I'm really excited about this weeks photographer.  I met her last week when I was in Nashville during a mission trip.  She is a talented up and coming journalist and photographer.  Her name is Amy Gwaltney and she's a Junior at James Madison University.   Make sure you check out her website to catch more of her portfolio and photo's from her experience in Nashville!  Hope you enjoy!

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cobblestones. Bus. Orange Traffic Cones. Hard Rock Cafe. Worship. Man playing guitar. Just Do It...

 

No, this isn't a word association test.  These are the words and images God spoke to 19 college students as they listened for his voice last Tuesday night.

 

This was their second day learning about listening prayer.  It was still new, somewhat weird, and their confidence was shaky.  They courageously spoke out what they heard, and their boldness grew as their words were confirmed by someone else.  By the end of prayer, they felt God gave them a collective vision: go out on a street corner, worship, and get prayer requests from passerby's.  

 

As we all left the church, the apprehension and excitement was thick.  Non of us knew exactly what God was going to do.  We headed down to the river, and as we walked it progressively started to rain.  This would not be good for what we had planned.  People wouldn't be walking around downtown, which meant no one would be around to pray for.  So we did only what we knew to do in that situation: boldly asked God "Stop the rain."  In a matter of 3 minutes the rain had almost completely stopped and we were able to continue to our destined street corner.

 

We only had a general idea of where we were headed, but as we neared the corner by the Hard Rock Cafe, we saw a cobblestone path, orange construction cones, and someone saw a bus parked down a street.  We were at the right spot.

Once we were settled in, we pulled out our prayer request jar and sign, got the guitar tuned, and started singing worship songs.  Some people looked at us, some wanted to give us money commenting on our singing, but there were many who earnestly wanted us to pray for them: brothers and sisters with cancers, lost jobs, peace, direction.

 

Once we were back at the church, we debriefed the experience.  Everyone was amazed to what God did, from stopping the rain, to meeting people with real needs.  But I think the real plan of God's was to reveal how simple his love really was.  It's not always about talking to people, serving them, or doing construction work, sometimes it's just about being the presence of God on a street corner in Nashville.

You can also view her work at www.viiphoto.com under the photographers tab

(Disclaimer: Some of the photos and stories on her website may be difficult to read)

 

Stephanie Sinclair is a photojournalist, known for capturing gender sensitive humanitarian issues.  When I look through her portfolio's I see so much more than just a picture.  I see the lives of the individuals, their hurts, their disappointments, their joys; I see the real person in the photo.  I can only hope that one day people will look at my photos and see more than just a person in a picture.  I hope these pictures and their brief stories stir your hearts as much as they did mine.

 

 

 Stephanie received the rare opportunity to photography the wives of the FLDS polygamist community.  Here, LeAnn Jeffs (17) plays with her one year old daughter.

 

 This is from a series called child brides.  Here, Faiz Mohammed, 40, and Ghulam Haider, 11, are at her home in a rural village of Ghor province before their wedding. When asked how she felt that day, the bewildered girl responded, 'I do not know this man. What am I supposed to feel?'

 

 

 

A little over a year ago, Ryan Lampa started getting together with a few of his friends on Monday nights to make dinner for about ten homeless people.  Today, the core of friends has grown to about 30 people, and the number of homeless fed has grown anywhere from 80 to 150.   They don't do it for recognition, they don't do it because it makes them feel good, they do it because there are real people who need some love and need a good meal.

 

Last night I got the opportunity to help out with one of these feedings.  It was amazing.  We began the night in a large group to pray about the night and praise God for how he provides.  In the center of our oblong circle was a quirky cookie jar, used to collect cash donations.  All the money they need to buy supplies and ingredients for dinner comes from the cookie jar, which they say is never empty. 

 

As we arrived at the feeding sight, I watched this group of friends come alive as they greeted their homeless community.  Their love for the homeless was so genuine and pure.  But the best part of the night were the people who came for the meal.  When you greeted one of the homeless to ask them how they were doing, their eyes lit up.  Somebody genuinely wants to know how they are doing.  It wasn't uncommon for them to open up and tell you their whole story: how they got on the streets, the family they left behind, and their many struggles. 

 

People Loving Nashville is on it's way to becoming a real non-profit organization, but the status doesn't change anything.  The intentions of this group is purely to love.  The homeless aren't any different from you or me.  They are still people, with disappointments, hurts and needs, and sometimes all they need is a friend who understands that and loves them anyway.
 
 
: : People Loving Nashville does not yet have a website, but you can find their group on Facebook : :

Everywhere I go is a mission field. My life's calling is to listen to people who need encouragement, love, and Jesus.  But even when this practice becomes second nature, it still becomes a part of routine and can lose it's impact on your own life. That's why I love going out into the mission field.  Changing the world around you, the people, and your schedule forces you to open more opportunities for God to work.

