Go Down to the Potter's House...

"I began building surfboards in 2016 after returning home from what has become a life changing experience. Several of us were attending a local surf comp. in Rio De Janeiro, Brasil with some youth I met at a local community outreach. As we sat and laughed together, a surfboard caught my eye, and, for some reason, I had the thought enter my mind:

 

“Someone should build surfboards for God.” As I looked closer at the board, I saw it was covered with stickers about Jesus…someone already had, it seemed….

 

So, I succumbed: “Maybe I should build surfboards for God?”

 

Upon returning home to the flat, oceanless prairies of Alberta, Canada I immediately looked into how to build surfboards, and ordered a board-building-kit without much hesitation. Aside from the overwhelming thought of how little sense this made, and the strange glances from others at my proposal to join me, it seemed to be a good idea. So, I charted my course. As I waited the weeks it took for the board-building-kit to come in the mail, I found myself in the Yukon, Canada, on a last-minute trip to visit my family for Easter. My anticipation, however, was gruelling. I needed to get started on the board. As I walked around my father’s farm I came across some insulating foam in one of the buildings. I asked him what he used it for.

 

“Toilet seats,” he said. “For the out-houses….I cut holes in them, and they keep your bum warm in the winter.”--

"Fair enough..." I thought.

“...Can I use some?” I asked.

“Sure. I’m done all the out-houses.” he said.

 

With that, I began my first surfboard. I found some gorilla glue, and stuck the two pieces of foam together to make a 2.25 inch thick, by 8 foot long, by 2 foot wide white, yellow-stained, foam rectangle. It wasn’t much but it was marvelous in my sight. I then read, and re-read all I could find on building surfboards. I watched videos and learned as much as possible (in a few hours). Next I found a saw, a block of wood, and some sanding paper, and got started on the first of The Potter’s Boards.

 

As I continued the process, the Lord worked in my heart, and He brought this scripture from Jeremiah 18:1-6 to me:

 

“This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand…”

 

In this, it struck me that shaping a surfboard is much like moulding clay, and much like how God shapes people. As I began shaping the board, I prayed that God would shape me too. He did. The experience of building that first board was so compelling to me that I couldn’t help but believe that shaping boards could shape lives: the vision of The Potter’s Boards was born.

 

At The Potter’s Boards we seek to share this transformative experience with youth from varying circumstances, and who, to our great dismay, may feel like they can’t be used for anything more.... than a toilet seat. We aim to show children and youth who feel neglected, unloved, unvalued, confused, or less-than in any way, that they are valuable; they are loved; they are cherished; they are worth it; and they have a purpose from God. We seek to see these youth transformed by sharing with them the powerful message of the Gospel: that no matter how spoiled, unvalued, or unloved we feel, we are in the hands of a great and wonderful Potter, who through the grace of Jesus Christ wants to transform us into wonderful creations for his glory, and purpose, and we are so excited to do this! We hope you will be too.

 

As you engage with us, it’s my prayer that you will be empowered by the vision of The Potter’s Boards. That you might be inspired to come and be a part of God’s work through us, by joining us in the many ways available to you, and that you, above all, might get on board with the vision of transforming lives through the power of the Gospel, and that you would begin walking in this vision for your daily life, and change the world, one seemingly spoiled piece of clay at a time."

 

-Logun Moe