The exotic photo location maybe in your backyard

The Roswell Presbyterian Church Youth take the Child Development Association kids for a day of fun at the Chattahooche Nature Center located in Roswell, GA.

This year Roswell Presbyterian Church in Roswell, GA is doing a mission project locally with their youth.  They are calling it The Well.  The high school youth are staying in town and working with the local mission partners.

There seems to be a theme I am picking up with my friends also this year about doing things in our own backyards.  Here is my friend Gary Chapman's blog post about his coverage of a mission group here in Atlanta. 

What I was really enjoying about this missions project is it is all about being someone's friend. I think the one thing many folks forget about in missions is it isn't about our building buildings and digging wells--it is that we are doing these things to have a relationship with people.

The best part about shooting something like this mission trip that I did with my church locally is the investment you put into this project doesn't have to be a one time event.  You live near these people and can go back and maybe even develop a larger package.

The best part for those doing something local is you get to build on a relationship.  Each person you get to know can be someone you might just develop a lifetime friendship with and you don't have to wait till you travel again overseas to see them again.

I just love this moment with the small girl and the older teenager.  What do you see when you look at this photo?  Write me a comment below and let me know.

She is letting the little boy know where she lives and he is telling her where he lives on the map of the Roswell area.

I love taking walks in the woods.  Here I think the canopy of the trees is like a cocoon.  The teenagers are bonding with the toddlers and together they are having fun.

I want to encourage you to find something near you that you can go and photograph this summer.  Some of the best opportunities are in your backyard.  Can you tell me some of your projects that you are doing in your community?  Post your ideas below, you may just inspire all of us to do something we haven't thought of before.

Some of my best friends

This is one of the best group of guys I enjoy hanging with anytime I get a chance.  We were missing just a few of the guys, but we enjoyed meal and sharing memories as well as making some new ones.

We have known each other between 20 - 30 years. If you ever want to know where I get some of my inspiration--these are the guys.

This is some of my good photography friends: Dr. Bob Carey (past NPPA president and chair of Gardner-Webb's Communications department) Mark Sandlin (director of photography at Southern Living) Bill Bangham (Dir., Editorial & Photography of International Mission Board) Kent Harville (Corporate Visuals Coordinator, Lifeway Christian Resources), Jim Veneman (Director of Visual Communication, Union University) Gibbs Frazuer (Freelance Photographer)

Bob Carey

Mark Sandlin and Bill Bangham

Bill Bangham works on material for his blog http://wahokia.wordpress.com/

Bill Bangham enjoys dinner at Sugo in Roswell, GA.  The crane was made by Chelle Leary.

Photo of the crew with me by Gibbs Frazeur

Why are you here?

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

— Ephesians 2:10

Fellowship Of Christians United in Service, Hamilton, GA

“Stanley, why were you created?” is a question I remember being asked by my grandfather Rev. Knolan Benfield. 

My grandfather then quoted Ephesians 2:10 to me and let me know I was created to do good works. 

I believe one of the greatest movements in my lifetime has been volunteerism.  I saw this movement start in the late 60’s for me.

As a child I remember professional missionaries speaking to churches where they helped raise support. Most of the missionaries were all college graduates who often had masters and doctorate degrees in things like theology, law, agriculture and medicine.

Student marks the board to be cut as part of a roof repair for an elderly woman's house in Hamilton, Ga.

These missionaries felt called to give of their lives in service around the world.  They prepared through education so they would be well qualified to do the work in a different culture.  They would go to language school and learn to speak a foreign language.

Students clean the landscaping of Fellowship Of Christians United in Service offices in Hamilton, Ga.

Loren Cunningham started Youth With A Mission in the 60s when the mainline church thought that unskilled youth should not be encouraged to do short term mission’s projects.  It took a while to grow the concept to today.  YWAM currently has over 16,049 full-time volunteer workers in nearly 1,100 operating locations in 171 nations and trains 25,000 short-term missions volunteers annually.  It is a movement still growing and thriving today.

Former U. S. President Jimmy Carter got involved with Habitat for Humanity in 1984.  Habitat for Humanity is devoted to building "simple, decent, and affordable" housing using primarily volunteers.

IMPACT 360 student cuts board for roof repair in Hamilton, Ga.

Pay it Forward is a movie produced in 2000 about a 11 ½ boy’s response to school assignment to devise and put into action a plan that will change the world for the better.  Most folks feel like they need to give back to those who help them, but this boy’s concept is to Pay it Forward and creates a movement.

This past weekend I photographed college students who are in a gap year program in Pine Mountain, GA doing a service project. One of the appealing things about this college program is the service component and students are seeking ways to Pay it Forward in their communities.

John and Trudy White founded the college gap year program called IMPACT 360.  Trudy is the daughter of Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A. One of the cornerstones of Chick-fil-A is based on biblical principle of service.

It's the same way with the Son of Man. He didn't come so that others could serve him. He came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many people.

— Matthew 20:28

Elderly woman watches as the IMPACT 360 students and alumni put in stairs to her home in Hamilton, Ga.

The students each year enjoy their time of service and after they graduate they come back for alumni weekends to work alongside the current students in service projects.

Are you living up to your purpose—doing good works?