Remember how we’re creating a cozy, comfortable bedroom in a safe house for victims of sex trafficking? Yes?

I hoped you would, but I thought I should probably recap that, like every episode of Grey’s Anatomy. “Previously, on View Along the Way…”

First a quick note about the last post. We talked about how we’ll lay out the bedroom, and you guys brought tons of awesome ideas in the comments section. The most common suggestion was to do an L-configuration, and I just wanted to show you really quick why we can’t go that route. Check this out:

That’s what I call the just-sleep-with-your-feet-in-the-air layout, or the gently-jam-your-feet-through-the-wall layout. (ha!) It seems SO good in your head until you come face-to-face with the actual scale of the room, right?

You also had lots of great suggestions for loft beds, and I think in any other tiny-space situation, that’d be the most perfect idea. Ultimately we talked about it and felt that we should lean away from anything that might feel institutional in any way, and even if space is tight, aim for a homey feel above all else.

So that’s the sitch. I love you. I love your ideas. I just needed to explain that so you didn’t take it personally that I seemed to ignore them. Let’s keep being friends, okay?

Now let’s talk about the birds! The folks who run this trafficking ministry (Out of Darkness) suggested it might be cool if we could find a way to incorporate a symbol of freedom in the room. They suggested doves or butterflies. I LOVED the challenge and set out thinking about how we could do something like that in a way that feels modern and age-appropriate.

Obviously, this could go cheeseball in a heartbeat – and I can already feel you guys worrying that this is going to lean 1990s-Lisa-Frank (butterfly decals EVERYWHERE!). I could hear you cringing through your screen when I mentioned it in the last post.

Am I right? You can admit it.

No worries! I think we can do this and make it cool! Stick with me here.

First I hopped on etsy and looked for art that might work. I found a few things that said “freedom” to me, like these:

Sources: 1, 2, 3
But nothing felt quite right, or high-impact enough.

Then I found these photos:

Amazing paper styling by Stuart McLachlan

And I was all, “GASP! A bird INSTALLATION!”

That’s IT. Done. It’s happening.

First thing I did was call up my friends at 163 Design Company, who made these wood-and-canvas letters for me:

I was like, “uhhh, guys. I think I want… some kind of birds? Doing some kind of thing?” And they were like, “We’re on it!”

I can’t gush enough about the family behind 163 Designs. They go above and beyond to design whatever you can imagine and create it for you, and they were SO excited to just donate whatever we needed for the ladies in the safe house. I kind of mushy-gushy love them. Make sure you swing by their shop!

The plan is to do wood-and-canvas birds flying across one of the walls – maybe a few stray birds escaping up to the ceiling? I think it’ll be high-impact and kinda different.

Here’s where you come in.

I’d like the bird display to represent something bigger, something cooler, and I’d LOVE for you to be part of it! If you’re up for it, I’d love for you to “sponsor” a bird. Here’s how it will work:

“Sponsorship” of one of the birds means that you’ll do one or both of these things:

1. Commit to pray for the ladies who come through the safe house, long-term.
2. Send a note of encouragement. You can write a little to the ladies who will stay here – handwritten if possible! – and send it to me. It can be just a short note, or a verse that means something to you, a poem or… limerick? Perhaps a haiku? I’m getting carried away.

   We’ll collect all the letters and bind them up in a book which we’ll leave on the dresser. I’ll put a little note in the front explaining who you are, and that each of the birds represents real people who care about them and are praying for their future.

   (A few ideas for your letter: keep it basic, stuff you’d say to anyone who’s coming through something tough, and encouraging! My letter will probably include a few Bible verses I love, and the general idea that Jesus loves them and is for them.)

Every night when they go to bed and see those birds, they’ll know that actual people – YOU! – care what happens to them and love them and are rooting for them. Cool, right?!!

Answer: IT IS SO COOL.

What do you think? Are you in this with me? If so, you can write a letter to these ladies and mail it to:

Safe House Letters
3721 New Macland Rd
Ste 200-155
Powder Springs, GA 30127

The catch is that we have VERY LITTLE TIME. I need to receive all the letters by October 24, 2014, so you’ve got to do this today. Ya with me?

If you can’t make the handwritten-letter thing happen, you can send me an email and I’ll print it out. Printed is better than nothing, but handwritten trumps everything else. Am I right?

So. What do you think about this crazy bird installation idea? Are you up for sponsoring one of the birds and letting these ladies know you care about them?