Telling Visual Stories

Photography is a big thing. If I can't find it on your Tw*tter or your Inst*gram feed, I can pretty safely assume that the trip to the top of Mount Everest that you're telling me about didn't really happen.

But, there is a massive difference between taking a photo of our latest cup of coffee and trying to be the one* to document a short term trip.

*Yes. This should be one person, two if your team is huge or split up, who is in charge of taking all of the "nice" pictures. The rest of you, hand off your cameras. Let someone at your destination show you their world.

One Simple Rule:

Focus on the stories you have permission to tell.

If you are that person, take respectful, honoring photos of willing subjects by focusing on the story of your team. 

Feel free to take pictures of your team eating meals, having devos, hanging out, or riding in a private vehicle. Document beautiful sunrises and incredible night skies. Point the camera at vast stretches of open road and the details of vegetation that make this place uniquely here.

Keep it pointed away from other people.

That kid on the corner may be cute, but, if none of you have gotten to know him, you don't need the picture.

Take pictures with and of people who know that you are taking their picture and have given you the go ahead. If you don't know the names of anyone not-on-your-team in the shot and neither do they, you probably shouldn't be taking it.

This especially applies to babies and small children. A two year old smiling at you is not permission. Getting a candid of one of your teammates chatting with mom and baby when mom knows that you have the camera out and pointed at her is.

Taking the time to talk to mom yourself, getting to know her, and then asking to take a picture to remember to pray, definitely is, so long as you actually mean it.

People are not props.

People's homes and belongings are not props.

Things that you don't understand are not automatically fair game. You're not here for People of WalM*rt or some sort of Fail Blog.

Take pictures of the things that you have been given permission to take pictures of.

Don't be the creepy foreign paparazzi with their cameras stuck out the window as they drive by. You would be sketched out to see someone doing it in your neighborhood. Don't do it in theirs.

A lackluster picture taken with integrity is a thousand times better than a beautiful photograph that treats people like animals in a zoo.

Use your camera to tell stories well.

Telling Stories Well

You've checked your leader, your heart, your camera, and your language skills, and you're ready to head off into the great unknown to bear witness, but how do you do that well?

A few rules that I apply just as imperfectly as anyone...

No one is voiceless:

By our very nature, humans communicate. All of us. All the time. There has never been a person on the planet who was voiceless. 

There may have been no one to hear, no one who cared to listen closely enough to hear or see or feel what they were trying to communicate. But, they have always had a voice.

Your job is to be ears and eyes first, and a megaphone if requested.

You may be in a power position because of your age, gender, ethnicity, economic standing, or country of birth. Go Spiderman on the situation, and use your power well.

Be an amplifier, a megaphone, a platform, proof that at least one person in our big, beautiful, messy world is listening to the things that they have to say. Listen. Watch. Ask questions. And, then, listen some more.

How awesome does it feel when someone lets you blow steam about that frustrating thing that happened or gets excited with you about some random thing from your favorite book? It feels just as awesome to people all around the world when you take interest in the details of their lives.

You're not a "voice for the voiceless" or a superhero or a white savior.

You are witness and servant, the inn keeper on the other end of the Jericho road.

Stories are not yours to take:

It can be tempting to search for the most tragic story, the bitterest despair, the brightest hope.

Don't.

Don't show up in Haiti and start questioning everyone you meet about the earthquake or deplane in Cambodia and ask people about Pol Pot and the killing fields.

Those stories form a deep and intimate part of a person's identity, and they have just as much right to them as they do to their personal possessions. Their stories are theirs. If they chose to share them with you, treat them gently, record them properly, write down the details before you forget them, and check to see how much you have permission to share.

The most precious ones might never leave your heart and your mind. That's okay.

Store them there and let them shape a quiet, intimate part of who you are.

Respect the stories that are never told. People make decisions all the time not to hand strangers the key to the safety deposit box where they keep their diamonds. Someone you have known for less than a week is likely to make the same decision about you.

