I had my first photos ever in a gallery.  A call for entries went out for a juried exhibit at Flash Gallery in Denver (http://workingwithartists.org) and two of my photos were selected.  The subject of the exhibit was “Home is Where the Heart Is” and photographers were encouraged to submit their visions of what home means.  Proceeds from the exhibit will go to help the Denver Rescue Mission.  One of my photos was of the aftermath of the Greensburg, Kansas tornado of 2007.  It showed a home completely demolished and a sign that read “Future Home of the Dixson Family We are Blessed.”  It stunned me that people could be so optimistic when their life was a wreck.  But the Dixson’s were.

 The other photo showed Achan Grace in her new home.  I took the photo in Uganda.  I had met Achan Grace in 2006 when she was living with her five children in the Acholi slum.  She was struggling to come out of the kind of extreme poverty that kills you.  I took her photo then.  Life was difficult and you could see it on her face. 

She was an expert beader with BeadforLife (http://beadforlife.org) and through her hard work managed to save the money for a down payment on a house.  I met her again in November 2008 in her new home outside of Kampala.  I cried when I saw how far she had come.  She remembered me by name.  I was humbled.  I took Achan Grace’s photo as she looked out of her window.  She was confident and serene.