UNSHACKLED! Audio Dramas

<p>“Starla” grows up with parents who fight hard. She reads her father’s porn collection and develops an unhealthy attitude toward sex. In college she gets pregnant and her boyfriend arranges an abortion after which she is disillusioned. They break up and Starla drifts into the party life. Eight years later she meets a Christian who helps her understand God’s love. Starla receives Christ, drops her friends and grows in faith. Then she picks up a drunken woman who confesses to an abortion, which opens the buried past. Her pastor recommends post-abortion counseling, and Starla learns to love her lost baby. Now married with two sons and unafraid to share her testimony.</p>

<p>Danny gets a football scholarship to college, but in his senior year he begins to party and gets hooked on methamphetamines. His older brother comes out of prison and has a bad drug experience, almost dies. He induces Danny to rob a dealer-friend. Danny confesses his complicity but becomes paranoid, afraid of losing his mind. He’s arrested and faces prison for receiving stolen property. He quits drugs and finds his old youth pastor. Recommits his life to Christ. Now in ministry to youth.</p>

<p>Danny’s parents never marry. His father is an alcoholic, his mother a paranoid-schizophrenic who lashes out violently. His older brothers are criminals. Danny feels shame at his family yet likes the protection his brother provides. He finds a niche in football, an outlet for his anger. A girlfriend encourages him to learn to read and he goes to church with her. At a youth group Bible study Danny receives Christ but doesn’t live a godly life. His girlfriend breaks up with him, and he drifts away from God as the first part ends.</p>

<p>Harvey grows up in London, goes to school at Westminster Abbey but finds the chapel service stiff. He hears the gospel at a Bible camp and gives his life to Christ. His parents want him to study law and he does for two years. Then Billy Graham comes to Manchester and Harvey drops the study of law to assist in setting up the crusade. He meets Sylvia, goes to the U.S. and she follows. The two marry and witness at Pacific Garden Mission.</p>

<p>Bryce’s family is an alcoholic who batters the family. Parents divorce when Bryce is fifteen. He joins the air force but stays in trouble, attempts suicide, goes AWOL. At home his mother refuses to take him in, and he and friends commit burglaries. Grandfather urges him to turn himself in. He spends eleven months in jail, reads a book about peace with God, is discharged from the air force. When he gets in trouble at home, he violates probation and leaves the state, going to see his father in Florida. There a witness leads him to Christ. Still facing a warrant for his arrest as first part ends.</p>

<p>As a child, Bruce sees his police-officer dad steal and decides it’s okay. He quits going to mass at age sixteen but works hard. He marries Shirley who is an atheist, and they move to Florida, then Arizona, where he works for a major hotel chain. He begins taking things home from work. Then his young nephew dies, and Bruce is faced with mortality. He starts reading the Bible, goes to church and is saved. Shirley resists but soon gives her life to Christ. They have a prison ministry. Shirley dies in 2001, but Bruce remarries and continues the prison ministry full-time. <br>(Bryan O’Reilly #1858)</p>

<p>Five-year-old Mollie comes to Jerry McAuley’s rescue mission in New York City to hear the music. Her mother is a drunk who yanks the children out of the meeting. The McAuley’s pray for the family, and one night seeks help when their drunken father locks them out. Maria McAuley ministers to Mollie’s mother as she recovers from delirium tremens. The woman then comes to a service and gives her life to Christ. Within months the woman lies dying of tuberculosis and asks that the funeral be held at the mission.</p>

<p>Phil is saved at age ten and shows evidence of God’s life within him. He tries to reach his girlfriend, who had never gone to church. After graduation he joins the Marines – just before Pearl Harbor. His letters home encourage his parents. Then in 1943 the letters stop for six months. His parents worry but go to Pacific Garden Mission to help at the Servicemen’s Center. Finally, in November a letter comes from Phil written before his death. His dad, who narrates the story, begins a ministry using Phil’s last letter about God’s grace to reach others.</p>

<p>Dan feels inferior because he stutters, is skinny and has buck teeth. His parents divorce when he is six, and he skips school to lift weights. He puts on muscles, excels at track and gets braces but still stutters. Alcohol helps with the stuttering, and he becomes addicted to booze and drugs. He marries Linda but their marriage suffers, and she leaves frequently, taking their daughters. A neighbor witnesses to them and Linda gets saved. Then Dan is arrested for DUI and he goes to church with Linda where he commits his life to Christ.</p>

