To Die is Gain (Part II in a series)

 (Click on the images for a larger view)

Pet Portraits

October had some beautiful days, so I grabbed my 50mm prime lens and headed into the backyard with my dogs, Maddux and Wrigley Fields.  Maddux is a natural in front of the camera, while Wrigley is a bit more shy, but here are some of my favorite shots of them.

 

  

  

To Die is Gain

(Click on the photos for the larger size:)

I took these photos a number of months ago, but hadn't done any processing until this week. While I loved the color shots, the B&W were more poignant.  I title this series To Die is Gain, based on the writings of the Apostle Paul who wrote in Philippians 1:21 that "to live is Christ and to die is gain."  These photographs are an attempt at depicting the beauty of being united with Christ through death (Romans 6) and the truth that to die is gain.

Published!

This year, I've been published twice. Here is the first of two projects of which I've been a part: photography for a book cover as well as input on the design. Here is a sample mock-up that I worked on and the link to the final product. It was a lot of fun to be a part of the process and see my work published.

https://www.createspace.com/3589716

Find Me on Facebook!

I haven't done much with my photography on my blog lately, but have decided to work on getting more photos up here.  Please join me on Facebook and follow me there as well!

Orthopedic Ministries of the Caribbean: Over the Next Few Days

Orthopedic Ministries of the Caribbean: Over the Next Few Days: written by Karen Fields

Over the next few days, you will be bombarded with images from the earthquake and destruction that changed the lives of millions of Haitian forever.  Over the next few days, your eyes will see things that will make you want to look away.  Over the next few days, you'll hear more news of destruction, of tent cities with people whose homes are not yet rebuilt. 

It is easy to turn away from the TV and videos, to turn the page in the newspaper, to change the radio station, but over the next few days, I hope you'll let that tear roll down your cheek for the pain and suffering in Haiti. It rolled down mine today, 364 days after that treacherous day in January 2010.

It often feels hopeless, what can one person do? What can one dollar do? What can one prayer do?  A lot. When I was in Haiti in April of 2010 just three short months after the quake, one dollar bought food for a family, one person comforted a crying child or brought a smile to his face, one prayer saved a life. Twenty dollars paid a week's salary for a man to provide for his family.  Twenty people saved limbs, cleaned wounds, taught people to walk again, gave new limbs to amputees, served food to hundreds of people daily. Twenty prayers, we pray, saved souls.

I have no doubt that you are bombarded with organizations constantly asking for money, and in these financial times, every dollar counts for many, many people, in our own communities, in our own country. But please don't forget the people of Haiti, who are a grateful people, loving and caring, and looking for hope for tomorrow.  When you think of Haiti, don't think of all the things that haven't been done yet to rebuild. Think of the things that are being done, and that bring that oasis of hope to the people there, an oasis of hope and healing to the tired and weary.

Here is just one of many stories of the good work being done at Hopital Adventiste d'Haiti.  Yes, we need help funding care for indigent patients, and for building improvements, and we still need volunteers.  As you watch, consider what one dollar, one person, one prayer can do in the life of one person. If you feel led, please Join Us.


Out of the Rubble from Loma Linda University on Vimeo.

It Is Good To Feel Hungry

One of my college roommates and teammates leaves today for Haiti, for a city called Jacmel, about 25 miles south of Port au Prince. She is going with a team to rebuild some homes, visit children in an orphanage, and share the Gospel. As I think of Haiti and what she is about to witness, the work she is about to do, the love she can share, and the work she and her team can do, I am in tears. Not just a small tear trickling out of my eye, but many, many tears. There are things about Haiti I do not miss-- the heat and humidity and drenching my scrubs multiple times a day (after a week of oppressive heat and humidity in WI, how did I ever survive in Haiti?), the dirt and dust everywhere, the lack of fresh running water... but there are so many things I do miss and feel as though a part of me was left behind in Haiti and lives and breathes to hear how the people and patients are doing there. Yesterday I was in surgery all day, and we had a couple of long cases. I lost track of time and didn't realize it was as late as it was already, and on a break between cases, did not think to eat lunch. As I scrubbed my arms and hands and donned the gown and gloves, I came to the conclusion that it is good for me to feel hunger now and then and to not be able to immediately satisfy it with a sack lunch, a trip to my pantry (or even the luxurious refrigerator), or to a drivethru restaurant. I felt hunger, albeit minor hunger pangs. And as I was hungry, I thought of all those patients and hospital staff and translators who are lucky to get one meal a day. One meal. They work on empty, hungry stomachs daily. They go to sleep hungry and wake up hungry. They live hungry.

This picture was taken by a NY Times staff member reporting on orphans in PAP (Credit: Ruth Fremson/The New York Times). Yes, I cried for this baby, too, and her twin sister, all the ones like her who are malnourished and struggling to survive in Haiti and who have nothing. I cried for the husbands mourning the awful deaths of their wives, the mothers mourning their babies being crushed, the children suffering night terrors from PTSD after losing their parents and brothers and sisters. And yet, they go on. They struggle to find work to buy food and care for their remaning family. They work to rebuild their homes and lives, and to find medical care for their loved ones.

³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25: 37-40

So, go, Amanda. Go to Haiti and make a difference; build a house for even one family, clothe a woman, feed and play with a child, bring bandages and medical supplies, make a disciple. My thoughts, prayers, and heart are all with you as you go. Be changed and make a change, even if it's just one person-- it can be for eternity.


For more pictures and to read about the orphans in just one orphanage there, go to slideshow and article.