In January of 2015, God blessed me and my husband Terry by allowing us to go on our very first foreign mission trip to Cholutecha, Honduras. I had always dreamed of going on one and helping to share the love of Christ, and this trip did no disappoint. It was a big mash up of firsts for me. First mission trip. First time away from my kids for any real length of time. First flights. First visit to a foreign country. First stamps on my passport. First reason to really want to learn Spanish. First time to ever completely fall in love with people I couldn't even communicate with, without a translator. First time to ever be completely brokenhearted because I had to leave a place where my family was not with me. I spent most of my week there taking pictures of the children in Vacation Bible School. My part wasn't much, but I got to spend a personal moment with each and every child that came. I got to learn a few words in Spanish so that they would know what I needed them to do. I said "Escriba su nombre, grande. Sonrisa!" over and over again. I got to make them smile and laugh at my misuse of words when I got confused. And I got to see many beautiful smiles as each child took had their moment in front of the camera. I held a sweet little baby named Nadia. I didn't want to let her go. My heart very much still is in Honduras with the new family that I have there. I miss them so very much. Even though I am home with my sweet babies, and my family close by, my mind continues to go back to them. We take so much for granted here in the US. Even in the worst of times here, often, they would compare with the best of times for them. Where we go in debt to pay for things that we can really live without, they would do without an be grateful for what they have been blessed to have. I left on this trip hoping to share God's love and make some sort of difference in the lives of the people I would meet. I never realized how much they would make a difference in my life. I never realized how much of God's love they would share with me. These people who have nothing, and worship God with such amazing enthusiasm for every little thing they are blessed to have, while we who have way more than we need complain wanting more. I love you all of my Honduran family so very much. They are all in my prayers and part of my heart will always be there with them. I am counting the days until I can come back to my other home again! I was also blessed to be with a wonderful team there. There were 25 of us total and every single person with us truly has a heart of gold. I trust every single one of them explicitly. I am so happy to now be able to call them my family. I can't thank them all enough for the kindness, love, and lessons they taught me over the course of the trip. I didn't get to spend a lot of time with some . But every moment I did, left me wanting to spend more. It broke my heart when we arrived in Nashville and began to go our separate ways, knowing that it may be a while before we get to see each other again. I didn't really know most of them before the trip, and now, I can't imagine life without them all in it. I love them all so very much! The blessings of this trip didn't end when we returned home either. I continue to be blessed daily by the people I was with there. My Honduran family still contact me on facebook often (thank God for google translate), and the Lord allowed me to play a part in helping baby Nadia's family come to know Christ as their Savior, even after I returned to home. I still am completely amazed by Gods blessings on us during that time.
So now, lets fast forward a little bit to the beginning of May, when things really started to change for me as a photographer. Shortly before this is when I as awarded my spot on the Dean's List, and that really gave me the confidence I was needing to even think about taking the first step to go from a hobbyist photographer to a professional photographer. I was still scared out of my wits, but I knew in my heart that it was time. So, I had promised a photo session to my friend Mandy and she was ready to collect. So I went out and spent the day with her and her sweet family and it was an amazing day! I got some really great shots and we hall had a blast! After it was over, she was so excited with the pictures that she started sharing them and telling everyone about me. To my surprise, my calendar FILLED UP! I was so shocked! From the day that she posted her pictures till the end of the month, every spare moment I had was filled with taking and editing pictures. It was amazing! My facebook business page went from the roughly 80 likes of my friends and family to nearly 1000 today! The majority of bookings on my calendar were people I didn't even know! I am so amazed. Sometimes it is a little overwhelming, and I still have a lot to figure out. But today, I AM A PHOTOGRAPHER! There is no more, I would like to be someday, I hope to be eventually, I will be when I get out of school. No, I AM A PHOTOGRAPHER! I couldn't be more thankful for how God has blessed my life and my business! He has answered so many of my prayers that I wouldn't even know how to begin explaining.
I want to end with this. First let me reiterate that my life is far from perfect. Money is tight and life is hard, BUT God is good. If we are faithful to Him, He will fill our lives with more blessings than we can image. If you are struggling, or have a dream that you think will never come to pass, pray about it. If it is God's will for your life, He WILL give it to you. Even if you think it is hopeless, it is never too hopeless for God. This time last year, I was a stay at home mom, who knowing that my baby girl would be starting Kindergarten, knew that I needed to find a way to help my family financially when she started school. Even after she started school, I still felt lost. Jobs are not abundant in our area and I didn't want to do a job that I knew I would be miserable doing. I just kept praying for God to show me a way. I prayed for Him to guide me down the path the He wanted for my life. He Did! He is making my dreams come true! Now, I pray that He will show me how to use my business for His glory! Without Him, I would be nothing!Thank you Father for ALL of Your many blessings!
Here are some of my favorite shots from the session that started it all:
