blake is alive

HELP: Displace Me

2007-04-10T12:27:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone. Ok so I know it's been a while, but I've been busy. I really want to tell you all about Displace Me, Invisible Children's national event/rally.

Last year we did the Global Night Commute, an even where 80,000 Americans left their homes and slept outside in their local downtowns to bring attention to the conflict in Uganda. It made a huge impact. Oprah even got us on her show for it. Wow.

We're doing it again this year...even bigger, even better. This year's event is called Displace Me. We are calling on YOU to displace yourself to bring a voice to the millions of Ugandans that are living as refugees because of the conflict.

It will be held in 15 cities across the country. For most of you Californians, you'll be displacing yourself to Los Angeles, to join thousands of others. I know, I know...LA's far. BUT COME ON! That's the point! People in Uganda have been displaced into refugee camps for over 10 years and are in serious plight. The LEAST we can do is drive 2 hours in give up a day of our lives for these millions.

It's on Saturday, April 28th, starting at noon, ending at noon on the 29th. It'll be an experiential event, and you'll leave knowing what people go through in displacement camps.

Watch the video: http://www.invisiblechildren.com/displaceMe/

(press play on the front page)

Then SIGN UP on that same site linked above! And tell everyone you know to do the same! It'll mean the world to mean...but more important, it'll mean the world to 1.5 million Ugandans living without a voice.

Peace and Love.

Blake

It's Boone a Long Time

2007-03-28T17:20:00.000-07:00

So…it’s been a while. A lot has happened since my commentary on our collective love for the “Q.” I wrote that about midway through our time in Charlotte, NC. We had some good Q at a place called Lancaster’s with our friend Dru Willis. There’s a lot else too…I’ll just write all the random stories and thoughts as they come. Sorry if it’s hard to discern a logical flow.

Our stay in Charlotte was rather inconvenient – in relation to driving and travel. The first half of the week, we stayed in a very northern suburb called Mooresville, a beautiful lakeside community that is the hub of all the Nascar teams and biz. We met great people and had a great time.

However, every one of our screenings were down in Charlotte – a 45+ minute drive. That’s not too bad, right? Except for the fact that all of our screenings were at high schools…requiring us to be there at 6:30 or 7 in the morning. That put us waking up at 5am everyday for a while. Yikes.

Then we moved downtown…and had high school screenings back in Mooresville…at the crack of dawn, once again. Poor planning…but beggars can’t be choosers, after all. There was also one day where we stayed in Charlotte, had to be in Mooresville at 7am, then had to drive down across the border to South Carolina for a midday screening, then back to Mooresville to get the other half of the team we left at the school (hour and a half drive), then back down to Charlotte to go home. Yikes again.

We had our first REAL day off while in Charlotte. It was a Saturday, staying with a friend of a friend of a friend (= no IC connection) so we could truly chill and do nothing (a missed luxury). We had some time off from the constant pouring out and meet ‘n’ greet. It was team time, just the 4 of us venting, talking, laughing and fellowshipping together. It was a great time of renewal and revival in our team. Much needed and much appreciated.

Then it was off to Boone. Boone is a rather small mountain town in the Appalachians, home of Appalachian State University. It was one of the best, if no the best, cities we have been to. Multiple reasons:
• Gorgeous – mountains everywhere, cool town, great people
• Beautiful weather – 70 every day in the mountains
• Few and quality screenings – everyday at 7pm only (= whole day to hang)
• Great people – some new best friends for sure

App State had a great demographic of people – true mountain/outdoor people. Everyone wore Chaco sandals, short cutoff jean shorts, flannel shirts, and beards. Every recreational activity involved rock climbing, camping, four-wheeling, hammocks and mountains. Beautiful.

We also met a random woman – Angie Ryan – who was an author and journalist. She was writing a novel about Uganda and the LRA and the war. She knocked on the van window one day and wanted to talk. We met up 3 or 4 times for interviews and coffee. That was a first – contribution to novel and to multiple newspaper articles.

Oh and we had two extra members of the team – 2 friend from the office in San Diego – Anna, our tour support intern, and Sarah, a roadie from last year. That was fun.

Then it was off to Asheville, NC – another mountain town, but less woodsy and backcountry. It was compared to a Seattle/Portland/San Fran of the east (and in the mountains). It is quite progressive, eclectic and artsy. We did a church screening, two high schools, and a public library.

We had one day off – incredibly eventful. We drove through the night to take Anna and Sarah to the airport in Charlotte by 5am to head back to San Diego. Then on the way back, we ventured into the Pisgah National Forest and went to place called Sliding Rock – a 60+ ft rock that had been made slick by 1000’s of years of river flow and moss, forming a natural water slide. We took the plunge. The water was 45 degrees tops, the air was about 50 degrees, and it was overcast. Frigid, but well worth it. Memories to last a lifetime.

