Four years ago today, I became a father. Little did I know how my story would become entwined with Guatemala. We started out capturing Guatemalan culture so our sons could appreciate their heritage, but we ended up connecting to our own.
Two and a half years ago, I met some young men in a Guatemalan prison. After listening to their stories, I realized that both my sons and I could be in that prison in different circumstances. I had to respond. That is how Athentikos was born.
We wanted to serve in global missions, while remaining authentic to who God made us to be. We are not carpenters or doctors – we are creatives. We didn’t go to construct or heal, we went to capture stories to share so that others might be inspired to respond.
Fast forward to May 2010 … we have been editing for over a year and are almost ready to lock our picture. I have learned so much about Guatemala and my family. When I look into the eyes of my sons, I am reminded of Shorty’s pain and struggle – how he lost his family to Guatemala’s Civil War. I am reminded of our own pain and struggle – how Amelia and I were not able to have children. But neither story ended there. Shorty has been healed and we have two precious sons. The pain of the past will always be in some corner of our minds, but we choose to embrace it as part of our journey.
I look forward to sharing the documentary with you all very soon … and I look forward to watching it with my sons as a reminder that God’s grace is overwhelming the odds to repair the broken.
Scott
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