Guatemala City mural

Last month I had the opportunity to add another dot on the map of places I’ve painted murals. This time I stepped out of Kenya and went to a new country--Guatemala! I traveled with a group from Texas to work with Engadi Ministries, an inspiring organization committed to stopping the cycle of gang involvement and drugs in Guatemala City’s young men. Engadi’s founder, Nathan Hardeman, had a big challenge for me…An outdoor mural on a 28’ x 12’ wall, and only 3 days to complete it. I had never painted outdoors before, nor had I painted a wall that was so big it required a ladder. This time, I worked with a group of 4 others (including my mom, who was part of the team!) and we put in 3 hard days of labor to get the job done.

Engadi’s logo is a silhouette of a boy reading a book under a tree, so I took that concept and expanded it to include rays of light emanating from the book and a quote from Jesus Christ. Because the school we painted at was a public school, I was not able to put the chapter and verse reference with the quote. It reads:

Y conocerán la verdad, y la verdad los hará libres. 

The English translation is:

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
John 8:32

I hope that the students who see this mural daily will realize that there is hope beyond this world for them, no matter their situation. I told as many students as I could that these were “palabras de Jesucristo”, or words of Jesus Christ. And I encouraged them to pass it on.

The building before...

...and after

The morning audience, elementary school kids

The afternoon audience, upper grade kids

Painting rays of light

The team that made it happen: Emily, Maddie, me, Carlos, & my mom