Friendship Photo Shoot

Since we are going to be moving in a couple of weeks, I've been trying my best to connect with all of our friends and find ways to meet up and make a few more memories before we go. We've gone out to dinner, had game nights, and seen movies with people from the squadron and church - but a few of the people I care most about are the girls from my small group. SO, I decided to take them out for a complimentary photo shoot yesterday morning - both as a fun bonding experience, and as a means for creating a special good-bye gift for each of them. Now we'll always be able to look back and remember each other!

Each of the girls are special in their own way, and I hope I was able to capture a bit of that in their group and individual portraits. Paige and Haley Prielipp are both awesome girls. Paige is in 9th grade and attended our small group to support her friends even though her dad hosted another one at their house the night before. She is one of the most spiritually mature young women I've ever met, with that special "it" factor that draws everyone to her. Her younger sister Haley has come to some of our social events and helped me out with my David and Goliath video back in November. She has a big personality and heart just like her sister, but has a bit more carefree spunk, which makes her a lot of fun to be around. I am positive God has big things in store for the two of them.

Carly Starr was the host of our small group last semester. She and Paige are best friends and pretty much inseparable. She is also very spiritually mature and is completely dedicated to her faith. I've been very impressed with the way she has taken each Sunday's challenge to heart, and continues to stand up for her beliefs at school. She can be a bit audacious, though, and is very into finding unique methods of self-expression. So I tried to give her some more edgy and "artsy" shots to display on her facebook profile. B^)

Sarah Williamson is the dark-horse of the group, and a girl that is very close to my heart because she reminds me of myself when I was that age. She is very sweet and has a rare sensitivity to the needs and desires of those around her. Every week her prayer requests are for others - and not only for their physical and temporal needs, but their spiritual well-being as well. While she is athletic, smart, and has a great sense of humor, she is also pretty shy and soft-spoken so she sometimes gets lost in the crowd. But I think that the friendship she's forged with Paige and Carly through small group has opened some doors for her, and I hope she'll continue to grow and progress in her involvement at church. I'm excited to hear about what she does in her future!

I'll have a few more opportunities to hang out with them before we go. I'm having breakfast with them on Saturday morning, as a part of our discipleship stuff, and then Paige and Haley's parents have invited James, myself, Carly and Sarah over for dinner the night before we leave town. It will be very hard to say good bye, but at least I have some pictures to look at and remember them by. I'm also going to try really hard to keep in touch with them through email and facebook so we can continue pouring into each other's spiritual growth. =^)

(There are plenty more pictures from our shoot on my photography blog. =^)