Agape Art

Happy New Year 2011 . . . an Agape Art Update

Malipayong Pasko! (Merry Christmas) and Happy New Year 2011 to you!  I know I’ve been quiet, so I thought it was about time to you update you on the ministry of Agape Art.  Agape Art has been through lots of changes in the last couple years.  Our 2009 trip was very successful!  The artwork was better than ever, the teamwork  and team relationships were truly blessed, and there was even fruit (one of the girls on our team, Kelly Sankner,  was actually saved on our last day there)!  I had the honor of baptizing her at the Vineyard in August of 2009 and now she's quite involved with the 20 something group there. 

Last Fall within a few months after our return (2009), I got some news from Rainbow that a lot was changing.  8 of the 13 Agape girls had moved on from Rainbow.  Some ready to be on their own, others reunited with family.  It really changed the tune of our trips there and was suggested that it may not be the best time to bring a team for 2010.  I was encouraged that it would be a better year to come with my family, as my heart had really been growing toward serving in the Philippines for a longer term after the 2009 trip.  James and I were working on that idea of going there to visit this December, but it didn't really work out or make a lot of sense.  As of now there is only one Agape Girl remaining in the Agape program at Rainbow.  Two other sisters live there as boarders, but will be moving on when they graduate college in March. 

 Although we did not travel in 2010, and we do not have plans for a 2011 trip, we were able to focus on a few art shows this year in which we sold a lot of great artwork created from the 2009 trip.  In October, Agape Art sent $865 to Rainbow as proceeds from what was earned at art shows this year.  We had displays at Fitton Center for Creative Arts in Hamilton, and Starbucks at Harper's Point.  I still have a great deal of artwork remaining that I have collected over the past few years.  I will continue to find ways to display and sell these artworks as I find venues or events that are fitting.  We will most likely not be having any independent Agape Art events anytime soon.  Although attendance has been disappointing at our last couple of events, it was beautiful to see that the spirit of the local Agape Art community still exists.  

I think the prime of Agape Art has passed, but God has not yet told me that it is over.  Perhaps this is just a quiet time and perhaps He has other plans for this ministry in the future.  Personally this has become a time that I need to be focused on securing a steady income and getting settled with and growing my family.  My step-daughter, Caitlin, started college at Univ. of Dayton this Fall.  My husband, James, and I moved in with my mom this summer to save up while trying to buy a house.  We have decided to build a house in Maineville which will be ready for us to move in in April.  I am currently on the hunt for a full-time job with good benefits and growth potential before we start growing our family.

As far as ministry, the Lord has taken James and I on a different path this year.  After tragically losing his older brother to suicide in February of this year, James' stirring to create a mentoring ministry for fatherless boys has grown.  Together, with the support of our church (Northstar in Loveland), we are launching a men’s mentoring ministry called Pathfinders in January 2011.  I believe this is where God wants us to be focused now, but someday maybe He has a plan to bring the ministry of my heart (Agape Art) and the ministry of my husband's heart (Pathfinders) together in some way.

Thank you for all your support and your continued interest in Agape Art, Rainbow Village, and my life of ministry.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers and let me know if the Lord stirs anything in your heart that you think I should know;)

Much love, 

Becky Palmieri
Founder/Director of Agape Art

Find Agape Art on Facebook and become a fan!

Artwork on display at Starbucks

For the month of August, the artwork from our most recent trip (2009) will be on display at the Harper's Station Starbucks Coffee.  Visit to see the artwork anytime or join us for the community reception on August 28th 7-9pm

Starbucks Coffee @ 11379 Montgomery Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45249

All artwork is for sale.  Proceeds benefit the young artists in the Philippines, the needs of Rainbow Village Orphanage, and the continued efforts of Agape Art. Enjoy!

