Yay! Its my Birthday on Monday! (I get a cavity, and its bestest buddy, a filling!--Damn those sour patch kids!) Don't forget to send me lots and lots of presents!

This is a photo from the top of the Eiffel Tower, like 4 years ago. I figure if I don't have time to write I will just reach deep into my photo archives. These are about 1% of all the pics I took, but I'm getting tired and only could find these ones so far. This was from a trip I took with 2 girlfriends to Europe when I was 21. We backpacked to every country in 3 months during the hot hot summer.

Ooh la la. I saw this very same photo for sale for mucho the other day--either that guy stole it or he was standing directly next to me!!!

Prague

Italian babies

Duckies!!!

Albino Peacock

Our laundry drying early morning in Milan

Dario and Ana having lunch in a cafe in Milan

This Duomo door in Milan is about 15 feet tall--this is a section of it, and the following photos are some of the scenes--each of the carvings below are about 3 inches big

1

3

Prague

so sad in Spain

Prague

Prague--I think this looks like creepy little monster eyes in the doorway to this synagogue

This would be super cute of Ana if it didn't look like she was needing some privacy here...

In front of the Eiffel Tower--we are the main attraction of course

In front of Notre Dame

D and Ana behind Notre Dame

So all of these photos were from a Liturgy piece I did--a slide show and music. They kind of sucked on the big screen, so i thought i'd post them here. The piece was trying to communicate how I feel about Renton.

Now that I work here and practically live here, I get to watch this dying city everyday. Sitting in community meetings, I hear people talk robustly about making the community better, but with no real purpose behind it, and no direction. "Build another park" they say. Make kids tidy up a street" they say. But why? This is what I ask. If you have no purpose, all good intentions shall be lost, while apathy makes great strides. Without Christ, there is no purpose. They want us to love a city. But this city is sick and dying , already decaying. Instead I say love the people that are here, love them because God loves them; love them like God loves them. So I wanted these photos to capture the ugliness and desolation of this city, but to also capture the vibrance of the people and the purpose; God's mission.

Though I didn't post/can't get a hold of most of my photos of the kids (the ones i post here were snapped with mike's little digital), I wanted to at least try to capture the glory of what God is doing at Harambee, through our project to love the community. Guess it helps get the point across better if my great google photo program actually posted them in order. Oh well, you get the idea...

There once was a salvation army...

home

Renton

phone booth

This is my favorite of Tony, totally rockin' out for Jesus!

Everyone plays

Zach rockin' the band

Maddy and Ruthie, ie ie

Tony on keyboard

Tony and Zach doing Kung Fu

Dancing to the band

Renton--The grace and the Glory, very briefly

This is the same 3 sisters area mentioned below

The lovely skyline. The building area below was the 3 sisters BBQ, which was recently tagged all over with racial slurs--though it was recently cleaned before i could catch a shot

Wig Store--I caught it when it was actually open, though i was too scared to go inside

Salvation Army

These guys are a downtown favorite of mine--I've snapped a few shots of them at varying times of their happy moment--and oh how they do look filled with joy about their marriage. But this is my favorite because they look so damn real, and soooo creepy

Oh ya, here's that beautiful motel again, beautiful crystal crack rocks...

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Oh beautiful Downtown

Renton's own Xtreme Pleasure! (Kayla and I were hoping no one recognized us hiding out in the parking lot taking pictures, as they were, say, driving back from a Bible study or Celebrate Recovery....)

The creepy old abandoned pay by the hour crack motel right off teh main road--i was too scared about the man staring us down so I made kayla take this one

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From the roof of Harambee

The new crowding out the old, the rich crowding out the poor

old abandoned house, new apartments

Empty lot

St. Andrews

Scott's--now closed