It was going to be short...

Hello K-Fam!

To save you the trouble of scrolling way down to see who wrote this, I’m Joel.

I’ve wanted to tell you about what I’ve been up to, but don’t want to write a big long post that takes 45 minutes to read so I’ll try to make it brief and you can ask me questions at the end. (Though I have a sneaking suspicion that it will be long nonetheless.) Sound good? Awesome.

Let me start off by saying thank you, because even though it was 4 years ago, the lessons we taught each other about community still resonate in my heart. This summer I have been incredibly blessed by finding a similar type of community here in Vancouver where I’m currently living. Actually, found is the wrong word. Community was forcibly injected into my current living situation by the Spirit. And it was awesome. I’m still living and working with UrbanPromise Vancouver, acting as the house manager. This basically means I’m living with the 3 Bible-teaching, kid-loving, servant-hearted interns that came to work with the organization, and making sure their house doesn’t burn down, while creating a life-giving atmosphere where they can recharge after an exhausting day of camp. Without a doubt I can say that their summer was hard. It was stretching, tiring, and totally out of their comfort zones. But it was good. There were times they (and myself) felt totally burnt, emptied of enthusiasm and vigor. But the Spirit moved when we came together in prayer. When it seemed impossible to get through another day, He blew us away with strength beyond all strength. Through these past two months the 5 of us (a previous intern was living with us as well) living at the UP house grew closer to Jesus, and thus closer to each other to the point where we couldn’t call it anything but family. When I left Kaléo I didn’t know if I would ever find anything similar to it; I was skeptical of that dynamic existing in the real world. But that wind that filled our sails continues to blow. But, just like Kaléo, it had to come to an end. Interns are in the midst of departing now, and there’s this heavy stillness that seems to be settling in the house. I can’t wait to feel where and when that wind will rise up next. Maybe it’s a respite from the intensity of the summer, but I fear that if the calm settles in I may get cabin fever. I don’t know who still reads this, but if you are, can I ask for a couple of minutes of prayer from you? I really am hoping that this wasn’t a one-time thing, and that I’ll be able to see where Jesus is hoping to build up another community dedicated to him. But, in summary, my housemates and I were blessed with a slice of the Kingdom, and I’m super grateful for the brief but intense ride that it was.

Okay, hang in there. I take back my earlier comment about making this brief. I have just a bit more that I want to share.

During this past year, along with house managing at Urban Promise, I was doing a year-long (Sept-Sept) photography program at the Vancouver Institute for Media Arts. I’ll be graduating – barring a disaster at my final portfolio review on Friday –  on September 6^th. I’m hoping to get into doing some freelance editorial and documentary work in this next year. One thing that I wanted to graduate with, other than a refinement of my craft, is a way of using my photography to help others see through Jesus-tinted lenses. I’ve started to do a series of street portraits of people that aren’t necessarily what the general culture would deem as “beautiful” or “attractive.” Most of them are old people, because I love wrinkles and beards, but what connects all of them is that they are all made in the image of God. Imageo Dei. They all have immeasurable worth not because of what they do or how they look, but because they were each carefully made by a skilled craftsman, who poured endless love into His project. That – in words – is what I want to communicate. What’s crazy is that my agnostic department head got that. We were having a review of my portfolio and career path and he starts describing exactly what I want to do with my pictures.

“You don’t care about the money,” he stated.

“Nope,” I affirmed.

“Yeah, I can tell. You don’t make a lot of money doing this kind of work, but your photos really show how important these people are. There’s something in their eyes. I see you making photos about the human condition. Hanging out with the poor and outcast, traveling to other cultures and strata of society making sure their stories are being told, even if it’s just through their faces. No, you aren’t going to be driving a convertible or living in a penthouse, but your life will be rewarding and may actually make a difference to others.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Here is my prayer, my deepest yearning to serve Christ that I haven’t figured out yet how to do, much less verbalize, spoken from a 60-year old Scottish man who doesn’t know God. I’m thankful the Spirit can translate our unspoken prayers through unlikely people. I know it might be a bit idealistic and I’m still a long way off from doing this, but that is where I want to take my photography. I hope to be starting a blog about these people soon, but for now you can see my website at www.joelkrahn.com

Thanks for sticking with me. Hopefully I haven’t made anyone doze off, or dissuaded anyone from writing a nice, short, concise update. A verse that has encouraged me lately is Galatians 6:9-10: “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone.”

Don’t get tired of doing good, my family.

PS Next time I promise to keep it to 140 characters or less.

Joel