Save the Date . . . March 24, 2010 from 5-8 PM

Call to Artists: Virtues 2010

Agape Art presents

“Agape Art 2010: Virtues”

Fitton Center for Creative Arts

101 S. Monument Ave • Hamilton, OH 45011 • www.fittoncenter.org

Student Gallery Sponsors: James H. & Evelyn E. Hader Charitable Foundation

Call to Artists: 

Entries Due (& delivered) by March 3^rd , 2010

This show will be on display March 6^th - April 8^th, 2010 at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts.
  Reception: Wednesday, March 24^th 5pm-8pm

The Artwork:
All themes and genres are welcome; “Internationally-inspired” work and mixed media is encouraged!
Any work in oil, acrylics, mixed media, pastel, watercolor, drawings, graphics, photography, sculpture, jewelry, handmade gifts, and textiles as well as a limited number of installations or conceptual pieces are welcome. Work must be ready to install or hang (with wire if needed).  Art will be installed on March 5^th.

The Reason:

This is a fundraising event to support the Agape Art program that sends a local team of artists to facilitate an international art camp at Rainbow Village Orphanage in the Philippines each year. This will be the first public event to exhibit the beautiful advanced artwork that was created by the Agape Girls in 2009.  We invite our local community (artists & patrons) to participate in this special art show that brings unity from opposite ends of the world.  No application fees are associated with this show. Rather artists are encouraged to donate a percentage of their sales to benefit the Agape Art program.  This is a great opportunity to sell your artwork and to have your work seen by the community! Please invite your network to help boost attendance and sales even more! 

The Details:

Artwork must be delivered by March 3^rd to one of the following:

Becky Palmieri, Montgomery, OH beckypalmieri@gmail.com 513-505-5194

Kadie Sanders, Clifton, OH kadiecreative@yahoo.com 513-368-3022

Kelly Sankner, Hamilton, OH kelsankner@gmail.com 513-227-8584

(Please call to make arrangements to drop off your artwork).

The Liability:
Artists are responsible for insuring work while in transit. Artists are also responsible for providing work that is sturdy and durable for necessary hanging and displaying purposes.  Any special display criteria should be discussed with Kadie Sanders prior to the event.  Agape Art reserves the right to omit any submissions do not fit this show or that we deem too fragile to display safely.

View and print the Artist Entry Form.  You may want to copy & paste it to a new word document to fill it out and submit it to Becky Palmieri at beckypalmieri@gmail.com. 

Entries due (& delivered) by March 3, 2010.

Agape Art in 2010 and beyond

Dear Agape Art Friends-

It’s been a while, but here’s the latest from Agape Art and all that you will find here:

•    Agape Art in 2010 update
•    Call to Artists (submission deadline: March 3rd)
•    Mark your calendar for the next Agape Art show!  “Agape Art 2010: Virtues” at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts on Wednesday, March 24th 5-8pm. 
•    Workshops coming soon. . .

Update on Agape Art:  We are in the midst of transition as we look forward to what the future holds for Agape Art in 2010 and beyond.  For the past three years, the central focus of the Agape Art ministry has been the young girls at Rainbow Village Orphanage in the Philippines.  As the girls have grown, the ministry of Rainbow Village has changed a bit too.  In 2009, 9 of the 13 Agape Girls were discharged from Rainbow.  Some were reunited with families, while others were finally ready to move out and begin life on their own as young adults.  Praise the Lord that Rainbow is able to be a refuge to those in need, and a bridge to bring those children into families of their own or into adulthood.  Due to these changes at Rainbow, there will be no Agape Art trip to the Philippines in 2010.

In the coming months, as we re-center our vision without an upcoming trip, we will focus on a couple of events including art shows and workshops.  During our most recent trip to the Philippines in April 2009, the girls reached a new level of creativity and developed some of their most exquisite work yet!  We are very excited to finally share this with our Cincinnati community.  The exhibit will be on display in the student gallery at the Fitton Center of Creative Arts in Hamilton, OH in March with a special reception on Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 from 5:00-8:00 PM.  Please join us as we celebrate this beautiful body of work!

We will also be trying something new by offering bi-monthly Agape Art Workshops beginning in the spring of 2010.  The Agape Art Workshops will be led by previous Agape Art team members, where we will teach some of the unique projects inspired by the artwork created by the Agape Girls during our previous art camps in the Philippines.  Anyone ages 12-80 with a creative interest is encouraged to sign up!  No experience is necessary. 

