The creator of a religious museum in western Iowa has ambitious plans to grow the attraction. Paul Lovell (LUV’-ull) retired years ago from farming, and in 2002 created the Museum of Religious Arts in Logan, about 30 miles northeast of Council Bluffs. He says he got to thinking about expanding when he bought a display to add to his museum, a collection of wax figures that was titled “The King of Kings.” Purchased from the Sunken Gardens attraction in St-Petersburg, Florida, it has 47 different wax figures depicting 9 scenes in the life of Christ. He and his wife got to thinking that in addition to that indoor display, if they built something outdoors that could be seen from the highway, it would draw a lot of people. He says they hit on a scene that’s another famous moment in the Bible, and began to plan the outdoor project. Putting a lake or pond on the property is the start of it, and they’ve bought “a big old boat.” He’s also retained an artist who’s going to make a sculpture of Jesus, which will be installed so it looks like he’s walking on the water. He pictures Peter in the water, confiding “He’s kinda losing faith about this time, y’know.” There’ll be statues of a couple disciples in the boat, others on the shore mending their nets. If he can build it all, he says, “It maybe could help people come closer to the Lord.” It’s not a church, Lovell stersses, but a museum with religious artifacts. He tries to display things from all Judeo-Christian religions, at least, and says when he first opened the 20-thousand-square-foot building he thought it was an awful lot to fill. “But you know,” he says, “we could use another ten-thousand square feet already!” The Museum of Religious arts is about two miles west of the Harrison County town of Logan, on Highway 30. He welcomes donations for his new “Walk on Water” exhibit. Learn more by surfing to the Museum of Religious Art website, http://www.mrarts.org/