Several high school boys from Grace Orlando connected with teens from Grace Edgewood this past Saturday to paint a wall in Pine Hills with a message of hope.
The wall at Hiawassee and Balboa was covered with graffiti back in the late 90s when Grace member Jerry Owens assembled a team to paint mural to encourage the community. This weekend, students from Grace Edgewood and Grace Orlando joined forces to make it like new again.
The painting was done in several stages. The wall was painted white, then the image was projected on the wall and traced, then the students painted in the fish colors and the ocean color, and finally the black outlines were drawn in. A total of about 18 hours was put into the project, with the students completing 80% of the work.
“Many cars that passed by honked in encouragement, and there were several cars that slowed down to tell the teens ‘great job’ and ‘thank you for helping our community,’ ” says Norm Tumlinson, Pastor to GraceStudents. “We had several people ask questions about the two campuses and about our mission.”
Mr. Owens also loved seeing the community respond. “It was rewarding to see this group of guys from both Grace Orlando and Grace Edgewood, working together on this service project. The act of painting a wall with a Christian message and scripture, and watching the community respond immediately by honking car horns, shouting ‘good job!’, and even stopping with one drive-by cash donation, shows the hunger for the gospel in this area. ”
“I’ve seen this wall for nearly 20 years now, but never knew the history behind it,” says Dan Hoyle, student volunteer. ”I am thankful that we were given an opportunity to preserve this local treasure for others to enjoy. Now each time I drive by it, it will bring joy knowing that God used our hands to honor him and witness to the many people who pass this wall daily.”
One of our main goals for our Edgewood campus is to help the kids who live there see themselves as people who have something to give and someone else to serve. This project was one more step in the right direction.
“All the students were glad to be able to do a project with immediate results,” says Norm. “They want to continue serving in different areas near the Edgewood Ranch.”
