Students had a unique opportunity during the Tuesday chapel at FC. From time to time, Bible teacher Robert Foshee connects with people in the community to give people the opportunity to speak in front of students and share their passions. Zack Follett, owner of Kuppa Joy and Westy Guill, business partner, came and spoke of the involvement of God in their lives, March 12.

Kuppa joy is a newly opened business in Old Town Clovis, located on Clovis and 5th street. Follett spoke of how the shop opened in the Lord’s name and the impact it has made on people. The idea for Kuppa Joy sparked in the mind of Follett when he was sitting in an England coffee shop.

“I was sitting in this coffee shop reading Romans 8, life by the spirit, and I was filled up with joy by the spirit and joy from this cappuccino I was drinking,” Follet said. “I thought to myself, ‘wow this is a cup of joy,’ then I thought how ‘cup of joy’ was a cool name. God spoke to me then and said, ‘Look around this coffee shop and look how people come together and meet one another in a coffee shop to connect.’ Then he said, ‘Now what I want you to do is go open a coffee shop in my name and you’re going to use that platform to connect to the community of Clovis and tell them of my love and how I’ve changed and fulfilled your life.'”

Foshee is reminded of the different paths that God sets for everyone. He was inspired by Follet’s and Guill’s testimony they shared during chapel.

“Just hearing what they have gone through and how God worked in their lives is amazing,” Foshee said. “Some of us are early bloomers how we serve God and others start later on in life and we are all in different places but God still has a plan to use us as long as we chose to follow that.”

Follet continued by giving praise to God for the goodness he has provided to him and Kuppa Joy. The fruit of the spirit, (Galatians 5:22-23), is what God told Follett would be the outcome with Jesus living in the coffee shop.

Follett and Guill both grew up in the Fresno-Clovis area. Guill attended FC his freshman year in 2001 and graduated from Clovis East in 2005. Guill also played football at Sacramento State. Follet was also a football player and played for the National Football League (NFL). Drafted to the Detroit Lions in 2009, Follet was the former linebacker for the team. In 2010, Follett had a neck injury thus ending his football career.

Guill was the opener to both him and Follett speaking. Students listened as Guill told of his passion to follow Jesus and how much his life has changed in the last eight months of making the decison to follow Christ. Students such as Noah Belmont, ’14, were inspired by Guill’s speaking and felt like their perspective had been changed due to the message shared.

“It was really inspirational,” Belmont said. “I really liked the chapel today because it just opened my eyes. Normally, I was kind of like Zack and how he pushed God away. It just moved me by hearing the things they shared and what they have gone through. It really opened my eyes how you really need Christ to get through things.”

Jesus lives inside of Kuppa Joy as told by Follett. Follett has encountered between 30 and 40 different times of people coming up to him and telling him of the hope love and peace they feel when they are in the coffee shop. A particular story sticks with Follett as he recalls a woman come and speak to him about her feelings toward the coffee shop.

“I have had an agnostic girl come up to me one time and say how she doesn’t really know God or Jesus but when she sit in the coffee shop she feels the love and hope and peace when she’s in there,” Follett said. “God is so faithful and I just want all of you to trust him with your life.”

Guill came in to chapel hoping people could see how God has worked through him. He tells of the life he used to live before he knew Jesus and how he has changed now.

“Before I knew Jesus I lived a very simple life,” Guill said. “I had no clue what I was doing and I thought everything I was doing was correct. I thought sex was the answer and things like that, but its not. I wanted the people here to know how he has moved through me and what he is doing in my life. If someone looks at me and says well I’ve never done those things I want them to know regardless even if they haven’t done half the things I’ve done that he can work through them as well.”

People find their identity in many things when they are trying to learn more about themselves. One of Folletts hopes in speaking in chapel was for the students to find who they are in Christ.

“Encouragement is what I hope the students gained from today,” Follett said. “Finding who they are in Christ because thats one of the biggest things. Unless we know the truth and get that truth from the Bible then you don’t know when you are beign decieved in this world. I want people to be encouraged and know that some people are on fire for God here. Some people are slipped away and some people don’t even now him. I want them to realize what God can do between two guys and how he can guide their lives if we just give it to him.”

The message gave Dustin Swain, ’14, just that; encouragement. Swain spoke of the coolness of having someone who came from FC speak and the relief he gained from the message.

“I think it takes some of the stress off of some of the kids here who aren’t really that religious,” Swain said. “I feel like theres a lot of pressure from some people who get super religious in high school which isn’t a bad thing, but it puts a lot of pressure on people and freaks people out. Its kind of good to see a mixture of people and it takes some of the pressure off because sometimes you don’t get that connection with God till you’re in your 20s or 30s. I liked how they both said that God can totally change the route of your life. You might have a set in stone plan of what you want to do but it doesn’t matter about that becuase in the end God can change things to his will.”

For Guill, God did alter the route of his life by bringing him to the coffe shop. Guill opens up about how Kuppa Joy has changed his life and the motivation it brings him in stepping closer to God.

“Kuppa Joy has changed my life completely,” Guill said. “I had gotten to know God shortly after we opened the coffee shop in God’s name and now I get to talk about Jesus and get to serve coffee to this community. At the same time I get to talk about Jesus all day. I watch groups of people come in and reserve our main table for Bible studies every single day. Its amazing, it really is. Even if I’m not in my Bible or spending time with God I still get to talk about him and give the glory to him all day every day and its amazing.”

Maddie Yee, Senior Editor, also contributed to this article.

For more information about Kuppa Joy follow via Twitter/Instagram: @KuppaJoyCoffee.

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @han_avila.

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