We then went to the Biltmore Estate with some comped tickets. The Biltmore is the largest private residence in the US – a mere 175,000 square feet, 255 rooms. It was the private residence of George W. Vanderbilt from 1895 until he died. It was originally situated on 195 square miles, which has since been reduced to a mere 12,000 acres. This was an ESTATE, in the true definition of the word. Incredible.

Well…I know that is a lot, and mostly a factual recollection of events to catch you up to speed. But, much as happened. All is well with us, we are being well taken care of, blessed with hospitality, food and fellowship. The constant state of being a guest is wearing on us though, despite our great treatment. We look forward to the consistency and normalcy of home. One month to go. Wow, has it gone fast.

Q

2007-03-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite new parts of life, thanks to the road, thanks to the South, is a food, moreover a way of life. Barbeque, or "Q" as it's called, is this newfound blessing.

On the west coast, barbeque is an event - like a party, gathering, or get-together. It could also be used to describe the physical grill on which various meats are cooked over an open flame, or that act of cooking in such a fashion.

In the South, barbeque is a specific food, much like spaghetti, tacos, etc. Now while barbeque can come in several different forms, it mostly refers to a barbeque sandwich. The sandwich is constructed thusly: pit-smoked pork shoulder, marinated and basted, then pulled or chopped, topped with slaw, served on a white bun. See what I mean? It's very specific.

Now we (specifically Alex and I) have come to be somewhat of barbeque experts-in-training. We've had so many styles - each city and region has it's own distinct style. We started in Memphis, which is know for dry-rubbed baby back ribs. That's right, no sauce, but lot's of spices and flavor. They also have some good standard sandwiches, nice and saucy.

We then ventured out of bbq country (into Kentucky - which is NOT the South). We were missing our new favorite food until we got to Southern Virginia - where we found Eastern Carolina style bbq. Eastern style is vinegar based, not sauce based - no red bbq sauce. It has a lot of flavor, but a little more natural flavor, letting the pork speak for itself. We don't really like Eastern style much.

As you venture west, more and more sauce is introduced into the picture. We got to Lexington, North Carolina, the self-proclaimed barbeque capital of the world. Lexington style is much like Eastern, but with "dip." Dip is vinegar-based, but has elements of red sauce and spice. It's good, but still, we like the saucey stuff.

We are now in Charlotte, far enough west for sauce. But at this point, the sauce and the Q are still separate - coming in a bottle on the table for self-application. This is satisfactory, nonetheless, because sauce is better than no sauce. It'll only get better from here; we're heading west.

Raleigh + Beyond

2007-03-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

Raleigh was incredible. We met awesome people. We had good screenings. We did fun stuff. I'll share a few fun stories.

Story 1: The Graveyard. So we got back to the house we were staying at in downtown Raleigh, with our friends from Vintage 21. None of them were home. Locked out. It was 8 pm. The house was on a street called Bloodworth - creepiest street name I've ever encountered.

We were waiting around the house, in the van, wandering, wondering what to do. Then April and I remembered that we had seen a graveyard across the street. Why not visit it, we thought. So we cruised over. The entrance was ominous - black rod iron gate, all bent up and gnarled, one single light illuminating the old cobblestone driveway. The sign told us of the history, "Raleigh City Cemetary, 1798."

We walked through, looking at graves marked from the 1700 and 1800's. The tombstones looked almost theatrical - like the ones at Disneyland's Haunted Mansion - bent over, cracked and broken, corroded from years of weather. We met the famous families of Old Raleigh - the Pooles, the Polks and others.

As we ventured further into this place, the light grewer dimmer and dimmer, the scenery creepier and creepier. We saw more and more broken, slumped and dilapidated grave markers, and above ground catacombs. April and I were beginning to walk closer and closer to each other. I could try to come to a climatic and scary conclusion here...but I'm not feeling it. It was pretty scary, bottom line.

We revisited the graveyard at least 3 more times, taking new friends there again and again as we met them and wanted to bond over a good scare.

Story 2: Our Accident. We were driving from our house in North Raleigh toward Chapel Hill for a screening at a high school in the morning. We were merging onto I-40 from I-540. I had to get over to the right lane. I swerved quickly to avoid almost missing the ramp. The line of cars came to a quick and abrupt halt. I slammed on the brakes and nearly hit the car ahead of us - trust me, a 15 passenger van full of people, luggage and merchandise does not stop on the dime. Luckily, we were in the clear.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I looked in the mirrors to check our surroundings. Then I saw it - the truck behind us screeching and jerking to a halt...or at least he was trying. He did stop, with the help of our rear bumper. We pulled over and I checked the damage. It wasn't too bad. We conversed with the two cement workers that drove the truck, called their office, exchanged info and took off.

