Vernon Bacher and his family have traveled extensively over
the years with numerous trips to places like Sierra Leone, and Liberia, West
Africa. These trips were rarely for
pleasure, and most of them contained elements of teaching, preaching, or humanitarian
type work.
In early 2010 the entire family reunited across the globe in
Southeast Asia. Davis his son was living
and traveling in that part of the world for an extended period of time. Dinah his youngest daughter was spending a
month working with an international mission group based in the same region. Eden his oldest daughter traveled with her
husband from Alberta, Canada to complete the family reunion. For several weeks Vernon and his family
traveled many miles on third world buses, motorbikes, and water taxies as they
crossed through numerous Southeast Asian countries.
Vernon returned to South Carolina with an enlarged world
view and a heart for the people of Southeast Asia. Vernon reported “My biggest frustration as I
traveled included the language barrier.
In West Africa people typically spoke enough English that you could
communicate, but in Southeast Asia your communication consisted of signs and
wonders. You signed, and the people
wondered what you were saying.” After
returning to the US Vernon and Maria began to think and pray about their recent
connection overseas. As they were
processing it all, they began to learn about the large group of international
students located nearby in the City of Clemson.
As Vernon and his wife prayed and thought about getting
involved in the Clemson International Student Community they kept circling back
to the idea of opening up a coffee shop as a platform for ministry and
friendship. Vernon has always loved
coffee, Maria loved to bake, and the idea continued to grow. They began looking for a location. Late last summer the property and Earle
Street was identified as a potential location.
The property was purchased, plans were drawn up, permits were obtained,
and the remodeling process began.
