Mentor Monday--Art for the Poor

I met Brenda Gribbin at a women's retreat. She led a breakout session on using art in prayer. It was an amazing class, but even more amazing was this woman standing in front of me. I realized that this was the woman behind so much of the art I had seen at our church. Brenda uses her art to work through her prayers, reflect her relationship with Christ, and raise money for the needy. Often, she sells pieces and donates the money to Real Options (a ministry for pregnant women) or Buckner (a ministry for orphans both in the States and around the world). She's also been known to donate her art to churches.
It's an interesting perspective on how to intertwine our art and our passion for the oppressed.
If you're in a rush, scroll through to the last question about using your art, and read Brenda's final comment!

Brenda, what is your inspiration for your art?
When I started formal art training (in my 40's) my goal was to find a way to glorify God without painting Calvary or praying hands all the time. I learned that the best way to do that is to develop the gift He has given me. To work at my art as though EVERY painting were for Him...paint for an Audience of One. My inspiration ultimately returns to my purpose...to worship God. Sometimes inspiration comes from words that burn an image in my brain...it's so clear, I can't believe others can't see it on my forehead. (Right now, I have Isaiah 6 screaming to get on canvas.) Often, I'm working out a technical "what if" and a series of abstract paintings comes running out. Once the urgency takes over, I work fast. I consider myself a "drawer" rather than a "painter" because my art is born quickly, like sketches...even if the image has been incubating for months. It's as if I have a message to deliver and nothing will do, but that it is explained quickly and with a lot of strong language (color, line, etc.) I believe God has a purpose for this gift, and it is my responsibility to use it to usher others into His presence. I am absolutely intrigued by the powerful beauty of tiny things in nature. I could do an entire wall of azalea petals and not get bored...but they would have to be magenta pink!

What drew you to Real Options and Buckner ministries?
It's that responsibility thing again, but there's a LOT of joy behind it. So many children and young people deserve better than what their struggling and misdirected parents can provide. No one should make life decisions when they feel painted into a corner. Everyone, every child of God, should have the opportunity to know Him and experience the abundant life He designed for them. I think these organizations are well positioned to be effective ministers of God's love, and I want to be a part of that.

How are you involved in these ministries?
I went to Russia with Buckner in 2002 to deliver shoes to orphanages in St. Petersburg, and absolutely fell in love with those kids. I've been involved with shoe drives, taking volunteers to the warehouse to sort shoes and humanitarian supplies and other efforts for Buckner over the years, but nothing compares with meeting the kids. I leave December 8th for Peru, part of a 25-person team delivering Christmas gift boxes to kids in Lima and Arequipa. I am so blessed to be able to go where many others cannot...to love the children some others will not. Real Options is a new involvement for me, but something that has tugged on my heart for several years. God blessed a recent fund raising project I did for Real Options, and I'm anxious to see what He has in store for me with this ministry.

What made you realize that you could use your art to support the ministries?
Five months after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, I went to New Orleans with a "muck out" team. Before the trip, I felt a strong call to do a painting for the church we were working with. Since I had never met them or seen their worship space, I spent a lot of time in prayer over this project. At one point, I literally got on my face before God, asking Him to speak through me. The result was a painting that will probably not receive wide recognition or even be long-lived...but it was significant to the members of that church, and spoke to their own struggle and promise for the future. I saw what God could do with the gift He had given me...use it to encourage others in their walk. I knew then that I could take my prayer life and offer it to others as image...a visual encouragement.

If others want to use their art/creativity/craft in ministry, what are some things that you suggest?
I believe God has given us the "creative" tool to speak to Him...to help us sort out what He is leading us toward. Be genuine. Don't look for specific results, but anticipate miracles. It must be for His glory, and not ours. If you find a way to clear the clutter out of your mind enough to understand how much God loves you and wants to bring light into your darkness, share it with others! Sing out!

Anything you want to add, Brenda?
I am uncomfortable in my current walk...challenged to speak out and step up to things I never would have dreamed of in the past. I give all the credit to the Lord, because I KNOW what a mess I made of things when I tried to do it my way. I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to share the Gospel in fresh ways...ways that catch the doubtful unaware. I pray God continues to push me into new territory for His sake.

Thanks for taking this time with us. How true that God often calls us to something uncomfortable! But that's how we best grow and shine His glory.

