Silhouette Studios

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

South America - Here I Come!

Only two days now and I will be on my way to South America via Florida. I am so excited to see what the Lord will accomplish in and through our teams. I want to thank each of you for your love, support and prayers - they mean a lot to me! If you wish to follow my trips, you can use the following links:

GE Facebook Page: Usually something posts from the team at least once or twice a day. This is the place to go for up-to-the-minute updates. You don’t need a Facebook account to the view the posts.
GE Instagram Feed: Usually something posts on here at least once a day and we often repost pictures from other team members so it’s a great collection of team members' viewpoints.
GE Trip Blog: We post longer stories and more pictures on our blog than we can add to social media. This is where people can get the more in-depth story.

I will be in Ecuador from July 11th - August 2nd. I will have a 2 day turnaround in Florida before heading to Guatemala from August 4th - 18th. I'll be on the Photography team in Guatemala - using and teaching photography as a way to share the gospel. Here is a recent request for our photography team. Please consider supporting this:

We've put together a fundraiser for five new student cameras. Our 15 student cameras have been traveling the world for a few years and some of them have taken their last picture. We also gave away a few at orphanages where we taught photography. On the whole, I’ve been impressed how well the cameras have held up, but they’re not indestructible. Here’s a link: https://www.tilt.com/tilts/cameras-for-missions.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

My Dad

I love my dad. I can't say enough about how much he means to me. Here's my feeble attempt at recounting just a few of the things I love and admire about him:

He loves the Lord.
He played a major part in giving me life.
He has a great sense of humor.
He loves my mom.
He used to sing a funny song to wake us in the mornings when we were little. :)
He makes hard choices.
He has always lived for his Lord.
He works hard to provide for his family - at times working 2 or 3 jobs and 60+ hours a week in order to make ends meet.
He studies the Word.
He gives up so much for his kids
He makes sure the vehicles are always full so my mom doesn't have to pump gas.
He loves to vacation with his family
He loves dogs
He's a great cook on the grill
I can still remember his excitement each time a new little sibling arrived
He loves me - and he tells me so.
He's a praying man
He's great heading up projects
He's a man of vision
He rises early
He gives good advice
He shepherds his church
He loves music - even though he's tone deaf
He's a good driver
The times he would catapult me into the water (when I was little) at the lake
Encouraging texts to let me know he's praying for me
He loves horses
That he gave up his childhood dream of living in the desert with his horse and dog. :D

And this is just the beginning. I could go on and on. Just 2 weeks ago he preached his father's memorial service sermon. I know that was hard - I was so proud of him. He did a wonderful job. Afterward I took this photo of him at the altar in the church where the service was held. The same altar where he surrendered to preach at the age of 15 - thereby causing his own father to cry. {One of only two instances that anyone could remember him crying.} The same church where he and my mother were married. I love you dad!

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Showers of Blessing

I had the best surprise this morning! Overnight, an envelope bearing the message "Towards Rachel Stewart's Trips" appeared in the night drop-box at the RV park where I work and live. Inside I found $1,000.00!!! I was so excited! With just about a month until I leave, I was a little concerned about raising enough money to pay the balance of my expenses. This was such an unexpected {and exhilarating} turn of events. :) Many thanks to the one who gave - I am so appreciative! May the Lord bless you for your giving heart!
And tomorrow, we will be having a fundraiser at Chik-fil-A here in Enid. Come by and join the party and help raise funds for my trips! Hope to see you there.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Wedding Slideshow: Aaron & Joyce

More pictures from the wedding - enjoy! {Click the link to go to youtube and watch the slideshow}

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18AuwaQWsck

Friday, May 22, 2015

50 Days: It all began with 26 cents....

(Only 50 days until I begin my second trip to South America! Last year I spent an amazing three weeks in Ecuador and was privileged to watch God at work and to experience fellowship with His church in that country. I will be returning this year for three weeks and then hopping over to Guatemala for two more weeks - working with the deaf in that country. I am so excited!)

It all began with 26 cents.....
Last year as we made the 8-hour drive from Quito to Esmeraldas for our second week of work, we newbies found much to capture our attention. The drive out of the mountains and down to the coast afforded some spectacular views.

All these images were taken from the window of the moving bus

We sang to pass the time..... and some slept. We also found that bathrooms were few and far between! As we neared the end of our journey, it was evident that we needed to find one soon. :-o Edgar (our faithful bus-driver) promised to go "rapido, rapido" in order to find one. :D When we stopped a short time later, our team leader informed us that we needed to have money on hand to pay for use of the restrooms. (Common in Ecuador and something we'd experienced before.) What was funny though, was the price: 26 cents! "How did they arrive at that number?" I wondered. Ecuador uses the American Dollar, so we fished out a quarter & penny each and paid at the counter. It was a humorous memory to make.
Fast forward to about a month later when I shared my stories of Ecuador at a joint service with my church and several others. This story was one of the many that I told. After the service, a man handed me 26 cents and said it was the beginning of my support for "next year". :) I put that 26 cents into my wooden box {a gift from the church in Esmeraldas} and prayed the Lord would add to it if it was indeed His will for me to return.

And He has! The Lord has provided about one fifth of the funds I need to go to South America. I know He will provide it all because He has called. I covet your prayers for me as I prepare and as I go!

Sunday, May 17, 2015

A Wedding in the Northwoods: Aaron & Joyce

It was an absolutely amazing wedding. Perfect weather, perfect location, perfect day. Perhaps I'm a little biased. ;) Regardless of my personal opinions, {and I think my pictures will back this up} it really was a great location! At one point, I was almost literally screaming in delight at the images appearing on my camera. :) Working with my family for this wedding was a pure delight! Because time ran a little short, we'll be trying for a short local shoot at the reception in two weeks. Hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed taking them....

Aaron & Joyce did a "First Look" and then we proceeded to a nearby park for more pictures.

Joyce had 10 Flower Girls.... and they were SO adorable!

The ceremony was simple, short and beautiful. I found it a little difficult to get around the sanctuary to different vantage points for pictures, but besides trying to keep my sandals quiet while rushing from place to place, everything went very smooth!