<p>Carlene grows up in a happy family until she is molested by her father, bringing fear and shame. She prays for God to intervene, and her mother discovers them. Her father stops molesting her, but is physically abusive. She goes to college and marries Sean, but pushes him away. She finally confesses the abuse but tries to forgive. Learning that her sisters and others have also been molested, she begins to confront her father about the past. Through prayer, counseling and Bible study, she is able to help others who’ve suffered incest.</p>

<p>Alex grows up in a God-fearing family, but he rebels. He’s expelled from Christian school, and he and his friends drink, fight and use drugs. He wrecks a car and is suicidal. They plan to go to a school in Florida, but an acquaintance steals their money. He meets Donna and they live together before marriage. His wife is unable to have a baby, and Alex begins listening to radio preachers as a comfort. Driving home he gives his life to Christ and learns that his wife is pregnant. Now in ministry.</p>

<p>After Tom joins the Navy and his girlfriend drops him, he is depressed. A buddy tries to talk to him about Jesus, but he rejects the overtures. Then he foolishly goes AWOL for a day and is sentenced to work fifteen hours every day for three months, except for chapel. In chapel a man shares the gospel and Tom prays for salvation. He witnesses to his family and all but his father profess faith. He marries, has five children and still serves the Lord faithfully.</p>

<p>Morris grows up in a Christian family, but he longs for affirmation and acceptance that he receives from classmates when he sings. He dreams of singing with the big bands, cuts class to drive to Chicago to hear stars sing. He is disappointed in love while he’s in the navy, and disillusionment grows the longer he’s in the world. His parents pray for him. He gets drunk and spends a night in jail. He finally agrees to hear an evangelist after which he gets alone and prays for salvation, where 1st part ends.</p>

<p>When he is seven, Sidney’s parents have a bitter, contested divorce and he is left confused and angry. They live with grandparents. He rebels against church and family, smokes pot and cuts school. Expelled at sixteen, he works as a plumber by day, taunts the police at night. At nineteen he brawls with seven deputies and goes to jail, but is put on parole. He gets hooked on cocaine, steals and can’t hold a job. Tries rehab and fails. Finally, he lives with his mother in Georgia. A man at work reads the Bible to him. Sidney goes to church and prays for salvation. Now married and a step-grandfather.</p>

<p>With an overly critical mother, Heather grows up feeling worthless. Her marriage at fifteen fails, and her parents put her in a girls’ school where she has an affair, which ends badly, leaving her physically and emotionally sick. She gets her GED, joins the Navy and marries at 18. Her husband drinks and is abusive. They divorce in spite of having two children, which Heather leaves with her parents while she lives a debauched life with other women. Finally, a Christian at work witnesses to her and she prays for salvation. She takes care of her mother before death, and has served the Lord since 1978.</p>

<p>Lloyd grows up in an Orthodox Jewish family. He joins the army at nineteen to escape his domineering mother. His bi-polar disorder manifests itself in the army and he gets two courts martial. His father hospitalizes him. From then on Lloyd periodically sees a psychiatrist. While manic, Lloyd can’t control his impulses to run away or gamble in Las Vegas. Gambling and infidelity destroy his first marriage and threaten his second one. At age 73 he meets a pastor who invites him to church. Finally, Lloyd receives Christ at 77. Still active in church at 81.</p>

<p>Levi grows up in a large poor family in West Virginia. His dad has a violent temper, so Levi takes a beating for his brother at age sixteen, leading to a schism with his dad. He joins the army after Pearl Harbor, fights in Europe with Patton’s army and learns to forgive the Germans as the war ends. He is injured and hospitalized with blood poisoning, but recovers. Coming home, his dad still won’t talk to him. Levi and sister go to Cincinnati to school where another student takes him to a mission and Levi is saved. First part ends as he prepares to go home and tell his dad about Jesus.</p>

<p>Gary grows up in a Catholic family and always goes to church, believing God rewards good works and punishes bad. He continues going to church long after his peers quit, but his real gods are money and success. In college he uses drugs to gain acceptance and even sells cocaine. After graduation he lands a good job in sales, does well, but feels empty. Success isn’t enough. His boss invites Gary to Bible study, where Gary realizes he doesn’t have to earn God’s love; Jesus earned it for us. Now married with three sons.</p>

<p>Elise grows up in England but comes to the U.S. from Canada. She meets Bill who pursues her but feels unworthy of her. They marry just as the Depression hits, and jobs are nil. A daughter is born to them. They go to church but are not saved. Bill’s drinking leads to abuse. Elise goes to her brother but returns when she is unable to live on her own. Their daughter is born-again at sixteen. Elise & Bill find his sister and learn about his past. His drinking gets worse, and the first part ends when Bill pushes Elise down some stairs.</p>

