What I Learned While Freezing My Butt Off in San Francisco!

Well let me just jump right into this. The first thing I learned was that as a Christian I just didn't have the right vocabulary to describe just how cold I was while sleeping outside in San Francisco the other night. All the "OK" words just didn't seem to quite capture the depth of my coldness. But that is beside the point.

You may be wondering now why I would be sleeping outside in San Francisco. I won't go into all the details but if you want more than I provide just go to www.invisiblechildren.com and check out all the info about the Rescue event. That is what I was at. In brief, the Rescue was an event in 100 cities across the world in an attempt to end the longest running war in Africa and rescue the over 30,000 abducted children who have been forced by Joseph Kony into the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army). Nearly 100,000 people chose to abduct ourselves and wait to be rescued. In order to be rescued, we needed the media to show up and cover the event and we needed a mogul (someone of power and influence) to show up and pledge to lend his or her voice to rescuing these kids and ending the war.

So what did I learn while I was there? Well I'm not sure yet. I am still processing it all since I am only about 12 hours removed from it. But here are some observations.

I observed that I was out of place. I was old (37). There were a few of us old people out there, but in a crowd of approximately 2000 people we were by far the minority. This was both sad and encouraging to me.

It was encouraging to see the younger generation willing to give up their time and comfort to support an issue that isn't about them. Whether this war ends or these kids are freed won't make a single difference directly in any of the lives of these kids who were there. But yet they still care. They care because it isn't about them but it is about justice. And the abduction of innocent kids is unjust anywhere and anytime and injustice is always worth fighting for even if it doesn't affect us. An ocean may separate us from this war but kids are kids and people are people and distance should never be a reason for indifference.

I was sad because why were there not more old people, and by old I mean over 30, out there? What happens when we get older? Do we lose what some call the naivete that allows us to believe that change can happen and that we can be a part of it? Do we get too wrapped up in our own lives and our jobs and our families to be concerned about anything that doesn't affect us directly? I saw a lot on TV these past couple of weeks about the Tea Parties and I am all in favor of them. The governement is way too involved in my paycheck. But what I noticed was that the Tea Parties were my generation. So why is it that we can get out and believe we can have an impact on taxes but we aren't willing to do something about abducted children forced into a war? Is it really as simple as taxes affecting us and a war thousands of miles away not? I don't know. I don't have an answer for that.

I also must confess that if it weren't for a friend in this younger generation inviting me and sharing the story with me I would have never been there. I would have continued going about my life knowing about the "invisible children" but never caring enough to really know about them and get involved. I would have spent the day sleeping in and playing with my kids and I most definately would have been a lot warmer and more comfortable in my bed on Saturday night.

But one thing I did learn was that this younger generation really cares about issues of injustice. When something is wrong it is wrong. Whether next door or across the ocean. These kids may have been enjoying their time out there but if it was about enjoyment they could have been at any one of their houses staying warm and having just as much fun hangin out. It wasn't about the hangin with friends it was about the issue. And they truly did care.

What else I learned was that they long for someone to provide them a voice. The group at Invisible Children did this. They provided an outlet for these kids to get involved and do something about an issue they care about. And maybe that is where us old people can get involved. Maybe we could find ways to give this younger generation a voice. But first we have to care.

We have to believe again that we can make a difference. We have to believe that injustice is injustice no matter where it happens or who it happens to. We have to believe that injustice anywhere is worth fighting against. We have to be willing to take a stand for justice even if it takes us out of our comfort zone.

We have to look to this younger generation and learn a thing or two. Let them remind us what it is like to believe that our life can make a difference. Let them remind us that life is about more than our 9-5 jobs and our to-do lists around the house.

Let them remind us that as humam beings who have been given much, much is required.