I ask humbly for your prayers as an unforseen future is in store for Julie and I.

On Tuesday, July 1, 2008, Starbucks made an unprecidented announcement to close 600 company-owned stores in the United States:

“In January, we committed to transforming the company through a series of critical and strategic initiatives to improve the current state of our U.S. business and build the business for the long term,” stated Howard Schultz, chairman, president and ceo. “Our executive and field leadership teams conducted an extensive review of our U.S. company-operated store portfolio with a goal of enabling our organization to focus its efforts on locations where we can more effectively improve the customer experience.”

“Throughout the history of the company, we have always aspired to put our people first. This makes our decision to close stores difficult, because it is disrupting the lives of the people who have worked so hard to deliver superior service to our customers,” Schultz continued. “We sincerely thank each one of them and are very proud of their many contributions to the company. At the same time, we recognize that it is necessary to make decisions that will strengthen the U.S. store portfolio and enable us to enter into fiscal 2009 focused on enhancing operating efficiency, improving customer satisfaction and ensuring long-term value for our partners, customers and shareholders.”

As you have concluded, my store is one of the 600 selected to close. Fortunately, my store is the only store closing in the Little Rock area, making it easier to find new Starbucks homes for all my partners.

We do not have a closing date, Starbucks announced all stores will be closed by March 2009, potentially we could be open until then.

I have been guaranteed a store manager position, which is a blessing but is the reason I ask for your prayers. This means I have to decide whether or not to stay in the area, or move elsewhere, international opportunities are available as well. This is a tough decision for Julie and I as we are finally comfortable with our lives in Little Rock, now God is shaking us up a bit.

I ask you pray for the Lord's guidance, and that Julie and I will be able to hear God's voice despite our own wants. He knows what we need, even though human emotion is such an influence in our lives. Thank you in advance.

Labels: Prayer Requests, Starbucks