I consider myself a creative person, & one of my creative expressions & points of connection with people is through my camera. There’s something tender, precious, & special when connecting with people through taking their photograph, getting to know their story, capturing moments of the mundane of life, & treasuring moments where the Holy Spirit speaks to me.
For every country I find myself in this year, I hope to pursue my creative gift in photography for relational connection & personal collection. However, in sharing my photography on social media, or having my teammates share photographs I take of them, I realise a lot of the time it blends in with the curated content of social media, & often, people back home can become expectant of the ‘highlight reel’ of life on the mission field, which I personally dislike.
I hope to challenge this perspective, & pursue something different.
Welcome to faces & places, a series.
Through this monthly series, I hope to challenge the perspective of some of the photographs I take, & story tell the honest reality of the story behind the photograph. Most of the photographs I post through this series I won’t be posting on my ig (@emmalee.collard), because their story is worth so much more than a post that blends in with the noise often found on an ig feed or through stories.
As stated in the title, the photography I post will either be a face or a place. A face of a person I have befriended through ministry or through my life in a specific country, or of a place I have been to that has captured me spiritually in some way. This could be a family I have come to know, or it could be a place that I feel as though Holy Spirit would like me to intercede on behalf of, shifting spiritual atmospheres.
The main purpose of this series is for you, whoever reads this, wherever you are in the world, that you could come alongside each face & place- that a photograph will be highlighted for you to pray for. That the photographs I take begin to hold a depth & a meaning that would usually be unseen in curated social media content. That as a global Kingdom community of believers, we can partner with Abba to journey & intercede in prayer on behalf of our brothers & sisters across the world. You may never meet them in the physical, but we will (& pray we will) meet them when we are swept up into our eternal home in heaven.
*for privacy reasons, full names won’t be mentioned. But the first letter of names will be mentioned as a point of contact for prayer purposes.
**whether you read all the descriptions or not, I pray that a photograph will stand out to you & that you would choose to accept the invitation of interceding for that face or place(:
Location: West Java, Indonesia
Main religion of nation: Muslim
Month: January-February, month one
Ministry: Discipleship, ‘teaching’ English, red light district & sex-trafficking ministry, & orphanage ministry
Name: S.
Beloved mother, friend, & a courageous daughter of the most high King.
We lived in a guest house with S & on Wednesday’s, served alongside her in the red light district & intercessory prayer ministry. S is a single mother to a seventh-grade son, J. They both live within a singular room & are each other’s everything. Having been trapped within the scene of sex-trafficking herself, S has a heart of empathy for women & girls caught within the environment of sex-trafficking, as well as advocating & discipling single mothers & young women. Filled with compassion, beauty, grace, & strength, S knows where her identity & worth are founded- in Jesus, & always pursues encouragement & conversations of hope when conversing with people. She is currently involved within a small Bible study, & regularly invites her single mother friends along, with a heart that they may know Abba amid their own situations.
S currently has health issues with her ovaries, & we are praying & declaring a full recovery against surgery. Her son, J, asks questions about why his father disappeared & abandoned him- why he left Indonesia for Australia & never came back. S also has minimal contact with her family, as they disapproved of things in her past. They also disapproved of her accepting Jesus into her heart as she journeyed along a path of healing from everything S had endured in her past. Prayer for continued healing, flourishment of hope & breakthrough, & love to overwhelm this strong & courageous woman’s heart.
Name: D.
Beauty, strength, & a servant hearted woman of Jesus.
We befriended D through S. Being a single mother herself, S invited D to her small Bible study group, opening up her mind to the freedom & unconditional love found in Jesus. D got baptised last year on Christmas day (!!) & has been a follower of Jesus ever since. D doesn’t have custody over her nine-year-old son & doesn’t see him regularly due to conflicting issues with her son’s father. D runs her own street vendor business & sells ayam soto & sate nightly. Through this, she is able to build relationship with the people she meets, & spread the hope & love of Jesus through her business.
