Shakin It Up [Gamboa, Panama]

The journey has begun and we have found ourselves in a quiet town in Panama,overlooking the canal, mid way between the jungle and the city. Our entire group is staying in a small church where Pastor Wilbur and his wife Ann have opened their doors and their hearts to us. www.gamboaunion.com Our time here thus far has been full of opportunity to get involved with projects that will have a lasting impact in Panama. What more could we ask for

150 Pastors and ministry leaders gathered at the Voice for the Voiceless conference here in Panama last week. Susi, co founder of PhotogenX, came to speak at the conference and will be spending the next month here with our team. As she shared her heart, there was electricity in the air. You could sense it. Hearts stirring within chests, beating loudly to connect with Gods own. Church leaders recognizing a renewed call to ACTION. God is truly shaking things up in Panama as his children decide to engage in his work. The very next night the EARTH shook! A 6.0 earthquake about 60 miles away woke us up at 2am. I had started to feel sick that day and was so delerious that when Steve told me that there was an earthquake, I put the entire sheet over my face [not unusual for me], assured him that it was just a train, and shifted to get comfortable on the shaking ground where we were sleeping.

I am an acheiver. I make to do lists for what to make to do lists for. I keep a running tally in my head of all the practical things I do in one day, and when night falls, the tally is wiped clean only to be started up again in the morning. I multi task. SO, at the end of the day when its time to lay my weary head to rest, I can sleep easy knowing that my checklists are filled with checks and that tomorrow is another day...UNLESS I am sick. In which case I have to suffer the worst imaginable punishment...I have to stay in bed all day long feeling miserable and like I can accomplish nothing. This proves to be particularly frustrating when the things on my to do lists are:
1. hang out with kids at orphanges.
2. help put an end to human trafficking.
3. trek through the mountains of Panama to spend 9 days with the most marginalized people group in the country.
and stuff like that. All of that said to give you an update on my health. There is some sort of flu [not the swine flu, mom] that has been going around our community and just when I thought I had enough vitamin C, Airborne and TLC in my system to ward it off, it hit me HARD. Steve deserves a trophey and the giant chocolate brownie vanilla ice cream sundae that he keeps talking about for nursing me back to health ...again.

I am learning to embrace my weakness before God and to live in utter vulnerability and dependence on him, in health and in my frailest moments. There is so much hope in knowing that his strength is made perfect in my weakness. I am resting and am hoping to be better in the morning to go to the Ngobe village.

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sanibonani.

the more that i expand my world-view and study injustices around the globe the more that i am confronted with the inescapable reality that these "issues" are more than facts on a piece of paper. more than statistics. more than unfamiliar faces. more than far away issues in far away places. 

they are 

true stories.

real lives.

living

breathing

 S O U L S.

at times it gets overwhelming to take it all in. it should be overwhelming, because it is too big for humans alone. a few days ago in a morning prayer meeting the speaker had us turn to the person beside us and stare into their eyes. initially this was extremely awkward, but as we got over ourselves and began to relax an unvarnished truth cut to my core. 

there is a God who SEES US

 and doesn't turn away.

sanibonani. 

literally translated this african greeting means, "i see you". sometimes merely recognizing one's needs is all it takes to spark hope in their life. let's take time to truly SEE one another. once our eyes are open we have a responsibility to take care of one another, to refuse to ignore the disparities of society and instead address them in whatever capacity we can.

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photogenX update: I DO!

In just a few months Steve and I will be celebrating our one year anniversary! As I have been reflecting on the days since we said "I Do", I am amazed at the radical, redemptive love of our God who loves and pursues us. I am compelled by this same love. For us, marriage and missions have gone hand in hand, as we made vows to God not just for each other, but to Him and His kingdom as well. The journey we have been on this past year has been one of searching, contemplating, dreaming and believing. Together we have seen such transformation, in our own hearts and in the lives of those around us. We have witnessed the most astounding hope along side the most drastic despair. Both of these realities have opened our eyes to just how much the world needs the living Way of Jesus Christ.

