Getting Amped on Jesus!

Every year Freedom House church puts together an out-of-this-world kids kamp for little ones ages 4-12 to learn about God and his love.  It's kind of like VBS (vacation bible school).  But really.  It's not.  Not even a little bit.  Because you will not find any flannel graphs here.  You will not see kids singing along to a CD or or sitting quietly in church pews.

Nope.

Here the kids rock out to live, original music every night with the Freedom Rock Worship Band!

There are several kids on stage (that are taught all-original choreography beforehand) to lead the crowd in worship.

The night begins with a concert (worship time), then MC Michael brings the Bible Point and Bible Verse to life every night with his crazy antics and funny gestures that help the kids remember the verse.

Then The kids rotate through each of three stations every night: snacks, games and Bible study.

 

 

The night ends with a clip from a drama (that continues each night until the finale, where they find out what happens to the main character due to the choices he makes), some trivia about the what the kids learned that night and finally an altar call before closing out with more worship time while the kids are picked up.

It was so great to be a part of such a well-thought-out and amazingly executed outreach to the kids of the University area in Charlotte.  These kids love coming to Freedom Rock - they get all dressed up, they scream and jump up and down while the countdown to worship is happening - they get SO excited about it all.

It takes hundreds of volunteers to make Freedom Rock happen.  From the worship band and the group leaders, to the design team, writing team, tech team, and so much more - it's all hands on deck to make this outreach a success!  Even the volunteers' little ones in childcare aren't just getting babysat- they're learning about God too!

That stuff is all fine and dandy.  Even awesome.  But what takes the cake for me is seeing this:

Hundreds of hands going up ALL across the room (of all sizes!) to ask Jesus into their hearts.  This is why Freedom House does this.  This is the reason for the lights, the music and decorations.  This is it.  To serve the NOW generation.  To impact the kids of today who are going to be the ones impacting our tomorrows.

Thanks for letting me capture such an amazing event, Freedom House!

Not the Only 1...

She's ONE!

But she's not the only one...

she's going to be a big sister soon!  So excited for Danica & Mike as they welcome another addition to their family! But for now - let's focus on the birthday girl:

 

I mean, the cute-factor is off the charts people!

Looking forward to capturing the next little one, thanks for letting me grow with Adriana!

Women and a Construction Site

Not two things that you normally think of together.  But I couldn't help but think of the countless numbers of women and girls that are going to have their lives changed as I walked the construction site/property that will soon be the House of Hope.
 (this is that announcement you've been waiting for! Read it all to catch the news!)
While in Africa last month we stayed with missionaries Peter & Mary street, and this is their ministry.  We took time one morning to visit the property and pray, and God really spoke to me that morning through nature.
The property is surrounded by chain-link fence, but there's bougainvillaea growing up it - creating a hedge of protection.

On my walk I saw a butterfly land on one of the flowers & I felt like God spoke to me that the girls/women that come to House of Hope will feel safe & secure and be able to just rest in God and his creation.  That butterfly had the freedom to fly to any of the neighboring fields/farms, but she chose to stay and rest at the House of Hope.  She was protected.  Safe.  Just like the girls will be. On one side of the property the bougainvillaea is flourishing and a bit overgrown- but there are shoots of it reaching 2-3 feet into the property and I saw that as God reaching, stretching himself toward the House of Hope.  And the... interesting (? for lack of better word) thing is - that part of the property (I learned later) is the exact spot where the building that houses the girls will be.   On the other three sides, just outside the property, are fields of corn, with very tall stalks.

As I walked and prayed God showed me that those hundreds of corn stalks standing tall and surrounding the property represent his army of angels.  They surround that place.  Watching.  Protecting.
We also took some time to write down scriptures we felt the Lord giving us and we buried them at the four corners of the property, laying the spiritual foundation.  Mary & Peter took oil and anointed the perimeter of the property, and as they met in the middle the rain came pouring down.  We had been talking about and praying about fresh rain earlier in the week so it was really neat to see God unleash that at just that moment.
After everyone had time to walk the property and pray, we met on the foundation to look at the plans for the buildings.

 

The foundations is poured for the first building, which will be an office classroom, storage and (upstairs) temporary housing for missions teams that come, or for rescued girls as an interim while building #2 is going up.  The 2nd building will be a two story home for all the women and girls that will be rescued from sex trafficking, abuse or who are otherwise unwanted.  There will be a playground and a garden where the girls will be taught how to do Farming God's Way.
The goal of the House of Hope is to raise up and educate the girls until they are either ready to go to college or ready to learn a trade.
 As I watched Mary pull out the blueprints and walk around the property I could see the passion in her eyes that she has for this place.  This property, with it's pile of bricks and slab of foundation is Mary's heart.  Her heart is in that concrete.  It sits between those rebar poles.  It's nestled into the flowering bushes.  And it's among the women and girls that will one day (soon!) be rescued and brought to this haven.  House of Hope is funded solely through supporters and donations.  They have the funds secured to buy the thousands of bricks that it will take to begin building up the walls of the first building - but that is only the beginning.  I watched Mary's eyes sparkle as she told us her hopes and dreams for this place -my heart was stirring - and I knew, I just knew that Mission for Mawu had to come alongside this amazing ministry.

So, my friends, I'm so excited to share with you that Mission for Mawu is extending it's reach.  Fifteen percent of all proceeds will now be donated to the House of Hope in Tanzania, Africa.  

What about The Father's House in Ghana, you ask?  No worries!  They will still receive 25% of all proceeds, as usual.  That place stole my heart, there's no way I'd leave them high-and-dry. :)

So, just to break it down for you - all proceeds from Mission for Mawu photography sessions and print sales go straight to missions.
15% will be given to House of Hope
25% will be given to The Father's House
60% remaining will be put straight into our missions account, so the next time we're called to Africa we can go! 

Returning customers may also notice a slight increase in prices - this is because I'm so excited about what these ministries are doing and I can't wait to bless them!
The new prices will take effect for all sessions booked beginning in August.  Sessions already on my calendar will not be affected by the new prices, and Grow-With-Me packages previously purchased will not be affected.

Thank you for helping Mission for Mawu reach out and touch the world!

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!

Growing with Liam!

Little Liam... isn't so little anymore!  He's crawling around like a champ and standing strong!  Can't believe he's 9 months old already!  Here are a few of my fav's from his Grow With Me session!

 

His big sister was so cute - and ready to get in front of the lens with her baby brother!

  

 Such a happy boy!

  

Thanks for letting me grow with your little Liam, Smith family!