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he young people who participated in this summer’s Thomas Kinkade Children’s Art Camp were led by loving Christians, Latvian and American, to create beauty with their hands as an expression of the beautiful reality of God’s love for them.
Chuck Kelley,
BBI President
First Day, Monday, July 25
Growing Together to Serve the Children
Even before the Art Camp teaching team finished breakfast, eager children, half of them orphans, made their way through the halls of Juris Barbins Christian School in Riga, Latvia.
 Scuffing their flip-flops and bouncing on their toes, they lined up at the registration table to sign in and receive their art kit for the week, a gift from the Thomas Kinkade Foundation. The children were then led to a long table filled with angel-shaped name tags, markers, and a variety of colorful stickers. The boys were drawn to the glittery dinosaur and bug stickers, while the girls gravitated toward rainbows, horses, and flowers. Brows furrowed in concentration as each child designed his or her name tag.
Liga, one of the translators for Art Camp was amazed that Americans would give up their vacation time to work in Latvia rather than lie on a beach in Mexico! The instant cohesiveness between the Latvian and American team members impressed Liga. “There are not two teams—the Americans and the Latvians—but ONE team, working together for the kids.”
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
A Special Field Trip to See God’s Beautiful World
Dark clouds sagged in the southwestern sky as we boarded the two-level charter bus headed for Talsi. Our bus windows framed scenes of lush green pastures, cows, and lupines during the hour-and-a-half ride. At our destination, the Talsi Cultural Center, groups of children and teachers set off to meander through the scenic town.
 
Our little group was guided by Kika, who lives in Talsi and attends Talsi Baptist Church. The Art Camp students listened with rapt attention as she told them about Talsi’s nine hills and the huge medieval castle that dominates the crest of the highest one. What else to do but climb that hill! Several of the boys raced up the steep slope to see who would be “king of the mountain” that day.
On the hilltop, the children paused and let out gasps of excited surprise, reacting to the view below. Sketch pads came out and drawings begun of the rooflines and lake below.
For lunch we traveled to Macitajmuiza for a little bit of special fun—sausages over a camp fire. Currently used by many of the churches in Latvia for summer camps, Macitajmuiza was the estate of one of Beethoven’s best friends who was the pastor of the Lutheran church in Talsi.
What a blessing to take these city children beyond the dust and heat of Riga to experience the fullness of God’s creation in the lovely countryside.
July 28, 2005
An Art Lesson with Chuck:
Revealing God’s Gift to Create Beauty
 After a rousing round of worship and the Bible story about the angels’ announcement of Jesus’ birth, the children were treated to an engaging art history lesson by BBI President Chuck Kelley.
Chuck began the lesson by showing a vibrant slide presentation of varying styles of painting, including examples of Thomas Kinkade’s realistic and impressionistic works. Paintings by Monet, Picasso, Matisse and Latvian artist, Janis Rozentals, were displayed; and their techniques, styles, and life stories revealed. All eyes focused on the wall where the bright images flashed.
Following the lecture, five students were chosen by the art teachers to take a still-life painting lesson with Chuck.
Situated at their easels, the students were instructed by Chuck to make a quick sketch of the still life set up at the front of the classroom. Once the drawing was completed, the students used charcoal pencils to transfer the sketch onto their canvases. Line by line, brush stroke by brush stroke, color by color, Chuck modeled the entire process of creating an impressionistic painting as the kids followed along on their own canvases.
 The quiet concentration of the afternoon ended with a sense of joyful accomplishment as the students added their names to the finished pieces. One of the girls, Juta, exclaimed upon leaving, “Teacher, you were fantastic!” Several others expressed their gratitude to Chuck through hugs and smiles.
“But the greatest of these is love.”
A lasting commemoration of this year’s camp remains in Barbins Christian School. Vija Ludvika, Barbins Executive Director, requested that several large murals be painted in the school hallways depicting the theme of angels. Elena Adkins (First Baptist, Eugene, Oregon), headed up this ambitious project...and outreach opportunity.
Elena shared this story at the Art Camp teaching team’s final meeting: “As kids walked by the mural, they would stop and talk. I was able to ask several where they stood with Jesus Christ. There were two beautiful girls – I gave them a youth study Bible. Inside I wrote, ‘Jesus only can bring out the beauty on the inside.’ They were so moved, they wept openly.”
 Others on the American team were thankful for how God softened the hearts of the children. Jamilyn Sundstrom of Lake Tapps Community Church in Sumner, Washington, said, “The kids were so open with their hearts. You could see the joy in their eyes when you acknowledged them.”
And Esther Knaupp of Salem Alliance Church of Salem, described the joy of ministry to these precious children: “Every day they wanted hugs, and hung all over us, loving us, taking our hands. They would walk down the halls singing the songs in English we’d taught them. They have so little, but we can all have the same thing in Jesus.”
The children at this year’s Thomas Kinkade Children’s Art Camp experienced living examples of Christ’s love as the teaching team showed kindness and attention to each one. Truly God did bind hearts together through art!
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