Our Summer 2010 so far...

Hello Friends,

It's been a few weeks since my last update and that's because, as you will see, we had a very full month of June. This summer we are staying put in Orlando to continue what we have done throughout this past year. I am studying and Sarah is designing.

In June I took two one week classes at RTS and have started a third—an independent study to be completed by August. The June classes were intense but satisfying. The first class I took was in Apologetics and was taught by a visiting —Bruce Baugus—from the Jackson, MS campus. It was an enjoyable week where we met Monday through Friday from 8:30AM to 3:30PM. Bruce is a great teacher with a style that easily engenders questions and interaction. We have a month after the class to complete all the class work as well as arrange a phone oral exam that I will take next week. I am looking forward to that part. I am about 2/3rds of the way through the reading, right now in the middle of Corneilius Van Til's short tome, Christian Apologetics. I am particularly interested in the concepts behind Van Til's ideas regarding "presuppositionalism"—a form of Theology/Apologetics that I suspect might be useful when approaching and interacting with the art world.

The second class I took and finished last week was on the Church and the World. We met Monday through Friday 8AM to 4PM. The class was taught by John Meuther—RTS Orlando's librarian. I have taken a class with John before and enjoyed his style of teaching as well...he enjoys good interaction with the students. One book we are reading that has begun to cause a stir in Christian circles is James Davison Hunter's book, To Change the World. Hunter—a sociologist at the University of Virginia—is challenging predominant thinking in the Church regarding models of cultural change. John is sympathetic to Hunter's perspective and I have found my thinking attracted to his line of reasoning, although the jury is not fully in for me quite yet.

Last Friday, the last day of class for me, Sarah and I got on the road for an eight hour trip to northern South Carolina to attend a former student's wedding in Rock Hill. Stephen Crotts is someone Sarah and I met the summer of 2006—the same summer she and I started dating. He has become a much loved friend, and we are excited he and his new bride Erica are finally husband and wife. Stephen works as an illustrator and Erica is a school teacher. They will continue to live in Rock Hill. It seems our circle of friends grows in the North and South Carolina area.

After the wedding Sarah and I were able to spend a few days with Sarah's best friend, Audrey. As you may know from our newsletters, Audrey has been dealing with breast cancer and will most likely be entering radiation treatment sometime in July. Both Audrey and Sarah had an invigorating few days of "junkin'" as they traveled to as many thrift shops and secondhand stores as the could get to. I sat home and read. We are grateful to Audrey and Scott for allowing us to stay with them a few days...not that it was an effort for Audrey (she and Sarah love discovering unique items).

At the end of July we will be on the road again, traveling to Maryland, then NYC for another wedding, and then back down to North and South Carolina for another wedding before returning to Florida. We appreciate all your prayers!

Peace,
Kirk and Sarah

A family visit and class prep...

Hey Friends,

We have had a wonderful week in Florida as Sarah's older sister, Rebecca and her daughter, Mia came to visit us. We get to see them none too often as they live in the panhandle of Texas in Lubbock. Rebecca is a Microbiology teacher at a local college in Lubbock, and Mia is a growing teen who is quite talented in music and dance (ballet is her specialty). We are very fond of them and are thrilled they are here.

Rebecca's husband, Wronsky, is a professor at Texas Tech in Spanish literature and takes a group of students each summer down to Mexico, where he is from, for language and history studies. He left last week so Rebecca decided to come see us to start their and our summer off. Both she and Mia have not been here to Florida to see Sarah in close to 10 years.

We spent a few days at Disney with them enjoying the short lines and beautiful details in the design of the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. Sarah and Mia rode the "Mount Everest" ride four times yesterday while Rebecca and I could only stomach once...I don't have the same constitution as my wife when it comes to roller coasters...she's a bandit for roller coasters. We are sad to say they leave tomorrow, but we hope to see them again over the holidays.