<p>She gets pregnant but has the baby. Then she begins living with Gus and they slide into drug and alcohol addiction. Living in a shelter, she hears the gospel from a woman. After a murder in the shelter, Marquita prays for salvation. She and Gus marry, but testing comes. Marquita has a double mastectomy and sinks into depression. Gus gets saved. Her mother dies, and at last she is prepared for ministry. She is serving the Lord in her church.</p>

<p>Andy’s parents, addicted to alcohol and prescription drugs, isolate him and he has panic attacks and does poorly at school because of dyslexia. He drinks vodka at sixteen, which helps him socially. In college he marries Susan, transfers to business college and excels. But he must intervene in his parents’ lives, putting them in mental hospitals. His father commits suicide, adding guilt to Andy’s problems. After severe illness caused by alcohol, Andy quits drinking. Seven years later he goes to church and is saved. Now in church ministry to prisoners.</p>

<p>Sharon marries Peter and they miraculously have a son, which is life-threatening. Because of her mother’s continued abuse, Peter moves Sharon to another state. They adopt a daughter. Sharon’s health deteriorates and she almost dies of respiratory failure. She bargains with God but cannot keep her vow because of secret fears, then through Bible study gains strength. Her father dies, her mother dies and Sharon learns that her natural father is her dad’s cousin, giving her peace at last.</p>

<p>Sharon’s mother is neglectful and abusive, all the more after Sharon gets polio and needs special care. With a trache tube in her throat, Sharon is unable to attend school. A teacher comes and gives her the love she needs. At thirteen she starts school in the sixth grade. As a teenager, her home life gets worse. Her father stays away, having affairs. A car crash nearly kills Sharon, making her mother more hateful. When Sharon dates, her mother tries to kill her. The first part ends with her mother in a mental hospital.</p>

<p>Bryan is tormented and rejected in his younger years at school. He has perfect attendance at church. In high school he goes all out for football and is at last accepted; but drinking and smoking are part of that acceptance. He joins the navy to please his father, marries right away and risks his marriage by drinking too much. Based in Spain but flying around Europe, a friend witnesses to the couple, taking them to church where Bryan gets saved. A year later his wife also receives Christ. They and their grown children are missionaries in Uganda.</p>

<p>Jesse is a moonshiner, barely able to survive as a hardscrabble farmer in West Virginia. Government agents raid his farm but cannot find his still. He is arrested but the sheriff lets him go. He moves his family to Ohio but cannot find work because of the Depression, so he moves to a farm intending to make moonshine again. A neighbor tries to help but Jesse rebuffs him. The neighbor prays, then the whole church comes to help Jesse plant corn as the first part ends.</p>

<p>Randy grows up in a Christian family, taught to work hard and finish whatever he starts. His dad becomes a pastor when Randy is twelve. Randy is working his way through Bible college, goes forward to gain assurance of salvation, and marries Tina, also a student. After three children are born, he drops out to pay debts, opens a painting business. He falls from a scaffold and breaks his neck. The first part ends as he survives surgery but faces grueling rehabilitation as a quadriplegic.</p>

<p>Sam is a third year piano student at Julliard when Christians challenge him to read the New Testament and see that Jesus is the Messiah. Sam reads and is astonished at the claims of Christ. He reads the whole New Testament, ignoring piano practice for a week, and prays to receive Christ. His parents disown him. He marries Deborah, competes in several international piano competitions and is acclaimed. When his children are born, his parents soften a bit. He goes into ministry as a pastor and then as a musical missionary, giving his testimony during each concert he performs.</p>

<p>Kathy has a hunger for God as a child but cannot keep the rules and gives up. Goes to public high school and is exposed to immorality. Begins readings in eastern religion and witchcraft but fear leads her to discard such books. Goes to college, immerses herself in the party life, gets bored with drunks. Starts reading the Bible, doesn’t understand. An old friend tells her to read the Gospel of John, which she loves. Goes to Bible study, tries another party, feels dirty, goes back to her dorm and prays for salvation. Becomes a nurse, marries a mechanic. She and husband in training with Wycliffe.</p>

<p>Philip moves into a new rooming house and makes friends with Jack, another atheist. Phil goes out to dinner and is pressured into drinking whiskey for the first and last time. Because he and Jack return to the rooming house late, they are moved into a room with two Christians, considered fanatics. Humorous attempts to discourage the believers fail, and Phil comes under conviction as the two pray openly for him. He and Jack finally go to church and are saved. Phil walks eight miles in the rain to witness to old friends who are also saved. After 40 years of ministry, Phil is listed in Who’s Who in the World.</p>

