UNSHACKLED! Audio Dramas

<p>Sonny goes to the altar at ten, but is led astray by country music. He succeeds, elopes with Mary and joins the Navy in World War II. He and his group hit it right in New York and Chicago, where they play for nationwide radio. But he drinks too much. A salesman comes to his house and offers to pray for Sonny who continues to run from God. One day he is unable to sing and begins to shake. He promises God he’ll do anything. Unable to even drink, he confides in a Bible-reading girl at the Chicago bus depot. Then he gets on the wrong bus and has to walk three miles in sleet. He cries out to God, is saved and becomes an evangelist. He counsels Laura Swaringim.</p>

<p>The birth of his son, Joshua, motivates Odell to live under a false name to be with him. After the 9-11 terrorist attack, he prays and goes to church, but keeps smoking pot. Loretta leaves him and he prays, asking God to help. He’s arrested. While in jail he studies the Bible and prays for salvation. As a trustee, Odell witnesses to his grandfather. Danny, a Christian, befriends Odell. When he’s released, he and Danny rebuild a porch to make restitution for a burglary Odell once committed. He gets custody of his son after Loretta is arrested for bank robbery. He finishes Bible school and visits Loretta in prison.</p>

<p>Odell’s childhood is horrible: his father beats him and leaves him with uncles; his uncles give him marijuana; his mother vanishes periodically. Sent to a school for kids with behavior problems, he does well but goes back to drugs. He quits school to work, gets involved with Loretta who cannot be faithful and they come and go in each other’s lives. He loses his driver’s license, goes to jail and there a man comes and tells him about Jesus. Put on probation, he tries to stop sinning then gets angry at God when Loretta again fails him. The first part ends when his mother commits suicide and with Loretta expecting his child.</p>

<p>Hans and his family immigrate to the U.S. in 1952 when he’s 13. He works hard to lose his accent, falls in love with Mary and joins the Nevada Air National Guard after graduation. He learns to drink with friends and he and Mary wed. He quits the Guard and becomes a cabinet maker, then becomes a realtor. His excessive drinking, threats and a bad accident sends Mary into a breakdown and suicide attempt. Still he drinks. She and their two children are saved and she prays for Hans, who believes he is a Christian. He rebuffs all who witness to him. Finally, he goes to a Christian Businessmen meeting where he receives Christ. He goes to Bible college and into the pastorate.</p>

<p>John learns drama and zest for life from his mother, who dies when he is 14. He joins in the Navy, returns home and goes to drama school in New York City. He works at Saks but returns home after five years. His father disdains acting, which John pursues, frequently changing jobs. He goes to Bible study and hears about a Jesus that his liberal church doesn’t teach. He prays for salvation. His father dies and the first part ends as he sees the need to choose between acting and following Christ.</p>

<p>Kevin repeats a prayer at age nine and thinks he is saved but grows cold to God. As a teenager he starts drinking. A bad accident nearly kills him but he doesn’t repent. He starts using drugs, including cocaine and Meth. He lives with Debbie and they have a son that he neglects. He’s arrested and spends 7 months in jail. His parents pray for him, but he ruins his father’s business. Released, he starts going to church but keeps using drugs. He becomes a trucker. At revival in church he finally receives Christ and he and Debbie marry. Now in ministry at church.</p>

<p>Fred and Janey marry after college, and he pursues his love of acting. They move to Chicago where he buys a Great Dane dog and does well. He gets roles on “Unshackled!” But when hard times come, he keeps feeding the dog even though his children go without things. Angry at his fate, he talks with Jack Odell and Genie Price who urge him to receive Christ. He reads the Bible and prays for salvation. Convicted about the dog, he goes to a pastor, admits that he sold the previous dog that was dying, and then gives away his Great Dane to the man. Janey and daughters profess faith in Christ.</p>

<p>Bruce dreams of fame and fortune as a country music star. He smokes, drinks and uses drugs at fifteen, leaves home at 17 but manages to graduate. He’s arrested for burglary but given probation and a fine. He and his brother form a band and do well, but his brother is saved and quits. Bitter, Bruce goes it alone, does well, then goes to Nashville while his brother, Sammy, becomes a pastor. Sammy’s witness and prayers and Bruce’s misery at failing to succeed lead to Bruce finally praying to receive Christ. He marries and is now an evangelist.</p>

