Arizona Mission Team Recap

What an amazing last week we had! I am so thankful to have been a part of this opportunity to serve our community here in Nikiski. Vision 4 Eternity is a long-standing mission organization with a new direction under the leadership of my friend Eric Kluth. His passion is to connect missionaries and ministries with a team of workers designed to accomplish a specific task. In our case we wanted to put on an art camp with the specific goal of sharing the gospel with the students who attended. Eric assembled a team to meet this need and the final product surpassed anything I initially thought.

The team lead by Divine Art Institute located in Casa Grande AZ under the leadership of Nichole Kluth. Nichole is a very talented artist and an amazing teacher. She led the students though a multi-day project. Each day the students would spend four hours working on their masterpieces. This one project used more than 3 different mediums. The students were engaged and having a blast. Each day's art was accompanied a lesson Eric led. The students heard about their God, the creator. Day two demonstrated how even in the midst of the mistakes on our canvas they can still be used to make up a masterpiece. In a life devoted to God that masterpiece is us. Ephesians 2:10 says that we are God's masterpiece. Day three was one of my favorites. Day three took us to the beach where the students engaged in watercolor and a time to reflect. Eric and I spoke to the students about the two previous days and emphasized, in all creation God chose to have a relationship with you. No matter who you are, where you come from, what you have done or what has been done to you; God loves you and wants to have a relationship with you. This is one of the hardest working teams i have worked alongside.

Days were long, especially during an Alaska summer. The sun doesn't set until 1am. Even when the sun has sunk below the horizon there is a good amount of light left. We worked long into the "night" cranking out the mural inside of The Compass. The team even through together a community Art Show to showcase how amazingly talented the students are the work they have put in over the last three days. I can't wait to see what this team can accomplish next year. Bigger projects, more time, bigger art but same amazing heart. If you live in the Nikiski/Kenai area stop by and check out the beautiful work the produced. All of this was put together to give glory to the master creator, the originator of beauty and splendor... God!