D continues to attend the Bible study with S on a weekly basis, delving deep into scripture, discovery, & wonder. D’s son only communicates with her via text & finds it difficult to be present within her son’s life as he lives a couple hours away. Prayer for continued curiosity with the Spirit, provision & blessing over her street vendor business, strengthened relationship with her son, & continued overpouring love to overwhelm D’s soul, knowing she isn’t alone in what she is walking through, but has the strength of the Spirit leading, guiding, & comforting her in all she puts her hand to.
Name: Unknown.
Carrier of the Spirit’s promise, truth, & joy, even if he doesn’t know it.
Every time we visited D’s street vendor business, I saw this man with a rainbow umbrella. He always stood on the edge of the road, with his rainbow umbrella in hand. Always observing people, always observing traffic, he stood content, every night, by the side of the road. His soft wrinkle lined face, callous hard-working hands, & captivating, piercing eyes made me curious of his story. I never had the chance to ask him his name or the journey he walked to get to where he is. But, the Spirit reminded me of a promise Abba gave me in one of my most difficult times last year through this man’s continuous grip & hold of his rainbow umbrella in hand: hold courage dear heart, the flourishment of promises are about to radiate into your life.
Pray that the Spirit does this exact same thing in this man’s life- that the flourishment of promises will radiate like joy into this man’s heart. That joy & peace & goodness will overwhelm him to the point where a smile continuously beams on his face, every night as he stands on the side of the road- that it’s contagious for everyone that walks or drives past. Pray for sweet friendship to be cultivated on the piece of sidewalk this man stands firm on every night, & for hope & comfort to be profoundly evident through his perspective of the community around him.
Name: SH.
Fun-loving, adventurous, joy-filled, & hilarious, yet a humble & soft-hearted daughter of the King.
SH was one of the first people who I befriended while in Indonesia. Always laughing, always filled with joy, SH shines a light & joy that is contagious for everyone around her. SH recently accepted Jesus into her life (!!) after years of being intrigued, delving deep into discovery & curiosity, & wrestling out the truth of who Jesus really is for herself, not what she has been taught growing up. SH holds a degree in education & is currently starting a new job teaching English, after spending months trying to find a job.
SH currently attends the bible study D goes to on a weekly basis, allowing her the space to explore the heart & character of Jesus among fellow new believers. SH is the only one who is a Jesus follower in her family, while the rest of her family are still Muslim. Prayer for softened hearts for her family regarding acceptance of her decision to follow Jesus, for continued wonder, curiosity, & stable community as she delves deep into the mystery of the Word, for abundant blessing & provision in her career to touch children’s lives through her joy & humour, & for the relentless love of the Father to tenderly touch her heart.
Name: K.
Wise, mature, & a carrier of Jesus’ compassionate & tender heart for others.
K was one of the first people who I befriended in Indonesia, & like above with S, we clicked instantly (she has a passion for surfing, skating, art, & photography, so of course we were going to become super close friends). Her soft & kind heart for people is inspirational & infectious, always seeks to see the gold & Love in people, even if everyone around her has a different opinion. K holds & shows an incredible strength when she walks through trials & tough seasons in life- her determination & perseverance to stand firm in the word of Abba is inspiring & mature beyond her years.
K has a difficult time accepting & receiving love from others. She often finds conflict internally regarding certain areas of her identity & why she was made the way she is. Her family aren’t followers of Jesus & is currently facing internal conflict & brokenness. K is also currently trying to find a job in what she studied- marine biology. But has yet to find breakthrough in obtaining anything stable yet as she seeks to find clarity around where Holy Spirit wants to place her regarding location. Prayer for love like a waterfall to wash & overpour over her mind & heart in a tangible way that she has no other way than to accept & receive the fullness of Love. Prayer for her family & for reconciliation to occur; for love to be the centre of it all. & prayer for clarity from Holy Spirit regarding her future & her career.
Name: KD.
