The Calling, The Testimony!

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Date: 17 December 2025

The time has come to tell a little story - a supernatural one. Some might refer to it as surreal, but it happened to me. It started back in 2003 in the early hours of the morning, leading eventually to this moment, where my wife and I finally completed the feature length film: 

"Angels: They Are Amongst Us." 

(with an unbelievable cast and crew who indirectly became a part of the pain and suffering to bring this story to the screen)

It was around 2:00 a.m. when I heard someone calling my name.

At first, I was not sure if I heard correctly, but then I heard it a second time. People always ask if the voice was audible. It wasn’t. It feels more like your imagination. I can’t explain it more simply than this: the difference between imagination and the voice of God is the conviction that follows - a sense that the experience is different, and unexplainable." 

So, like a Samuel from the Bible, I got up, went to the second bedroom, and lay down on the floor, my nose buried in the carpet, replying: “God, you called me?”

And then there was that voice again: “Are you prepared to lose everything for my name’s sake?” No introduction, just the line - but I knew who it was.

I have to pause here and explain the magnitude of this request. I grew up poor, the eldest of five children. My father could never afford even a wreck of a car, while everyone else on the street had one. We knew what it was like to go without food. I remember noticing how my parents wouldn’t eat to make sure we did, and how my dad would go to work without even a sandwich.

After finishing high school, I desperately wanted to go to film school, but it wasn't meant to be. I ended up at UCT, but by my second year, it was clear I wouldn't be allowed to write my winter exams due to outstanding fees from the previous year. Instead, I spent a couple of months at the Little Theatre working on a play I wrote and directed called Gangsters. After receiving rave reviews, I knew my time at university was up and left. I eventually found my way into the film industry with the help of Rosa Keet at the SABC. I didn't know her; I simply bombarded her with phone calls looking for work. She landed me a job as a 'coffee boy' at Waterfront Television, and by the end of that shoot, I was already helping out in the camera department.

A few years later, I made a movie called The Ghost and began working with international crews. I started making serious money and truly thought I had 'made it’, which brings me back to the question I was asked in that second bedroom.

“Are you prepared to lose everything for my name’s sake?”

I was like, “is this for real?” My mind was seriously messing with me. It was around 2:00 a.m. I wasn't under the influence of anything. My head was clear.

I could hear myself thinking, “God, I grew up with nothing. I’ve only just built this life, the properties, the cars, just got married. This is supposed to be my season.' I didn't speak the words, nor did I try to argue, but I knew God could read my every thought.

I got up and walked back to my room without answering. It took me a week to tell my wife about the encounter. My hope, and perhaps some husbands will understand this, was that she would turn it into a long conversation, reasoning with me until we eventually agreed it must have been my imagination. But her reply... and let me be careful how I put this... felt a bit cold. She simply said, “You know what you have to do.” There was no argument and no reasoning; the things women are often so good at. The one time I wanted her to be exactly that way, she did the complete opposite.

But I understood. She was telling me that she was with me, and I guess that was all I needed to hear. I wouldn't be walking alone. I went before God and said, “Yes, Lord, I am prepared to lose everything for your name’s sake.” But I was still only human; deep in my heart, a part of me was still hoping it was all just a test.

“There is no way we are going to lose everything, right?” 

A year later, in 2004, I had another encounter. This time God asked, “Are you prepared to turn your work around and glorify me in your work?” Unlike the first time, I didn't hesitate. It was an easy yes.

Back then, I had a screenplay gathering dust for almost 5 years. It was titled BEYOND ANGER. It followed a man who goes to teach at a reform school, trying to understand the criminal minds of children. Today, that story is our film, Angels: They Are Amongst Us.

Between 2003 and 2005, in our first house, I had two encounters with angels. One night, while driving home in the dark, I saw an angel guarding our front door. I won't offer a description, as everyone has their own beliefs about what an angel is. But I know what I saw. For a split second, it was there. I turned into the driveway, looked back, and the figure had vanished. It was humanly impossible for anyone to move that quickly.

The second encounter happened in that same house. One morning, I came down the stairs and saw an angel standing guard inside, right next to the front door. Again, it was only for a moment - as if the second I broke eye contact, it became invisible. These experiences are why I believe so strongly in angels. No human could ever convince me otherwise. They are messengers and warriors sent by God Himself. They are our access to the supernatural world and that secret, sacred place, a position granted to us by Jesus Christ through His sacrifice on the cross.

I’ll skip the fourteen years between 2005 and 2019 for now. Much happened and it was painful. We lost our properties and our cars, all while I was trying to help God get this movie made. That was my first mistake. Never try to help God; He doesn't need it. That is a story for a whole other book, so I’ll share it another time.

So, I decided to get out of the way and give God the space to move. Immediately, the ceiling came tumbling down. We got evicted while staying in JHB, my kids had to leave their school, and we found ourselves in no man’s land. This all happened during 2019. I'll go into more detail about this period another time.

Then one day in 2021, I found myself standing in a Cape Town office facing an Englishman wearing shorts, a funny t-shirt, and sandals. The office was a mess because he was busy renovating, and I honestly couldn’t understand why I was even pitching to him. I felt defeated before I even opened my mouth. Ninety minutes later, I walked out of that office expecting nothing, but I sent him the contract anyway. Two weeks later, he deposited a seven-figure amount into my bank account, and I was able to begin pre-production.

