Putting my camera where my heart is

This was their favorite. I made a 2ft x 3ft poster for them

Last Saturday was an amazing day. God did two things in my life. One, he allowed me the honor of helping prepare and then serve a Thanksgiving dinner for an entire neighborhood. Not a neighborhood like the one you or I probably live in. It was a neighborhood where babies as young as 3 were out roaming a playground alone with no parents in sight. Where I understand from a project pastor who serves that neighborhood, that he has “happened” by there, sometimes at 2:00 in the morning, to find young kids (I’m talking about kids younger than teenagers) still hanging around outside on the playground. At least there are streetlamps there. Because, in some of their homes, there is no electricity!

So there we were, wanting to join hearts with the folks in that neighborhood and maybe, by being friends, if even for a day, shine a light of hope and friendship (God’s light) on their lives. And that brings me to the 2nd thing. There were tons of young girls who I learned over the course of the day were starved for attention. And they were at a tender enough age to still WANT adult friendship and mentoring. God softened my heart towards them in a passionate way. I had my camera (of course), and I was taking lots of pictures, but as soon as I approached a small group of them, they started: “Can you take my picture?” “Take a picture of the 3 of us.” “Can we get on the monkey bars and get a picture?” Before long, there were about 10 of them, hamming it up, creating album covers, being on magazines, being cheerleaders, supermodels, everything I think they dreamed of being. They were actually disappointed when it was time to eat. And the second I was finished in the kitchen, they wanted to go “play” some more. After about several hundred pictures and dead flash batteries, I told them the camera was done for the day.

And here’s when “the divine” washed over me like a flood. The camera was done. No more pictures. Their response? “Well… can we just hang out with you anyway?” “I want to go with you.” “I’ll help you clean up.” OMG… my heart turned to so much mush! And it stayed with me until… well… it is still staying with me. I was so humbled by a door of influence into their lives!

What’s awesome is that a good friend of mine at church, Lori Boling, said she had the same tug on her heart for those people that day. She told me a passion was raising up in her heart to spend time with them. To somehow make a difference in their lives more than just at a Thanksgiving dinner. Soooooooo…. the two of us are plotting. We WILL spend more time with them. And we WILL make a difference. The first thing we’ll do is go back and take them prints of all the pictures — and a big 2 feet by 3 feet poster I had made of their favorite one. The project minister said he would love to hang them in their community center to help them feel a part of something.

And from there? Well… It was God who tugged on our hearts this far, so I don’t guess He’s going to stop tugging now, right? However His heart for those people unfolds, I have a feeling Lori and I are going to have some small part in it. And the thought makes me verrrrrrrrry happy!

Here’s the story in pictures and the song that says it best. . .
http://vimeo.com/32535425