What Sparked The Writing Project

For years I wondered what God wanted done concerning the gang experiences and worked with several ideas. Several people encouraged me to write a book, but it did not seem to come together. One night, in 1996, the idea of writing plays about the experiences came to me. Groups could act them out and people could be reached for Christ.

I was trying to write but there never seemed to be enough time. In the spring of 1997 God allowed my left arm to be broken to get my right (write) arm in motion. I had just finished a hectic schedule and was planning on working on the roof of our house before traveling and speaking for the summer. In April Hal, Linda, and Jenni Stone; my wife's brother, his wife and daughter; were visiting us. On April 22 I suggested we have a prayer meeting before Hal, Linda and Jenni left. During the prayer time we also prayed for safety while doing the roof job and God's will to be done concerning the play project. Within ten minutes from the time they left, I had fallen and broken my left arm in two places while trying to start the roof job. There were also injuries to other parts of my body but it could have been far worse! During recovery, I used the time to get the first play The Chase written. By God's providence a series of incidents were allowed to give me several more thousands of hours needed to complete the condensed versions of The Chase; to write The Wallet, the sequel to The Chase; and to work on The Rumble, the sequel to The Wallet.

On December 18, 1998, I was pinned by approximately one thousand pounds of material. I was alone so I had to fight my way free. This accident caused a number of injuries especially to the adductor muscles (groin muscles) in my right leg.
On December 29, 1999, I was involved in a motor vehicle accident, which resulted in re-injury to the right leg and new injuries to the groin muscles of the left leg.
On November 4, 2002, a fall on the ice resulted in new injuries and re-injury to my body. An additional fall on the ice on January 24, 2003, complicated the injuries even more.
On April 1, 2005, a step broke as I was stepping up on it. This caused me to fall backwards, twisting and landing against a parked vehicle, resulting in re-injury and new injuries.
On May 20, 2005, a toxic spider bit me. This resulted in several weeks of medical treatment and a set back in my recovery.
On July 17, 2006, I suffered another toxic bite. This resulted in extensive medical treatment and another set back.

In the midst of all of this, God had a purpose and a plan and caused the writing project to progress in an unbelievable way. Lessons and time given because of the incidents prove once again that God is in control no matter what happens. As we advance with Project 521, we need prayer concerning wisdom, finances, helpers, equipment, organization, and plans for additional plays and perhaps even films and CDs.

See Testimonies about the writing project.