 

This week I'm in Nasvhille, TN out in the mission field.  We are working with a group of college students from James Madison University who instead of soaking up rays in a tropical paradise on their spring break, have chosen to challenge themselves on a inner city mission trip serving the homeless.  They too are looking for a break in routine and an opportunity to step outside of their comfort zones.

 

 

As we, the leaders, prayed and prepared for this trip, we received words that were to serve as themes for each day.  Monday's word was Release.  When we initially talked to the students, many were holding on to control, fear, anxiety and anxiousness.  None had ever really done any kind of homeless ministry, and quite frankly, the homeless scared many of them.  So we encouraged them to release all of the control, the fear, the uncertainty;  we encouraged them to release their expectations for the trip, and their stereotypes of the homeless; and we encouraged them to release the ways they think God moves

 

Yesterday they learned about listening prayer and put it into practice as they walked around Centennial Park.  Most were uncomfortable walking up to a stranger to say "I feel like God wants to say to you..."  But they gave it a chance and met some great people along the way who just needed a little encouragement in their day.  More importantly though, they themselves were encouraged as they gained confidence and realized it may sometimes be awkward and uncomfortable, but it's all a part of loving and building people up, and in the end, loving His people is all God wants us to do.

 

 

Gary S Chapman is another humanitarian photographer whom I've only recently discovered while doing research for the photography school.  He has been in over 60 countries in the past 15 years working with Non-profit organizations.  His work and stories are so provocative and moving to me, he has quickly become a photojournalist I greatly admire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is an excerpt from Seth Godin's blog today.  He is a marketing genius and guru to many in the field.  I particularly liked this post  though because it doesn't just pertain to marketing.

 

"Why do you need to feel like something in order to do the work? They call it work because it's difficult, not because it's something you need to feel like.

How often do we use the phrase, "I don't feel like it" as an excuse to avoid hard things God asks us to do.  What if Moses  said, "I don't feel like going back to Egypt", or if Jesus decided he didn't feel like being crucified.  The fact is, God asks us to do really hard things that require us to sacrifice our feelings, our wants, and our desires.

 

God is asking you to do something, so whether you feel like it or not...do it.

 

Last weekend I did a photo shoot with my room mate Tangi.  She was wanting some fun funky pictures, and since last weekend was the first beautiful weekend we've had, it was perfect.  So I thought this would be a good time to introduce you to my portrait photography.  You've seen my photojournalism from pictures of the race, but now you can enjoy my more refined style!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                               

 

 

 I've been having a series of dreams.  Not just any kind of ordinary dreams, they're the kind of dreams that when you wake up you spend the morning trying to remember every detail hoping to make sense of it; the kind of dreams that you feel like there is a message, but you just can't quite figure it out.

Usually these kinds of dreams are God telling me something.  Unfortunately, dreams can often be a little hard to interpret.  The most recent dream took place in the middle of a lake, on a skype conference call with my spiritual mentor.  In the dream he was yelling at me because I wasn't doing something I was supposed to be doing, but I was so confused that I didn't even know what it was I was supposed to do.  Now let me tell you something about my mentor, he is one of most graceful people I have ever met, and I have never heard him yell out of anger.  That is probably what struck me the most.  What was so imperative that I do that would make him yell at me?

After much processing and feedback, it clicked: I wasn't "choosing in."

I realized that although I have been in Gainesville now for three and a half months, I have been standing here with one foot out the door, ready to bail at the slightest hint of failure, mistrust, or impending doom.

First, in the photography school.  It's hard starting something from the ground up, and not having any experience in anything like this makes me hesitant to commit fearing failure.  The thing is, it's through mistakes and failures that I learn, just like Thomas Edison. What's the saying?  He didn't fail thousands of times when trying to invent the light bulb, he just found thousands of ways NOT to invent the light bulb.  The point is, if I don't try, then I won't fail, and I won't learn and I'll spend my life in a state of fear, and that's not what God wants.

Second, with community.  One of the reasons I'm in Gainesville is to be with this awesome community.  But that scares the bageezies out of me.  Why? I really dislike being vulnerable.  Even though I spent a year with many of these people my life experiences tell me to not trust people. I have been working on for years now, and believe me, I've gotten a lot better, but it's still a huge work in process.

Lastly, settling in.  This includes all the other odds and ins that make life here permanent.  When I first arrived, I found a soccer team, but that was about all I did to adjust to this new life.  I haven't found a church; I was supposed to get a part time job to help pay for student loans-haven't done that, and I'm still very attached to my life back in Austin, ready for the day God says I can move back.

To be honest, I don't know what it really looks like to "choose in".  I know the first step is to have a yes in my heart, so that's where I'll start.  Gainesville is my home, and I'm walking completely through this door, both feet in.