LAND O’ LAKES, Fla. – Since the age of 14, Rick Smith has been a coffee enthusiast. About 30 years ago, his friend, for whom he’d created a successful marketing idea, bought Smith his first coffee maker, an Italian hand press. This marked the beginning of Smith’s specialty coffee.
In 2020, Smith transformed a rundown cottage on his property into Rick’s Coffee House, a gathering place for free coffee because he doesn’t charge, and to share stories about how God connected him not only to people within his town but also to the people of Cuba.
Before the cottage could receive guests, Rick called Robert, a Cuban friend he had met after one of his trips to Cuba, to help him transform the place.
Once the cottage renovations were finished, Smith decorated it with pictures of his family and of people he’d met in Cuba. Along with pictures, he placed souvenirs and has multiple album books from each of the six times he visited Cuba.
“And so there began the coffee house, which is really kind of a funny story. Because I never intended it to be anything more than just something fun. And what it actually has turned out to be, it’s kind of a ministry,” said Smith.
In 2015, travel to Cuba became available, and Smith wanted to go. He contacted the Sarasota Yacht Club, and by the grace of God, a spot opened for him to travel with them.
“When I went to Cuba, it wasn’t a God thing. It wasn’t. It was a Rick thing. I didn’t go on a mission trip. I didn’t go down there to be all spiritual. I went down to scratch an itch. I wish I could say I wanted to be really godly, but I didn’t. But God turned that around,” said Smith.
When Smith arrived in Cuba, he experienced a frustrating detour but realized God intended for it. As Smith looked up from his boat, he captured a photo of El Morro Castle.
“El Morro Castle is like a fortress, and it’s a good idea to introduce people to the gospel because God is our fortress,” said Clara Gonzalez, a Cuban family friend of the Smiths.
Since El Morro Castle had significance in Cuba, Smith was inspired to create a gospel tract, a booklet representation of the gospel, to distribute in Cuba with the castle photo as the cover page. Smith would not have gotten the castle photo that captured the Cuban people’s attention to learn the gospel if it weren’t for the detour.
Smith not only distributed gospel tracts in Cuba, but he also distributed food, clothes, and medicine, and through God’s goodness, he sponsored friends from Cuba as they moved to America.
When Smith is not in Cuba, he honors Cuba in his coffee house through pictures and stories. He also ensures that the gospel is shared in his hometown.
Smith hosts a men’s bible study in his coffee house four times a month. Every other Saturday, he gets up around 5:30 a.m. and makes 10-15 cafe con leches, and around 6 a.m., the men show up and study God’s word for an hour. The Bible study recurs every other Tuesday at eight p.m.
“God will do the equipping if you just make yourself available,” said Smith.
Smith is a testament of how God can take your interests and make a ministry.
To visit Rick’s Coffee House, contact him through his website information and get ready to share a cup of coffee with him for free!
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