Art Class

As I believe we’ve mentioned before, one of the best things about having teams come down to minister with us is watching them use their God-given gifts and passions in El Callejon.  This week has been no exception!  Rachel is a high school senior at a Christian school in Florida, and Krisse is an Art Teacher at the same school. 

Both came on SI outreaches in the past, and both had worked in El Callejon before. Rachel was in both Social Work and the Pre-school, and Krisse with our former Art site.

The Little Girls proudly displaying their crosses

This morning we taught the Little Girls the story of Abraham, and then Rachel led them in a craft making a cross with the word Fe (Faith) on it, to remind them of the faith that Abraham had in leaving his country, and in the promise of Isaac. 

The girls really enjoyed decorating with stickers and markers, each one unique, and all lovely – just like they are themselves!

In the afternoon we had our Teens.  Because Rachel is 18, we asked her to talk with them about the kinds of things they struggle with, especially relationships.  We were building on Julie’s talk from last week, about the importance of dating young men who believe in Jesus. 

We feel it’s important for the girls here to hear that girls in the U.S. have the same kinds of concerns as they do. 

Both Rachel and Krisse shared stories from their pasts, emphasizing the lessons they’d learned.  They talked about the importance of knowing what is in someone’s heart.  Even if people say they love Jesus, their actions will show whether this is true or not. 

We used the verse in I Samuel where God tells Samuel that people look at appearances, but God looks at someone’s heart (16: 7b).

Art Class with the Teens

Krisse then taught a drawing class.  The teens really jumped in as Krisse patiently showed them how to draw a face.  Even though none of them had taken an art class before, they did great! 

After they drew their faces, Krisse showed them a ‘magic’ trick.  “Remember how we talked about the importance of character, and how God looks at our hearts. 

I’m going to write something about my character.”  And then she took a white crayon and wrote on the white paper.  Can any of you see the word?  No. 

Painting to 'reveal' their characteristics

Okay, now, look what happens when I paint over it.  As she brushed blue watercolor paint over the paper, the word Gozo (Joy) appeared. 

But, sometimes people can appear one way, but remember God looks at our hearts.  She then painted another part and the word Odio (Hate) appeared. 

We asked the girls to grab a white crayon and write what they wanted to have in their hearts.  Then, they painted over them, too, revealing words like Paz (Peace), Fe (Faith) and Amor (Love).  It was a great illustration, and they seemed to have a great time! 

We feel so blessed by the way God continues to call talented, giving outreach participants to come and share in El Callejon.  Just as another part of Abraham’s story says, they are blessed, and are using their blessings to be a blessing to us (Genesis 12:2)!