Mentor Monday

My Thanksgiving holiday was stuffed with people, food, and decking my halls. Oh, how I love the decorations. Yes, I'm a saccarine sucker when it comes to these things.
We got our Christmas tree--Hans is his name. He's donned with blue lights and ornaments. But more on that later this week.
Today, I'd like to introduce you to Maria.
Maria received her masters at Dallas Theological Seminary and works in Dallas at a ministry called Buckner Community Outreach. Born in Mexico, her family moved to Chicago when she was a child. Years later, she ended up at seminary. I'll let her tell you the rest of the story.
Folks, if you're in a rush, please, at least scan down to the question where she tells you about her favorite part of her job.

Maria, tell us a little bit about your ministry.

I oversee a Buckner community outreach program in the Vickery Meadow community of North Dallas. This community which has a 3 mile radius is one of the most dense communities and has struggled with crime and poverty. We have after school programs for children 6-18 and see about 85 children everyday. We support the children's families by offering their parents classes in ESL, computers, parenting, and marriage. I personally see a lot of famiiles in crisis and help them access the help and support they need. The children participate in lots of awesome activities and are able to be exposed to much that they would normally not be able to. We work closely with local churches and help them engage in this community. Currently about 80-100 people from this community are attending Park Cities Baptist Church. This church sends a shuttle every Sunday.


What brought you to Buckner specifically? Was there an "ah-ha" moment or was it a journey? Were they any inadequacies/past experiences/obstacles that you had to overcome to get there?

I started working at Buckner my last year at DTS. I was looking for an internship and at the same time was looking for a church to serve and really plug into. It was very creative how God answered that prayer. My job at Buckner served as my internship and I worked full time. God led me here because of a need for an internship but now I see that this is what God has called me to do. God led me to Park Cities Baptist Church and I am a member there. My two worlds merged together. I have the privilige of worshipping with the children and families I serve in Vickery Meadow. I love seeing my kids in the halls of the church and have seen some of them be baptized.

My biggest obstacles has been in overcoming my insecurities, past hang-ups and prejudices and needing to develop a different way of seeing myself. When I first came to seminary I went to pursue a counseling degree. God led me in a different direction and I never thought I could do what I am doing now. I look at myself and wonder how I got here but at the same time can see how God had been preparing me for my ministry all of my life. It all makes sense to me now. My background is very similar to the children that I serve and I have had to let God minister and heal me so that I can offer the same hope and comfort to these kids. Yet, I can tell them that God helped me to overcome all obstacles and he will do the same for them. With God nothing is hopeless or impossible.


What is your favorite part or what you do?

I love praying. I pray with the children when they are hurting and I see God filling them with his presence and that changes them. I have seen countless number of children with huge burdens on their shoulders and I have seen God lift those burdens. I then see them light and free, the way children should be.

I also pray for needs in the program or for families and God provides abundantly every time.


What do you feel is your biggest battle?

My biggest battle I guess is pride. When things go well and God is at work I want to take the credit and glory instead of Him. Then I think it is me doing all the good and I stop depending on Him. Also, when things go well you receive attention and praise and then my motive in what I do is to receive more of it instead of serving Christ. In order to serve others I have to continually be more like Christ and that means sanctification. This process is often very painful and at timesI don't want to keep going. But the only way for God to continue to use me is to continue to cleanse me. Ouch!


How can readers support this ministry if they feel led?

We have many volunteer needs, especially people who want to tutor and mentor kids. We have lots of awesome volunteers who share their talents with the kids such as playing an instrument, sports, or knitting. By doing this you might help a child discover and develop a talent that they did not know they have. This changes their life. We need people to invest in youth.


Maria, thanks for sharing and for your time. Hearing about your ministry excites me. I have recently taken up the habit of knitting and am working on scarves to donate to a local ministry, but maybe it would be more fun to make the scarves with them. What a great idea!

