Camping at the base camp park and military family

Our place looks like a park. It is amazing out at the base house right now. Tony built a childrens play area complete with swings and slide. We have expanded the yard and are going to put in a bit of a sports area. We are working on a bit of a kitchen expansion... we are in need of a little more room. Things have changed a bit this summer and instead of a couple of young adults coming up we are having a little family move in! A military family is moving in to the community while "dad" is overseas for a year. We are very excited to have them come! They will arrive at the end of July.

Most of our crew is headed to Cornerstone at the end of this month. Daughters of Exile will be playing Thursday evening. We have an art festival shortly afterwards in Minneapolis. There are also babies on the way so Tracy will be traveling on a semi regular basis. I'll be taking some coffee brewing classes in prep for the coffee stand at LifeLight.

Here's the really important part for you! Freedom Seed's Communion is coming up! And like I said it is like a park up here! July 28 - 31 - Come camp!

Surfing

I don't know about you but surfing always looks easy to me. When a professional does it anyway. Doesn't it look easy? They take a board out there. They have groovy hair. They have sweet hemp necklaces. They look totally relaxed. The stroke out in to the ocean like they were born swimming and like the board doesn't create any drag whatsoever. They wait patiently. They hardly even drift. And then... then the wave comes and the slide in to an upright position on their board. You can hardly see the motion they make that takes them from their prone position to standing on the board. Then they are riding the wave. They are inside the wave. They are flying. They are gliding. They come out of the water looking just as relaxed, if just a little flushed with the excitement and victory of their ride, as when they went in. Hemp necklace still in place. Perfect tan gleaming.

Gosh that looks easy.

If you have ever attempted any kind of physical activity you will know that it takes a lot of effort and a lot of practice and usually quite a lot of bruises. On top of that there is the investment in a board and clothes and even the hemp necklace. Sure everything looks "carefree" and easy but these people worked like crazy to make their surfing look easy.

We are practicing a new trick right now. We are putting together a curriculum for this summers (and many summers to come) interns. We are working on a church plant. We are working on starting a business. We are recording music. We are traveling. We are deciding on how we are doing all of these things and keep our community and family lives vibrant, healthy and happy.

It's fun. It's a lot of work.

In the quiet of Sunday

It's silent.

It's still.

It isn't an uncomfortable silence.

Someone has just finished speaking.

Everyone is letting the moment rest.

If someone speaks and someone else interrupts or explains, makes excuses or in anyway detracts from what the speaker just said it sours the moment.

It doesn't matter what just came out of that person's mouth.

There has to be somewhere that people are safe to share.

Be authentic.

It's a comfortable silence.

And then someone else opens up.

Their words gush out like water.

Unhindered and free because no one has placed a stone in front of them to disrupt the flow.

And then everyone is still.

As we let it soak.

And we are filled.

And it's quiet.

And it's safe.

To be.

Authentic.

We are prepping for our summer new arrivals this year. We have one who will be moving up full time and another who will be on and off and we are all looking forward to the surprises that come along! If you have an interest in coming up for the summer or know someone who would benefit then get in touch with us!

Our entire group is busy with piecing together side businesses and working on becoming more self sustaining. Things are moving as slowly as the sap around here and we are all trying to remind each other that spring is just now starting. We are having some of the coldest weather for spring though and we have been warned that the next couple of months are going to be chilly... great... there are some years here where you can wear a sweater all year round. We are hoping this is not one of those years. We would like to enjoy some lake time!

Garden plans are in the works and new chicks will be ordered soon as well. Things for the LifeLight music festival are gearing up already and soon there will be a lot of back and forth to Sioux Falls for both Tony and Matthias.

I have to say that our hearts are all straining towards other countries right now, India and Mexico especially are weighing on us all. Right now we can't make it there but we are looking forward to the time when we will be able to go again! Until then, we invite you here! We always have great food and there is hardly ever a dull moment.

Jasmine for the crew


Buy some awesome coffee from us!

