Serving and sharing through art

Missionary/artist uses talent to inspire

He and his family have spent nearly 10 years in Asian ministry with CMF, but Mr. P. has held onto his love for making art in the midst of his very busy life. This spring he developed a partnership with another team in his city who focused on impacting the city for Christ through the arts, and began planning a solo exhibition of his artwork.

Hours of prep

“With just a couple hours a week to spare, I worked feverishly to get 70 pieces complete for the gallery space,” said Mr. P.

After a 20-hour installation and set-up, Mr. P. and the team of 12 were ready for opening night.

“The unique thing about this is the Christian professional dancers and musicians who were also part of the night, committed to serving the Father through their art,” said Mr. P. “At the opening there were multiple performances and other team members were present to make the most of the conversations that the art inspired.”

The big night

More than 300 visitors attended the opening and a number of pieces were sold.

“All profits go back into the work that both the (Christian) gallery and we are engaged in,” said Mr. P.

“Most importantly, however, was that during the two-hour opening event, many people heard about the true love and hope that is only offered from our Father,” he said.

ARTWORK done by CMF Marketplace Minister Mr. P. lines the walls of a gallery in a large Asian city prior to his solo art exhibition.

MORE THAN 300 guests attended the exhibition held in a gallery in a prominent Asian city that featured the artwork of a CMF Marketplace Minister, as well as music and dance performances.
 

Stress in a war zone

New program will help locals living with chronic tension

After several years of living in Central Asia, CMF Marketplace Minister Mrs. R. knows a lot about stress and the toll it can take on your body. Now she’s planning to launch a program to help people manage the difficulties that come with living in a place where chronic, traumatic stress becomes a normal part of life.

“I have a good support system, my faith, an in-depth knowledge about health, people to talk to, even counselors, and yet at times I struggle to cope,” said Mrs. R. “But the locals who I know or have worked with endure much more stress than I often do and don’t have many of those tools, so I want to change that.”

Always on edge

Mrs. R. and her husband live in a society that is always on edge and doesn’t have positive ways of dealing with things.

“Drug addiction rates are skyrocketing, resources for mental health care are minimal, distrust limits sharing, and joblessness and violence are on the increase,” she said.

Mrs. R. has interviewed a number of people to research their understanding of stress and the symptoms they experience.

“Most of them appreciated an outlet to even just talk about the struggles and successes of their lives,” she said. “New knowledge and awareness lead to empowerment. My aim is to empower people with essential information that will affect their overall well-being.”

The kids grew up to serve!

ONE OF THE BLESSINGS of Mr. and Mrs. M.’s decades of service in Asia is the opportunity to see the next generation of believers and leaders grow up and begin serving on their own. Mr. M. took this photo of some Sunday school kids in a village church in 1992. Of those 22 children, he reports that 17 are still active in the church as adults.
 

The man who now serves as the leader of the church, Edi, was pictured at far right in the group photo.

Samini, who is standing on the far right in the second row of the group photo, poses here recently with her husband and daughter. She is now on staff at a Christian college in the country.

‘They are excited, serious, and work hard’

Couple serves urban poor children in Asia

Long-time Marketplace Ministers Mr. and Mrs. L. were able to devote more time, resources and energy this year to two of the children’s programs they run in Asia, and are now seeing a huge difference in the children they serve.

“We increased the study times to four meetings a week and focused on teaching math, English, character-building and local language reading and writing,” said Mr. L. “We discovered that a large number of the elementary students could not even read.”

The Ls also manage five other children’s programs for a local church that works extensively with their city’s poor. These new programs are more challenging due to their distance from the city or the inexperience of the volunteers in the communities. These programs meet only once or twice a week for two hours of study, snacks and fun, with a goal of helping the students pass their math, English and language tests at school by the end of the year.

School at the dump

The newest children’s program opened by the church is at the city dump!

“There is a village of people who dig through the garbage and collect the plastics and other recyclables,” said Mr. L. “Some teachers surveyed the village and learned that many of the children do not attend school at all.”

New school at the dump — Mr. and Mrs. L. have recently begun overseeing a new program for children who live at the city dump and don’t attend school.

School under the bridge

Another program, referred to as the Toll Road Bridge program, is in a fishing village located on a river that runs through the city. Most of the homes are built over the water.

“Most of the people in this community do day labor jobs in the factories or at the harbor and then fish (with nets) in the river or bay,” said Mr. L. “There are more than 100 children in this program, which meets under the toll road bridge.

“Even though these communities are in the middle of a city, many of them do not have clean running water or bathrooms,” added Mr. L. “But these children do not lack the motivation to study! When given a chance, they are excited, serious and work hard.”

Classroom under the bridge – More than 100 children attend this educational program held under the city’s toll bridge road.