I start classes next week, I will do five intense days from 8:30AM to 3:30PM for a class on apologetics. Pray that I remain alert and receptive to the content. I came across this Van Till quote in one of the books I am reading for the class. This book by Thom Notaro called Van Til and the use of Evidence is a summary of what my thinking has been regarding apologetics and defending Christianity to non-Christians for the last 10 to 15 years. I am looking forward to the class. "Ideally '...what is meant by knowing God in Scripture is knowing and loving God,' says Van Til; 'this is true knowledge of God; the other is false.'"

Thanks for all your interest, prayers and support of what we are trusting God for...

Peace,
Kirk and Sarah

Another quote...

So I am deep into my reading in preparation for my upcoming summer classes. I have two in June, and I am arranging an independent study on the Images of Ancient Israel—really looking forward to that one. The first class in June is on Apologetics and is being taught by a visiting professor from RTS's Jackson, MS campus. The book I am currently reading is a collection of excerpts from apologetic writings before 1500. The other day I was reading part of Tertullian's Apology. Tertullian was a lawyer in the 2nd century AD who lived in Carthage North Africa. He is considered one of the early Christian thinkers that set a foundation for Carthage to become a center for theological discourse...Carthage was where Augustine (considered one of the greatest Christian thinkers) made his home in the 4th and 5th centuries.

I found this in chapter 17 of Tertullian's Apology:

"The object of our worship is the One God, He who by His commanding word, His arranging wisdom, His mighty power, brought forth from nothing this entire mass of our world, with all its array of elements, bodies, spirits, for the glory of His majesty...The eye cannot see Him, though He is (spiritually) visible. He is incomprehensible, though in grace He is manifested. He is beyond our utmost thought, though our human faculties conceive of Him. He is therefore equally real and great...He is presented to our minds in His transcendent greatness, as at once known and unknown. And this is the crowning guilt of men, that they will not recognize One, of whom they cannot possibly be ignorant. Would you have the proof from the works of His hands, so numerous and so great, which both contain you and sustain you, which minister at once to your enjoyment, and strike you with awe; or would you rather have it from the testimony of the soul itself? Though under the oppressive bondage of the body, though led astray by depraving customs, though enervated by lusts and passions, though in slavery to false gods; yet, whenever the soul comes to itself, as out of a surfeit, or a sleep, or a sickness, and attains something of its natural soundness, it speaks of God; using no other word, because this is the peculiar name of the true God."

Peace,

Kirk and Sarah

The ecology of a design...

Hey all,

Usually when Sarah puts her hand and mind on a design she has some idea of how that design may be used...but not always. It's exciting to see what you've designed go from sketches on a page to a final physical item, something you can hold in your hand.

This past February Sarah did some designs for Campus Crusade for Christ's National Leadership Conference for the Campus Ministry. The theme was "Passage". For the design Sarah used the concept of a tree whose leaves "pass" from being leaves to butterflies. The pics above show some of the materials designed for the conference, as well as how it was used on the stage of the conference.

What's even more exciting is seeing the visuals come to life through animation. The video below shows how Sarah's design was given a different level of creativity by 2 of her teammates-Rob Jorgensen and Rafal Zielinski. It is also an interesting summary of this year in ministry.

Peace,
Kirk and Sarah

An award earned...

It's great to get appreciation for your work. Sarah recently received a design award for work she did last summer for Campus Crusade for Christ's National Staff Conference. "Graphic Design: USA" or "GD:USA" annually gives out acknowledgments for a variety of submitted works from organizations and businesses all over the US. One set of awards they grant are called "In-house design awards", essentially designs done within the organization and not hired out. Quite a bit of "in-house" stuff is done for CCC.

It was a pleasant surprise and an incredible boost for Sarah's week (and year, so far). In celebration of these awards, GD:USA releases an annual journal with all the acknowledged designs...we look forward to seeing Sarah's work in that publication this July.

Peace,
Kirk and Sarah