The first thing I noticed when we landed in South Sudan was all of the beautiful, interesting faces of the people. I guess that’s just the photographer in me. Many of them are truly striking.
But it’s more than just the aesthetics. My experience so far photographing the South Sudanese is that they wear it all on their faces. The sorrow, pain, hope and even the joy. We in America seem to have on masks that can hide the deepest parts of our souls. I see this all too often as a photographer.
Experiencing this raw, honest humanity has been moving. To visually witness the joy exuding from these believers’ faces is overwhelming and contagious. Their love for Christ and how He has set them free is evident. And reflecting on this yesterday, I was led to Psalm 27.
Verse 8 says, “You have said, ‘seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘your face, Lord, do I seek.’ Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!”
I feel as though I have seen God’s face in his people here. I have also seen His work being done through Seed Effect, which tells me that the Lord will not hide His face from us, or His people here in Africa.
What a blessing it has been for me to see this, and to capture all the beautiful faces of Kajo Keji and Nimule, South Sudan.
andrew slaton | blog 
Andrew, Every portrait moved me– such beautiful faces. Have a great trip. Hope to see more!
thank you so much Jane! the trip was just amazing…
Andrew, incredible. Oh my, everyone of those faces–the smiles and the tears–are beautiful and quite touching. Wow. I look so forward to seeing more of your photos from Sudan.
thanks so much… it is a real pleasure to be able to do this type of work!
Andrew, you captured the faces of many beautiful people! Can’t wait to hear the stories behind them…
thank you Carol… more stories coming! :)
Hi Andrew. I saw that you had visited my blog, so I visited yours. Your photos are gorgeous! I’m actually from Wyoming, so it made me happy to see those pictures as well. What were you doing in South Sudan, specifically Kajo Keji?
Hi!! Yes, I really enjoyed reading your blog this morning!
My wife and I were brought over to shoot for a mico-finance ministry called Seed Effect. We absolutely fell in love with the people in Kajo Keji. And now my wife works for Seed Effect, so we will probably be heading back next year!
Thanks for checking out my blog… Cheers!
andrew