RICHMOND, VA

Each morning for the past week I've had to remind myself it's still summer. I wear pants and sweaters and it's glorious. For some reason Richmond seems to think it's fall. I'm staying about thirty minutes outside the city, and the isolation is wonderful. Internet connections (that work well) are hard to come by out here, so I've just been studying, designing and taking in the beauty around me, both people-wise and naturally.

This is my first time to Richmond, and when looking for things to do in a new place, I usually start with food. Since I've been orienting and working a good bit, it's been difficult to find time to get to the city to explore. So far the highlights are simple: a food truck night in Short Pump, and a walk around Belle Isle, a beautiful island park. Driving the streets definitely had me hungry to explore more of this old city.

My favorite part about going through orientation with all these beautiful people is getting to know their hearts. Each person here has a love for the nations like nothing I've seen and it's a joy to get to work and praise God with them as a family. Sorry, not sorry for the tattoo picture.

BOILING SPRINGS, SC

This past weekend I road-tripped hard. Not far, but hard. Starting in Cary, I tripped down to Charlotte, across to Greenville, skipped over to Clemson, then landed in Boiling Springs. I headed back through Charlotte the following day to get back home to Raleigh. The weekend's premise was video work for a wedding, where I happened to take a few shots of the beautiful bride and some other details. It was a beautiful, emotional day, and I know I'll probably cry when I edit all the footage this week. It really was a very full weekend. I'm sad that I didn't take more pictures as it was the last time I was able to see several friends. Nonetheless, here's a little peak into the weekend.

JACKSON, TN

A few years ago I worked a summer in Black Mountain, North Carolina as a CentriFUGE staffer. It was and still is one of the best seasons of my life. Last month I was fortunate enough to be hired back for one week to work FUGE, but in a new location. I headed over to Jackson, TN to spend a week with screaming/sleepy high schoolers, teach a handful of kids how to take photos with a new perspective, and share life with some of the coolest cats known to man.

My team was the "Alliance," (womp, womp) and we had one heck of a strong group. They challenged me, got me thinking, built each other up and took on each other's burdens, literally. I couldn't have asked for a better gang of teens to pal around with and pour into for the week. Teamwork came naturally to them during recreation and Mega Relay. The photography and sign language tracks I taught were splendid. There's really nothing I love more than explaining to people how I feel God working in media and art. It's a rather heavy topic at times, but God works in everything and I love being able to share my heart for communication in this way. The week was led by a glorious staff of some of the most solid people you could have the pleasure to meet, as well as in worship by Andy Needham Band and my favorite camp pastor I've ever known, Chad Poe. That man is one of the most genuinely funny people alive, and his method of teaching/talking is backed with so much love and desire for Christ's renown. Love that dude. Pretty sure this was a week for the books.