A Girl, Her Camera, and the God that ties them together

It starts with a camera.

I love Photography. Every kind. Landscapes, abstract,  pets, action shots, events, you name it. But more than anything, I love photographing people.

I love being able to capture the unique spark that makes a person who they are. Capturing those moments that define the legacy that will be left through their life.

Photographs create a canvas to display God’s most beautiful creation. It’s not found in the airbrushed beauty that we pass on billboards everyday. It’s not in the photo shopped girls in bikinis that more than anything just need to eat a sandwich.

I’m talking about the beauty that comes in the wrinkled face of a Cambodian fisherman and his grandson. The hope that is found in the eyes of an African child as he’s handed a bar of soap for the first time. The overwhelming love in the embrace of a husband to his new bride.

This is the beauty that God has created. It’s what moves and motivates us. And it is one of the deepest desires of my heart to share the beauty of God and his world through the lens of my camera.

Throughout the past few months, I’ve begun to be slightly frustrated with my camera. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been more than blessed with Gypsy II (yes, she has a name). She has been simply amazing over the years, going everywhere with me. Cambodia, Australia, the jungle in Bolivia, and deep into the underbelly of Buford GA. She has been nothing less than a dear old friend.

But as you grow in photography, there comes a time when your camera has to grow with you. This wouldn’t be such a problem if photography weren’t such an expensive profession.

Now before we go any further, let me explain something about myself.

I hate spending money.

I mean… I really really hate it. One of my little biweekly joys comes from depositing a hard earned paycheck into the bank and watching my savings get just a little bit higher. Don’t get me wrong though. It’s not a matter of greed, it’s about security.

Every time I spend money, even the smallest amount, all I can think about is the inevitable disaster that will bottom out my back account. And of course if I had just skipped that one rock climbing session, I would have saved the $15 that I needed to keep me going.

It’s a sickness.  

So needless to say, spending the amount of money it takes to buy this new BEUATIFUL camera I’ve had my eyes on… Well, that’s going to take a miracle.

So I began to pray.

It actually took me a while to start praying about it. I figured there were much bigger things to lift up to the Lord, and I was just fine with the camera that I’ve had. But the more sessions that were booked, the more frustrated I became. And finally it got to the point where I was just grunting my frustrations at God.

But God hears even our little rants and raves and He responds.

Within 24 hours of what I felt was the selfish prayer of a frustrated girl, a friend on facebook posted that he was selling the exact camera that I wanted.  This doesn’t happen. No one sells their used 5D Mark II. There is simply no reason to part with them.

So I immediately took this as an answer to prayer and contacted my friend about the price.

Now, used or not, this camera is still way more money than the pit of my stomach will allow me to spend. Especially on myself, investment or not. But the cool thing about this particular camera is that it was being sold so that the owner could raise support for his life in full time missions.

That’s something that I can get on board with.

My money wouldn’t simply go into a store or to some weirdo that is trying to scam me on Craigslist. It’s being sown into the work that God has planned for Seth. I'd get my new camera and my money would be going to do the work of His Kingdom? Two prayers answered at once.

Except it didn’t work out.

Things fell through with Seth and I was actually pretty distraught. I really felt like the Lord had set things in motion for me and had been working on my heart to be willing to spend the money. It almost felt like he was teasing me.

But if I know anything about my God, it’s that he has a purpose for everything he sets in motion.

Ok, so bare with me on this one. I know I’m kind of rambling, but I had to give you a little set up for you to understand how incredibly awesome it is to see God answer these prayers the past couple days. Don’t stop reading, cause this is where it gets cool.

I woke up Monday to an email from Yahoo about the cyber Monday deals. I nonchalantly decided to flip through them for any Christmas ideas for my impossible-to-buy-for brothers. And low and behold, there was my beautiful camera on sale at Best Buy.

For the same price I was going to get it used.

Brand new.

With a one year warranty.

Um… awesome hand of God?

You would think.

But of course the first thing that’s going through my head is “No way can I spend that much money right now! I have Christmas to pay for, Passion coming up, I’m about to need new tires on my car, my hours are slowing down at work, and I have dental work that needs to be done. Not to mention the whole getting married thing and needing ten thousand dollars of support just for the first six months of the next 7-10 years of our life in missions!”

