Kayla + Paul: The Andres Wedding Trailer

Getting to spend your weekends with sweet, sweet couples like Kayla+Paul is honestly the dream. And then when they throw weddings as gorgeous as this one right here, you are straight up in heaven!

Despite their wedding day falling on one of the warmest days of the year nothing could wear out these two or their incredibly fun, adorable, and joyous souls. Throughout their entire day there was an overflowing surplus of smiles, giggles, and your-heart-just-skipped-a-beat moments. From having one of the most awesome and wonderful bridal parties that helped make their day absolutely perfect, to picking out some of the most gorgeous places to go take photos (let's just talk about the Saint Joseph beach for a second!) - Kayla and Paul's day was pure storybook.

We shared so many wonderful moments with our couples this summer and as we say goodbye to summer officially, we are looking back on this day in particular with a great amount of fondness and love. Kayla and Paul are two of the kindest and most beautiful people you will ever meet, and this trailer just begins to scratch the surface of how breathtaking their day was. Join us in celebrating Mr. + Dr. Andres!

Photographer: Alyssa and Drew Photography

Florist: Tossin' Tulips

Wedding Dress Designer: Sophia's Bridal - Maggie Sottero Designs

Hair and Makeup: Affinity Salon and Spa

DJ: Pure Energy

Cake Designer: Danae Larson

Cupcake Designer: Kayla and Vicki Andres

Venue: Gravity Wine, Hilton Garden Inn

Five Years of Storytelling

Five years of storytelling is a truly special moment. From the adventures that have led us across the country, and across the world, to the stories that made us laugh, and those that brought tears to our eyes; storytelling for us is about bringing people to people. To realize, to take a moment and fully recognize, that this has been the journey we have been on for the last five years is unbelievably humbling. To be a part of a much larger story that encompasses our entire world, and to be able to share the stories of those we meet along the way on our own journey - it's indescribable.

For five years we have grown together, we have overcome challenges together, and have continued to learn what it is to be storytellers who love unconditionally, together. From humble beginnings in a college dorm room, to now traveling the world to help share the stories of those in need - and also those working to create a world of peace, a world we all want. It's hard to believe where we are now and who we have become as a team, and more so as individuals. 

This year we are celebrating an ongoing journey of storytelling, a continuing adventure; looking back and reflecting, but also eagerly looking ahead to the future. Dreaming of where these next five years will take us, and all the new adventures we'll be going on. And while no one knows what tomorrow may bring with it, we are excited nonetheless, because we are a family of storytellers who tell stories that bring people, to people.

To Tell the Story

If you know us, ever had the chance to connect with us, or have followed us for more than a day chances are you've heard us talk about the work of telling stories. It's core to who we are, and it's what makes us excited to get out of bed every morning. It directs and inspires us and it's what we firmly believe in.

Storytelling is an old art, but it's something that is so intrinsically a part of who we all are that it will never cease to stop bringing us together. From every corner of the world stories have, and always will, bring people of different walks and understandings together. The ability to help play a role in such a moving force makes us ecstatic.

The chance to help share somebody's journey in a way that countless hundreds can connect and relate to them; the ability to help create a place and moment when we engage with something else other than just a pixelated screen; the privilege to help tell and be a part of a much larger story that is at work in our world - storytelling is an unbelievable tool that in many ways marks who we are as a society, community, and world.

From a small business owner here in West Michigan, to a community working to end the threat of Malaria and extreme poverty half a world away; from a couple exchanging their vows on their wedding day, to a dreamer who has a vision of changing the world for the better - everyone's story is collection of characters and adventures that is telling a much larger story - and it's that story that we continue to chase after and tell day after day. 

That's what we believe in, and that's why we do what we do; to tell the story of who we ALL are, and where we're daring to go next!

Hope in the form of a Bed Net

This past summer I traveled to Zambia, Africa to continue documenting the relief work being done in this predominantly rural farming country against such rampant killers as malaria. Malaria is a disease of the blood that is caused by a parasite, which is transmitted from person to person by mosquito. In Sub-Saharan Africa almost everyone you meet and speak with has personally had, or knows someone who has had malaria in their lifetime. If treated immediately the disease is manageable, but the difference between those who can defend against malaria and those who suffer at it's hands comes down to one simple thing: status.

While poverty in a country such as Zambia is widespread, few realize just how prevalent the class system still is to their culture. While the threshold of wealth may be lower, there is still a definite separation of those who are considered the wealthy, upper class, and those living in poverty and - most often - extreme poverty.

One early morning on our way to Kitwe, Zambia we stopped at a village located several kilometers away to observe and document the preventative effects that bed nets can have on a community - a story I have been following and continuing to document over the last two years. In this village we were brought to the home of one family in particular where we met Jacob, a sweet, beautiful child who had just turned 8-years-old.

His brothers and sisters played around in the open dirt patch just to the side of their home, staying cool in the shade as best they could. And there in the midst of their games, lay their brother, Jacob. Upon first glance Jacob appeared to be just like the rest of the children, resting and staying cool from the hot arid fall sun. But Jacob was not like the other children who surrounded him. 

Since birth Jacob has dealt with occasional cases of epileptic seizures that his family had been able to keep managed. While any seizure can be extremely dangerous, and potentially fatal, Jacob's condition was being well looked after. He began to grow and become strong like all the other children, but due to his family's extreme poverty Jacob's mother was not able to provide a bed net for her family, nor medication (a daily and far more expensive option) to keep her children safe.

About a year ago Jacob was bitten by a mosquito, most likely while he was sleeping, and due to the intense fever brought on by the malaria parasite, his epileptic episodes intensified within a matter of hours. His mother was able to take him the the hospital and get the proper medication to save her son, but alas, it was too late. One of the seizures Jacob suffered damaged his brain so badly that he was left unable to talk, stand up, eat normally, the list goes on. Jacob's once bright and exciting future was taken from him.