Filled with joy & light, she radiates heaven’s sunshine, grace, & humility of the Father.
KD (& her husband) were such a sweet blessing from Abba in Indonesia. Their constant support, encouragement, joy, generosity, & friendship (even to this day) has been Abba speaking to me about how Kingdom community, wherever they are in the world, can rally around, pray, & support you. KD always has a smile on her face & always carries the joy & laughter of the Spirit in her belly. KD is sold out to Christ & lays her life down daily. KD holds the same heart for discipleship as me, & sacrificially invests her time into young women, intentionally coming alongside them, & discipling them in the way of the Kingdom. KD opens her home weekly & invites open faith-based conversations to be had with young adults who are wrestling out their faith.
KD & her husband are out on the field for Christ, volunteering at an English centre. Their giftings in discipleship & graphic design are invaluable for the people they serve alongside. They have one more year left in West Java before they start Seminary back in the States. For this year, pray for continued relational connection with locals, clarity from the Spirit regarding their future, continued opportunity for their giftings to be empowered, complete wholeness of health & blessing over them as a couple, & for fruition of the seeds they’ve sown to be tangibly evident in the hearts of those they intentionally invested into.
Name: T.
Humble, wise, incredibly kind, & carries a tender strength as a warrior for the Kingdom.
T is a man of God. His wisdom & kindness fills every atmosphere he walks into & carries an incredible anointing of influence, strength, & power in the spiritual realm. T walks with one of the humblest hearts for people I’ve ever seen & cultivates community & discipleship wherever he sets his foot. T is a born humble leader & lives out Matthew 5:5 tangibly, daily. T vision casts big dreams for his future & hopes to work for the UN, empowering communities & working alongside people, helping to advocate for a just world.
T constantly pursues friendship with people who don’t know the love of Abba. He is a living representation of what is means to humbly surrender your life to the Spirit daily, picking up his cross for the sake of the Kingdom. Prayer for dreams & visions to come to fruition in T’s life. That his influence & power in the spiritual realm will influence cities & nations & continents. Prayer for sweet community to come alongside him & pour into him, just as much as he pours into others. That T will continue to walk into his Kingdom calling deeply knowing he has others to walk alongside to empower him too. & prayer for his eyes to be continually opened to the fruition of fruit from the seeds he has planted in so many people’s lives; that he knows he makes a different wherever he sets his feet.
Name: R.
Sweet-hearted & curious- a generous sister who loves & pursues people with a deep kindness in her heart.
R is someone who I know call a sister. Aside from sharing the same enneagram, she is someone who has loved me & poured encouragement into my life. R has a talent in music, specifically drumming, & will continue to influence & draw people into her life through this gifting. R has a sweet heart for people & outpours generosity, love, & kindness to everyone she meets. She loves serving others & pouring joy into people’s lives.
R is open to seeking out the similarities of my faith compared to her own. She is curious & loves to talk deep things & wrestle out topics. Prayer that R continues to find sweet community with people who are willing to intentionally invest time & love into her heart. That through intentional community, love will continue to cascade into her heart to the point where she walks in deep revelatory truth that she is always loved. Prayer for continued truth & revelation to be highlighted to her on her journey of faith, & that she is given the freedom of space to wrestle & talk about things that are on her heart.
UPDATE!
I am 74% funded & only have US$4831 left to fundraise in the next couple of months!!
The first week of March I am doing a ‘$22 on the 4th’ fundraiser to celebrate my b’day! How it works: you donate $22 on the 4th of March(:
Points for those journeying w me in prayer!
: prayer for financial provision for fundraising
: unity with my team mates, squad family, & leadership team for this year
: prayer for protection over mine & everyone’s minds- it’s something a bunch of us are being attacked with this month
: prayer for our team to continue to be challenged this month & hear the Spirit’s voice clearly through the things we are navigating through
: continued prayer for every person, family, & child we will & are connecting with while here in Malaysia for this month. More stories & testimonies to come about this later!