Working with PhotogenX as a community and an organization has been life-altering for us. The joining of physical missions {aid work, evangelism, mercy ministry, community development, etc.} with mass communication & awareness {photography, publication, advocacy} has become our burning passion. We start by sharing with and mobilizing the Church to pray for the voiceless around the world, and than collaborate to physically move in a direction of justice. This is our heart, and our vision for the establishment of the Kingdom of God across the globe. These are the gifts God has given us as artists to give a voice to the voiceless. This is the place God has brought us to share the LOVE of Christ with whomever we meet. It is also the reason PhotogenX exists as a ministry and the reason we have come along side it...

This past year has been one of testing the waters. We have seen some change, some hope, and a glimpse of the Kingdom. We have come to the stark realization that the impact we have is directly affected by how committed we are to the vision. Although we have been passionate about our work with PhotogenX, we have romanticized working with other organizations and kept an open door out (just in case). We have been learning that the longer we continue to float from project to project, never laying down roots, the longer real, lasting change will be waiting. We want to invest in ONE thing. After a lot of long days and nights spent in prayer and council and an open invitation from Paul and Susi Childers (PhotogenX Founders), we have decided to officially commit to joining PhotogenX. Whereas before we have participated in a short term trip here and there, we have decided to change pace from being "involved" with missions, to being "full-time" missionaries. Similarly to the vows we made almost a year ago, we are marrying the ministry of PhotogenX.

We will be returning to the "mainland" to visit (with as many of you as is physically possible I hope!) early in September (specific dates to follow as soon as we have our itinerary) and than moving on to lead a track of photographers around the world, building bridges for making actual, measurable change withing many of the injustice issues we deal with as a mission.

I will be sending another update soon explaining our specific roles Steve and I are stepping into with PhotogenX, some more specific plans and how you can continue to get involved with us in a long term nature as missionaries.

I can honestly say that your prayers and support have literally held us up over this past year. Any and all of the hope that is sparked through our work is a direct result of your involvement with us. Despite being thousands of miles away sometimes, we are honored and blessed to be walking out life alongside of you and pray that we can journey together for a lifetime.

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becoming the answer to my own prayers.

I have the tendency to think that I am communicating better than I actually am. At times I have assumed that everyone knows what is going on in my head and in my heart, but really there is so much that goes unsaid, and so for that I apologize. I ask for your grace as I learn to communicate better and for your attention as I share a story that has been stowed away in my heart for too long. 

Off of the "main highway" in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan there is a rocky dirt side street. And at the corner of that side street there is a concrete building. And at the edge of that building sits a woman in a filthy, tattered burqa that seems to swallow her up and make her invisible against the concrete backdrop. Her name is Shamuel. 

[above photo: johanna lessing]

Each day as we drove by that corner our curiosity grew about the woman hiding beneath the burqa. Was she Old? Young? Crippled? What was her story? We were dying to know. One day as we were driving back from distributing food in a nearby village we couldn't wait any longer. We stopped the van and Johanna and a translator got out to bring her a bag of sugar, the only thing that we had left from the food distribution. My heart raced as I watched the covered woman greet Johanna with three masked kisses on her cheeks, followed by a hug. I don't know the words that were exchanged between Johanna and Shamuel that day, I only know that as Johanna climbed back into the van everyone began to cry. We felt an overwhelming love for this stranger. 

The next day Johanna and I packed up a traditional afghan rice meal, pilau, and together with a translator went to sit with Shamuel at "her" corner of the road. She wasn't there but a neighbor showed us where she lived. We knocked on the door and were greeted by her landlord who led us to a tiny mud room with a tarp roof which was Shamuel's home. He asked us if we were the ones who had brought Shamuel "a fattened sheep" the day before. A bit embarassed, we explained that we had only brought a meager bag of sugar. With a smirk on his face he explained that to Shamuel, that bag of sugar was a fattened sheep. We left the food for her along with a message letting her know we would come back again. 

