This is a story authored in Heaven and told by Karlisa Lopez, our Director of Operations for Marked Guadalajara.
The Mixe people, historically nestled within the heart of Oaxaca, Mexico have been known throughout time as “the people who were never conquered”. Though massive parts of Mexico have been overtaken by the Aztecs, Spaniards, and French, this little region and people has never been overtaken. It’s always been native land. They’ve always been a chosen people.
This is the land of my family. The story of this land is packed with unspeakable atrocity and injustice, but they’ve always stayed. When my father was twelve, missionaries came in with good intentions and bad methods, and shipped the children of the village away to a student home, thousands of miles away. My grandmother had to say goodbye to eight children, because the missionaries taught them that this was the way. All of my aunts and uncles grew up to be lawyers, teachers, and business owners. They found success. But none of them ever returned home.
Meanwhile, my grandparents met Jesus. The very people who sent away their children were the ones who introduced them to the God of Heaven and Earth. (Proof that God can turn any situation beautiful) And their lives were radically transformed.
Two people who had only known abuse and hate, who would lash out in anger and take it out on my father, became entirely new. My grandfather, Manuel, became meek, hardworking, and kind. Truly a good man. He passed away about ten years ago. My grandmother Adela has since become the matriarch not only our family, but of the believing generation in her village. The brunt of massive persecution and hate, she has set an example of faith, truth, and kindness.
And so it happened that this native land was given to me. No one else in the family can (or wants) to return and cultivate the land, so it was passed to me and my family. It’s a 3,000-acre plot of land, with a river running through it, packed full with lush trees that grow every kind of fruit you could think of, and more coffee plants than we could have imagined. It’s so powerful walking the land that my grandfather grew up on, eating fruit from the trees he planted with his own hands. The land sings a song of legacy.
We have big dreams for this land. Or maybe we’re just now experiencing a glimpse of God’s dreams for the land. We see a community of hope and healing, where there used to be only atrocity and abuse. We see a God that redeems, coming in and transforming this land and people. Offering hope where there was only devastation. We dream of cultivating the land, exporting coffee and multiplying the reach of Marked in our country. We dream of offering jobs to young adults whose lives might have gone in an unfortunate direction without an opportunity like this. We believe that God decided that this would be a land of legacy, and we are so excited to be a part of it.
My grandma used to tell me with a dignified smile about her dream of a “son who would work the land”. She’s seeing that dream now fulfilled through Carlos, my husband, and she can hardly contain her joy.
So we're partnering my family's land with the movement of Marked, and creating Marked Coffee. It's so much more than just a coffee business. It's a story of legacy that my family never even dreamed of.
This is Marked Coffee. Available now.