Photo of the Week-4/5-4/12

meet jack. meet bienvo.

when i took this photo, as crazy as it sounds, i teared up. yup, i'm generally an emotional sap and it carries into my work on many occasions. i was teary-eyed not because of the quality of the photo but because of what it represents.

when we try to explain to people what parternship really means, we sometimes get blank stares. but when st. john was here this week, i didn't have to explain a thing. they get it.

when you see jack and bienvo's hands, to the outsider it just looks like a nice picture of four hands. but to know the story means to know the partnership it represents. bienvo's hands, the size of bear claws, rough and worn from years of hard labor. jack's hands, small and smooth, lacking in life experience but ripe with possibility. bienvo represents our ministry so incredibly. a hard-working, christian, god-fearing man who wants to make a difference in his community with christ's love while still being relevant to his culture. jack represents three generations of a family who is sold out for christ and believes whole-heartedly in international partnership and the bond of mutual transformation.

four hands, which in most circles would never connect, but in this "circle" finds friendship, comfort and the transforming power of god uniting cultures despite race, language or class.

no other four hands could represent something more powerful, redemptive or influential.

Perez Family

catching up on some of my recent shoots...the perez family and i had a quick little photoshoot in our friend's backyard. it was fun and quick and amazing that we got as many great shots as we did with two very busy girls. stella and amelia are awesome. and already declaring their individual personalities. enjoy the photos...

papi and his daughters...so adorable

love this mama

this face cracks me up

little amelia

vivacious stella

"what? we didn't do anything..."

"are we about done? i need my beauty sleep."

"oh my gosh! i totally want to switch stuffed animals with you."

"it's ok, stella, i still love you."

Photo of the Week-3/23-3/30

i love this photo. and i loved this week. this group from canada came down and did a tremendous job. they were so polite and so kind and well-behaved. we never had to worry about them or wonder if they were going to get into trouble. they were just a great group of kids. but most of all they were such an encouragement to romano.

partnership is what our ministry is all about. relationships. encouragement. discipleship. and this team loved on romano like they had known him their whole lives.

romano is an incredible guy. not quite 30 and a pastor, soccer coach, counselor, translator. he wears so many hats and truly is a man after god's heart and his people. after starting his journey as an illegal immigrant from haiti, he worked hard, educated himself and found a place in the G.O. Ministries family. his dedication to god's word and desire to bring more Christ followers into God's kingdom is such an inspiration to me and probably most that have come in contact with him.

you could see how revived romano was this week. its not an easy job, what he does, and even the most sold out soldier for Christ needs a little pick-me-up now and then. and that is exactly what westside was for him. he already has an infectious smile but this week it was beaming.

Photo of the Week-3/6-3/13

there's always been a special little place in my heart for brisas de ocampo and for cross point christian church. cross point was the very first church mike and i worked with when we joined G.O.. they support fellow missionaries, jeff and vicki rogers, as well as partner with moise jean. they put missions in their church's dna from the very beginning and its been incredible to see the fruit of that decision.

i remember i was so nervous. i wasn't sure if being a missionary was what i wanted to be. i didn't think i was deserving of so much responsibility as the "ministry's photographer." but the people at cross point made me feel at home. made me not feel so much like a fish out of water. made me realize that i wasn't capable, but God was. it was like a team of big brothers that somehow made me feel like i could do this. i could be a missionary photographer.

this picture is so special to me because i was there when cross point broke ground on the church and nutrition center in brisas de ocampo. i remember staring at the trenches in the ground thinking, "how on earth will we turn that into a building?" but here we are. five years later and it is a building. and it is feeding kids.

on the first day the kids didn't really know what to do with all of us staring at them, trying to help where we could, sitting next to them as they ate. it was awkward and bumpy and uncomfortable at times. i barely got a single picture of any kids smiling. in fact, most of them shied away from my camera.

but on the second day you could see the thick air, thinning. they smiled when the member's of cross point came into the church. they laughed when the guys made funny faces. the little one's welcomed the help when they just couldn't figure out how to feed themselves. it was like i was watching my time here on this island go full circle, played out right in front of me. i saw the change from doubt and concern to joy and completeness. which is exactly what god does. complete.

