Shootin' with a purpose!

A few months back our church held a women's "Garden Party" with a silent auction in hopes of raising enough money to rescue girls out of human trafficking in Indonesia. Our church partners with an organization in Indonesia that rescues and rehabilitates these women.

I donated a session to the auction, and Mrs. Kelly Hutchins won the prize! It's so neat to know that our photoshoot contributed to another girls freedom! Have a look...




Kelly's husband had just come through major back surgery, but he was such a trooper for the shoot!

Nicaragua en mi alma...

So, I am finally getting around to blogging my Nica missions trip! It's been very hard adjusting back to everyday life. Don't get me wrong, I want to be with my husband, my family, and my friends. But, I also want to be in Central America....my heart is torn. I know that this is not the last trip I will take to Nica, but I miss all the people that we worked with so much.

For me, this trip was a bit different than my 2 other Honduran ventures. In Nica, our team worked with the young people from an amazing church called, La Roca! When our two teams joined together, we were split  into the same 4 groups everyday...this allowed us to form some tight bonds! My group was the bomb! (or "la bomba"!) I so enjoyed working with them, seeing their passion and dedication for God, and hearing their stories. The whole group from La Roca served us, loved us, and accepted us like we were one of them. When we went out evangelizing in different communities, they always made sure we had first chance to talk to the people. Recently, I was talking with my new friend Linda (from La Roca) telling her that our team felt as though we received so much more than we gave. She said "we usually feel like that when we have been serving with all of our souls."

There was something different about Nica (spiritually) than in Honduras. God is definitely on the move in Honduras, but I noticed how much the Holy Spirit had been sowing into the hearts of the people we met. It's like they were ready to receive and hear what God was speaking to them at that moment. Most people are typically receptive to the Gospel in Central America, but it was on a different level in Nicaragua.

Okay, so enough writing huh? On to the pictures...

Here is our awesome team from New Hope!









Eating contests! These always draw the crowd!




Pastor James Pursiful preaching at a service at La Roca




one of my favorite images from the trip...





Mi hermanas! (in my group)



Volcan Masaya



Linda translating for Pastor Brad....*thank you for giving so much to us, Linda!!




My team mate, Michael Conway, preaching on our last night! His dream is to be a missionary in South America...this was only the beginning!



Group 1 forever!!

Your advice....

It seems to me that people don't really purchase photography as art for their walls. Am I wrong on that? I'm thinking on it because I really want to use my photography to benefit the greater good. Does anyone out there like to hang photography (that's not of themselves or their families) on their walls? If so, what are you most attracted to? Landscapes? Faces? Objects? Textures/Shapes? OR are there any other products that you would buy that contained art photography? notecards? coffee table book?

I'll be going to Nicaragua in July, and I'm so hoping to capture some images to sell for the benefit of a few different missional organizations. I don't want to simply photograph for what I like, but for what people would be most interested in buying.

Please comment below and let me know your thoughts on all of this! Your help is sooooo needed and appreciated!

Help Haiti!

We must continue to rally together for the nation of Haiti. I can't imagine what it would be like to find myself in such a disaster. If I were in that place, I would be praying desperately for the world to come to my assistance. I know that we can't help with every single need that's represented on the globe or we would be overwhelmed! But, we must give as God directs our hearts. We don't have to wonder if it's His will for us to help out...helping the hurting and the broken....that is His will. If you have been thinking about donating, I'm listing a few places that are taking contributions. If you know of others, please post them in the comments! Continue to pray pray pray hard for these beautiful people. Here's some good prayer points I heard on the radio this morning...

-rescue workers to have wisdom
-communication can be made between citizens and their family members
-people of Haiti to be protected from disease
-that rescue would be conducted orderly

Also, that God would continue to pour out miracles in that place!

http://www.worldvision.org

http://www.redcross.org/en/

www.compassion.com

*I keep hearing on twitter things like this, "WOW!!! $7 million raised through text messages for the red cross.. breaking every record. WOW! CNN says mostly young people giving!" (promise tangeman)

Also, artists/photographers out there have been selling their products and giving 100% of proceeds to the relief efforts!

www.momtog.com (raised over $3k by selling her UNposing guides!)

www.theimageisfound.com (don't know the last count, but so far has raised over $2k from the sales of their CRAZYbooth manuel)

Aaaaanddd....Toms Shoes has gotten in on the action as well! If you've been thinking about buying some Toms RIGHT NOW is the time to do it!

Here's some pictures I pulled from Boston.com "The Big Picture"

Honduras Video

Here's a video from our trip a few weeks back! Hopefully this will give you a good feel for what all we covered. Life-changing!

Honduras-The AlphaNet 2009 from haley lamb on Vimeo.

Summer Worship: Initiate

What a great night of worship last night! We kicked off our Summer Worship series with a good turn out, the presence of God, and special guest BlueTree. They are the guys who wrote "God of this City" and if you'd like to see the story behind that song, go here and click "play". Amazing!






Leah-Ray throwin' it down about Worship!



The mystery man here is Tommy, also throwin' it down about Worship!

