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and a less-experienced crew would have drawn the same high wage-
scale. This profession is highly unionized, and we are having to
pay the very high union scale for the time for this technical crew
of 14 people. Every hour was costing a lot of money. In order to
CUT costs, and produce these programs as cheaply as possible, we
had planned to shoot three complete programs a day, three days
successively---getting the MOST possible out of this TV crew. But
after struggling desperately all day, I had only made a number of
beginnings---utterly unable to produce a single program, or ANY
film that could ever be used.
It was the most discouraging, frustrating, disappointing
experience of my life! Mrs. Armstrong and I went home, desperately
determined to try again next morning. But next morning it was the
same. Even after a fair night's sleep, my body was still depleted
of strength.
But one thing had begun to give encouragement. Several of
the TV crew had mentioned they wished I would hurry up and "break
thru that sound barrier," because they had become so INTERESTED in
what I was saying they couldn't wait to see how the Message was
going to turn out---it had aroused such suspense in their minds,
they could hardly wait to hear the rest of it. They had seen the
booklet United States in Prophecy on my desk in the study, and
nearly every one of them wanted a copy to read.
The director had told me several times that the whole crew
was getting interested---they had never heard anything like that
before---and all of them, said the director, "are sure pulling for
you." Word was telephoned that all the college students and our
staff home on the campus were praying, and fasting and praying that
I'd be able to conquer this thing, and begin to produce real
programs.
But the final climax of this was at the end of the second
day, when the producer came into my dressing room, and with his
eyes watering up, said that altho several of that TV crew perhaps
had never prayed before in their lives, they were every one of them
really praying for me now---because on the next day we had to come
thru or give up going on TV!
I'm sure many of you Co-Workers must have been praying for
me, too, as I asked in my last letter---because the next morning I
awakened feeling fine, and on the very first try went thru the
announcements about the 'U.S.in P (as we call it here on the
campus), just as naturally as I do on radio. When the cameras
stopped clicking and the lights went off a great shout went up from
all in the studio.
"NOW!" shouted the producer, "You've broken thru that 'sound
barrier,'---everything will go along from now on just like it does
in radio."
And, it DID! That afternoon, I went thru the second TV
program without a hitch---just as smoothly, and as confidently, and
with the same assurance as in radio or before an audience.