We seemed to be in the clear, just needing to replace the bumper at some future date, nothing immediately urgent. We pulled up to the school, ready to unload and start the screening. We were running - the accident had set us a bit behind schedule. I ran to the back, laid my hand on the back hatch handle, pressed the button and pulled. Only the door didn't open. I looked down and saw that the bumper had been bent up in such a way that it blocked the door and we couldn't open it at all.

I began to run to the side door, thinking that I would just grab the merch and equipment through the back. I halted after a step, realizing the impossibility of what I was planning. We had built cages in the back of all the vans to hold the merch in place. Our merch was trapped, literally imprisoned. We could see it. We could even touch it through the grate, but there was no hope of getting it out.

Luckily the high school had all the equipment we needed to show the film, and they had requested that we didn't sell merch that day. I spent the day calling body shops, driving between them to get estimates, asking about removal and disposal, and communicating with the cement company office and our office. I ended up finding a shop that could yank on the bumper and adjust the mounts, to liberate our back door. Problem solved.

Story 3. Mud. The accident happened the morning after our night of all out fun. Going back to the house, I made a wrong turn (which happens quite often). I so went to flip the van around by pulling a few feet off the road in the grass. The grass looked deceivingly firm and supportive. The van begun to spin and the wheels dug in. We were stuck.

Lisa, Alex and I began forraging in the forest for sticks and logs to wedge under the wheels. After constructing ramps, we made multiple charges to pull the van out. We only dug in deeper and deeper. Seeing into the future a bit, I thought it might be a good idea to call AAA as a safety net. Alex called me a quitter and a pansy. I continued with the call. They gave us an estimate of 1 hour till a tow truck would arrive.

Though help was on the way, we went back to work to get the van out. "Might as well," we thought. We gathered rocks, broken asphalt and more logs. We made more and more attempts to get out. We appeared to be making progress little by little, yet we didn't appear to be getting out of the ruts.

Then I saw the flashing lights of the tow truck pulling down the road. "Let's try it one more time!" Alex and I yelled in unison. We had wedged rocks down under the tire by now and made a pathway of branches to support the behemoth vehicle.

"GUN IT!!!"

I gunned it. And we pulled out, right as the tow truck had pulled up. "Sorry," we said. But we weren't we were excited with the sense of achievement and victory. We were laughing and giving high fives. We had defeated the mud.

Up to date

2007-02-27T10:07:00.000-08:00

So now I sit at a window seat of the second floor of the Raleigh Morning Times - an incredible coffee shop in downtown Raleigh. We've been here for 2 days, and already it's been great.

Our first contact was a group of guys from Vintage 21 church (yes the church that did those famous Jesus videos on YouTube - check 'em out). We've been staying with Jared Mercer, Director of Social Justice Efforts at the church.

The church is self-described as "Biblically conservative and culturally liberal." The name comes from "Vintage faith for the 21st century. Basically they strongly believe in opening the doors of their church to the community - artists, musicians, friends, seekers and doubters - regardless of they are members or if they are even believers. What a revolutionary thought - a church with an open-door policy, and people focused on loving and serving their community by being entrenched and active in it. All this without compromising scripture for the social gospel or something.

So we stayed with a group of 4 guys from Vintage in their 19th century downtown Raleigh house - looks like all the old houses in the "Historic" Adams District around USC. Felt right at home.

The screening at Vintage last night was great - incredible people. New faces....and old. We had a great chance to hang out with my good friend Kevin Kirkland from Fallbrook, who now lives in Raleigh with his wife. He took us out to an incredible lunch, came to the screening and then did pizza with us after. His wife is gone on business, so we have plans to spend more time together. When the cats away...

Oh and Raleigh is even warmer then Norfolk. There are buds on the trees and we have to use the A/C from time to time. Praise the Lord.

Farewell Virginia

2007-02-27T09:34:00.000-08:00

It was our last week in Virginia. It's our second state completed. It was spent in Norfolk...or "Norfik" or "Norfuk" or "Nawfuk" if you pronounce it like the locals. It's kinda like how Louisville isn't pronounced "Lewis-ville" or Louie-ville", but "Lovol." Enough with the rhetoric.

So...it was our last week in VA. And it was incredible. It was our most consistent and steady week in the state - we've had a bit of a choppy time in Virginia.

First and foremost...the weather! It was glorious - highs of 50 - 60 degrees; the coldest it got was 35. I never thought I would be singing the praise of 50 degree weather, but in comparison to what we have experienced, that is luxury.

We had incredible hosts too. We first stayed with a random distant friend of sorts. The story starts back in Dec. 2003, when I first met Jason Russell and was introduced to Invisible Children. We stayed up all night with his Bible study kids (freshmen in HS) who were also a part of his family's theatre company, CYT.