And God sat me down for a little Father/Daughter time.

This is what he said to me.

“LeeAnna, you need to learn to depend on me, not on your pile of money in the bank. It’s good to have savings, it’s good to be prepared, but not if you’re using it as a cushion of security to sit on. I’m your provider and if all you’re doing is allowing that money to collect dust because you’re too scared to use it, even when I’m telling you to, you’re storing up your treasures on earth, not in Heaven. I want to use you and that camera to build my Kingdom, and if you don’t learn to trust me to provide for all of your needs, we’re gonna have a problem.”

So I added the camera to my cart, put in all my credit card info…

And sat there staring at the “submit order” button for about 10 minutes.

With my dad sitting there and Scott’s prayerful consent, I decided to push the button. But not before one last prayer.

“God, if I’m doing this, it’s because You said to do it. I’m trusting you to provide the money to either build my savings back up or to get me what I need moment to moment. You’re gonna have to come through, cause this is a big freaking leap of faith for me.”

And I hit purchase.

(Big Sigh)

I flip over to facebook to distract myself so I don’t hyperventilate and there’s a message waiting for me from Kim Kidson. She is an old friend who just recently became engaged to her wonderful fiancé and asked me to shoot their wedding.

That's right.

Within 30 seconds of printing off my receipts, God provides. And not just any session, but a wedding for a beautiful friend with her wonderful family in Cape Town South Africa next August. I couldn’t be more excited.

And it gets better.

The same day I book a portrait session, a Trash the Dress session (so excited!), and Pregnancy Session, a Family session, and potentially another wedding.

Confirmation from God?

I would say so.

The funny thing is, I realize how blessed I am for God to confirm it so fast. Often times when we follow God’s direction, when we take that step of faith beyond what logic might tell us, we don’t know what we’re stepping into. God’s control over the situation is not always so obvious. Now He is a God of peace, and there’s confidence that comes from knowing the voice of our Father. But what a blessing to have him confirm it in me so quickly.

He is truly our provider. 

Just in awe of the Holy and Almighty King that I get to call Father. 

He is Peace. 

He is Love.

He is Sovereign. 

And I belong to Him.

Elijah Project: Remodeled

Alright Ladies and Gents.

I’m pretty sure no one reads or follows along with this, but I’m gonna post about it as if you do anyway. =]

If you’ve followed along with the Elijah Project so far, you’d noticed it’s been a while since I’ve posted. It’s supposed to be daily prayer for countries and it seems as though as soon as I got through the A’s, I burnt out and stopped.

Let me assure you, this is not the case.

When I first started the Elijah Project, God put it on my heart to share with others about how He speaks to me. People often don’t realize that the Lord not only answers prayer, but He will lead them according to the things of His heart as well. I wanted this project to not simply draw me closer to the Lord in my own time with him, but to share with others the cool ways that the Lord often speaks to us.

This isn’t what the Elijah Project has been.

While I loved reading about a new country every day, the project and blog quickly became apathetic. In about two weeks, it seemed as through the heart and passion to seek God through prayer had already transformed to a mediocre, half hearted homework assignment. Every day I’d read stats, write them out in an easy to read format, and then say a quick prayer and go about my day.

How opposite of what the Lord asked of me!

So I’m revamping my Elijah Project style. Instead of 365 daily posts, this is a year of me committing myself to the Lord in prayer. That means most of it is gonna be on my own. When I pray, I actually have to write it all out. I have a journal that is filled not with “dear diary” style writing, but written out as letters to my Father. He writes me back a lot too. In fact most of my journal consists of conversations between the two of us.

So here’s where you get to come in.

I know that through this commitment to true prayer and time between me and Him, and on behalf of others, He’s going to move. In just the few days that I haven’t been doing countries and blogs, He’s already done some pretty cool stuff that I can’t wait to post about.

It’s these stories that you’ll get to read. Not homework, not something that is forced out and required of me. It’s the cool ways that God moves that I just can’t help but tell you about. =]

So if you’re reading this and have followed along with the project, I hope you still keep up. And I am still happy to take any requests that are on your heart for me to pray about.

Thanks for the support through this!

Elijah Project: Day 12

All of the following information comes from Operation World by Jason Mandryke and is in no way my own work. 