<p>Peter grows up in Communist China, where his mother dedicates him to the Lord and takes him to church. He is saved during revival when he is 16. Although he is an outstanding physic student, he is denied a place in the best university, the beginning of his persecution. At college he witnesses to students and leads 17 to Christ. He persuades two pastors to leave the state church. During summer vacation his pastor is arrested and then Peter is told to return to college where he is accused of being anti-revolutionary. He is interrogated ruthlessly and then encouraged to write about his faith which is used against him. The first part ends as he is taken to labor camp.</p>

<p>Stephanie’s dad is killed in Vietnam. Babysitters molest her and she discovers pornography. When her mother remarries and has a new baby, Stephanie rebels at 13, runs away, lies and fakes a suicide attempt. Her parents put her in various treatments, adding to her feeling of rejection. At 15 she’s raped; at 16 she starts using drugs and tries prostitution. She’s arrested and an officer tries to warn her. She tries to change but meets a black man who turns her into a prostitute. He tries to kill her many times. After three years she leaves him, meets Luke and they marry, he hoping to save her. But she cannot change, still needing the attention of men. She has four children and suffers panic attacks. Then she is saved and Jesus Christ changes her.</p>

<p>After his mother’s death, Bobby and his father are estranged over the family house. Bobby builds a sound studio, produces records and does well until a girlfriend lures him into cocaine use. Rapidly, he loses everything to his addiction. He borrows, steals and hates himself; but calls a radio preacher who prays for him. When he steals a friend’s VCR, he goes into drug rehab. There a Christian group comes in and reads the Bible. Bobby prays for salvation. He is reconciled to his father before his father’s death. He marries and starts his own agency. Now a church deacon and pianist.</p>

<p>Jerry goes to Bible college in Chicago where he meets Jan. They date for six months until he leaves for Swaziland. After five months he asks her by telegram to marry him, and she accepts and comes to Africa. They marry and he becomes headmaster at the Christian school that his mission founded. The king’s son attends and Jerry longs to meet the king. Eventually, the king’s son arranges an audience, giving Jerry sermon material. After 20 years in Africa they return home so their daughters can attend college in the U.S. Now pastor of a church in Ohio.</p>

<p>Jerry lives in the shadow of his older brother and their mom’s dominance. Ridiculed at school, he sees himself as a victim. At 13 he follows his brother to the altar for salvation, but remains unchanged. Jerry helps his history teacher grade papers and Jerry changes grades for classmates. Confronted by the teacher, he lies. Seeing his deceitful heart, he is genuinely saved at 17. After graduation he finishes college, becomes an English teacher and does well teaching in high school. He then leads Bible study and friends encourage him to go to Bible school, which angers his mother. The first part ends as Jerry goes off to Bible college.</p>

<p>Tom’s mother, married four times, won’t go to church because her father is a deacon, so Tom grows up without faith. When a co-worker invites him to church, his parents refuse but Tom goes. Eventually, he prays for salvation, but his love for the Lord leads the family to think he’s in a cult and they move to another state. For three years Tom falls away from God. He graduates, joins the Army and goes to Germany where he see such immorality that he goes back to church where he learns that he is still saved. He meets Angie, they marry and serve the Lord together. His mother professes faith in Christ before she dies. He and Angie are missionaries in Germany.</p>

<p>Nathan grows up with a twin brother, a fear of God and a family devoted to religion. Going to parochial school he hears stories of God’s anger but also hears Bible stories read aloud. His anxiety about death causes heart palpitations. Nathan talks to and experiences God at ten, but his faith is not nurtured; and religious rituals, peer pressure and his fears squash his love for God. He drinks in high school, swears to be accepted and takes a job as carpenter after graduation. A friend mentions Revelation, and Nathan reads and becomes convicted of his sin. On the job he cries out to God and finally asks God to save him. His father rejects the gospel but Nathan continues to follow Christ.</p>

