New Place to Check Out

So I am going to be combing my photography blog (here) and my India/world awareness blog into one. My hope is that this will allow me to be much more consistent in posting.
Check it out at: jessicahibbard

I Different Look at Things

The other day I listened to a podcast interview from one of the photojournalists that I follow, Esther Havens. She is a brilliant photographer, wise innovator, and overall amazing person. She had some interesting things to say about how she selects the people that she actually works for and how she choses to portray issues in the world.
To me, the most amazing thing that she talked about was how she actually works to tell stories. Often times photographers go out looking for "that shot," the Pulitzer Prize winners, the tear-jerker of a starving kid. The problem with so many of the pictures is that yeah, there's a starving kid but do you even know their name? Their story? Did you do anything about their situation? If you just snapped a picture to make someone feel bad about the way they live their life in excess, are you really fixing anything? People are only motivated by guilt for so long. They are not going to really invest in an organization or ministry because of guilt. They might give some money when they see a sad image but to really communicate the stories, you have to go beyond that snapshot image. This concept of choosing to see the good that is happening and telling stories of hopeful life-change has rocked the way that I want to take pictures. I don't want you just to see the terrible statistics of billions of people that are living life without Jesus, the millions of people in the slave trade today, the thousands of child laborers, I want to help you see what people are actually doing to change those things.

I chose hope.

http://www.thedigitaltrekker.com/2011/05/depth-of-field-esther-havens/

Swift to Love

"Life is short and we never have enough time for gladdening the hearts of those who travel with us. O, be swift to love! Make haste to be kind."

-Henri Frederic Amiel

So much of our lives we spend looking to the future: what will I be when I grow up, who will I marry, where will I live, what will I study, who will I impact. That can be really good, don't get me wrong. Looking ahead, planning, creating long-term goals, and seeing God's vision for our lives is great. Just don't get stuck there. God brings us so many opportunities each and every day to touch someone around us, to show love to a stranger, or to speak an honest word of encouragement to a friend. Be sure that you take time to enjoy life each day. Don't get to caught up in what is coming but see it as it comes.

“And it’s going home on furlough when you feel like you have just begun.”

“And it’s going home on furlough when you feel like you have just begun.”

I think I had just begun to settle into my new way of life in India when it was time for me to come back home. The roads didn’t freak me out. The smells were just normal. The food was yummy and cook-able. I think one day I could actually do this myself.

It’s not that the country is the best in the world. They government is corrupt. The people are not always the most welcoming and honest to outsiders. It smells and trash is piled u everywhere. There are major population control problems. The largest population of orphans in the world live within its borders.

You have to go where God is calling you. If you try to fight that, even if means going to a smelly, corrupt country, you will never get over it. Trying to deny what God is calling you to do or to run from it just doesn’t work out. Take it all in stride. Whether it is learning to love someone when it’s hard, giving up a luxury, or moving to a foreign country, if He has called you there, He will prepare the way.

The same promise that God gives to Abraham, He has given to us:

“The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.”

Genesis 12:1

Why in the World?

When I was reentering the USA I had to answer some immigration questions. I had talked with the officer and left him quite confused.

I’m sure his thoughts were something like:
Why would an 18 year-old girl travel to India for 3 weeks by herself? Why would she go and not really purchase that much stuff? What could one do to fill 3 whole weeks ‘touring’ a country?

Thankfully what I have to tell that officer is not al

l there was to my trip.

I got to do so much more. He probably wouldn’t have understood, actually I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t.

“Where there is no vision the people cast off restraint”

He could not understand.

I got to be part of a move of God. I saw people being

transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lives were changed and destinies altered.

Foreigners entered a land that they had never given thought to before. They will never be the same. How could they? They left their country, their families, and gave up their idea of a regular Christmas to experience India and begin a partnership. Forever their lives will be tied to God’s work in India. They can no longer pretend that all they know is their own country and lifestyle.

The nearly 30 visitors to Nagpur, India, have seen part of how God is working in India. They now carry the vision of this ministry. I pray that all of us, me included, will fervently lift up the work of God and that we would join with the body of Christ, that we would never be able to forget what we saw during our trip, and that we could accurately portray the vision of this ministry.

Kyle

During my time this year in India, I got to interact with and get to know the Crossroads team that was there. One of the people I came to know better was Kyle Wilkinson. If you don't know him, you probably should. He is a true worshipper in so many senses of the word. He leads worship through music but he also uses his everyday life interactions to express his worship.

He recently wrote a blog about his experience while being in India.

Please take the time to watch his videos and check out some of his pictures (which are partially mine). He will help you see a fresh, new perspective on this whole thing.

http://kylewilkinson.tumblr.com/

WOW

Wow, oh, wow. It has been forever since I've posted. Most of that is due to my 3 weeks in India and then my slow jet-lag recovery.

So, you may be thinking, "How was India for the 3rd time?"

My answer w

ould either be short and to the point or more likely long and full of fun stories. Hopefully over the next few posts, I can fill you in.

Probably one of the best things that made this trip so different than my previous two was the amount of time and quality of time that I got to spend with the female Bible students and children. I stayed in a house just up the road from their hostel and thus we were always back

and forth to their hostel. I was able to interact with them on a more normal playing field. I was no longer just another visiting American, I was a

neighbor and friend.

Another awesome part of my 'job' while in India this Christmas was that my responsibility was these three kids. They are absolutely wonderful children. I got to play a behind-the-scenes role by helping take care of the kids, do laundry, cook, and clean. Since I was working on some of the household duties, this freed up time for my family, Rachel and Amol, to really pour their time and effort into the Crossroads team.

I am really thankful that God allowed me to be a part of Christmas 2010 in India! He has continued to work in my heart, clarifying my call and placing bigger dreams in my heart.

More to come!