Country: Christmas, Keeling, and Norfolk Islands

Three small Islands off the coast of Australia. In fact, Australia actually gives them the aid to keep them going. Population averages around 1000 on Christmas Island, 700 on Keeling, and 2000 on Norfolk.

While tourism certainly boosts the economy, the islands depend on the mining of phosphate, the farming of coconuts, and self sufficient agriculture.

What to pray for:

1) The isolation of the islands make Christian ministry very difficult. Pray for God to move throughout the churches for a heart to reach out to the people of the islands themselves. Also pray against natural disaster as isolation hinders immediate help from Australia.

What the Lord put on my heart:

Father I pray that you would just embrace the people of these islands. That while it might be easy to get lost and comfortable in the smallness of the island, that they would see how huge they are in your eyes. That the churches wouldn’t just sit back feeling comfortable in their small, consistent islands, but that they would be passionate about sharing the love of a Father with their people. I pray that you would just be very real to them and that it would be the greatness of your love portrayed.

Country: Austria

Austria is known for beauty, culture, art and music. With the Alps along their southern border and the Danube River running through the north, there’s much to see. They run on a balance of tourism, agricultural, industrial and commercial sectors. There is freedom of religion throughout, with a constitutional relationship between the catholic church and the state.

What to pray for:

1) The presence of the living God

·      Although Austria has one of the highest percentages of those who believe in God, the church and number of evangelical believers is steadily declining. High rates of suicide, abortion, and alcoholism display a need for biblical foundation.

2) Catholic and Lutheran church numbers are falling drastically. There is slight growth in the evangelical/ charismatic churches, but the numbers still remain very low.

·      Within these growing churches, there is a great need for pastors. There is little training taking place and as congregations multiply, there is no shepherd for the sheep.

·      Austria potentially has more believers serving outside of their country than within. Pray for Austrians as well as outsiders that are willing to come train and teach in an area of such great need.

3) There are many immigrants and refugees piling back into Austria after WWII. Pray that Austrian believers will greet these strangers with compassion and love.

What the Lord put on my heart:

Presence, not just tradition.

I pray that they would thirst for your presence. Father I pray for a movement within Austria to capture their attention in a big way. I pray that you would place in them such a huge desire for your voice. That the traditions and lifeless churches would not hold back, but that it would be a real life changing encounter with You. I pray life into the people of Austria.

I also pray for a stirring within their hearts for their own country. That while you do tell us to go, that they would hear your heart and your voice to stay as well. That even if there is a great passion to go out into the world, that if they heard your voice to stay, there would be an even greater fire within them. 

Elijah Project: Day 11

All of the following information comes from Operation World by Jason Mandryke and is in no way my own work. 

Country: Australia

I love Australia. Don’t get me wrong, I love America too, but I really can’t wait to live in Australia. It’s home to some of the nicest, friendliest people you’ll meet (even in the airports) with, yes I'll say it, some of the coolest accents.

Go just once and suddenly you’ll find yourself missing it when you’re not there. Even more, I really feel like God is moving in Australia, especially within the youth. He’s stirring something. So let’s pray into it, shall we?

Australia is a Parliamentary Democracy and is home to a wide range of ethnics groups that have full freedom of religion. The ecological standing at the country is extremely unstable with many droughts and bush fires wiping out much of the country. 

What to pray for:

1) Praise God for the many political leaders that base decisions on the morals that come through their faith in Christ.

2) Traditionally Christian, Australia is now characterized by their diversity and secularism of  values. New Age ideals have created a very “pick and choose” trend of religion throughout the country where religion itself has become very individualized.

·   Due to a growth in immigration and a very multicultural environment, there are many aspects of other religions being accepted and mixed in with Christianity. 

3) Australia’s ecology is one of the most fragile in the world. There are many efforts to preserve what they can, but the country is finding itself slowly dwindling. Pray for good stewardship for the people and favor for the land.

4) The church. Only 10% of professing Christians actually attend church.

·      Pray for a mentality of truth in love in dealing with the secular issues such as human origin, sexuality, and an existence of God.

·      Unity among churches. There is great conflict over issues such as homosexuality, women being ordained, as well as other issues, all leading to more and more division.

