Smile for the CAmera
Using Photography as an Outreach

The month of October is dwindling down, but the Christmas tree is already in the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) on Judd Hillside Road, at least for the day. Decked out with lights, tinsel, and ukuleles, the tree sits upon a landing on the staircase. Downstairs, Derwin Tom assembles his camera while wife Tina inspects the lighting set up. Nearby, mothers wait with their children for Derwin and Tina to finish their preparations. The children are waiting for their close up. With their own photography business, a photo session isn’t necessarily anything new for the Toms, however this session is different.

The Ronald McDonald House Mission

The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Hawaii was created in 1997 with the mission to “provide a home-away-from-home for seriously ill children and their families and to develop programs and partnerships aimed at improving the lives of children in Hawaii and the Pacific.” In other words, they work to keep families together when they need each other most so that they can do the most to nurture each other. Because the children need medical treatment that isn’t readily available where they live, they come to Honolulu to get treated. But many times, these families don’t have anywhere to stay once they get here, or even enough money to rent a room. That’s where RMH comes in.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Blessings

The photo shoot was set up for two reasons. RMH wanted to make a Christmas card, as well as bless the families with portraits. Taking portraits isn’t something that most families do regularly, and RMH wanted to give these families the opportunity to have a professional quality portrait taken at no cost. Derwin and Tina were happy to oblige. “A lot of the families have kids with either cancer or other various ailments,” said Derwin. “I was told about one time that RMH hired a photographer to take a portrait of just one family. And I thought, ‘this is something I would really like to be able to bless them with.’” It’s just another example of how God is able to take our respective gifts and use it for His purposes.

For those interested in letting their inner shutterbugs out, Derwin also heads up the Photography Ministry. They meet twice a month, on the first and third Tuesdays. They do devotions together, talk about photography, and even have makeshift workshops for getting better pictures. All you need to get involved is a passion for picture taking, and a heart for Christ. For more information, call 780-4646 or email derwintom@yahoo.com.