Fix You

So I've been processing lots lately...and it's still hard to determine what the outcome of Africa will be in my life. There were so many revelations...I was equally stunned at the level of poverty and the overabundance of joy that flowed from those who had nothing. Images continue to replay in my mind...a little girl blinded by a simple eye infection, countless children who hadn't eaten in 3 days, boys playing soccer with a patched together ball in a junkyard of cars, sugar cubes in the bottom of tin cans - enough to sustain a child beggar for the day. The need seemed impossible to meet - how could one possibly make a difference?
And yet God does not call us to solve world hunger in a day...just to impact one person at a time. To do what we can with what we have.
In seeing this physical poverty in such a brief glance, I have been more overwhelmed by the poverty I came face to face with stepping off the plane in North America. We have so much, and yet our lack is equally as crippling...We lack community. We lack contentment. We lack compassion. Our possessions end up defining us. Our desire for more drives us. True self-sacrifice - which so many AIDS orphans find as a way of life - is a rare find in our culture. With so much, we have a harder time parting with our opportunities and things than those who have next to nothing.
When I got back, I had the opportunity to speak on poverty at a local highschool. This was my video presentation of my pics from Sengal:

We can offer a person food, but if we don't show them Christ, they will still die. Wherever on this broken planet God has called you - Africa, Asia, or North America...the needs are great - they don't always share the same face. Ask God to give you a heart of compassion for the lost...and be amazed at what He will and can do with just one life that is available to Him.

Out of Africa

I know it's been a while since I updated - my apologies. Life has been busy (when have I said that before?!!) Anyways, in God's timing, and through the generosity of an anonymous donor I have finally touched down in Africa for the first time in my life. Last week I flew to Dakar, Senegal for 4 intense days of photography - a trip that I had a whole of one week to prepare for - CRAZINESS!!! From orphanages, to markets, to medical clinics I came face to face with so many needy people. Words cannot express what is going thru my heart at the moment...as it sorts its way out, perhaps I will come to a point where I can share it. For now, here's some of the pictures captured in our whirlwind tour...hopefully they will give you some breath of an idea of what is happening in our world today, and inspire you to be a difference in the lives of those who have no voice...