I, Becky Palmieri, on behalf of Agape Art will continue to raise financial support for the benefit of future Agape Art programs and initiatives.  Some of these initiatives will include future trips to Rainbow Village or other locations that could benefit from the Agape Art program, some basic support and requested items to Rainbow Village. . . . Or perhaps even one day, the opportunity to sponsor selected Agape graduates for a visit to the U.S. for en extended learning experience.

Thank you all for your loyal support.  Please hang on for the ride as we seek to find what is in store for the Agape Art ministry.  Look forward to seeing you at our upcoming Agape Art shows and workshops.

Find Agape Art on Facebook and become a fan!

With love,

 

Becky Palmieri

Founder/Director of Agape Art

513.505.5194

 

Safely home.

After 40 hours of strenuous and eventful travel across the world, the Agape Art team arrived back in Cincinnati at 8:30pm on Friday, May 1st.  We were greated by a few of our family members whom we were all very excited to see.  Thanks for all the prayers and support that made this trip one of the best yet!

If you're just checking in to read about our trip for the first time, I'd encourgage you to scroll down and start at the beginning on the previous page if you have some time. . .Trust me. . . It's all good!

Becky

after the hospital and the ferry...

ok, well for starters, in this small airport in Cebu where we are waiting for our flight, I have a bandage around my foot! And yes, I said Cebu is where we are...a bit different from plan.

I had a pain in my foot increasing since last week. I talked to the staff nurse and she informed me that xrays only cost $4 and it might be a good idea since I have a long flight ahead, and for peace of mind, to see what exactly is going on with it. Being the last day, I woke up early and collected 5 journals to write in. I felt pressure to do this, because writing to them about what I see in them is helpful to process my feelings and my experience. Did I say that before? Anyway, my point is, when I discovered I may have to cut into this time to sit in a hospital, I was a bit worried. No actually, I was upset and afraid and mad and all these emotions. I didnt understand why I had to do this the last day. Of course, being around strong believers is also soothing in crisis moments. "God is in control." Ok, well, my options are to ignore my problem or take care of it. I chose to take care of it...Woohoo!!!!

So the staff nurse and I ventured to the hospital. It is a little different from the hospitals I know. We walked right into the emergency room to ask for a doctor. No waiting room really. The doctor was actually someone the nurse knew through church. He sent us to get xrays . While sitting and waiting for xrays, there were people rolled in on gurneys by family members. They lifted the person up by the sheet underneath them. One guy brought in was bloody from head to toe. The nurse assumed a motor accident. Another was an older man rolled in by who appeared to be 5 brothers or cousins who were his grandsons. The gurneys were about 1- 3' off the ground which the family members sat on while they waited for their loved one to be xrayed. The wheelchairs were interesting as well.. They were lawn chairs bolted to wheel chairs. So different.

Anyway, I spent 3 hours there , talking with the nurse. It was such a special  conversation . The doc said no fracture, but just some strained tenons or ligaments. He wrapped my foot and said to stay off it for 6 weeks. Hmmm....I go back to painting houses on Tuesday...hmmm....Well,  God is in control!

Speaking of that, there was a second time that was made clear to us. After saying tearful goodbyes to the girls, we arrive at the airport to find a cancelled flight that is not rescheduled until after our connector flight. Becky and Sheryl spent over an hour working with them about options. The only thing was to drive 1/2 hour to take a ferry with our car to another island and drive 3 hours to Cebu where we could get a later flight. That is where we are now. Our flight is due to arrive in Manilla at 2 am and we need to go to check in at 5 am for our 11 hour flight. Wow.

On our drive to Cebu, Mike was on a mission to get us to the airport!!! Becky was sure there were more than a few pedestrians who almost lost a leg.

So now, we are winding down and still going. It is evident the journey is not over.

See you soon!

It was a big Wednesday!

