MEET SANTIAGO

Santiago walks through his mother’s door carrying an armful of food. Although he’s a coffee farmer, these meals are the fruits of his fields—the products of long hours he has spent in the sun, bending over the coffee plants that fuel his livelihood.And the healthier and more abundant those plants become, the more he can care for his mother.Santiago joined Kingdom Growers 9 years ago. He was already farming coffee at the time, but the cooperative opened new opportunities he couldn’t access alone. Kingdom Growers trainers taught him how to properly fertilize his fields, how to control diseases that could wipe out his crops, how to prune his plants so they could produce the most coffee cherries, and more.The farmer watched his fields flourish with green. As he learned more about the trade, the life-long Catholic heard more about the possibilities of a richer spiritual life. The men who worked with him in the fields and who taught him about fertilizer constantly talked about Jesus. They talked like they knew Christ—as a person and not a concept.After four years of working next to people intimately acquainted with Jesus, Santiago realized that he wanted to meet Christ, the person, as well.Now, the farmer’s spirit is full and flourishing, just like his fields. He sells his high-quality crops in international markets through Kingdom Growers, and then, he bows his head and personally thanks his Savior for the opportunity to profit.Santiago’s fields and his heart overflow. So, he shares his gifts. He cares for his mother as well as his wife and children. When he visits his mom, Santiago says, she looks at him with awe, wondering how he can afford to put food on her table as well as his own.He smiles and with tears in his eyes, and proudly explains that he has been blessed.