Wendoli's Quinceanera

I could not believe it when I found out Wendoli was having her Quinceanera party. I've known her since she was 10!!! Although the word quinceanera probably doesn't mean much to the average American, to a Dominican it is a BIG deal. When a girl turns fifteen it is equivalent to your sweet sixteen in America. There are elaborate dresses and tiaras, lots of friends and family and a very big party. I wanted to do something special for Wendoli. Something besides a gift. Mike and I are pretty close to her family and I knew one thing would be sufficient for Wendoli's big day. A photoshoot! What fifteen-year-old girl doesn't LOVE a photoshoot in a beautiful dress. So we headed for a nearby park and clicked away. It was so much fun. And her mom was just in awe at the fact that her baby girl was now a woman. I'm sure in 14 years, I'll feel exactly the same way :)

Photo of the Week-2/15-2/22

if there's one thing that is missing in my life, it's sports. i love sports. the thrill of sports. the nerves and butterflies and rush of energy before a big game. the smell of the grass on a freshly cut soccer field. the peanuts and bratwurst at baseball games. the camaraderie during march madness.

so when there is a sports week down here i am all over it like white on rice. and baseball week lived up to the hype.

there is something so incredibly special about being part of someone's future. and if there is one thing that i have found in over two decades of playing sports, is that sports can change someone's future. and it is no different in the dominican republic.

unfortunately for kids here, young boys especially, it is easier to get involved in drugs and alcohol than anything else. these things are readily available. laws for underage drinking aren't enforced. the scene is very accessible. and sometimes drugs and alcohol appear to offer a life of luxury and opportunity more than anything else they are presented with. but what G.O. is doing with sports is absolutely incredible. will partin, mike braisted (my husband) and a dominican/haitian staff of ten are going to great lengths to invest in the youth in our community, through sports.

when the baseball group was here this week i had the opportunity to see this interwoven group of men offer more than just instruction in baseball. they offered their life experiences and their love of jesus. they offered vulnerability and honesty. they offered these young boys hope. a group of men, who, for all intensive purposes were heroes and incredibly talented baseball players. someone these kids could look up to and find real, tangible ways of living out their faith but still staying relevant in their culture. there is nothing like finding a common ground like sports and using it as an avenue to better someone's life. i'd even go as far as to say that at least one of the kids this week had their lives changed forever.

Photo of the Week - 1/4-1/11

our little ariani. she lives in the hole. and this was a special day. her and 100 other kids from the nutrition center were treated to ice cream by real life church. indeed this was a special day.

aside from watching kids guzzle down gallon after gallon of sweet tasting ice cream, the mayhem of them riding every ride and going down the slide and crossing the monkey bars, is a sight to see. i watched car after car pull into the bon parking lot, and i watched car after car take one look at 100 crazy kids and squeal away. i was kind of glad. this was their day anyway.

ariani is a little more special to me than even the other special kids that i love from the hole. i've gotten to know her and her mom over the last year. plus, i have a little place tucked away in my heart for kids with special needs. there's a reason they call it "special" needs.

we've determined that she probably has cerebral palsy and probably a cognitive disability. but you see that smile? that smile is there, every minute of every day. i've never once heard her complain that her mom has to carry her to the nutrition center every day. i've never once heard her whine when the other kids are running around and she can't. i've never once seen her feel sad or sorry that she was born the way she was. just a smile and an insatiable zest for life.

this day, i admit, as amazing as it is, i sometimes feel anxious about it. i get very stressed out feeling responsible for 100 kids. even though other staff are there to assist, i just feel overwhelmed. kids pushing, wanting more ice cream, wanting to be first in line for the slide...all normal kid stuff but all stuff that stresses me out. then ariani reminded me why i love this day.

there she was, struggling to get to the slide with her walker, waiting her turn for her friend from real life church to assist her up the stairs. sitting at the top of the slide. huge smile beaming from ear to ear and a whoosh as she slides down. at the very bottom, just two words, "otra vez." she grabs her walker again, rushing to get to the stairs to meet her friend who helps her to the top. ready to go down and whoosh. this time, even before she gets to the bottom, i heard the words "otra vez."

she went down that slide more than twenty times. each time the same beautiful smile as the first. each time sliding down like she'd never done it before. each time asking if she could do it again. by the end of her twenty or so times, she was exhausted. some of us discussed how it was probably the best therapy that she's had in her eight or so years of living with her condition. regardless of the stress or the overwhelming feeling when i think of taking 100 kids to get ice cream, i could do it every day of the week if i got to see little ariani...and her humbly grateful smile.