best of 2010

One of my lovely friends (fellow photographer/blogger Brittany Mahood) encouraged me to post a "best of 2010". I thought it was a great idea and started scanning through the thousands of photos I have from this past year. So as most of you know this past year 2010, was a big one for me. In early January I had the amazing privilege of travelling to Costa Rica (with YWAM)... it was an absolutely insane (in a good way) experience.

bonfire, bonding time with the new family in CR

baptism at Manuel Antonio

I was in school and living in community with people I had never met. But they were all amazing, I have never felt so accepted in my life. I learned so much, and made great friends.

after a school program in Nicaragua

From there I was able to go on outreach throughout Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Haiti.

across from the Guanacaste YWAM base

Haiti was both a dream come true and a nightmare. It was hectic and blazingly hot. I went with a team of 9 other people to work with those who had been affected by the terrible earthquake (which happened in January 2010). It was life changing! The children were so precious but the atmosphere in the nation was just so different. There is a lot of poverty and fear. I feel like our mission of bringing hope was successful, and though it was challenging, it was so so worth it (these next few were my May in Haiti).

June marked my return to Canada :) how I missed so much about this beautiful country.

Tulabi Falls -- one of my favourite places on earth

I was, needless to say, happy to be back with my family here. For me that includes a lot of people outside my parents and siblings. Mostly from my amazingly supportive church. These beautiful ladies are part of a very special family that shares their love with me and so many others. This was taken right after the beach baptism in September. So carefree. I just love their free spirits.
This candid shot of my mom laughing at my brother with a kayak on his head at our family cabin in October just makes me smile. It had been years since we had all spent thanksgiving together at the lake and I was so thankful that we made it all work this year with all of our crazy schedules pulling us in so many different directions.

fall light after a second thanksgiving dinner with the Cormie family

A very oddly mild November led to this moment captured. A friend at work who always encourages my creativity was interested in some new family shots of her bunch. I really feel like family pictures are one of those very important things that we often put off in our very busy lives. And was more than happy to take these pictures for her. This one I snuck (no warning, un-posed) just wanted to capture the genuine love in this family.

My final "best" was taken a few days ago, while I was finishing off a roll of film on campus. I have taken many pictures of this spot and I always come back to it. I guess I find this graffiti on an old green house to be a little charming. The importance and power of love is underestimated daily I think. But I think its the most important.

Photography has always been such an important way of processing how I see the world. It has been a truly amazing year, full of new experiences and challenges. Hopefully I will be writing again in one year from now with more photos, and stories.

wishing you lots of love and blessings in 2011,

-Julie

look ma i made it

So I made it. To Costa Rica and back with very little damage done and a LOT of progress made. It was and generally still is very weird to be home. But before I get into that, lets just got over my last week in CR. I had an oh so sweet "team day" with the Haiti Outreach 10 plus a few very lucky friends who came along to Volcan Poas! It was a much needed after a difficult and challenging outreach to Saint Marc and Port Au Prince Haiti. Costa Rica is beyond beautiful and we had amazing weather, food and company.

After our lovely Sunday at the volcano we had a crazy week ahead of us. The other outreach teams were on their way back to the base (aka the place formerly known as home), and I was excited to catch up with people and hear all about their crazy adventures in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico City. We only had a few days until graduation and everyone heading home so we all went about making the most of that last week. We all got a chance to present about our different locations on family night and it was really cool to see peoples pictures and hear their testimonies of their time away. Grad seemed to come to quickly on Thursday night, but everyone looked amazing and we had a great meal together with "awards" lots of hugs and picture taking. I couldn't believe that my DTS was over.

I feel like in a lot of ways I'm still processing; the lectures, Haiti and the culture shock of being home. But I do know for sure that it was exactly where I was supposed to be for those 5 months of my life. I met so many amazing people, and learned so much. I can't wait for this upcoming year of school and change. Again I feel like I'm standing on the edge of something huge and I'm about to dive into it. But its a very good thing. Thats all for now...

-Julie

A little preview of Haiti

I just wanted to put up a few pictures to help the blog I posted while in Haiti come alive a little bit. I hope these help to get you all intruiged to hear my stories when I come home.

the base in St. Marc

living in the refugee camp

little Emanuel

baptism in Balage

demolishing a church in Port au Prince

my team at the base in St. Marc

See you all soon,

-Julie

Haiti Update

So I'm finally updating you all on my outreach in Haiti!

