Photographing for One More Child – Capturing Grace on a  journey through India

In February of 2024, along with Capturing Grace team member Ellie Everett, I had the privilege to witness the work of One More Child in South Asia. Our hearts were deeply moved by the tremendous need that we witnessed in the impoverished communities that One More Child serves.

Thankfully we left with hearts full of hope from the stories we learned and images that we captured.

Thank you Ellie Everett for writing this story of lives changed in India. 

We walked between dilapidated houses of the Leper colony in India until we came to a small, two-room house with a tin roof. We were greeted by Ahana, a 14-year-old girl along with her mother, brothers, and sister. In the dimly lit bedroom, Ahana began to tell us her story of how the local after-school program she originally started going to for support had actually made an eternal impact on her.

Before Ahana joined the afterschool program, she faced numerous obstacles. Her grades were slipping, and her family, like many others in the community, struggled with making ends meet. “Before the afterschool program, I was struggling with my studies and my family problems,” Ahana told me.

More than the academic and financial scholarships that she received, Ahana shares the emphasis on prayer and worship. In a community where access to formal education and resources is limited, the spiritual nourishment provided by the program is invaluable. As I spent time with the afterschool program kids, I could tell that all of them loved the music in the program. Through songs and prayers, Ahana became curious about Christianity.

“Before the afterschool program, my family did not know about God. Then I start going to go and pray. My family began to tease me, shouting at me…why are you praying and worshiping?” Ahana explains. “My family teased me and my grandmother teased me.”

Initially skeptical and even hostile toward her Christianity, Ahana’s family began to slowly change their minds about Ahana’s new faith. Through her perseverance and the support of the afterschool program, her family saw firsthand the positive impact the program had on Ahana’s life and became supportive of her faith.

“They know who God is now. They know His strength. Because of the afterschool program, they can tell people who God is,” Ahana said. “My grandmother is also coming to the afterschool program. And my grandmother is learning about God, and my family is learning about God. And the idol worship is down, and God’s worship is up.”

“They have helped me to reach my goal. And I hope to become an engineer with their help.”

Story by Ellie Everett

The after-school program has helped prepare her for her future life here on Earth and her eternity in Heaven!

I invite you to learn more about the work of One More Child.  I hope that your heart prompts you to become a part of this life-changing ministry by sponsoring a child sponsoring a child.

FROM OUR TIME IN SOUTH ASIA FOR ONE MORE CHILD