The story of Dorothy A. Miller is about her all-consuming promotion of "God's Story: From Creation to Eternity."
The 80-minute DVD released in 1996 contains a script written by Miller and is narrated by actor Dean Jones, the star of many Disney movies.
"He did it because he thought it was a great project," said Miller, of Hemet. "The storyteller format is important and key to what we do."
The God's Story Project was created to translate the Bible stories video into every language to assist evangelists and missionaries, Miller said. To date, "God's Story" has been translated into 200 languages.
Miller said every language represents a team of people who came together to produce the translation. They learn how to pronounce all the words correctly and how to find the right narrator. The videos are produced in Hemet and the team receives the master DVD so they can freely reproduce it to distribute in their own countries.
"Stories impact us body, soul and spirit," Miller said. "When information is presented documentary-style it touches our head but rarely reaches our heart.
"So this is a great vehicle to explain God's word," she said.
She explained that the most effective way that information is passed from generation to generation is through storytelling.
"In our society the word 'story' is synonymous with children, and people think that now that they are mature they want the real stuff," Miller said. "But our life is a story — we all have a beginning, middle and end."
In 1998, Miller was asked to become executive director of the God's Story Project. In 2001 she purchased the rights to its works and took the necessary steps to have the group certified as a nonprofit organization.
"Here in the U.S. it's a little like the wizard behind the curtain," Miller said. "We are not a huge operation, but we network with people all over the world."
One of her local volunteers is Barbara Rinas, who learned about the project at First Baptist Church of Hemet, which both women attend.
"To me this is huge. They are reaching people who have never heard about Jesus before," said Rinas, of Hemet. "The Bible has been converted into many languages but if you can't read, it doesn't do any good."
Rinas helps process orders and is setting up computer spreadsheets to compile data that Miller can use in her presentations.
"She is a very devoted person, and she's extremely knowledgeable about the Bible," Rinas said. "More people need to know about this project."
Miller said the video contains about two-thirds Old Testament stories and one-third New Testament.
"And they are strung together like a string of pearls," she said.
The video is able to be shown to remote villagers in faraway countries via a solar-powered DVD player that was developed in Israel. It comes in a backpack with all attachments included. The entire package weighs 16 pounds, Miller said.
Miller grew up in Covina and was a horse riding instructor for 25 years. She and her husband, Tom, operated the Via Verde Equestrian Center for 17 years, training many Olympic competitors.
"I was learning world-class communication there," said Miller, who held a number of Bible studies at the ranch.
After selling the ranch in 1988, Miller continued her ministry for nursing home residents that spanned 35 years.
She wrote books on the subject and has a video entitled "A Song for Grandmother."
"God values them as a person, not because of the age of their body," Miller said. "I used to tell them (nursing home residents): the nice thing is that God is keeping you here for some reason. He's not done with us."
Information: 951-658-1619 or www.Gods-Story.org
Reach Diane A. Rhodes at 951-763-3454 or dianealease@hotmail.com
