Humbled

I can think of no other word to describe the feeling I get inside when I look at our missions fund.  The fund that started two years ago when my husband proposed I offer to do photography sessions as a fundraiser for my trip to Ghana.  "Hm.  That sounds like it might be a good idea," I said to him. "I think I'll give it a shot."  And now, two years later, I rarely have a week in-season that isn't booked - and sometimes over-booked!  I truly never imagined that I would even continue doing sessions after my last trip - other than the occasional shoot for a friend or two.
And here I sit, two days away from leaving with my whole family to travel again to the continent that has stolen my heart.

And we're able to go again, in large part, because of YOU.

You let me capture your memories.

       

You let me play with your adorable kids.

 

You let my lens fall open on your relationships,

 

your families,

your celebrations.

 

You allowed me to play with your puppies

  

get up-close and personal with your infants, 

 

and make silly noises at your toddlers.

 

You even let me capture a romantic moment,

  

a sweet kiss,

  

and a close embrace.

  

You told your friends about me and our mission, and you sent me more clients.  You watched as I commando-crawled after your infant, as I stuck my tongue out and blew really hard at your toddler, and as I frantically dashed to-and-fro trying to catch your little one.  You watched me perch on high (usually unstable) objects to get the right angle, or kneel down in a muddy field to get that perfect shot.
And now, you can say that you've sent me to Africa.  Again.

Thank you so much, sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, for allowing me to capture those beautiful moments in your life.  Thank you for your generosity in giving above and beyond my normal 'rate'.  Thank you for your grace while I was capturing your families during the late days of my pregnancy. and thank you for spreading the word and telling your friends about me - that is the ultimate compliment.

I'm humbled by your generosity, by your referrals, by your willingness to come back to me season after season for more photos.  And thanks to you, our family is headed to Africa this week, and I'll be capturing our memories on my camera.  And I even get to bless the American missionary family we'll be seeing with a free photo session!

So for now it's 'see ya later' - we'll be in Africa for a while.  Things will start up again around the beginning of July, after we've had time to transition back to life here in the States and had a chance to digest all the amazing God-things that are going to happen.  But I couldn't say good-bye without a HUGE Thank You - because I couldn't say good-bye, if it weren't for YOU.

Thank You.  Thank You.  Thank You.  You're the best clients ever!