A few shots of Egypt #1

And so this post begins with the entire group of world travelers. What a great time we had meeting these special people. Didn't spend too much time with the dog, he just showed up for the photo. Excuse the bad positioning, they were posing for someone else. :)




Here, my Love and I are on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria Egypt..




Pretty self explainatory, FYI: it's not a big as you think.

The Egyptian gentleman who took this photo for us didn't realize it was on manual focus and we didn't have the heart to tell him after he took so many and so I do apologize for the lack of focus.

It was more than amazing to see and touch the Great Pyramid and to think that HANDS made those majestic structures with multiple ton blocks sustaining them. How in the world did they lift them?

Zwan: I believe the Egyptian equivalent to Spam. Ransel wasn't excited about it.

A photo taken by My Love at the garden of our hotel in Cairo.

A palm tree in the courtyard of our hotel in Cairo. A palm tree...in December: lovely.

Amelia and Scarlet..Take 2

I watched as these two little ladies ran and ran and played and played on the beautiful hardwood floor of the Plains Art Museum in Fargo. I thought "Wow, I wish I could have that energy." I love to watch the little ones and envy their joy and energy, even when their running around and very not interested in me and my big black Canon. What a day we had. The snow was coming and the wind was blowing but mom and dad soldiered into the cold to meet with me. I love the giggles, and the smiles, and the energy of these beautiful little ones, so thanks again for the chance to share in those a bit.

Photos...Finally!

I know it's been quite awhile since I've uploaded anything. My first photo will be the first indication of why my head is still spinning..

6 days before we left for our Egypt/Isreal adventure, the Lord surprised us with another one! I am around 3 months right now, expecting end of July or the beginning of August. I am just getting over the 1st trimester blues, for which I am MOST grateful. And so, I'm taking it easy, learning everything I can, and praying a whole lot more!

For this post, I will post a few individual random shots in no particular order. The subsequent posts will be themed, if I can force myself to be so organized. And so here are a few shots from our trip to the land of the Jews, the land God has given them for eternity: the land of Israel..

Baptisms in Gideons Springs. The warm part of the Jordan. My Precious Love and I were baptised together in the Jordan River!

Solomon's Pillars, not too far from Masada. No particular affilitation with Solomon, that's just what they named them.

A beautiful rose in a beautiful Garden in the country of the Gadarenes. This is the place Jesus cast out the Legion of demons from the man living in the caves.

Prayer and fellowship after the Bible Study at an ancient Roman amphitheatre in (I think) Capernaum.

An ancient Roman aquaduct on the shores of the most beautiful Mediterranean Sea.

Home..Home at last. Egyptian Believers..Blog #1

And so we made it home! The (attempt) at sleeping like normal has been interesting. Three days in and I have been up at 3Am, 2am, and then 1am. I don't know why I'm going the wrong direction but I know I'm still not used to Nort' Dakota time.

The trip was in a word: Enlightening. Enlightening to see the beautiful Holy Land of Israel in (and out) of it's biblical context. Enlightening to see Egypt in all of it's populated, nothing like the books glory. Enlightening to have the opportunity to meet with persecuted brothers and sisters in the 20 million plus populated city of Cairo and to once again realize that fellowship, that sweet Koinonia shared by those in the body of Christ, that it goes much farther, much deeper than the ability to share in a conversation, as we did not speak the same language.

To shed light on "once again", my husband and I went on a mission trip to Xochimilco, Mexico (suburb of Tijuana) in January of 2008. Our Spanish is, as is our Arabic, someone less than fluent and so there was a constant struggle to find the rights words. One particular moment in Mexico solidified my belief that the love of Christ, the fellowship of His Body, is unmatched and unparalled in all of His creation.

