Scars and Bad Movies

I love listening to people tell their stories. There is something special about the background of a person; why they have a Harry Potter scar on their forehead or why they proudly own a copy of the latest Indiana Jones movie. These little things make up a person, and sometimes they are not always the most fun to talk about because they can be hard and unfair.

There is this old homeless woman named Little Coches who sells her handmade dolls at the farmer’s market in my hometown. A few years ago I was taking a journalism class that required me to create a photo story about something. I decided that, if she was willing, I would tell her story.

She told me about how she was raped. How she had a son. How he died. She told me about her alcoholic husband and how women are treated in her Hopi tribe. She told me why she lived outside next to the market and that she made dolls and jewelry to provide for her and her dog. I also learned that she loved Jesus.

The cool thing for me was that through making photos of her and writing down her story we had built a relationship. After a few days with her I was accepted, I was "in". She introduced me to her friends and gave me one of her dolls.

After sending in my assignment and presenting it to my class, people decided to wake up a little earlier on Saturday mornings to visit Little Coches and maybe even buy a doll from her. I found out that people really wanted to help her and support what she was doing to provide. That’s when I fully realized the impact that telling a person’s story can make.

People need Jesus and people need people. That’s why God tells us to love Him and love others. A lot of people are not able to tell their own story or to help themselves, and no one can save themselves. Photography and journalism are pointless if there is not truth behind it, no gospel at the root of it. You can make people aware of injustice all you want, but that will never change where a person ends up in the end if Truth isn’t shared.

That is why I am doing this DTS here, where I can learn to trust God, to share truth and to tell someone’s story. So far it has been pretty fantastic.