Shamuel's rent was 500 afghani's (about $10 USD) per month and she begged in several places around the town, so it was difficult to find her. But we were intrigued about who she was and compelled, I believe, by the Love of God to find her and hear her story, so we kept going back. Finally we found her and invited her for tea at our house. As she lifted away her burqa to reveal her face I felt like a hidden treasure was being revealed. Surely she was God's most beautiful daughter with her small face, marked with the harsh lines of much suffering. We learned that she was a widow and had a son who had died in war. Her only living child, a daughter, was too poor to take care of her and could seldom visit, so Shamuel was alone. We were able to pray for her (with the help of our translator), and Shamuel prayed a blessing on us in return. With tears in our eyes and hearts pounding within us, we were so humbled and thanked God for this beautiful gem. She thanked God for her new "daughters" and on the day that we said good-bye she told us that she was so happy to have daughters in America. She is now connected with some friends who live in Mazar who are discipling her.

"Someone should do something about this".  I have lost count of all the times that those very words have crossed my mind or come from my lips in response to an issue that pangs my heart or about a situation that doesn't make sense. It would have been so easy to dismiss Shamuel as "just another beggar" or to have connected her with an organization or program. I have come to the realization that often times I think God looks back at me and says, how about YOU do something about it? How about you change this? How about you do that? And so I will. Because everything must change, and I believe it starts with my own heart.

poverty is so hard to see

when it’s only on your tv and twenty miles across town

where we’re all living so good

that we moved out of Jesus’ neighborhood

where he’s hungry and not feeling so good

from going through our trash

he says, more than just your cash and coin

i want your time, i want your voice

i want the things you just can’t give me

[derek webb]

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homecoming.

it is a different kind of "coming home" when you are expecting to leave again. it almost feels as though the whole visit is on fast forward, [visit everyone you can as quickly as you can]. a whirlwind of change runs through my head as i try to marry the "now" with "what will be" while everything surrounding is exactly the way i left it. it is sometimes a challenge to focus moment to moment without getting carried away with plans for what's next. (it is helpful to be overwhelmed with fruits and veggies during the process though...thanks marge.)

[my mom, with a shadowy face, whom i affectionately refer to as"marge", and no, that is not her real name]

it has been refreshing to see familiar faces. although i know that we are not 10 years old anymore, it still catches me slightly off guard whenever i hang out with jess, her husband and their two kids. i have to remind myself that she is not "playing house", but is beautifully juggling the life of a young mom. while she floats about pouring apple juice for the boys (sometimes for steve, he loves his apple j.) and planning pampered chef parties i am left staring proudly at who my "kellsister" has become. 

and than there are mick & misie in maryland. that whole weekend for me was a smile fest. they are a great couple who possess the incredible ability to sit around and do nothing while having the greatest time ever. i love them for that. as we enjoyed our smorgasbord of hummus, candy, tangaritas and ver-yogurty-frozen yogurt, we were surrounded by good company and the fact that second chances are possible and the realization that love is a very, very good thing.

[emelia]

i am learning to recognize the beauty and simplicity of truth all around me, catching glimpses of creation in the quirky personality of my 2 year old niece (who calls me dive, a mix between steve and diane), the embrace of my husband, coffee dates with katie meyler (who inspires me to no end and deserves a blog of her own...be on the lookout for that...), my sister katie's willingness to lend us her room for months on end and even within myself as i recognize His kingdom with each ache to create.

where i have tried to rationalize the love of the Father, i soak in his grace and walk on. i am giving up in the places where i have tried to fight against injustice and will instead fight for peace. 

{"thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven"}

i used to think that life was fragile and that it could be doomed by bad decisions that i made. i have come to experience that it is strong, resilient and {begging}to be lived.

