The Bible quotes Jesus as saying “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Around 1999, Raymond Mata committed the brutal murder of a young child in Scottsbluff. He was convicted and sentenced to death.
And Raymond Mata is the March 2025 Artist of the Month at the Valentine Public Library, sponsored by Grace Lutheran Church in Valentine.
According to Grace Lutheran Church Pastor Paul Nolting, several years ago, Nolting was serving a young man who was incarcerated at the Tecumseh prison by sending him sermons and other faith-based materials. This man knew Mata and shared his Christian materials with him.
All the while, Mata began working with chalk making artwork. His first 4 pieces were drawings from the Old Testament including the Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem. Mata asked his acquaintance if he knew a pastor that he could send these to, because God, he said, told him to send them to “a pastor”.
The young man gave him Pastor Nolting’s name, and the artwork was sent to the church in Valentine. Mata’s only request was that he be added to the church’s mailing list to receive the sermons.
There have been 29 pictures created by Mata which will be on display at the library.
According to Pastor Nolting, Mata was not a Christian when he committed his horrific crime, but came to Christianity while in prison.
Nolting will be present for a reception at the library on Monday, March 10 from 3:30 to 5:30 to discuss Mata’s story and some refreshments are also planned.