After touching down into Haiti almost 3 weeks ago we all knew it was going to be a crazy new experience in this nation that is like no other. The customs at the airport is in a converted hanger, it was chaotic and hot and everyone was speaking creole. A weird welcome, but we were all excited for whats to come!

The first week in St.Marc we worked a lot at the base, helping with different projects. We were living in tents in a field on the base property, getting to know Haitian culture, and just how things work around here. During our first week my team was having a hard time being all together, as people kept getting really sick. Once they were better another person would be sick; Ingrid, Regi, Jenelle... one after another (it was so weird). After our orientation for new teams we were all pumped on the vision that this base has for the nation of Haiti. There is so much opportunity for teams here to work with people living in poverty (victims of the earthquake or not). God has huge plans for Haiti and its exciting to see the Haitian people rise up and take ownership of their true identity. Needless to say we were waiting for what we would be doing the next week with a ton of anticipation. We got assigned to go out to a refugee camp called Timonette, and live there for the week along with a team from Switzerland.

Our first week in Timonette was full of hard work for the team, working on a "Homes of Hope" house in a nearby town called Bellaguay. I instantly fell in love with the kids in the camp. There are about 23 tents with families from Port au Prince who have been displaced because of the earthquake. Out of around 120 people there are about 50 kids. Most of the kids don't go to school and are really bored during the day so we would hang out and play with them, and take pictures (they all love having their picture taken). Sadly I didn't make it past Wednesday morning, I got really sick and had to be brought back to the base. Rayme came back with me and played nurse, thank God for all the relief nurses staying here at the base! I got medicine right away and was back to normal by the weekend.

Our second week in Timonette we were working with the DTS from Panama. It was great to go back knowing some people already, the kids were happy to see us return and we had more of a plan of projects we wanted to complete during the week. As a team we constructed a "tippy tap" for each tent to encourage good hygiene, set up a garbage/ compost program, had an amazing womens ministry where pretty much every woman in the camp came out, had a couples teaching, had numerous kids programs, took family photos for the people, put up signs with scriptures on them around camp, had 2 amazing church services and had a big community dinner were everyone in the community got a brand new bowl with chicken & pasta. It was so cute to see the happy little faces munching on their chicken! In Bellaguay this past week we finished the "Homes of Hope" house, put on a kids program, had a mini clinic AND had an amazing time participating in a 24 hour prayer and worship "burn" that the Kona team was a part of. We felt like for our 2 hours of prayer to go to Bellaguay, a town living in a lot of poverty, that needs a lot of prayer. It was an incredible time as we began to pray for the people of the town, which lead to some serious preaching, new Christians and a river baptism! It was so incredible to see God move so strongly in a place that has been over run with voodoo and an incredible spiritual heavyness.

Anyways so we are back at the base in St.Marc today but we are leaving tomorrow to Port au Prince to do ministry there until Saturday when we fly back to Costa Rica. Its been a crazy ride here in Haiti and I am excited to see what happens in Port au Prince!

Lots of Love from Haiti!

For more info about the "24 hour burn" check out my friend Jasens blog:
http://jasenchung.squarespace.com/blog/2010/5/20/24-hour-burns-really-do-light-places-on-fire.html

Outreach on the brain

So when I last updated I was barely un-packed from our amazing week of outreach in Diriamba Nicaragua. Since then we have been doing a lot of reflection, preparing for our upcoming outreach/ NIKO camp and attending an amazing week of classes.

Thinking back on my time in Nicaragua it seems so crazy. Crossing the Costa Rica/ Nicaragua boarder is like stepping (yes we walked across the boarder with all of our packs) into a completely different world. Nicaragua is an amazing country, starting with a really unique landscape, a massive lake with two volcanoes in it as well as a lake that has sharks in it, yes sharks very cool. The people in Nicaragua are very open and friendly. The neighbourhood Barrio Berlin that we were in was just getting a stone road (bricks) put in over the dirt. There were all kinds of houses from sheet metal and scrap wood to fairly modern brick constructions, right next to each other. This is the neighbourhood the church and JUCUM base are located in. The people here were absolutely amazing, the kids were always hanging out with and attending every class or program we put on. The church there is a huge light to the community, and it was really great to see how involved and open the community was with the church.

