Art Bags in Action 2022
Here are just a few stories from the hundreds of bags that Art for the Nations sent with people and organizations in 2022 in order to joyfully give children of our Creator a chance to be creative!
Zambia
We were so excited to hear this report from a Youth With a Mission team out of Madison, Wisconsin, who took our bags of art projects to Zambia. Working to supplement the meager supplies of several new schools started by dedicated local parents, they joyfully delivered paper, markers, crayons, scissors, and more to the grateful teachers.
In one area, the dusty students had been picked up and transported by a dump truck. Carrying the children at sunrise, this truck was their only transportation possibility to a school miles away! Many of the teachers had walked great distances to work in the tiny classroom areas and were delighted to give their children a chance to be creative. As the team and the teachers watched smiling students create their names and then embellish each letter with sparkles, smiles abounded. The children's faces glowed. And, the teachers could relax a few moments knowing that this joyful energy from creating would carry over into math lessons and spelling studies!
Honduras
Art for the Nations does not just give children a chance to be creative; our projects demonstrate to kids that they were made in the Creator's image. As human beings, this search for significance is one of the most important journeys we will make in our lifetime. And too often people never hear where their value and worth originate!
In July, AFN had the pleasure of sending several art bags to a rural mountain school in Honduras with a team from North Carolina. As part of their interaction with local children, the group read the story of Rachel & Leah from the Jesus Storybook Bible.
This may seem like an unusual story to pick, but many kids have experienced abandonment and felt unloved and unseen, much as Leah did. The paper doll project teaches us that we are all part of God's family. And one of the final lines from the story is, "When God looked at Leah, he saw a princess." The hidden crown made from the scraps of the paper dolls reminds us that we are all princes and princesses as children of the KING.
The art bags were a hit with the kids and team members alike! The team worked with two groups of children over two days, and after seeing the crowns, the second group couldn't wait to make their own. The team members have been taking mission trips for years and know how much work can go into planning crafts and art projects. They were delighted with the art supplies and kept raving about how wonderful it was that the projects were thematic, with clear instructions, and all the supplies were counted out and provided. Everyone was so grateful!
Kibisom, Rusinga Island, Kenya
Art for the Nations has been friends with a Kenyan woman named Esther for several years now. An incredible woman who used her retirement savings to start the Kibisom Women Group Project, Esther travels back to Kenya at least once a year, taking AFN art bags to share. This year she traveled to Kenya in April where several local children enjoyed using crayons, markers, and glitter to create beautiful name signs. Art for the Nations was once again honored to partner with Esther in the work she is doing there!!
Oaxaca, Mexico
Over a decade ago, the idea for Art for the Nations began on a family house-building trip near a trash dump in Juarez, Mexico. While others built homes, Lisa sat in the dirt with simple art supplies that drew almost one hundred children wanting to create something with crayons and paper not easily afforded by their own families. So, it is beyond amazing and a blessing to us when we can see that joyful tradition continuing! We were thankful to hear about the trip where Seeds of Hope, International recently took our art bags to Oaxaca, Mexico.
Entire families participated in this mission and service trip since Seeds of Hope exists to bear witness by their generosity and through the teamwork of families. This team continued the construction of a cafeteria for a school that serves about 150 children. The new cafeteria will make this school eligible to receive food assistance from the government. While some of the team (pictured above) were working on the construction project, the rest of the team was inside using the AFN bags with the students. Seeds of Hope founder, Renee, said, “Thank you for the beautiful gift of art supplies and lessons for the students at Proforio Diaz School in Colonia Paraiso in Oaxaca. We had a joyful time creating meaningful art with the students there.
When the joy of the Lord can be shown through our actions
it is a powerful witness indeed!
Republic of Georgia
Yay! Art bags are traveling overseas with dedicated teams again! This time to Georgia (NOT the southern state, but the country on the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia)!
In Georgia, the team ministered to local Kurdish people who have suffered much and live in extreme poverty. Art supplies were greeted with joy as they are something not easily afforded. The Kurdish Christian church and community helped also. Then the team visited a refugee camp where most people practiced the Muslim faith. It was an amazing opportunity to demonstrate God's love for all people.
Next, projects from the AFN bags gave people waiting to be seen by the doctors and nurses at a community clinic a little bit of respite from their troubles. And, time at the clinic gave the team an opportunity to share the gospel and pray for the sick and injured. These earnest Kurdish people "believe in" God, but they also believe in the devil and actually worship him instead because they fear the harm he could bring.
Throughout their days in Georgia, the busy team shared testimonies, conducted church services, Bible Study seminars for believers and leaders, and took donations of food and other necessities to the refugee camps. Whew! By the time this trip ended, at least 14 adults had given their lives to Jesus! In a nation filled with poverty but rich in smiles, the team felt blessed to serve and partner in the work of the Kingdom of God