Gospel group shares story of escape and faith on hit television show
KELOWNA, BC—Gospel music group the Freedom Singers escaped a dragon's den unscathed, but it wasn't the biggest obstacle they have ever faced.
The trio—made up of brothers Simon and Steven Ivascu and their friend, Wesley Pop—appeared on the CBC TV show "Dragon's Den" late last year to ask for money to help promote their book, The Price of Freedom.
The Price of Freedom recounts how the group fled Romania because they were Christian conscientious objectors who did not want to join the army after high school, as all young men in Romania must do.
They fled to Italy where Simon and Wesley eventually crawled into a shipping container where they were locked and sealed, and placed aboard a ship. They baked in the heat for four days before being loaded onto the ship and then spent two weeks in darkness, headed to an unknown destination.
They ran out of food, water, oxygen and hope and thought they were going to die. Ultimately, God provided for them and they lived through the ordeal.
The Freedom Singers had already published the book independently and sold 15,000 copies by the time they appeared on "Dragon's Den" and were hoping to get money so they could further promote the book and get it into more people's hands.
While the entrepreneurs on the show were moved to tears by the trio's story, none of them made a deal with the Freedom Singers. However, the trio was offered a book deal from two different publishers after the episode aired. Simon says they did not sign on with a major publisher because the publishers wanted to change the story so that it did not focus so much on the trio's Christian faith.
"They called [the changes] minor, saying there are a lot of readers out there who don't necessarily believe in God and [the publisher doesn't] want to offend them, so they wanted to take those parts out," 34-year-old Simon says by phone from Kelowna, where he and his brother lay tile when they aren't on the road performing concerts.
"We wrote the book for one purpose, to recognize God, so we couldn't take Him out of the book. We're here because of God, and for me to deny Him at this point, I can't do that."
Today, the book has sold over 20,000 copies (a book is commonly acknowledged to be a Canadian bestseller if it sells 5,000 copies) and the Freedom Singers perform between 100 and 125 concerts across North America each year. They use the money they raise from sales of the book to fund a ministry they started that helps feed people in Romania.
"The reason we travel and share our testimony is that we want to encourage people," Simon says. "You don't have to be locked into a shipping container to [know about] the hardships of life. We want to be a blessing to people who suffer and go through challenges."
In June, the Freedom Singers are scheduled to perform a number of concerts in Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. Visit www.freedomsingers.com for details.
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