Arriving in the DC area to begin our next project was an interesting feeling — in a really good way. It was probably the most normal and at home we have felt since embarking on this year-long mission, since we were returning to the area where we lived as newlyweds for the previous two years. We were greeted by our good friends, Joe and Abbie, who were graciously opening their home to us for the next week. We visited our home church, The Transit, helping to set up and break down all the equipment in our young church plant that meets at a school on Sunday. Midweek, we attended our old community group/Bible study for a very nostalgic meal we craved during our travels (Gwen’s alfredo sauce and Jonni’s homemade pasta) along with much-needed fellowship. And on the weekend, we re-visited some of our favorite restaurants in the area (like Good Stuff Eatery for burgers and milkshakes) with the company of great friends. It was just like old times and felt like no time at all had passed.

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After a short getaway to the Thousand Islands to celebrate our 2-year wedding anniversary (check out our AgapeVisuals Instagram account for photos), we headed to Norfolk, VA to begin work on the next project for our missional year with the Military Missions Network (MMN). MMN is a group of evangelical churches, chaplains, and ministries collaborating for a greater synergy in outreach and ministry to military worldwide. They ignite a vision for touching the world through collaboration in missional military ministry, link military with ministries, equip and mobilize military believers.

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After our first project in NYC, we began our second and final project in the Big Apple with a completely different experience. Our first project was photography only, our hardest assignment in the history of our photojournalistic careers, capturing the work of a homeless mission. Then one day it all changed when we transitioned into our AirBNB shared apartment stay in the hip Park Slope area of Brooklyn to begin our work with the New York Anti-Trafficking Network (NYATN). The transition was like night and day, from poverty to abundance, within a matter of a few miles. It seemed like we were in India again, where the caste system divides the line of rich and poor seemingly randomly but truly ingrained in society to the point where it becomes acceptable, invisible.

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Many would think that departing Africa headed to New York City would be exciting to the traveler, but we were not quite ready to leave surprisingly beautiful Rwanda for the crowded, dirty, smelly streets of New York. When we landed on American soil, one of the first conversations we had was asking for directions to the Amtrak station in Philadelphia. During this conversation, our intelligence was questioned three times — “Do you know what a ramp looks like?”, the woman asked repeatedly in response to our question of whether we turned left or right outside the airport doors to get to this ramp. Ahhh, home sweet home. It turns out we do know what a ramp looks like. We found it and we boarded the train headed to NYC.

We exited Penn Station and were greeted by Kayla from The Bowery Mission. All we knew about The Bowery Mission was that it was a Christian homeless shelter, but we soon found out — and saw for ourselves — that their work reaches much deeper.

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When we boarded our flight from Delhi to Rwanda (connecting in Ethiopia), we were pleasantly surprised with a huge Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft that looked brand new. For some reason, we weren’t expecting a long flight, but then we were informed it was going to be 7 hours. Neither of us had ever been to Africa before, and we had become so comfortable in our five-star accommodations in Delhi that it was hard to look forward to the next project ahead of us. That all changed though.
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To produce three videos for Free the Slaves in Varanasi, India, we spent four days filming in two different villages. Both villages were a two-hour drive from our hotel, so we would wake up at 4 a.m. to reach the communities by sunrise. Twelve to fourteen hours later, we’d be back at the hotel, feeling exhausted both physically and mentally (and dirty!). Our work was challenging, but rewarding as always. We enjoyed every minute of it. Jordan also had many opportunities to snap photos of Cassie sleeping in the car to add to his growing collection, too. We’ll keep those to ourselves this time, though.

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Nepal is a country of many layers. Tiny streets with tiny arches for tiny people to go through, but once you enter, another dimension opens and you can see there is still much more to discover. An alley isn’t just an alley, it’s suddenly an open-air mall four levels high, with pedestrian bridges overhead. This describes the tourist area of Thamel, where we became regulars since our hotel was right on the perimeter.

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Many months ago, when we were still in the planning stages for our mission with Equipping Saints for Ministry (ES4M), all the details effortlessly came together, from a divine connection through our Acts 29 Church Network pastor at our home church, Transit Church in Northern Virginia, to the timing for our mission. The director of ES4M, Mike Heitland, many times commented on how the stars had aligned for our partnership. That is, until a few days before our arrival date when a Turkish Airlines plane crashed on the Kathmandu runway sending the airport into a spiral of chaos (see previous blog post).

When we finally got there, we were a full two days behind our working schedule and the team of six didn’t fully arrive until four days past their schedule. This might not sound like much of a delay until you consider we only had 10 days to begin with and two videos to film and produce, not to mention a spur-of-the-moment task of capturing specific footage to be used in a video narrated by Tim Keller for The Gospel Coalition (TGC). Apart from us, ES4M was now forced to cram a week’s worth of training into a two-and-a-half day course. It seems impossible, but with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). Even with the late start — not to mention Jordan getting a 24-hour stomach bug and the team taking a two-day culture trip out of our working time — God graced us with ample time to produce our two promised videos for ES4M and TGC in the least amount of time we’ve had so far. When it finally came time to edit, we felt God’s hand leading the project. Creativity was abundant, and before we knew it, we had produced two completely different videos that complimented each other perfectly. We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed making them.

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When we left Back2Back in Hyderabad, we didn’t know how any experience would compare to that one, but when the entire Kachhap family met us at the airport in Jharkhand State with huge flower arrangements in hand, we realized we were in for another great Indian adventure.

It’s quite apparent to us now, having spent close to a month in India in two completely different areas, that Indians are extremely welcoming. Everywhere we go, there is always a swagath grand, which, if you remember, was the name of our hotel in Hyderabad (South India), but it wasn’t until here in Jharkhand State (East India) that we came to find out that it meant “grand welcome.”

Our second mission was serving with the Kachhap family — Christian missionaries and Indian natives. Their entire family is involved in ministry, stemming from the patriarch of the family, Reverend Sunil Kachhap, pastor and founder of their family’s Indian nonprofit Springs of Living Water. Reverend Sunil and his sweet wife, Mary, have three children, two of which we had the pleasure of meeting. The one we spent the most time with, is their son Anmol, who speaks great English and is the voice in the video we filmed and produced. While we were here, Anmol’s Nepalese wife, Sarah, who was eight months pregnant at the time, went into labor and had a beautiful baby girl! We went to the hospital and got to hold the seven-pound miracle of life who still goes unnamed — they were certain she was going to be a boy! The entire Kachhap family, from the pastor-dad to his children’s children are all committed followers to Jesus Christ and have dedicated their lives to ministry in India. Their work is far-reaching and a wonderful testimony.

We are proud to share their story, and as always, we hope to come back to see them again.

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Our first mission is complete and after our 10 days of service with Back2Back Ministries in Hyderabad, India, we already have a video to show for it! The video is embedded later on in this blog post so be sure to scroll down and watch it, or just click here to watch it on YouTube now, but we gained so much more than a video project. We deeply connected with the Back2Back staff and the children they serve. We had no idea how hard it would be to leave the 26 smiling orphans at the end of our 10-day stay. We grew to love each and every child, with different passions and stories, and we promised them that we’ll be back, which I am sure we will.

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