Honduras 2009

It's been a few days now since I've been home, and I miss it so much! It was my second time being in the country, and I just fell more in love with that nation. I have big dreams brewing in my heart for what God wants to do through me in that country! I will tell you one of my goals for the next 12 months is to learn how to speak Spanish. I'm not saying I need to be fluent in a year, but I would like be able to hold conversations. I've been talking to one of the girls who is in my small group on helping me accomplish that. (She's a beautiful Panamanian gal)

The trip this year held a very different dynamic to it from the last. It's a whole different ball game when you travel with the young people versus the adults. There were some things that our team really wanted to accomplish while we were there, but they didn't happen exactly like we thought. I am encouraged, though, knowing that God had already gone before us and knew exactly what His will was for us to accomplish. Here are just a few images from the trip. I hope they portray the beauty of this country and my love for it.



It's so difficult to adopt from Honduras, but when you look at these faces it just makes you want to do anything to be able to do it!



Here is a shot of our team on the future church plot in Amapala


And here is the most precious girl....I tried to shove her in my suitcase, but it just wasn't working out :(

Before I go....

I'm leaving tonight to go to Atlanta tonight where I will be staying until the morning when our team flies out to HONDURAS!! It's my second trip to that country, and I'm expecting some awesome things to go down while we are there. Keep us in your prayers :)

I wanted to leave you with these two images before I go....just to wet your appetite until I return :) Can't wait to show you the images from Honduras!
p.s. To my wonderful clients waiting on images and/or orders, thank you for your patience until I return. I will be working hard when I get back the week of June 8 to get everything out to everyone. Thank you! :)

Mocha is Where the Heart Is

For sometime now I've wanted to partner with an organization that benefits the spiritual and physical needs of those across the globe from me....specifically those in Africa. I don't know why but for many years now I've had a deep longing to go to that continent. I know that God has something awesome in store for me there because I've had an opportunity to go before but it didn't go through. My heart aches to be able to contribute to the work of God's kingdom in that place.

I've researched a couple of different non-profit organizations in order to figure out which one fit best with our finances and if it could benefit Africa. For the longest time, I thought it would be by sponsoring a child through Compassion International. Of course, I'm still not at all opposed to that idea, but I was looking over another photographers blog the other day and was reminded about the Mocha Club. I had seen it before through Jeremy Cowart's book "Hope in the Dark" and realized very soon that this was the direction I needed to go in.

So, if you have a heart for Africa or you have wanted to give back in some way but never thought you'd be able to afford it, check out their website

and then Join my team!

Off to a great start!

New Hope for the Nations '08 kicked off the first night with a bang! The worship, the dance team, drama, and Pastor Biju Thampy from India came together smoothly. We still have 3 more days left of the conference, and believe me, it's life-changing!

Friday night @ 7pm: David Perkins from New Life (where the Desperation Band is from!)

Saturday Night @ 7pm: Ps. Don Matheny from Nairobi Kenya

Sunday in all services: Ps. Jack Hanes from Sydney, Australia

You won't want to miss this awesome event!




www.worshipandmissions.com

Portrait Party: Preview 2

Here's another sampling from the fabulous party at Joy's! Also, I wanted to go ahead and announce the winner from the door-prize drawing......

drum roll, please.......
ELIZABETH G.

Also, I was feeling kind generous so I made another give-away (it consists of 2 images on disc, 1- 8x10, 1- 5x7).....which goes to....
LINDA G. (of no relation to the above!) Hope you ladies enjoy! The gallery should be live very soon!



Also, beginning tonight at my church is our 3rd annual missions conference and I am beyond excited!! If you are in the Augusta area, I strongly encourage you to try and attend. This is God's heartbeat!! It goes from tonight all the way to sunday night. Of course, I'll be posting photos about it!

For more information about this exciting event click here--> www.worshipandmissions.com

Out of town & September Promo

So, I am very glad that this weekend is a longer one for my husband b/c we will be spending the majority of it at my dad and grandma's house down in Baxley, GA. Tony is actually down there already b/c he had to visit a job site, but my sister and I will be headed out after my evening session tonight. I'm ready for this nice break. I'll also be hitting up Savannah a little to see something that my great aunt has been working on! Can't wait to show you here. I think she's so talented :) Be back Monday, then leave again for Wednesday for a Kentucky wedding!

Until then, I leave you with this promotional I'm running for the month of September. Don't forget to stop by Euchee Creek Library and check out my exhibit. It will be up for the month of September and it's showcasing some of my work in Honduras.
Woo-hooo!!



Check it out: Rice Bowls

"This is just bait...."

That's what Pastor Roger and his wife always say when they encouraging me in ministering to the homeless and impoverished at the Food Pantry. This is what I've been doing now on Tuesdays and Fridays. Pastor Roger has totally handed off the responsibility of meeting with clients in need over to me. Though this is just on a volunteer basis, I get to put my BSW (bachelor of social work) to good use!

I've always had a burden for the poor. It's something that I realized about 6 years ago on a youth trip to Chicago to work with Jesus People USA. It was an awesome experience and somewhat led me to choose the degree I chose in college. I totally believe in helping meet the physical needs of a person in order to reach the spiritual part of them. Once someone realizes you are willing to help them in food, clothing, and shelter they are much more apt to allowing you to speak to the deeper needs that we all have as humans.

So, I'm learning alot through this...how to speak to people, how to share Jesus, how to have compassion, how to get outside myself.