The Café

We're not in Pemba anymore, Jenifer. ... Wait, yes we are!

Last week marked the opening of the Liberty Café, a local coffee shop that is part of the larger Liberty Project, a ministry started a few years ago in Pemba by my New Zealander friend Laura. Pemba is a popular tourist spot, so we have our share of restaurants, but they all serve basically the same kinds of food and none of them specialize in coffee. So the Liberty Café is the first of its kind: chic decor, excellent teas and coffees, and delicious treats. The menu includes quiche, mince (beef) and cheese pies, lemon curd donuts, caramel brownies, and lemon coconut cake. And it's located on an upstairs veranda with ocean views and an ocean breeze. Residents who have lived in Pemba for years are thrilled to have a place like this in their own back yard. And we are blessed to be able to enjoy it so soon after our arrival.

Brunch at the Liberty Café

On the veranda at the café

View from the Liberty Café veranda

The best thing about the Liberty Café, though, is its mission. Laura's ministry offers training in baking, coffee-making, and hospitality to women who have been abused or exploited. So all the women working in the café are learning and practicing skills they will use to provide for themselves and their families, either working for existing businesses or starting their own. Laura and her team have worked so hard to make this ministry and café a reality, and it's been a joy for me, as her friend, to see it all come together.

Laura speaking at the grand opening

Laura congratulating the staff

One of the Liberty Café baristas

I've also recently begun volunteering in another area of the Liberty Project called the Freedom Program. I will be teaching health and Bible stories to preteen and young teenage girls in the neighborhood of Noviane. God opened this door of ministry for me, and I see it as an opportunity for evangelism and discipleship with the goal of connecting girls, women, and families to the church. Last week I taught my first classes, with Gracie by my side for moral support, and it was so much fun!

Teaching the girls the story of creation

Gracie participating with the girls

One of the girls retelling the story

I continue to teach a women's Bible study at my church each week and Sunday school once a month, plus monthly women's fellowships. Sadly, we've been facing some adversity at church lately (not us personally, but there have been some serious issues among the church leadership). We love our church, and I've slowly been growing closer to the women there, so it's been difficult to see the pain and confusion that they are walking through. The Liberty Café and my work with the Liberty Project have been bright spots during a dark and discouraging few weeks.

Gracie's first meal at the café, after helping me at the girls' group

Enjoying our lovely lunch date

So I'm grateful for the beauty and joy that the Liberty Café has brought to Pemba and to my life. I look forward to many more lattes and caramel slices in the weeks to come. Cheers!