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.

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.

Without any marketing other than word of mouth and her Etsy page she had successfully launched her own clothing line in less than six months. Word traveled fast, far and wide and soon boutiques and wholesalers all the way from Texas to Germany became interested in carrying her line of clothing, forcing her to find a sewing factory to help her mass produce her orders. That is where we got involved! As this special lady is my sister-in-law, she asked us to photograph the dresses and help design her marketing materials to present at an upcoming trade show in hopes to attract a few buyers. Amazingly, we were able to turn around her catalog and postcards all the way from concept – shooting – design – production in only 4 short days. We are extremely excited about what she is doing and couldn’t be more proud. Many thanks to our wonderful friends and photographer Tony and Katy Skarlatos for allowing us to use their beautiful daughter, Mia, as one of the models in our shoot. Olivia, my niece, is the other sweet little girl that helped make the shoot such a success.

Below is a quick look at the catalog spreads starting with the front and back cover. Since Sam’s visit to the trade show in June she has been picked up by reps in Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, and several other cities around the U.S. For more information on where to find her Fall 2009 line at a store near you or to place an order online visit her website HERE!

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Also, check back later this week for more pictures from our trips to Texas and maybe even a few pictures from our own reception!