The Roswell Presbyterian Church Youth take the Child Development Association kids for a day of fun at the Chattahooche Nature Center located in Roswell, GA.

This year Roswell Presbyterian Church in Roswell, GA is doing a mission project locally with their youth.  They are calling it The Well.  The high school youth are staying in town and working with the local mission partners.

There seems to be a theme I am picking up with my friends also this year about doing things in our own backyards.  Here is my friend Gary Chapman’s blog post about his coverage of a mission group here in Atlanta. 

What I was really enjoying about this missions project is it is all about being someone’s friend. I think the one thing many folks forget about in missions is it isn’t about our building buildings and digging wells–it is that we are doing these things to have a relationship with people.

The best part about shooting something like this mission trip that I did with my church locally is the investment you put into this project doesn’t have to be a one time event.  You live near these people and can go back and maybe even develop a larger package.

The best part for those doing something local is you get to build on a relationship.  Each person you get to know can be someone you might just develop a lifetime friendship with and you don’t have to wait till you travel again overseas to see them again.

I just love this moment with the small girl and the older teenager.  What do you see when you look at this photo?  Write me a comment below and let me know.

She is letting the little boy know where she lives and he is telling her where he lives on the map of the Roswell area.

I love taking walks in the woods.  Here I think the canopy of the trees is like a cocoon.  The teenagers are bonding with the toddlers and together they are having fun.

I want to encourage you to find something near you that you can go and photograph this summer.  Some of the best opportunities are in your backyard.  Can you tell me some of your projects that you are doing in your community?  Post your ideas below, you may just inspire all of us to do something we haven’t thought of before.