Lance and Toni Henson Slade of Warner Robins have been dreaming of opening a coffee shop for a decade. A very important project has come full circle with this dream and now they are in a position to pull the trigger.
Eight years ago, the Slades said they met a 12-year-old boy who had won their hearts on a short-term vacation for a medical project at an orphanage in Honduras.
After 3 years of fighting for adoption and 16 trips to Honduras, this child returned home with them as his son. They also searched for the other 500 young people at the Emmanuel Home in Guaimaca, Honduras.
Today, the Slades plan to open Woodlands Coffee Roasters
Thanks to a partnership between the Slades, the Emmanuel orphanage and a Honduran pastor who owns a nearby coffee plantation, the orphanage’s youth will learn “all the tactics of coffee,” a way to learn about an industry and lift themselves out of poverty, the Slades said.
Coffee grown on the plantation and in the orphanage will be among the coffees from around the world presented at Woodlands Coffee Roasters
“This is an ambitious act of faith,” said Toni Henson Slade, a Christian songwriter, singer and artist. “But when God asks you to do something, you don’t ask questions. You move forward with Him knowing that He is the wind in your sail.
A former elementary school teacher, Slade is also the founder and executive director of his nonprofit, Project Giving, Inc. , which helps local families in need, especially those suffering from chronic medical conditions.
Lance Slade is a pediatrician at Macon. Slade, who loves to draw, designed the Woodlands Coffee Roasters logo
Over the years, the Slades have participated in medical missions to third world countries, adding Africa, Haiti, Mexico, and South America.
In 2014, they sought to take their son, Spencer, then 10, and embarked on a medical project to Guaimaca, Honduras, with their church, Northway Church in Macon.
On June 2, the momentary day of this trip, they met Luis Gustavor, who suffered from a fly infection in his head. Lance Slade surgically disposed of the larvae while Toni Henson Slade held the boy’s hands.
As she did so, she said a wave enveloped her and she knew the boy would be her son. She shared this with Lance and asked him to pray about it. Within hours, Lance said he felt the same way. They discussed Louis’ adoption with Spencer, and Spencer was thrilled to have a brother.
“We fell in love with him,” Lance Slade said.
Something else had happened in this missionary adventure that was vital to this circle of faith relatives: Spencer had put his arm around Louis, shared God’s love, and Louis had prayed to a Christian, the Slades said.
Subsequently, Luis replaced his call to Henson, opting for the overcall of Toni Henson’s father, Slades, for his first call. Her son told them that since she started a new life, she was looking to have a new call.
On March 14, 2017, he returned to Warner Robins and, the following month, Henson Edward Slade became a U. S. citizen. Edward is a surname that is passed down from generation to generation. Lance and Spencer also have this middle name.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the orphanage closed outdoors for about two years, the Slades continued to dream of their cafe and the children of the Emmanuel orphanage.
Meanwhile, and unbeknownst to the Slades, Honduran pastor Donald Acosta approached the orphanage and offered them food. Its coffee, fruit and vegetable plantation is about 20 minutes up the mountain.
When the Slades returned to the orphanage to offer their proposal, God had already placed Acosta in position to exercise the youth, Slade said.
“Instead of having to revise to connect the dots, God had already done a lot of this for us and brought it (acosta) into our lives,” Slade said.
Today, other young people are learning to plant, cultivate and coffee plants on the Acosta plantation, as well as in the orphanage.
Coffee plants grow more productively in the mountains of Honduras, however, they are experimenting with the soil in the orphanage’s plains in the hope that the soil will be suitable for sustaining and developing coffee plants on site, Slade said.
In the process, Acosta acquired a nickname: “Mr. Miyagi,” after the fictional karate master from the film series The Karate Kid.
“We started affectionately calling him Mr. Miyagi because, if you watch the movie, Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi in the movie can grow vegetables, culmination and other products at strong, giant sizes,” said Toni Henson Slade. “Pastor Donald Acosta’s Coffee, vegetable and fruit plantation resembles that of M. Miyagi. “
While the young people learn how to care for coffee plants in Honduras, the Slades try to bring Woodlands Coffee Roasters to life.
“Lance and I were born and raised here,” he said. We look to bring that back to our community. “
Although it is an official slogan of Woodlands Coffee Roasters
The planned 5,500-square-foot area includes a giant dining area, rooftop area, and patio.
Its consumers can expect coffee from more than a dozen regions of the world, such as Indonesia, South Africa, Central America and Italy.
The coffee beans will be roasted completely new in a landscaped area where other people can see the roaster running. You can also buy coffee beans and floor coffee to take away.
Their menu will be run by a chef and they hope to offer farm-to-table dishes that will vary based on availability.
“We marry local farmers, so our food is fresh, never frozen,” Slade said.
Salads, soups and exclusive waffles are the pillars. His exclusive Elvis waffle has been described this way:
“A Liège waffle cooked with sugar pearls and topped with peanut butter sauce, bananas, homemade whipped cream and caramelized nuts, then sprinkled with milk chocolate. “
In addition to coffee, smoothies, teas, energy drinks and other comfort drinks will be offered.
The spacious internal main dining room comes with a small stage for concerts. The position on the ceiling will be arranged more like a living room.
Half of the area on the roof will be protected through a roof, while the other part will be covered with awnings. Edison rope lighting fixtures will complement the area on the ceiling. A giant TV screen will be placed on the back of this area for those who want to watch sporting events.
Woodlands Coffee Roasters
Once the structure begins, Slades is expected to open within a year.
“We’re so amazed at why our story attracts other people,” Slade said. “We’re like, really?. . . We are just other ordinary people looking to make a difference in other people’s lives. “
“As a Christian, you think about what your life is about and it’s not just about you and money. It’s about replaced lives, inheritance, and what Jesus did, things that matter for eternity. So, we seek to count.
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