Unless you are a journalist or working with an organization that has specifically asked you to come in and search out these particular stories, err on the side of moderation in all things.

It is perfectly acceptable to come home with a story about a little girl named Fatima who loves the color blue and draws impeccably symmetrical stars. 

Echo the truth that you are told. It is enough.

Don't make your story their story:

Check the details. Over and over and over again. Check the details.

What you see as a mud hut may be the house that they just finished saving for and constructing for their family.

The rebar sticking out of the roof might be a clever way to avoid paying higher taxes, and the languishing ruins may be new construction being put together brick by brick when there is cash in hand.

What looks like chaos might be carefully orchestrated order, and what seems like order may actually be an office mired down in paperwork.

Ask questions, and, when you think you know, ask more questions. Find out more than what the people and the places look like. Discover what they are thinking, how the feel, what it is that they want you to know.

Use caution not to project felt poverty into places where it isn't or melancholy into places where there is joy.

Your story, the things that you feel and experience while you are in their spaces, the thoughts that go through your head or the prayers that want to spring from your lips, those are yours. They are valid. But, take care that they don't spill out over the edges of where they belong.

Your story is not necessarily theirs.

Don't make their story your story:

Conversely, their story is not yours.

You have not walked through the things that they have walked through or thought the things that they have thought precisely in the way that they have thought them.

There will be moments where you feel your shared humanity so deeply that it seems as if you share a soul.

Hold on to those, but don't let them overtake you.

You don't have to let yourself be overwhelmed by the overwhelming.

Grieve when you need to grieve. Laugh when you need to laugh. Take your process. But, remember that God is writing a story that is uniquely yours.

You may not spend the rest of your life marked by the things that have marked the people you meet, and that is okay.

You have permission to move on, to remember without thinking about it every moment, to make it a part of you without letting it consume the whole.

God is the only one big enough to carry someone else's story, and He already bore that burden on the cross. You can let it go and search instead for the beauty that is present in the midst of any pain. His is the only story worth letting into every portion of your life.

Remember the big picture:

There is always more than what you see in a week or two. More than what you see in a month or a year.

If you feel like there is a problem that isn't being addressed or a story that is being swept under the rug, ask about it, but be willing to accept that the answer might include things that you haven't been able to see or experience.

Trust that not everything has to change before you leave.

Just because this isn't your home doesn't mean that it isn't someone else's.

They were here working long before you heard of this trip, and they will continue to be here long after you've unpacked your suitcase.

Remember that life will continue in its big ball of wobbly wobbly timey wimey stuff, even in the moments where you are not here to bear witness. (Really, remember it; it takes a lot of pressure off!)

Go. Listen. Watch. 

Learn. Love. Serve. Be served.

Tell stories well.

Before You Go On That Ministry Trip

Before you get on the plane for that short term missions/ministry trip...

Check your leader:

Can you follow the person who is going to be leading your trip? What about any other leaders who are serving under them?

There needs to be at least one leader on the trip who you are able to listen to without question.

This isn't because short term missions trips are a dictatorship, but because there will be moments when leading a team cross culturally (or anywhere) where there simply will not be time to explain.

Explanations and questions can come later. Most trip leaders will welcome even your most probing thoughts, but the middle of church service/the market/public transportation might not be the most appropriate time to ask.

Can you be as responsive to the seemingly inane requests of your leader to cross your legs, uncross your legs, change clothes, put on different shoes, lower your voice, look somewhere else, use the other hand, etc as you are to the "big" requests that are simple to understand?

If you can't, what choices do you need to make? Do you need to meet with one of the leaders? Get to know them better? Wait for a later trip or go with a different group?

The way that your group interacts will likely communicate more about Christianity than any words you could say or any service you could perform. Make sure that you are able to follow well.

Check your heart:

Are you going to bear witness to someone else's story? Or, are you going because you want to add a cool new chapter to your own?

