Q: You mentioned a lot of missions and natural flavors? Can you add to how those things fueled this business?
A: it started in China, there’s a shop that is being used for missions. I only wanted to go to China for the longest time, I’ve been about 10 times and I have a heart for China. And the Lord used that to bring coffee into my life. China is a restricted country, and I didn’t want to teach. How else can I bring missions, and I saw the coffee shop and thought this is a great idea. And cultures. I’ve had one coffee with blueberries, and that really just threw the whole idea of the coffee shop into my head, and then I found the idea of the coffee shops. It was a snowball effect, I saw this shop and saw coffee. Then I actually got sick, and a lot of door’s closed. And I had to like realize, and pray that if China’s not it, it’s okay. I just had to trust God. I developed an allergy, and then a meat allergy and a tick bite, but this is okay. I can just eat rice and just do it. I should have prayed but I just was rolling and I can find a way I’m going to China. A couple weeks later I went anaphylaxis I hadn’t even had meat. I had used like 25 epi pens, in like 6 months. I was on rice and water only, I was in the ICU at UVA. Finally, one doctor asked are you sure that God isn’t closing the door to China. So he challenged me to pray, and I finally did. I had another doctor’s appointment, and I wasn’t expecting anything. I go to this appointment and this doctor says “OH I know what’s wrong with you.” He gave a name to is, and it’s something only treatable in the US so I realized it wasn’t china. It was a slow process to everything. God prepared me even though wasn’t in china to have a heart for cultures, and a heart for coffee. Things when we think we are being used in one way but later on it’s actually for something else. So three years ago is when I started to plan this shop.
Q: So you planned this 3 years ago?
A: Well I was at another shop had a whole business plan for that place and then things happened and changed around and then within 2 years I had this coffee shop in mind.
Q: So what makes Lynchburg/Forest Area and third wave coffee work?
A: Oh I’m from here, like 3 minutes up the road. So I also want to reach people I know we have a lot of
Q: So if your biggest or wildest dreams for Third Wave coffee shop could come true what would they be?
A: Honestly, I’d love to expand, not multiple shops, but maybe just one more. I never want to lose any quality. so maybe on the roasting side; a roasting facility with a coffee bar attached, and wholesale, all while retaining the emphasis of missions. So stories of farmers on bags even if my coffee is bought in another shop they can still know what we do, and it retains that we are doing this for God.
churches and a heavily churched area, but I still have a heart for people. There’s still missions even for a local area. Still there are people who need Jesus. We are trying to reach out and spread the Gospel here as well as eventually overseas.