“The kids loved the chance to do art & it broadened their outlook & gave them joy!”
hear from more bag takers
Here are just a few stories that Art for the Nations sent with people & organizations to joyfully give children of our Creator a chance to be creative!
Thank you to our volunteers for helping us spread joy around the world through art!
EL SALVADOR
Even in the midst of pandemics, food shortages, and other life challenges, it is okay to take time for creative JOY!
And these days a happy image is a treasure for sure. We love seeing these sweet children in El Salvador decorating their community palapa with the paper dolls they made from supplies in an AFN bag, and, wearing crowns they crafted also. Thank you to Global Outreach Developments (G.O.D.) for taking our bags on their trip in June and giving these children the opportunity to be artists.
Kwanzimakwe, South Africa
They came from the small cement box homes, down the dirt roads of Kwanzimakwe, South Africa. Almost two hundred cute, smiling faces running towards the ministry center. They were filled with excitement about the afternoon of activities.
When they arrived at the crowded outdoor craft station it was like Christmas morning for the kids!* Their families can't afford things like colored paper and glitter, so this was a real treat for them. They couldn't get enough of the glitter! They loved creating something and making it their own. It was special to have something to take home with them to show off to their families and remind them of God's love.
kenya
“We used Art for the Nations bags in a slum school in the Mathre Valleys slums in Nairobi. The kids loved the chance to do art and it broadened their outlook and gave them joy!”
-Joann Briggs (with Hope’s Promise of Castle Rock)
BRAZIL
In early October, our small mission team of 4 arrived in Brazil to minister to an impoverished community in the Amazons near Benjamin Constant. We were equipped with our Art for the Nations bags and looking forward to working with the kids from the community.
Our local ministry partners had spread the word that we were coming, but they were not sure if the kids would turn out. The time for us to work with the kids came, and boy, did they turn out! They filled the room! They were so excited every time we pulled out a new AFN project for them to work on! We had the opportunity to work with them for 3 days and to share the love of Christ through each project.
I have been on many mission trips and have taken AFN bags to many nations over many years, and each time they have been a hit with the kids, and the “big kids” (adults) love them, too! The sweet children of the Amazons were especially well behaved and put their hearts into their artwork. It was a special time for all!
— Brenda Walker
ZAMBIA
"The bags were GREAT on our mission trip in June!! We had several components to our trip, but visiting children in a low income apt. complex and doing activities with them, was a very valuable part of our trip. We had been there last year, but there was a change in managers and we were having a hard time making contact with her. However, we were able to link up with a man who delivers sack lunches there in the summer for part of a church effort to serve low income children during the summer. Through him, we met some children, and made contact with the manager. We were able to return and do activities with the children using the AFN bags.
We loved the name activity...and we expanded on this...sharing some bible verses and sharing a children's story by Max Lucado about how each child is special and uniquely made and loved by God. They loved using the glitter especially."
UGANDA - TRUE IMPACT MINISTRIES
A team from True Impact Ministries took five art bags, sharing them with four schools and one orphan home. Interactions with kids started outside, where many enjoyed soccer or "futball". As the kids moved inside, they gathered in noisy groups, eager to start the arts and crafts projects. Laughter bubbled over as they worked to color their paper people. The True Impact team then helped the younger kids cut carefully along the lines to make the long chain of paper dolls representing the "Family of Believers." Art for the Nations bags were a valuable and much-appreciated gift for each child.
USA BORDER WITH MEXICO
"[AFN] art bags were a real blessing...a real asset...
we thank you and thank the Lord for you!"
-Larry Hurt
In July, Larry and his granddaughters were working with a YWAM Team running a Vacation Bible School near the Texas/Mexico border. One particular day, while the YWAM team traveled across the border into Mexico, Larry and his granddaughter visited Catholic Charities where hundreds of people come every day as they await their immigration cases to be adjudicated. They took one art bag along to see if they could connect with the children.
When they arrived it was daunting! There were hundreds of people who had just arrived that morning, hundreds in the sleeping area, hundreds in the food area, and finally hundreds in the clothing area. Larry's granddaughter said “grandpa we can’t do this!” because there were so many people and children!
At first, they set the craft bags aside and began to toss a ball around inviting the children to join them while counting in Spanish for each successful catch. But it wasn’t long until the granddaughter said “grandpa can we get the crafts out now?” and so they began to make paper dolls and crowns and draw pictures of the families and home countries of these refugee children. !