There is an entire industry and global economy built around giving people new experiences in new places. It's called tourism, and it can be a soul stretching, eye opening, heart stopping way to expand your horizons, but tourism isn't missions, and missions isn't tourism.

You should be going to bear witness to other people's stories and primarily to bear witness to other people's stories.

It doesn't matter if you have an incredible skill that fills a felt need of the local community in a developmentally appropriate partnership. If you are a terrible listener, someone will probably want to strangle you within twenty-four hours.

They won't. But, why spend hundreds or thousands of dollars just to be a pain in someone's neck? You have friends and family at home that you can provide that service to for just a fraction of the cost.

Instead, be ready to listen, look, learn, and then serve (or be served) as asked.

Stories are powerful. Powerful enough to take the time to hear them - and occasionally tell them - well.

And, yes, of course I have opinions on what that looks like.

Check your camera:

Is it a real camera? Like a not-a-phone, old school piece of equipment with a slightly dusty screen that you had to dig out of your parents' sock drawer?

That's what you want to bring.

Because, no one wants to sit there worrying that the kid running around with your camera is going to accidentally switch on the data plan and earn you a cell bill the size of Texas when you could be playing clapping games or engaging in conversation or doing whatever else your hosts have asked of you.

Unless you are the one or two people that your team has designated to take respectful, honoring photos of willing subjects, your camera isn't a tool to make yourself look more awesome or capture the perfect selfie.

It's another way to bear witness, a chance to let another person show you a glimpse of the world through their eyes.

Your language skills may not be the sharpest, but a picture speaks a thousand words. Put your camera in someone else's hands, and let them show you what is important about the day, the event, the moment. The answers can teach you a lot.

This means building relationships to the point where you know who it is appropriate to hand a camera to and where to find them if they wander out of eyesight. It means learning names and personalities and who that one kid is who you shouldn't hand the camera to, because they will get distracted and drop it into the nearest puddle of liquid.

You might not get the perfect profile pic, but you will get a new perspective.

And, finally...

Check your language skills:

Are they up to par for what you plan to be doing on the trip?

If you're going to be working with kids, learn to ask about ages and siblings and favorite colors. Learn to ask adults about family and life and spirituality.

Learn the names of common objects that you'll be interacting with - and the all important skill of asking what something is called.

You would be confused if someone came on a ministry trip to the United States without learning any English. Expect the same reaction from your hosts and then be grateful when they choose not to show it.

Language is communication is relationship.

Learn as much as you can before you go, and learn more when you're there.

It will probably feel like your brain is about to explode and your tongue is tying itself up in knots, but that's okay. You (hopefully) didn't sign up for this trip because they promised you that it would be easy.

This is important enough to put some effort and sweat and tears into. The God who understands every language on the planet thinks that this one is just as rich and beautiful as the one that you grew up with. Worship through the work of learning new sounds.

Check your leader. Check your heart. 

Check your camera. Check your language skills.

Pack your bag.

Go, and love like Jesus there the same way that you love like Jesus here.

A 'Sheepfold' Full of Awesome Kids

"Say hi to S*th!" My camper twines behind me, all little girl giggles and a face that is almost but not quite buried into my side as she gives the instruction.

"Hi, ***." He acknowledges her, and she lights up like she has just been given the world.

One of "the teenagers" knows her name.

Because, my girls are pretty convinced, along with forty other campers, that the CITs are the best thing to ever grace the face of this campground.

The CITs swim with them; help them activities; stay while they fall asleep at night; join us for meals; serve at specials; run the puppets; lead the music; and act in the all important drama as sheep, shepherds, and the big bad wolf. Essentially, every single CIT is a super hero.

A green clad, goofy, loving, tender picture of the Jesus that we've been telling them about all week.

The fastest my cabin moves is when I offer to let them put stickers on the letters to some "teenagers." And, believe me, fast is not a common pace around cabin three. Fast means that they think that the CITs hung the moon.

