DCFM Blog

Well folks, the shoot is over and we're all at home, marvelling at the work of God. The myriad of ways He provided for and protected us has simply blown us away. Over the next bit, we will try to recount some of those ways for you.

Glad y'all liked the pictures! We were sorry we weren't able to update more during the week, but not having Internet at the ranch and having the packed schedule that we had made it a bit difficult. Thanks for your patience. It was fun going to our 50's hot spot to update the two times we did. It became a special place.

Never did get to finish the post on what happened Thursday. Quite a story. So to fill you in...

Our sound technition, Aaron, was bit by a rattle snake in an attempt to protect all the ladies on crew. He was barely hit, but hit enough to put him out of commission for a couple of days. At first we thought it was no big deal, but within five minutes it became clear the situation was serious. Our set medic and Director, Matt B, remained very calm and in control as he tended to Aaron, putting a wrap around his arm, keeping the hand cool, administering the electrical shocks, and keeping tabs on how Aaron felt as we flew down the highway to the hospital. Aaron remained incredibly collected, and literally fearless. He was not tense at all, nor worried. It was evident he was trusting the Lord and simply doing whatever necessary for his hand at each moment. On top of that, his spirits were remarkably cheerful. Not a word of complaining came from his lips.

Here's' a pretty neat list of how God sovereignly orchestrated things:

Although we've heard baby snakes are more venemous than older ones and and are thus more dangerous, Aaron still didn't receive a full bite--bad as it was, we're very grateful for that. Aaron's mom was on the phone giving us directions to the hospital! (Now, that's almost funny seeing as she was in Texas and we were in Oklahoma! Who doesn't love online maps?) Aaron's mom is also a nurse. The Lord protected us as we drove to the hospital and were there within an hour of Aaron's bite. Plus, there was a huge storm blowing in from the north, and had it reached us while we were driving, it would delayed us greatly and been very dangerous. The Lord gave clear thinking and wisdom to Matt as he tended to Aaron. We had stun guns with us and were able to use them on Aaron's wound. Though many will say such a remedy doesn't work, it seemed to clearly help Aaron. We accidentally pulled up into the ambulance entrance, but because of it, an EMT rushed him right in--had we gone into the emergency room, it would have taken forever for him to be seen. At least that's what it looked like--it was going pretty slow in there. We are grateful for doctors assistance and administering the IV and other things to help Aaron get better. Susan's mom was with us for the week as our cook, and she came to the hospital as fill-in mom. Great to have her there. John N and Sage were coming in that day and decided to come by the hospital before going to the ranch. They stayed with us the rest of the day. Through the Naylors, we were able to get a hold of some friends who gave us some pointers on natural rememedies to help Aaron, and we were able to find a health food store in town!! When the swelling in his hand increased, we shocked his hand again (and filmed it this time) and the swelling went down immediately. We were able to hold off the doctors for a while on giving Aaron the anti-venom, and ultimately he never took it. Both his family and his crew felt really good about that.

Aaron's parents were able to get through the storm okay and came up to be with him for the night at the hospital before taking him home the next day. It wasn't easy to stay off the anti-venom and allow him to come home, seeing as the doctors felt strongly on that point, but the Lord worked it out and he got to be home for a couple days of recovery. We weren't sure if he'd get to come back for the rest of the shoot, but he was strong enough to, and we were so glad to have him up with us again. Just wasn't the same without him! I think our assistant sound guy, John V, was really glad to have him back too! (And thank the Lord for having John V on the team with knowledge in sound design so he could fill in for Aaron!) We do believe he worked himself too hard those last few days of the shoot, but we so appreciate all he gave to the team and the project. Aaron has been a great asset and a great encouragement to us all.

Oh, and another way we saw the Lord direct in unexpected ways, was when Aaron somehow discovered his brother's electric razor, and how by holding it, the vibrations would help the swelling go down in his hand!! Good for the lymphatic system--who'd have known?!

Much as we would rather Aaron not have been bit, it was a good warning for all of us. We were on high alert the rest of the week. We were a bit jumpy, actually, but almost better to err on that end, than not be careful.

And now that the week is over, we can see how God miraculously protected us from other snakes. The field we shot the battle scene in, we later found out was one of the most dangerous fields we could have been in. And our assistant DP, John N, had a run-in with a snake on Tuesday at the creek while taking down the zip line. But apparently the thing was either asleep or dead because he didn't come after John. But it was a close encounter.

So why did God let Aaron get bit if He protected us from all the others? That's God's call. We just know the situation caused us to cast ourselves on Him and draw closer to His heart, trusting His sovereign ways. We all thought it was pretty awesome to see God work through that circumstance for everyone's good and His glory.

God is good...even when we get bit by snakes and lose our sound guy for a few days.

And sure, God is also good when He heals him and brings him back!

Next time, more on production details...and pictures!!