Mama Carmen’s & Global Restoration Trading Co.

Mama Carmen's is a local Business as Missions example here in Northwest Arkansas. The model is to use coffee development to support orphan care.
Check out the video below for more info.

Mama Carmen's is an initiative born from my church, New Heights, and I know several of the people involved. So, needless to say, it's my new favorite coffee joint and a venture close to my heart.

But, even more important to me is the for-profit "global boutique" that is inside of Mama Carmen's called Global Restoration Trading Co. I was involved in GRTC back in 2007-08 when it was still just an idea. I think GRTC and it's website needs much improvement when it comes to product development and selection, marketing, and e-commerce. But, for a number of reasons, I am still very excited about the potential for GRTC.

Back in the summer of 2007, while in Tibet, God gave me a vision for a global online store that sold products that were created through missionary efforts or BAMs. Only a few days later I found out that the pastor at New Heights, Jim Hall, had that very same vision and had just begun work on "Global Restoration Trading Company". Soon after I was helping create the logo and first website for GRTC. Sadly, I was and am not a designer or web-developer and yet they are still using that logo today.

The opening of Mama Carmen's has given GRTC new life because global products are being sold inside the coffee shop labeled with the GRTC brand.

I feel like this is a project God has always wanted me to be involved with and watching it develop from the outside is really difficult. But, I trust that God will plug me into the equation at just the right time. Whatever that looks like.

Mama Carmen's & GRTC were recently featured in the local newspaper. You can read the article here.

Stay tuned, as I'm sure I'll be writing more about these BAMs as their stories continue to unfold.