<p>Bill witnesses to his family, but only his brother, Ron, responds. Bill gets an early discharge, goes to Bible college and persuades Ron to go to the Christian high school attached to his college. Coming home during summer, he meets Shirley. As a missionary in Honduras, he gets amoebic dysentery and nearly dies. He goes into depression that school year. The next summer he reads a book that helps, and gives the book to other students, incurring the displeasure of school authorities. But he graduates, marries Shirley and pastors a church in Norfolk. Shirley fights breast cancer at the same time that Bill’s stepmother dies of cancer. After Roxie dies, Bill’s dad professes faith after hearing Ron preach. Both brothers now presidents of Christian colleges.</p>

<p>The first part begins as Frank visits an inmate in prison. He relates how he was bullied by his older brother and hoped the brother would get killed in Vietnam, then felt responsible when this happened. He is expelled from school many times; his mother threatens to kill him and banishes him from home except to sleep. His father doesn’t know what to do. Frank goes into a black depression, and at 15 sees a psychiatrist at school. He steals, lies and is permanently expelled for violence. He and a friend smoke pot and steal marijuana from a grower. The first part ends as Frank, now saved, witnesses to the inmate.</p>

<p>Al hates his father, an abusive alcoholic. Unaware that he has dyslexia, Al fells inferior, daydreams and doesn’t handle conflict. He quits jobs and joins the army where they make him an electronics instructor. His father dies and Al still hates him. Hospitalized several times, he volunteers because he likes the praise. At home he fights with his mother. He goes to technical college, dos well but fails a political science class, then quits without graduating. He joins a group of men who form a company that does well but he works too much. A Christian invites him to church and he goes, falls in love but is rebuffed. Then he is saved, and decides to travel the country, searching for God’s will. The first part ends when he is arrested in St. Louis after an accident.</p>

<p>Ron and his brother, Billy, spend the summer street preaching together. After three weeks of preaching in the town rescue mission, Ron receives enough money from donations to go to the Christian academy his brother attends – over his dad’s objections. He completes college and becomes a full-time evangelist, working with friend, Larry. He meets and marries a young woman who is saved at one of his revivals. Then his eyesight deteriorates and he is diagnosed with Keratoconus. He eventually has a corneal transplant, teams up with Larry and they travel the world as evangelists. His dad is saved. In 1989 he starts a college for preachers.</p>

<p>Melva and her family move from Kansas to western Colorado when she is nine. At seven she had gone forward during a tent revival for salvation but doesn’t feel saved later, listening to a radio preacher. She lives by good works, obedient to parents and studying hard in school. Because the family is poor, she works for room and board in high school and earns a scholarship to college where she tries smoking but doesn’t drink. She drops out after the first year, goes home and works as a secretary. She begins dating Wayne, who goes to church with her and gets saved. The first part ends as he walks away when she refuses to marry him.</p>

<p>Neil is born with congenital glaucoma. His poor Orthodox Jewish family moves downstate so he can attend the state school for the blind. There he encounters prejudice but makes a few friends among the black students, who introduce him to boogie-woogie music which becomes a passion. Because of prejudice about Jews, he decides to study Hebrew and passes his bar mitzvah, planning to be a rabbi. Liberal teaching ends that interest and he pursues music becoming an accomplished piano player. Because he is overweight and blind, no girls are interested in him. He graduates and goes to college, meeting Christians who take him to church. He doesn’t drink or use drugs but he becomes an “atheist”, playing in nightclubs. The first part ends when his mother dies.</p>

<p>Steve grows up without his father. Between three marriages to alcoholics, his mother works at a tavern run by Steve’s Aunt Lil. Steve and his brother steal from the tavern as well as their aunt and uncles’ cars for joyriding. At 16 Steve and two buddies attempt a burglary but are caught. Aunt Lil helps him bail out. Steve, his brother and mother go forward at a church service, but fall away from the faith. Steve flaunts the law by drag-racing. Then his brother is nearly killed in an accident, and he urges Steve to get right with God. Three months later Steve feels the Lord calling him. He goes to church and is saved. He witnesses to his uncles and aunt but they stall. His aunt is killed later, but his uncle comes to Christ before he dies. Steve marries, goes to Bible college and seminary and is still a pastor.</p>

