Coffee Chats
with Tina Kadolph from love missions & palate coffee brewery Hello Girlfriends, Let’s grab a cup of coffee, tea, or your favorite drink to sip while chatting with your friends. I believe coffee is community. I have seen our coffee shop bring people together, lead people to Christ, and we have even had coffee dates that turned into weddings! My hope is that our time together will be like a coffee date. That we will laugh together, cry together, and share stories that will ignite us towards a passion for Jesus. You will learn more about our coffee shop, Palate Coffee Brewery, and our life changing coffee, as well as our partnership with Women World Leaders. This is a God inspired connection.For now I’m going to share about my ministry and a little of my story, so get comfortable. I’ve got my Palate coffee in hand, so let’s chat. I can’t say enough about how excited I am to be a part of Voice of Truth magazine. There is nothing better than working with women who love God and love to empower women. This opportunity is an answer to my prayers as God has been guiding me to write for a few years. Let me give you a quick synopsis of my story. I’m a survivor of human trafficking and was sold by my mom for sex at the age of 4 years old. If you’d like to hear more about my story go to the Women World Leaders’ podcast episode 58. https://www.womenworldleaders.com/the-podcast In 2003 we started Love Missions Global. Because of my history and after I accepted Christ as my Savior, I had a fervent desire to serve God. I learned where my hope came from and I wanted to lead others to Jesus, the One who rescued and healed me. We traveled around the world supplying basic needs like food and clothing. This opened doors and gave us an opportunity to supply spiritual needs as well. It has been beautiful to share the Gospel to those who feel they have lost all hope. It is such a joyful moment to come alongside others and experience the moment they realize that Jesus is our only hope. Love Missions Global has served on the mission field for many years now, leading teams to different destinations around the world. We have seen thousands come to Christ in some of the hardest to reach areas. In 2008 while on a mission trip, I met a young girl who shared her story with me. She had been sold to a 50-year-old man at the age of 7 for $25 US dollars. When I met her she was 13 and didn’t know how to read or write because she wasn’t allowed to go to school. She felt unwanted, unloved, and desperate. She wanted to end her life. The man she was sold to had died and she couldn’t see a future for herself. She had been given freedom by his death, but was still bound in the chains of her past, her pain. Living in a culture where marriage is very important, she worried that no one would marry her because she felt she was damaged. I was able to pray with her and share my story. I knew exactly how she felt because I had been in a very similar place. We connected with each other in a way that only those who have experienced the same pain can understand. This is how God uses our unique testimonies to connect us so we can minister in a way no one else can. When we follow God’s lead and minister to others, God gets all the glory.
48
That moment with this precious girl as I shared my testimony, it not only changed her life, but it also changed mine. We were able to help this sweet girl. We mentored, empowered, and got her an education. She accepted Christ and was transformed. Through Christ she found out what true freedom is. She is now married and is a successful business owner. That is just one story of God’s redemptive power. There are so many others. When I returned home from that trip, I knew I had to do more. God showed me through that sweet young girl that it was time for me to share my story. My story was no longer mine, but it was His story of what He had done in me and through me. God had let me see how my past had empowered this beautiful child and given her purpose. He would use my pain to help others. And he has done that over and over again.
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 NASB Since that moment in time, we have increased our focus on the fight against trafficking. This is where God had been leading me all along. But it was in His timing. It was when He determined I was ready to fight for others. Before then I was still fighting for myself. I had to fully give Jesus control. God has used my story in so many ways to encourage and empower others and I have witnessed God’s miracles firsthand in my life. My life itself is a miracle. As I made my way through my childhood, I didn’t believe there was any possibility that I would live into adulthood. But here I am. With God’s miraculous guidance, I created a 501c3 non-profit called Love Missions Global where I sit as the Founder and President. Through the Love Missions organization God has provided a safehouse in South America for little girls brought out of the sex trade. God has also allowed me to be co-owner of Palate Coffee Brewery where profits go to Love Missions to fight human trafficking. I am also co-owner of Palate Bubs and Ice Cream. In the back of this ice cream shop there is a commercial kitchen we are using to teach survivors and those at risk, culinary skills, baking and cake decorating. God has led us to open a life center to teach life skills, job skills, art therapies, counseling, entrepreneurship, survivor to survivor mentorship, and survivor lead groups. Survivors will learn where their value comes from and become independent, successful, empowered, thriving women. Within the life center there is even a boutique used to provide clothing, supplies, and space to sell the art they create.
