Tagged with africa …

Jul 18 2011
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Journal

This Time Next Week We’ll Be Over the Atlantic

I’m still finding it hard to believe that in less than a week our team will be en-route to Uganda to the scene pictured above. Our church has a team in Uganda right now that comes home on Thursday and that photo was one that was taken and posted a few days ago when they arrived.

I know our culture, church, and climate are worlds apart (well maybe not the climate, it can’t be any hotter there than it is in the south in the summer) but we share the same faith in the same God and I can’t wait to see how that translates from southern speak to African. As I write this post I’m sitting in the electrical closet in our church office desperately trying to get our Internet connection to behave properly after multiple lightning strikes. After working on this issue for what seems like an eternity it got me thinking about where that connection between our two churches resides when not having the Internet shuts down all our work and productivity here and they don’t even have electricity in their church building let alone an Internet connection. Each church reaches a different culture and a different individual and we can no more pretend we are a church in Uganda than Buloba Community Church can pretend they are us.

The one constant is God. It says throughout scripture that God never changes… but you [God] are the same and your years will have no end (Hebrews 1:12 among many other places). The same God we serve here in Auburn Alabama is the same in Uganda and was the same for the Israelites as they marched into the Promise Land. This week is so crazy and for some reason my to-do list just keeps getting bigger and bigger the closer it comes time to leave so I would appreciate all your prayers and your prayers for our team. This is an all-guy trip, their names are below, and I know they would all appreciate your continued prayers.

Bo Morrissey
Christopher Mills
Fred Riggs
Graham Hill
Jason Welstead
Jordan Ross
Mark Fuller
Scott Fillmer
Myron West
Brian Johnson

As always, Thanks so much for your prayers and your continued support for this trip and my upcoming October trip as well.

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Jul 15 2011
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Journal

T-Minus 10 Days and Counting Plus it Rained :: Friday Feet

Another last minute Friday Feet but it’s still Friday for about another hour. Last Friday I was talking about how it hasn’t rained at our place in forever, and this week it rained off and on all week. My day today started out with rain and ended with rain and our pond in the photo from last week has more than quadrupled in size, what a difference a week can make. Today’s Friday Feet comes from looking towards our house at the same pond as the rain clouds moved across the property. The shot was taken with my iPhone after hours and hours of cutting grass in 100% humidity right before the heavy rain came back.

This week has been crazy busy as we (Cornerstone) continue to prepare for becoming a multi-site church and I can’t believe there are only 10 days left before our team leaves for Africa. I would like to say I’m ready to go and have everything done that needs to be done but that probably won’t even be the case come next Monday when we leave for Atlanta.

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Jul 11 2011
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Faith

First July Mission Team Uganda 11-21 Heads to Atlanta

Cornerstone has two teams headed to Uganda in July (I’m on the second trip that leaves in two weeks), and the first team left today for Atlanta and then almost 8,000 miles and two 9 hour flights to Kampala, Uganda. I love being around people who are following their faith not just with words but with actions. Our salvation is not ever tied to our works, but we are called to action not just words, and I love that about these people leaving today. Imperfect people following a perfect Savior as best they can. They were all very excited about the days ahead, and if you want to follow their trip, two of them will be blogging as they can from here and here. Please be praying for our team members as they begin to arrive and get settled into their routine. Here is who is on the mission trip in that photo above:

RJ Harris
Dan Harris
Jonathan Savage
Amy Coxwell
April Brown
Jennifer Robinson
Davis Robinson
Casey Huff
Josh Cumberland

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Jun 24 2011
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Journal

The Late-Late Edition of Friday Feet

So this is still Friday for another 5 minutes, meaning I just did get this post in before it would be totally irrelevant… well maybe that’s already the case anyway, but after reading my rss feeds tonight I realized I hadn’t finished this post. This week has been so busy, or maybe just off kilter a bit, and this coming week seems to be shaping up to be about the same. I never did seem to get any time to get out and shoot at all. I felt like I spent most of the week in my car driving back and forth between the house, Auburn, Columbus, work, etc, and any photos ended up being either in the car or in the house. It was a draining week to say the least. Finally today around 4pm the troubles of the week felt like they faded into the past after reading 2 Corinthians 12:7 when Jesus said to Paul “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” That was an amazing statement to me. Paul was praying that God would take away the thorn in his side and He basically tells Paul no, but, my power resides in you, and is perfect just the way it is. Not sure why that stuck with me today but it did, and I’m thankful.

One cool thing I accomplished this week was to get some prints ordered (photo #3 in line above) and they arrived today. So what you say. Well this is probably the first time in 20 years I have had 4-6 prints made just to put on my own wall. As a photographer one of the great joys of photography is getting to see the finished product, I just wish I had been getting prints made for the last 20 years, a little at a time, but I just never had the time or the money. This year I was determined not to put off stuff like that and it only took me until July to get them ordered. The frames I bought in June 2009 and have been sitting on my floor, literally collecting dust, since I brought them home. Now all I have to do is get them up on the wall. Hopefully I can get that done before the holidays show up.