I met this one kid who was the biggest goof of them all, Owen. I met him a few other times with Jason. Once was when I went to a production of "Pocahantas" that Jason directed and Owen was John Smith. The last I saw him was at J & Danica's wedding in Oct. 2004. Supposedly the last thing I said to him was, "if I ever find myself on Little Creek Road in Norfolk, VA, I'll call you."

Well, last week, I found myself on Little Creek Road. I didn't remember my past comment. I had however, for whatever reason, remembered that this strange Owen kid had moved to VA. I texted J and asked him where. Norfolk he replied. We got in touch with Owen and ended up staying at his house. He has since moved to NYC for school, but his family was more than welcoming. Our stay with them, however was the worst example of our schedule getting the best of us - leaving before the sun rises in the a.m., and returning near midnight, over and over again. We hate to use family's homes like bed and breakfasts, but it's hard to avoid sometimes. The Spruills were gracious though.

We had some incredible screenings that week. Great high schools - Granby, Norfolk Christian, Great Bridge, Ocean Lakes, etc. We did Norfolk Christian's chapel, then each of us went to classrooms to lead discussion for the rest of the day. I had a group of 6th graders who grilled me with questions and engaged in relevant discussion for a full hour. Then I was in a class of seniors who asked 1 question. I guess 6th graders aren't worried about looking cool yet.

Great Bridge really was great. Everyone at the school had already seen the film in a previous screening (that was a first). So we had a number of smaller class screenings where we showed the Update and the Emmy bracelet video (which is incredible, by the way).

They were ready for us. Sara, Haley and Sam had already raised over $2000 through sales of their own t-shirts. They had plastered every hall with handmade posters for IC. They even MADE invisible children. What? They wrapped themselves with packing tape and then cut out the shell - so it was a transparent tape person. Genius. Their vice principal was incredible and loved IC already. She was all about empowering her kids to run with it on their own, and keep hands-off.

We stayed with Sara's family and we were spoiled. I mean spoiled. We were welcomed with two huge batches of cookies and home cookin'. Then there were individual goodie baskets full of tons of candy, individual handbags filled with cologne and such (her mom worked for a fragrance company). It was like a 5 star hotel.

We awoke every morning to full breakfast. They let us borrow their mini-van for errands (which felt like a sports car after driving our huge van for 1.5 months). They made us huge meals per our request every night - surf and turf, homemade Carolina bbq...the list goes on.

What's more, the family was incredible. I got a chance to converse a good deal with Mr. Crow...or should I say Captain Crow. He was a C/O at the nation's 2nd largest naval base in Norfolk. From humble beginnings in rural Kentucky, Capt. Crow had proven himself one of the Navy's finest leaders. Despite being a military man, he was suprisingly humorous, witty and hilarious. I laughed at his jokes and personality as hard as I would a close friend. He also passed on some key wisdom on leadership that he had learned in his 30 years in the Navy.

Upon departure, they filled the back of our van with more candy, cookies, drinks and junk food that we could carry. We couldn't thank them enough. They were incredible.

If that wasn't enough standing on its own, we had our friend and "boss" Jessica Chan out from the office in San Diego to stay with us in Norfolk. It was great to see her and spend some quality time with our friend. We got lucky too that she came during one of the most amazing weeks of tour. :)

Norfolk will be missed..everything execpt the road. The roads and highways were the most confusing I've ever been on - we got lost more in 5 days that the whole of the rest of tour combined. I could go on for a long time...but I'll stop. This blog is already long enough.

Connected...

2007-02-20T21:29:00.000-08:00

So...I've stated multiple times that we've met incredible people. Now I just had the second experience of meeting someone with an unbelievable story and connection to Uganda.

We screened at William & Mary College in Williamsburg, VA tonight. It was great. I met a guy who was representing STAND (Students Taking Action Now in Darfur) - Sulaiman Bah. Come to find out he is Sierra Leonean. He was there during the civil war - saw it first hand, and left and fled to America. That, in and of itself, is unbelievable.

Not only this, but he also used to live in Saudi Arabia. And who was his next door neighbor??? Idi Amin. The former dictator of Uganda who was exiled for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Sulaiman was friends with Amin's two sons - he knew the man. Whoa. And he stated this so non-chalently.

Sulaiman was maybe one of the most informed and active people I have ever met. He was an international relations major, and reflected it. He knew endless amounts about Sierra Leone (of course), Rwanda, Congo, Uganda, Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq. And we only talked for 30 minutes.

Nothing short of unbelievable.

This was 2 weeks after we met Mr. Bendarti - the Indian from East Africa in Roanoke. Bendarti was an old playmate of Yoweri Museveni - the current president (or arguable dictator) of Uganda.

Slow train a-comin'

2007-02-17T21:01:00.000-08:00

Well...since Lexington (it's been a while), we've been to Blacksburg, VA, where we screened at Virginia Tech twice. Right when we starting driving to the screening, it began dumping snow. Highway 81 was really slow and the van got a little squirrely more than once. But we made it. The screening went over well and when we emerged from the auditorium, we discovered that it had snowed 6 inches in the last 2 hours.

