Donabel - Canada

Nickname: Donna

I recently accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior in 2004. Growing up in a religious culture, I have always known God since I was little. Traditions, rituals, repetitive prayers - I thought these things brought me closer to God; but all they did was create a wall that separated me from the truth of God’s love. Layers and layers of half-truths made it hard for me to see clearly. I knew all along that there is Someone great behind that wall.

I came to Canada on my own when I was 28. I abandoned everything I had and hoped that I could find what would finally make me happy – a great career maybe? I found a great job, then I got my own place, I found some friends. This is all I came to Canada for, I thought. But for some weird reason, I felt that the search was still on! The funny thing is I really didn’t know what I was looking for.

At work, I met a Kung Fu instructor who invited me to a Bible study that he leads every Saturday. Several times I turned him down. Then 9/11 happened, and I needed to know what was happening in the world. I had no family to ask, nor anybody else to share my fears with. Coincidentally, the instructor was holding a talk about 9/11 and its relevance to Biblical prophesies. I finally decided to attend this man's Bible study. I was stunned by all the new things that I heard. All a sudden, I felt like I was seeing the world from a completely different perspective.

God never stopped working on me since then. I have had a lot of struggles and resistance to what I’ve been reading and hearing. It was difficult to leave behind the life that I thought I once loved and do a 180. I was warned that this would happen.

I got tired of the conflicts I had within myself and felt like I was being torn apart inside. I became confused and depressed. As I was going through this time of emotional turmoil, I finally got the courage to pray to God, and I surrendered my life to Him. I asked Him to take over my life because I didn’t know where I was going. I got baptized in August 2004, and I feel such a transformation within me. My fear of death, my anxieties over the future, my obsession with success are slowly fading away. I still have a lot to learn about my Lord, but I know all will be revealed to me in due time.

After uttering the words, "LORD, I ACCEPT YOU," I never felt alone again. I’m still in the beginning of this wonderful journey and wherever God takes me, I know that it is His plan for my life.

If God has decided to use photography for me to get me where I’m suppose to be, then "I ACCEPT, LORD."

Photographing people has always been my specialty. When I was a younger, I would photograph people, but I never really cared who they were and what the photographs meant to them. I would click away and portray them the way I saw them. Something changed when I came to Canada. My first job here was as a photographer for a make-over/portrait chain. It paid so little and I had to travel 1 1/2 hours to work (one way) and sometimes work only four hours a day. I did that for a month. That job was just the best. It taught me to truly understand people and appreciate their true inner beauty. At first it was all about making great photographs for sales, but after awhile, it was all about making a difference inside. Although I photograph people who are used to being in front of the camera, I tremendously enjoy taking pictures of ordinary people. Hopefully, they see themselves as beautiful as God created them.