Hello, my name is David Estrella. I grew up in Monterey California, a small town on the coast of some of the most beautiful country in the world. Of course, growing up here I didn't realize how privileged I really was. I spent my younger years enjoying life as a quiet content young boy who never thought he would ever leave his comfortable home town. I had no desire to see the world or move away some day. I didn't want to go away to a distant college or experience anything new because I thought I had it all right here in Monterey. Well, I was quite wrong, and God had better plans for me.

After doing two years of community college at MPC (Monterey Peninsula College), I moved to the desert of Southern California, in a little town called Hemet to work for an old documentary film company, Jeremiah Films. Staying on an old dusty ranch in the hot summer, working hard on very low budget productions, getting paid in groceries, and spending much time alone didn't seem like a great way to start off my young film career, but it was alright with me. I lived with some of the nicest people I've ever met, and I was out on my own, discovering a different side of life that my home town could never show me.

Little did I know, this dry place was just a beginning point to a long and exciting journey. One day Diane came up to me and mentioned that their family was thinking of moving to Hawaii (this was the family that I lived with and worked with). I was shocked and excited at the comment, but quickly dismissed the idea, thinking it would never happen. Well it did happen. Three months later they were on the plane to the island of Kauai. This move was very significant for the both of us. It gave them a refreshing new start with their young family, and it pushed me to move to Hawaii as well, but not with them.

The big boss of Jeremiah Films had a son who was in a humanitarian type organization called Surfing the Nations. The non-profit organization is exactly as their name implies. They're surfers whose dreams and goals lie in the furthest reaches of the world. Their modo is surfers giving back, and their goal is to live for something bigger than themselves, and to give to others from what they have been given. After hearing of these guys I decided to go. Before I knew it I was in Honolulu, Hawaii. During the year I was with them, God took me to South Africa, Molokai, Maui, Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. I took my camera everywhere I went, and began to learn the art of telling other peoples stories. I still have much to learn, but God is my teacher and the world is my classroom.

Yes, I have been to many interesting parts of the world, yes I have seen amazing things, yes I have met extraordinary people, and tasted all kinds of different food, but none of that is what's important. it doesn't matter that I've traveled the world or done amazing things. What matters is God, His plan, His purposes, His will. I am overjoyed that God has sent me to these places and will continue to take to many more, but that joy cannot even begin to compare with the joy that comes from knowing the love of God.