*Written on October 31st*
For the past couple of years I’ve only dreamed of being able to shoot a documentary but with every attempt I’ve found myself overwhelmed with what went into it but I remained hopeful. On January 31 of this past year a friend came over and she told me that God had given her a word for me. “Okay, what is it?” She mentioned stuff about me being a director and shooting documentaries for Jesus etc. I thought this was very interesting because I had never shared with her my desire to make documentaries. On March 16 I was sitting in my car facing Zuma Beach waiting for some friends to show up and I got serious and told God, “Yes, I want to do this. I have no clue how but lets direct, lets tell crazy amazing stories through film.” I left it at that. On June 10th the World Race sent out an email to all racers about the documentary project they were embarking on. As you know I decided to switch over to my current squad to be apart of this project.
Currently I am loaded down on a bus with 2 other teams leaving Granada, Nicaragua headed to Managua to meet up with the rest of the squad. From there we will hop on a flight to Atlanta then to Los Angeles, Ca that will soon take us to Manilla, Philippines. Crazy right?! Every so often it hits me that this life I am living is crazy. Never would I have imagined this moment yet with a simple but profound “yes” my life completely changed. I said yes to Jesus and I’ve found myself in places I never knew were possible. In the middle of His everlasting love. In the midst of chaos and confusion I’ve found myself surrounded by His peace that surpasses all understanding. I’ve found myself quitting my job, selling my things, saying goodbye to friends and headed to a new place with no real plan except “Jesus said go.” And now I find myself traveling to 11 different countries in 11 months as a field producer for a documentary. There are 8 field producers on this squad, 1 per team and we have the responsibility of documenting everything that happens on the race. A week or so before starting the race we had a few days of “Storytelling Training,” basically a film school intensive. We learned what a character is: “someone who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it.” We learned how to work the technical side of the camera and we learned that we all have stories inside of us and that they are so many more waiting to be told. We learned the importance and the potential power that this documentary could have. Each producer was equipped with all the necessities to shoot successfully and we were sent off with a loving “Go and tell great stories.”
Having a background in photography has helped me tremendously when it comes to knowing the basics but I am in a whole new ballpark. Field producing is teaching me to see the world in a new way. With photography you take a snap shot, capture a moment and tend to quickly move on but with video you are forced to linger a bit longer. It causes me to take in more of whats happening than if I were out to get a portrait. Videography is teaching me daily about being more of a intentional listener and observer. There’s a balance between being in the moment and anticipating the next depending on conversation and body language.
Nicaragua was absolutely amazing! From the colorful streets to the vibrant people. This month I enjoyed building relationships with some of the guards at el puente (Marisio and Valentin) the men who took us to ministry everyday (Mario and Julio), Bethany who works with el puente, the young adults that work with the Jicaro project and the children that lived on Santa Lucia St.
We prayed for children addicted to glue sniffing, elders at the Home of the Ancients, participated in various feeding programs in Granada and I personally learned the beauty in choice. I’ve been saying this entire month that my team and I didn’t choose one another but we were chosen for each other and we have to choose daily to prefer one another over ourselves. As a team we grew in honesty and sacrifice, though still not perfect and most likely will never be we are growing leaps and bounds together!
Nicaragua was a place I will forever cherish and hope to venture back to one day!!
Check out a small glimpse of my time in Nicaragua below!
Nicaragua from Kendra Harris on Vimeo.
And thank you to all who made my layover in Los Angeles such a treat!!!