<p>Almaz is raised in a prosperous Ethiopian family. From her mother she learns to help others, sacrificing time and money for the poor. The country falls to Communism, and Almaz pursues a career in medicine by going to Russia to study. She hates communism, prays for God’s guidance. Jacob writes her from Sweden, proposing marriage. She asks for a sign: to get her lost passport, which God does; so she meets Jacob in Athens and they marry. Their life is dedicated to sharing the gospel in various countries.</p>

<p>Jacob is arrested during Sudan’s civil war and falsely accused of sedition. He spends four months in prison, then his aunt comes from Saudi Arabia and rescues him. She takes him from Saudi Arabia where he could be executed for apostasy and smuggling Bibles into the kingdom. He violates the Ramadan fast, admits he is a Christian and then goes on the run from authorities. Part 2 ends as he escapes to live in Sweden, praying for a wife.</p>

<p>Bill grows up with a succession of fathers and a bad attitude. He smokes marijuana at 11, drinks and gets in trouble. Sent to a detention home at 13, he works to straighten up. Can’t graduate, continues to drink and do drugs. He meets Melissa and they live together, then marry. She threatens to leave because of his wild life with accidents caused by drinking. A daughter is born and he still carouses. She leaves him before Christmas. He sees a movie about Christ, reads the Bible and gets saved. Eventually, Melissa returns. Bill is now in Scotland as a missionary.</p>

<p>In this conclusion Mavis and Dudley adopt a daughter. She continues to have seizures and pain from her lupus. Once she pulls her own tooth because they have no money for a dentist. Then she is diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Chemotherapy fails, so they attempt a bone marrow transplant, which is horrific but seems to succeed. The cancer returns and she refuses additional treatment. She trusts in God to the end.</p>

<p>Mavis has a normal life until her kidneys fail at age thirteen. As she lies dying, a stranger says God has a purpose for her life. When she’s a senior in high school, she has a grand mal seizure and is diagnosed with epilepsy. After graduation she’s hospitalized, overmedicated and is put in the mental ward. Finally, the epilepsy is controlled enough that she works in a day care center, sharing an apartment. Another crisis and she’s diagnosed with lupus. A roommate leads her to Christ, and then she meets Dudley and they marry. The first part ends with her pregnancy.</p>

<p>Kermit never attends church growing up in South Chicago. His parents leave him and brother with Grandmother for several years. He steals and cuts school after parents split when he’s a teenager, and he does a year in bad boy’s school. He learns to drink with co-workers. Is drafted and sent to Vietnam where he works to be a good soldier. But back home, drinking controls him and leads to breakup with Mary, his true love. First part ends with his alienation.</p>

<p>After Fred’s eight-year-old son attempts suicide, Fred calls out to God and reads the Bible but he is unable to explain the change to his wife. She leaves, taking their daughter. Fred gets custody of his son but is still bitter. As he reads the Bible, God’s Word teaches him forgiveness and he prays for his wife. She remarries and divorces three times, but Fred remains faithful and waiting, 36 years.</p>

<p>Jay views pornography at age ten, which leads him and a friend to explore their sexuality until another friend is repulsed by their behavior. At eighteen, Jay remembers those events and fears he is homosexual. He becomes promiscuous; his girlfriend gets pregnant several times and has abortions. His newly-saved aunt urges him to read the Bible and go to church. Finally he goes and is saved. He manages to break away from girlfriend and marries the pastor’s daughter. Now in ministry.</p>

<p>Mike rejects God as a teenager, joins the Marines but doesn’t go to Vietnam. He feels guilty at serving. A drug addict in denial, he becomes deputy sheriff, involved in undercover drug investigations. Illness, drugs and death threats destroy his marriage, and he plays Russian roulette. Takes dangerous job as a security guard, but steals drugs. As first part end, Mike is planning to kill the judge. His mother’s prayers stand in the gap.</p>

<p>Born in poverty, Earl must quit school at fifteen to help support family. He works 84 hours a week for seven dollars. He marries Essie, takes job as bartender as well, learns to drink and gamble. Nearly dies of tuberculosis, but God heals him. Earl goes back to gambling, cheats brother, runs away to Las Vegas. Family follows, son is saved, Mother still prays for him. Earl again runs away to California, goes to rescue mission, prays for salvation. Serves God at rescue mission.</p>

<p>Terry grows up in good home of ten children. Sports is more important than God to him, but he goes to church and youth groups. In college his hunger for God grows and he and a friend seek a good church. They both get saved. Terry studies the Bible and memorized scripture and leads friends to Christ. But he does poorly in baseball and questions God. Terry learns humility and commitment to serving Christ as coach in a small Christian school.</p>

