(Marysol writes) Many of you have told us "You really should consider selling your photos". I have responded "I know, I know, I just haven't figured out how, blah, blah, blah." Well I still haven't figured out how and I have tons that you haven't even seen yet, but we are making a start. Baby steps.

Recently my leaders, Chris & Lindsey Lautsbaugh asked me if I would be willing to donate 3 images for sale. They are speaking at huge missions conference in the US, and have the opportunity to sell them. 100% of the profit would go to their non-profit, Project Grace, which would all be used for scholarships for students in Africa who want to study the Bible. Another cool thing is that if they sell, it would be the first time I have ever sold any of my photography.

And just in case you would love to have one up on your wall, you too can buy one!

TO PURCHASE: Click here! Make sure to note which one you want. It would be an 8 x 10, quality print for a suggested donation of $30 shipped to your door (US & Canada only). Chris & Lindsey will be in the US to handle this. 100% of profits go to a good to Project Grace for African Bible Students Scholarships!

GIVEAWAY: And because we are feeling generous, we'll do our first ever blomerus.org give-away! We have a winner! More people than we expected entered, some of you within 5 minutes of our email! Wow! But beating everyone out by sheer seconds, was Dustin, who requested the Masai feet. Thanks for playing along, we hope to do more give aways in the future!

Really like Boy in Red Shorts? Read the story of how I got that image!

(Marysol writes) Those of you who have followed this website for years know I love photography. I'm a total rookie, I may have an eye but I'm way behind on the science. But its been my father and my husband that have pushed me to start taking it to the next level and refine this interest of mine. So, this year I took the plunge. I photographed my first wedding. I almost chickened out at the last minute. I mean, its someone's WEDDING! The biggest day of their life, that has to be beautifully captured, and can not be re-staged. I just got married, I know how special those photos can be. But these were friends of ours, and it was our gift to them. I had to make it happen. I'm so glad I did, I loved the results and learned alot in the process. Who knows, maybe one day I could actually make money doing this on the side?

So here are about 30 of my best shots. Introducing Jean Eric & Selassie. They are missionary colleagues of ours here in South Africa. Both from West Africa; she is from Ghana, he is from Cameroon. Their day was beautiful and I was thrilled to have such a spectacular couple to work with! It was a joy to be such a close part of their day from morning to night. They now live in our apartment building. We hang out, trade cups of sugar, and stop by all the time invading each other's newly married lives.

Thanks to Sharon & De Wet for assisting and working so hard to help pull it off.

See our flickr group

Hakani.org

As a base and personally, we are getting behind this issue of injustice. Its the murder of children called infanticide. Children, babies buried alive by tribes for being thought evil because they are deformed, a twin, or conceived from incest or adultery. We have the chance to write in and be a voice for them. The founder of our mission (Youth With a Mission), Loren Cunningham's son, Dave Cunningham produced this documentary.

We encourage you if you are surfing around online: watch the video, spread the word, and use the template on the site to write in. It takes less than 15 minutes.

Its impossible to be a missionary without a dedicated team that stands behind you on the home front praying and giving generously. We like to think we have warriors behind us. Brave people who invest radically and send us to the front line. Sometimes we profile the people we work with on the mission field, but today we'd like to profile one of our partners. The people who make it possible.

Josue & Damarias Yrion are "heroes of the faith". They started in YWAM decades ago and now have a worldwide ministry. One thing their ministry does is choses other missionaries and partners with them monthly. I (Marysol) met them through my father over email. Then I went to preach in Los Angeles last year. They graciously took me out to breakfast, got me to the airport, and Damarias predicted I would end up marrying De Wet! She was right. We all connected instantly. Over the rest of the year, we emailed and they encouraged me routinely. As we were trying to raise our monthly team and get ready to move to South Africa, they were praying about coming on board. The thing was, its not their decision alone. They had to convince their board, having never met De Wet. Its a risky move. See what I mean about brave people? Without ever meeting him, they joined on wholeheartedly. We were so overjoyed!

We invite you to check out their site, click on "missionaries". You'll see all the spots on the globe that they partner with missionaries, including ours at the bottom of Africa. Then explore their site and their great work. We are so proud to have such a caliber of people behind us and hope to one day return to LA to say thank you in person.

Hot off the press, 1 page, a quick read. Our April newsletter is here!

We asked you to pray with us to find a safe apartment within our budget. Now we are proud to humbly show it off! We moved in and realized it would be a little bit of work to make it feel like home and not so tiny. With some creativity and hard work, we've had a blast "nesting". Its small, but cozy. Enjoy a before and after look. Then check out the video, its a complete tour!

So many of you have emailed or let us know that you pray regularly for us. That you remember us everytime you open your fridge because we are plastered on it! Do you know what that means? You have no idea! Thanks for making us feel "not forgotten". Well, to help you know how to pray specifically, we just updated our prayer page and have plans to keep this up every month or so. Check it out.

(Marysol writes) Within several hours of letting everyone know we updated our site, we were flooded with emails and many mentioning that De Wet's hair is gone. Shocking? Maybe we should have given a warning? Well, let this be the disclaimer to all about to watch the video for the first time. One night he got the wild idea to cut off all his hair and shave it down. This was a little "test" for something he could do if we went to countries where he couldn't shower alot and if I would like it. Final verdict, its nice, he looks like a rock star. But I prefer some curls so, the current status is growing out. Should I ever need some blog material for the future, little did I know his hair would draw so much interest...