Makeover

Russ Painting
Originally uploaded by russandval.

Friday afternoon we headed out to Itinga, a town just on the edge of Salvador, where the oldest Church of Christ in town is located. Their building was not looking its best so we pooled our money to give it a little makeover. The women of the church chose beige as the new color. A respectable color choice (not bold enough for me, but it would be quite daring for my mother!) Most paint here comes white and you have to tint it yourself, so much time was spent discussing what beige is, exactly. We agreed on a color and then did the second coat much, much darker.

It was tricky to paint. The front of the auditorium is against a hill, so the wall is usually wet. You don't have to work at Home Depot to recognize that it might not be the best wall to paint. After four coats or so it looked decent.

Sunday morning, the Sasses, Keith and us went back to worship with the Itinga church. They were so grateful for the help. The front wall was soggy again so the paint looked splotchy, but looking at the before pictures, I know it's an improvement.

Visiting churches here puts so much in perspective. So many North American churches spend so much money making their buildings perfect but cut other budgets (like missions!). Some churches here can't even pay their ministers and their buildings are falling down around them, but they are sharing the good news with everyone they know and are using their money for evangelism. What we do with our money reflects our priorities! I know God is pleased by these little congregations that are working so hard for Him!