A couple years back I did an internship with Food for the Hungry. While there I had the privilege of getting to know Pat, an extremely gifted leader and passionate man of God. In the years since I’ve been blessed to get to know his family too. So, when they contacted me to take senior portraits for Ashley, I was excited to do it!

For the shoot, we worked our way through Old Town Scottsdale, enjoying the beautiful weather as we went. I have to give a special shout out to Ashley’s mom who doubled as my lighting assistant for the day, doing a great job (she may have uncovered a hidden talent)! Ashley is extremely photogenic and was a blast to shoot. Ashley congratulations on this big step in life, and what it represents that is now just over the horizon. Best of luck in wherever you next steps take you!

You never know how the people you meet will end up crossing your path later in life. This can be something you avoid…or…it can be a pleasant surprise. This story happens to be one of those pleasant surprises! In 2009 during my two months in Rwanda I helped host a team of folks from a church in Scottsdale that is doing a development project in western Rwanda. One of the members on this team was Nathan. I was surprised with Nathan’s demeanor when I met him. At that point he was in his final year of high school, a gifted athelete and extremely well rounded guy. But more than that he was humble, and he cared about people. Impressive traits at that point in life! I saw Nathan periodically since Rwanda, but recently reconnected with him and his now fiance, Taylor.

Nathan recently proposed to Taylor and they are set to get married early next year. I’m so excited to reconnect with Nathan and get to know his equally amazing bride to be. We had a blast taking engagement pictures in downtown Phoenix, you can tell from the images that they do just fine in front of a camera! I also want to give a special thanks to April, who accompanied us on the shoot, helping me at many points along the way!

Nate and Taylor, I had a blast with the both of you, I’m so excited for the path you’ve chosen together and can’t wait to shoot your wedding!

You may recognize Kevin. He lived across the street from me last year in Gacundezi and his mother prepared many of my meals. It was great to see him and his family again! His father is a leader of the Muslim church in Gacundezi and one of the strongest leaders in the community. I was blessed to have an hour or so to have tea and speak with him while here.

Meet John, he his an instructor at both Phoenix Seminary and Southwestern Bible School as well as the lead pastor at West Greenway Bible Church. He did an incredible job providing some biblical training to 15 or so pastors who represented roughly 25 local churches. John has a lot of fantastic initiatives he is planning on engaging once back in the states. I consider it a blessing to have served with him and I gained a friendship with an amazing man of God in the process! Check out his thoughts from the trip on his blog!

We spent several afternoons going into the community and making home visits. We learned more about the families we strived to serve in an intensely intimate environment. It is humbling being welcomed by these families. They face unbelievable challenges on a day to day basis, and yet, they are perhaps the most hospitable people I’ve ever met. We as westerners have a lot to learn.

This is one of the mothers of a child sponsored by the community to community project. She also was given materials from the training Vicki provided for mothers in Rwanda, equipping and organizing them to pray together, consistently, and fervently for their children, the school, and the community. The results were amazing and encouraging and I’m eager to see how this grows.

An image taken during the Mom’s in Touch training. Vicki led the mothers through an example of the programs prayer stucture. This image was taken when the mothers praying together during a breakout session. It was a powerful time!

This was one of my favorite images from the trip. Again, taken during the prayer time of the mothers training.

Vicki leading her training. By this point nearly 30 mothers were there.

Nothing particularly important about this image, other than its representation of a primary tool of transport. Really, I just liked the image

Meet Vestine, one of the programs sponsored through the community to community program. This program provides healthcare as well as school supplies and other various needs.

During our home visits the neighborhood children quickly surrounded us ‘muzungus’ and it was virtually impossible to get a picture with less than 20 kids. I crept away to get this one. I love the joy in the kids, yet that is equally met with a sadness of the state that most are living.

No caption necessary.

Many people live in homes built with mud, coated with concrete, and topped with a tin roof. This hut is indicative of the other common construction. While most no longer live in these huts (some do), it is still around and often used for livestock.

This carving was at the house of one of the business partners of the multiple initiatives the team is working on, including a travel lodge in the game park.