<p>Ed grows up with his mom, grandma and great-grandma, but no father. He fears his grandma, who is mean to him and his mother. At ten he is addicted to alcohol. At thirteen he drops out of school, addicted to drugs. He and his drug friends take over the house. Ed is violent. He steals his mother’s car, breaks into a gas station and goes to jail but not for long. He forges his grandma’s checks and goes to jail for six months. His mother becomes delusional and Ed trashes his grandma’s house, so they are evicted. He becomes a vagabond for ten years, roaming the country, a drunk who fears both death and life. He begs at a church and hears the gospel. The first part ends as he hits the road again, unsaved.</p>

<p>During Bible college, Art is called to the mission field. He falls in love with Florence, on her way to China as a missionary and reluctant to commit to Art. China’s civil war forces Florence to Japan where Art also goes. He continues his courtship, but the two misfire, and he gives up in frustration. Then they are reconciled and marry. He and five other missionaries launch PBA after some difficulties.</p>

<p>Bill’s father is a cowboy whose drunken abuse drives Bill to drink and use drugs. A school counselor is no help. After his father yanks an earring from Bill’s ear and throws him out, Bill uses intravenous drugs and his life spirals down. He marries Pam and they have two daughters, but his drinking, drugs and neglect drive her away. A cousin who urges him to go to church and a couple that gives him a New Testament lead to his conviction and salvation. God restores his marriage, and he goes to Bible college. Now an evangelist.</p>

<p>Jeanne’s father dies when she is three, and her mother marries a rich but cruel man who verbally abuses Jeanne. The family lives a pretentious life, and Jeanne longs for truth. Jeanne’s stepfather dies after she graduates but the inheritance goes to his first wife. Jeanne falls in love with Ed, whose mother doesn’t like her. They marry, and he becomes a policeman. After five years and the birth of their daughter, Ed is killed on duty. A week later Jeanne’s mother dies. Jeanne’s babysitter, Gloria, is a Christian whose compassion carries her through the suffering. The first part ends with Jeanne’s desire to die.</p>

<p>Agnes is an orphan when she meets and marries Kurt in 1941. She goes to live with his parents in East Russia where their first child is born. Her mother-in-law is controlling, and Agnes longs for independence. When the Russian Army draws near, she and her daughter flee to West Germany in 1944. Kurt comes home in 1946 and they struggle to survive in post-war Germany. They apply to immigrate to the U.S., arriving in 1952 where they serve seven years with a mission farm. Kurt becomes disabled and Agnes cares for him as his illness becomes terminal. She is now 83 and still faithful to God.</p>

<p>Kurt and thousands of other German prisoners travel by truck to Morocco to a POW camp where some men make an escape. From there they go by ship to the U.S.; Camp Livingston in Louisiana. Kurt’s experiences range from good food and friendship to slave labor and hunger as the war ends. A German POW who is a pastor encourages him to pray for salvation, which Kurt does. From then on he sees God’s hand in his life. In 1946 he goes home by ship and train and is reunited with his wife.</p>

<p>John Paul is born in a small village near Ottawa, Canada. He and older siblings are sent to a church school and forced to learn English. At 16 he returns home, starts drinking at 17 and becomes a drunkard. He feels so hopeless he attempts suicide, is sent to a psychiatric hospital for nine months. Goes back to drinking. Then he passes out in a January snowstorm and loses three fingers to frostbite. A Christian couple takes him to a retreat and cares for him. As he studies the Bible, his thirst for alcohol vanishes. He is saved and baptized in 1985, goes to Bible school and is still serving Christ.</p>

<p>Bryce tells his alcoholic father about being saved, but his dad rejects the gospel. A month later his dad is killed in an accident. Bryce marries Kim. They take their baby daughter back to Michigan where he is arrested for violating probation. The judge lets him go, but when officials come snooping, Bryce panics and they run back to Florida. He confides in his pastor who persuades him to go back and turn himself in. The pastor drives him, and they stay with his mother. When Bryce avoids prison, his trust in God is established. Both his brother and his mother profess faith in Christ.</p>

