The Accidental Missionary

03/04/2024

Today I went with the missions team, clinic, and Spanish school to a city called Juquila, about 2-2.5 hours away from Roca Blanca. When we arrived at the church, the first thing I noticed was the smell of the pines (or are they firs? I just remember that “firs are friendly” - as in their needs are soft), and between the temperature, the smell, and the cooking fire at the church, it reminded me of camping back in the Canadian Rockies — the smell was heavenly!

People who come to the teams for care go through a process of getting their vitals taken, then their health concerns addressed, and then they receive spiritual care; afterwards they get the medication the medical staff prescribe.

12/01/2024

I was asked last minute to come on a clinic trip this morning as a translator, in a part of a nearby town that has a heavy occult presence (the worship of Saint Death). It has been difficult for our current church here to expand into this area, but one of the beautiful things about clinic trips is that they give us access to serve people both medically and spiritually, and they are more open to hearing the Gospel when they know that they genuinely care about them.

10/01/2024

When it has BEEN a DAY, and so your best (or one of your best) missionary friends lets you come over and make pasta.

02/01/2024

Last week was WILD. It was the first conference of this size that I took part in photographing, and let me tell you, it was intense. Photography by nature isn't usually a physically demanding job, but I was so surprised by how tired and sore I was at the end of each day. Granted, it did require a lot of walking and creative/mental energy. Still, I can't imagine how everyone who did more laborious work felt at the end (and the beginning!) of each day.

These were just a few of my favourites from the first night. There were over 2500 people that night, and it was beautiful - seeing so many come from all over Oaxaca and other parts of Mexico to worship and grow in their relationship with Jesus. I'm excited to share the rest with you!

One of my written goals for 2024 is to post on this page more regularly (including at least one video a week, which I sometimes have a hard time prioritizing), to hopefully better keep you up to date.

Feliz año, amigos! // Happy New Year, friends! ❤️

14/12/2023

This past Monday night was our last devotional service of the year, before the bible and music schools break for the holidays, and also prepare for "ConvocaSIÓN", a huge conference drawing in over 5,000 people from 80+ different churches in Mexico. It concluded with base leaders washing the feet of students and also the staff serving in this conference for the first time.

Coming back to Mexico after being with friends and family for a month or two at a time is usually difficult. This time was especially so, as it was during the Christmas season, which holds incredibly fond memories for me, and I was leaving all of it. But God, in all of His grace and compassion, showered this particular day with many lovely moments. At the end of it all, I was invited to have my own feet washed, something I've never felt super comfortable with. My sweet friend Ara came, washed my feet, and prayed over me. In that moment, God spoke to me about how the events and moments of that day were intentionally orchestrated by Him to show His care for my heart.

In Exodus 33:18, Moses says to God "Show me Your glory", and in response, the Lord says "I will cause *all* my *goodness* to pass in front of you..." (emphasis added).

The glory of God is His goodness on display. (thank you for this, Phylicia Masonheimer). He is glorified when we show His goodness to the world, and He's glorified in His care for us, and His goodness towards us. I've been constantly reminded of this this past week, and even in the middle of technical challenges, my heart is full of gratitude for all He's done, is doing, and will do.

29/11/2023

Let’s see your Spotify Wrapped! 😀

26/11/2023

Last Sunday leading worship before heading back to Mexico! Thanks Gateway Victory Church for the good times. ❤️

26/11/2023

12/10/2023

Yesterday I went with Roca Blanca's medical clinic and a team of medical missionaries from Kansas City, to a small pueblo called Charco Redondo, where they provided medical, dental, and spiritual care, and food support to the locals. Here are some highlights from that day.

About a year and a half ago I went on an overnight missions trip. In the middle of it, I thought to myself "I would love to come on these trips as a photographer." I never told anyone this, but here we are a year and a half later, and I finally got to do it. And I loved it. God has been so good in all of this.

06/10/2023

Day trip with the Spanish school students to Tututepec!

05/10/2023

I’ll be the first to admit I’m pretty terrible at maintaining an active social media presence, especially as the year gets busy. But I needed to let everyone know that Rube & Adri Merino’s latest podcast episode is up! If you’re a Spanish speaker and looking for wisdom on healing the Father’s image in your life, you need to listen to this series!

Los hijos saben quien es su papá, saben que tienen hogar y herencia.

11/09/2023

It hurts my heart that I have to include these kind of examples in my lesson. 🤪

05/09/2023

Hey Calgary & area friends! I'll be coming back for about 6 weeks (Oct 18-Nov 28), and I'll be open for photo sessions while I'm there, just in time for your Christmas photos!

