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.