Mentor Monday

Today I'm going to tell you about two very special people: my parents.
My parents aren't the type who would cause you to immediately conjur up trendy social justice pictures. They're more covert in their care for the least of these.
They like to take care of people. Particularly people in the fringes of society.
Exhibit one: a teenage boy showed up at a local homeless shelter. I don't remember how, although my parents could tell you. Filled with Christ-like compassion, they took him into their home and treated him like their own son. There were frustrations, of course--there always are in these situations--but my parents loved him through it until it was time for him to move on.
You know, I debated telling you the end of that story. I'd like to tell you that he is now an upstanding member of society, on his way to being a pastor or congressman or something of the like. After all, these are "Mentor" Mondays. They're supposed to encourage you to follow the examples of these people in caring for the hurt, and wouldn't it be easier to care for the hurt if you knew, I mean absolutely knew that your efforts wouldn't be in vain? But life isn't always Hollywood. Sometimes we labor in what feels like futile effort. I'll tell you what I know: God works your efforts for good in your life, and we don't always know the end of the story. In this case, though my parents fought the ish in this boy's life, he returned to some yuckiness. Today, his life doesn't look pretty. But it's not the end of his life, now is it? We don't know how God'll use my parents demonstration of love someday.
Okay, enough of that. Moving on.
Exhibit two: a young, single, pregnant woman showed up at their church. This woman--a girl, really--has little, but has a desire to know God. My parents show her God every week. She doesn't have a car, so my mom picks her up for church, though it's out of the way, and drives her to other places. They've helped get her situated. They've welcomed this woman's family.
I could share other exhibits, about how their church has reached out through the youth group to the outcast teenagers. My parents have been there for that. About how they're involved with the local homeless shelter. About the hospital visits they've made time after time after time. About the times they brought home someone to share our Thanksgiving meal so that no one would be alone.
Caring for the hurt, for the orphans and widows and homeless starts in your own community. It often means setting aside your own preferences. It often doesn't have some big pay-off, for our reward is in heaven. It's often messy, bringing people into your life. Sometimes you won't like it.
Enough preaching now. I'm convicting myself.

Mentor Monday--Heather Jamison

Heather is a missionary in Kenya along with her husband, Brian, and their kids. They have been involved with church plants, setting up church training, establishing primary schools and water wells, working with an orphanage, and engaged with AIDS/HIV victims.
That's a busy day.
I asked Heather to share her struggle in her ministry. I've learned one thing about missionaries: they're everyday people with everyday struggles and doubts who have chosen to follow God's calling anyway. Thankfully, Heather is willing to open up about her struggle and doubt.
I'll let her say the rest...

Today was our 7th anniversary in Africa. We arrived here, sight unseen, on November 5th, 2000. I still remember landing and being certain that I would surely die the second I stepped foot on African soil and breathed African air.
I had seen CNN. I knew what Africa was like.

I crammed my little 5 year old Jordan’s anti-malaria pill down his throat as we taxied to the gate. He spit most of it back up which assured me that he, too, would probably be dead before week’s end.

Um, I’m not exaggerating.

When I say that I had EVERY fear in the world about coming here, well - - - I can’t say it any more clearly than that. But even though I didn’t want to come here nor would I choose to stay here should God give me the green light to turn this work over to someone else and head back to the States (um God???), I can definitely say that I have seen a side of God here that I never expected to see. Not because I didn’t complain. Nor whine. I did. I remember one person who used to support us (she was actually our largest personal or church supporter at that time by far since we came here on a shoe-string budget) who wrote to us after we were here a year and said that I should stop whining because I wasn’t making the name “missionary” look good. That person no longer supports us here. But, thankfully, God does. Not that God likes for us to complain - He doesn’t. He says not to do it. But God is patient, forgiving and gracious with us and He takes our doubt and complaints and during those, He teaches us contentment, peace, surrender, discipline and diligence - but mostly He teaches us His faithfulness. He teaches us His forgiveness. I still complain. I admit it. I wish I didn’t. But I do. I still get scared silly. Illness scares me. Danger (thugs, roads, Africa) scares me. The threat of disease scares me. Lots of things scare me. Making a wrong decision scares me. Choosing to partner with a wrong person scares me. But hopefully my fears and complaints are less than when I first came 7 years ago. And they are now coupled with a hopeful assurance that God will walk me through them to teach me something and to make me stronger and more humble.


Thank you, Heather. I pray that God continues to work in and through you.
You can visit their family website or Heather's blog (doesn't she have a great name, folks?).
If you're interested in the ministry she does with the orphanage, go to their website, Adopt-a-Legacy, and find out how you can help provide basic needs for a child and education.

One more thing--in case you haven't noticed, I'm horrible at titles. I can sit down and write prose for hours and hours, but ask me to come up with a couple words in a title and I'm paralyzed. If you have any suggestions for an alternative to "Mentor Monday" I'd love to hear them. Leave them in the comments. Thanks!