As for our up coming outreach, my DTS will be leaving out base here in San Jose on Saturday April 3^rd. We are going to be going to Talamanca, close to the boarder of CR and Panama for our NIKO Camp. NIKO is a hardcore camp in the jungle for 5 days and 4 nights, which begins on the Monday. They don’t tell us a whole lot about it, its ment to be a time of testing and I am SO EXCITED! After NIKO we will all be doing 3 weeks of outreach in different areas of Costa Rica, then the Central America & Haiti team will be going back to Nicaragua for 1 week (yay!), and then I along with the Haiti team will be leaving to Haiti around May 7^th. Somewhere in there before Nicaragua and Haiti we will be stopping by the base for a few days, so if you still want to send me mail please do! :)

So that brings us to classes this week; we had the option of going to the Heredia Base and having a teaching from water for life or staying at our base and joining with the Children at Risk school and having a teaching on human trafficking. I chose to stay here and learn about human trafficking, it’s something that is a huge global problem but is rarely talked about. There are more people in slavery right now in the world than at any other point in history.

check this video out if possible http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPoauYYhI5E

It was a really eye opening week and we are all fired up to go out and do something. It’s a good thing we only have one more week of classes left because I think we are all getting restless and ready to go out. I have so much anticipation and excitement for these next few weeks!

That’s all for now, lots of love from Costa Rica

Nicaragua Round 2...

So it has been a great week so far here! We are learning about the father heart of God, tonight our speaker Jack Kody took us all out for pizza and ice cream (and when I say “us all” that means our entire class, all the staff, and the dts from the Heredia base! Felt like one big crazy family). We went to a park and just took pictures and acted like lame tourists for a while. So I wanted to update everyone before I leave for Nicaragua for 8 days…

my room mid-packing eeek

We are all leaving for Nicaragua on Saturday morning bright and early! We will be travelling by bus, so it will probably be pretty cramped (we are only bringing our backpacks). While we are in Nicaragua the base here in San Jose will be hosting teams from the states, which will be around 45 extra people so we have to pack up our room and store everything while we are in Nicaragua so people can stay here. It’s a bit of a sad thing to see everyone packing up and we are all realizing these aren’t really “our beds” or “our room”. But we are all really excited to do outreach in Nicaragua for a week! It is also making me realize how thankful I am for my amazing roommates! Who I have had the pleasure of sharing a room with for the past 9 ish weeks. Reggie (Switzerland), Lauryn (Colorado), Melanie (Minnesota), Ingrid (Norway), Tawneke (Minnesota), Jenelle (the other Canadian!), Bailey (Virginia) and Rachel (Engalnd) I am absolutely blown away by these girls, how much they’ve all grown and how each one of them contributes so much to the experience of being here! When one person is away they are missed!!! I cannot say that enough! Haha maybe were all just a bit clingy, but we have grown so close over the past few months and I wouldn’t have it any other way. That’s all for now, I should get packing and making lists of the stuff I need to get/ do tomorrow! Lots of love from Costa Rica!

This past week...

So life in Costa Rica is going awesome. I am just winding down after a busy week here at the base in San Jose. Our speaker this week was awesome, he talked a lot about leadership, living in community and how we should react towards one another. I've been O.D.ing on ice cream, as it has been really hot out for most of the week. For our local outreach this week we put on a children's program at a church nearby with music and games. It was a lot of fun and some of the little kids were on there way home from school and had their adorable uniforms on. The kids had fun, we had fun, it was a good day for everyone.

This Saturday I went to downtown San Jose with some friends and we just did touristy things, walked around, went to markets, took pictures... it was a nice relaxed day. We found a Canadian cafe, which was a nice taste of home (coffee and donuts). It was a great day with really fun people and to top it off we had burritos for dinner!

This week we also had our first official meeting with our outreach teams and it was great to see us all together, praying about what we can do while on our outreach. My team is made up of people from the states, canada, switzerland, el salvador, norway and costa rica! Its a really sweet diverse group, all of us with a huge heart for Haiti :)

Thank you guys at home for all of your support and prayers, I miss you all!

Anyways thats all for now from Costa Rica, lots of love!