<p>Life had become desolate for Martin Garland. Then a conversation on an airplane headed home set this weary executive on an entirely new course. Perhaps what Martin learned is exactly what you need as well. Find out when you listen to this dramatic true story on “UNSHACKLED!”</p>

<p>Fred grows in faith, witnessing to classmates, standing up to teachers. He leaves commerce college to tackle Bible school where he learns to submit to God by submitting to unfair authority. He marries Suzette and they serve in a communist infested area, receiving death threats and no support. Fred suffers periodic paralysis and a heart attack from an untreated thyroid condition, but he labors on serving the Lord.</p>

<p>Morry marries Jean and they raise five children while being active in ministry. Sons Craig and Brent rebel, smoking, drinking and using drugs. Brent surrenders to Christ at fourteen and Craig goes forward but can’t quit using drugs. Brent takes his brother to a Christian movie where Craig gets saved. Both brothers are now pastors. At 75 Morry has a stroke and lives in a nursing home. A soldier in Brent’s church is captured in Iraq and the story ends with Brent’s sermon on our hope in Christ.</p>

<p>Grady works as a logger and meets Bridgett. He leads her into marijuana smoking and they fight. When his mother is dying of cancer, he prays for her healing but she dies, and Grady is bitter at God. At work a new mechanic is hostile and the two men become locked in a bitter and deadly fight. Grady marries Bridgett. A tree falls on him and, fearing death, he gives his life to God.. Still disabled, he is now a chaplain in prison ministry.</p>

<p>Larry confesses Christ at age twelve to escape hell, but lust for fame as a rock music star leads him into immorality and drugs. He leaves his wife and children, becomes a dealer of cocaine. When the law closes in, he cooperates, quits the band, marries his girlfriend and takes a respectable job. A man at work witnesses to him. Larry’s parents pray for him, and he is sentenced to six months work release, after which he receives Christ. His new wife leaves him, but he is remarried and they are evangelists together.</p>

<p>Rebellious and wild, Greg worships his older brother who teaches him to fight. When he disappoints his brother, Greg becomes self-destructive, injecting drugs with his cousin. Treatment doesn’t help, talking with the pastor doesn’t help. He marries Tammy, and they are invited to revival at church, where Greg gives his life to Christ. Now an evangelist.</p>

<p>Levi asks his dad’s forgiveness, and the two are reconciled. He finishes Bible college, marries Phyllis, and begins serving the Lord as pastor. In 1972 his daughter brings home books from school that contain abhorrent teaching, and Levi starts a Christian school. The State of Ohio takes him to court and Levi fights a four-year battle to the State Supreme Court, winning the right to have his school and winning his adversary to the cause. Still teaching Bible study at 80.</p>

<p>Tom grows up in a religious family, a descendant of Arab Christians. As a boy, he is fearful of God’s wrath. He discovers pornography as a teenager and becomes addicted, lying to his parents, hiding his obsession for x-rated movies. He marries Mary Jo but their marriage suffers because of his secret life. After five years, they begin going to Bible study with his cousin, and both get saved at a church retreat. They go to Bible college, then serve as missionaries to Arabs in Israel. Now a chaplain in a jail ministry.</p>

<p>When Reuben’s parents divorce, he starts drinking at thirteen and running with the wrong crowd. Drugs and a bad attitude cause him to fail at school. Arrested for assaulting police officers, he joins the army, but gets in trouble there, too. He marries Coretta and fights in the Gulf War. When he returns, his sister visits and talks about Jesus. He finally goes to church with her, where he and Coretta are saved. After serving in Germany, he leaves the army for Bible college. His father is saved at the graduation. Now pastoring a church in Providence, home of his father’s family.</p>

<p>Solomon is blinded and burned over all his body when he pulls a pot of boiling beans on himself as a child. His family abandons him, giving him to Emperor Haile Selassie, who supports the boy. Solomon is educated in a Christian mission school, but rebels against God and mocks Christianity. One day he enters a chapel to hear the music and goes forward to give his life to Christ. He goes to law school and marries; but they are persecuted by the Communist government in Ethiopia. Solomon comes to the U.S. on a Fulbright Scholarship and now serves with the mission that helped him.</p>

