Simon Ivascu, Steven Ivascu and Wesley Pop, fled Romania when they were only teenagers. In Romania, their native land, at that time, all young men, upon completing High School, were forced to join the army. Being conscientious Christians, they could not join the army because freedom of worship was totally restricted. Refusing to join would result in several years of imprisonment and persecution.

Determined to escape to freedom, they all faced danger and hardships fleeing from Romania to Italy, but Simon and Wesley’s nightmare began in earnest when they crawled into a container, were then locked and sealed, and placed aboard a container vessel. There they spent two weeks in total darkness as they baked in the heat for days before being loaded onto the ship, headed to unknown destination. They ran out of food, water, oxygen and hope. As despair filled that container. It appeared that the container became their likely tomb; Once again, God provided another of many miracles in this incredible real life story of faith and perseverance in the face of insurmountable odds. This trio has been singing since their days in Italy shortly after fleeing Romania. Simon recalls, “We were singing mostly hymns together, back when we were in Italy, but we started to sing Southern Gospel Music in 2000, after we heard the Gaither’s and the Cathedrals on television. It was a sound that we instantly fell in love with. After singing at local churches and telling our story, it was suggested to actually give our group a name the “Freedom Singers.” This would be the most appropriate name considering the backgrounds of the guys. So in 2001, the “Freedom Singers” was officially born.

Simon goes on to say that, “We’ve been blessed beyond our imagination in so many ways. From the opportunity of sharing our music and testimony in churches big and small, to performing at the largest annual Canadian Gospel Convention in Red Deer and doing radio and TV interviews to being a guest artist on a Christian Music cruise.” The coming year brings even more exciting opportunities to the Freedom Singers as they are scheduled to travel across the United States and Canada.

FREEDOM SINGERS share their music and testimony in the hope that those who listen will be spiritually enriched and blessed. They give praise to God for His guidance and abundant Grace.