Alethia Stendal is a Colombian-American film director and author. Born and raised in Colombia, South America, she grew up in a missionary family dedicated to sharing the gospel with the country's various armed groups. Her parents, Russell and Marina Stendal, have long served as missionaries to both sides of Colombia's armed conflict. Her father, Russell, was kidnapped by Marxist guerrillas and held tied to a tree for five months. Following his release, he launched a peace campaign throughout the country, calling on armed men and women to surrender their hearts to the Lord. As a teenager, Alethia began traveling with her father into the jungles of Colombia, documenting his work through photos and video. She has produced several documentaries and taken thousands of photographs, capturing the raw reality of her father's ministry. Her images have vividly portrayed Russell's encounters as he distributed Galcom radios and Bibles to FARC rebels, paramilitaries, and army soldiers-where others may have hesitated to even lift a camera. Her work has graced the covers of many missionary publications, bringing global visibility to a ministry some might have dismissed as improbable. Together with her sister Lisa, Alethia co-wrote, directed, and produced La Montaña, a film based on one of the many true adventures she shared with her father in Colombia's mountains. Their second film, The Parish of the Pines, tells the story of Frank Higgins, a missionary to Minnesota's lumberjacks in the early 1900s. In this film, Alethia also debuted as Director of Photography. Alethia has authored two books highlighting her father's ministry. She co-wrote The Hidden Agenda with him and wrote No Turning Back-a gripping account of his unjust imprisonment and release. She played a crucial role in his legal defense, providing extensive photo and video documentation of his missionary work. Alethia and her brother-in-law, Samuel Hernandez, began transcribing and translating Russell's Spanish sermons into English books. Many of these works have been adapted into audiobooks, narrated by Alethia and Lisa. She lives in Bogotá, Colombia, with her husband, Stephen Miller-an Alaskan who works full-time alongside her in film production and ministry-and their three children.
Alethia Stendal is a Colombian-American film director and author. Born and raised in Colombia, South America, she grew up in a missionary family dedicated to sharing the gospel with the country's various armed groups. Her parents, Russell and Marina Stendal, have long served as missionaries to bo...
