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The "House" Official Trailer
-Troy Kirby

A small rural town of 2,000 becomes a flashpoint for national conversations on private prisons, sex offender recidivism and community notification. When an adult group home CEO buys up local property with the intent of housing McNeil Island’s ‘worst of the worst’ sexually violent predators in a $1 million dollar cash cow scheme, residents and county law enforcement are alarmed as she shrugs off their security concerns. The plan is backed by state officials, who evade community notifications, ignore third-party contract conflicts of interest, resorting to the fabrication of death threats, create false court reports or simply walking out of public meetings to avoid accountability. To make matters worse, bureaucrats shrug off concerns about nearby playgrounds, bus stops and schools, all in an attempt to place a dangerous sex offender who has molested over 800 victims. The town’s residents fight back in a public media battle against the greedy CEO and state officials while trying to protect those around them from becoming future victims.

The Spotlight goes inside McNeil Island: Home to Washington's most violent sexual predators​

Laura and Me

Sylvia Peterson

Very few sexual abuse survivors are given the opportunity to ask the question they most want answered. Why did this happen to me? Sylvia Peterson was offered that chance and courageously took it. She met twice a month with Laura Faye McCollum, the only woman held in Washington State as a violent, serial, sexual predator. Laura’s crimes were horrific. She was an accomplished liar and a skilled manipulator, but Sylvia was determined. Laura and Me isn’t just a journey into the darkness of childhood sexual abuse. It’s also a voyage into forgiveness, healing, and joy.
 
“Sylvia Peterson’s book was instrumental in shattering my chains of self-hatred born of childhood abuse. Balancing horror, history, and humor, she entrusts the reader with every nuance of her heart and mind. You will rage, laugh, and cry as you experience Sylvia’s quest for truth. I will no longer hold an impotent finger in the dike of my perpetrator’s sins. Laura and Me is a satisfying must-read for anyone who wants to know why adults prey on children.” Kathleen McDaniels, M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education
 
“You may be afraid to read this like I was, but it will help you with the struggle from what someone did to you or to someone you care about. People can heal from being sexually abused. I know. I was one of Laura McCollum’s victims. Let this story change you.” (Name deleted for privacy.)
 
For over two decades, Sylvia has ministered to the incarcerated, including sex offenders. She and her husband write and present offender reentry programs for the Washington State Department of Corrections. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology and a Master of Divinity from Covenant Bible Seminary in Lakewood, WA. The Petersons are also chaplains for the Foursquare Church. They live in Steilacoom, WA.

THE RED DOOR: Where hurt and Holiness Collide

Sylvia Peterson

“The Red Door” is one woman’s inspiring story of her struggles with childhood abuse, parental abandonment, abortion, addiction, and a lifetime of justified bitterness.

Despite years of conflict, Stephanie was with her mother when the eccentric and abusive woman claimed to travel back and forth between her hospice bed and heaven, “rewriting her scripts.” Was that even possible?
Stephanie’s own unexpected death suddenly propels her under the tutelage of an odd man who is a combination of guide, counselor, and eventual friend. Steve’s only assignment? Accompany each person on a personal journey to heal their unresolved trauma.

“Think about it,” Steve said. ”You have lived your entire life with people who have hurt you. They are here. And there are people you have hurt—I think that’s the hardest to resolve. They are here. And there are people you have blessed. They are here also. Do you really think heaven would be a swell place to hang out if you didn’t first have an opportunity to rewrite your scripts?”
Steve continued. “Let’s imagine you are hypothetically ambling down the street and bump into, let’s say… your father. Given the disappointment and bitterness you carry in your heart, would that be enjoyable? Would it be… well, heaven?
I cringed. “No. It would hurt.”

“Of course it would. Stephanie, you need a chance to do some healing here before you continue into the wonder and glory of heaven. Oh, I can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed. Your mother was right about the sound of angels singing praises to God. And the flowers! It is unimaginable!”

Had her mother reported the truth? Stephanie wouldn’t know for certain until they met again on the other side of the “Red Door – Where Hurt and Holiness Collide.”

Refilling The Chaplain’s Cup: Finding Self-Care That Works

Sylvia Peterson & John Peterson

John and Sylvia understand that chaplain self-care is much more than spending a few extra minutes in prayer. Based on their own ministries, they assist readers to find activities that are most likely to restore them when they are “running on empty”: creative expression, mental exercise, emotional health, physical health, recreation, relationships, and spiritual practice.

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