Today, I leave for countries 63, 64 and 65 on this journey God has placed before me through Capturing Grace.

As my departure has drawn near, I have found myself sifting through countless photographs from the 62 countries that came before, faces, homes, villages, city streets and moments that still carry me back to the people who allowed me into their lives.

Looking across these images, I am reminded that each photograph represents far more than a place I have visited.

It represents a life entrusted to me.

A child who stood quietly before my camera. A mother carrying her baby while continuing the work of the day. A family welcoming me into a home with very little to offer, yet giving generously from what they had. A ministry leader who has devoted years to serving people whose struggles are rarely seen by the wider world.

Some photographs hold extraordinary beauty. Others reveal poverty, loss and circumstances that are difficult to understand. Many somehow contain both.

Again and again, I have discovered that grace does not require suffering to disappear before it can be seen. Grace often reveals itself in the middle of hardship, in courage, tenderness, faith, resilience and the quiet determination to keep moving forward.

As I look back through these photographs, I am overwhelmed by how unlikely and sacred this journey has been. I could never have imagined where God would take Capturing Grace, the people I would meet or the stories I would be trusted to carry home.

And now another journey begins.

Over the next two weeks, I will travel through Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras, serving alongside four ministries and continuing the work that has shaped so much of my life through Capturing Grace.

This will be one of the most costly, ambitious and logistically demanding Capturing Grace journeys I have undertaken. But the true weight of a trip like this cannot be measured only in airline tickets, miles traveled, nights away from home or the equipment carried through airports.

It is measured in trust.

It is found in the moment someone sits across from me and begins to share a part of their life that may be difficult to revisit. It is found in the responsibility of listening well, asking thoughtful questions and creating photographs that allow someone to be seen with dignity.

Central America is a place of extraordinary beauty.

I can already see the mist resting over volcanic mountains, coffee growing along green hillsides, tropical forests filled with sound and color, sunlight breaking through afternoon rain and roads winding through landscapes that seem almost impossible to describe.

But beauty and hardship often live very close together.

A road may curve through a breathtaking mountain pass and then descend into a community where poverty has shaped nearly every decision a family must make. A brightly colored city may be filled with music and life, while a young person nearby is preparing to enter adulthood without the safety and support of a permanent family.

Behind the landscapes are children whose lives have been interrupted by abuse, neglect, abandonment or separation.

There are families trying to remain together.

There are young adults leaving the child-welfare system and attempting to build lives without many of the relationships and resources most of us take for granted.

There are farmers, entrepreneurs and parents working hard to create a different future for their families.

Yet this is not simply a journey into poverty or brokenness.

It is also a journey into courage.

I will meet churches that have decided the needs of their communities belong to them. I will enter the homes of families who have opened their doors to children needing safety and belonging. I will listen to foster parents, adoptive parents and biological families who have walked through the complicated and sometimes painful work of restoration.

I will meet pastors who believe faith must extend beyond the walls of a church.

I will photograph farmers, small-business owners and savings-group members who are working together to overcome poverty with dignity rather than dependency.

And I will spend time with young people whose lives have been shaped by the care system, but who are determined that their past will not have the final word.

This is where I hope Capturing Grace can serve.

I am not traveling with easy answers.

I am going to listen.

I will sit at kitchen tables, walk through neighborhoods, visit churches and community programs, and enter spaces where people have graciously allowed me to see something of their lives.

I will listen before lifting my camera.

The photographs will matter, but the camera is only the beginning. The greater work is learning enough about someone’s life to tell their story honestly—to see beyond circumstances and recognize the courage, faith, humor, sorrow, perseverance and hope that make each person so much more than a label or statistic.

Some of these conversations may last several hours. Long after I return home, the work will continue through transcripts, photographs, writing, editing and the careful shaping of each story.

My hope is that the finished stories will become something these ministries can use for years to come—helping others understand their work, connecting supporters to real people and preserving the evidence of what love and faithfulness can accomplish.

