DREAM #1: FREEDOM CAFE

We have been praying a lot about some exciting dreams that we have had for several years now. We see God starting to work in cool ways to possibly start moving forward with certain aspects of those dreams, which is very exciting. One of the visions is to start a Freedom Cafe, and the other is to start a 1-2 year internship for students after they graduate. We have had a few promising meetings in the last few weeks with some key people regarding the Freedom Cafe, and it has given us a lot of excitement and optimism that it seems there is a very good chance it is going to happen! Let me explain the Freedom Cafe in this post, and then I will write about the internship in a later post.

In general, the idea is to launch a for profit business under our non-profit umbrella to support the work of the ministry. The current business idea is a "Freedom Cafe" close to campus where students and others would be inclined to come and study, hang out, and get filled physically, spiritually, and emotionally. It could also be a place where people learn about, rally around, and fight against various injustices around the world, especially human trafficking. We envision creating a warm, cozy ambiance so that people feel safe and can find refuge, love, and peace there. We would offer a variety of different community gatherings certain nights of the week or month, like poetry reading or poetry writing and sharing, Bible studies, book studies, Cross Training (which is currently our weekly student worship gathering), concerts, various classes, and other creative things to cultivate community, love on people, and lead them closer to Jesus. We could also have a "kids playing" section with one or two students watching the kids while moms get a coffee break, read, or talk with other moms. We definitely feel like this cafe would prove to be an incredible extension of our reach to the campus and surrounding community. We hope to launch a one to two year student internship for graduating seniors as well who would be committed to working/serving in the cafe for a portion of their time. I will share the vision of the student internship in next post!



We have a vision of marrying this Freedom Cafe with a Freedom Store through a partnership with Trade As One - an amazing local Fair Trade Company which seeks to bring good news to the poor by only buying and selling products (which are 100% fair trade) from businesses who employ people living with AIDS, people coming out of trafficking situations, or people living on less than a dollar a day. Their vision has gripped the hearts and minds of the students on campus, and several of our students are even interning this summer with them. We could partner with Trade as One to sell their fair trade products in the cafe, and we would also sell fair trade coffee, chocolate, and other food products that often use slave labor in their production. Check them out on the web at www.tradeasone.com! You can also hear founder Nathan George speak at our Freedom Summit website, www.freedom-summit.org. He is AMAZING!!

In the store/cafe, people could learn about human trafficking worldwide, follow the stories of both victims and survivors, and learn about their ability to effect change through every dollar they spend. Each dollar is a vote, and our votes can demand more products that arrive in front of us through ethical, moral, and righteous channels.

Lastly, our good friend Tbone (who is our co-worker Emilee's husband) has had this vision for a long time. He quit his job a couple years ago and took a job as the store manager of Red Mango to gain experience in running a business of this kind. He would be a key player in running this cafe because he has the right experience and is incredibly intelligent and hard working.

If you are interested in helping out with this vision in any way, just email me at nwiesen@gmail.com! And please pray for us also. If this is God's vision, then He will provide the means for it to happen.