I just returned to California after 4 years of mission work in Nicaragua, where I used my passion for telling people’s stories in pictures and in words. My wife and I moved to Nicaragua with our two baby girls in 2009 to accompany a local charitable organization called CEPAD. Always a hobbyist photographer during my 15 years at an architectural firm in West Virginia, I plunged into workshops and partnership with a professional photographer in Managua. My mission and expat colleagues often ‘commissioned’ me for events and visiting delegations, but my favorite subjects were my Nicaraguan friends and the kind, hospitable people who hosted us in the poorest communities. I organized a Photovoice project with street kids in Managua so they could use their own creativity to tell their story. I traveled to every corner of Nicaragua documenting the beauty and dignity of the people.

Six months ago our family moved to Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, where the only thing in common with Nicaragua is great surfing. So now is the culture shock phase, and the time when I am honing my skills to support local and international nonprofits through photography. Through my work I want to express the interconnectedness of all people and that our neighbor in this global world is just around the corner.