Some tech crew photos...

With a thankful heart...

I have arrived in Canada to a "home coming" of sorts. I have been able to reconnect with an amazing family who are very near and dear to my heart.

I worked with John and his two sons, Matthew and Taylor, in Sweden and in Scotland on the Impact World Tour. Donna has such an amazing heart for people that I cannot be around her without being changed.

Everyone is running around like a chicken with their heads cut off trying to build stages and get tech rooms set up for God TV to come in and cover the Pursuit Conference. I feel right at home again.

That most amazing thing is how excited I am for this conference. John's main concern is that all of his tech crew remember that it is not our skills that will bless the Lord, but the fact that we are able to worship the Lord with our skills. Such an amazing man with an amazing heart. I have appreciated our friendship over the years and his heart remains steadfast. Not only in his love for the Lord, but his love for me and faith he has in me when it comes to using my skills to bless the Lord and worship Him. I cannot begin to tell you what a tremendous blessing that is to me. He is truly one man who has never given up on me, and trust me, John and I have had some knock down, drag out arguments but through all those times our friendship comes out the other side stronger than before. I REALLY NEEDED THIS TIME WITH THE ROSS FAMILY!!!

The following video is the video John created for this weekends conference. Hope you get a taste of how amazing this weekend is going to be, not only for all the people sitting in the chairs, but for those of us whom the Lord called together as part of an AWESOME tech crew!!

Enjoy!!!

ThePURSUIT 09 Video from John Ross on Vimeo.

In Pursuit...

I feel like I've been pursuing something for the past 9-months and at every turn, every one of the doors seems to close. I'm confused, hurt, and unsure of where the Lord is leading me.

I have had one interview for a position that I very, very, very much would enjoy and would be doing a job that would utilize so many of my gifts and passion of serving others. I'm currently waiting to hear if I am going to be called back for a second interview.

To say these past couple of months have been a "desert" time is an understatement. It's been one of the most difficult years of my life.

I have some friends with whom I worked with in Sweden and Scotland as part of their live production team. John and Donna have such a special place in my heart. I relish every time I get to "chat" with them online.

In one such chat, John asked me what I was doing at the end of this month and proceeded to ask me if I would be able to come up to Canada and do some stills photography of a conference he and his team were working on.

It seems God TV decided they wanted to cover the conference and Johns' son, Matthew, has been snagged to be a video camera operator. Matthew was scheduled to be the conference stills photographer and when John lost him as the stills photographer, he said I was the first person he thought of.

Now, I cannot begin to tell you how much this meant to me.

My passport expired on my birthday back in August. At the time, I never really thought there was a need to renew it. "When in the world am I going to be going any time soon?"

The position I'm waiting to hear about a second interview is an oversees position. I renewed my passport shortly after applying for the job and only got my new passport back 2 weeks ago. Had I not done that, I would not have been able to say yes to John when he asked me if I could come up and have a great time doing one of my passions and spending some quality time with some amazing people.

The Lord has not left me, even though I leave Him every chance I get.

Oh, this is not the end of this story.

I was on Facebook a day later and I get a chat message from Anne. She was one of my staff members when I was in the School of Video Production down in South Africa.

Annie is from Nigeria and has pioneered the school there. She asked me if I was available within the first three months of next year to come and teach on the school.

WOW!!!

I'm still frustrated, but my upcoming trip to see some very dear friends and take some great photos of some wonderful worship and teaching has lifted my mood. And although I don't know if I will be able to go to Nigeria to teach a topic on video production, it was a great boost to be asked.

I only want to be in pursuit of the Lord's plans for my life and the past 9-months I've been in pursuit of my own future. And as all of you who know me knows, I'm a high control person. I don't like not knowing where I'm going or where I stand and this is what makes patience so hard for me.

So, next week I'll be doing more posting than I have been since school started. Take a peek.

On one last note, I would also appreciate prayer with regards to the second job interview. As I said, this is a position I would very much like to do and serve a group of some of the most amazing people from our country.

Kitties

I've been so busy with school that I haven't really had much time to go out shooting. I really wanted to shoot so I used models that are always around.

Third times a charm, right?

Once again I get to spend Friday having eye surgery. This is the third time in 5-weeks.

I have appreciated everyone's prayers during the previous two and thank you in advance for the prayers this week.

I have not been scared prior to any of the other eye surgeries, including the initial Lasik procedure over a year and a half ago. This is different though.