Planning for my July Uganda trip is in full swing, we will be leaving one month from tomorrow. I can’t believe it’s only 4 weeks before our team leaves for Africa and there seems to be so much left to do before we leave. I am still trying to raise money for both this trip and the October trip so if you are willing to help fund our mission team please check out the details here or you can just make an online donation here. I really really appreciate all those who have given so far, it really does means a lot to me and to our whole team. Trying to prepare all my photography gear to be hauled halfway across the world is a little overwhelming but it’s coming along. I just about have everything put together at this point minus two lenses. One, a used 20mm prime I should have in the next week or two, hopefully, the other (an older classic from Nikon, their 80-200mm) seems to be a total long shot at this point, but who knows. I am really looking forward to the trip, can’t wait to see God at work through so many people.

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Jun 17 2011
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Faith

I’m Going to Uganda Africa and I Would Love Your Help

It’s finally set. I’m now scheduled for two trips to Buloba Uganda in 2011, one on July 25th and the other (tentatively) on October 1st, with two great teams from Cornerstone Church. Going on a trip like this has been on my heart for many many years, but up until this point, everything I tried just didn’t seem to work. My heart wasn’t prepared to actually “go”, and consequently, the opportunities never materialized. Right now scriptures abound in my head as to why now is the “right” time but Proverbs 3:5-6 stands out. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

One of the aspects of a trip like this of course is the costs associated with travel to Uganda, and both our teams are committed to raising the funds needed to make these trips happen. For each team that means collectively raising over $30,000, and individually, it means raising more money than I have ever attempted to raise by myself in my life to date. For me, that means $6,500 for two trips plus another $1,000 minimum for expenses directly related to photography while in Uganda. This seems like an overwhelming and impossible task to me, but I know God will provide for everyone on these two trips.

I have organized the information associated with these two trips as best I can on my blog so my readers and supporters can find what they are looking for as easy as possible. This is the first official Uganda 2011 blog post, and the blow by blow will come here on my blog, but below are the two main areas where you can find information about Uganda 2011.

The July trip is already well advanced in the planning process since we leave in a little over a month so I will start posting for that trip very soon. The October trip is just getting started so information about that trip will be posted as the planning develops.

The Cost Rundown…

We are traveling as a team of 10. That said, we are responsible to one another to collectively raise approximately $35,000 per trip – our teams total needs. At a bare minimum, I am personally trying to raise $6,500 for my part for both trips ($3,250 per trip), but the added expense of photographing the trip is noted. Below is a look at the per trip costs involved:

  • $2,500 – Flight from Atlanta, GA to Kampala, Uganda, Africa
  • $500 – in country travel, housing, food, and on the ground ministry costs
  • $250 – medical costs (vaccinations)
  • $500 – costs specifically related to photography on the trip ** Please see my Uganda 2011 page for more info

I looked at the traffic on my blog over the last few years and, on average, it receives 350 unique views per day, every day. That means if every visitor gave the very minimum of $10 the entire cost would be covered in less than 2 days. Or, if you look at one single month, if just 6% of my monthly visitors gave $10 over the course of one month, the cost would be covered as well.

I ask that your support of our team starts and centers on your prayers for our time there and the advancing the Kingdom of God on a continent that desperately needs healing and restoration. That being said, I ask that you would not only pray for our travels and ministry but also consider supporting Cornerstone’s work in Uganda financially. As a staff member of Cornerstone Church please know that your gift will go toward our team needs and our Church’s mission in Buloba of “Leading People to Know and Serve Jesus”.

What Can You Do?

I believe this is the first time I have ever made a solicitation on my own blog. I do not use paid advertising, I offer my photography for free to my readers for their personal use, and I have never asked for a financial commitment from my readers… until now. I am trying to raise money for these trips between now and October, so I will be periodically posting support updates and asking for your support. Beyond that everything on my blog will remain commercial free and advertising free. Below is what I prayerfully ask you to consider.

Make an Online Donation

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Jun 10 2010
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Faith

Love is Being the Church in Buloba Uganda

I love it when the church actually is the church.  Paul had such a desire to get to the unreached nations of the world that he probably died on his way to Spain, not in retirement, but with a passion to reach Spain and the world beyond for Christ.  There are many things and purposes for the local church, but one undeniable charge to us from Matthew 28 is to tell those people who have never heard about Christ, the great news of salvation.

This week our church sent the latest team over to Uganda.  After commissioning them on Sunday in the photo above, they were off to Atlanta for 16 hours of flight time through several countries.  We are partnering with a local church in Buloba, Uganda to literally help build the church over there.  It has been such a great long term, ongoing effort, and I know everyone that has gone to Africa has come back with a great exhilaration for what God is doing in Uganda.