There was a man in Mexico names Jose, who was a wonderful person, spoke very little English, but you could see his love for the Lord all over his face. Kirk and Jose had spent considerable time serving together and Kirk wanted to tell Jose that he could see his faith by the way he lived it out. Kirk speaks less than zero Spanish and so he couldn't find a way to do it. Until, he picked up his English Bible, Jose picked up his Spanish Bible, and Kirk took him to the passage in James that (paraphrased) says "Show me your faith by your works". Jose must have understood what he was saying and so the two of them proceeded to have a conversation using Bible verses back and forth for a good half an hour. We left Mexico with a bond to brothers and sisters we didn't even know we had, that is absolutely unbreakable. All without what we would call conversation.

The same was true in Cairo. We showed up to this aparment building in the middle of one of the poorest places I have seen in my life, surrounded by garbage with a very heavy spiritual atmosphere. They had a special service, just because we were visiting. There was only about 12 of us who were allowed to go to the service and my husband and I were beyond blessed to be two of them. We pull up and there are kids EVERYWHERE. They are all lined up, with their hands out saying, "Nice to meet you", "Nice to meet you". I think they learned it just before we got there. :) They were so beautiful and their little faces shone so bright. I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin as soon as I saw them. I shook their hands and then kissed each one of the girls twice on each cheek. (I learned that right before we got there). We shared the service with our Egyptians brothers and sisters, which was absolutely packed. After the service, we had cake to celebrate one of the brothers, Elisha (a wonderful, bright light for the Lord). Before we left we were able to spend alot of time with the children. They were very respectful and very curious about us Americans. There were a couple of teenage girls whose English was choppy but far beyond my Arabic. I got to hug them and love them and my heart broke to leave them. As we left the kids waved and blew kisses and said "I love you, I miss you", "I love you, I miss you".

For me, the crowning moment of the 18 days was not snorkling in the Red Sea or hiking in Petra, but sharing 2 hours with brothers and sisters whose light shines unfailing, unwavering amidst heavy persecution and constant unrest.

Who, I pray, I can learn from and let my 'light so shine before men'..

"For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6

Israel/Egypt/Jordan-December 1st-18th

I wanted to let everyone know that my Beloved and I will be traveling to the Holy Land throughout the month of December and so I will not be taking sessions until December 21st.

It will be quiet on the blog from now until our return but CRAZY at the Hayes' household/In His Image Photography business office as I rush to get orders completed and on their merry way!

I will post LOTS of pictures upon our return so until then: may He bless you and keep you..

The Roller Kids

We hoped to get some outdoor photos, but the rain was not permitting. Thankfully they have a lovely home with great lighting.

I am always amazed to see the difference between boys and girls, no matter the age.

Senior Girls: Take my picture, make me look beautiful, 9 outfits...Senior Boys: I'm doing this for my mom, I don't care how I look, 1 outfit.
The same is true for the little ones. The little ladies want to show you their room and smile pretty. And the little guys, if you don't have something gross to show them, or something for them to demolish (or throw), they're not interested. :)
Thankfully my Beloved husband was along with me to offer that bit of testosterone I was lacking, which helped on the cooperation side of things. Thank you Matthew and Gina for showing us your beautiful home, and thanks to Addison, Max, and Sam for the great bear impressions.

The Winfrey Family

What a day! Unfortunately the weather was a bit chilly for this session, BUT it didn't start to rain until after we were finished for the day.
As I've said, I love the quirks of each little child. I met Scarlet and Amelia for the first time, two beautiful, very blonde, very "Nort' Dakota" looking little ladies. The first thing I noticed was beautiful Miss Amelia pursing her lips when she was thinking of something or when she was focused on her letters and numbers (which she did VERY well), or when she was looking for "bugs" in my camera lens. Then there's Scarlet, the vivacious 1(and a half) year old. She smiled and she smiled and she ran and then she ran some more. Oh to have the energy of a 1 year old.
I am able to have an interesting perspective when it comes to busy little ones. I get to enjoy the energy and the life, but I don't have to feed them or put them down for the much needed nap.
Thanks again, Collette and Steve..