AaL featured on Invisible Children!

So I'm too tired to say much about it... just check it out: http://www.invisiblechildren.com/blog/2008/07/16/use-what-youve-got/. I like their title, "Use What You've Got." It reminds me of the story Jesus told about the 3 servants who were given money to invest while their master was gone. What that story means to me is that one day, we're all going to give an account about what we did here on Earth with what we had (talents, treasures, time). We have what we have for a reason. I know this might sound crazy to some, but I really hope that I've been given some opportunities that I never would've had if I didn't have dreads. I've talked with people that were probably drawn to me by the fact that I have dreads. A simple example is telling people trying to sell me drugs that I don't need them to be happy, which seems to confound most of them. Simple things, perhaps, but I think they're significant and haven't just happened by chance. I think I've also gotten more free food since the dreads, which is probably nontrivial in the scheme of life but still pretty awesome! :-) So much for a short entry...

Invisible Children Video

So if you haven't heard of Invisible Children before, this YouTube video is a good place to start. Also check out the Invisible Children's official YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/invisiblechildreninc) for more info.

The Beginning

So here's my story. I've been growing dreadlocks since January 2, 2007. Recently, I've been thinking about cutting them off, but I wanted to do something meaningful for their departure from my life.

And here's what I came up with:

I am going to auction off my individual dreads to raise money for a organization that has played a major part in helping to end a Ugandan militia from kidnapping children, brainwashing them, and forcing them to become soldiers. The organization is called Invisible Children (www.invisiblechildren.com

). More can be found about the organization below and much much more can be found on their website.

So what does adopt-a-lock mean? Here's the process. If you win a dread, here's what happens:
1. You can customize the dread however you see fit, and i will make it happen. You can:
- specify its color (up to two colors per dread)
- send me any kind of bead/charm/logo and I'll attach it to the dread, as long as it's not obscene or larger than 1 square inch.
2. I will keep my hair in its auction state depending on how much money is raised:
- 1 week: less than $500
- 2 weeks: $500-$2000
- 3 weeks: more than $2000
3. After the set amount of time, I will cut off my dreads. I will give 100% of the money raised to Invisible Children.
4. I will email you a certificate of adoption that includes a picture of your lock and a thank you note.

Right now, I'm still in the brainstorming phase as to how this is all going to work out. All questions and suggestions are welcome. Please add this group and invite all your friends. And those friends, invite all your friends! Let's change the world, one lock and a time :-)