Really Really Free day

This was a community event, the first of it's kind.  An entire block was blocked off from through traffic and anyone who wanted to, grabbed a spot along the curb and set up 'shop'.  Except there wasn't any 'shopping' exactly cause everything had to be *free*.

There were givers of clothes, art supplies, face painting, drum circles, dancing, food, bottles of water, bike inspections and tune-ups, books, pens, tote bags, information, toys, finger crochet lessons, hugs...we were offering yarn, 'homeless paks', prayer and/or an encouraging word. The event wasn't that big but I am hoping they will host another one because it was really cool.

We were the only church represented too! So much opportunity.  My friend Megan set it up.  Her husband joined us and I had all the ktbunch with me. I scored a shirt and cute dress. Birdy was given a brand new 'collectable' Barbie. haha. She is a pretty one though. The kiddos also got various other little treasures like beautiful, brightly colored, polished rocks.

We did pray for a few people and give a few encouraging words. Mostly though, people really liked & wanted the homeless paks.  We encouraged people to take one for themselves or to give away if they saw someone in need. The zippered vinyl bags had some non-perishable snacks like energy/protein bars, chips, bottle of water, hand sanitizer & a paper w/ a list of local resources like shelters and mental health facilities.

I really, really hope they host another one soon because the opportunity is so rich. And now that we got our feet wet a bit, I'm sure we'd have an easier time next time talking w/ people. Our paks were gone pretty quickly.  Most people really didn't seem to know what was going on and kept asking us how much our items cost. It was interesting.