SAN DIEGO, CA
I got an e-mail from my friend Tom Heyer, the
‘quintessential’ prison minister. Tom is into every aspect of prison
outreach, i.e. prisoners, wives, children, volunteers, etc., and could
author a book on ‘A Thousand and One Ways to Use Your Retirement for the
Lord’. Anyone who gets his e-mail knows. He invited me to spend a week
ministering with him in the San Diego area. Chaplain Bill Brown got me
‘cleared’ to visit R.J. Donovan prison and I was a guest in his home for
the week.
A fatal stabbing a few days before ‘closed’ the
prison and put our ministry in Donovan in doubt. All ‘yards’, except for
the ‘minimum custody’ yard, were ‘locked down’. We were informed that
Yard #3, where we were scheduled to minister, would be ‘open’, but when we
arrived it was still ‘locked down’. We went to Yard #4, but it too was
locked down. God had a plan. As we entered Yard #2 the yard was empty
except for a group of about 50 inmates who were apparently ‘waiting’ for
something. “What’s going on?” I asked. “The guards are ‘shaking down’
our cells and they ran us out here on the yard.” A ‘divine appointment’!
Tom called the men together and introduced me. I gave my testimony and
18 men recommitted their lives to Christ! Five were first time decisions!
Most were men who would not have come to any chapel service. I
told them, “You see. what the devil meant for evil, God meant for good.”
The spirit of anger was gone, and the ‘peace of God’ shown from their
faces! We spent the rest of our time there ministering to men in their
housing units.
I was also cleared to go into McCain Honor Unit,
where Tom and others conduct a weekly Bible study. McCain is a ‘fire
camp’ located in the hills east of S.D. These men are minimum custody
inmates who have volunteered to fight fires throughout the state. 30 men
attended our service, twice the usual number! Tom led us in singing
praises to God and a dimension was released that had to be experienced.
This is how it must have sounded when King David’s ‘mighty men’ gathered
together to worship God! I gave my testimony and many prayed to
recommit their lives to Christ. Two were first time decisions! On
the way back to town, Steve, one of our teammates told us he had an ex-con
living in a tent behind his house. I encouraged him to bring him to a
luncheon where I was speaking the next day. He brought him and he got
‘saved’!
‘PACT’ meetings are held once a month and are
mandatory for every parolee to attend. Eighty five men and women were in
attendance and I was one of the scheduled speakers. At these meetings
parolees are invited to take advantage of the many services provided by
community groups. The ‘providers’ offer free medical, child care,
housing, clothing, job training, substance abuse counseling, and help
getting ID and social security cards, etc.. Many of the ‘providers’ are
former ex-offenders who have made a successful transition to society. Tom
attends these meetings to invite people to take advantage of the many
programs his church provides and to encourage them to follow the Lord. By
the time all the ‘providers’ were through speaking the meeting had gone an
hour over its scheduled time, so by the time it was my turn to speak, I
just asked everyone to stand, stood on a chair and made a few parting
comments.
“My name is Dennis Rice, B-46297. Any ‘B’ numbers
here this morning? While I was in prison I surrendered my life to Christ
and have been faithful in His church for 28 years. Many of you made a
similar decision while you were in prison and you need to follow up and
find a good church now that you’re out. How many here have kids? My
children, who were in foster homes and an orphanage while I was in prison,
are all ‘born again Christians’ today. They all say in their testimony,
“We knew God was real when we saw Him change our dad.” There’s hope for
your kids if you’ll set an example. I wish to God that all these services
you’ve heard about this morning had been available to me when I got out of
prison! You need to take advantage of them!”
‘The Training Center’ is a residential program for
ex-offenders and substance abusers.
It is run by my friend Dennis Martinez, a Christian
brother, and a former world champion skateboarder. Forty men assembled to
hear my testimony. I emphasized our need for faithfulness in the local
church and assured them that their being at The Training Center was a part
of God’s plan for their lives Ten men made ‘first time’ decisions for
Christ! After our meeting, I joined with a team of 25 guys that
Dennis led to pass out tracts and to witness at a local shopping mall. We
had a great time, I did a bit of ‘street preaching’ and prayed with two
shoppers to receive the Lord!
I also had the opportunity to preach at a local
fellowship church and to spend some time with my son, who is a pastor in
San Diego. We attended the high school graduation of a girl from our
church in Tempe whose father now pastors a church in S.D.. In ‘Breaking’
news, my granddaughter just got her drivers license and will be joining
the other ‘Indy 500’ drivers in San Diego. I’m proud of her and will pray
God’s protection be upon her.
Thanks for your prayers and support.