And, you should never try to argue with forty-one kids.

So, I won't.

Half of the CITs are my cluster girls. Several of them are kids that I have known since birth. Every single one of them is incredible.

Responsible. Flexible. Loving.

Jesus shines through them in a thousand little moments, and I find myself wishing that I could bring their other leaders here to see this, teleport in a room full of adults just to share my pride in these kids. Because, they are rocking it.

Not in the flashy way that they could be, but just quietly, calmly doing every single thing that is asked of them, whether it's learning a new song for chapel or staying in the bathroom to supervise teeth brushing while one of us runs back to the cabin to get some forgotten item.

Taking kids out on the lake in a canoe - and then doing it again the next day, even when it was less than their favorite thing the first time.

Cramming so many tasks into a single day that it makes my head spin.

Consistently amazing.

These are our kids, my girls, these no longer littles but not quite grown ups who seem to serve as naturally as breathing.

And, I struggle to find the words to adequately explain myself. Because, they are incredible when they serve, but not only incredible because they serve. Awesome at what they do, but also awesome by default, as there is a Christ in them that defies description.

Because their hearts are gorgeous and their minds are brilliant, and I am pretty sure that scripture becomes a little more real every time that I am around them.

Because my leader's eyes see the promise and the presence of Jesus in their faces and their actions, hear it in their voices, and feel it as my girls walk a little faster to get to the line of high fives waiting in front of the dining room door.

Our CITs really are some of the best in the world.

One Week - RFKC

One week makes a difference.

It's scrawled over everything we do like a promise, a pledge.

One week of braiding hair and letting hair be braided; brushing teeth in the bathroom and outside the cabin; wrapping warm towels around cold girls and celebrating the sunshine when it comes.

One week to go canoeing, take apart old electronics, build things with Grandpa, and play on the wobbly bridge.

One week to cram in two polar bear swims, a birthday party, tea party, hike, bonfire, and fancy dinner; sing Fr*zen, run, laugh, hear the same rap a thousand times, and pass out dozens of stickers as we try to coax perpetually distracted girls into some semblance of being on time.

One week to watch as God is faithful in the little things that are not so little. Like the last minute phone call that got me here in the first place; the Haiti training that doubled as make up training for RFKC; the $250 fee that was waived so that camp cost me $30 in snacks and sunscreen and a couple of hours of crafting decorations.

And, the fact that, out of 41 campers, one of mine was a little girl that I know from school. An eight year old who I loaded onto the bus for a final time expecting never to see again.

Until I got the call for camp and realized that she might be there. Until I sat down with the social worker on Sunday morning and heard the names of my campers. Until she stepped off of the bus and that quiet face slipped into a grin and started pointing out the heights of the trees around us.

Two little eight year olds paired up with two ten year olds to form the Royal Cabin Three.

Imperfect and messy. Last ones in the dining hall. Last ones in the pool. Last ones out of the bathroom. Late to so many things that being "not last" was cause for celebration. Just getting there an event in and of itself.

Pockets that were often emptied of sticky fingered treasures. Apples from the dining hall. Sheep figurines from the table. Scarves and necklaces from dress up.

Worried little eyes always checking on the next meal, eyeing the dishes, mentally calculating to decide if there is going to be enough.

Nightlight on the wall and a flashlight or lantern in bed with each girl to hold back the dark.

But also Royal Family side hugs and arms over shoulders as we walk. Hands in mine and little girls who lean in close during chapel.

Girls who whisper read Bible verses to each other before bed and teach the new one the hand motions to well loved music until she can do them herself, and shy giggles that hide behind me as they ask for more of something in the dining hall or greet one of the teen staff or counselors.

Singing songs as we walk and racing through inflatables. Quiet times in a canoe and carefully building robots out of junk with grandpa as they repeat my hammering instructions back to me. "Gentle at first, and then be a beast."

Smiles and laughter and forgiveness when we explain why we gave that instruction that didn't make any sense. Shoes slipped on feet and hair brushed back from faces.

