Your Name is Written

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 2/27/12

The first day back at school for our second year in the Niger Vocational Training School for Girls at Risk. A few of the girls thought it would be fun to put their name tags (for the benefit of new staff) on their foreheads instead of their shirts. Our prayer is these names will be in God's hand and heart and book of life!

photographer: Chantelle McIver, Niger. Chantelle is the Director of the Niger Vocational Training School for Girls at Risk. www.nvoc.ca

I Never Tire of the Beauty

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 2/20/12

Even after living here in the Peruvian Andes for almost 14 years, I never tire of the majestic beauty of the mountains. For someone who grew up in the flatlands of Ohio, being surrounded by these peaks is incredible! Living in their shadow provides us with so many perfect illustrations of various Bible passages as we teach the Quechua people, and our own 6 year-old son about God's power and majesty.

photographer: Rachel Yanac, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Peru. You can connect with Rachel on the Yanac's website: http://www.adeandrachel.com/

Heavenly Hugs

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 2/13/12

I have the blessings of many hugs in our ministry. We live in a rural area of Bolivia where we teach practical skills to underprivileged children, while reaching them for Christ. This picture was taken when I went to the local government school to register these precious children for our computer classes; they blessed me with heavenly hugs.

Often we are asked what we miss most from home; that’s easy, family and friends. Our granddaughter recently celebrated her eighth birthday; we missed the party and hugs. But, there is a heavenly hug available. It travels through the heavens and comes out through a phone or a computer. We are blessed by the technology we have available to us today. Before the Internet, we got mail once a month and rarely made a phone call. Now we are blessed to have instant communication daily.

God has blessed me with a ministry of physical heavenly hugs from children every day, and ethereal heavenly hugs from across the miles often. Even when I miss a birthday party, I am content where He has me. He is my refuge, under His Everlasting Arms of heavenly hugs.

submitted by: Peggy Cunningham, Bolivia. You can connect with Peggy on her blog, www.peggyspostings.blogspot.com

Cling to Him

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 2/6/12

I love taking pictures of flowers. I have folders and folders of them on my computer. Some are printed out and hung on walls. Someday my kids will inherit my computer and just delete most of them. So I’ve asked myself, why do I continue to take so many?

I think it comes down to looking for, and finding, the beauty that is often hidden or unnoticed all around me. Some days it’s easy to only see the dust of dry season, the hard life that many of my friends have, poverty, injustice and the list goes on. In each flower I see beauty, brilliance, intricate detail and the loving and creative touch of the Father’s hand. It’s His way of reminding me that He offers hope to a world that, for now, is not like He intended it to be.

I took this picture after eating a picnic lunch at a runway at a nearby town (pilots' wives do things like that). The runway was dry-season-brown instead of the lush green of rainy season. But this one flower remained along the fence line – resilient and proclaiming hope.

photographer: Chris Van Weerdhuizen, Cameroon, Africa. "My husband and I serve as part of the support team for Wycliffe. Over the years (20 years in the Philippines and now in Cameroon), I’ve been privileged to do a variety of practical helps to support the Bible translation task. God has not gifted me in linguistics, but I can provide hospitality, be a listening ear, encourage and pray for those are. Together we can bring God’s word to the Bible-less people of the world."

Seated with Him

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 1/30/12

This is the smoking section of a restaurant in Tubingen, Germany...note the individual blankets to keep you warm outside.

photographer: Gina Bowen, USA.

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Keep 'em coming!
We have 46 more slots to fill for Picture Praise in 2012. We need your great global shots and verses.

We're inviting all women serving cross-culturally to participate in submitting their photography and verses to be considered for use for Picture Praise this year.

Picture Praise goes out to over 2,000 subscribers weekly and has become one of our most inspirational and easily sharable publications. This is an opportunity to put your life on the field and the people you serve in front of many believers. Often times it is an initiator for prayer to those who receive it.

We'd love to see your corner of the world and the people who live there...so please consider submitting your photo (jpeg) and verse (not on the photo) to: editor@womenoftheharvest.com

Draw Near

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 1/23/12

I was walking in the forest summer of 2011 while home on furlough and came across this patch of flowers blooming in the field. The Lord impressed me that He simply made creation to glorify Himself, to bring Himself delight. This image has been a reminder to me ever since that while many never see our work on the field, God sees, He knows, and He cares. And it brings HIM delight!

photographer: Kim Thompson, Latvia. "My work in Latvia is assisting the Baptist Union in the training of women leaders for the church. I am a trainer for Entrust4 and direct a women's ministry training program that now spans nationwide. It is very exciting to see Latvian and Russian women take ownership of the Titus 2 principle and train the next generation of women to live for Christ! I have also been an active part of the training program Entrust offers to missionary women: Women to Women Ministry Training."

Holding Your Hand

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: Picture Praise, 01/16/12

After two years of sickness we finally came to the extremely difficult decision that we would have to move back to North America. Since day one of living in Dakar, Senegal I have been sick. It has been very difficult to balance sickness, language learning, my two boys, family life and ministry. But God was truly teaching us so much. It was a hard decision to make. But we are so glad that we will be doing nearly the same jobs in North America.

We slowly started packing up our things and selling what would not be able to fit into suitcases. The house was already not feeling like home anymore. It was just another place we were passing through. The beginning of December I got out the Christmas decorations and attempted to get into the "Christmas spirit." But it only resulted in tears and sadness. Where is home? Surely not here! I packed up the decorations again and decided that I just couldn't do it. When my husband came home I explained to him that Christmas was going to have to be different this year. He agreed.

We then discussed the idea of spending Christmas at the beach. Getting away as a family for a few days was exactly what our hurting hearts needed. We needed some time to bond as a family and process the upcoming change in our lives.

This photo was taken on our way to the beach. Those few days at the beach were the most refreshing few days I can remember. A time to process, relax, read the Word, and come back together as a family!

One of the main reasons we are returning home is so that I can have the physical and mental ability to disciple our children. These boys are so important to me. They are my number one ministry. This photo will forever be a treasure to us remembering the days where God reminded us that He is always there with an outstretched hand saying, "Do not fear, I will help you!"

photographer: Debra Copeland, Senegal.