At about 8 am this morning (Thailand time), I arrived in Bangkok with my squad and could only think about two things:
1. Holy mother of pearl, it feels great to be back in Asia.
2. Get me to the mall so I can buy my new camera.
As most of you know, I've been asking for help to purchase a new camera since I lost mine to an Indian Ocean wave on New Year's Eve. It was really uncomfortable turning to you all for money to purchase a new camera, because, well, asking for money in general is still really awkward for me, and I wasn't really sure if it was okay for me to come to you, my supporters, with that kind of request. Obviously, support raising for my Race costs is needed, expected and encouraged – it's the only way I would be able to come on this adventure. But a new camera, a material thing…I wondered: would my supporters feel like I was asking too much? Like I was using them?
But my squadmates kept encouraging me to write a blog to ask for help. And I kind of felt like God was whispering to me. "Hey, what's the worst that could happen? You put it out there and no one responds. But just put it out there. Give Me a chance to wow you. Give Me the chance to provide for you. Give me the chance to redeem this."
So finally, I did. I posted a blog, tried to be as honest as I could, and laid it all at your and His feet.
And then, the most amazing this happened over the next six weeks.
You gave.
You read my blog, saw my heart and understood where I was coming from. You understood that when my camera died, my very best way to worship God died too. You told me you missed my photos and the ministry they had been to you. And you understood how desperately I missed my photos and the ministry they were to the people around me.
You sent me this incredible love and understanding and compassion and fight for my passion from the States. And when that reached me, I was awestruck. I was awestruck by your obedience to be a key player in God's plan to take care of me after a very bad thing happened. You had grace for my mistakes and fire in your belly for my photography worship.
Today, after a few hours at a wonderful Canon authorized dealer in the MBK mall here in Bangkok, I walked out with a brand new Canon 5D Mark 2, 50mm 1.8 lens to replace my broken one, an 8 GB compact flash card, an extra battery and lens hood. I cried when the salesman stacked the boxes on top of each other in front of me and put them in a bag for me to take home, because they were mine, really and truly mine, an incredible gift from you.
And I will never, never, be able to express what you've done for me. What your listening ear for God's voice has done for me. What your simple yes to His call has done for me.
I know a simple thank you won't suffice, so I'll promise you this:
I promise to be every thankful for the gift of this camera and the gift of photography in my life.
I promise to use my photography to minister to people in any way possible.
And I promise to take the very best photos that I can for the next few months and upload them to Facebook and this blog as often as possible so you can see what I see – what you have enabled me to see.
me: kind of scary looking after a lot of travel and a little sleep. new camera: absolutely beautiful