Through their work, they met a young Colombian girl. Her entire family was led to the Lord the next day by a Colombian family on the YWAM team!
GHANA
This "Art Bags in Action" story really begins way back in 2010 when Linda Ruth Paskell, an art professor, first visited Ghana, where she met Naana Kittoe Manful. Naana's organization Obaatan (which means Beyond a Mother's Compassion) works towards empowering and equipping women with education, health care and vocational training. There was an instant connection between these two women and they have remained close ever since.
Linda Ruth returned to Ghana years later where she continued working with Naana & Obaatan. It was during this trip that Naana took Linda Ruth to the School for the Deaf and the kids quickly stole her heart. As an art teacher, she also noticed that these beautiful students did not have art supplies or many creative opportunities. Working together with Art for the Nations, Linda Ruth's honors art students lovingly painted the bags in these photographs.
In April 2021, the bags finally made it to the School for the Deaf in Ghana!
"Thank you for your heart. Your vision. Your creativity and ministry! It was a huge blessing for me as a faith-filled educator to provide such an inspirational project and purpose for my students. I hope we can do it again!" - Linda Ruth Paskell -
CAMBODIA
Those are the calls Ann hears from students all day long at the school where she teaches . Ann is a teacher, missionary and a certified Art Therapist for traumatized children. She incorporates AFN supplies into art classes she does with children in Cambodia.
Currently, she is using the donated supplies from AFN at a rural village learning center in Kampong Speu province. There are 240 children, ranging in age from 3 - 19 years old, from 10 surrounding village, to whom she gives art classes every other week.
"When I walk through the classroom door I am usually greeted by cheers or thronged with hugs. The children look forward to this time SO much. Its hard to explain how excited and engaged they become during an hour of art class.
So many children, in the remote rural areas, have zero access to the joy and creativity of art because the village schools just don't have the resources to buy enough paper, scissors, crayon, markers, glue or glitter. Many schools have no electricity, roughly made wooden desks, open air windows, and few supplies.
I also do a “traveling art class” when time and funding permit. This is when we travel to a distant province, village, community….and stop over at a rural church or remote primary school. Then I give a children’s bible story on my big flannel-graph set, and follow it up with an art project for everyone.
With the variety of art items that come with each bag, I have designed hundreds of varied arts and crafts projects for kids of many different ages. I have seen extremely poor children handle the crayons and sequins as if they were gold. It’s really a wonderful and rare opportunity for them."
— Ann Soldner
JAMAICA
“Bless you for the opportunity to share these beautiful art projects. We took ours to a school in rural Jamaica. They really loved to get to use some art supplies!”
- Cheri Jensen
Bosinia & Herzegovina
Bags taken by Cru MK2MK ministering to refugee families outside of Sarajevo
The first days of any trip often seem hectic as you figure out the lay of the land and this day was no exception. Small children running around everywhere; plans were changing by the moment and the whole situation seemed out of control. But this, as is often the case in our limited human view, was only one way to view the situation.
The staff at the refugee house were supportive and the kids were very excited for the Cru team to be there. The team used the AFN bags with these mothers and their young children while the older kids went to an off-site soccer field to run around. The small kids, who often feel left behind, were excited to have a special project just for them.
The women, whose whole world is usually taken up by just the immediate survival of their families, used stencils to paint beautiful trees, flowers and butterflies on the canvas bags. They were given the opportunity to create art while Rebekah and other team members watched their kids. They were given a break from thinking about their transition, their safety, their survival. Pride was evident on these women's faces as they showed off their finished products.
"After that first day, I was not looking forward to the rest of the week there, but God took what I saw as a mess and turned it into a masterpiece. The children looked forward to us coming every day, our students were so sad when the week was over, and the staff told us how much of a blessing it was to them that we came and served there. God really showed me that I can trust Him; that He can take what I see as a scattered mess of broken pieces, and turn it into something beautiful; that He uses for our good and His glory."
— Rebekah, Cru Intern w/ MK2MK
HAITI
“Our trip to Haiti was incredible. The orphanage that we visited every day love the art supplies and projects. Thank you so much for providing this service!”
-Jeremy Lange
Honduras
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!
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
OAXACA, MECICO
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!
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!!
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!