Using your talents in media to change the world!

Many of you know that on my first trip to Kenya, the missionary gave me his camera to be the team photographer for two weeks. During this time, I snapped anything and everything that caught my attention. We wrote about the things we were feeling and seeing, and posted photos to go along with them. It was amazing to see the hundreds of comments from friends and family at home! A lot of them said something along the lines of, “I feel like I am right there with you guys” and “I have been waiting all day to see more of your posts.” (I was not a photographer at the time, but discovered I had talent in that area and as a result, began Kim Hayes Photography soon after we returned)

When we got home, our team of 15 told our church about the great needs we saw and gave them some specific ways they could help. We were overwhelmed when we raised over $1,500 immediately for a girl named Mercy’s life saving surgery!  As a result of that first trip, many more people went to Kenya the following year. I believe we had 42 on that next team! We had people saying, “I never thought that I would want to go on a missions trip, but seeing the photos and videos made me feel that I should go and be more involved!” We also began the R4C Child Sponsorship program after the second trip.

All of this to say: USING MEDIA AND SHARING YOUR HEART IS POWERFUL!!!

People want to make a difference and help with something that matters. If you are a writer, photographer, videographer or any kind of artist, I want to encourage you; because you have the unique ability to use your talents for good! Please think outside the box for creative ways to help others. You never know where this can take you 🙂 It is amazing to see the doors that God has opened for David and I since that first trip to Kenya in 2009!!! God is good all the time… and all the time, God is good!

Kim Hayes