After worrying about driving conditions, then getting over it, Mike, our Va Tech contact asked us if we wanted to go to the snowball fight. Snowball fight? He told us that at every major snow, everyone goes out onto the quad and throws snow at each other. April was thrilled - more excited than a 6 year old. I reluctantly went, fearing freezing. I was glad I went. It ended up being the most fun night of tour thus far. Over 300 people were on the field, forming battle lines and rushing each other with snowballs. We ran around like idiots for almost 2 hours.

The family we stayed with in Blacksburg (well...Roanoke) was very interesting. They were from Kenya...but they were Indian. It didn't make sense - everything from accent, to appearance, to food, to culture said they were Indian, but they spoke of themselves as African, because they had been in East Africa for 3 generations. Anyway...it was a great experience.

Then everything got thrown off. Our next 4 days in Southern VA got cancelled. So we went on a wild goose chase. We drove to Harrisburg, PA to meet up with the East Coast road team for a night. We had a great reunion and time sharing stories. We went to Hershey, PA the next day (again April was more excited than a 5 year old).

Then it was down to DC...stopping in Annapolis (April's favorite city...once again, excitement). We stayed with my teammate Lisa's family. We had two days in DC, did a little site-seeing and had a single small screening.

Then we were back on schedule. We were down to mid-VA. We stayed in Harrisonburg in a country house from the 1800's, built on a civil war battlefield. The kids were all homeschooled, all knitted and raised goats. Nonetheless, the family was awesome and took good care of us.

We had a screening in Charlottesville at U of VA, which was a bit underwhelming due to poor promotion. It did go well, all things considering. I got to meet Brody - a friend of many friends, who is in law school at UVA. He was a really great guy and had been to Uganda with International Justice Mission. He took us to his church, a reformed Anglican - a first for me. I enjoyed it though - liturgy and all. Denomination lines are more defined and have more meaning on the east coast.

We then ventured to Richmond. We proceeded to screen to over 4000 people in 3 days - all high schools. I guess we made up for lost time from the previous week. I saw the movie nearly 10 times in 3 days...yikes. We're all getting to know it line for line. We stayed with Lisa's friends, Shannon and Rob and their three dogs. They were great people - very hospitable, great sense of humor.

We returned to DC for the weekend to stay with Lisa's family again. April, Alex and I spent the whole day sight seeing. We checked in on W at the White House, strolled the Mall, went to the Holocaust Memorial and rode the Metro...a lot. Well worth it.

We're back at it tomorrow with 2 evening screenings. We have our last week in VA - going to Norfolk/Virginia Beach.

2007-02-08T18:01:00.000-08:00

On a horse farm in Lexington...

2007-02-08T10:14:00.000-08:00

True Story

2007-02-07T08:57:00.000-08:00

We pulled out onto Richmond Road, snow covered and icy. We were leaving Lexington. I turned left into the lot of the bakery we were going to for breakfast. A cop followed...with his lights on. Uh-oh.

He first asked for license and registration, then what this 'Invisible Children' thing is. The standard. He says we didn't have a rear license plate. Pretty normal.

"Do you have any weapons in the vehicle?" the Sergeant Lewis asked.

"Um I have this pocket knife," I said, pointing to the black knife in the cupholder.

He replies, "No sir...I mean like bazookas, machine guns or firearms." Bazookas was first on the list.

He then says, "Have you been drinking?"

"I'm sorry..."

"I can smell alcohol in the vehicle."

"OK..." It was 9 am.

"Can you step out of the vehicle, Mr. Bartlett?"

I threw it in reverse and gunned it. I sprayed snow in his face and railed out of the parking lot yelling, "Invisible Children, Sucka!"

Just kidding. I got out of the car. Standing in the snow, he gave me a field of sobriety test. I was laughing a little. I then had to blow into a breathalizer. I passed! I wasn't drunk at 9:30 in the morning. I guess I had bad breath.

He gave us a ticket for no seatbelts. Whoops.

The end.

Bluegrass finally

2007-02-03T07:07:00.000-08:00

The last week we've been in Lexington, KY. It's been the busiest week of tour. It's been one of the greatest. The people here have taken great care of us and they are taking IC to the moon across the whole town.

We all keep saying that Lexington is the Frankiln of 2007. Last year, Franklin, TN was one of the hugest IC cities in the country. Who knows why...Franklin had no special connection to IC, just a bunch of people who were really committed and ready to take it as far as it could go. Lexington was an untouched diamond in the same way. IC already had a little buzz going in Lex, it just needed a little more fuel and motivation to get the fire raging.

We had an incredible contact here, Cathy, who booked the whole city for us. If it was a little smoldering brushfire, Cathy spent the last few months amassing kindling, wood and fuel, we were the match, and the people here are the oxygen. The fire is raging and should only get bigger.