<p>Raised by his grandparents, Brad grows up feeling worthless because his parents didn’t want him. He makes a profession of faith at age ten, but steals and gets in trouble. As a teenager, Brad searches for his dad and finds him. Brad and his brother go to live with him, but Brad still feels empty inside. He goes to revival and is saved. Learns to submit to his dad’s authority and ultimately leads his father to Christ. Then his father is reconciled to Brad’s grandfather and leads him to the Lord.</p>

<p>Ogawa’s dies of alcoholism, leaving family in hardship. Ogawa dreams of a career in film-making, even stealing from Mother to buy magazines and go to movies. Sister dies tragically, and Ogawa is more isolated. He secures job with Warner Brothers in Tokyo, but is so lonely, he listens to radio, hears Christian message that contradicts his belief in fatalism. He reads the Bible and believes, receives Christ. Ogawa helps launch Christian drama on radio, including “Unshackled!"</p>

<p>Arthur’s family is impoverished by his dad’s drinking. He wastes his time in school but graduates. Joins the Navy but is so immature he’s released in two weeks. Marries his sweetheart but drinks like his father. Daughter is born with cleft in face, nearly dies in later surgery. Arthur promises God he’ll go to church if God saves her. God does and Arthur keeps his promise. His wife is saved and the pastor visits and leads Arthur to Christ. Both he and Dad quit drinking, and Arthur leads his father to Christ.</p>

<p>Christina’s schizophrenia begins manifesting as a teenager. She has never known her father. Feeling unaccepted by her family, she attempts suicide. Alienated from all social life, she tries psychiatry but withdraws into fantasy world. Reading the Bible, she senses that Jesus is the key, but paranoia sends her to psychiatric hospital where she again tries suicide. Medication and a Christian doctor restore her to normalcy. She hears the gospel on radio, calls the pastor who leads her to Christ. Now married and writing Christian books.</p>

<p>Having grown up in a Christian home, Tyler thinks he’s okay with God in spite of being addicted to pornography and drinking. Then he slips into drugs, including cocaine. He dates a girl who loves the Lord and who finally breaks up with him because he is lost and won’t turn to Christ. A friend tells Tyler to talk with his pastor, who leads him to Christ. After he shakes his addictions, his girlfriend and he marry. He leads his siblings to the Lord and today serves in evangelism at his church.</p>

<p>Bill stays out of trouble growing up, works at being a good boy until he’s a teenager and challenges the pastor. College and career leave him feeling empty, so he decides to walk across America. Besieged by witnesses of Christ everywhere he goes, he reaches Denver and stops for nine months to work, then walks to Seattle, reading the Bible. Proud and self-reliant, he doesn’t realize he’s a sinner until he lies to Canadian customs. Then he prays a sincere prayer of repentance and is born-again. Now walks with the Lord as a pastor.</p>

<p>Although family is poor, Howard is born with musical talent and he helps support family by playing the piano in burlesque theatres in Chicago. Wine, women and son lead him astray, to the horror of his Christian parents. He marries Ruth, a chaste Christian, but can’t give up the old life. He visits Pacific Garden Mission often for coffee but resists the gospel until his wife issues ultimatum. He goes to PGM and receives Christ as Savior, rejects old life and plays music for Lord thereafter.</p>

<p>Family health problems, including Dad’s epilepsy and retarded brothers, leave Bill ashamed and confused. He blames God. Near drowning at age twelve. Classmates’ taunts lead him to rebellion, drinking and drug use. He deals drugs, drops out of football. Caring coach helps Bill return and succeed. But Bill hates everyone including himself. His dad keeps reaching out to him. Watching TV evangelist, Bill receives Christ and his life is transformed. Now pastors a church.</p>

<p>Mike grows up believing in salvation by works. Works and studies for degrees, then marries. Very responsible but success leaves him empty inside. Wife finds Christ and Mike finds a girlfriend. Wife prays but doesn’t condemn. Boss invites Mike to men’s prayer breakfast where he’s convicted of sin. Prays with wife for salvation. Now a pastor.</p>

<p>Because both his parents die when he is a small child, Roger is raised in foster homes, some good, some bad. He nearly dies of pneumonia at ten. Fears death. Brother is killed when both are teenagers, adding to his despair. Joins the Air National Guard, but is medically discharged after nervous breakdown. Finds his sister who was adopted as baby. Ends up in rescue mission where woman demonstrates the love of Jesus in ministry. Roger is saved, brother, too. He marries Nadine and they serve the Lord in children’s ministry for 35 years.</p>