God is using the current cafe situation for good. While the cafe is closed for normal operations, we have been rethinking how the cafe can serve people. The biggest change has been using cafe space to host events. We are currently working with a group, Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs (台灣創業家聚會社團) to host their weekly networking events. All of us have been building a great relationship with their leader, Andrew Klerk. Aroma can provide them with the space and support for the events, while having the opportunity to sell beverages and food.
Through hosting these networking events, we’ve been building relationships with many of the young professionals of Taipei. We want to reach these people and share the good news with them. They are being served professionally as well as spiritually. The business community sees how different we are from other businesses, and in turn, that actually brings us more business! Through the TIE events, we even hosted a Foosball Tournament! A nice side benefit… the cafe is now the temporary home of a fun foosball table that we can use for our breaks 🙂
I personally experienced how God can work without us realizing it. During one of the Coffee Talk nights, I was leading a table discussion on Gratefulness. The topic wasn’t connecting with the participants at all. However, by the end of the night, one person was curious about Aroma’s role as a church. Chris, who was leading the night, mentioned the sermon series about Relationships. She asked for more information on our Sunday service. She claimed she was not religious and didn’t attend church. However, she showed up for Sunday service! Thankfully, there were members of the welcome team who were ready for her.
There is still so much work to get done. Things are still changing every day and I know my time in Taiwan is not close to ending. Your prayers and financial support are being used in ways that I cannot even comprehend. Please continue to pray for:
-Chris, the pastor and leader of Aroma, for wisdom on how to communicate vision and direction to the team
-the new building search for Aroma
-the new business ideas for the cafe operations, including relaunching the cafe space as a co-working space
-my Chinese speaking and listening ability