While the government almost ruined us, this man remained steadfast and never lost his temper. He told me recently that he hadn’t even read the contract before signing and depositing the money. He was a Godsend, plain and simple. I have no other explanation.

In 2022, we began filming Angels: They Are Amongst Us. Seventy percent of the way through production, government funding failed to materialize. We were forced to shut down and move back in with family. What was truly devastating was that my crew and cast went unpaid because the government refused to honour a signed seven-figure contract. At one point, they even told my cast and crew that the contract didn't exist. Three and a half years later in 2025, after an internal investigation, the contract was 'found', but now they claimed that because one witness signature was missing, the entire contract was invalid. A pattern emerged, and it became clear they never intended to pay. I even published an open letter and also sent the letter via email to the KZN government, National Arts & Culture, and the Presidency, but to this day, I have received no response.

2022 was the same year we suddenly lost my father, and the same year I suffered a stroke because I could no longer manage my stress levels. I remember that night in the ER, the left side of my body semi-paralyzed, wrestling with God, “This is not what You called me for, to be paralyzed and unable to glorify You through my work.” When the hospital demanded a R97k deposit for two nights in the ICU, I refused. I trusted God that my story didn't end there. I walked out the next morning, my BP was 188/111, a numb leg, a hanging arm, and a tongue slurring like a drunk sailor. Yet, the recovery was so fast; within two weeks, I was behind the wheel for an 800km trip."

The period from 2022 to 2025 was the most testing of my life. In the natural world, we lost even more: my father passing away, the last property that was in my name signed away, I suffered a stroke, and we faced an attempted hijacking in PE while my family was in the car. Four months after the attempted hijacking in 2023, I was robbed by a gang at a traffic light in the Durban CBD. I was alone that time, trapped by surrounding cars with no place to flee. I can still see the glass shattering as someone came through the driver’s window while another threw a brick through the passenger side. I thought it was the end. Coincidentally, as I sat down to write this today, I received a call from a Durban police officer. They are closing the case on the robbery because no arrests were made. It felt like the final page of that chapter was being turned. 

Shortly after the robbery incident, I ended up in a 'semi-private' hospital for three days. The doctor told me I had an 80% infection rate and would die within five days if I wasn't admitted. Lacking funds, I was referred to a state hospital for an emergency operation. I sat in a waiting room with over 100 patients from 2:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m., only to be told to come back the next day. I spent those eleven hours in a room with no aircon, sweating profusely. When I got home at 2:00 a.m., the sweating continued in bed. Little did I know, it was God’s way of putting me in a sauna (state hospital waiting room) to sweat out the infection. That morning, I knew I was healed. I never went back, and I didn't die five days later.

Healing through God is simple, unlike the expensive path the medical world promotes. After the stroke, I used to rely on blood pressure tablets and statins, but I eventually turned to fasting. Through intermittent and water-only fasts, my blood pressure returned to normal. My heart rate, which used to be too low (45–55), stabilized between 60 and 70. As the Bible says, some things only leave through prayer and fasting. I finally understand the power of that combination. Today, I am off my medication and maintain a healthy BP, monitored right from home. Science is only catching up now to the importance of fasting, even though it has been a biblical teaching for thousands of years.

I feel like God was trying to tell me something: it’s time to trust Him more and not the ways of the world. This realization is what brings me back to Angels: They Are Amongst Us.

Many miracles occurred. There are too many to mention here, but I want to share a few. In 2024, an LA composer reached out after hearing about Angels. After seeing the visuals, he was determined to write the orchestral score. I explained that our money was gone and I couldn't pay him. His response? 'Pay me when the movie makes money.' He, too, was truly a Godsend. I invite you to watch the film and hear the moving score he created.

Then there was my production manager, who was hounding me to let him and his cousin create an original track, and eventually, they did. The result was 'Angels Angels,' a rap song specifically written for the movie that now forms part of the soundtrack.

One morning, we arrived on set to shoot the final scene. We needed to fill a massive valley with smoke to create a misty look, but the area was simply too large for our equipment. However, when we arrived, the valley was already filled with a natural mist. It stayed perfectly through the filming and only disappeared the moment we captured the final shot. Now, is that God or what?

Then, there was one gospel song in particular that sustained me through this entire journey: 'Stay' by William McDowell. I knew I had to use it for the end credits to leave the audience with that same sense of peace I felt. Though the song has over 35 million views on YouTube, to me, its real power lies in how it ministers to those who see our film. It carried me when I had nothing else. My sincere thanks to Integrity Music for allowing me to use this powerful song in the movie. 

There is much more to be written about, and I will share it in more detail in the future.

Know, there was a time when my faith was small. If I had known that the journey was going to be 21 years, I would have tried to run away like Jonah, afraid of what might happen and the opposition I would encounter, not to mention the pain of getting to where we are today. I guess that is why we should not know every step of the future; it would take the wind out of our sails to see how big and steep the mountain ahead is. Faith in God would suffice.

Our current prayer is for God to provide the necessary resources to open doors in cinemas across the world, so this message can reach everyone it needs to. 

Through a prophetic word, God declared that this movie will reach a global audience and that this testimony is destined to go far beyond our local borders. 

How? I have no clue; now I just have faith.

I trust God to send the people and the resources.

Now, for anyone who still doubts whether the God of the Bible, Yahweh Sabaoth, The Lord of Hosts, is real: open your eyes and ears, and watch God work.., watch Him move..,, without my help. 

In the end, it is all about having faith. There will be no disappointment when you walk in His will.