Creative Designer for God's Kingdom
A few friends have asked me how God can use careers, gifts, and talents – this has been my personal experience!
“Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.”
Exodus 35:30-35 ESV
An art piece painted with acrylics during a worship set at Union Church in Hong Kong
This passage takes place during the time when the Israelites are led by Moses in the wilderness and they are in the process of building the tabernacle. Moses invited and commanded the people of Israel to give as an offering, materials such as “gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; ram skins dyed red”. Instead of money or materials to just fall from heaven, God invited his people to contribute so that they could build the tabernacle together. God is inviting people to create with Him!
Drawing a watercolor based portrait for a Christian singer I met in Thailand!
What is my calling? What is my purpose?
When I was about to apply for university in the United States, I didn’t know for sure what I wanted to study. I just knew I wanted something to do with drawing, because I thought it would be the only thing I could be good at. When my university advisor recommended graphic design for me, I had no idea what I was getting into. During my teenage years, I enjoyed drawing for people and giving creative gifts to encourage others. I rarely drew just for myself, so I didn’t really see myself as a famous painter or selling my art in galleries. Maybe graphic design was the right path for me. Learning more about visual communication, I felt like that was something I really enjoyed and was building my skills using digital and traditional art. It took many internships, freelancing projects, trying out different kinds of creative works to figure out what I wanted to do. I had dreamed of working for Pixar Animations at the beginning of my journey as a designer but later realized how competitive that industry was and my heart motivation wasn’t in the right place (I just wanted my name to be in the credits!)
The beginning stages
Then I continued asking God and asking myself what I was passionate about, eventually, it narrowed down to this — people and creativity. I wanted to help people with their ideas and work in teams. During my first years in my official job, I enjoyed it so much, even though I had to work on projects I didn’t really have a heart for, it gave me experience and helped me really value the client and their ideas. I loved my team and the vision of the studio. It really was like a family. It was a great learning experience with the advertising/design industry, but I knew in my heart that God wanted to show me more and go deeper into my calling and purpose.
Co-create with God – missions and creativity
As I transitioned into making big decisions of moving back to Venezuela and then going off to Hong Kong to do my DTS (Discipleship Training School), I continued asking God about a specific calling for my life. I realized how God values creativity and beauty. I was so amazed in ways that God used our DTS team to share the gospel and encourage others through stationery cards, paintings, dramas, songs, and videos. My passion for branding came in handy to help build a visual brand for the organization.
Now being a missionary in Hong Kong, God has continued showing me how missions and creativity go together. During the start of the pandemic, God open doors to do creative projects using encouragement cards to reach out to COVID patients, youth of Hong Kong, and people of different cultures. Through music, a small team of us recorded songs for a local prison ministry. Social media platforms have been great places to connect with young people through the arts, stories, and creative writing. It’s been really exciting to be part of building God’s kingdom through creative arts, evangelism, and discipleship :)
So, what is my calling?
To live out our calling is a life journey! I used to think: “Once I get God’s answer about my life calling, everything will be clear!” but it doesn’t work that way. The more I spend time knowing God, the more He reveals the puzzle pieces in my calling. For now, this is something I’ve been learning (Destiny by Design) and it helps me in my day to day:
High calling: know God and have a relationship with Him
Common calling: As the body of Christ: to grow in the likeness and character of Christ, make Him known
Specific calling: co-create with God
My calling is to have a personal relationship with God, to be like Him, share about Jesus to others, and through creativity – encourage and bring life to people.
“Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord.” (Exodus 35:5)
It really just takes a willing heart, a heart that says “yes!” to building the kingdom of God on earth.