I was told by the eye doc that every time they need to go in and remove cells from under the cornea they have to get more aggressive. That did not comfort me in the least. Last time I almost asked them to stop and give me more Valium and to try to numb my eye more. I could feel them scrape my eye and it was not a pleasant feeling, to put it mildly.

I am scheduled to arrive at 12:40. It takes them about 30 minutes to get me signed in and drugged before the procedure actually starts, so if I come to your thoughts around 1:10 or so, could you please lift me up in prayer?

I'm also going to tack on another prayer request here. I feel doors on every front are being slammed in my face. I'm getting very discouraged in a lot of areas in my life; from friendships that weren't what they seemed to a job I really wanted being stalled to my financial situation. I really need some clarity right now.

Thank you in advance.

Eye update and more

I had surgery again last Friday on my eye.

Here's the update.

I just made yet another phone call to the eye doctor because my vision is doing the same thing after the initial touch-up surgery about a month ago.

I'm asking for prayer on this. I was really concerned going into the surgery last Friday and my stress level is high once again as double vision is slowly returning in my distance eye. I should have left things alone and never gone for the touch up.

On another note, please take a look at my other blog: http://www.thosethathavebornethebattle.com/

I'm asking for people's help in spreading the word about this project. If you have a blog, can you post a link to the project site, or if you're on Twitter place a post about it. I'm trying to get the word out to get photographers on board.

I appreciate your prayers.

Kimberly

Prayer request!!

A little over two weeks ago I had my left eye's LASIK "touched-up". Well, things went wrong and I am going in tomorrow to have them "fix" it.

I went to the Doc last week because my vision was getting worse in my distance eye, the eye they did the touch up surgery on. It was only during the exam, when they had me cover my right eye, that I noticed I was seeing double in my distance eye now and there is no range that is clear. The tech could not get a prescription that allowed me to see without the double vision and clearly.

The Doc came in and was able to get a prescription a bit better, but still very blurry. He then he shone the really bright light in my eye to examine it and I could not see that light AT ALL!! It was only when he placed the magnifier over the light that I could see it.

After examining my eye for about five minutes he explained to me what happened.

When they go in to do a touch up, sometimes when they place the flap back into place, corneal cells from the outer part of the incision "seep" under the corneal and begin to grown. He didn't sound concerned and I wasn't concerned.

That was, until I got the paperwork in the mail to sign for the next surgery.

The paperwork states that it is not uncommon for this to require multiple surgeries to fix and there is a chance that it could lead to needing a cornea transplant.

Trying NOT to freak out. I have been struggling in school as a result of these past two weeks because I can't see properly and have a headache almost all the time.

If you could please lift this up in prayer, I would greatly appreciate it. My surgery is scheduled for 11:40 tomorrow morning.

I've got it!!!

I need your help on my other blog. I have an great idea for "Those that have borne the battle" photo project.

http://www.thosethathavebornethebattle.com

Take a peek

I have an ongoing project who's whole goal is to show appreciation to our military personnel and veterans. I've up dated this blog and would like for you to take a look at it and give me your thoughts.

http://www.thosethathavebornethebattle.com/

Lastest Shoot

Arizona Special Olympics Triathlon Photos

Special Olympics Moment

Yesterday I had the honor of being on a team of three photographers shooting the Arizona Special Olympics Triathlon in Scottsdale. Wow!! It was a good time, HOT, but good.

I'm in the process of trying to edit my 800+ photos. I have some of them and I will post a few when I get a chance.

I wanted to share with you a special moment that will stay with me for a very long time.

It was hot, but not as hot as it would have been earlier in the summer or later that same day. At the end of the day, after the awards ceremony there was but a remnant of people left behind.

I had taken refuge under the shade of a tree and was putting my socks and shoes back on after being able to soak them in the pool during the closing awards ceremony.

A little boy and his parents came and stood beside me. The little guy was probably 8 or 9 and a special needs child. His father tried to hand him his shirt to put on and that was all it took to unleash the dam of tears.

He had not received an award!

He was heart broken and began to sob as his mother held him. All he could say was, "I wanted a prize. I wanted a prize." His mother's comfort was doing nothing to alleviate his pain.

I love God moments. Lately they seem to be few and far between for me.

I had a prize for the boy.

I turned to him and told him, "I have a prize for you that no one else here today received. Do you want it?"

His eyes got a bit wide as he withdrew his head from his momma's chest and slowly walked the 4-feet over to me.

I reached out my arms and I embraced him. I told him that I had not hugged anyone that day and that he was the only one there who would get this prize. No one else; just him.

It was not a quick hug. I held him tight for about 30-seconds. No more tears. No more breathing heavily; just quiet. I looked down at his face as he melted into me.

