By Tiffany Janiczek

ORLANDO, Fla. --“We can’t pay you for working, but we’ll give you food and housing,” the voice on the phone said.

How many people would jump on the chance of working for free?  Not too many, but that’s exactly what David Nixon did, when the call came from Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga.

Nixon, a film producer and director from Orlando, Fla., quickly accepted the offer to make a movie with nothing but volunteers.

“I wanted to make movies with a message, movies to touch hearts,” Nixon said during an interview with students at Valencia Community College, on Dec. 3.

“Facing the Giants” and “Fireproof” were two movies that Nixon produced with Sherwood Baptist Church, making over $40 million in the box office.

“Christian films are late to the party,” said Nixon, “the Christian audience is an underserved audience by Hollywood.”

Six years later, Nixon’s company, Possibility Pictures, has completed their first faith-based movie, “Letters to God.”

Filmed in Winter Garden, Fla., on a budget of $3 million, “Letters to God” is about a boy with cancer who writes letters asking God to help the people around him as they deal with his disease.

“Cancer touches everyone,” said Nixon, our intention was “to give people hope.”

Premiering on April 9, Nixon is hoping “Letters to God” will be a catalyst to get people to dialogue not only about cancer, but also about God, and God’s plan for man.

With at least two other films in the works, faith based pictures, like “Letters to God,” are shaking up Hollywood, and filling a void that has too long been overlooked.

By Tiffany Janiczek

DELAND, Fla. –  “Che fano senza Euridice?” sang Daison Michelle, as part of her Senior Recital at Stetson University’s Katherine Hall.

Each year, students at Stetson University perform their final performance, a collection of songs they have prepared during their time in school, before graduating on to bigger and better things.

Michelle, 24, is weeks away from graduating with a B.A. in Music Performance, and will be continuing on to the Berklee School of Music in Boston in the spring.

As a child in Hialeah, Fla., Michelle dreamed of going to Stetson.  “The first time I came here, I knew this was where I wanted to go,” said Michelle.

Steston only accepts 25 transfer students into their music program, so after graduating from a community college, “I knew my chances of getting in were slim, but this is the only place I wanted to be," said Michelle.

Upon receiving her acceptance letter to Stetson, “something my parents still have framed in their living room,” said Michelle, she quickly sought financial aid, as it costs $37,500 a year to attend Stetson.

Now that she is finally in the home stretch, Michelle stands proudly in front of her family, friends, other music students, and local residents, singing songs such as “Mon Coeur s’ouvre a ta voix” by Wagner, and “But not for me” by George and Ira Gershwin.

“Her voice was incredibly clear, like a ringing bell,” said Andrew David, a music education student at Stetson.

Erica Scheurer, a local Deland resident, has been attending Senior Recitals for the past 15 years.  “I try to make it to every recital,” said Scheurer. “These kids work really hard and I want them to know I’m proud of them.”

“It was hard,” said Michelle, when speaking of the music program, “but tonight, being up there singing my heart out, makes it all worth while.”

By Tiffany Janiczek

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – “Cooking, even gourmet cooking, should be quick, easy, cheap, and fun.”

Gathered in the grand ballroom of One Ocean, Executive Chef Ted Sands discussed his new book “Gourmet Cooking on a Dime,” set to release November 23.

Sands, 35, worked his way up in the kitchen, beginning as a Sous Chef, then becoming Chef de Cuisine, and finally reaching Executive Chef in 2007 when Azuria opened at One Ocean.

“I’ve always enjoyed cooking,” said Sands, a 2005 James Beard Award recipient, “and I realized a few years ago, that even gourmet cooking can be done in a way that saves money.”

When Azuria opened, Sands made it his mission to find affordable ways to bring gourmet food into his restaurant.

“By making food production more profitable for the restaurant, chances are we’ll be around longer” quoted Sands, during his discussion.

One example of how to save money, is purchasing vegetables and herbs from local farmers markets, and making your own flavored oils.

“I really enjoyed when Chef Sands demonstrated how to take thyme, rosemary and other herbs and infuse them in olive oil,” said Derek Hennings, 23.  “I love to use flavored oil in my cooking but it’s just so darn expensive, by making my own, I will save a couple hundred bucks a year.”

Lauren Smith, 24, an aspiring chef from St. Augustine, said, “I am always looking for ways to save money.  My husband loves to eat exotic foods,” she continues, “however as full-time students we don’t have much money to spare.”

“It’s nice to know that even in fancy restaurants the chef’s are trying to save a buck,” said Mari Cruz, 39.  “If only that was reflected in the price you pay, that would be great.”

Chef Sands expressed later that “although Azuria is pricey,” you can make the same foods at home for a fraction of the cost if you follow some of the advice in his book.

One thing is for sure, if a Tuna Tartar only costs about $10 to make, its astonishing that it costs $45 at Azuria, now that is food for thought.

10/6 S.P. Williams

“Heaven’s real and hell’s real, and you’ve got to make a choice.”  Those were the words that Shawn Patrick Williams heard in his head moments before sealing his deal with the Devil, literally.

During his 2 hour speech Sunday night at Harvest Time International in Sanford, Fla., Williams not only gave his testimony, but he spoke about his organization, Warrior Nations, which raises money to buy equipment for small towns in Africa to build their own well’s. 

Williams stated later that he is not ashamed of his story or more importantly the “God who saved” him when he was in his darkest hour.

At the age of 17, Shawn Patrick Williams of Greenville, S.C., was at the height of his search for something; already a successful drug owner, Williams was offered the deal of a lifetime that would bring him exactly what he was looking for: Power and Notoriety.

In exchange for next to nothing, Williams was offered a partnership with one of the most successful club owners in the South, who also happened to be a minister in the church of Satan.

“I was seeking power, and I made a pact with Satan. He could have my soul,” Williams stated.

Desperate to find some way to ease the pain he felt inside, Williams knew that by joining in on a Santeria ritual he would not only seal the fate of his new club; he would also ultimately seal his own fate.

Although the “forces of evil” were trying to persuade him take the next step; a voice inside his head shouted a warning that made Williams reconsider what he was doing.

Shaken by what he heard, Williams said he fell to his knees at the DJ booth of his club, and cried out, “God, I am a drug addict, and I am worthless here. But if You’ll take my life, I’ll give it to You and do whatever You want me to.”

That desperate cry to God revolutionized Williams’ life.

Now a full time evangelist, Williams travels the globe sharing his testimony with anyone who will listen.

“I was recently on a bus in Sydney, Australia, when a man sat down next to me, he was disheveled, drunk and who knows what else.  I looked him in the eyes when he sat down and said, ‘Man I know where you’ve been and I know where you’re headed, but I’ve got something to tell you that may change your life.’”

When asked about the event and the information the Williams shared David Landry, of Winter Park, Fla., said that he was “shocked to find out it costs less than the price of a bottle of water to provide some kid in Africa fresh drinking water for a year.”

Equally impressed by the entire evening, Maggie Martinez, of Orlando, Fla., said she was “moved by Shawn’s candid, and moving recollection of his past.  He is someone who decided instead of becoming a statistic, he would rise above his past and become the best he can be.”

Admittedly, Williams says, “It’s not always easy to stay on the straight and narrow, but it’s all I know.  For now I will just keep doing what the Lord tells me to do, and aside from sharing my testimony, building well’s in Africa is how I play my part.”