Everyone, wanted and needed

Our "parents" arrived home today! It is strange how you can live with so many people and yet when someone(s) leave for even a short time you miss their part in the daily activities. That is when you know that everyone really is participating in community life, you feel their absence because their part in the daily or weekly activities are missing and that part is vital to the way that we function. Sure someone can take over for a little while and we all live and everyone enjoys a vacation now and then but everything functions the best when everyone is here to fully participate.

Everyone is wanted. Everyone is needed.

Saturday Morning at the Community

It is Saturday morning at the community and it's far from what the normal populace would call "laid back" but that is exactly what we would call it. It is after 10 a.m. and the pancakes are coming off the grill. The house is loud and filled with all of us and we have extras this weekend.

Aubrey and Tony make the best pancakes. They are huge, fluffy pancakes. I don't even try to compete I have just moved to making flapjacks so that nobody compares my cakes to the perfect pancakes that come of the grill of Aubrey and Tony. How do they do it? I don't know. Maybe I could talk them in to making a "How to make a perfect pancake" post but it isn't very likely because they both have an aversion of sorts to social networking so if you ever want the most perfect pancakes you will just have to come visit.

Jasmine

Coffee with a Cause

Our mission is to help youth “gap year” or more accurately “gap summer” which is the year that follows high school where many young adults are wondering what to do next. We help these young adults find purpose and gain direction through hands on projects and through volunteer work in the community and around the country. These young adults spend their gap year summer working hard with their hands, learning to live with each other and learning vital life skills and teamwork.

The young adults that set aside this special time to focus on character building come out stronger and full of purpose. Many decide to go on to college or join a volunteer organization or even start their own business. They became highly motivated people.

By buying coffee from Freedom Seed Mobile Youth Church’s you will be supporting our work with young adults as well as enjoying an incredible cup o’ joe!

We purchase our coffee from Peace Coffee, a Minneapolis, MN based coffee roaster. Peace Coffee beans are fair trade organic coffee. Not only are they ethical they are also huge advocates of getting off your couch and being active while saving a little gas! We love that.

We are selling each pound of beans for $14. Local pick up is offered in the town of Bemidji. We will ship it to you and you’ll be charged what it costs to ship your order of beans. We’ll also give you some brewing instructions for drip, Melitta (our personal favorite) and cold brew.

We have a great selection of beans that our coffee fanatics enjoy.

Because of our love of biking….

Colombian Heavy Pedal Roast

Clean sweet light roast with a mild berry/cherry finish.

Roast Level: light
Acidity: medium-high
Body: medium
Aroma: cocoa, honey, almond
Flavor Notes: toasted walnuts, cocoa, wine

Blue Ox Blend

A dynamic blend of three coffees that highlights the individual flavors of each origin.

Roast Level: light, medium, and dark
Acidity: medium-high
Body: medium-heavy
Aroma: orange, spice, earth, dark chocolate

Flavor Notes: caramel, dark chocolate, graham, orange marmalade

This is our crew’s top pick.

Mexican Dark Roast

A big smoky start, nice dark chocolate middle and a crisp, clean finish.

Roast Level: dark
Acidity: low
Body: light
Aroma: dark chocolate, nutty & dried herbs

Flavor Notes: dark chocolate, black currant, prune, toasted walnut, dark toasted wheat

Yeti Cold Press Blend

This special blend makes an extraordinarily balanced, smooth and rich coffee.

Roast Level: medium-dark
Acidity: very low
Body: light-medium
Aroma: chocolate & toast
Flavor Notes: caramel, dark chocolate & smoke

For more information or to order some of this rockin’ coffee for a great cause you can –

Call us: 218-854-7327

Email us: info@freedomseed.org

Check out our website: www.FreedomSeed.org

You can also friend us on Facebook! Just look up Freedom Seed.
For now you are only able to order over the phone or by e-mail.

Please let us know how many pounds and what beans you would like. If you need your beans shipped please send us your address. You may also arrange a pick up if you are local.

You can either pay by check or with PayPal.