Kadie was right.  We had a super exciting day yesterday that we all wanted to write about but no one had the energy.  She gave you a great start, but I get to share some of the really exciting parts with you.

First, that conversation she spoke of in the missionaries home here at Rainbow was completely off schedule for us.  We were supposed to be shopping for souvenirs in town, but what happened in that kitchen was far more glorious than shopping could ever be.  . . Kelly Sankner accepted Christ!  It was certainly a journey that Kelly set out to explore through this experience, and I know that many of you back home have been praying for her.  Praise God for he answers prayers and has designed a new creation in her this week!  Kelly's heart has really been leading to this, in subtle ways over the past couple months as she prepared for this trip, and then in many experiences this past week at Rainbow including the Agape girls sharing testimonies with her, seeing her prayers for our team and this ministry answered, and the powerful messages that became very personal to her at church here this week.  I'm sure you'd all like to hear from Kelly, but said it was okay if I shared the good news with all of you.  I think she's still working on some of the words to say to describe the change in her heart this week.  She's getting great practice as she tells the Agape girls and they are eager to celebrate with her!

Following that, we shared a relaxing day with the girls.  Some of them did art projects that they really enjoyed and wanted to do more of.  Others just hung out and swapped sketch books to write rememberances to each other.  For a special treat in the evening, we took all the girls and a few of the missionary staff to town for pizza.  I got to ride on a motor (small motorcycle that is extremely common here) all the way to town.  Huge adventure for me!  Aren't you proud of me James?  I loved it!  It's a totally new view of Dumaguete from the back of a Motor.  Aaron, the 18 yr old son of the missionary family here, took each of our team members for a ride on it today.

And if that wasn't enough adventure. . . we all headed to the Boulevard after pizza to try some belut.  For those of you that are not familiar, belut is a Filipino specialty that was actually featured on FEAR Factor!  It's a fertilized egg (that means baby chick) that is then boiled in a uniquely flavored vinegar. The vendors sell it each evening on the Boulevard and you order it by day.  That means 16-day or 18-day since fertilization.  The most developed is a 21 day.  It looks just disgusting as the body is beginning to form and the smell doesn't add much to tempting you either.  But it was a challenge and our Agape Art team proved to be up to it.  With the Agape girls and missionaries behind us as our cheering section, all three of us actually tried it!  Kadie and I actually chewed and gulped the whole thing!  This is kinda a first for me:)  After visting 4 times, this was certainly a first to actually eat the whole thing!  It was not the most pleasant taste and I couldn't chew fast enough to get that texture out of my mouth, but by golly I was proud of my feat!  Here's a picture to help you all understand.

Sadly, we say our good-byes at Rainbow this afternoon and then head to Manila to spend the night.  We will begin our long 24-hour journey home as we board a plane from Manila tomorrow morning.

It was a big Wednesday!

Kadie was right.  We had a super exciting day yesterday that we all wanted to write about but no one had the energy.  She gave you a great start, but I get to share some of the really exciting parts with you.

First, that conversation she spoke of in the missionaries home here at Rainbow was completely off schedule for us.  We were supposed to be shopping for souvenirs in town, but what happened in that kitchen was far more glorious than shopping could ever be.  . . Kelly Sankner accepted Christ!  It was certainly a journey that Kelly set out to explore through this experience, and I know that many of you back home have been praying for her.  Praise God for he answers prayers and has designed a new creation in her this week!  Kelly's heart has really been leading to this, in subtle ways over the past couple months as she prepared for this trip, and then in many experiences this past week at Rainbow including the Agape girls sharing testimonies with her, seeing her prayers for our team and this ministry answered, and the powerful messages that became very personal to her at church here this week.  I'm sure you'd all like to hear from Kelly, but said it was okay if I shared the good news with all of you.  I think she's still working on some of the words to say to describe the change in her heart this week.  She's getting great practice as she tells the Agape girls and they are eager to celebrate with her!

