As the strobes flashed, and the smell of Burmese food was in the air, I began to get a little nervous for Myanmar’s first ever Help-Portrait event. We had 85 volunteers, 10 pounds of chicken, 15 pounds of rice, 5 hair and make-up stations, printers, a laminator and 6 studios ready to go for portraits. We waited anxiously for people to come, and we had no idea how many people to expect.

Here is a picture of the girls goofing around with one of the juice packs. We had a company show up (I didn’t even know about this!) and donated 500 glasses of lime juice for the event. This was crucial to keeping a lot of us hydrated! The girls came from another senior student who volunteers time at the monastery working with some of the orphans. They all had similar stories – no parents, living together at the monastery, and becoming educated through the monastery and the government schools.

Below a picture of senior, Nida, who did a wonderful job in helping with this event. Her family contributed a lot of time and effort into making this event a success. She is pictured with one of the girls that she brought.

What an amazing event. I wish I could have been taking pictures and doing more of the “art”, but it was just as fun to run around, troubleshoot, announce things like missing children on the mic, and keep everything running. I am very thankful for this opportunity, and could not have been accomplished without the different team leaders, team members, and YIS for allowing us to use their facilities.

Our total numbers registered were 237 families. We printed off over 350 portraits for these families!!! We served meals to over 300 people, and we had 85 volunteers working for us. We raised over $1200 in donations of food, clothes, printing, laminating and paper. Not bad for a first year, eh??? I’m so thankful that my prayers were answered, and that so many people sacrificed time and money to make this event a success. The professional photographers that Mie Maung and Wunna brought in were incredible, and the donations from one of our students, Lou Maw, donated and made all of the backgrounds you see in these images. YIS Students rocked, especially the 7th grade students! The parents of the students chipped in, and all of this service blew me away!

To see more photos, please visit convergencestudio.wordpress.com or YIS Help-Portrait

One of our volunteers noticed a homeless man out side our location. He went out to invite inside. Turns out he the homeless man had been kicked out of the a coffee shot next door while reading the newspaper. He was livid. After coming in and visiting with me he said: “You know, that one guy invited me in for a cup of coffee, and now I’m getting my portrait taken. I feel good right now. It doesn’t matter what just happened next door. Thank you.”

“I’m so excited, we now have photos to hang on our bare walls in our new apartment,” said by a young girl who just got off the streets with her boyfriend and into a new apartment. She was so overwhelmed with joy.

Humbled to be a photographer. The joy of seeing people when they received their printed portraits was priceless. Thank you for making this something for us to do.

This is our third year running and we look foward to this day every year. We love seeing the smiles on peoples’ faces when they see their portrait and giving them that one special moment to keep forever. It is just a beautiful blessing for all of us.

I said to one woman, we hope we have made your day that little bit more special… and she replied… you have made my year!

As photographers we forget how easy it is to take photos and the memories we have recorded within our own families through photographs. Some families have never had a photograph taken with all of their children together, let alone a professional one. So I understand what a privileged position I am in.

One of our first participants was an elderly couple that were celebrating their first Christmas together. As they were leaving, they told one of the volunteers how appreciative they were of us, and how meaningful their photograph was, because they were not able to afford to have their pictures taken together.

When you take the time to step outside yourself, focus your attention on somebody else, the humbling and fulfilling feeling is beyond words. Knowing that something as simple as a photograph can have such an impact in someone else’s life is so incredible. Being someone who, in their childhood, did not have the opportunity to have professional portraits taken of my family, this event reminded me how valuable of a gift a portrait is. I am humbled to know that I was used as a vessel to show Jesus love to those in my community who are often overlooked and forgotten.

Stephanie & Jeff

Arthur and his daughter

Aracely Lara & her children Michael & Michelle

It was amazing to meet so many people, from so many different walks of life. I think the biggest take away for me was realizing that most people just desire to be heard and loved. By doing something a simple as taking their portrait, listening to their stories & having a cup of coffee with them we gave them dignity. We gave them the chance to he heard & we genuinely loved listening, I think we walked away with several new friendships with both guests & volunteers. It’s amazing how this event drew so many people together.

“One lady told us her and her husband had been homeless for 18 months. they found a house to move in and 6 months later her husband passed away. today was a month since her husband had passed and she really felt this make over and portrait session was the beginning of so much healing for her!” –Laurie Crutchfield, Greenville, NC

In her own words: “Being able to have my portrait taken has helped me to have some inner peace. I came here today with some very special friends, and this made me realize what the holidays are all about. I lost my husband (my best friend) a month ago. I believe this portrait is part of the healing process.”