Zeal Youth Group Mural

This project really means a lot to me. The Iglesia Bautista Hispano-Americana (Spanish American Baptist Church) in Elizabeth, NJ was not only my home church for most of my life, but it was the church my very own grandfather, Rev, Joel Lobaina, founded after migrating to the US from Cuba. It is where I built my spiritual foundation, was baptized and saved, and I made countless memories throughout my life.

For all of those reasons and more, I was very excited when the leader of their youth group, Zeal , asked if I would be interested in creating a mural as they renovate a new space for their members. The youth group played such an important role in my life that I immediately said yes. I understand that the teenage years for anyone are transformative, as they were for me. The youth group is where I took all of those Sunday School lessons I had learned as a kid and realized more deeply what they meant for me. The countless messages and awesome community helped me grow into my spirituality. It was truly a blessing in my life.

So I was very motivated to give the Zeal kids something that will hopefully inspire them, guide them and motivate them. Here is the mural I designed for them. Check it out!

Big thanks to Arielle, Damaris, the church leadership and all the awesome kids in Zeal Youth Group for the invite and your parts in bringing this mural together!