The Biggest Family in the World - a new children's book based on the life of Charles Mulli, planned for publication in 2014. This is a blog chronicling the book's creation from the perspective of the artist.
Today I find myself painting an "angel", so I had to quickly write down the experience. Specifically, I'm painting the young man from Charles Mulli's past who first invited him to church. The painting started out like any other - two men in a field, one gesturing to the church behind him, an inviting smile on his face, and teenage Charles looking skeptical.
It is one of the crossroads paintings for the storyline in the book, The Biggest Family in the World, where Charles makes one of the major decisions that changes the course of this Kenyan boy's life. On one hand there is the field of workers where he has been toiling to make a living. On the other hand is the invitation to attend a revival service. There is nothing remarkable about the young man who is inviting Charles, but as I painted the sunshine pouring down on his shoulders, he reminded me of an angel. It was God who used that particular young man at that moment in time to help Charles Mulli begin a new path that would change thousands of lives forever.
The "angel" also appears in a second painting, where Charles has accepted Christ, and is kneeling in front of the congregation of jubilant young people. The angel is in the front row, giving Charles a quiet "thumbs up" sign - a symbol of the future...
Fun Tidbit:
I didn't have quite the right gesture for the young man's face and hands, so I asked my friend Ed Ratzlaff to pose for me during one of our church drama rehearsals. Thanks, Ed!! (This photo is a small part of a larger, unfinished painting for the book.)
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