The Spring 2012 semester at WVU has come to a close. What a year it's been! So many glorious, passionate, beautiful, life-changing, mind-blowing, eternity-touching moments. I have stood in awe. Here is a little (grossly inadequate) UDPATE for those that pray for our Young Life College ministry, those who support with generous giving, and anyone interested in the goings-on of a gospel-centered mission in the heart of higher learning in the Appalachians of West Virginia.
(Click each picture to view it!)
Here, in my opinion, is a big part of the ‘cool factor’ of so.zo: the couch in the window. We have this old brown couch that’s been the consistent favorite of most who’ve been to so.zo or even the Waterhouse, ’cause we made use of it there as well. When we came to so.zo, it just so happened that it fit perfectly in the little raised window section that’s to your right just as you walk through the door. With plenty of electrical outlets and an inviting ambiance, it’s become the most popular place to study or hang out during the day. Though we plan to keep upgrading our furniture and appliances, I wonder if this couch will be with us for a long time to come. The big poster that is hanging on the left side of the window has our name and logo on it, and the smaller posters display our current weekly events: h2o, Open Mic, and International Student Tutoring.
This is the left wall as you come walking through the door. So.zo is a long narrow store-front space, so we have both walls lined with tables and comfy seating in the front part. It’s kind of a café/study lounge in the front and a performance/event space in the back. I’m actually sitting and typing right now on a couch opposite what you see in this picture.
The chalkboard is another aspect of so.zo that people really seem to enjoy. It’s on the right side after you’ve come through most of the café-type seating. It’s actually just a piece of drywall that was attached to a little office that was part of the previous business in the space and that we demolitioned when we moved in. We bought chalkboard paint, slapped it on there and put a frame around it and it looks like it’s been that way forever! As you can see, it provides a creative way to sign up for Open Mic and serves as a ‘suggested donation’ guide for refreshments, which are all in front of the chalkboard.
This last shot is basically from the middle of the length of so.zo, looking down at the far end, which houses our stage. The chalkboard is to the right of this picture’s perspective, and to its left is our soundboard area. This was taken at an Open Mic when my friend Dirk Mercer was performing. It’s a small stage, set up more for acoustic acts, but we hope to bring in more of those and do concerts with some regularity in the spring. This is also where we do the h2o service. It’s been a neat thing musically this semester to refine the quality of our ‘acoustic’ worship leading since we don’t have room for a full drumset (nor would the room be able to handle the sound probably). So we have more percussion than drums, and we also have generally stopped using an electric guitar, going more for a rhythm acoustic and lead acoustic setup. People seem to have really enjoyed this. We still stay quite upbeat, and the h2o community sure loves to sing! But the whole environment provides for a more intimate atmosphere, which has been an advantage over the Waterhouse. Please pray this ‘good vibe’ continues to make people feel at home, whether it’s at h2o, Open Mic or any other event we hold at so.zo.