Mentor Monday--I Am Not Prince Hamlet

Today, we have a guest blogger--Luke Damoff (who can also be found at his blog, hints and guesses). Besides being the son of the amazing writer, Jeanne Damoff, Luke is known for his poetry and for his heart for missions. Currently, Luke serves in Cote d'Ivoire doing medical missions. No, Luke is not a doctor. However, he felt called by God to heal the wounded in Africa so he works in the dispensary. (As far as I know, Luke has not brandished a scalpel or other surgical instrument, although I believe he plays guitar.)
For this blog, I asked that Luke be willing to share his struggle. He's only been in Africa for four or five weeks.
With that being said, I'll hand the mic to Luke...

There is an axiom, "The safest place to be is in the center of God's will." I believe this holds in all circumstances, even in ones we normally would consider quite dangerous. In the minutes preceding the martyrdom of Thomas à Becket, T. S. Eliot writes him as saying, "I am not in any danger, only very near to death." Such is the immense power of confidence one can have in the promises of God to His children. Certainly we may find God's will leads us to martyrdom, but we must not think this is a dangerous thing; but rather, for us as believers, the only thing we should consider dangerous or worth avoiding is God's disapproval if we turn the way of Jonah. Since I certainly believe that God has ordained my going to Cote d'Ivoire I draw a lot of courage from such confident statements. But at the same time, when I look inside myself, I see only weakness and doubt. I am not a martyr and I am no great hero of the faith; I do well to remember to get up each morning for my daily devotions.
Of course the questions that accompany uprooting oneself from home and traveling to a foreign land for a year would be problematic by themselves. But to be honest, I have no idea why I, out of all God's children, am called to be here. Oh me of little faith. I recognize that there are aspects to my personality that make it easier for me to live cross-culturally than others, but by no means am I the best suited person I know for cross-cultural living. In the month I have so far been in Cote d'Ivoire my experience has been primarily defined by frustration at the language barrier, feelings of ineptitude, and doubts as to whether or not I even know what God's calling sounds like. I know hardly anything about medicine or health even though I work at a dispensary. I know hardly any French, and most of what I know about Ivorian culture I have learned since my arrival.
There is, consequently, a constant and great temptation to withdraw; to simply wait out the coming year in my room reading and playing guitar until I get back on the plane for America . Already I struggle with counting how many weeks I have been here (4) and how many I have before departure (48). On every side there is doubt as to why I am here, and the struggle to obey God's calling on me to be with these people and love them. And there is no satisfactory response to these crushing crises of faith than to say, "I believe this is what You want from me. Help Thou my unbelief." And that is it. There is no certainty, only a tenuous belief. At times this is enough for a small confidence, but other times I think that I may have gotten it all horribly wrong. And while I certainly hope such reactions are simply a part of the unavoidable culture shock experience and that they will pass in a month or so, even if they don't, the Lord has made known what He requires of me. I am to follow His will, as best as I can ascertain it, no matter how ill-equipped I feel to carry it out, or how much doubt I have over whether or not I got it right.
I claim neither wisdom nor vast experience, but it seems to me the longer and deeper I follow Christ the more doubt I face. When growing up in the church I was dutifully told that doubt is not the opposite of faith. Tension is part of the life of the Christian, and it is how God makes us grow. But when one is thousands of miles away from home at the beginning of what seems like an interminable year away from friends and family, one would prefer to not have to live in any more tension than necessary. I would love to know every minute of every hour that this is precisely what I was supposed to be doing, but contrary to what I might wish God is not about the business of giving His children such luxuries. If we are to follow Christ doubt will hound us. His promise is not that we will be certain, or confident, but that He will always give us the faith we need, and carry us to His rest. This is enough, we are safe in the hands of our loving Savior, and dare I say that is much more than we deserve.

Mentor Monday

Today I'm going to tell you about a woman I've never met but have long admired. I don't know much of her ministry, but what I do know challenges me daily.
She had nothing.
She was a widow, poor. But she loved God and determined to give Him everything.
The money she gave was neglatory compared to what the wealthy and businesses give just to get their tax write-offs. But she gave it all, and her motives were pure.
Not many noticed her. Her life was quiet, nondescript even. But it's a beautiful example of the poor ministering for Christ.
What she did makes me rethink our vacation and HDTV savings.

