Jubilant

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 9/26/11

This picture was taken one day when I was out for a walk on la rambla (a walkway) along the coastal shore of Montevideo. This walkway is a refuge for me as I love feeling like I have escaped the busy city life and am out in nature enjoying the great outdoors. It's true, I'm a country girl living in a big city...and la rambla is my 'great outdoor' adventure!

I have been working in this city as part of a church planting team for almost two years. I regularly like to go for a run or walk along la rambla and be reminded of the beauty of God's creation. God's artistic work in the majestic skies above, the rolling seas, the sandy beaches, and the flowers of the fields declare God's glory in a city where the people pride themselves in being atheist and have not yet repented or turned to their Heavenly Creator and Savior. I am reminded daily that if the people will not sing praises to their Creator, the rocks will cry out. Creation is singing unto its Creator and declaring His glory!

O that the creation and handiwork of God displayed along the coast of Uruguay will draw Uruguayans to confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God has raised Him from the dead! What a day it will be!!

photographer: Rebecca Zurbrick, Montevideo, Uruguay.

Formerly | Now

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 09/19/11

The day I took this picture I was walking around the homes near mine, visiting with any women who might be home. I took a picture of Mitiele, the little child in the photo, from a bit of a distance because I knew she would quickly crawl to her mother inside as I approached.

The Yanomami people in this village (and throughout Venezuela and Northern Brazil) live in fear of spirits and try please the spirits in order to avoid sickness and harm. The darkness and fear in their lives is almost palpable sometimes. In this village of Palimi-U, as translation of the Bible progresses and years of Bible teaching begins to take root, God's light is shining in the lives of the believers.

Mitiele's parents are believers and her father has become a strong leader in the church. He also helps with Bible translation work and has traveled to a neighboring village to teach and challenge the people there as well. It is a tremendous challenge for the Yanomami to walk as children of light within their culture, but by God's grace it is possible!

photographer: Debbie Murphy, Brazil. “I am a nurse and I worked for 8 years in this Yanomami village in northern Brazil. I did medical work in the village as well as Bible teaching with the women.”

Shining in Our Hearts

THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 9/12/11

This photo was taken April 24, 2011 on Pondol (pun-dole) Beach, Negros Oriental Island in the Philippines. The body of Christ from the local mountains came down before sunrise and we worshipped the Lord together at 5 a.m., remembering the day Jesus rose again (Resurrection Sunday). Once the sun was out, Pastor shared some Scriptures about baptism and 15 were baptized that day - Hallelujah!

photographer: Theresa Frazier, Dumaguete, Philippines.

More Valuable

THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 9/5/11

This bird picture was taken last November when I was borrowing the wonderful camera of one of our missionary colleagues. :) I usually sit by the window in our guest room to have my morning devotions and drink my coffee and this colorful saffron finch, along with sparrows, robins and other birds, would often come and perch on top of the concrete posts which make up the fence around our small front yard. When I saw how beautifully this photo turned out - thanks to the camera - I knew it would be perfect for one of the "fotocards" which I frequently make. I usually put Portuguese verses on them but I made this one especially for a friend of mine in Canada who is going through some serious physical problems. She used to sing "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" so I knew this was the perfect photo to make a card for her!

photographer: Rena Nunley, serving in south Brazil with Baptist Mid-Missions.

Making Darkness Light

THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 8/29/11

My first night in the city as the call to prayer rang out, I was in awe. The etherial sunset behind the famous blue mosque, its Adhan echoing the others, and the smell of shwarma below enchanted me. I couldn't miss the chance to capture it on camera.

This roof became the place where I would sleep on hot summer nights, hang my laundry, grill Arab barbeque with my neighbors, make penny wishes with visiting college students, and worship with my roommate.

Over time as I began to feel the weight of Islam and the chains it held on my friends and neighbors, listening to the call to prayer on my roof became an act of faith... trusting that one day His Voice will be heard above any loud speaker and will call true worshippers to Himself. Not because of me, who neither began the work nor will finish it, but because of His faithfulness to a work that is ancient.

My roommate and I often stand on the roof overlooking the city, imagining our praises and prayers mingling with those ancients (Moses, Aaron, the 12 tribes, and many whom we have never heard) who worshipped and prayed on this very same sand just a few thousand years earlier. We picture God, who exists outside of time, receiving all of our praises as one as they rise up together from the desert of Jordan.

There are some days when I look out and all I can see of this current city is sprinkled with mosques. Yet when I remember those who have gone before us, my 'faith eyes' can almost see the completion of 'Ancient Work' when one day my Arab friends will join with us in the great multitude of worshippers.

little guy | Big Story

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 8/22/11

Can you imagine asking a child if he wants more bread or just candy, and he answers, “Just bread, please”? We minister to Quechua children in the valleys of Bolivia and in remote mountain villages. Every Christmas we travel to villages high in the Andes Mountains, above the tree line; we take gifts, food and the Good News to children living without even the basic needs, and without Jesus.

Little Paco met us coming into his village. He was wearing little sandals made of truck tires and no sweater for the cold weather. We put clothes on his back and food in his stomach. His eyes lit up when he saw the gifts and candy but what he wanted most was the bread; a real treat where there’s no firewood to bake bread. When he heard the story of Jesus he accepted the gift of salvation joyfully and without hesitation.

Paco is just a little guy but with a big story that points the way to heaven; trust the Father, believe in Jesus and enter the kingdom with childlike faith. Paco may only have bread when we visit but he will always have the Bread of Life.

photographer: Peggy Cunningham, Bolivia

The Power of the Son

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 8/15/11

Here in Lithuania, the winters are long. And the winters are dark. Very dark. We spend the fall enjoying every last minute of sunlight we can soak in as the days get shorter and shorter. In late December the sun won’t rise until after 9 am and it sets again by 4 pm. The winter weather is often gray and gloomy, making it a hard place to live in the winter. It can feel oppressive.

But sometime around late February, we start noticing a lengthening of days. A couple extra minutes of sunlight in the evening can feel like hours with the amount that we’ve missed it! And then the sun starts meeting me through my window during my early morning devotion time…and before I know it, I come downstairs for devotions with full sunlight streaming through my windows! Spring is a time of rejoicing: new growth, new life, new LIGHT!

This sunset photo was taken in late April around 8:30 pm. Every day gets longer and longer until July – when the sun won’t set until after midnight and starts to rise again by 3:00 am. Summer in the Baltics is a joyful time because of the sunlight! We try to soak up as much as we can and put it on reserve—llike a built-in solar panel—to save for the winter.

But sadly, it never lasts. Lithuania has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. It can be a sad, sad place to live—especially in the winter. But this is why my family and I are here— to share the hope we have in Christ with university students who grew up in post-Soviet countries like this one. And it’s because of this hope that we can praise His name—during the darkest winter or the sunniest summer!

photographer: Kim Stave, Lithuania.