Mary Anne Morgan Blog

365 Project Day 317: Remarkable Rachel

Posted on 14. Nov, 2011 by maryanne.

Canon 5D Mark ll, 50 1.2L,  1.8 aperture, 1/100 shutter/ 200 ISO

I had the joy of getting to know Rachel Moye when she recently assisted me in a family photo session.  Katie met her a couple weeks ago during a corn maze adventure with friends, and she came home with rave reviews about a new friend named Rachel. I heard she loved photography, so I asked if she would help me on a shoot in Stone Mountain. She was the perfect match to assist me for the family I was photographing. I needed someone I could trust who was helpful to me and compassionate with my clients. She was all of these things.

She is a beam of light and love this girl, with just enough quirky humor to keep things snappy and fun. I loved her immediately. But that is not all that makes Rachel so remarkable. We had a long drive, so I got to ask her tons of questions and hear a bit of her story.

Rachel has been wanting to share the Gospel of Christ since she was four years old, and told her mother so. She knew very early in life that she wanted to live a life of adventure, carrying the love of Jesus around the world. She says her life was forever changed when she was eleven, and was able to serve on a medical mission trip to Guatemala. It was there that she felt her heart truly break for people. She went back every summer for the next five years, finding a place of  God’s peace and purpose there. “God was molding and shaping my heart for people of every income, every race and every nation”, she says earnestly.

She went on to study at Baylor University in Texas were she studied journalism: public relations, sociology and history. Since then she has been to the Netherlands to study abroad, then Tanzania, South Africa, and Liberia for more mission work. She has also worked with Compassion International in Colorado and is now working for the National Christian Foundation here in Georgia. She is so young to have all of this under her belt already. But saying yes to God and whatever He wants will take a person places. That is what she has done.

She is also a wonderful photographer. She is presently working on a book from her recent trip to Liberia that includes her photography and writing. I got to preview it the other night and it is fantastic. I am excited to see it printed!

And as if all this wasn’t enough, there is more. Rachel is incredibly funny. She had me laughing so hard at times, I could not hold my camera still. ( Several shots came out blurry.) We had mustache props left over from our family shoot, and well, let’s just say Rachel can work a mustache. Oh my goodness, so funny. I have to admire someone who can not only laugh, but laugh at themselves. A true sign of good character.

Take a look for yourself.

Yes, she is amazing. She reflects the light and goodness (and humor) of the God she serves and loves. I can’t wait to see where God will take her next!

Here is the verse she chose to use to describe her journey. Blessings, beautiful Rachel.

Psalm 16:5-8 ~”LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”

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Leaving for Liberia

Posted on 29. Dec, 2009 by maryanne.

This is a leaving face.  You know the one. It says, ” I am sorry this is hard for you, I really am. I am doing my best to be sorry. However,  I am so excited about going on this trip that I am about to explode, so take the picture quick. I can only hold this pitiful face for so long.”

This is my Annie right before she left with several others from the Water’s Edge Missions Team for Liberia.

I have known about this trip for months, and have had an unsteady feeling in my legs, as if the earth were about to move. Africa, after all, is on the other side of the world. If not technically, it is to a mother’s heart. A little over a week ago, they each invited a person to come  to their regular prayer time to pray for each of them specifically. Annie chose me. I felt honored, because I knew she didn’t do it just because I am her mom. She knows and trusts that I will pray for her and her team. As we prayed, I felt convicted to repent of holding her too closely, and not wanting to share her with the world. As tears streamed down my cheeks, I opened my hands to signify letting her go, and I asked God to forgive me for holding on to my Annie bird, and gave her permission to fly. We have often called her Annie bird, and it seems so fitting now, as she literally is now flying around the world to touch other lands and faces. How I love my Annie bird. I have tried my best as a momma to entrust her to the One who loves her the most. My Father who sees all and knows all. I am so thankful He is also the One who is able to help her in her time of need, even when momma bird is still at home singing prayers to Him.

There is something else. The day she left, I had a strange sensation. I felt that God was opening her world to her like He never has before. This is not so strange in and of itself, but I also felt that He was opening MY world through Annie’s journey. Like she was taking steps that would lessen the chasm from here to distant lands for me as well. My daughter was paving a way for me too somehow. I cannot explain it, but I am grateful for it. She is preparing the way for many, and I am one of them.

Before they left, they tied colorful ribbon around all their luggage. Some of the parents put some on their wrists to help them remember to pray. ( As if we need reminders). Danielle, one of the team leaders, put one on my camera strap. That was a good place.

Here are some more photos of the team before they left. Looking forward to the fruit that will come from their journey!

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