<p>Blind drunk, Bill pushes Elise down the stairs and she separates herself, having him live alone downstairs. Feeling compassion one day, she helps him, but he tries to choke her. As she surrenders to the Lord’s will, Bill releases her. Diagnosed with cirrhosis, he quits drinking. They are reconciled. They retire to another state where Bill becomes active in church and commits to the Lord. When he dies, Elise recognizes her self-righteousness and God’s plan for their life all along.</p>

<p>Told through his wife, Gene’s eyes, Harry accepts the job of superintendent in 1940 and faces a badly run-down mission that he cleans and changes from top to bottom. He begins a Women’s Division, a Serviceman’s Center and “Unshackled!”, but faces his wife’s unhappiness when he neglects his family. She prays and comes to understand God’s will and supports him.</p>

<p>Harry grows up in a family that goes to church but doesn’t know the Lord. Harry has a fascination for electricity and is self-taught. They move to Chicago when Harry is 20, and he works for the Edison company. A co-worker invites him to a Bible conference but there’s no invitation to receive Christ. Harry finally kneels and prays at home. After salvation, he preaches on street corners and at Pacific Garden Mission. He meets Gene and they marry. The first part ends when Harry is asked to be superintendent at PGM.</p>

<p>Terry grows up during the Depression hating alcohol because his father sometimes got drunk. The family of eleven children are impoverished and move to Illinois when Terry is 17. He drinks with buddies, breaking a promise to his sister, then he enlists in the navy, where he becomes an alcoholic. Afterward, he marries Grace and they have six children. He tries to quit drinking but can’t. His brother invites him to church. Terry gets drunk with his uncle, has a vision of Jesus on the cross and cries out to God. He and Grace go to church and go forward. Still witnessing in spite of illness.</p>

<p>Sherry is invited to speak at an International Students’ Fellowship Home in Minnesota. The home has 22 students, most from Africa. She gives her testimony at dinner, and a young man named Binyam comes to her room where she leads him to Christ. The students barely have enough to eat, so Sherry buys groceries and prepares dinner. After she speaks on Sunday, Binyam shares his testimony of escaping from prison in Ethiopia.</p>

<p>Sherry excels in school and is ambitious even after her marriage to Jerry at seventeen. Being a housewife bores her, so she goes to work against her husband’s wishes and is successful in the political arena. She serves many gods: money, power, friends, even “good works” and astrology as her marriage slides downhill. Her godly mother prays for her. An old friend and she work together, and the friend leads her to Christ. The first part ends when Sherry is diagnosed with MS.</p>

<p>Vladimir grows up in a Christian family in the Soviet Union. Churches are burned, Bibles banned and Believers persecuted. Atheism is enforced at school, and he is ridiculed and mocked. He learns to drink from his grandfather, learns about God from his grandmother and parents. But he joins in rebellion, vandalizing and drinking. He goes away to school at fifteen where a born-again cousin talks to him of God and takes him to underground church. The first part ends when police break up this meeting and he is arrested.</p>

<p>Susan’s baby brother is born with Down Syndrome, and the family quits going to church. Hungry for God, she falls prey to a family who practice Vedanta, believe in reincarnation and many paths to God. At college she mocks an evangelist on campus. She breaks her engagement to move to Ohio where she believes her destiny lies. There she teaches school, and a co-worker leads her to Christ.</p>

<p>Kevin grows up hearing about Jesus in church and from his grandfather. He goes forward and is baptized twice; but he doesn’t know the Savior. His family quits going to church when Kevin is twelve, and he smokes pot and drinks. His feelings of failure lead him to drink and fight constantly. He wrecks his truck and fears hell. He meets Michelle who leads him back to church where he truly gives his life to Christ. They marry and Kevin is now a preacher.</p>

<p>John grows up feeling ashamed of his controlling mother, who humiliates him. His father goes along with her to avoid fights. John discovers a love for basketball but is kicked off the court by a bully. He practices secretly, becomes a star and finds acceptance. But in college he does drugs and drinks. After graduation, he dates a depressed girl who ultimately shares the gospel. John prays to receive Christ and is liberated. He marries and becomes a pastor.</p>