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Joy in the World Through the Lens of Lisa Pampe

Hi my name is Lisa Pampe and I am from West Salem Moravian Church in Southern Illinois and I’m one of the board of directors for the Board of World Mission.

We were asked how do we see joy in the world as it pertains to missions and I see joy all over the place.

I don’t know if I can justly explain how I can see it, but I see it in the faces of all those that we help. They are so joyful and so full of gratitude and thankfulness that we are there to help, as well as just their pure joy because they truly trust in God. Where up here we tend to trust in ourselves and only seek God when things are really bad. Because of their circumstances, they trust God in everything and for that, they are truly a joyful people.

Also for me, I see joy in the children, in the faces of the children; as a photographer, I love to take photos of the kids.

Leading up to my first mission trip in Ahaus, I really just enjoyed taking wildlife photos and sceneries but didn’t enjoy taking photos of people. It was my experience in Honduras that really changed how I see taking photos and it is truly a gift and a mission for me– being able to share those photos and to show everyone else what I see down there in the joy in the children’s faces.

I now use it as a Ministry up here and so missions isn’t just about going off to a third world country but it’s helping those around you and so I truly have taken that as a sign from God to help our homeless kids. I teach at a high school and being able to take their senior photos or to take our exchange students, for them I see the joy on their faces when they were able to have those precious memories that all of us take for granted.

It’s also turned into another Ministry in which through taking pictures at sporting events and weddings and just things I had never imagined taking them at and turn it into a fundraiser so to speak, it’s called Memories for missions and through that I’m allowed to then help back in places like Honduras with those funds. So it truly has come full circle and that’s where I see the joy in the world as it comes to missions.