free...

What up Denmark!  I love that I'm internationally known.  I know it's not all random too because I actually do have a friend who reads me across the pond.  Thanks Beth!  And two of your friends...

Good gravy.  What a weekend.  And actually, it was more than just the weekend.  I have been going since Wednesday.  We had a meeting that night.  Then, our church had a leadership event on Thursday night.  Which was some good food and good music and Greg Boyd spoke.  That dude is ah-may-zen.  Give him a read or a listen some time.  He is brilliant and knows some super good stuff about God.  Whenever he has come and spoken at our church, it's been a gift.  We ate some Belgian waffles and then we went home.  Because staying out til nearly 10 and giving our kids Belgian waffles and then trying to put them in bed before a super huge deal of a day is wicked smart and fun...  On Friday, I took everyone everywhere and went to church to help set up.  I had some falafel sandwiches for lunch.  They were left over from the leadership event the night before.  I didn't see them the night before so I got three.  I ate three.  They were small.  They were delicious.  Don't judge.  They were small!!!  8.3 out of 10 Jenny's jewels.  Probably if they had been bigger, I would up it another .5 jewels.  I went to pick up some of the kids.  I waited for Hubs.  I went back to church.  And Unbound began.

We had about 800 kids signed up to attend.  And it was hard to gauge a number because they were trickling in all night.  And they were teenagers.  Those suckers move constantly.  In gaggles. 

In the atrium we had various stands where people could get information about different organizations or college programs.  There was a fashion show by Stop Traffick Fashion (isn't that name the best??).  The Restavek Foundation had this amazing experience about a day in the life of a restavek.  There were henna tattoos and Unbound temporary tattoos and c4yourself's Angela came and did this incredible painted community silk with the logo.  And then there were vision rooms where you could go through these 4 connected rooms that told stories of various people in various forms of enslavement.  Christine put her heart into those rooms and it truly showed.  We showed Call+Response in one room and At the End of Slavery in another.  We ate dinner and then listened to James Pond speak.  He and his wife Athena did the most amazing thing you can imagine.  They watched a disturbing segment on Dateline as so many of us do.  But they were so upset about what they saw that they decided to do something about it and ended up moving their entire family to Cambodia to create a home for girls rescued out of sex slavery.  For the past few weeks, James has been traveling with his family and three of the rescued girls so that they could tell their story to others.  How so much courage and resilience can be packed into those tiny women is beyond me.  They were so inspirational.  We offered up the movies again, the vision rooms opened back up and the atrium was available again until 11.  Then we kicked all those teenagers out and broke down most everything and I went home at about midnight.  Hubs was still awake so we chatted as we do sometimes.  We went to bed and then the dogs were all crazy.  One had a bone and the other wanted the bone so they fought over the bone.  Then Hubs took the bone away and then they just fought.  And the small one hid under the bed taunting the big one who can't fit under the bed so the big one would bark at the little one as if to say "get out little dog who is taunting me from the protective cover of the entire bed I can't get under!!!".  I don't speak dog so I'm just guessing on that.

I woke up at 6:50 a.m.  Correction.  My alarm went off at 6:50 a.m.  I stumbled out of bed, put on clothing and drove back to church.  I think I actually woke up sometime around 9 a.m.  By then I had had a cup of fair trade hot chocolate which is terribly delicious - 10 out of 10 Jenny's jewels.  What it lacks in taste - which isn't much - it makes up for in the fact that no enslaved kids were a part of making it.  And then Charity brought me my first pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks.  I hate pumpkin pie.  I really really do.  But I like me some pumpkin spice.  I really really do. 9 out of 10 Jenny's jewels.  A shot of espresso would have put it into the double digit jewel range.  The Justice Director of our church spoke.  He's a total bad ass who used to be the Calcutta field director for International Justice Mission.  He has seen some serious bad, ugly stuff.  So, he talked to teenagers about it.  And about how critically important it is to pray for God to move in the midst of fighting such darkness.  He told of miracles in his work that only God could perform in such impossible situations.  Then we had prayer rooms open for students to go and pray for specific areas that we had been exploring.  I did my very first henna tattoo. On myself.  With the real stuff that someone brought over from India.  I only have my left hand done because I'm right handed.  It's not nearly as beautiful and intricate and ornate as the authentic but I dig it.  And, yes, that stuff stains.  But as someone who has 7 tattoos, I'm cool with that.  That experience is a 7 out of 10 Jenny's jewels.  I like it just enough to wish I had someone who really knew what they were doing to do both hands for me.  When the prayer rooms ended, it was time to send everyone out for lunch.  And then everyone was invited downtown.

