A of couple years ago around this time, I was thinking and dreaming, and making plans for my business.  I went through an extensive branding project, which is how I ended up with the Krista Photography you see today.  Part of that process led me to make a pretty significant change in how I price my packages.  I call it GIVE.  I believe it’s my responsibility and privilege to give back from the abundance which I’ve been given.  Not that I’m some extravagant lifestyle, but compared to rest of the world, I live in absolute luxury.  Part of how I have tried to give back as a photographer over the last few years is through documentary missions photography.  I’ve been able to help some wonderful non-profit organizations tell their story by providing images of the work they’re doing throughout the world.  I am passionate about this kind of work, would love to do more!  But I wanted my wedding photography to GIVE back as well.  So, I began a program to GIVE 10% of every wedding package to charity.  My couples can choose from a number of great organizations that I’m passionate about and it’s been a blessing to me to see how much we’ve been able to GIVE back together.

This week, one of the organizations dear to my heart has been especially on my mind and in my prayers.  In June of 2008, I was commissioned by Hope For The Children Of Haiti to document their work in Port-au-Prince.  It was a wonderful experience and am I’m so glad that they have been able to use my images to tell their story.  While perusing Facebook the other day, I discovered that a massive and deadly earthquake had hit Port-au-Prince.  As the hours passed, friends more intimately connected to the organization began posting news.  Almost everyone from the organization is alive and accounted for, praise God, but their home and school have been destroyed.  They are sleeping outside on a basketball court.  And I can’t even begin to imagine how much death and destruction is all around them.

If you’ve seen the photographs coming out of Haiti, you may have some idea of the enormity of the damage.  We can almost imagine it because here in the States, we saw Hurricane Katrina’s destruction.  But we’re not talking about the wealthiest nation on Earth – we’re talking about one of the poorest.  We’re talking about a country that has been devastated by hurricanes, mud slides, poverty, and cruel dictatorship… and now this.

This image is from my trip in June 2008, after a rain shower.

Imagine all of these homes, flattened.  What are these people going to do now?  In a country where you don’t always have power, sanitation is questionable, and infrastructure lacking – how are they going to rebuild?

Image taken the morning after the earthquake, from The Big Picture

Even the President of Haiti is without a home…

Image taken from The Big Picture.  I just keep imagining what it would do to our morale in a time like this, if the White House was damaged so badly.

Please pray for this city, and for these people.  Pray for the 50,000+ who have died.  Pray for the tens of thousands left at risk for death by disease and starvation.  Pray for the hundreds of thousands left homeless.  Pray for the children left orphaned, and the parents left childless.  Pray for HFCH as they care for their children, and as more children will surely come.

This was the boys’ home

If you would like to do something to help, please consider giving to Hope for the Children of Haiti.  HFCH has set a goal to raise $250,000 to provide for the immediate needs of the children in their care, to rebuild their homes and school, and to minister to those who are suffering in their community.   With your help, they’ll be able to reach that goal.  As for the GIVE program – all weddings booked within the next 30 days will have only one option for their 10% donation… It will be going to Haiti.