Families, couples, and individual sessions are all available for a minimum donation of $300, and a minimum of $600 for events, which will go towards funding me and my work here in Mexico! My goal is to book anywhere between 10-15 sessions.

You'll receive a minimum one-hour session and 15-20 downloadable digital photos. You'll also be supporting a great cause in the process! If you have any questions, feel free to comment or DM me.

24/08/2023

Hey friends! Rube & Adri Merino’s latest podcast episode on healing the image of our Father is up, and it’s 💯 worth listening to. So if you understand Spanish, you should take some time to listen to it, and the whole series. Happy Thursday y’all! ❤️

Actitudes de un corazón huérfano que necesita el amor de Abba.

04/07/2023

A few highlights from yesterday's year-end closing ceremony, or "clausura" (I managed to pare it down to about 180 from 350, so there's no way I'm sharing ALL of them online). Favourites are still almost all B&W, and I don't apologize for this. 😏

It was a beautiful ceremony, full of celebration and ministry. Capturing hours of moments like these uses a surprising amount of mental and creative energy, and it kind of caught me off guard how exhausted I was. But in going through and editing these photos, I was moved by how much of an honour it is to be able to do this; to capture and show the world what Jesus is doing in this small part of the world. ♥️

02/07/2023

I realized the other day that I don't actually share a lot of the work I do at the base. I'm trying to change that! For now, here are a few of my favourite photos from a year-end ministry service the base held for the students. Can you tell I have a thing for black & white photos?!
That all said, some of my most favourite photos are ones that I won't actually post online. Sometimes the beauty comes from the raw intimacy or vulnerability of a moment, and there's something in it that is meant just for the people in that photo. So instead, I gift them the images instead. ❤

26/06/2023

Every year after the first couple of good rains, Oaxaca gets this giant fat ants coming out of the ground for one, maybe two mornings out of the year. I missed it last year, but this morning I heard them buzzing near my window, and I skedaddled out of my house at about 5am along with other townspeople, and began picking them! They are a delicacy here, going for about $40US/lb (and no wonder, it takes a long time to gather enough for one pound! This picture represents maybe a few ounces, not even. The wings don’t count).

At first they were a little overwhelming, crawling all over my feet and such, but that just made for easy pickings. My friend Rebeca is going to use them to make a chicatana salsa.

17/06/2023

Just a lazy Saturday in one of my favourite places, waiting for rain. 🥰 I’ll be providing an update later today!

12/06/2023

This is what I’ll be calling them from now on.

09/06/2023

Some things are a lot less expensive in Mexico, like fruits and vegetables. Other things are not, like appliances (often 2-3x the price for comparable quality), and also DAIRY. I bought this 6-pack of 1L milks (the biggest size they usually come in). 166 pesos, which with our exchange rate (which has completely tanked over the past 6 months) is now almost $13. 😐

08/06/2023

Premiere Pro’s warp stabilizer just over here saving my videos when I didn’t have an extra tripod.

30/05/2023

Getting some camera B shots in.

29/05/2023

Sometimes healing doesn’t come in one loud, sudden breakthrough. Sometimes it’s gentle and slow.

Since I was a kid, I’ve always bitten my nails, and not just casually nibble, I mean I gnawed on them compulsively until they hurt. As an adult, I’ve tried all the different things to break the habit. Caring for them, manicures, acrylic nails, Bitrex (or whatever it’s called), press-ons. Each one of them failed at some point, and whenever I’ve popped the nails off, I went right back to biting them, for about 34 years (I’m assuming I didn’t do it as a toddler).

This year God has me through a lot of healing, and when I went back to Canada in April, I decided to use that time to become more intentional about my prayer life. Spending the first half hour of my day simply focusing on Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit, and then the next little while praying for different people and situations, including my own.

And in the midst of that developing routine, the last set of cheap press-ons popped off after about 2 days, and normally I would have been compelled to chew them down to nubs as I’ve done countless times before.

This time, that compulsion never came. Whatever anxiety induced this habit left, and hasn’t come back. I didn’t force it, I barely thought about it, until a few weeks went by and I realized my nails were growing, and that I hadn’t touched them, and there was no desire to.

Every time I look at my nails now, they’re a reminder of God’s slow and gentle healing process.

28/05/2023

This morning I tried making a sort of Earl Grey tea syrup (steeped some strong earl grey, added sugar, and reduced it), and made myself a tea latte from it. I might like this way more than coffee. 😍😍

27/05/2023

Hey friends! I’ll be doing a short FB Live at 2pm, if you’d like to hear some updates. Hope to see you then!

26/05/2023

Can someone make this mug for me? Okay great, thanks. 😏

25/05/2023

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