of pastors operates in the 400-square-mile coffee growing region which is the primary focus area for Growers First.

“We do two jobs here,” says Pastor Heriberto Pacheco, who farms three acres in the village of Gueva de Humbolt. “We raise coffee but we also help people spiritually.”

He and a group of coffee farmers left their homes at 1am to drive all night so they could meet with Dave Day - and for good reason. Last year Growers First was able to double most of their incomes. In Pastor Pacheco’s case, his income jumped from $US500 to $US1,000 last year, which is significant for a man with a wife and six children.

Growers First bought Pastor Pacheco’s entire coffee crop - along with the crops of about 480 other small farmers in the region. Eliminating the middlemen, known as 'coyotes', who take advantage of the smaller farmers is one way additional income is generated by Growers First. The other key was getting organic certification for Pastor Pacheco’s coffee, which added value in the global marketplace.

One of Day’s favorite words is ‘sustainability.’ “Handing out money is robbing a man of his dignity, pride and self-worth,” he maintains. “We feed into that dignity at a grassroots level.”

But the support offered by Growers First is not just economic. Day and his team are actively involved in equipping local pastors, planting churches, and investing in the growth of a small Bible school. Their annual Leadership Conference for pastors and their families drew over 1,000 last year to a cattle ranch in La Ventosa, at the base of the mountains. Paco Montero, who oversees the ranch, hopes to double the size of their main meeting area and build 15 additional restrooms to handle next year’s conference.

SCHOOL'S IN: Growers First have established a small Bible school. “I’m here to serve God with all my heart,” says Juanito Lopez, one of the students at the Bible school supported by Growers First.

“I’m here to serve God with all my heart,” says Juanito Lopez, one of the students at the Bible school supported by Growers First. In his youth, Lopez and his three brothers got into trouble with the law after their father developed mental illness. One brother killed six people by age 17. All four brothers went to jail, but all four became Christians and preach the Gospel - inside and outside the prison. “I was in jail 11 years, but God changed my life,” Lopez says.

Most of the students have only completed an elementary education prior to their admission. A rigorous schedule and discipline is maintained on this sprawling ranch where cattle still graze. A bell rings at 5:45am each day to awaken students for morning devotionals. Cleaning chores follow, then breakfast before the first classes at 8 a.m. After a full day of classes, more chores, mandatory prayer hours and study time, a bell rings at 9:45pm for students to return to their rooms. All lights are switched off at 10.

Growers First also partners with private organizations, like Free Wheelchair Mission, to bring hope into the lives of those with health challenges. Medical professionals provide basic exams, medication and supplies on many of the Growers First trips.

“Holistic ministry is hard for some people to get their arms around,” Day notes. Yet his vision to expand the reach of Growers First stretches from the Americas to Africa and Indonesia - wherever coffee is grown.

Day loves to recount the stories of Jesus’ first miracles, which were often about meeting people’s most fundamental needs. Coffee just happens to be grown throughout the equatorial belt, where most of the unreached people groups are located - people who have never heard the Gospel message. “This coffee is a two-sided coin. It’s been a phenomenal opportunity to share the love of Christ.”

This article was first published by Assist News Service (www.assistnews.net).