a great week

well we wrapped up yet another year of kids camp yesterday afternoon up in the forest at mountain meadows ranch. as i said my goodbyes to the campers and the rest of the staff i couldnt help but be a little sad that this years camp had come and gone so fast. this year i had the awesome privilege to serve as camp photographer for the week. my sister melissa and myself were in charge of shooting photos/video of the week and combining the two elements into one killer video (which i may post at a later date). because i was given this job it allowed me to view camp in a different light this year. in years past ive just walked around snapping photos of the kids, me with the kids, my friends up there... basically just documenting MY week. well it had to be different this year, i had to document THEIR week. photo journalism has never been something ive loved or been very good at. i'd much rather sit you down and position you the way i want you rather than capture you from a distance in a setting i have no control over. however this week forced me to get creative and really exercise my eye for the shots. as i stated in the previous post, God always works in so many ways at this camp. kids come from all different backgrounds and are presented with a beautiful place to explore Gods creation, fun/crazy activities that they dont get to do at home, and most importantly the message of Jesus Christ and His unconditional love for them. there is never a doubt in my mind that these kids leave this camp CHANGED. i was blessed this week, not only by just being there with the kids and staff, but by being reminded with each shot that i took why i was there and why each of those kids was there.

one of my favorite shots from the week...



i just cant get enough of these little dirty legs... ALL week the kids are just coated in dirt. even after showers.


my sister kristin did a great job leading worship all week

the theme of this years camp was "church punks"... very fitting for little j mans mohawk

so all in all it was a great week. a bunch of kids came to know Jesus and so many others made decisions to start taking a stand for God and listen to His will for their life.

i'd love to post all the 650+ photos i took this week but you'd probably never read my blog again if i did that.

keep it real,
sb.

out of the "office"

i leave in the morning for a week at one of the greatest places on earth. kids camp at mountain meadows ranch! ive been attending this same exact camp since i was 4 years old and ive had the privilege and joy to continue attending as a staffer since i was 13. when i was a kid i remember having the TIME OF MY LIFE and literally wanting to go back the minute we left the camp. this has something that has stayed true even through my older years of leading. because i know first hand the fun, challenging, adventurous, and life changing journey each camper is about to embark on once they arrive, it only makes me that much more excited and honored to be a part of it all. kids encounter Jesus at this camp, some for the first time ever and some just on a deeper and more intimate level. i encountered Jesus at this camp. because of that i now have a wonderful opportunity to come back as a leader and connect with these kids from all different backgrounds and show them the love of God throughout a fun filled and CRAZY week. God's gonna show up this week and im looking forward to Him teaching me things through these kids. and obviously i cant wait to be carelessly wild and crazy for the kids knowing they wont judge me. oh wait... i do that anyway. : )

all of that to say, i won't be here for a week. meaning it will appear as though the blog is being neglected. BUT i do promise some awesome things to come once i am home. including photos from camp, one maybe even two new photo sessions, and one special/top secret project ive been working on! lots of good stuff to come your way here at the blog. so stay tuned and dont forget about me this week!

-steph b.

oh! and if you wanted to send me a letter at camp so i look cool during mail call, i would not object : ) here's the address:

Stephanie Barber

Mountain Meadows Ranch Bible Camp

HC-2

Box 148-E

Payson, AZ 85541

you know what to do.

my last outloud trip

we had a great trip this year in san diego! i cant believe my youth trips are done! such a crazy feeling. but this was an awesome trip. here are some photos with captions from the tour>>>

we took a maritime museum tour:

...and a cruise around the san diego harbor

dinner at joe's crab shackbonfire on the beach!

we had a blast! i will miss the days of food courts, bus talks, khakis, and polos on the outloud trips.

Shealor in the Virgin Islands

this is a random post of some photos of shealor that i got while we were in the virgin islands. (details and TONS more pictures to come in a later post) so who says you cant have a photo session on a mission trip??! you know we did. and im so happy because we got these great shots:
i love this girl. and these photos.
////////
like i said... more details and pics from the trip are coming soon.

flagstaff lovin

this past weekend me and lexi took a random road trip up to flag for some fun and time to spend with my dear friend mel. her house is SO precious and she was so sweet to host us for the night. i absolutely love flagstaff. i am so excited to live there next year! it is such a beautiful place and Gods beauty is so evident there. we had so much fun taking pictures and playing on the tree swing in mel's front yard...

we drove for about 20 minutes in the middle of the nowhere to go to this chapel on the side of the road. its always open for anyone to come in. it is so small and will maybe seat 15 people. the front of the chapel is an open glass window and over looks the mountains and trees. its gorgeous! people have written all over the walls and written their conversations with God. it was awesome to really feel His presence in this small holy place. and i got some great photos...

on the way back into town me and lex stopped to take some more random pictures of the beautiful day...

so much fun! big thanks to: lex for driving, mel and room mates for hosting, and kris for helping get into the tree swing :)