Our 367 teammates met the night before to get prepared and prayed up for a 2 day invasion of Oklahoma City area prisons.  Our mission: to supply each inmate with the information that leads to freedom.. the information that sets the captive free!  We hit the prisons in the power of the Holy Ghost but the devil was waiting.  My first venue was in a prison which has now been converted to 2 prisons.  New fences dividing the facility stretched in every direction.  We were expecting 60 men in the chapel.  We got 12.  They were late due to a ‘count’ that hadn’t cleared, an ‘altercation’, and most didn’t come at all because they were released for ‘canteen’ at the same time!  We did see 4 men make decisions for Christ, one a ‘1^st time’ decision!

This was a typical scenario for me in each venue where I spoke all day Friday and even Saturday morning.  But Saturday afternoon it broke.  As the men were released from their cells they began coming, and coming, and coming onto the prison yard.  Hundreds of men with nothing to do but listen to what I had to say!  I was told that these men were Arizona inmates.  ‘What are AZ inmates doing in Oklahoma?  Supposedly, they were sent here due to overcrowding in AZ prisons, 713 inmates!  “This is a God thing!” I told them.  “When I came here from AZ I had no idea I would be speaking to my homeboys!  My name is Dennis Rice, when you get back to AZ look me up in the phone book and we’ll have lunch!”

After I spoke some men told me “I remember you.  You came and spoke to us when I was at Lewis prison in Buckeye.”  One young man asked me “Does the name ____________ mean anything to you?”  “Yes, he was my first pastor.”  “I’m his son.” he told me.  This was no coincidence, this was a ‘Godincidence’!  I had lost track of his dad, who quit pastoring over 20 years ago.  The boy gave me his dad’s number and asked if I could call him and comfort him following his recent cancer surgery.  Why God orchestrated all this remains to be seen, but I believe He has a purpose.  One man asked me “What church do you go to?”  When I told him he said, “I went to that church!”  “If you had stayed there you wouldn’t be here.”  He agreed.

I handed out my tract to a number of men and within a week received 2 letters.  It was great being able to go to OKC!  We ministered in 14 facilities with a total population of 10,789 and saw a total of

2,057 decisions for Christ!

905 1^st time, and 1,152 recommitments!

FRESNO, CA – ‘WEEKEND OF CHAMPIONS’

The weather in Fresno was great as I joined with 414 teammates for an evangelistic assault on 9 prison facilities in the area.  It was good to see my friend and fellow ex-convict Jerry Graham back in action after experiencing a stroke, cancer, and a fall which set him back for over a year.  It was encouraging for me to see and hear how other ‘veteranos’ like myself are fighting through physical difficulties to do something for God.  ‘Big D’ (Donald Garcia), one of the founders of the Mexican Mafia, was there inspite of cirrhosis and assorted other health problems. 

This was the first year we have been allowed to minister in the Madera County Jail.  “We’ve been praying for 8 years for this door to open”, one worker told me.  Varetta Heidleburg broke the ice with her saxophone as we went from pod to pod.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the place by the time it was my turn to speak.  One inmate approached me and said ‘I remember you!  We were in San Quentin together in 1977.  I was on the second tier and you were right above me.”  He was about my age with tattoos around his neck.  It was sad to see him still in the system after all these years.  He hugged me and wept as I prayed with him to consecrate his life to Christ. I also spoke at ‘Valley Teen Ranch’ and several other facilities.

On Saturday they kicked us out of ‘Valley State Prison for Women’ – the largest women’s prison in the world! (3,400 inmates)  Things went smoothly on Friday but on Saturday a ‘hostage situation’ occurred at another prison in CA and caused every prison in the state to be locked down.  We weren’t able to have our last program, but by that time we already had about 900 decisions for Christ in that prison alone!

We ministered to 8,680 prisoners and saw 1,444 first time and 1,318 other for a total of  

2,762 decisions for Christ!

A SPECIAL NOTE TO OUR FRIENDS                    Phillipians 4:10-19

We so appreciate the opportunity to partner with you in this ministry.  Great is your reward.

If you have not previously considered giving to support our ministry, please ask God if this is something He would have you do.  Please make checks to Free Indeed Ministries, Inc. and send to the above address.  All donations are tax-deductible. Please continue to pray for prisoners and their families.  God is giving us a great harvest!

In Christ,

Dennis Rice