Serving

The Oasis Church in Waterloo has some pretty interesting history. All I had to do was inquire about the colorful stain glass window in the sanctuary and the history of the church unfolded.  The bright blue cross draws your eyes inward as the people draw your eyes outward. The man touching his top hat on the left is Abraham Lincoln and there in which lies the history.

Spire

William Wilberforce, a British politician, evangelical Christian and leading abolitionist in the late 1700's - early 1800's, used the church as a base for his anti-slavery meetings. In 1876, Abraham Lincoln's family and friends donated the Spire to thank the church for their inspiration and support in the battle for the emancipation of the slaves in North America. The stain glass window is a more recent addition to the church. Continuing the theme of freed people etc.

Brown Bloomer Toasted With Beans

I hope my history buff friends enjoy this little historical tidbit- back to food. This also happens to be the location of The Hub Coffee House where I've been serving for the past two weeks. Never would have imagined that my first short order (in the real world) experience would be internationally. Beginning in London, were locals are accustomed to putting warm baked beans on toast or a dark brown savory spread (Marmite) that tastes like concentrated soy sauce on toast or eating something they call a jacket potato for lunch- baked potato cut open and topped with baked beans or just butter and cheese or with a tuna & mayo mixture. Of course I'm trying all these London specific delicacies as I'm here. Food is a great way to learn about different cultures. 

Pantry and prep are for food

There are only 5 paid employees at The Hub Coffee House, the rest of the staff are volunteers. I've had the complete pleasure of working along side, joking around with and getting to know two of the employees, also my brother and sister in Christ, Amanda and Josh. It is a really fun work place and I've enjoyed prepping for and making salads, sandwiches, pizzas, paninis, jacket potatoes, wraps and toasties. Even during the lunch rush when the tickets are printing out back to back, it all makes for an exciting vs. stressful atmosphere. Haven't ventured over to the coffee side much. Sorry to say, this Seattle girl isn't a competent barista yet. My younger sister Jacque, has me there- she makes a beautiful latte! I have done a little bit of experimenting with their fruit frappe drinks and so far so good. With a craving for something fruity the first combination I tried was with a peach concentrate, ice and lemon grass ginger tea (that has been brewed), mixed together in a blender. Really tasty, lovely paring of fruit and floral flavors with the citrus lemon grass flavor hitting the taste buds first then the sweetness from the ginger and the bright fruity peach flavor as the finish. It was a team effort, my flavor paring and Josh's preparation technique. So much fun!

Amanda & me (Food Side)

Josh posing (Coffee Side)

The Coffee House has been around for about 10 years now and has quite a good morning coffee and afternoon lunch crowd. Mainly patrons from the Oasis Church/School campus and the local office buildings. I'm having a great time, praise God!

For St. Mark's Church I had a meeting with the youth pastor, who showed me around their youth cafe/ afternoon hang out spot, Infuse. Infuse is located in the crypt below the sanctuary of this very old church. It is one of the neatest spaces ever, everything is brick, the ceilings are curved and there are arches everywhere. They have put a modern twist on the decor, white walls, red and black furniture and lots of stainless steel- very cool. For the days Infuse is open they set up board games, Foosball and air hockey tables, Wii and play appropriate films.

Infuse order window

Melanie and I discussed their current menu selections, food and drinks and how Infuse wants to be set apart from other cafes in the area. The point was made that kids can get crisps (chips) and fizzy drinks (soda pop) anywhere, so Infuse wants to offer healthful snack options in addition to fair trade chocolate and coffee products.

I took an evening to brainstorm some affordable and healthy ideas and presented them to her the next day. Most of the American snacks I came up with she had never heard of. Things like trail mix, Chex mix, corn dogs and Italian sodas. I really encouraged her to do fresh made popcorn. The flavor options are endless, there are even whole specialty stores that only sell popcorn- to prove my point :) Melanie introduced me to a Max, a 15 year old who wants to be a pastry chef and is looking into attending Cordon Bleu. We talked food, culinary school, traveling and I told him about the adventure God has me on right now - hopefully it was encouraging to him.    

Two different and exciting ways to serve these churches, God is just so good!

God Bless,