[grandma joan at her 83rd birthday party]

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"the earth is crammed with heaven, and every bush aflame with the glory of God...only those who see take off their shoes"

elizabeth barrett browning

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66.56083°

steve and i are in the arctic circle...or at least that's what michigan seems like this time of year. although i am not a big fan of winter, there is a freshness that's inescapable. each time i step outside it seems to hit me in the face, taking my breath away and leaving me stopped in my tracks to inhale. 

i am expectant & anxious  for what i know lies ahead in the coming months and yet still not knowing what to expect. i feel curious & calm. unafraid & eager.  every single day of this past year has been a reminder that God is continuing to perfect the things that concern me. that He is directing my steps as i make plans and that He knows my thoughts {well enough to plant me in winter so that i learn to slow down. keep my chin up. focus on the now}. 

i read something today that so resonated with my feelings about relocation and seems to be what i have been trying to explain upon returning back to the states from afghanistan in october...it also seems so fitting as steve & i get ready to relocate once again...

jonathan wilson-hartgrove puts it like this (when explaining his return to the states from iraq);

"we are not blind, we can see from above, almost as if from the cockpit of an f-16. sure people have different perspectives, but an elephant is an elephant just like a war is a war. we can't even imagine anything different...iraq taught me that where we locate ourselves doesn't only change our perspective, it can also change the thing we see and our capacity to re-imagine it. we heard and saw a different story (than CNN) in iraq because we walked the streets unarmed, willing to trust the men and women who were suffering political turmoil. the "embedded media" weren't lying when they showed a different iraq. the TV just showed what the world looks like from behind a gun...sometimes you have to relocate in order to really see the world and re-imagine your role within it..."

he goes on to talk about how relocation often has little to do with physical relocation (because i guess if we all relocated to the abandoned places they wouldn't be abandoned anymore...) and starts in the way that we do life in the places where we are already flourishing. 

everything within me is begging to re-imagine. i feel like a new day is here (and honestly for me it has little or nothing to do with obama) and bringing change with it.

into the great unknown again (with pit stops in new jersey and hawaii)...

i will leave you with a quote from steve who just came in the room and said 

"i like our life, sometimes it's messy but i like it."

i like it too, mr. schallert. i like it a whole lot.

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movies.

i don't have a lot to say, but wanted to recommend some blog-worthy documentaries/movies i have seen lately. 

Kicking It

[susan koch 2008]

an international soccer competition for homeless leagues. the film follows six homeless players as they set off on a hopeful journey for the homeless world cup in south africa.

Beyond Belief

[beth murphey 2008]

two women set off on an extraordinary journey of peace and reconciliation after losing their husbands on 9/11. they leave their comfortable neighborhoods to visit afghan villages where they build a powerful lasting bond with afghan widows whose lives have been ravaged by decades of war and poverty.  

Slumdog Millionaire

[danny boyle 2008]

the story of jamal, an 18 year old orphan from the slums of mumbai who manages to become a contestant on the game show 'who wants to be a millionaire'. when he is accused of cheating, he tells his life story to reveal the unlikely ways in which he came to learn the answers. a heartbreaking yet hopeful portrayal of life in the slums of india.

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{salam ya'll!}

the truth is, I wasn’t sure exactly how to begin this blog…a simple “hello” or “dear readers” didn’t quite encapsulate the awkward marriage of east and west that’s made me it’s offspring over the past few months. steve and i have been back in america for about a month and are getting settled in (whatever that means) in memphis, tennessee. we have been warmly welcomed by the amazing community here. my heart is so encouraged knowing that it is surrounded by so many who share its passions. it’s been awesome to pray through issues and than practically come up with ways to {be the answers} to our own prayers, trusting in the sovereignty of the Father to guide us as we seek to further His kingdom.

we are  finally feeling much healthier, but strangely, the more we “recover” the more our hearts become sick with the general attitude of th

e west. admittedly I have felt a bit {crazy} upon returnin

g to ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’, though I have enjoyed some of it’s praiseworthy qualities (grocery stores, for instance, thank you GOD for grocery stores! and clean, running water is always a bonus) and it has been undeniably refreshing to spend some much needed {quality time with family and friends}, it's strange to feel closer to home while on the other side of the earth and have your heart ache for the other side of the earth as soon as you return "home". this constant heart pull bears witness to the very reason I {love} to immerse myself in cultures that are so foreign to me (and perhaps the reason why steve and I constantly catch our thoughts and prayers drifting toward travel. It has become so hard to sit still. the headlines on CNN are no longer headlines, they are familiar faces and families).