·      A heart for world missions throughout every denomination as well as local missions teams to specific ethnics groups in neighboring communities. ( Muslims, Chinese, Jews, and Vietnamese are all growing cultures.)

5) Aborigines- there is great unrest among the native Aboriginals about land rights as the original Australian people. Prime ministers have been working towards better feelings towards one another. Hateful acts of white Australians are often offset by many missionaries that come deliberately to show love. Pray for understanding among both people groups as well as an acceptance of love between both.

·    Many Aboriginals are Christian, and church leaders are working to blend Christian values with Aboriginal culture as a means of worship and outreach. Translations are being compiled for the many indigenous languages spoken.

6) Pray for a heart and means of training for student ministry throughout Australia. Along with that, pray for the Christian youth to have a heart not only for their community, but for world missions as well. 

What the Lord put on my heart:

Father I just want to pray specifically into unity among churches. I pray against the mentality of “numbers”. That they wouldn’t seek to outgrow neighboring churches, that they wouldn’t fight among one another, but that they would join together under You and You alone. Father I pray that they would be a light. It’s no wonder that so many are beginning to pick and choose the aspects of their own personal religion when churches are arguing and splitting over issues among themselves anyway. I pray that there would just be a humbling among Australian churches and growing love for the people.

I pray that the churches wouldn’t judge those who come seeking. That they wouldn’t look down upon them for a way of life or for beliefs, but that they would see through your eyes. I pray for the youth among churches, that they would be raised according to your word, but not sheltered from the world and society around them. Instead I pray that they would be shining lights and display to their friends what true followers of Christ look like. That they aren’t out there to scream about hell, but to love like Christ. I pray that the youth of Australia would learn the Bible for themselves. Read it and study it with their own eyes instead of just listening to what others tell them. That they would learn to seek out your heart for issues and not just pick a side to take. But that they would form decisions from your Holy Spirit. 

Elijah Project: Day 10

All of the following information comes from Operation World by Jason Mandryke and is in no way my own work. 

Country: Aruba

Aruba is a small island off the coast of Venezuela and is now a self governing part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Almost their entire economy runs on tourism ( so maybe we should go visit!) and they practice full freedom of religion.

What to pray for:

1) While there is a large amount of churches and evangelical believers, the ethnic split is uneven. Aruba has many immigrants from Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia, but there are few Asian churches. Pray for an impact to be made on the Asian population and for churches to arise.

2) Unity among believers

·      There’s been a fad growing of a televangelist- type preaching style of alien theology that honors the whole prosperity message of the church. Pray that this doesn’t pin one church against another, but that the church as whole would pull together to fight against the high numbers of teen drug abuse and illegitimate births.

What God put on my heart:

A heart for the people of Aruba. A heart of compassion, not a heart of competition. That they wouldn’t grow stagnant and bored and begin competing against one another for numbers, but that they will see the hurting and lonely of the island and reach out to them. Not as potential to grow THEIR church, but to grown the Kingdom of God. 

Elijah Project: Day 9

All of the following information comes from Operation World by Jason Mandryke and is in no way my own work. 

Country: Armenia

An Island of Christianity in a sea of Islam.

Due to the location of Armenia (a land locked country bordering Turkey, Iran, and Azerbaijan) it has rarely known independence or peace. Consistently used as a buffer between Turkish, USSR, and Persian empires, it has known endless years of war. They are in a generally stable state politically at present, although some might argue a level of corruption.

Armenians practice freedom of religion and it is actually considered the first Christian nation, with strong ties between the government and the Armenian apostolic church.

What to pray for:

1) Good relations with neighboring countries

·      The killing of 1.5 million Armenians by Turkey in the early 1900’s is considered what many are called an unrecognized genocide. There is much unrest with Turkey although some progress has been made in recent years. Pray for a heart of forgiveness for the Armenians and for peace and established trade with their border countries.

·      There is great unrest between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the control of Nagorno-Karabakh, with now claims it’s own independence. Refugees from both sides remain unsheltered, with all involved not willing to back down. Pray that both sides may be able to find peace and move forward.

2) The Church

·      pray that they may continue to grow in Spirit and not simply tradition, but that Christianity may flourish and be a light to the nation.

·      Pray for unity within the church denominations as well as for godly leaders founded on the word of God.

·      Relief work within the church