American girls walk into a Buddhist school.
Director: Can you paint a mural?
Girls: Sure. What kind of mural are you thinking?
Director: Oh, anything you want! We have our library and we want to promote reading. Pick colors and we give you paint.
Girls: Okay, no problem.
And that was the beginning of Wonder Library.
Stepping into a Buddhist school was a blessing in disguise. Some of our teammates were able to teach in the classroom and couldn’t share Jesus, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t SHOW Jesus.
The process of transformation began in the library, stripping it down to paint the base color. You have to know that when we first walked in, the books were covered in dust since the kids weren’t encouraged to read and the walls were two tones of grey. Who does that?
Picking out the mural led to digging through books and scrolling on Pinterest. Gabbie, the master mind behind this operation, found the cutest book about a bear and his forest friends. She tackled on the sketching and we started to paint. Three weeks of mornings filled with worship music playing, great convos and HUGE cockroaches being stepped on, the progress kept moving along.
We spent the last couple of mornings looking up scriptures, yes I said scriptures. The director of the school is a Christian and the door the Lord used for us to come in. She allowed and encouraged us to use scriptures on the mural, we just couldn’t add on the reference. That’s okay with me!
So here’s my BIG prayers:
Wonder Library would be an inviting space not only for learning and reading, but a place of rest and peace. As the students read, they would be intrigued by the “quotes” on the wall and their curiosity would lead them to Google them. Trusting the Lord’s promise that his word never turns back void, the students will find Jesus.
So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:11
Thank you dad, for coming home with your clothes covered in paint to provide for our home. Now I came home with MY clothes covered in paint to provide truth for Cambodian students.
From one vulnerable heart to another,
Diane