The National Underground Freedom Center is a marvel.  It is a gorgeous building.  It is on the riverfront where you can see Kentucky which was a slave state while you stand on ground that was free.  There are moving exhibits.  And it is floundering.  I don't know what the miss is.  I would think that there are several different audiences that would feel the value of a visit or a membership or support of some kind.  There are history buffs and African Americans and Civil War enthusiasts and freedom fighters and all the people who love all these groups.  I don't know if it is a marketing issue or what but that place needs love and attention.  And attendance.  Unbound partnered with the Freedom Center this year.  It was a great fit.  On top of that, we were holding a fair trade market inside.  AND it was free admission to the public. 

So, let me lay this out for ya... 
*Teens come and experience awesome music and experiences and information and movies and dinner and stuff on Friday night.  Cost... Free
*Teens come and, if early enough, get fair trade hot chocolate, hear awesome music and speakers and prayer moments.  Cost...Free
*Entire community and teens comes to the Freedom Center to see cool exhibits, listen to more music and buy from victimless vendors (THAT IS MY TERM WHICH I WILL BE TRADEMARKING!!!  So, if you are going to use it, please give credit where credit is due.  First, mention God who gave me this amazing, creative, clever brain and then, mention me... or you know..  I guess you could just give glory to God and stuff.  Fine.  Just tell people that God came up with that term).  Cost... Free.  Except the part where you are buying stuff.  And that is on you. 
*Whomever wants to marches to Sawyer Point in a symbolic gesture of marching for freedom for everyone.   Cost...Free
*Whomever wants a box dinner gets one.  Cost... Free
*Whomever wants to gets to listen to awesome music by amazing musicians.  Cost...Free.

Disclosure.  The march and the concert were outdoors and it was flippin' COLD.  So, there was some cost but you'd feel like a total donkey's derriere complaining given everything else was free AND all the information about the way that others are suffering in the world. 

So, here are the top 5 things I learned during Unbound:
1.  At some point during the weekend, I decided to have a slave free Christmas.  I will do everything I can to buy fair trade products.   This is a good challenge because there's an awful lot of crap in my house that's not.  But I have to start somewhere so this is where I start.
2.  I am great at ideas.  I'm not an executor of ideas.  I'm not really about the finished product aside from seeing it in action.  And maybe getting some kudos.  And I'm not proud of that last bit...
3.  I was a teenager before teenagers became slightly obnoxious and loud and crazy and hormonal and whatnot.
4.  I miss being a teenager and not giving a good gosh darn how I cam across to anyone who wasn't a peer.
5.  I am inspired that there were so many people who gave up time to put into this event.  Whether they attended or they built or they cleaned or they drove or they planned or they cooked or they spoke - every single person contributed to something that I believe in and put some of my soul into.  And it felt like a worthwhile investment.

And here is my final new thing from all the time that I have been gone.  It's "no".  No, I'm not volunteering.  No, I'm not leading.  No, I'm not joining.  No, I'm not.  Not for at least 6 months.  That's right.  I owe some serious face time to my family.  I owe some serious relief to Hubs.  I need to regroup and restore.  I can't know what's next if I'm still so in the middle that I can't see the horizon.  I'm going to listen rather than do.  So.  No.  Not to you folks!  You folks are a yes for as long as you are interested!  No gets 10 out of 10 Jenny's jewels.  It's an idea whose time has come.

Do what you can.  Freedom for all, y'all.