Sentrock

Joseph “Sentrock” Perez is from “Bird City” a.k.a Phoenix, AZ. His family of origin came from Central America before Arizona was ever a state. Sentrock grew up on the west side of Phoenix and much of that culture has played into his current artistic perspective. He began by working solely with graffiti, but is evolving into a world-class muralist and gallery artist. He now lives in Chicago, IL and is studying art and design at Columbia College.     

This past weekend we had the opportunity to meet and experience his work. He laid down a fantastic mural behind the Geer home in the North Lawndale neighborhood, South Chicago. The theme was “From struggle comes strength” which was an inspiring message to a neighborhood that has seen much struggle. His offering was personal, vibrant, and we were taken with his humble spirit.

Typically we humans tend to clump into scenes, cliques and hang with people who have similar backgrounds or preferences in life. That isn’t a bad thing but it does limit the creative possibilities. To me there is something exciting about the union of differing cultural, creative and philosophical ideals! So, when we heard about Sentrock we were eager to meet him, hear his story and share ours. My hope was that there would be a connection and an opportunity for our creativeness to collide. My hope was that just as we were inspired by Sentrock, that he would be inspired by our family and desire to share his talents by painting a mural on our bus.

We put it out there. Sentrock responded graciously and with enthusiasm that he would be keen to paint a mural on our bus. He came by to visit our space, took home our CD and is using all of it to source inspiration for the design.

We will continue a relationship with our new friend and are excited to see what inspiration comes from the urban, folky connection.

Stay tuned for what may come as we wait with anticipation for the creativity to flow.

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Offerings

Have your heard of the ancient temple of the Lord, built by Moses and his people? It is said that this temple was made of the finest gold, silver, bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet material; fine linen, onyx stones and lamp oil; spices for anointing oils and for fragrant incense. All were offerings, freely given by any who were willing. It is recorded that the offering was made to the Lord, not to the tabernacle (for a tax deduction). In fact, this story is amazingly God-centered. God is present in every step of the process. In the text that this story is recorded, Exodus, God details the need, tells how to use the supplies, prompts Moses to ask for them, prompts certain people to respond, the people give to God and the gifts are used to glorify God by craftsmen God gifted.

It is an amazing story of how the great designer pulls together the most amazing mysteries and wonders, engaging with us to create community.

We are not building a temple of the Lord but we are building a bus that we long to use to create and encourage community. The bus is empty right now yet there are divine appointments happening daily. Folks are coming forward to share the load, excited and ready to help. It is humbling and almost unexplainable, expect for the fact that I know there is One I can trust through it all.

Here are a few of the offerings we had over the last weeks.

Troy, a neighbor, called and offered a fantastic deal for our sheet metal. Paul, another neighbor, stopped by and took a tour. He was pretty excited about our endeavor and announced that he is a mechanical engineer and would like to help design the heating system. We found reasonably priced salvage windows online through Factory RV Surplus, out of Elkhart, IN. Then our friend, Saul popped over and shared his expertise as an electrical engineer. If time stays on our side we will have heat and electricity by our departure date of Oct. 12. If not,  at least we’ll have the plans for what needs to be finished.

Another wonderful offering came from Allen Gokey, owner of Packerland Builders and a long time friend. He graciously donated a trailer full of cabinet grade birch wood that was once used for a skate park/outreach  in Appleton, WI. A word of delight greeted us as we loaded the wood on the trailer. Most of the wood is in great condition. One side was coated with the memories of youthful skaters enjoying life and company. The other side was pristine and will make for a beautiful home.

                        

To top it all off, Craig’s old band mate and violinist on our album Ashes to Beauty, David Baumgartner arrived with his fabulous family and Swiss expertise in furniture architecture. We dreamed, designed and built for two days straight. David’s mind moves a mile a minute and his design ideas were brilliant! Debbie, his wife and dear friend, brainstormed ideas for fabric and decor. She helped with meals and was such an encouragement.

                

We are so excited to see what else comes our way this week. “Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can’t. The heart regulates the hands. This isn’t so others can take it easy while you sweat it out. No, you’re shoulder to shoulder with them all the way, your surplus matching their deficit, their surplus matching your deficit. In the end you come out even. As it is written, Nothing left over to the one with the most, Nothing lacking to the one with the least.” (2 Cor. 8:12-15 )

On a side note: My skin cancer issue has been resolved as my appointment with the dermatologist concluded that I am healed. Thank the good Lord and thanks for all your prayers, concerns and well wishes.

Team Holland and Outback Consulting

It’s been a trying and testing 10 days. The emotional transition of Virtual School started one day after we returned from our 8 week tour. Our final days of working (9-5 job) were finishing up and we found out our health insurance failed and the research to take care of a skin cancer issue are back on the table. To top it all off, there is a bus sitting in our yard that needs immediate attention. Needless to say, we didn’t sleep much this week.

All hands on deck! With the help of our children and a friends we find ourselves in the final stages of demo.

It’s been a huge learning curve as we are really shooting in the dark, trying to learn as much as possible to meet our deadline of Oct. 12, 2011. From what we’ve read it will be nearly impossible, as most of the folks who we are gleaning wisdom from, say it will take 6 month minimum, up to 3 years to convert our bus. Oh well! We’re always up for a challenge and with the help and support of our FIRST SPONSOR and friend, Marc Brummel of Outback Consulting and Brummel Architectural Group, we now have a plan!

We’ve been stretched beyond recognition regarding our need to always be in control but that doesn’t mean there isn’t suppose to be a plan. And, sitting down with Marc was a breath of fresh air. Offering his mad skills and innovative talents, we were able to dream, weave & create a real live working model of our home. It is a true gift and we are so thankful to have this vision to share with you. Here you go… have a look at our new home. (of course we are open to the plan changing but this is a start) 

We’ve been asked what our needs are and up until now, we really didn’t know?Having a plan has helped us sort it all out. So, Here is a list of tangibles:

• Helping hands: Help hanging sheet metal mid-week. Next week help from Welders, Electricians, Plumbers. Contact Craig if you have a bit of time/talent to offer. 920.883.6874
• Meals– Any help with meals these next two weeks would be so appreciated.
• Rental referrals- Our lower, 2 bedroom apt. is for rent starting anytime after Oct. 1. $750, includes ALL utilities, parking and a shared laundry, yard space. (no smoking, no pets)
• Support- Our fundraiser is this weekend. Sept 17. 8-4pm is our donations sale. All of our belonging will be available, give what you can. 5-8pm; Potluck/Concert ($10 suggested donation) Our dear friends, The Unfortunate, from Chicago, will be joining in the fun. We will be set up to take credit card, cash or check. Also, our PAYPAL link has not been working but if you go to www.paypal.com and use janahollandmusic@yahoo.com to route the donation too it will make it our way just fine. Otherwise checks can be sent to: 732 S. Clay St. Green Bay, WI 54301
• Here is a list of basic Systems we need to raise funds for (est): Heating System: $400, Electrical System: $2000, Plumbing System: $1200, RV Windows, $1000,
• * These items are luxury items that would facilitate a more comfortable or economical ride: Generator: $7500, Air Units: $1500,  Veggie Oil System: $5000, Solar Panels: $1500
•  Basic interior needs:  1/4 in plywood, 2×4’s, Flooring: tile, cork board, wood. RV toilet, Fridge, RV stove/oven.

Thanks for joining the team.