After more than a decade of doing this work, I still never take lightly the moment someone entrusts me with their story.

I know that entering another person’s life is sacred ground.

My prayer is that every person I photograph will feel honored rather than used, known rather than reduced to their circumstances, and reminded that their life has value.

Perhaps that is what I continue to discover through Capturing Grace:

Grace is rarely found only in places where life is easy.

It is often found in the family that makes room for one more child.

In the mother doing the difficult work necessary to bring her family back together.

In the pastor who refuses to give up on his community.

In the young adult who continues moving forward without the support he or she should have received.

In the person who has very little, yet still finds something to offer another.

And in the quiet decision to believe that brokenness does not have to be the end of the story.

Over the coming weeks and months, I look forward to introducing you to some of the people I meet. I hope their stories will do more than inform us. I hope they will challenge the way we see poverty, family, vulnerability, faith and the responsibility we have toward one another.

I invite you to travel with me through the photographs and stories that will follow.

Please pray for safe travel, good health, open doors and wisdom throughout this journey. Pray for the ministry leaders who have invested so much time preparing for my arrival. Most of all, pray that I will listen well, see clearly and handle every person’s story with the care it deserves.

These are the four ministries I will have the privilege of serving:

RED VIVA COSTA RICA

Red Viva Costa Rica is part of the global Viva Network, bringing churches and child-serving organizations together to create safer communities for children. Rather than allowing ministries to work in isolation, Red Viva strengthens cooperation, equips leaders in child protection and mobilizes local churches to support vulnerable children and families. During my time with Red Viva, I will learn from the people serving through local churches and community programs, documenting how collective action can create lasting change in the lives of children.
Learn more: https://www.viva.org/

CASA VIVA COSTA RICA

Casa Viva is built around a beautifully simple conviction: children and families belong together. Working in partnership with local churches and government authorities, Casa Viva recruits, trains and supports Costa Rican families who open their homes to children needing safety and care.

Whenever possible, the goal is restoration with a child’s biological family; when that is not possible, Casa Viva helps pursue the best permanent family solution. I will spend time with foster and adoptive families, a biological family that has experienced reunification, pastors and the Casa Viva team—listening to the deeply human stories behind family-based care.
Learn more https://casaviva.org

ENLACE — EL SALVADOR

ENLACE equips local churches to lead the transformation of their own communities. Through training, coaching, partnerships and practical resources, churches work alongside local leaders to address the many interconnected dimensions of poverty. In El Salvador, I will travel into communities to meet pastors, farmers, entrepreneurs, savings-group members and families who are developing locally led solutions and building more sustainable futures. These stories will show how communities can move from dependency toward dignity, opportunity and shared responsibility.
Learn more https://www.enlace.link

ORPHAN OUTREACH — HONDURAS

Orphan Outreach serves vulnerable children, families and young adults in Honduras through community strengthening, family-based care, education, advocacy and support for those leaving the care system. My time in Honduras will include NiCo in La Paz, where children and families receive educational and community support; meetings connected to the development of stronger child-welfare systems; and time with young adults in San Pedro Sula who are being supported through EGRESA as they transition from care toward independent adulthood. I hope to tell stories that reveal both the challenges they face and the courage with which they are building their futures.
Learn more: https://orphanoutreach.org/country/honduras

Three countries.

Four ministries.

Many miles, many conversations and many lives I have not yet had the privilege of knowing.

I leave with cameras in my bags, questions in my notebook and gratitude in my heart.

Once again, I am setting out to search for grace—not because it is hidden, but because sometimes we must slow down, listen carefully and look beyond the surface before we are able to see it.

About Capturing Grace
Discover the story behind Capturing Grace and how my daughter’s legacy continues to inspire my journey: https://capturinggrace.org/about-us

If you feel led to help support the travel, photography, writing and production costs of this Capturing Grace journey, your gift would be deeply appreciated.
https://capturinggrace.org/donate/