Chris DeJong, a lovely woman and artist, is the master craftsman
behind the Gleanings’ murals, which are displayed in the Dining Hall.
From children receiving food, to maps indicating locations Gleanings’
food has been sent, you can’t help but be invited in by the soothing
colors of blues and greens exhibited around you. In addition to several
large canvas paintings, Chris added postage stamp paintings that bring a
touch of Gleanings’ history. To say that Chris’ work brought a lovely and
well-rounded depiction of Gleanings, its beginning to the present, is just a
basic portrayal of her unique designs.
Through her friendship with staff, Chris heard about Gleanings and its
amazing work for the world. She had recently returned home, to Canada, from a
missionary trip in South America and began wondering about her next steps. Chris
paints murals all around the world and was waiting to hear where God would
send her next. After a phone conversation with Jenny Bruce, Chris decided to
visit Gleanings. Her original plan was to stay a few months and paint, but because
of housing issues Gleanings couldn’t accommodate her until much later. Her husband
encouraged her to go for a short visit and see where God would take it. With a renewed
sense of desire, she finally arrived the summer of 2014. The blank dining hall walls were
beckoning, like a canvas. Room became available in December, and she was finally able to
stay for a solid three months to bring her vision to life.
Many ideas were passed around amongst Gleanings’ staff and Chris. The stamps
were Carol Munro’s idea, “You know what, I see stamps.” Chris liked the idea very
much, mentioning that it well represented Gleanings’ “ministry of sending”. After some
collaboration, the final product looked different than she originally envisioned, but
conveyed exactly what she had hoped for.
Chris’ technique to keep the paintings from popping too much and becoming
overwhelming, was to use blacker shading than the natural dark shades of the original color.
This allowed her murals to flow effortlessly into each other without overpowering a room
with vibrant colors littered about.
The paintings and overall mural exemplify the fact that Chris is using her creative and
superb abilities to glorify God. Her artistic bent is God’s gifting to Chris DeJong and these
murals are Chris’ gift to the world. Gleanings is privileged to be one of her recipients.
Poverty, violence, and brokenness ravage El Salvador, one of the most
dangerous countries in the world. Drug cartels and mafia-like gangs cause a
plague of constant terror in families within and outside the cities. Yet in this
realm of darkness the glory of Jesus shined.
Children’s Hunger Fund (CHF) is working with a new Mercy Network they
established in El Salvador, consisting of 16 churches and 13 schools. Thanks
to provision from Gleanings For The Hungry, CHF Mercy Network churches
were able to supply meals, through their Food Paks ministry, to local families in
need, blessing 636 children and adults. Out of the 636 people, 176 were school
children who were given prepared meals through their school.
One of the many reports we received tells the story of Ruth, a single mother
of two. She lives at the edge of the river in Nuevo Cuscatlán. Even before
Gleanings’ food arrived, Ruth’s friends who attended the local church had been
investing in their relationship with Ruth’s family for many months. Then in
came the resources to finally serve her family in a tangible way. Ruth has begun
to attend the church’s services; for the first time, her children are hearing about
the love of Jesus Christ.
Then there is Dolores, an elderly woman who lives by herself. Without the
support of relatives, it is her neighbors’ love that keeps Dolores alive. Despite
their own needs, the neighbors often collect goods to provide Dolores food.
One such neighbor is Chepe, a pastor from a local church. In addition to
providing a few dollars to purchase food, he has taken time to visit her after
work, clean her house when able, and has brought her to Sunday services. With
the resources contributed by Gleanings, Chepe has been able to pass good
nutritional food on to Dolores. For this reason, Dolores has found a son in the
loving Pastor Chepe. She has expressed her gratitude to the congregation and
pastor for the time and care they have given her when no one else had.
Director’s Corner
I pray this newsletter finds you well and excited in the Lord. Spring is at hand and new life is all around us in
the fruitful Central Valley of California. The Lord is calling us all to look to Him for solutions to our challenges,
not to rely our own abilities and good ideas. Change seems to loom everywhere and it requires discernment
to judge our times and the difficulties we face. Paul himself expresses, in II Cor. 12, his experience
of asking God to remove his handicap. God’s answer was that His grace is enough. Sometimes our handicap
becomes the gift; we can experience God’s power in our weakness. Only God can turn things around like
that. Consequently, we grow as we humbly thank Him for every circumstance and every person in our lives.
I hope you all enjoy this season, the growing of the plants around us, and the growth within us.
May the Lord bless you richly.
Fritz Meier
Download the complete PDF newsletter here
See more from https://gleanings.org/
