I scrolled through my Facebook photo albums to peek at the ones I posted when I was on the World Race, and something caught my eye.
There is a fault I and many like me have made in the name of missions.
And that is this…only sharing the photos of the fun we had in other countries rather than sharing photos of ministry.
While there is nothing deliberately wrong with that, the fault is in the eye of the fact that photos of ministry was not often posted about.
“Looks like you guys are having so much fun! Are you sure you’re on a mission trip?”
“Sounds like a fund-raised vacation.”
In my defense and of those I’ve partnered with in missions, while it looks like we are only having fun when you see it on social media and the photos we share, we don’t necessarily want to bring our cameras into events of ministry because we want to be intentional and be face to face with those we are ministering to and not pointing the camera there to show what good missionaries we are necessarily. And some ministries don’t even allow you to take photos of those involved for their protection, like the sex-trade and children’s homes.
There are things and times when sometimes photos just can’t be accounted for due to the whole team being involved or where the scenery is our scenery. We might be prayer walking or visiting communities or doing manual labor or preaching in a village.
Also, there comes a time when you’ve been on the mission field for months and you need to rest after fighting spiritual battles, so you hang out with your squad for an annual debrief to reflect and take a break, which is where a lot of fun photos come out of. We’re on the field for such a long time!
So when we as missionaries do happen to get out the camera, have the time, we get that wifi to post something, we have that free time, we look at social media, and we want to share the fun. That’s what social media has always been for it seems. The eye in social media has always been for posting the fun and what we want to look like rather than your work face and in some dirty situations that the World Race brings up. That is what social media has created in us.
So by lack of intentionality in using social media and words well, we have used social media skewed in regards to missions.
(On the other hand, if we have the joy of Jesus Christ, we should look like we’re having fun on the mission field, right?)
This is something I feel like I tried to do well when I was on the World Race. But even so, a lot of my photos were of sceneries over ministry. Mainly because I believed that’s what God wanted me to share a bit of because people want to see what the countries look like. But I would not tell the full story or anything meaningful about what we were doing.
This is when my Instagram came to life visually with my desire to document what life looked like on the field.
My squad mate Hailey teaching English in El Salvador.
My squamates Whitney and Lauren braiding the girls hair in the orphanage. (I’m also pretty sure I had a vision about this photo months before I took it.)
When my teammates and I shared Bible stories at a school in Malawi.
Being introduced. A common occurrence as a WR team.
a Bible study held in a hair salon in Lilongwe with other workers in the shopping center.
When ministry meant farming and collecting eggs. #givinglifttoyourhosts #somanychickens #eggssoldtolocalcommunity
My squamate Jenna holding babies & playing with the kids of the children’s home at Kids International Ministries in the Philippines. (Somewhere we couldn’t take photos of the kids faces.)
A meeting with my Kingdom Journeys Storytellers team.
When filming B-Roll for the Wider Lens doc-series in Phuket, Thailand. (SO much time spent doing this activity to capture cities & cultures for the films.)
My heart is for storytelling and sharing relatable stories through art and authenticity via photos and film. Doing so consistently towards supporters, which regrettably i personally have failed to do in the past. But this is something I am continuing to grow in. But also I believe in doing well by knowing when to put the camera down and when to be intentional in what I’m doing. Maybe someday I can sit down and point out those “behind the scenes” photos where ministry is happening but all you can see is my words.
I’m learning what that means for me to actually share and take photos of ministry in ministry and being authentically honest and intentional about what photos I share on the inter webs. If what I share is the experience or God in the moment.
Not just of missions but in day to day life as well. Am I telling an honest depiction? Is this what real life looks like but in a way thats creative? Cause ultimately I want to be real over fake. And even if I do, I hope you know there’s a heart behind all this saying I want to be real with you in how I share about my life in an authentic, but visually appealing way. (and by visually appealing, I mean composition, lighting, and color)
Be honest and let the photos you share be beautiful but real. Both those on the mission field and those on the mission field at home. Share the fun, but share the real in an honest way and tell the story.
#thestruggleisreal #intentionality
Prayer Requests:
The enemy has been hard it work in the lives of Gap P squad, the leadership team, and myself, trying to tear us down with some pretty hefty spiritual warfare and dark heaviness. That’s hard to carry in this season, but it just proves to show that there’s some powerful stuff about to go down on the mission field and he aint about sharing the stories of Jesus working.
So please be in prayer for us as we launch in a little over two weeks. I’ll be in Atlanta starting the 1st of September until we launch for training. Our first country is India and that’s a pretty intense place so we’re excited, but prayers for preparation.
Prayers for each participant and every leader including myself to receive funding.
Prayers that people will know how much they are loved and encounter the Lord.
You are so appreciated. You are so loved.
Your Em.
