Behind the Scenes
Norman A. Miles (Executive Producer)
The thought that I would produce a film about the lost years of Jesus had never crossed my mind until I met author Paul Perry. I had arranged to visit him at his home in Arizona to present an entirely different proposition to him. I was involved in the search for a historically significant sunken ship off the coast of Nova Scotia and wanted to talk to Paul in relation to writing a book regarding our efforts to find the remains of the ship and the stories of those aboard when the ship had finally succumbed to a Northeast storm. He had written two books about excavating shipwrecks with which I was familiar and thought he would be the perfect candidate to write the book for the project.
How was I to know that providence would take me in a completely different direction?
I remember the night well. Our historical researcher John de Bry and I flew into Phoenix and went to see Paul and his wife Dee at their home in Paradise Valley. This was our first meeting but it was as though we had known each other for years.
Paul Perry (Writer) and Norman A. Miles (Executive Producer)
We spent a few hours discussing the shipwreck project and Paul agreed that this would be his next book assignment. Then, as an afterthought, he showed me his new book, Jesus in Egypt: Discovering the secrets of Christ's childhood years. I was immediately fascinated by the concept of the book, which was to examine the lost years of Jesus, those 30 years in the life of Jesus that are not covered in the Bible. Like so many people I had always been curious about the unknown childhood of our Savior. As I thumbed through the book I realized that more information existed about the childhood years of Jesus than I thought possible. Not only were there written words and oral tradition to fill-in missing information, there were also Holy sites believed to have been visited by the Holy Family. It was as though new Holy Lands had been discovered.
Paul offered me a copy of the book to take back my hotel that night and I read it until early morning. When I woke up the following day it was clear to me that I wanted to produce this book as a documentary film, learn more about what was in Egypt and what did this land have to do with the Holy Family.
Working on this documentary has introduced me to new people, lands and cultures and has taken me to places I didn't know existed. I believe it was providence that brought this project to me. Although producing Jesus, the Lost Years has been a test of inner strength at times, it has added immensely to my faith and spirituality. There has been nothing like it in my life and I wouldn't have missed the opportunity for anything. The experience has opened my eyes, heart and mind to much that has not only been a part of my past, but has now caused me to regularly reflect and realize that the past has been in many ways a preparation for this opportunity and the future.