"I am looking for girls who..."

"I see..."

"Did you hear so and so's words?"

"Can you use your big voice?"

"Use your listening ears."

"Let's honor so and so by..."

"You guys are awesome!"

"Good for you!"

"Way to rock it at...!"

We wrap them in words and careful touch and a dozen notes in their mailboxes the same way that we draped the cabin in green and blue before they came. Coffee filter sheep and verses about the Good Shepherd on paint chip bunting. Fabric streamers and tissue paper flowers.

Relationships that flow as naturally as breathing.

Simple because we've already learned these lessons. Because the one who guides us has already led us beside these waters, into this place where the only thing that we can offer is the consistency of five day camp full of too many new things to count.

Because we may not know the end game, but we do know this week. 

And, when the little one who is moving cities a few hours after we get "home" uses being closer to this place as a comforting point of reference, It's easy to believe that this one week - year after year of this one week - is enough to make a difference.

Easy to believe that our Good Shepherd really loves them just as much as He says He does.

Lessons Already Learned

Back from R*yal Family in awe.

In awe of the one who works all things together for good, who folds lessons over and on top and around each other again until these thin ropes form a net thick enough to hold my weight. The weight of all my imperfections and uncertainties. Of all my hesitations and the moments where the words simply will not come.

Because, my kids can tell you that I'm really good at spontaneity - so long as I've had enough time to plan it all out beforehand.

Throw me into a situation that I don't have a contingency for and just watch me start to sweat.

It's part of the reason that I read and learn ALL. THE. TIME. You just never know when that piece of information might come in useful. If you know better, you can do better, so I sure as heck better know better.

Because, let's be honest. This.

I'm going to try to figure it out. Quietly. In my own head. At my own time.

But, the one who created me also knows me. Knows that I needed to learn these lessons someplace that is not Royal Family and its constant inundation of humanity. Beautiful. Messy. Smashed together. Trying our best, humanity. But, nonetheless, people - everywhere, constantly.

So, He gives the grace to walk through familiar lessons already learned. Because, in His perfect timing, I have already had these teachers.

D*n**l taught me as his third grade Sunday school teacher what it means to communicate an expectation without shaming.

Another D*n**l teaches me weekly what it looks like to step back and allow a kid the time for their own process, give them the space to chose the awesomeness that Christ in them is capable of.

D*sh**n taught me the cool calm to deal with sticky fingers, the gentle taking back and the quiet promise to return it for them to its place.

He also taught me about the subtlety of triggers; the speed with which a child can fly from smiles and hard work to (literally) screaming fear; and the desperate need for a narrative, no matter how fabricated, that will let you fit in.

S*th taught me what it feels like to have someone smaller pit their will against my own and how to choose which battles aren't worth fighting.

M*tt** taught me to never stop paying attention.

And, J*sh and S*rg** taught me what it looks like when a child is afraid of not having enough food.

M*r*nd* taught me how to keep things low key.

J*nny the subtle difference between attention seeking and a desperate need to be seen.

*pr*l taught me when to step back.

M*t** the physical importance of making myself visible.

Skyl*r and J*c*b the importance of a name.

Ch*s* taught me the power of consistency and the magic of lending out a sweatshirt or a bracelet.

Tys*n taught me that just being present can sometimes be enough.

R*b*cc* that a silly song can be repeated so often that it becomes a memory.

Tr*sty*n and S*r*n* the clapping games that the girls in my cabin already knew.

And, more kids than I can name have worked together to teach me the power of touch. (If you are older than middle school, please be patient, I am still working on that one.)

Dozens of kids over fourteen years of this teacher/leader/counselor gig. Dozens of teachers. Hundreds of lessons. Because, heaven knows that patience is not my natural state of being. That gentleness and mindfulness needed to be taught.

And so, I come back in awe of the one who would surround me with so many messy, smiley, sweet, and sassy little opportunities to learn.