Who would have thought?!

Submitted by Carmen…  Although I had used my minimal Photoshop skills to put my architecture portfolio together, I didn’t know what the Adobe Photoshop vocabulary of “layers,” “masks,” or “sets” even meant. In Spring 2003, I got formally trained in Photoshop in a 3-day workshop called “Multiply Your Talents” with Steve and Conrad, the tech gurus from our church. The first day of class we took an oath saying that we would use what we learned to serve God. Who would have thought that God would take our commitments seriously and really multiply our small talents! I don’t remember anything except feeling excited and wired after each of those intense and fast-paced 8-hour training sessions.

During my period of unemployment, I had the opportunity to serve God by designing invitations to various message series and forums, manning the printers, and producing gift frames and magnets for various events. It was during that time that I was able to practice and improve on my graphic techniques.

As it has already been six years since my first “MYT” session, I am simply amazed at how God multiplied the graphic skills, not only in myself, but also in others as I’ve been teaching workshops to college students and young adult members from our Berkeley, San Francisco and Davis churches. What is most rewarding is to see my students using their skills to design invitations for various events in their individual ministries. In the modern art culture where darkness and the meaninglessness of life are often celebrated, I am very thankful to have the opportunity to use my skills to point people to the hope and to the message of life given through the Bible.