By Melanie Patterson

The North Jefferson News



For the past two weeks, Susan Duke has had one surprise after another when she arrived at work.

One day there was a mural on a wall of Jonah being swallowed by a whale. Another day, on another wall, Duke walked in to see Goliath falling backward from David’s well-aimed stone.

Duke is the child care director at First Baptist Church of Mt. Olive. The daily surprises are the work of Buster Waters.

Waters is painting the entire corridor of the First Baptist children’s department.

Along the hallway are scenes of Moses, Noah, the famous fiery furnace and many other paintings.

Still to be painted are depictions of Joshua, Samson and others.

“This is a good way to tell Bible stories to children,” said Waters.

He has included some “hidden” images in his paintings, such as a hand that appears in the fiery furnace.

It surprises him that most adults don’t notice the hidden images. But they do not escape the kids.

“It’s amazing what innocent eyes will pick up on before adults do,” he said.

All of the paintings are on the lower half of the walls, right at children’s eye level.

Darryl Jolley, children’s pastor at First Baptist, said he enjoys watching children see and touch the images of Bible characters.

“I like that Bible stories come to life,” he said.

Waters said the entire project will take about a month to complete. He said his biggest helper is his wife Tracy. The two have been working together in the evenings, with Tracy painting most of the backgrounds.

“It’s good to have the support of your spouse in everything you do,” Waters said.

Waters has been painting since he was 4 years old.

He has painted murals in his children’s bedrooms, scenes for businesses and even a mural depicting the history of aviation at the Smithsonian Institute.

Some of his artwork on buildings in New Orleans was destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.

The Waters are donating their time to paint the murals at First Baptist, where they are members.

“This gift is something that God gave me so I can give it back to other people,” said Waters. “You should bring your talent, your time and your money to church. It’s a good way to give back to your church.”