Kismathpur, India from Avery House on Vimeo.

The video above was made by Matt as a quick way for Matthew 10 and Manna Ministries to say thank you to all who support these children in Kismathpur. The donations and prayers go a long way. I just wanted to share it with everyone because I could watch over and over again. I love seeing those little kids smile. They are so grateful for so little.
Matt and I are have some great adventures here in India. We’ve been eating curry three times a day and couldn’t be happier about that! We’ve been surrounded by so many wonderful Indian people who are full of love and curiosity about American culture. It is always so satisfying to be able to move past the communication barriers and have real and meaningful conversations with our friends here. We have so much to learn from people in other cultures which makes international travel a completely invaluable opportunity.
Last night we joined Dr. Pete, founder of Matthew 10, as he shared the love of Christ and the message of the gospel to thousands of people here in Kadapa. No matter what religion people are, they are always eager to hear the message, whether they receive it or not. There is something about hearing the story of Christ’s death on the cross that brings us to a place of humility. It’s a reminder that there is more to life than just what we see in front of us. So much comfort lies in knowing that there is a greater love for us if we just open up and receive it. The world we live in is too hard to bear without that love and comfort and I am thankful for this time as we get to witness its power first hand. There will be three more nights where thousands of people will gather in the middle of this city to hear the story of God’s love and the hope that we can all have in Him. To a people that have nothing more than the clothes on their backs, this is an incredible thing to witness. Thank you to all who have been sending prayers and love our way. We are excited to continue to sharing what we capture.

Ashley and Justin’s wedding was a perfect reflection of the things that they both love about life. They are full of adventure and love being outside in nature. When they were on the search for a wedding venue, they immediately felt a connection with the Notebaert Nature Museum here in Chicago. It offered the beautiful outdoor setting that they were looking for and gave their guests a chance to enjoy the museum, including the awesome butterfly exhibit that was being featured at the time. The two have an adoration for each other that easily showed through in all of their pictures and we had a wonderful time being a part of everything. We really do have the best job in the world and sometimes I have to pinch myself to believe it’s true. A big thanks to our good friends Kat and Wendy, Ashley’s aunts, for sending Ashley and Justin our way!
The details of their wedding were so unique. Some of the decor consisted of artichoke and glass centerpieces and all different sizes of moss balls. There was an outdoor lounge area on the second floor terrace that opened up after dinner and with the city lights in the distance, the view was breathtaking. I think the party continued on well into the night even after we left. Katie of Katie Parker Weddings and the rest of her team did a fantastic job on all of the design and kept things incredibly organized and on time. She was such a joy to work with. To view the rest of Ashley and Justin’s wedding images online you can visit the Pictage gallery.

Things are good here in India and I will post a an update later today!

Hello from Kadapa, India! Matt and I are here for a week documenting a wonderful ministry that we have been involved with since 2007. The Matthew 10 Team that we are working with partners with a local based ministry called Manna Ministries who takes wonderful care of us from the moment we step off the plane. They drive us around, cook us delicious meals and help schlep all of our bags around from city to city for us. They make it their purpose in life to keep us as comfortable as possible for the short time that we are here. Inevitably, we always develop close relationships with a few of the people on the Manna Ministries Staff. Already we’ve been blown away by the hospitality that we’ve been shown.

Yesterday we visited Kismathpur where Manna Ministries has one of their orphanages and schools. The grounds are pretty large consisting of a grade school, bible college, worship center, dining hall and the orphanage itself. Currently, they can accommodate about 400 kids but have high hopes of increasing that number. Alicia, from Matthew 10, along with a bunch of helpful hands last week, assembled over 400 goodie bags to hand out to all the children when we got there. Of course that was the highlight of our day. They loved all the toys and candy. There were handmade puppets, matchbox cars for the boys, silly bands and all sorts of other fun stuff. It doesn’t take much to get their little faces to light up with smiles. We visited each of their classrooms and listened to some of them sing songs or recite Bible verses. It is awesome to see how all of the kids are so grateful to have a place to call home. The kids have a lot of fun and seem happy to have each other. At night, the younger kids push their beds together in one corner of the room and sleep snuggled up next to each other. This way they stay warm and they don’t feel so alone. They are just the sweetest things you have ever seen. Sometimes I feel like snatching one of them up and bringing them home with me! On behalf of Matthew 10 and Manna Ministries we want to say thanks to all of you who support these children. Your gifts, donations and prayers go a long way.

Today Matt and I are headed to India where we are joining the Matthew 10 International Ministries group on their journey to serve the people in the city of Kadapa and most importantly share with them the love of Christ. This will be my third time traveling with this ministry and Matt’s second. Every time I come home feeling renewed and humbled by my experiences. There is something really beautiful about a country full of people who find happiness in the simplest of things. We will be traveling in some areas that are extremely poor and impoverished and it seems that there is something about those communities that allows them to have even more faith like a child. It seems there is nothing getting in the way of them fiercely believing God for miracles and healing. There is no greater feeling in the world than getting to tell these people that God created them and loves them even in the midst of their struggles.

When we step out of our normal daily routine and step into a week full of these kinds of experiences, there is, without a doubt, a major shift in the way we choose to live our own lives. International travel is one of the best ways to really get out of your comfort zone and see how other people around the world are pressing on even though their lives are much harder than ours. It’s a chance to rethink our normal responses to the things that happen in our lives and make an effort to change in areas of weakness. The trip always falls right around the holiday season which seems even more appropriate as we gather with family and friends to remember and celebrate Christ’s birth.

We feel so thankful for the opportunity to spend time with these people and photograph them. It is our goal, with our documentary work, to show the strength, beauty and wisdom that they possess rather than focus on the things that they don’t have. Working alongside the Matthew 10 team is always an honor and we can’t thank them enough for the asking us to join them again. We encourage everyone to follow their blog and visit their website which you can access here –> http://matthew10.com

Our group of 20, most of which are based out of Knoxville, TN, met in Chicago last night where we all boarded the same flight to London and then on to Hyderabad. We will then take an overnight train to Kadapa where we will spend the remainder of our week. We will be back in the U.S. on December 15th and back in the office on the 16th so all of our phone calls and emails will be returned around that time. Above are a few images from our trip to Suryapet, India in November 2009.

We finalized our travel dates today with Matthew 10 Ministries, a non-profit group based in the states that partners with Manna Ministries in India to help orphans, equip pastors, encourage widows, and bring the Christian Gospel to thousands of people there. We will be traveling Nov. 22 – Dec. 1, 2009 to Suryapet and several other surrounding towns. There are a handful of images below that Stevi took on her trip in 2007 to Warrangal capturing the essence of the people and children that, to the eyes, have so little, but looking deeper have everything they need. Coming from a consumer society this is hard to believe but to hear Stevi say “they were the happiest and most beautiful people you have ever seen” I believe her and can’t wait to experience India for the first time next month.

We are going to document the best we can what God is doing through Matthew 10 and Manna Ministries with stills and short video clips for about nine days traveling from city to city and meeting with families, children, widows and pastors and look forward to sharing the stories and images with all of you.

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So, that leaves me with a great reason to post a few more pictures from my trip last year to India. This country is beautiful and the faces of these people below remind me of how humbled I was to visit their homes and churches, knowing that it meant the world to them that we were there. Happiness is not found in the things we own, but in the ways we connect with the Lord and the people around us. 

This week Matt and I are excited to work on designing another sample album, introducing new prices for our wedding clients, and shooting a few projects for Intelligentsia Coffee. We will be in the office so if you need to place any print orders before Christmas, now is the time to do it!

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