Following that, we shared a relaxing day with the girls.  Some of them did art projects that they really enjoyed and wanted to do more of.  Others just hung out and swapped sketch books to write rememberances to each other.  For a special treat in the evening, we took all the girls and a few of the missionary staff to town for pizza.  I got to ride on a motor (small motorcycle that is extremely common here) all the way to town.  Huge adventure for me!  Aren't you proud of me James?  I loved it!  It's a totally new view of Dumaguete from the back of a Motor.  Aaron, the 18 yr old son of the missionary family here, took each of our team members for a ride on it today.

And if that wasn't enough adventure. . . we all headed to the Boulevard after pizza to try some belut.  For those of you that are not familiar, belut is a Filipino specialty that was actually featured on FEAR Factor!  It's a fertilized egg (that means baby chick) that is then boiled in a uniquely flavored vinegar. The vendors sell it each evening on the Boulevard and you order it by day.  That means 16-day or 18-day since fertilization.  The most developed is a 21 day.  It looks just disgusting as the body is beginning to form and the smell doesn't add much to tempting you either.  But it was a challenge and our Agape Art team proved to be up to it.  With the Agape girls and missionaries behind us as our cheering section, all three of us actually tried it!  Kadie and I actually chewed and gulped the whole thing!  This is kinda a first for me:)  After visting 4 times, this was certainly a first to actually eat the whole thing!  It was not the most pleasant taste and I couldn't chew fast enough to get that texture out of my mouth, but by golly I was proud of my feat!  Here's a picture to help you all understand.

Sadly, we say our good-byes at Rainbow this afternoon and then head to Manila to spend the night.  We will begin our long 24-hour journey home as we board a plane from Manila tomorrow morning.

Thursday morning

Good morning, friends,

All three of us were so eager yesterday to blog about our day, as it was a very powerful day. But, at the end of it, we all just needed to rest.

First of all, yesterday caused me to ask myself this question.... "What exactly is a mission?"These are my thoughts.

Mission work means going where God calls you, one step at a time. You find purpose in missions. God is involved in everything about it. Its actually for him that you go.

I remember a few years ago , I realized I wanted everything about my life to be a miracle. I love miracles! This trip has reminded me that is a lifestyle. If I go back to the US and keep my same job,or if I move to the Phillipines, (examples) , no matter what, I am a changed person after this mission trip.

That means to me that God called me to this mission to change me. There have been so many things -little things- relational mostly, that have impacted my need for God in my life. I have been looking at myself and seeing how I have been surviving the past 3 or so years, and its so far from where I really want to be.

Here at Rainbow, the people are rich. They know who they are in Christ. I think that is what it comes down to. They believe in God's love, and know it well. It has touched my heart.

Yesterday, the lead missionaries here spent the morning with us. There were tears and prayer. Something about their readiness to share lead us to many beautiful realizations. It felt so good to be in a safe presence and just open up, so tenderly.

We then proceeded to town. We shopped. We had an hour, so it was quick. It really is what I suggest ,if ever you go shopping in a different culture!!!There is so much to take in!

We came back to the going away party for the one of the missionaries here. The food was AMAZINGLY SCRUMPTIOUS!!!!!  O my gosh! I dont know how to spell the words but very good. You have to ask us when we come home to describe it!

After that, the girls began handing us their sketchbooks...."Draw or write in my book Ate Kadie"

Well, for those of you who know me, writing is such a good way for me to pour out my heart. I really tend to open up and experience my true feelings when I write. So, as I began, I tried to keep it light and funny...little comics reminscent of the week's projects. One girls scrunched her face at the drawing I did...."Is that it?!"

Oh, ok, I thought. I am not getting it. So, of course, one of them helped me to understand. This is my time to really tell them how I feel. To share my heart, this is what they are after. Of course this means getting more emotional, but it is better too, really!

As I wrote to each girl,my heart started to really feel sad. I cant believe we are leaving this place. My heart is here. How do I let go and process these deep feelings in a healthy manner?

Well, thankfully, in that conversation with the lead missionaries I mentioned earlier, they confronted this struggle with us. Apparently, its part of it. So, I ask your prayers for us about this. It is really hard.

There was more exciting things that happened, but I am going to stop here!

Love, Kadie