May 15, 2023
Dear Friends,
The following news, sent by the Minnesota Department of Human Services, was received a few minutes before 12 noon on May 12:
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, based upon the Findings of Fact and Recommendations from the Special Review Board hearing held April 12, 2023, that Daniel Abraham Krusen is GRANTED a Provisional Discharge.
Care to join me in a Hallelujah?!
Daniel will be moving to his new group home residence in Richfield, Minnesota within the month. It’s a 30-minute drive from my home (compare that to the 90-minute drive we used to have to make to St. Peter). The good news here, of course, is much more than having a shorter car ride to visit Daniel. Please understand. For the past twelve years, Daniel has been in a locked-down psychiatric security hospital. His quality-of-life options have been severely limited during all this time: infrequent and closely monitored visits; no physical touch with anyone, not even a handshake; no community interaction; no visits home. These last several days, I have been thinking of the apostle Paul’s “house arrest” toward the end of his life in Rome: For two whole years Paul stayed there [in Rome] in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him (Acts 28:30).
I am looking forward to helping Daniel get settled in his new digs and organizing activities that he will enjoy. I especially look forward to bringing him to my home for a Sunday dinner with the rest of the family and organizing visits with friends who have heard about him all these years but have never had the opportunity to meet him in person. I think there will be hugs galore not just handshakes.
Would you care to visit Daniel in his own “rented house” one day? Write him a letter? Give him a call on the telephone? Pray with him? ¡Adelante! Go for it!
And consider this: Our movie LET ME HAVE MY SON, which is adapted from Daniel’s story, premieres this May 24th! When I wrote the screenplay, and even when I shot the film and edited it, Daniel’s future was unclear. How I longed for a happy ending to the story! I am not so naïve as to suppose that there won’t be challenges ahead, but this I know: Forgetting those things that are behind, and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13, 14). And I am thankful. That one word sums it up best. Thank you, Lord.
If you want to watch the movie, get your tickets by going to this site: https://tickets.letmehavemyson.com/.
All for now. Stay in touch and send your messages to Daniel in care of me for the time being.
Love and blessings,
Daniel’s Dad