Brian Ivie lived in the world of movies.

Staying up late on the weekends watching movies in his dark bedroom. Making movies with his friends growing up. Studying at film school.

But Brian didn’t know how much he was missing. He didn’t realize how off-track he was in life and in his relationships with God and others. And he never could have guessed that God would use a movie to bring him home.

Looking for a story

Film student Brian was reading the newspaper in California when he came across an article about a pastor in Seoul, South Korea. In a city plagued by high rates of infant abandonment, pastor Lee Jong-rak built a baby box in the wall of his home, enabling desperate parents to safely—and anonymously—leave their baby.

And the babies started coming. Most of these babies had special needs or were born to unwed mothers, and would likely have been abandoned in the frigid Korean winter temperatures.

Brian thought he had hit the jackpot. What a story! And he could tell it through a movie. He e-mailed Pastor Lee and told him he wanted to make a movie about his baby box. Pastor Lee e-mailed back, inviting Brian to stay with his family in South Korea.

And so it was on.

The movie behind the story

If you’ve never seen the movie The Drop Box, I highly recommend you find it and watch it. The story of this pastor’s family, his biological son Eun-man, and the Lees’ many adopted children is an unforgettable tribute to the value of all life in God’s eyes.

But the story behind the story is just as incredible. While God was preparing the way for the world to hear the Lee’s inspiring story, He was also preparing Brian’s heart for a dramatic about-face.

“When people would ask me why God existed, I had answers in the chamber…I knew about the plans of God and the beautiful purposes God has for our lives. I knew about the goodness of God and the provision of God. I knew that God cared about me personally and that He was real. But when people would ask me about the cross, that’s when I had to repeat somebody else’s words. On the first trip, I really flaunted my wooden cross necklace, you know, the one I bought on Amazon for eight dollars…But at some point, the cross can’t just be something you buy on Amazon. It has to be what bought you.”

Brian and his team shot hours of footage. They met adorable kids and asked Pastor Lee question after question. They spent time with the Lees’ oldest biological child, Eun-man, who had severe special needs and deformities. Eun-man was nonverbal, and spent all his time lying flat on his back in a dark room, his body twisted by his diagnoses. They watched the Lees lose sleep to care for their children. They witnessed their love and genuine care for tiny people the world had cast aside.

Then they packed up and headed home to California.

Brian got to work editing their footage, piecing interviews (and his team member’s translations from Korean to English) and glimpses of daily life into a potential documentary. But Brian could tell something was missing. And not just in the movie.

The turning point

Brian wrestled with the stark differences between his life and Pastor Lee’s. All his life, Brian had wanted to make a name for himself. But here was a man doing incredible, exhausting work day in and day out, without looking for attention or a pat on the back. Brian was wrapped up in pornographic habits. Pastor Lee was devoted to taking care of children who may never be able to take care of themselves.

God was working in Brian. One day Brian listened to a sermon that finally completed his change of heart. He surrendered to the God who had directed his steps to Korea and wasn’t finished with his story.

“It was the first time I realized why God wanted me to meet Eun-man, the child who couldn’t offer anything to anybody except problems. For the first time in my life, I realized I was just one of those kids too, with nothing to offer a perfect God except my sin. I was a broken child, bound up in the dark and then suddenly pulled out through the laundry room, by a Father, into the light.”

A story to share

Brian went back to Korea. The movie would go a new direction, now that the director was seeing through new eyes. He returned to Pastor Lee’s house, like a son returning home.

But I don’t want to tell you all of it. Really, you have to read this book.

I will tell you that Brian’s life kept changing. His family life, his goals, his dating relationships. He shares his journey with openness, and his tongue-in-cheek humor coupled with countless movie references makes for a leisurely read. The movie did go to a festival, but I’ll let Brian tell you about that.

The Drop Box (the movie) tells an inspiring story of a man loved by God who spends his strength and time loving others. The Drop Box (the book) shows us how those stories can inspire new stories. Stories just as amazing.

“So, yeah, I became a Christian while making a movie. And that’s funny to me because before that, movies were God to me. They were everything. Just like success or fame or security is to other people…If I’m honest, I have to admit that when I went to meet this man in South Korea, I thought I was there to save a bunch of helpless kids. But the funny thing about God is He is always the Savior. Because when it comes down to it, we’re all the ones who need to be saved.”