21:1 Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box. 21:2 He also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 21:3 He said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 21:4 For they all offered their gifts out of their wealth. But she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had to live on.”
Luke 21:1-4, NET

Mentor Monday--All without Air-Conditioning

I was so proud of myself, of us, really. My husband, my parents, and I decided one Christmas morning to serve breakfast at a homeless shelter called GodTell.
Yes, so spiritual.
We spooned eggs on to their plates along with toast and hash browns, orange juice and coffee, and a smile, of course. Then I played some carols on the piano. Mary took us on a tour: the rooms, neat and clean, the storage area with diapers stacked and donated clothes hung, the bathrooms, scrubbed and sanitized.
Maybe it was Thanksgiving. Which would have meant giving up watching the Macy's Day Parade.
So spiritual.
The group consisted of mostly men, a couple of women, and one mother with her three children.
Then my husband, my parents, and I went home to our turkey dinner and mashed potatoes and hot wassail.
Yes, yes, so spiritual.
GodTell is run by Mary and Martin, whose desire it is to shower the down-and-out with God's love, to give them food, a place to stay, clothing, job interview helps, and the Word of God.
After breakfast, on a typical day, Martin teaches a short Bible study. Then the tenants have to leave. They can't come back until 4:00.
They have to look for a job.
They have no suits on their backs and a brown bag with a sandwich and maybe chips or an apple in hand. They have their resumes, spiffied and shinied-up with the help of Mary and Martin and a few other volunteers. They're ready to conquer the world. At 4:00 they come back. Each has chores to finish before dinner to keep the place going.
The goal: those who come to GodTell won't need to be there long. They'll find new jobs, new homes, a new life. In the meantime, they have food, shelter, clothing, and love.
There's one couple, though, that will never leave. Mary and Martin.
They live their full-time in a trailer next to the tenants' home. And since the tenants don't have air-conditioning, neither do Mary and Martin. Did I tell you that this is in hot and muggy southeast Texas?
Craziness.
But sometimes God's love looks that way. Living with the poor. Without air-conditioning.

Mentor Monday

A couple of weeks ago, before I got distracted by the land that I love (aka New Jersey), I told you about the upcoming Mondays that would highlight people incarnating Christ's love and truth. The time is here.

I've decided to call it Mentor Monday because these are people that are doing what I talk about doing. The Apostle Paul said in one of his letters that the new believers should emulate him. These are people I want to emulate.

The truth of the matter is that there are thousands of ministers and missionaries who have given up corporate salaries, powerful positions, and limosine lives in order to serve God in professional ministry. My husband and dad are two faithful examples of these servants.

But for now, I'd like to highlight those who are specifically serving the poor. These are people who help the poor build businesses, spoon soup into the mouths of the hungry, play soccer with the leper, kiss the boo-boo of an orphan, and knit blankets for a local shelter. These are the Mother Theresas, the Shane Claibornes. These are the little Christs. They live overseas, and they live in our neighborhood. As I mentioned before, if you know someone like this, please email me at heatheragoodman [at] yahoo [dot] com.



For the big kick-off, I'd like to tell you about Carmen.

I met Carmen in 1995 at an orphanage in Honduras. More like saw her hugging this child, kissing that girl's scraped elbow, kicking the fútbol around with some of the teenagers. She mothers a whole lotta kid at Hogar de Niños Nazareth.

No wonder her back hurts sometimes.

This orphanage, run by Mama Carmen--if you hadn't guessed--doesn't see adoptions. No Angelina Jolie flying in to save the world. But Carmen has made a home for all of them, the abandoned, the lost, the parentless. They have a farm, chickens, and a cow, both to feed the orphanage but also to sell in the local village to help sustain the facilities. Carmen trains the kids with vocational skills, such as sewing, woodworking and welding, so that when the time comes, the new adults will leave the orphanage prepared to support themselves and contribute to the economy of a Two-Thirds World country. The children also receive spiritual training, including a Sunday walk to the local church and daily prayer.

Carmen's ministry started with two abandoned girls. Carmen was 19 at the time. She broke ties with the convent she was serving in (who refused to take the two girls) and broke the law by taking in children that were not her own. She had no job and no money, but she had God's love, and she knew that was enough. With the help of a group of mothers of children she had taught previously and Air Force soldiers who volunteered their time when they found out what she was doing, Carmen turned an abandoned and disrepaired house into an orphange, into a home.

Now she has close to 200 children in her care.

Through the years, God continued to provide helpers--local farmers, crazy estadounidenses (U.S. citizens), and "graduated" orphans who stay on as staff.

Carmen says that her greatest challenge is making sure that the children feel like they're in a family rather than a facility. But her love covers that. After all, it's Christ's love.

For more information on Carmen, the children of Hogar, or All God's Children, the nonprofit that helps support the ministry, visit their website.

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him...If you do away with the yoke of oppression…and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched landand will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail…you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
Isaiah 58:6-12