family matters
Marcia finished her job at the end of January. She was working as an Occupational Therapist with children at Pediatric Therapy Services, in Lakeland & Brandon. A very intense job with children in serious need, often kids that are extremely hard work. In December Marcia felt the release in her spirit to give her notices and finish. Before then, she considered working Part Time at PTS, but by now it had become clear she really needed to leave & move on altogether. She’s hoping to focus on working with parents; after all it’s the parents who need to be doing most of the therapeutic work.
While Marcia hopes & expects to continue working with (children and their) parents, preferably through a weekly TV program (SNAIL & immunization, which we have in preparation), she is very keen to pick up the Psycho Drama as well as PlayBack Theatre. We are beginning to recruit for a weekly training workshop (Play by Ear) out of which people will be invited to participate in PLayBack Performances (STORY-ROUND, televised) and to be involved in Psycho Drama (the HOT-HOUSE). Later this year we expect to have TV Studio equipment up & running, so that we can video-record these (weekly) activities.
Dan picked up his life here in Plant City, after visiting his birth dad in London, UK, which has had quite an impact on him. I believe he is a little calmer as a result of meeting Neil, who was very kind to Dan and has invited him to come & visit some more. Dan would love to go back straight away, but he is also aware that he needs to take hold of his future a little more before he makes that second visit. But now a complication has troubled the waters!
Dan got arrested by the police just over a week ago now, and spend a night in a jail in Tampa. A nasty surprise this is for us all. A week earlier we had a surprise visit from a local police offices, telling us that Dan was being accused (by a local girl of 16) of stalking her, namely following her in his (Dan’s/ really my) car. Apparently he also made unwelcome phone calls to her; I’m not sure even if that is true. The visiting officer described what would happen if there was another ‘incident’. The incident that got this officer involved that night was the fact that Dan had bumped into this girl & her family at a local gas station. It was a complete surprise to Dan to see her there, and as soon as this family saw Dan they began to be verbally abusive to him. Strange enough, they felt the need to call the police shortly afterwards, and the police was happy to oblige (a 16 year old girl can exercise quite a bit of power here).
We didn’t know what to think of it all, and got on with the business of life. Marcia & I kept a very close eye on Dan. The trips that we allowed him to make into Plant City were always short and with very clear & direct instructions. Yet a week later (Friday night again) Dan didn’t return from a brief trip to Blockbusters, where we had sent him to collect a DVD. At 1 am in the morning Dan finally called us from the Tampa jail where he had been taken. At Blockbusters Dan had run into the same girl again, as he was pulling out of the car-park. The police was called, and they decided to chase after Dan who was on his way home, and arrest him just a few hundred yards from our house. The car was impounded and kept in some storage place over the weekend. We could only get in out on Monday morning; it cost $220. You wonder, why didn’t the police give us a chance to pick the car up; I could have walked there, it was so close. But no. Dan was given quite a rough treatment by 2 police officers, while this girl & her family stood there shouting abuse at him. I’m amazed at this kind of treatment. It looks like the policeman jumped to the conclusion that Dan was a nasty stalker deserving of being bundled into a police car, of a night without sleep in jail, of the expense of getting the car back and the cost of BAIL ($500).
Now we’re looking for an attorney and having to get ready for a court case. The expense goes on. But what is this about? I don’t think there’s any credible evidence of Dan stalking, but this girl & her family, who have appeared out of no-where, seem to have impressed the police with their stories. In these lean times, it may be, that making an arrest helps the officer get a certain quota; I don’t know, but this officer seemed so keen. Even the first night when he was at our home (first time we heard that something was up) he seemed so happy to spell out the procedure of arrest, jail in Tampa, bail, court case etc. What is going on here? Are we being abused by the lower end of Plant City? Has Dan done something we don’t know about? Or is he being used as an easy target. I’m told there are people in this little town who would love to play the victim game, and who are always looking to typecast some young man as a ‘criminal’. Crazy stuff!
The court date we are given is in March, and so it seems that Dan cannot make a 2nd trip to the UK before then. On that day, Dan will be asked to make a plea (guilty or not guilty) and after that he’ll be given another date foe the actual court case. While we believe that God has allowed for this crazy situation to occur (Dan has had a taste of prison life) we also see it as ‘enemy activity’ designed to take Dan away from heaven’s blessings and hinder us in our efforts to see our dreams fulfilled. So we are standing against this craziness and with heaven’s authority we proclaim that these false accusations come to nothing; this whole situation will disintegrate , and we WILL move on in God’s purposes, and that includes Dan.
You know how at immunization you get a little bit of the disease injected so that your body can build anti dotes in order for the body to stand strong against this disease. We believe that something similar is happening here, and that this situation will teach Dan to stand firm against any temptation to play dangerous games, make unwise moves, or do stupid things. Please pray for us and for Dan in particular. He needs to break through his natural limitations and his natural blind spots, in order to wise up, to learn to function as normal (which has eluded him so far), to get & keep a job, make good friends (especially at the River Church) and to develop a spiritual life. We live in hope!
Billy continues to perform in Retirement Homes. The doors of many places are wide open to him. He loves singing & telling stories, and this regular work gives him a tremendous opportunity to grow in this kind of presentation and to learn to flow in the spirit. Billy also continues to film Psalms (on location in the central Florida region) and is learning to edit etc. He is very keen to press on with the Psalms and to get started with filming short stories from the Old Testament, using a multi camera system. We’re hoping to put many short films on the internet, as well as broadcast the 3 programs Marcia is hoping to do (Snails & Dinosaurs/ Story-Round/ The Hot House). To see the whole vision of what we believe God has called us to do, see our web-site: www.entertainingangels.us.
We’re hoping to develop an Internet Community (of friends) that will enjoy our programs and give us feedback etc. Marcia is hoping to start a SHOP with craft materials, jewelry, postcards, fabrics, special paper etc. She is also hoping to become a guest speaker at Universities, colleges, (therapeutic) work places and churches. I would like to perform (and speak) in prisons, as well as in (some) churches, (Bible) schools, colleges & universities; small theatres, if at all possible, and maybe even bookstores and cafes. But ultimately we need to video tape our work and put it on the Internet.
How we do all this financially, only God knows; we trust that day by day we will do all that we need to do. We’re working on some ideas, constantly studying our options, but what’s more, constantly checking in with heaven. Meanwhile our focus is on the stories that inspire. Please pray for us, for our protection, and that the river shall flow through our lives!
Tags: arrested, darkness, Kingdom of Heaven, love, singing, story telling, trusting God
