Good-bye, Mr. Man-Dog

Well, Rafiki passed away last Monday at 9:17 A.M. He had been having lots of health issues within the past month and, especially, in the past week. We took him to the veterinarian and found he had kidney problems, but before the tests could come back to tell us the seriousness of the problems, he had died. His kidneys failed. Me (Geno), Dominic, Anthony, and Ezekiel were there when he left us. He passed away in the kitchen: the perfect spot for him. He had peace when he went and didn't look scared at all. He looked at us all for the last time and, amazingly, smacked his tail on the ground one last time before dying. Mom and John walked in right after he passed. Needless to say, it wasn't the best day. He was the best dog ever. We had him for nearly 8 great years. He always brought a smile to our faces. Here's the most recent picture we have of him:That was only a week and a half ago. He was doing pretty well then, but deteriorated quickly. Also, my Great Uncle Gene passed away last week as well. He lived in New Mexico. Ironically, as we were looking through pictures the other night, we found this one, which has both Fiki and Uncle Gene.
Please keep us and those close to Uncle Gene in your prayers. We'll always remember Uncle Gene as a kind and loving Uncle who was much like a grandpa to us. He always talked with us and was interested in whatever we were doing. He and Aunt Janice, his wife, had a lot of love for each other and for others and it was not hard to spot.

And if any of you have a special memory of Fiki, we'd love it if you would write it down and email it to us if you find the time.

We'll always remember him as a dog who had nothing but love to give to everyone. Oh, and the reason behind the nickname: Fiki got so accustomed to being an inside dog and hanging out with humans, that I'm pretty sure he felt like he was one. Because when we would tell the dogs it was time to go out, he would watch them like: "Yeah dogs, go outside. Us people would like to have some peace and quiet." So we decided he acted as much man as dog, hence the nickname, "Man-Dog."

God bless!

Geno

That was Fiki in 2002.

And in 1999, the first year we had him.

We love you Mr. Fikers!

How the South Was Lost

Here's a really funny short film from Richard Ramsey and his brother, who is in fact a comedian. Richard Ramsey's film The Oath of Desormeau won Best of Festival and Audience Choice Award at last year's SAICFF, and his other film, Washington's Cross, won the Audience choice award at SAICFF in 2004. The Oath is a very well-done film and, even though I've only seen the shortened version, I really enjoy it. Anyway, here's their comedy:



God bless!

Geno

us4HIM.com

Hello, All! I just wanted to let everyone know that us4him.com is now up and runnin'. It is not finished yet, but it is published to the web. We are now in the process of starting a store on the web, but a few more things need to happen for it. Keep your eyes open for it though. It'll be there soon.

Yours Cheesey,

Dominic

God Spoke

Here is another poem from my school curriculum Bible. It's called God Spoke.

Here it is:

God spoke, man wrote; the lines were penned
By hands like yours and mine,
Yet every word of sacred writ
Was formed by breath divine.

God did not place men in this world
Without a guiding light;
He gave the blessed Book to be
Our beacon in sin's night.

There is no doubt-the record is
Exactly as He willed,
Nor shall one jot or tittle pass
Till all has been fulfilled.

Within its pages man may find
All that he needs to know:
His origin, his destiny,
The way his feet should go.

How foolish, then, to turn aside,
Or shun these holy lines,
When all who read and heed the Word
May walk in light divine.
-Ada Wine

In Christ,
Anth

Hmmmmm.........

Just some tinkering in Blender, or perhaps a future project from 'us4HIM Productions'? Hmmm... I wonder...

God bless!

Signed,

Secret 'us4HIM' informant.

LTE Premiere

Well, Loving the Enemy is finished, as we have said before. In the past month, we've been burning and copying DVDs and printing cover-slip after cover-slip. We have sold more copies than we expected and hope that number will continue to rise. We are currently looking into starting a website and starting an online store. Within the next few weeks we also hope to submit it to the new Online Christian Media Store, Glarity. If we get accepted, we will sell it wholesale to them and they will sell it as a download.

But that is not the most exciting news. The exciting news is that last Sunday, Loving the Enemy had a real premiere! A man my dad works with named Ron Ward is a Middle School Youth Pastor at a very large church in a city just minutes from where we are. We sold a copy to him and he and his family loved it. Next thing we knew, he was wanting to show it to the Middle School Youth Group at his church - and wanting us to speak as well!

Needless to say, there was a high mixture of excitement and nervousness as we prepared for the big day. We prayed numerous times that God would guide us in our conduct, as well as dispel our anxiety. And our Wonderful God did just that. Although I (Geno) was still a bit nervous, God gave me comfort so that I had confidence in Him as we arrived at the church. After parking, we prayed once more as a family (we all went) for God to bless the showing and then headed inside.

We were greeted warmly by Mr. and Mrs. Ward before taking a seat, emotions running high. After praise and worship and a Life Lesson delivered by one of the Middle Schoolers, Mr. Ward made some announcements before introducing me and inviting me up to explain about the historical setting for the film.

Then I sat down and actually got to watch the movie, along with about 75 other people, most of them Middle Schoolers. Much to my surprise, everyone's attention seemed locked throughout the entire film. It was really neat seeing it being played on a fairly large screen for an entire audience. It was our first experience showing a movie for a real audience; people who didn't know us and had no obligation to like the film just because they knew the people who made it.

After the picture faded out and the credits began rolling, the lights came on and sound was turned off. Mr. Ward then asked some of the kids about their favorite parts. Several hands went up and one girl stated that the entire thing was her favorite part!

Then Dominic and I (Anth elected to stay in the audience) walked up to answer questions. This went on for 10-15 minutes, with many kids asking questions and wondering how we made the film with the minimal resources we had (the only answer to that is: God).

Then Mr. Ward rolled the outtakes, which everyone loved, said a prayer, and we went up to sell some DVDs. I was surprised that, with the age group we had, we sold so many DVDs! 9 out of 15 DVDs were sold and one given away to a girl who had no money with her (the same one who said the whole movie was her favorite part...How can you say no, especially when the main reason for the film is not to make money?)

We also received numerous compliments, for which we can only thank God for the work he did with us, not only teaching us through the making of the film, but also touching the lives of others through the picture itself. As usual, there was some humor during the whole thing (besides the outtakes), when a girl came up to Dominic and said: "My friend wants your number". Of course, Dominic said he wouldn't give his number out, but he felt very much like a Tom Cruise figure for the rest of the day, and this feeling has lingered even longer than that. We were then treated to lunch and went home. All in all, a wonderful learning experience and a very fun day, for which I am thankful - to God first, but also to the Ward family and all those who supported and encouraged us, as well as the Youth Group for actually watching the film.

It seems literally everyone we've given the film to has given us great response as to how much they enjoyed it; far more so than we expected. These people genuinely enjoyed and were touched by the film! We praise God only for what he has done with it, as we would never have gotten it done without Him. We are continuing to try to sell DVDs. We may even attempt to get it into more churches and try to get it into the little Christian Bookstore in town. Please pray for wisdom for us regarding distribution of the film, as well for its success (spiritually and artistically) in both film festivals we submitted it to. Pray that God would continue to work mighty things for His glory through the film. It was made by us, for Him.

When we get a store up we'll be sure to try to put a link to it.

God bless and keep us and our future projects, as well as this one, in your prayers!

Geno and Dominic