On the Road

Fix the Hurt and Domestic Violence the Musical? have been on the road again.

Linda, John and Loren were on the road this week with six performances in New Mexico and Texas. What a time we had along with our fabulous El Paso Cast. This crew worked their hearts out with a performance in Alamogordo, New Mexico on Wednesday night at the Flickinger Theater in downtown Alamogordo, with 500 people in attendance. Our thanks to Scot Key, the DA for the 12th District of NM and his staff - Kimberly and Melanie - thank you.

Then Thursday morning there were two performances at the Canutillo High School, with a whopping 800 high school kids per performance, thank to Rosario Olivera. Ever tried to hold the attention of 800 kids at a time? With a intermittently working sound system? With workmen on stage during the performance? Well this cast did it! They nailed it so well the kids were riveted during the entire performance! After the last performance, Ginny Green was sitting on the edge of the stage, I think resting from the rigors of the pace and about seven freshmen girls gathered around her and started asking questions. One fifteen year old girl told that she had gotten pregnant at age 14, the baby was a year old now, and she was not with the father, but he still had access to her through the baby and was abusive. She expressed how she appreciated learning a great deal during the performance and how it would help her deal with the situation. The evening attendance was lightly attended, but a great performance.

On Friday morning we traveled back to Alamogordo to perform for 600 airmen at Holloman AFB. What a sight, airmen - predominantly men, looking with wonder at the stag thinking “what the heck am I in for now?” and the base commander and his wife sitting in the front row. Within two to three minutes, the cast had them and held them the entire show with a standing ovation. Many, many commented that it was great and they didn’t know what to expect. A survey card was filled out by each attendee and Linda got a look at them. The top rating was a five and all she saw were marked with a five. And comments like, "great job", "good information", etc. A huge "thank you" to Ellen Madison-Holtz and Sgt. Julie Davis.

The places you can make a difference? High School and Military bases!!

The final performance at 9:10 in the morning Saturday was for District 32 District Attorney’s Help, Hope and Healing conference with approximately 600 in attendance. It was great to see Stephanie Dodson, CAFV, Virginia Gonzales, MADD, Jaime Esparza, District Attorney and many of my very supportive friends. Special thanks to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office and Sheriff Apadoca for their support. Region 19 is a magnificant facility and we enjoyed performing there. The crowd was engaged and receptive and there were more than a few tears.

It was a great 4 days, we are tired, but excited for our next opportunity to bring Domestic Violence the Musical? to communities everywhere - we hope we can make a difference.

The Trip to Vernal

We recently made a trip to Vernal, Utah, home of some extraordinary people. Two of which are our daughter, Lori and her husband, Brent . . . . and our grandson, Tyler. We spent a few days in their lovely home and got to know Brent's family - truly welcoming, kind and just plain "good" folks.

We had the opportunity to participate in the Vernal Domestic Violence Prevention Training Program on the 10th of October. More than 60 DV workers, advocates and law enforcement people came together for a training session on Domestic Violence Prevention. Detective Kevin Nudd from the West Valley Police Department made presentations in the morning designed to refresh the participants on the finer points of the law and methods of handling Domestic Violence issues.

We were on the program in the afternoon presenting Domestic Violence in the workplace, Lisa’s Story and the Silent Cry, a program designed to bring to light issues involving pregnant women. We were pleased by the number of participants that came to us after the program indicating how they were touched by our presentation. Many were survivors of an abusive relationship and several were former wives of police officers. On the tables were paper chains, representing the cycle of violence. Participants were encouraged to take the chains apart and write comments on the paper. We received many written comments and attach those for your reading experience:

What a great job you are doing!!!

Thank you and may God bless you and guide you throughout your quest to stop DV

Thank you for sharing Lisa’s story! May you continue your sharing. You are doing wonderful work. You are very inspiring.

I was in an abusive marriage for 14 years . . . and during that time, began losing faith. I am healing. I am finding my voice. Thank you for sharing your story. It has strengthened me in many ways. God bless you.

I have been a stay at home mom for 19 years. Six weeks ago I decided to take employment outside my home. I’ve been working as a Victim Advocate for six weeks. I know that there is a purpose for me in this field of work. Thank you for your courage and perhaps I can make a positive impact as you have.

Thank you for teaching me about victims of crime. I was a victim myself and now out of it – safe and sound. As a Native American I really didn’t know that I was in trouble until I learned about abuse. Again, thank you. May God bless you and your family and guide you in your trips.

Your story of your family and Lisa was so moving and surfaced a lot of feelings about myself and family. I too, was a victim of sexual and physical abuse. Thank you for your comforting thoughts.

Our prayers are with you as you spread your message. Thank you for sharing your story. God bless.

Thank you so much for all you are doing. As a victim of DV and as a police officer’s wife, I was so grateful to those that helped me. I also relate as it has been my faith that has helped me, as well. May the Lord continue to bless us.

Thank you so much for the training, for your message and support you bring to every person in life. Sorry for your loss. She is in a better place and she is also helping out through your experience in your life. God bless you and thank you again for making a difference in people’s lives.

Thank you so much for speaking to us today – your words are full of strength and hope. My older sister was a victim of domestic violence for 6 years. She finally admitted to us what we suspected all along. She is now out of the situation & much happier. Thank you for having the strength to speak out to so many about this. I myself do not have the courage to do it publicly. Your strength and testimonies encourage me. When we sat with my sister while she told my dad, we told him that no matter what she told him, he wasn’t to leave. He too, wanted to kill the guy. Thanks so much.

Thank you for sharing your story! Your faith is outstanding and I appreciate your time and willingness to share. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

As the mother of two daughters and four granddaughters, I want to know what kind of interventions parents can do to “rescue” their daughters from abusive relationships. Your daughter was so strong as a child. How does their self-esteem slip so badly, so quickly. How do we restore it – how do we help them restore it? Thank you for what you are doing.

Our lives are made better because there are individuals who like these, bless our lives.

John & Linda

The Way It Should Be!!

I was in El Paso yesterday with the cast of Domestic Violence The Musical? All I can say is WOW! What I saw was a strong “ramping up” of the performance audiences will see later in October. After the July performances I didn’t think it could be more powerful, but I knew our director, Loren Marsters had done it again when I heard Nathan Stell-Smith, on guitar, joining Elena on the piano as the actors sang, “Don’t Know How to Leave”. I was totally blown away when the guitar joined the voices of Cindy Miles and Ginny Green for the presentation of "Control " and I actually got goose flesh and when the trio of female voices joined to do “Listen, Listen, Listen.” I finally knew why Linda cries every time it is presented that way. Look out all you folks that plan to attend the October presentations in Alamogordo, NM, Holloman AFB, Region 19 in El Paso and Canutillo High School . You are about to see an ensemble come together to bring you a strong message in a way you have never seen.

We were saddened by the news yesterday of yet another domestic violence homicide at Fort Bragg, the third one in four months. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of 29 year old, Sgt. Christina E. Smith. The message of “Domestic Violence The Musical?” needs to be taken to all military installations. Kudos to Ellen Madison –Holtz, for her huge part in bringing this program to Holloman AFB and to Base Command for recognizing the great need and supporting this effort.