When I let him go, he thanked me, turned and walked up the stairs to leave. His mom looked at me, gave me a big smile and turned around, placed her arm around her son and walked up the stairs with him. He received a prize. Acknowledgment for just being himself. A treasure!!

Can Saturday come any slower??

I'm trying not to get too excited about the upcoming shoot on Saturday, but it is difficult. Have this nice long lens just waiting to get out there and get some great shots of the Special Olympics athletes in all their glory as they cross the finish line for their triathlon.

Check back at the first part of next week and I will post some of my favorite shots for you to take a peek at.

More Lightning

Phoenix can be a bit freaky when it comes to lightning storms. This rolled through last night and there was no rain. Gotta love our monsoon!!

Hope for a hardened heart

Do men like this really exist?? When I read the following, I thought it was an excerpt from a book entitled, "The Blissful Art of Being and Breathing". It was not. It is from a blog. You can find the link at the bottom of the page.

All I have to say is, "Angel, you have a keeper. Hold tight and enjoy the ride!"

_______________________________________________________________________

**One warm evening nine years ago…

After spending nearly every waking minute with Angel for eight straight days, I knew that I had to tell her just one thing. So late at night, just before she fell asleep, I whispered it in her ear. She smiled… the kind of smile that makes me smile back. And she said, “When I’m seventy-five, and I think about my life and what it was like to be young, I hope that I can remember this very moment.”

A few seconds later she closed her eyes and fell asleep. The room was peaceful… almost silent. All I could hear was the soft purr of her breathing. I stayed awake thinking about the time we’d spent together and all the choices in our lives that made this moment possible. And at some point, I realized that it didn’t matter what we’d done or where we’d gone. Nor did the future hold any significance.

All that mattered was the serenity of the moment.

Just being with her and breathing with her.

**From the blog: Mark and Angel Hack Life

Playing with my rented toy.

I'm part of a photography group on Facebook and about 2-weeks ago I received a friend request from someone I didn't know. After looking at his profile and seeing that he was another photographer I went ahead and accepted his request. I'm so happy I did.

Jasen is trying to put together a team of photographers and one of the first events he was asking for help on was something I could really get behind, the Special Olympics Triathlon.

It's not a paid gig, but as most of you know, my heart is for volunteering for worthwhile ministries and organizations. I jumped at the chance.

Unfortunately, I don't have a long lens required to shoot the event. The good news is I was once again able to rent a 70-200mm f2.8 lens from the good folks at borrowlenses.com. This is the same company I rented the lens for my shoot in Yosemite with the Aperture Nature Photography trip back in January.

I waited with baited breath today for my package to be delivered. Of course it was delivered when the lighting was at its worse, not to mention the hottest part of the day.

So, when the light was a bit better, I shot what was available, the family pets. Well, I did take it down the road for a couple of shots too.

I have to tell ya, I love this lens!!! I can't wait until the 12th when I get to capture some great shot of some amazing athletes. I'll post some of the photos here so keep an eye out.























Late night addition. This little guy loves it when I leave my outside light on. He can eat till his belly is bulgin'.

Final farewell

Today was a day of celebration. A celebration of Bill's life. It was evident that Bill, and Susan, have touched many lives when people were asked to stand if Bill impacted their life. Out of about 400 people, more than half of them stood.

It was therapeutic for me to work on the memorial video because I had pretty much worked through my emotions which allowed me to focus on my camera work.

There was one part of the service where I broke down.

Bill served in the Air Force and the color guard was there to honor his service to our country. Prior to the service I approached the three service men and had the honor of shaking their hand and thanking them for their service and that it meant a lot for them to be there to honor this amazing man. All three of them thanked me.

When the service began, two of the guard marched down to the front of the worship center and displayed the American flag. They displayed the unfolded flag as taps was played from the back of the worship center.

I was moved.

Even with this display of respect, I cannot help but think of the type of honor guard Bill had when he arrived home. Powerful!!!

Bill Jr. and Ginger, Bill's children spoke fondly of their father. He was such a wise man. An open mic was an invitation for people to share how Bill touched their lives. So many amazing and funny stories.

Over all, it was a celebration of Bill's life. There were tears. There were hugs. However, there was also laughter and joy. And I know that is how Bill would have wanted it.

He was a simple servant of his Lord Jesus Christ and he counted it an honor to represent Him to people he came in contact with it the same unconditional love as Christ shows each of us.


Smiling Susan. Isn't she stunning?!


Bill Jr. Looks just like his Dad.


Lot's of hugs!