The last 12 days have been some of the hardest that Liisa and I have experienced. On August 1st, an AIM AIR airplane, piloted by our friend Frank crashed into a building. Another friend, Ryan, was in the right seat. Kibera is a slum that is said to house over a million people. The rusted tin roofed shacks go on for miles it seems, with alleyways too narrow for even a small car to squeeze through. With no landing place at all, and practically every square foot inhabited, Kibera is one of the worst places in the world over which to lose power in an airplane. We may never know why, but thats what happened. Whether it was Frank’s focused skill, or the Father lifting the wings of the plane, somehow Frank managed to glide just beyond the perimeter of the slum and put the airplane down in an apartment complex where miraculously no one on the ground was even injured. Frank’s life was taken then, however. From the first moment of the horrific news we were with Frank’s family. Ryan’s life was taken almost a week later from injuries. Devastation again- everything seemed blurry, with only loss defined sharply.

I was asked by Frank’s wife to assemble a video tribute for the family. I spent days going through old photos and video footage, watching Frank as he poured his life into his family and work, and as he saw with clearer focus than I some of the important things in life.

Yesterday was the Memorial service. I was again asked if I would photograph the event. It started well, but quickly, my camera began refusing to auto-focus. Switching to Manual focus, I tried to continue. Then came the testimonies, the stories, the images of overwhelming grief I was capturing, and I could no longer hold back the tears. Squinting, everything seemed blurry. I couldn’t tell if the pictures were in focus or not. I prayed that God would help me focus, and I shot in faith.

Today I start on Ryan’s photos and footage, and though the pain is sometimes great, I look forward to what Ryan will teach me about his life- about fatherhood, about loving people, about focusing on that which is eternal. God is good, even when everything seems blurry.