Sometimes beauty just IS. Like the day I photographed this little lady Ciara and her two adorable brothers, Liam and Finn. You might think that we are alone here… THE ONLY ONES living outside our home culture by living in Bujumbura, Burundi. You would be wrong. There are loads of us… singles and couples and young families and older couples. They’re all here. Being brave and living out a journey far away from the place they first called “home.” It’s funny because at school drop off and pick up and on the weekends near the shores of the hippo-prone Lake Tanganyika you can’t help but feel “normal.” There are other parents from far-away places pushing strollers down impossibly bumpy roads. We are not alone. This particular family is an American+Irish combo living right in our neighborhood and we love spending time with them.
This is a worldwide giveaway folks, so listen up! There are some places on this planet that just seem to have a wee-bit-o-magic in them. Beaver Creek Coffee Estate is one of those places. We recently visited the beautiful estate and roastary in Port Edward, South Africa and we were impressed by how much there was to see and do on the farm.
There is a tour of the farm and their processes, an amazing restaurant, a shop, an espresso bar, 3 lovable dogs… the list goes on. Plus, if you are feeling adventurous you can take a mountain bike through the coffee fields and the surrounding farms. Once you are done exploring all the farm has to offer, the Port Edward beach is just a 10 minute drive away.
We walked the farm with one of Beaver Creek’s owners, Dylan Cumming. Dylan also happens to be a good friend of my Coffee Guy, and since he has visited us all the way out here in Burundi (and because he holds my boys’ hands and throws them over his shoulder) he’s my friend too.Plus… he carried my gear bag (BONUS!)… if that’s not friendship I don’t know what is! Now we’re at the giveaway bit. This giveaway is for a sample pack of Beaver Creek’s finest coffees. They are willing to ship worldwide so that no-one will miss out.
Here’s what you have to do to enter.
1) Hit the “Like” button below and post this giveaway to Facebook
OR tweet about it.
2) Leave a comment answering,
“What coffee producing region would you most like to visit and why?”
3) Tell us how you shared this post.
That’s it! Competition ends Monday, May 28th so we’ll see you back here then. Winner will be chosen fairly and at random. Be sure to leave a valid email as you comment so that we can be in touch.
Love,
me
p.s. If you left a comment on yesterday’s post thank you so much, I am so super duper grateful for your insights and support. If you didn’t comment, I would still love to hear from you.
The winner (chosen by Random.org) of some great Beaver Creek coffee is comment #13, Jill B. Thanks everyone, congrats Jill!
Telling you that there will be a book scares the pants off me. I’m telling you now, months before the it’s even close to being completed. Why am I doing that? Well, two reasons.
FIRSTLY.
Saying it, scratch that, TYPING IT OUT LOUD makes it real for me. I thought I could be one of those ultra-cool people who suddenly blurts out, “Oh yeah, and uh… here’s my super duper amazing book. Just, you know, by the way.” Yeah, I can’t be like that. This whole blog has been about journeying, and your willingness to journey with me is what SAVES ME at times. Typing this “out loud” is somehow already re-energizing me to continue the project, and I need that.
I need that because I have been believing the worst, instead of the best. The publisher will change their minds. No one will want to read it. It will just be an “e-book.” You know, stuff like that. Coffee Guy just told me, as I was typing this, that some day I will hold it and smell it (he knows that I love to smell books) and I almost started crying. It doesn’t feel like I will. I am visualizing my book as some worn out dusty box with the word “hobbies” scrawled across the top that’s filled with mosaic tiles and paper making screens… that box left to die in the corner of your garage. By telling you, I am changing all that.
SECONDLY.
I need your help. Could you give me ONE WORD of your time? Please tell me in one word (two word answers welcome too. three word answers deleted. just kidding, you can say whatever you want.) tell me what you would most like to see in the book. Is it farmers or stories or family or coffee or Bigfoot? I’m not saying that I will be able to incorporate everything, what I am saying is… I appreciate you. I appreciate you being here for me when I am SCARED by the BIGNESS of this project.
There is a beauty in raising boys that I did not expect to find. It is lodged somewhere between the screaming and the sword fights and the pushing and the spilled juice. I feel like I am always scrambling for a tiny piece of sanity, a rest in the midst of the deluge that is guiding (just 2) tiny men. The task of helping them set sail on life’s waters seems overwhelming, especially considering that the water in front of them looks nothing like the water that was in front of me at their age.
I love photographing my boys on film because the authenticity of film just screams “THEM” and there is somethin’ oh-so-beautiful about that. Something I don’t want to miss. Something I don’t mind staying awake for.
The Kelleys are inspirational to me. Mostly for the way they pushed straight past “Someday we want to move to Haiti” and right into “We ARE moving to Haiti.” That takes guts, that decision to GO to CHANGE to GROW. It especially takes guts when you have a child and a thriving photography business, like Shannon. I admire them so much for taking a big step into the unknown, following their dreams to help Haitians and changing the way they do life.