it’s about the part of the trip where you realize you are no longer the western "outsider" being smiled at and started at out of curiosity and politeness, but to have been accepted as a sister. it is such a humbling experience to find yourself truly accepted in a culture that places such value in sisterhood. a concept that is {entwined} into each woman’s very existence, a sense of belonging so strong.creating bridges between cultural boundries, breaking down the walls. for this same reason, i have so enjoyed sharing stories with people (once I get going it’s hard to stop talking, I am smitten with these beautiful people). I am dying to introduce the west (and anyone who will listen) to a culture that completely caught me off guard and ruined all of the preconceived ideas that I had formed in my head as a westerner, to a nation of women who aren’t sulking about under burqas but who are downright silly, funny, happy, animated, irreverent, smart, strong, complex women; a nation of strong, serious men with extraordinary {family values} and a reverence for God that blows me out of the water. (and yes, as with every culture there are exceptions to the rule, sometimes we forget that oppression, depression, corruption and abuse exist in the good old U. S. A. too). behind every veiled face and gap toothed smile is a testimony that silences my feeble words and stirs my soul.

thank you to everyone who opened their hearts to hearing the stories behind the photographs that we have captured over the past months (especially to our families, who never seem to tire of the slideshow). I really look forward to sharing more with you as we continue to live the questions together.

"if i am crazy it's because i refuse to be crazy in the same way that the world has gone crazy"

- peter maurin (co-founder of the catholic worker community movement) 

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contemplating realities.

We have been in afghanistan for over a month and are spending about one more month here. the time passes by s l o w l y. there is a peace and a confidence in knowing that you are walking in obedience to the Father...even if that walk exists as a trek through the deserts of a war-torn land. admittedly, the conditions of this place are weighing heavy on my heart. i am feeling tired and weak. i take courage in the fact that i never walk alone. i am at the place where i can truly submit my restless heart to my Father, pray THY WILL BE DONE and REALLY mean it. these words have been my bread; "...more than that we {REJOICE in our sufferings}, knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope and hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured out in our hearts..."
romans 5:3-5

I have had to ask myself some LOADED questions over the past few weeks. it is easy to agree with “being content in every situation”, but to actually live that out with your chin up and a smile on your face is a different story. To literally be “patient in tribulation and constant in prayer”. I am so grateful for the strength in the eyes of my husband , the awesome community I am surrounded by and the support and prayers of my friends and family in the west.

Despite the raised eyebrows we received from some regarding starting our married life in 

A-stan, I can tell you that this has undoubtedly been an awesome experience for us as a couple. We are living out the vows that we made to each other and experiencing a grace that covers us like the chuppah we were married underneath.

We are continuing the classes that we teach at the NGO {English, conversation, art, drama, religion} and will be spending the next few weeks running an education seminar for teachers and working with students in a small village outside of Mazar. We will also be doing some food distribution to victims of the famine this week. It is easy to get discouraged here as the fruit of our labor is not always evident. But I KNOW that our work is not in vain. As i extend my hands to the poor, as i kneel low to look in the eyes of the orphan, as i photograph the woman who has never felt valued, there is something INSIDE of ME that happens. Some thing in my very core breaks and tha

n sparks to life. The small acts of ruthless grace and redemptive love, the practical declarations of peace that come with simply choosing to live amongst the afghan people are what make it all worth it. And so we walk on…

*[Jesus] worked miracles not to shock and awe or to feed his own mouth but to feed the masses. So, we might not be able to turn water into wine, but if we can help the two billion people who are dying of thirst find water, that is a miracle.



*excerpt from {Jesus for President} Claiborne & Haw

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diamonds in the rough

I had the awesome opportunity to photograph at a local women’s prison here in Mazar. An NGO in the area is working to raise support to better the conditions of the facility so I got to use my camera to help with that process. 

