God Art......SOS 2012

sketchbook doodles

 If you are a friend or you read my blog, you know that I love my church.  I have been involved with SOS for over 12 years, maybe longer I've lost track.  Rarely do I venture away from my comfort zone of being on the evening prayer team.  Years ago, they didn't have it, so I was forced to find another way to be involved so I took photos of outreaches, but eventually found my way back to the prayer team.  This year months before SOS, Carolyn sent an email to a bunch of people in regards to an onsite experience they were creating, and needed volunteers who would like to be involved in the planning process.  Rarely do I answer these calls for volunteers, as I work retail and my hours are unpredictable.  I agreed to go to the first meeting just to see what it was all about, and if it was something God needed me to do I'd make it work.  There was a whole lot of brainstorming that went on.  For the most part I am not a big fan of brainstorming, I survived that process.  The time frame was laid out and the frame work was presented.  And a suggestion of something creative the kids could do, to fill some time while they waited their turn to go on the prayer trail.  Through a series of brainstorming ideas we landed on Broken Tile Mosaic......as soon as those words were out there.....I could literally think of nothing else.  My head was instantly full of ideas, and my wheels were turning immediately.  Apparently this was obvious, and I suddenly was in the throws of a whole lot of creative planning.  And this time filler activity grew from a time filler to an important activity, with speaking points and everything for the onsite experience.  The best part, I agreed to plan this all out, and I was going to be gone 2 weeks prior to SOS......which is the important time when they pull everything together.  I made this clear ahead of time.  I was responsible for what the image would be and what supplies would be needed......and how to construct it all.......IMAGE????  This gave me a bit of a panic.  I don't draw.  After some prayer I really felt like the image should be original.....and not some photograph we redesigned.  Except I don't draw.  Although I have people in my home who draw very well.  Welcome.....my talented.....very understanding husband.  He is not a huge fan of me interrupting his usually low key life, with whatever craziness I got going on.  I let him know I needed a picture and for what.......I got "the look", and I smiled my sweet......"you're gonna do this", smile.  I told him the theme of SOS, and the direction we'd kind of like to go in.  And I said now go draw something......and then I prayed.......a few days later he sent me a few doodles from his little at work sketchbook. 
I have never made a mosaic, or even tiled ever in my whole life.  I still haven't.  Ha Ha......I watched videos, and read on the how-to.....and then instructed others.  It was a fun, slightly stressfull process, and very rewarding.  And after it was all said and done, I can clearly see God's hand all over it.  It was a great experience to listen, hear and act on what God was saying.   My husband was gracious enough to plot out his image on graph paper so it could be translated into mosaic.....much like color by number.  I also gave him the task of......... we need something to hold this, and how will they be attached.....with a huff....he went to work on construction plans. 

All this was completed a few days before I left on a 2 week vacation for California.  I was a tiny bit scared when I left just because it turned into a giant project with a lot of details and I was terrified I had forgotten something which I probably did.  Somehow the folks at VCC pulled it off as they always do with large insane projects.  Because of being gone for 2 weeks, and my work schedule there was no way for me to be at SOS during the day and to be involved in the process.

So for those of you who weren't there basically 200 kids per day went through the onsite experience there were several stations.  The mosaic was one station.  In small groups throughout the day they'd have talking points and then they'd creat a 12x12 section of the mosaic.....not knowing what the big picture would be, only what their section was.  The last station was a worship type experience where the big picture was put together so they could see. 

I was amazed, and happy they pulled it off.  Big thanks to a ton of people.  I know it was a lot of work.  They turned out to be the exact image God put in my head.  Great job to the 800 teens who didn't even know what they were creating, and allowing God to use them to make some super awesome God Art!!!

Also a big thanks to Carolyn for pulling it all together when I left.  And the onsite team for pushing me to do this, it was a lot of fun.  Oh and thanks to my work place for tolerating my long lunches every week for several weeks.