Life at the YWAM base in San Jose

This video was not staged, i just knew he would tell me to get to work (as he does everyday haha)

Okay so I realize this isn't much of a post but this is normal life at the base right now. Usually this place is close to bursting, full of visiting teachers, mission builders, and teams here doing outreach. Right now its just the base staff, the DTS and CAR (Children at Risk) students and a few others, in short its very quiet. Our speaker this week is talking about leadership and discipleship, we had a great class this morning so I am sure its going to be a good week! Everyone is a buzz about outreach and where everyone is going... I also put up some pictures on facebook of some things going on lately if you are interested. But thats all for now, lots of love from Costa Rica!

This past weekend

So this weekend was crazy, but so so fun. We visited the nearby YWAM base in Heredia which is a little over an hour from the base in San Jose. They have a big country property with a bunch of animals and a huge garden, very different atmosphere from our base in the city. We then went on a long walk to the National Park to do some sight seeing and get a good workout hiking.

Reggie petting a goat thingy, on the base in Heredia

Elena smelling the flowers that they planted in her DTS

Johnny & Morgan at the Heredia Base

people taking a break on the way

DTS people in front of the cross! wooo we made it

the beautiful view

Lito and the waterfall

So it was a great day filled with beautiful Costa Rica, walking and good chats. Also i walked over a log bridge over a very shallow stream, it was terrifying! So fun! :)

Since then I've just been hanging out around the base, going to class, having sweet times of worship, and learning a lot! We are deciding right now about outreach locations and I will possibly be going to Haiti for part of my outreach, which is both exciting and scary. Its been a great week so far and thats all I have for now. Talk to you guys soon!

Abrazos Gratis!

So it has been a crazy fun week here in San Jose, a very full week of classes, work duties and homework! Thursday for our local outreach we went to downtown San Jose, and were on a free hugs campaign. Which for those of you who don't know is just a time were you go out with a bunch on signs and hug people on the street (only those who want it that is haha) It was such a fun time of getting out and interacting with people, and we had some very great reactions, people felt the love :) (as well as some very shocked, dirty looks, but oh well!) It was such a great day.

Rossela and I in downtown SanJose

Rayme and Maruco

Some of the Abrazos Gratis DTS crew!

Lauryn and I, Free Hugs team AWESOME

Morgan and Tawneke, part of our free hugs team

I finally named my bunny, his name is Gozo! (spanish for JOY)

Last Night we had a talent night and the staff did a wonderful interpretive dance, so instead of telling you guys about my amazing DTS staff, I hope you enjoy this video! Its really long but just a little bit of it gives you the idea. I am so thankful for these guys!

Just incase you guys thought I forgot about you, this is the ceiling of my bunk :)

Thats all for now from San Jose, talk to you guys soon!

Things I LOVE about Costa Rica

I am actually overwhelmed by how much I love it here, I knew I wanted to go to Costa Rica even though I didn't really know anything about it here and I had never been before. I hope you enjoy my list of probably fairly random things that I love about here (the YWAM base in San Jose, Costa Rica)
-THE PEOPLE! They are amazing, the staff here is awesome, I showed up with nothing (quite literally) and within minutes I had food, clean clothing to wear and prayers.
-The COFFEE, always delish and there when I need it
-Clean dry clothes off a clothes line in January
-The frosted flakes! They are easily a jillion times better than Canadian frosted flakes (maybe i just never was allowed sugar-y cereal but they are grrrrrreat!)
-Community Environment, I like living somewhere that people respect the space and are all part of taking care of it, we all have our work duties (trabajitos) and are responsible for maintianing some part of the base.
-CLASSES! we are able to learn, share and ask questions (SUCH a different environment from university)
-SPANISH! I came here knowing literally NO Spanish what so ever, but now I am able to understand a lot (all of the classes and main events are bilingual so you hear it a lot) And I am learning how to sing in Spanish to hopefully help out with the music on the base soon!!
-IT IS BEAUTIFUL HERE!!! Everything, all the green plants and pretty flowers, the mountains all around (I am in the Central Valley) and there are very few bugs to my surprise
-There are no screens on the windows, no need! its nice out and the bugs are so minimal! :)

Also some funny weird things about it here:
- the chairs in my classroom are the same chairs as the first 2 rows at DCC (just a different colour)
- my work duty is like the same thing i did at starbucks (seperating out garbage and recycling and tossing it into the proper bins)
- there are more but i just can't think of them right now...

Anyways in short I am really enjoying my time here! :) and I hope to have more pictures up soon!

Pura Vida

Church the first Sunday

"Family Night" on Wednesday

Thursday Jan. 14 update

Planting :)


Community Outreach