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