The assignment was to photograph the conditions of the facility. 

{"kitchen"}

 I didn’t think that I would even have the opportunity to photograph the [treasures] that make their home inside the prison walls. The [women] shyed away from the camera, avoiding it at all costs as if it would steal their soul. Hiding in corners and covering their faces with their headscarves.

the children were scared of the camera too.

 

what are children doing living inside of a prison? when a woman in afghanistan goes to jail, her young children become prisoners with her. if she has older children they are sent to an orphanage.

 there are no grassy patches to play in. no sandboxes, crayons or toys. there are [sparks of hope] in the eyes of these tiny people. they are diamonds in the rough.

my first twenty shots were of crying babies. who knows if they had ever seen a camera before. thank GOD for digital photography...as i began to show these two and three year old babies their portraits their crying subsided and i even got a few smiles out of them. 

when their mothers saw their children's faces on the LCD they began to warm up

 to me. Within a few minutes there was such a drastic change...they came alive. Before long their faces were unveiled and they were dragging me by the arm from one side of the courtyard to the other, fighting over who got to have their picture taken next. as soon as the shutter closed they would dive towards me to see their faces in the screen. 

 

as i began to look into their eyes, my heart was shattered as i empathized with the intense pain, anger and angst written on the faces of these broken women. such stony exterior masking delicate hope. diamonds in the rough. 

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out of our minds...

salam from mazar-e-sharif. i will try my best to explain the other-worldliness of this place, but I do suggest that if at all possible in your lifetime you visit afghanistan (at least once!). I can attest to the fact that it is, afterall, only a hop, skip and a jump away. after eight days of hopping, skipping and jumping from kona to tokyo (for one night) to india (delhi for four days), to kabul (long enough to live through a bombing) and finally an eight hour van ride through some of afghanistans finest dirt roads and mountain passes, we have arrived in MAZAR. seven days of travel brought us a day ahead of the western world and back to the year 1347 (according to the afghan calendar). 

it only seems fitting that it is the year 1347 because geographically, i'm sure this place has not changed much since then. close your eyes and imagine mary and joseph riding on donkeys through “that little town of Bethlehem”. what do you picture? perhaps dust flying about in the dry air, camels, sheep and goats wandering through the rocky, dry roads, women with faces framed by scarves chasing after children, men in long cloaks selling fruit from wooden carts, clay houses built into mountainsides….if this is the picture you had in your mind know that you were actually picturing [mazar-e-sharif] in all its charming simplicity.

no matter how super-human we have tried to be, or how hard we try to force the shell that encompasses our person to snap into shape and adjust to the blazing heat (usually about 130 degrees) or the time-change or the unfamiliar foods, our entire team was sick for about the first week that we were here. we are recovering (some of us more slowly than others..) 

the physical discomfort is a constant reminder that we were created for another world. the physical change echoes what my heart feels of the constant pull between the world that I live in and the one that I was designed to live in. as long as I walk this earth my soul will ache for its home.

 life here is simple. there are none of the comforts of the western world or the familiarities of home to distract me from this truth.  we present the gospel plainly, as it should be presented. there is no room for a candy coated gospel concocted in a la-la land prayer meeting. we do not bend the truth or complicate the story of the God Man for the sake of relevancy. we are not fluent in Dari (although I am excited to report that we are becoming quite conversational) so there is no option of fluffing up Christ’s love with fancy veils of enticement. 

we have learned to operate strictly in the practicality that IS the kingdom come. in simple acts of mercy. the kingdom is here. in loving embrace. the kingdom is here. with dancing. the kingdom is here. with warm smiles. the kingdom is here. coloring with crayons. the kingdom is here. In patient understanding. the kingdom is here. with broken english. the kingdom is here. in the eyes of the orphan. the kingdom is here.

we are living out the ministry of reconciliation. drawing our new friends into the relationship with their Father that they were intended to live out , one practical act at a time. “not regarding anyone from a worldy point of view”, but loving unconditionally. despite culture. despite circumstance. despite convienience.

these are the mustard seeds that we are sowing into this dry land. 