Tates Creek HS, Henry Clay HS, Danville HS, Lafayette HS, Bryan Station HS, Good Shepard Middle School, Eastern Kentucky Univ., U of Kentucky, Bluegrass College, Family Care Center, Lexington Library, Livewire Cafe, Natasha's Cafe, Central Christian Church - 14 screenings in 5 days. Needless to say, it was 'a bit busy.'

Being the designated driver, I've gotten to know Lexington like my hometown in the last week. I've been up and down this land like you wouldn't believe. Call me "bus driver."

It's been phenomenal though. We've met incredible people and we have a day and a half left. Should be good.

Louisville Stories

2007-01-29T16:18:00.000-08:00

We screened at 3 different high schools. Very different. We were first at Central High School - somewhat of an inner-city school. Central was Muhammod Ali's alma mater. Though inner-city it has a strong magnet program for kids to launch them into careers. Magnets are big in Kentucky, almost every high school has them - they are like majors or areas of emphasis for high schoolers.

Central had a young teacher couple - Keith and Keri Meador - who led a student leadership organization, Beta. The WHOLE school came to the assembly - it was huge. It went off without a hitch, which was obviously good for us, but even cooler for Beta, because they organized and planned the whole thing entirely by themselves.

We later stayed two night with the Meadors. We soon found them to be wonderfully wierd. They were in the middle of moving - so saw their matching collections of Barbies and comic books and action figures. They were somewhat quirky, but nice. But they were so generous to let us stay in their home and take care of us.

We also had an even screening at Sacred Heart Academy, an all girls Catholic school. These girls had been planning and waiting for us for months. It was after school - and they had brough 500 of their friends with them. They also planned a bake sale that was quite extensive. It raised $750.

After the film these people went crazy. I was bombared by at least a hundred people who had questions - I was talking for about an hour straight. The merch table was swamped - to the tune of $6500 - the largest response yet of the entire tour.

The next morning we screened at Wesport TAPP. Louisville TAPP schools are Teenage Parent Programs. The school is for girls who are pregnant or have already had their children. It is actually an incredible program. It is first required they take 2 parenting classes, then there are daycare facilities for their children once they are born, so the moms can continue in school and bring their kids to be in school.

Before hand, I feared they wouldn't be interested. I mean, let's be honest, they have enough on their hands to worry about. But these girls were the MOST excited and prepared for us. We were welcomed by 5 incredible girls - Ally, Hannah, Teasha, Darreka and Sallie. They prepared a continental breakfast for us, a full presentation on their school, a tour, and a well-planned screening.

The girls shared their stories. All were mothers - of at least 18 month olds. They spoke plainly and proudly about their pregnancies, labors and especially about their kids. Most all of them said that getting pregnant had been the best thing that has ever happened to them, despite the huge challenges.

When we asked the senior girls what they were doing after graduation, they all responded, unhesitantly, with the colleges they were attending. The junior girls spoke about college with the same giddyness and nervousness as me when I was 17. They were normal, and wanted to be treated as nothing less. But they weren't normal or ordinary. They were incredible - what they were doing with their time and lives and futures, given their pasts and presents, it was incredible. These girls had stories.

What is the What

2007-01-29T12:36:00.000-08:00

We're in Lexington, KY. It is -1 degrees at night. Yikes.

The Space Between

2007-01-26T15:34:00.000-08:00

So...it's been a few days. We've been practicing vagrancy - a day here, a day there, very little free time, very little net access. We are now in Louisville. Here's a summary of the last few days between Memphis and Louisville.

Martin. We were in Martin, TN for a few hours. We did a screening at UT Martin. April and I bought a small coffee maker and we brew it up in the most obscure places - just plug it in - like the empty stage in an auditorium. Anyway...the screening went off well. We met some really cool people that were involved with Baptist Campus Ministry (BCM).

After the screening, we went and "stayed" at the BCM house. We didn't really "stay", because we had to leave for Frankfort at 2am to get there by 8am that morning. Being at BCM was like a little spiritual refreshment, albeit short. The people were so loving and it was good to fellowship with them. They made us good food, and let us shower and we were off.

Frankfort. We drove all night...it was intense. The screening was at Western Hills High. All these kids in Kentucky went to this state-wide scholarship program called Governor's Scholar Program - a 5 week long academic/leadership camp. At this GSP thing, every student saw Invisible Children and got amped on it. So every high school we've been to in KY so far has been put on kids that saw it at this GSP thing...and they've all been incredible. These Kentucky High School screenings will be hard to beat.

So...Frankfort. The screening was cool. The kids were so real and were very excited for Schools for Schools and other ways to get involved. We stayed with the student body prez, Kelsey, and her family. So we drove 30 minutes out on this windy road to a hilltop farm - 100 acres of woods, a country home, horses and good hospitality. It snowed in the morning...it was freezing, but beautiful.

