Africa.

Five more days till I board a plane for Kenya.  I can not believe the time is actually here.  Back in August when the plane tickets were purchased I felt like I would never make it through the next few months...yet here I am.  To say I feel like a child on Christmas eve would be an understatement.  Its going to feel good to find that big piece of my heart again that I left in Africa. I often struggle with putting to words why Africa is so captivating (which is probably why I default to photos) but this is the best I can do...  Africa is when you wake up everyday to the sound of birds singing in the trees, having the most beautiful blue skies, and enjoying a breeze to cool off the heat from the closeness of the sun. When you rejoice in rain. When you don’t check the weather predictions but let whatever comes your way, come. When you can drive twenty minutes and encounter a lion, zebra, giraffes, rhinos, and buffalo. It’s being intoxicated by the joy within Africans and captivated by their smiles.  Africa is hard and has its challenges, but it also reveals the raw, unaltered, undefiled beauty of our Creator.

Yeah.

oh yeah, and...

Here and there.

I've been blessed with the opportunity over the past few months to travel to Romania, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and California.  Although traveling is my heartbeat, there is something special about coming home and processing.  Its been an adventurous fall documenting stories of love, bondage, redemption, family, vows, honor, and courage.  Everyone has a story. I'm finally learning to listen and ask the questions that allow the person to share.  There is so much beauty around the world, in each story, in each heart.  I'm blessed to capture it.  Here's a mini recap of some of the folks I've met.

Not For Sale | Global Forum

Back in August I had the privilege to go to Romania with the organization Not for Sale.  I was there to visit one of their projects and capture it through my lens.  You can read about that journey here. It was a wild ride, and I'm forever grateful for that opportunity.  I love photography (duh?!) but when I can marry my photography with working for a non-profit or charity organization....wow, its pretty much more than my heart can handle.  My photos (whether in Africa, Romania, or anywhere in the world) may not  directly save a life, no, but my photos can be used to raise awareness or help tell a story of how even a single life is changed by an organization.  That's my goal.  That's where my heart beats. In Romania, many lives have been changed through Not For Sale.  I've seen it first hand.  However, Not For Sale's foot prints aren't just in Romania.  They have projects in Peru, Thailand, Cambodia, South Africa, and Uganda.  As we speak, NFS is preparing to head up an amazing Global Forum to raise even more awareness about human trafficking around the world.  The forum starts today and I'm so excited for he privilege to be here in CA-rubbing shoulders with some of the greatest abolitionists of our time as I photograph the forum.  If you aren't able to make it out to Sunnyvale, CA, you can tune in and watch it live.  Trust me....you won't want to miss this.

Finally, Back to Africa.

Its been 498 days since I've breathed in the African air.  It feels like forever ago, yet I catch myself thinking I'm back there...or was just there.  498 days is a long time.  Well,  I'm going back in 46 days.  I could not be more thrilled, excited, and overwhelmed by the opportunity.  Blessed, actually.  As you may have picked up from my blog-this is where my heart beats and I'm so excited to hear it beat along side the lovely African people again.  It's been too long.  Excited to see God's beauty over there and to capture it in images like these again.  Forget what the media may say and display about Africa.  I'm here to display God's glory.  Let me tell you...its there.

Africa

Just one of those days...

miss it.