“ …in a distracting, violent and tempting world, keep sowing the seed of love. sow it even when it is seemingly being choked or seems too small to make a difference…” -shane claibourne

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echoes of grace...

{may the ground beneath our feet be an echo of His grace}

i am so proud to be [mrs. schallert]! words cannot express how thankful i am to each and every one of you that celebrated with us (both near and far away) on our wedding day. we truly feel your prayers and are so thankful for your support. i am blown away at how every single detail for the ceremony fell into place, so {perfectly orchestrated} in Grace. God's provision streches beyond our physical needs into the hidden places of our hearts and dreams. 

It was such an unreal day and the perfect start to this beautiful, reckless adventure together.  I am so excited to walk out life's questions beside Steve, drawing ever-closer to the heart of the Father. 

our hearts are itching to travel and to start putting some of our training into action...in one week we trek to [kabul] (via japan and india...a few days of travel) and than will be living in [mazar-i-sharif] for the next few months; we will be learning their language so that we can build relationships and will be distributing food to those affected in the severe famine that is taking place in afghanistan right now. we will also be using our art to capture the beauty and culture of these unique people. 

contact via phone and e-mail will be limited for the 3 months that we are there, so please get in touch sometime this week before we head out ( yes, we are "honeymooning", but we are so eager to hear from you! call/write anyway!).

after [afghanistan] we are headed onward for the {'round the world track}! 

 diane.byrnes@gmail.com|908.227.1886

 

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Wearing justice like a turban...

hello my dear family&friends. i hope that you are all doing well. i am really starting to miss you and will be glad to have a new phone next week so that i can hear about what's going on in your lives and share what is going on in mine. i fear if I don't tell you soon my heart will EXPLODE. i am once again overwhelmed by God's grace and provision...in every.single.area of my life. i have been really busy this past week and have been stealing away every moment that i can to hideout and just BE. i am being challenged physically and emotionally and i really value the time where i can get away to process all of it and just melt in the peace of God.

[because we serve a God who takes care of His kids] wedding plans have been literally falling into place. thank you for your continued prayers for steve & i as we prepare our hearts for the next 100 years (so what if i want to be 122 years old...)

photogenX as a group has established a definite outline of where we will be traveling within the next two years (whereas before we had more of a general outline) we are going to have the opportunity to develop some amazing projects to make some changes in this world through visual media...not just taking photographs for the sake of art or to evoke PITY. but, creating art that CAPTURES the beauty and individuality of the subject and exposing desperate situations so that there can be JUSTICE. as i prepare to do this, every part of me is aching for to meet and photograph these people and this has been my hearts cry this past week;

job 29:12-16 

"...I rescued the poor who cried for help and the fatherless who had none to assist him. the man who was dying blessed me, I made the widows heart sing. I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban. I was eyes to the blind. and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger..."

love,

diane.

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the fusion of faith and photography.

Aloha! I am currently living in Kona, Hawaii where I have roommates from Zimbabwe, California, England, Wisconsin, New Zealand and Denmark. 7 Sisters living under one roof. We are all part of a group called photogenX, a team of photographers seeking to make a change in the world with their art. There are artists and missionaries representing 41+ nations here; it is such an amazing experience to work and worship together despite cultural and denominational differnces. The people of Hawaii are so gracious and held a protocol ceremony for us upon our arrival, inviting us into their land and into their "Ohana", which means family.

They are not the only ones who gained a new "Ohana". On April 12th Steve and I were with the team at Pololu Valley (never heard of it? Ever seen Jurassic Park? You know that opening helicopter shot...yeah, THAT valley). As we sat on a rock wall in the parking lot of the valley we were overwhelmed by God's grace and the plans that He has for his children. Steve asked me to be his wife, and ...on June 14th I will become just that ; ) (Yes, June 2008...God's timing defies human logic sometimes...)

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