Then we came to Louisville. We met up with Anna, a high school student who was hosting us. Her house was incredible - an early 1900's farm house that had been remodeled and expanded. Then we went to dinner at her dad's restauarant - Avalon - it was about 40 bucks a plate...free. Incredible. We have been so spoiled on this trip, it feels unfair.

More to come on Lousiville...with pictures. We've been here the last 3 days.

Still alive...and on the move

2007-01-22T16:55:00.000-08:00

We left Memphis this morning. But not without the Singleton family taking us to their absolute favorite restaruant - Cracker Barrel. It would have been mediocre at best, if Mr. and Mrs. Singleton didn't think it was the greatest thing ever. It is really hard to dislike something when the nicest, most kind-hearted southerners are so enthused about it.

Memphis was a great city for our first stop. We were so welcomed. We met some incredible people, experienced Southern Hospitality at its best.

Memphis is a very interesting city. I always thought, "Oh Memphis...blues, BB King, the South, civil rights...cool." It is not such a nice quaint Southern haven. It is one of the most racially divided cities in America, despite being the heart of MLK's civil rights movement, and his deathplace. It is quite segregated: white people in the suburbs, black people in the city. White kids go to incredible private schools, black children, the city schools, some of the worst in the nation. As it city, it has some of the nation's deepest racial tensions and violence.

Despite all this, we met incredible people - people who love, humor, compassion, and hope. What Invisible Children has the potential to do to bring communities together is incredible. We saw the students from Rhodes College (mostly white, rich, liberal arts school downtown) get excited about partnering with students from nearby Central High (mostly black, inner-city, poor kids) for Schools For Schools.

So we are now in Martin, TN - a small town in northern TN. We have a screening at UT Martin tonight, then we are on to Franfurt, KY tomorrow morning. We'll have to leave before 5am to make the 5 hour drive.

You don't know Jack

2007-01-21T09:47:00.000-08:00

I do. He's a 7 year-old from Memphis. He is rather plump, hyperactive and has a bowl cut. He told me his Bible name was John. He was at the counseling center we screened at. He didn't watch the film, but was super fired up about Invisible Children. He wanted a t-shirt.

When I explained to his parents what IC was and about the film, his counselor, realizing his parents wouldn't like him watching a film about civil wars in Africa, quickly chimed in, "BUT...Jack didn't watch it!"

Jack sheepishly clarified, "Yeah, they said it would be to geographic for me."

I think he meant "graphic."

Greg

2007-01-21T09:25:00.000-08:00

This is Greg. We met him in downtown Memphis on Beale St. - the typical entertainment street of a city - like Austin's 6th St., Nashville's Broadway, LA's 3rd St., San Diego's Gaslamp. He was asking for 50 cents...what for, I don't know.

Greg was from Massachusetts, but had wandered his way all around these United States. Austin, San Fran, Northridge, New England, and now, Memphis.

Greg had a big laugh and an even bigger smile. He was one part wit, two parts goof. He told a few jokes, and laughed hard at the inconsistencies of life. Greg was a straight-shooter - told it like it is, no pretense. He was a drink-in-hand drunk, though he was not drunk when we talked to him.

I wanted to avoid him at first, and was irritated when he came up asking for money. But there was no escape - a big group of kids standing in a circle, clearly not from Memphis, clearly lost, an easy target. And we got taken, more than once. I saw it all as it was unfolding, but still there was no escape.

Then I caught my selfishness, and fought a losing battle to defeat it. While trying to "protect" our group, and really myself, I defeated the purpose for which we came to Memphis - to care for and speak on behalf of the neglected, outcast, forgotten and broken. Though this was our purpose, here I was trying to escape from these very people, for sake of self-preservation. Oh the selfishness, the double-mindedness. Thank God for His grace and for my teammates, who were willing to talk to these neighbors of ours.

Rock 'n' Soul

2007-01-17T21:32:00.000-08:00

Only in Memphis, Home of the King, would there be a church named "Rock 'n' Soul." Despite the slightly ridiculous name, the screening was awesome - our first. It couldn't have gone smoother, and the reaction was pretty positive.

We're staying at Rhodes College with some new friends. Rhodes is a small private liberal arts school in Memphis. It looks like a castle compound, Hogwarts or something. The people are super cool though and really welcoming.

I just got my pics up. Check it.

Oklahoma Ice Storm

OK City and beyond

2007-01-16T19:49:00.000-08:00

We have only the illusion of control. We planned to get to Oklahoma City last night. Didn't happen. We hit ice, fog, single-digit temperatures, and took some wrong turns. So we stayed in Amarillo, TX. But we got to stay with another roadie's aunt. Being in a home, rather than a sleazy motel 6 or the van, even if it was crowded, is always far superior.

