I made a mistake and accidentally deleted all of the e-mails on my blackberry from not only the phone, but the server as well.  So…basically I lost anything that anyone sent to the connect@bedouinsinternational.org, stephen@bedouinsinternational.org and contact@stephendevriesphoto.com

If you tried to contact us via e-mail and have not received a response please re-send your e-mail!!!  We’re not just ignoring you, I promise!

-Stephen

Some of you may be familiar with “Discovering Joy”, the book that our organization sprung from.  For those of you who aren’t, it was a book that I, along with the help of Josh and Paul, made as a class project while I was studying art at Auburn University.  The book was a series of photos and comments about the lives of the people that I met in Reynosa Mexico.  I bring this up because we decided to re-publish it, and start selling it again as a way of raising money for future trips to other countries.  But then we decided not to.  I know, it’s a little confusing, but understand this…everything we do has a purpose (sort of…).  Anyways…I tell you all of this because in the process of deciding to re-publish the book I spent a great deal of time writing a new Foreword and Afterword.  A lot of time, prayer an thought went into it, and then we made the decisions to not re-publish the book, and all was wasted.  Or so I thought…until I realized…I can share this on the blog!  So that’s what I’m going to do.  I know this is long, and a lot of you bloggers out there won’t sit down and take the time to read the whole thing…but I want to encourage you to try.  Set aside a few minutes and gulp it down.  I don’t think you’ll regret it.  I have several more parts that will be coming as well…but for now, here’s the forgotten Foreword:

Discovering Joy – Foreword

Re-publishing Discovering Joy has been a wonderful opportunity to look back at what God has been doing in my life and the lives of everyone at Bedouins International. The past year has been packed with intense learning and many great lessons. So, even while I write this intro, I’m still not certain what to say or how to say it, but I deeply desire to invite you into the journey.

So much has changed since March of 2007 when the first edition of this book was printed merely as a class project. As I have written and rewritten this intro, I’ve realized that God has molded my heart in more significant ways than I first thought. I’ve seen Him move in big and small decisions. But, it’s the small things that have changed everything. So, that’s where I’ll start, with the small things: the little details through which God continually teaches.

Paul and I were in Missouri for New Years when we made a trip into Kansas for shoes. We had been on the road for a few days, and I realized quickly that my penny loafers weren’t made for the 15-degree temperatures of a Kansas City winter. As we navigated the icy interstate back to our hotel, Paul reached into his pocket, pulled out a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste, and started brushing his teeth—right there, in the car, on the road.

I couldn’t help but laugh as I was reminded of my first real encounter with Paul. We may have talked a time or two, and I’m sure that he made my Chai Tea a few times at the coffee shop where he worked, but my first true memory of Paul as a friend was in the van on our first trip to Mexico. It was that memorable trip that sparked the passion for this book. We were stopped at a gas station and, like any van-full of caffeine-hyped college students at 3 o’clock in the morning, everyone was going crazy. I vividly remember sitting in the van taking pictures when Paul walked up to the door brushing his teeth.

It was one of those moments when I had to stop and actually think about what he was doing. Here we all were, loading up on candy and snacks, and Paul was brushing his teeth. At that time, I didn’t realize that he is at least seven years older than the rest of us. Apparently, dental hygiene is a much higher priority for the elderly (sorry Paul!), but nonetheless, the moment stuck with me and I still can’t help but smile. It was that smile that took me back to the trip.

It began as an excuse to leave the country, take some pictures, and hopefully have a great time. I invited all of my friends, packed my gear, and hit the road goofing off the whole way. Somewhere in Texas, on our way to Mexico we were acting crazy, running around, and moments later Paul was on a long board skating through the gas station. See, my trip to Reynosa was all about fun. I had no intentions of letting God change my life that week. I had no intentions of starting a non-profit organization or moving to Birmingham. We were skateboarding across the border for Pete’s sake; we weren’t searching or waiting. We were just there for the ride. But weeks later while editing this book with Paul I realized that God works on his timing, not ours.

Just before he ascends into heaven, Jesus makes a bold claim, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set forth by his own authority.”
I think that when we live in our small worlds with our job, spouse, and life it becomes too easy to work on our time and forget about God’s. Looking back, I realized that I had spent my life doing things on my time and making it fit to what I thought that God wanted. When you set your own agenda you’re never ready for the unexpected. You know what’s about to happen because you decide it.

Discovering Joy and my trip to Reynosa in March of 2007 taught me to be ready. It taught me that I am not in control and that if I am going to be serious about following Jesus then I can no longer make all of the decisions that I want on my own, nor do what I want when I decide. I have a responsibility to react to God’s direction and a responsibility to learn and grow. That life-changing journey taught me that God is in control and all we have to do is be ready. Ready to be swept away.
-Stephen

With just over 2 weeks until we fly out for Haiti, a new article in Relevant magazine, several big projects coming to a close, and several new ones just over the horizon…it seems a good time to sit back and reflect on this past year. Bedouins is just over a year old now and as I mentioned, our birthday came with a wave of new excitement. It’s always good to sit back and look at all of the things that God has done, and we here at Bedouins have been doing just that these past few days. I always find it challenging, as one season comes to a close and another starts, to stay focused. It seems to me that a transition such as that tends to come with a big bang, and I, for one, have a hard time not getting caught up in it. But I want to let you know that despite the distractions, and despite the challenges, Bedouins is moving forward and loving it. God has been so good to us this past year, I don’t even know where to begin. And with this new season comes new challenges, but also new victories. God is making himself famous, and our generation is opening up to that in new and incredible ways. It’s been fantastic here at Bedouins to be involved, and we can’t wait to see where it’s going. I hope that all of you have had a fantastic year, and I hope that you will all stay tuned to see what big things God is doing all over the world. We have an amazing opportunity working here at Bedouins to see everything…from China to Haiti to Mexico to Africa…we get a broad view that a lot of people don’t have access to…and I want to invite you to join in that. Make it yours. We are here to share with you what God is doing EVERYWHERE, and we plan on doing just that. So come on…get excited-year two…here we come!

-Stephen

Ever heard of Relevant magazine? Well they are an amazing nationwide faith + culture magazine that talks about religion, media, politics, music…you name it. And the new issue has an article on Bedouins International! So go buy a copy!

went great! We had a packed house Friday night. Urban Standard was a great location and the staff was incredible, really helped us out. Neil Couvillion and Roger Eason put on a great show, and the Canal Presentation was fantastic. I might have cried a little

On top of that, we now officially have raised all of what we budgeted for Haiti! yay! Thanks so much to all of you guys who came and supported us!

And for those of you who couldn’t make it out, have no fear. Thanks to the phenomenal Corey Scogin, we will soon have the show on our website to download! We will also be putting the Canal Presentation up, so be looking forward to that!

Alrighty well, back to work I go. Hope all is well wherever you are.

And p.s. Bedouins will have a booth at En Fuego this Saturday, so come and visit us if you planning on going!

Peace out.