I’m convinced you can change the world, seconds after you read this.

In the past few days I’ve seen lives who were rescued, nurtured and transformed.  The work being done here at Villa Esperanza by Forward Edge International and its team is nothing short of miraculous.

You can be a part of this transformation.  23 girls are currently housed at the Villa, 7 are in need of sponsorship to remain.

How you can help…  I’m asking roughly 80 of my friends and family to stand up for these beautiful young women and give $30 a month, (13 of you together can sponsor one girl at $390 per month.)

Why, you ask, does it cost so much compared to other programs?  Beyond receiving a school uniform and the opportunity to attend school, they’re getting housed in a safe compound where they are fed well, mentored, encouraged, tutored, and counseled because of their time at the dump, La Chureca.  For many of the girls, the staff here serve as positive parental role models, something many were lacking where they once lived.

The reality is, if these girls return to the dump, they may end up end up prostituiting (some at the demand of their parents), pregnant at a very young age, addicted to glue sniffing or perhaps like some girls before them, dead from HIV/AIDS.

Writing a check to change the world isn’t one of my top few suggestions, to say the least.  However, there are situations and circumstances where people can genuinely be changed because of a kind donor’s heart.  I very much believe this is one of those situations.

Here is an opportunity to completely change the course of history for one life.

I’m convinced you can be a light.

80 people @ $30 per month.  7 girls.

Please visit Forward Edge International here…

Select: Villa Esperanza, then meet the life you’ve changed forever.

It’s the rainy season in Nicaragua.  ”Rainy season” doesn’t do justice to the torrential downpour that happened roughly 95% of today.

The other 5% of the day we got to hang out with Casa Uno.  Up until fairly recently, these girls all lived in the landfill known as La Chureca.  Thanks to the work of Forward Edge, they’re in a safe environment.  These girls can smile.

It’s been awhile…

As I lay in my (very) warm room in Nicaragua I feel speechless.  Countless times I’ve written a sentence, only to replace it with blank space, blinking cursor and then a new thought.  Repeat process…

I have a years worth of emotion inside me and I feel as though my lips (or fingers) can only speak in seconds, letting out little bits of feeling at a time, not nearly enough to feel like I’ve accomplished letting go of all I want to say.   At this point writing anything down is just a start, and I lean toward being dissatisfied with “just a start.”  Then again, starting is forward motion, and that’s been my motto since I woke up Thursday morning, kissed my family goodbye, and flew to Nicaragua.

Joined by two magnificent and talented friends, Elizabeth Fischer and Marianne Bach, I’m helping document some of the amazing work that Forward Edge is doing both in the capital city of Nicaragua and on the Atlantic Coast of the Nation.

In looking back over the last 5 years, I’ve been blessed to travel to 13 different countries and during those visits, I’ve happened to see people living through extremely difficult and sometimes dangerous circumstances.  Those circumstances can take a toll on your heart and when dwelled on, can suffocate you with a sense of hopelessness.  It started to happen to me, and then something happened…

Last Spring I was walking by our kitchen table and noticed something by our coatrack.  With children, you never really know what you’re going to find when you go “looking” so I nearly chose to not see what I was looking at.  After a brief tussle with my conscience, I bent down by the coat rack and just above the trim piece above the floor was a leaf “stuck” to the wall.  This didn’t surprise me at first, I find all sorts of things from outside on the inside, but what did surprise me is that this leaf was alive, thriving and attached to a stem that ran through the trim.   My first response was that this wasn’t a good thing, ivy can destroy trees and houses and I didn’t like the idea of not knowing where it would pop up next.   Then a beautiful thought crossed my mind…

Somehow this ivy branch was smothered in darkness  by our house and through a great effort and journey through cracks (I don’t want to know are there) it broke through the caulking and trim and found the light it desperately needed.

Though I have seen people in circumstances that can leave us all feeling overwhelmed by great darkness, I have seen something greater… A light.  Light in the form of a man risking his life everyday in the Congo for his countrymen, a 60 year old woman in Rwanda dedicated to caring for hundreds of orphaned children, men who travel the dangerous inferno like roads of the Sudan to help women and children have their next meal, a teacher who goes without pay because his love for the children is too great to leave them, a man who shares his knowledge with those in his field, a mother who gives all she has everyday to ensure her children are loved and cared for, a pastor who walks for miles day in and out to care for those in need, and more recently, a woman who for 8 years has visited the local garbage dump, home to thousands,  in hopes of rescuing young women from being prostituted, just so their family can have access to better garbage.  The light in these people shine so much greater than the darkness around them. They aren’t fooled into thinking they must “go” and do, they just simply do.

Where there is light, life will find a way.

La Chureca, landfill to Managua, Nicaragua and home to thousands.  Shrinking everyday due to local policy changes, however, locals are unsure where or if they will be relocated.

At the same time, Forward Edge International (based out of Vancouver, Wa) helps keep the doors of Villa Esperanza open to the roughly 30 young women who inhabit it’s park-like setting, a setting in stark contrast to LaChureca.

I’m in awe of the staff at the Villa, as well as the work that Forward Edge is doing.  Myself and the team are truly grateful to see so much light in this place and look forward to the rest of our week.

Be blessed friends, and please remember, you’ve been given a gift that can change the world.  There’s no need to wait, no reason to fear and most of the time no plane ride to take.  Just shine your light.

Up first, some images from day one at La Chureca.  In the coming days, I hope to post more images of the Villa.

Rock on.

This is what happens when you frame a shot from inside a moving Land Cruiser...

The girls at the Villa performed a beautiful dance for us...

Once a citizen of the dump, this young woman who now lives at the Villa looks out at her former back yard.

Have you ever felt a bit, old?  I’m really not, at least I choose to look at it that way (I’m not even 35 ; )

One of our very first “paid” jobs was photographing Kevin’s senior portraits.  Kevin’s all grown up now and, ironically, we photographed him and his beautiful fiance Janette at the same location we shot his senior images.

I’ve realized the importance of coming to a shoot with at least one specific shot in mind.  An image that we almost always shoot at an engagement session (and wedding) is a re-creation of Grant Wood’s “American Gothic.”

I wanted to put a twist on it for this shoot and have a heavy rope that Janette could be holding while the other end would clearly show Kevin had been “caught.”  In searching through my garage, the only rope I could find was our cowboy lasso, it would have to do.

Upon arriving and greeting Kevin and Janette, I noticed something familiar in their truck, props that they had brought for the shoot–two lassos… I geuss it was meant to be, kinda like them…

Please enjoy a few of our favorite things…

This last weekend, we took a little (okay, loooong) trip to photograph Chad and Olivia’s beautiful Tahoe wedding at Chambers Landing.

Chad and Olivia were, and no doubt continue to be, a stunning couple…

We started the day with a quick little shoot of Olivia and her dress, then picked up Chad for a hike to an epic rock outcropping that overlooked the lake.

From there we headed to Chambers Landing which is a wonderful place to have a ceremony and reception.   We ended the day with a little evening light portrait session down by Chad’s vintage ski boat…

Please enjoy a few of our favorite things…

A few months ago we teamed up with our friends at Lace and Likes, Bridal Hood, Marigold Vintage Rentals, and the very talented designer Claire La Faye to create Champagne and Plumes, a fun “inspired creation” shoot for Elizabeth Anne Designs.

Our shoot has been included in the top ten selections, and I’d like to encourage you to go and vote for your favorite!  Of course, your favorite creation doesn’t have to be ours, you’ll likely be inspired by them all.

To vote, simply leave a comment in the comment thread found at the end of each post (creation.)   Hit this LINK and you’re there!