Prepared for Disaster!

The devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Nepal caught the world off guard, but not God. In a series of what may seem to some as "coincidental" events, it seems quite clear that God was preparing hearts and lives for what was to come.

One amazing story is how God has been preparing Justin Beiler, co-founder of Eurasia Coffee and Tea, for this difficult moment in history.

Beiler and his father, Omar, AG World Missions Eurasia regional director, and former Eurasia consultant Charity Reeb co-founded Eurasia Coffee and Tea about three years ago. The basic idea is selling high-quality coffees and teas through cafes and in local churches. But Justin and Omar call it "Coffee with a purpose." Those purposes include fighting human trafficking, overcoming illiteracy, victory over extreme poverty, defeating disease, and offering people the opportunity to develop a relationship with Christ.

Since launching in 2012, Eurasia Coffee and Tea has seen credible growth, now having more than 200 locations that offer its products. As Omar explains, the focus is not coffee and tea, but a platform that provides the opportunity to tell the story - the story of desperate physical and spiritual needs.

In addition to serving freshly brewed coffees and teas, select coffee beans are sold in one-pound packages. Omar explains that on the back of each label there's information that shares the needs being met through the sale of that particular type of coffee in a certain area (such as fighting human trafficking).

"We give 10 percent of all of our sales to Eurasia efforts," Omar says, "as well as 40 percent of our profits."

Recently, Justin opened a new Eurasia Coffee and Tea café in Springfield, Missouri's, reclaimed downtown Commercial Street district. The café features a six-room boutique hotel as well - and Justin had decided to give each room a decorative theme, one room being dedicated to Nepal.

Several weeks ago, Eurasia Coffee and Tea began selling its latest blend of coffee, called "Sherpa," in honor of the Sherpa people of Nepal and Tibet, famed as mountain guides, especially as guides on Mount Everest.

Then three weeks ago, the Springfield location hosted an open house "social" event.  The event focused on the people and needs of Nepal, and included a gallery of photos and maps of Nepal.
 
With all this going on, Justin had already made the decision that he was going to open a Eurasia Coffee and Tea café in Pokhara, Nepal - with a Pokhara-themed coffee mug already created and being sold. But not only was he going to open the café in Nepal, he was going to work with local Nepali farmers to provide coffee beans for the establishment.

In fact, Justin was in Philadelphia on April 25 preparing to fly to Nepal to meet with local farmers when his flight was cancelled due to the earthquake. However, he was able to fly out Sunday, being rerouted first to Calcutta, India, and then arriving safely in Nepal on Tuesday, April 28.

Of course, with an unquenchable passion to end suffering, physically and spiritually, Justin's focus hasn't been on coffee. That's been set aside for another time. Instead he quickly teamed with the national Assemblies of God and AGWM workers already in Nepal to start distributing relief supplies.

When asked if Justin could have simply cancelled his flight and stayed out of harm's way, seeing as he will be getting married in early June, Omar looks up in surprise. "Why, yes . . . , I guess so," he says slowly, but it is clear that the thought was never a consideration. "His heart is for the hurting," Omar explains. "He was made for this!"

Having since heard Justin's first hand accounts from Kathmandu, Nepal, and seen the pictures he has been able to take of the destruction there, Omar agreed with his son that for the foreseeable future, the 10 percent of sales designated to Eurasia in general, will instead fully go towards aiding in Nepal's recovery.

"Eurasia Coffee and Tea is providing avenues for people to jump in and help where help is desperately needed," Omar states. "We start with coffee in order for people to hear the story - hear the needs - and in the end, see Christ work in the lives of those receiving as well as those who believe they're only giving."

To read updates from Justin Beiler in Nepal, see the Eurasia Coffee and Tea Facebook page. For additional information on Nepal and relief efforts there, see the Pray4Nepal Facebook page and the agwm.com home page.

Dan Van Veen

Dan Van Veen is news editor of AG News. Prior to transitioning to AG News in 2001, Van Veen served as managing editor of AG U.S. Missions American Horizon magazine for five years. He attends Central Assembly of God in Springfield, Missouri, where he and his wife, Lori, teach preschool Sunday School and 4- and 5-year-old Rainbows boys and girls on Wednesdays.