If you would like to follow their blog posts while they are over there for the next week, you can read their posts on their blogs at Lee Cadden and Brian Johnson.  Some photos from Uganda taken from Lee’s blog are below, the sunset is looking over Lake Victoria in Uganda, very near where they are staying.  Be sure to check out both of their blogs for the latest.

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Oct 01 2008
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Faith

Team Leaves Atlanta for Buloba Uganda Africa Mission Trip

Cornerstone Commissioning of the Buloba Uganda Team

Tomorrow the team from Cornerstone (see commissioning below) will continue the story of lives coming together from a small church here in Auburn to a small church in Buloba, Uganda.  The last trip, made in June ( see Welcome Home from the Mission Field in Buloba Uganda Africa) of this year, was a working team trip, and one that delivered some incredible news about funds raised for the drilling of a much needed well for the church (see THE WELL and Creative Chaos 14 // Allowing God to Work in Your Church) in Buloba Uganda.  On a side note: I was once one who was somewhat skeptical of the overall good that could be done in mission trips that (I thought) were short, sort of hit and run type of mission vacation things, but I would say to anyone who has similar thoughts or questions, just dig a little deeper, get involved, and really find out what is going on before you come to any conclusions.  It may be there is more to the story, and it may be changing lives in a significant way, as is the case here.

The incredible story about missions and CUMC is the extent to which this particular congregation goes in its willingness to support missions.  This is made very apparent by the statement on the church finance blog that says:

Cornerstone UMC is a tithing church. We take 10% of everything given each week and designate it for missions. Therefore, operating income/expenses are based on the 90% we use to support our staff and other ministries.

In my past experiences and (probably misconstrued) understanding of mission trips growing up, it has been a once a year trip, for one week, then the church moves on to another location or mission, many times with little real impact made on the visited community, town, or church (this of course is not always the case, just some of my past experiences).  The impact that working with one church, in one community (Buloba in this case), with multiple visits throughout the year can have is very obvious when you look at the results these two churches have been able to achieve in Buloba.  An entire church building is being built, a well is being drilled that will deliver fresh, clean drinking water (something unseen so far), and most importantly, lives are being changed.

Cornerstone has made several trips over the past 18 months to this small town and the team members and congregation in both churches have been able to get to know the people in both churches, formed relationships with them, and each church continues to grow and is blessed by the other.

This particular trip will last about one week and is mainly to continue forming the bonds between the two churches, to see the progress made on the construction of the new church building and the drilling of the well, and to speak with members of the community in Buloba.  The team leader, Andi, will be updating the mission blog (looks like Andi already has something up her sleeve at  And then it blew up…) starting on Friday with photos and stories from team members on the trip, so jump over there to see the updates.  The photo gallery has been started with the image above on flickr.  To see more photos as they are loaded just go to the Buloba Uganda Oct 08 gallery.  Good luck to everyone, can’t wait to hear the stories and see the photos when you get back.

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Jun 21 2008
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Faith

Home from Mission Field in Buloba Uganda Africa

Josh Agerton and Jack Fisher as Team Arrives

Tree Clearing for Playground
This was probably one of the busiest weeks I have had in a long time, but Thursday was a little more relaxed and I was part of the welcome home crew at our church (the part that shoved a camera in everyone’s face after they had been on a plane/bus for more than 28 hours). A mission team from our church went to Uganda for 10 days and arrived back on U.S. soil on Thursday. There was a group of us waiting for them at the church when they arrived and I did take a few photos without really trying to annoy anyone who really just wanted to see a bed.

Two of the staff from the church went and both have blogs about their trip. Josh Agerton (Connections Pastor) wrote several great articles while he was over there like TIA – THIS IS AFRICA and TIA – People Need to See Jesus and Andi Longest who wrote a day by day (see starting with We are Here).

On Thrusday I had the easy job. After all the work is done, show up and take some photos of them arriving. Pictured above is Josh and Jack Fisher (who also has a great blog) as the team arrives. You can see the photos that have been loaded to date here.

Construction for the Playground Begins

After the team arrived and left the start of the construction for the kids playground at church began with a little tree clearing. This was something that the church has been planning for a long time so I was out here to take some initial images of the first part.

You can see the rest of the images up to this point in the playground construction gallery. This is a God sized project and will be great when it is finished. We are going to do a little ground moving ourselves this weekend and try to prepare for a fall vegetable garden. First on the list is to till up all the ground where the garden will be. It just started raining (hasn’t rained in like two years here) so this should be fun.

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Dec 12 2005
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Faith

Creede Colorado African Mission Trip to Bring Children Toys

In January members of the local baptist church here in Creede are going to Africa on a mission trip.  Along with creating and wrapping Christmas presents, I have been making these adorable little balls for the children that our missionaries will encounter when the make the trip to South Africa in January.  These are all cloth balls with great handles to grab and throw and I hope whoever received them in Africa will be happy with them.

Close up view. Aren’t they cute?

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