The last two days we've been blessed with great conversation and bonding as a team. We are really starting to get close. Continue to pray that the Lord would grow that and draw us continually near to one another.

Not so funny experience: last night, driving thru 10 degree cold (so cold that our windows were fogging and the water was freezing on the inside of the car:)), our window motor break...in the down position. We eventually taped it up with duct tape...which by the way, is not a deluxe insulator. But this story has a happy ending - we prayed and God healed the window this morning.

Every gas station we pull into, people stop and stare at our all black vans, stickered up with "Invisible Children" all over...which gives us the opportunity to tell a ton of randoms about IC and give 'em dvds. Grassroots at it's best.

So here we are, on I-40, about an hour out of Memphis. It's our first real stop of the tour and tomorrow is our first screening. It's all about to get real. We're going to see the king.

Truth or Consequences

2007-01-15T15:05:00.000-08:00

Greetings from the middle of New Mexico - specifically a town called Truth or Consequences. I thought that was cool, though it was rather anticlimatic for such a fascinating name.

We are on the road, officially. After thinking, planning, talking and prepping for so long, we are finally off. I admit, I don't exactly feel fully equipped. But the again, we've been emersed for over 2 weeks, so I guess it's all in there...just need to get out there and get after it.

We left yesterday afternoon and we're caravanning with the Middle America team. It's been really uncertain and sketchy driving into the heart of this insane ice storm in the midwest. But it's moved south in Texas and our route cleared up, we hope. So we are now on our way to Oklahoma City and we'll be staying there tonight.

Our first screening is in Memphis on Wednesday. We're on our way to see the king. Get excited.

So...reflections. As I feel I've said a hundred times, it's been a bit of a blur the last few weeks. The Lord is really stretching me and challenging me thru this journey. Everything I knew from before and everything that I found comfort in is gone - friends, routine, personal space and time, predictability, home, everything. Different seasons.

So I'm struggling in this new season to see where and how the Lord wants to work in and through me. I find that when we are in completely new seasons, we flounder for a while, wondering how God can possibly work in these new circumstances. Well, at least I do that. Silly people. As if God has adaptation problems or something. I certainly do though, so I'm just praying that I'll stop fighting the differences and uncertanties and embrace the newness. I don't want to miss the forest for the trees. I don't want to miss the experience or opportunties or the Lord Himself for sake of introspection.

So pray for me - that I would really seek and stand on the Lord's strength and constancy in the different circumstances. It is when I rely on myself or am complacent that I bear no fruit or bad fruit in relationships and in my own heart. I want to grow closer to the Lord through this journey and I want other to be pointed toward him through it also.

More to come.

More Insanity...but it's all good

2007-01-10T21:04:00.000-08:00

Location: still in SD, we're figuring out the last minute stuff to get out on the road on Saturday. We're busy with training, preparations, mock screenings, etc. - all in all its about 12-13 hours a day. Then it's back to the 3 bedroom house where 25 people are staying. If you've seen the IC film, it looks like that scene with the night commuters - kids sleeping all over the floor, in the garage, outside, in bunks.

A little* cool thing for today - John Foreman (i.e. lead singer of Switchfoot) surprised us at training with a private acoustic concert. He was super cool, super talented and super encouraging.

I'm tired, but staying strong of heart - it's really exciting being a part of this whole trip and such. There's so much I could write about the deeper things - thoughts, spirituality, etc. but I'm not really down for super long emails or blogs, so I'll leave out the introspection and theological monologue for now. Stayed tuned later. For now, just keep me and all of us in your prayers - to keep God #1 and for us to serve him in all things.

week of insanity

2007-01-04T23:04:00.000-08:00

Location: IC house and office, San Diego

Aliveness: alive

Activities: living co-ed with 20 twenty-somethings in a 3 bedroom house...whoa. it's been two days, and it's been intense. yet it has also been real cool. these people (and the 25 other people that live in the other house) are really cool. we have people from all over - indiana, tennessee, oregon, texas and everywhere in between. it's awesome getting to know so many new people and i'm already learning so much from them all.

Other issues: still trying to get a grasp of all things invisible children (and believe me, it's a lot). still trying to figure out my role in the whole mess of ic, what God is showing me in relation to it all, and how i feel about it all.

Upcoming: a week of insanity (non-stop training, prepping and packing)

In the beginning...

2006-12-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

I created a blog. I figure, rather than send out mass quantities of mass emails to people who may or may not want to read them, a blog provides a on-demand updater/curiousity quencher.

The blog will be my venue for tracking, reflecting and rambling about my upcoming trip(s) - primarly the Invisible Children (IC)World Tour.

Location: Los Angeles, CA
Status: College Graduate, recently resigned employee of Whole Foods, not yet moved out of apartment, clueless on IC and what I/we will be doing.
Aliveness: Quite alive, rested and enjoying some time off.