Meet Your New Sister

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 4/26/10

This picture was taken earlier this year in India. I was there for about a month and one of those weeks we held tent meetings. The first night of the meeting competed with a Hindu holiday celebrating Lord Shiva and the change of the seasons. It broke my heart to see the mass of people on the riverbank, wading into the cold, polluted water believing that they could wash their sins away. Our meeting was set up within 5, maybe 10, miles from there proclaiming the Truth that only Jesus can cleanse us of sin. Needless to say our meeting was not well attended that night. This picture was taken the third day of the meetings. Praise the Lord, that day we had a crowd of about 800 with 65 receiving Christ as their Savior. This precious woman is now a sister in Christ! A true miracle in a place of such spiritual darkness. Gory be to God, Amen.

photographer: Pam Campbell, India

What's NEW @ WOTH:

*onlineMagazine: Do stateside people think you lead a 'romantic' cross-cultural life? Well, shoo away the cockroaches, click through on the link and commiserate with your in-country colleague --"Dinner at Eight: Serving Cross-cultural Fare with a Side of Reality."

Mothers : Daughters

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 4/19/10

One can readily imagine the attentive face of this little girl as she listens to the instructions of her mother. As I walked by and saw this mother and daughter outside their home in a village in Veracruz, Mexico, I couldn't help but get more than a little choked up. I have experienced seeing this same upturned look from each of my 5 children when they were small and I was a young mother instructing them. The little girls just love to imitate...even as young as 2 years-old, they are patting out tortillas, just like mommy!

photographer: Denise Aulie, working amongst the indigenous Nahuatl in Mexico. "Sometimes I make cards of [my] photos with verses on them. I have liked that for sending to people who pray for us, and sometimes I have even received a request for my photos which has surprised me to say the least. I guess we all have a 'creative' side - - mine seems to be photography and I am grateful to the Lord for any opportunity to honor Him this way. I give all my photos away to anyone I take a picture of and most to people who will never have the opportunity to own a camera let alone the opportunity to develop their own pictures. What a privilege to be able to even do this. Photography has opened, literally opened, doors of friendship and ministry for me."

Honoring "The Ancients"

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 4/12/10

In the high mountains of Veracruz, Mexico, the elderly are valued as sources of care, of warmth and of wisdom. When I went into the cooking hut, this older woman was just reaching to get a cold tamale as the fire had long since gone out. She sat down and stared, almost as if it just took too much energy to unwrap it -- that is when I took this picture. I have a special place in my heart for the elderly, knowing that very soon they will encounter eternity and the Lord. Some of my best friendships and memories have been with "the ancients" as they are called -- dear people who despite all their beautiful wrinkles, continue to be absolutely young in spirit and in heart.

photographer: Denise Aulie, working amongst the indigenous Nahuatl in Mexico. "Sometimes I make cards of [my] photos with verses on them. I have liked that for sending to people who pray for us, and sometimes I have even received a request for my photos which has surprised me to say the least. I guess we all have a 'creative' side - - mine seems to be photography and I am grateful to the Lord for any opportunity to honor Him this way. I give all my photos away to anyone I take a picture of and most to people who will never have the opportunity to own a camera let alone the opportunity to develop their own pictures. What a privilege to be able to even do this. Photography has opened, literally opened, doors of friendship and ministry for me."

Who Can Stand, Read or Write? YOU.

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 4/5/10

My husband took this one. (Of course. :-) After not having seen the sun much for a while, we went out to see the sun set. That's me on the ice with our two older children. The frozen body of water is what everyone around here calls "the sea," although it's really not a sea. It's a huge reservoir where the Dnepr River has been dammed up. This "sea" is the biggest physical blessing of life here for me! I love how beautiful it is, all the different colors I see in and around it, and swimming there during the incredibly hot summers. Before Ukraine, we lived in Russia, and that's where our hearts still are. When I start wanting to complain about having to be here, I thank God for "my sea."

Photo submitted by: Phyllis Hunsucker, Ukraine

What's NEW this week @ WOTH:

* WOTH Book Club Blog has just launched with Cries of the Heart, by Ravi Zacharias! Venture to the blog and join in! Linda Swanson, our moderator, has chosen the next book for the summer months too.

*Read a funny, snarky piece on Newsletters: The Top 10 Pet Peeves. Are you guilty of committing any? Find out how NOT to write a boring newsletter @ WOTH Writer's Blog.