This is how Jacob spends his days now, sitting on a mat on the ground floor, outside with his siblings as they run back and forth. This little boy, with all the potential and promise in the world now waits in the dirt, broken and beaten by a disease which is so easily preventable. He is left waiting for nothing short of a miracle.

I'm not sure I've ever experienced as hard a moment in my life as that morning; walking up and hearing this family's story, seeing this little child robbed of his life, seeing the hurt and pain he must be going through, and especially that of his family. And then, to walk away, unsure if I will ever see Jacob again, unsure if somehow that miracle will, in fact, play out, not sure if this story will ever have a happily ever after. But what I do know is this; before leaving our time with his family, we were able to give Jacob's family hope. Hope in the form of a bed net. A bed net that this family now can protect themselves with. A first line in defense against a disease that can be so easily done away with in, and with the help of, first-world nations.

Tonight at 7pm, Night of Nets, a locally grown campaign to help raise money to provide this EXACT same hope, is putting on an event to help bring this preventative solution to thousands more families across parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. Tonight you can be a part of helping children living in extreme poverty avoid becoming similar stories such as Jacob's. Tonight you can be a part of helping end Malaria and it's crippling hold on thousands of innocent adults and children living with the threat of this deadly disease.

Come out to Cornerstone University's Men's Soccer game at 7pm tonight to learn more about this cause, this disease, and how you can be an active member in helping bring this preventative solutions to countless more Jacobs.

I can't quite say what Jacob was thinking that morning, or if he could make sense of who we were, this group of very obvious American travelers that visited his home. I can't know for certain if he understood what was happening, or if he was relieved. I cannot know for sure, but the faint smile that lit up his face when he saw us makes me believe that just maybe, somehow beyond my own understanding of rationality and sense, that Jacob knew in that moment that he was safe from the thing that almost took his life. But clearly not his spirit. 

-Matthew

Night of Nets: CU Basketball vs. Aquinas

If you follow us, have talked with us, or know us at all, you know how close Night of Nets is to our hearts. NoN is a community coming and working together to be change agents for other communities around the world in the prevention of Malaria. Each NoN event has a monumental influence and outcome on the lives of countless families and children around the world, something which our team has witnessed first hand. The relief, joy, and love you can see on a sister's face as she receives a bed net, knowing that her siblings whom she cares for can sleep safely at night is a sight that you can never forget. 

If we could, we would take each of you and allow you to witness the impact that one bed net can have. It truly is the easiest, most sustainable answer to the Malaria crisis in areas like Sub-Saharan Africa. A bed net honestly changes lives and the entire future for Africa. It keeps children healthy enough to attend school, it helps keep parents and caretakers working to support their families and the economy of their community, and it protects everyone from a sickness that can kill them.

We are proud and excited to stand behind CU's Men and Women's basketball teams as they continue to help raise awareness and support in helping end this completely preventable, but life threatening disease. Join us on February 18th at 7:00pm @ Cornerstone University as we work together to end the threat of Malaria and bring security to families and children around the world, one bed net at a time.

Night of Nets @ CU

We are extremely excited about taking part in the final Night of Nets event of the Fall season, happening at Cornerstone University tonight. It has been so amazing being a part of this journey, and helping lend our talents to spreading the story of Malaria, bed nets, and a world that we desperately long to see- a world without Malaria, and more so a world without disease or sickness.

These are the stories we live to tell; the story of two communities, nearly a third of a world away from each other, engaging with one another to learn from the other, and to help make a difference for a world we want. We could not be more thankful to have the chance to help tell this story, and to help raise awareness about how we can work to end Malaria worldwide.

It's so easy to get involved, and so simple to help make a huge change in places like Zambia, or other Sub-saharan African countries. How could we not help for only $6.00? 

If you're in the Grand Rapids area tonight, we would love to see you at the CU Men's Soccer Night of Nets game tonight starting at 7pm. Come be a force for change, come be a part of the story.

A long way from "Home"

It's been three weeks since I returned from Africa and I don't think there's been a day that's gone by since in which my heart hasn't thought about that place, the people, the culture. It weighs on me, certainly, but more so I miss the community, the love, the hope in the midst of struggle that exists there. In many ways I found a home in a place I never expected to find it.

It's curious, really, how quickly a place becomes a home for us. One minute your in a whole new land, both scared of the mysterious nature of the unknown, and enrapture with this since of adventure. Next thing you know something deep within you awakens, and all that once seemed to hold you back is gone. You're bolder, more out going. You smile at strangers you never would have before. You say words like "mulishani", and walk down roads and paths you never dreamed you'd see. Before you know it, you've rediscovered what it means to be "home".

Home is the sense of being completely content with the world as it is around you. It doesn't necessarily mean peace, it doesn't necessarily mean security. No, home is the understanding that you are not alone. The world around you can literally be collapsing and yet, home is the place where you know someone is there to walk alongside you through the brokenness. Home is "mulishani".

In my short few days there in Africa, on the outskirts of a city larger than my current place of residence, but one I had never heard of, I found home. I was welcomed into a community, a culture, and made to feel as if no matter how dark the world was around me, I would not be alone. I am not certain there will ever be a place such as this that I will find again. A place where hope sprung a new every morning, and every evening we celebrated the blessings we had in the midst of adversity.

.I've been back now for three weeks. Not a day goes by that I don't think of this place that I once explored and fell in love with. Working on this story has been such a journey, such a renewal of purpose. One thing has become clear to me, however; I came back, but I am now a long way from Home.

Photo credit to the amazing Spencer Penfield Photography