I asked Shannon all about her experiences in Haiti so far, and since she is a gifted photographer, I asked her to share with us some of the moments she’s documented so far in Haiti.
{a little friend we have that lives at an orphanage}
Where are you guys from and what did you do before you decided to make the move to Haiti?
We lived in Knoxville, TN before our move to Haiti. I ran a wedding photography business and my husband was a drug and alcohol counselor.
{outhouses at an orphanage and Cap Haitian, Haiti}
What was it that drew you to Haiti?
I visited Haiti first time in January 2011. Before that, I LOVED to travel. I was an MK, had 20+ countries under my belt and loved seeing new places. Then I sat on a rooftop in Haiti on that January trip and realized I was home. I am ok if
I never visit another country again. And for me, that is huge. So I think it was God that drew us here.
{at an orphanage, this is one of the 2 beds there with 50+ and a well worn door}
Describe what it was like making the decision to move to Haiti?
Hard. Scary. and lonely. But I will say this, looking back at the decision, now that we are on the other side of it, it seems silly that we ever doubted or were scared. This has been a huge lesson of learning to trust in God’s plan 100%, even when people are telling you that you are crazy!
{my favorite tree ever}
What are you hoping to accomplish in your time there?
My biggest desire, for all we do here, is love Haitians and raise them up. We want to do life with them, to have them know that we love and support them. We don’t want to give a hand out, we want to empower them. We want to do life with them.
{beach time}
What do you hope your daughter will learn from living in Haiti?
Ah.I truly think Lena was born to live in Haiti. She breaks down walls with people that we can’t. I hope that she learns that life is hard and unfair, but that God is good all the time. I hope she learns love…regardless of skin color, wealth, status. I hope she learns compassion, and that living a life for others is worth it, despite the cost. I hope she loves life.
{Lena taking a nap in our bed}
What has been your family’s biggest challenge so far in Haiti?
Truthfully, our living situation. We are currently at a guesthouse that we help run and having people in and out all the time can be taxing. Don’t get me wrong, we enjoy the people we meet so much, but we have to be really cognizant of carving out family time.
{a little one at a clinic getting help for malnourishment and kids eating at their children’s home}
If you left Haiti tomorrow, what would you miss the most?
You know how you think back to vacations when your were little, or your mom cooking in the kitchen growing up? And you don’t necessarily miss the small things like the actual cookie but you miss the feel of that time and place in your life, and what those moments meant to you. And your soul longs for it. That is how I would miss Haiti, my soul would long for it.
{this lady sells nuts to make enough to eat and live on and sorting through coffee beans}{an amazing lady who recycles for a living}
How can we support what you doing in Haiti?
We blog all our crazy adventures and the reality and hardness that life in Haiti sometimes deals us over at www.shannon-kelley.com/blog. We also rely 100% on donations to live here and would love to chat with you more if you are interested in aligning with us in our work here. Feel free to email me at shann@shannon-kelley.com
You all are such a loving supportive bunch, and you lift me up all the time… I would love it if you did the same for The Kelleys by commenting, “liking” and giving.
Hi friends! The blog these come from, Make Under My Life, has so many great ideas for living PURPOSEFULLY… which I love (BE WARNED… YOU CAN GET LOST OVER THERE FOR A MORNING WITHOUT EVEN TRYING).
I have needed both the reminders below in the last few weeks, so currently the “breathe” wallpaper is front and center.
Today I am taking a healthy dose of my own medicine. The lovely Wayfare Magazine published a post I wrote for their weekly Places We Heart column. I wrote all about the spaces that help our family stay healthy while living outside our home culture.
The spaces I mention over at Wayfare? Well, they’re the ones that help me SHAKE THE FEAR OFF. Here’s to shaking off the fear and FIGHTING for things like 15 minute backyard adventures…
What are the spaces that help keep you healthy and happy? If you like, you can add your #placesweheart on Twitter… and follow @wayfaremag as well.
We walked the farm with one of Beaver Creek’s owners, Dylan Cumming. Dylan also happens to be a good friend of my Coffee Guy, and since he has visited us all the way out here in Burundi (and because he holds my boys’ hands and throws them over his shoulder) he’s my friend too.
Plus… he carried my gear bag (BONUS!)… if that’s not friendship I don’t know what is! 
Now we’re at the giveaway bit. This giveaway is for a sample pack of Beaver Creek’s finest coffees. They are willing to ship worldwide so that no-one will miss out.
There is a beauty in raising boys that I did not expect to find. It is lodged somewhere between the screaming and the sword fights and the pushing and the spilled juice. I feel like I am always scrambling for a tiny piece of sanity, a rest in the midst of the deluge that is guiding (just 2) tiny men. The task of helping them set sail on life’s waters seems overwhelming, especially considering that the water in front of them looks nothing like the water that was in front of me at their age.
