August 31, 2010

THE FORGIVENESS FOUNDATION

NEWSLETTER

September 2010

Dear Friend,

     Summer is coming to a close, the Labor Day weekend is almost here and Thanksgiving seems a long way off. It is hard to believe that summer is coming to a close. I want to thank everyone who supported us over the summer months prayerfully and financially to help us through the period of the year when finances are historically in short supply.

    Last month we advised that Unit 32 at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, Mississippi is closing. The original plan called for Unit 32 to be closed by September 1. That date has been extended to October 1. Unit 32 is where violent offenders are housed and is a rather substantial unit. All of Mississippi’s death row inmates are housed at Unit 32. The State of Mississippi is renovating another Unit within the penitentiary with plans to have all the death row inmates moved to the new Unit by October 1.   It is unclear to me what Mississippi’s plan is for inmates currently housed at Unit 32 who are not death row inmates. It is my understanding that some inmates are being moved to the East Mississippi Correctional Center at Meridian, Mississippi, because it has specialized facilities to treat inmates with psychological problems. 

    Please pray for the men and women who are employed by the State of Mississippi to make this move happen. Many of the men who are housed on death row have security in the cell which they have occupied for years and relocation is difficult on them psychologically. TFF is in regular communication with two inmates at MSP Parchman. These two men are praying for a smooth transition for all inmates housed in Unit 32.  Both of these men write to me monthly. One of them almost always writes his letter on a greeting card. The latest one I received was – “Congratulations on Your Wedding.” I’m not married. It is always interesting to see what the card within his envelop will be celebrating. Please pray for these two men. They genuinely love the Lord and share the Gospel at MSP Parchman.

     Kevin Keith has written to TFF on an irregular basis. Kevin is scheduled to be executed in Ohio on September 15. Kevin believes that God is going to make a super natural intervention on his behalf sparing Kevin’s life. On September 15^th of last year the State of Ohio attempted to execute Romell Broom. It made national headlines because as much as they tried they could not find a vein that would accept the needle to administer the drugs. The rest of it is far to complicated for me to understand or attempt to explain. Simplistically stated Kevin believes that God will spare his life because his execution date is the same as Romell Broom’s; just a year later. Please keep Kevin in your prayers.

     The Commonwealth of Virginia is preparing to execute Teresa Owens on September 23, 2010. She will be the first woman executed in the United States since September 15, 2005 when Texas executed Frances Newton.

     John Middleton is housed on death row in Missouri. John has been writing to us for some time now. In his most recent letter he asked me to continue to pray for Billy who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I shared his story before. He is serving a five year sentence. I have written Billy and have received no response. There has been a great deal of turmoil over the execution process in Missouri which has delayed many executions in that state. It appears that the United States Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the decision of a Federal Appeals court has resolved the issue and executions will resume. I mention this because John’s execution was delayed and he expects it to be rescheduled for 2011.

     Roger Gillett is housed at Unite 32 Parchman Mississippi. In his most recent letter he asked for prayer for his mother who is taking his incarceration very hard and wants her son released. Roger asserts he is innocent. Please pray for Roger and his mother Vickie.

     Brett Hartmann is housed at Ohio State Penitentiary. In his most recent letter he requested prayer for his sister, Ria and his mother.  Brett’s sister is in an Ohio women’s facility for drug use and possession. If I understand him correctly, she is in and out of prison for the same thing. She is about to be released to a halfway house and he would like for us to pray for her to succeed this time. I have written to her at Brett’s request but have received no reply. Brett’s mother has been sick for a while and appears to be on the mend. Thank you for your prayers. 

     The following men and woman are scheduled to be executed during the month of September 2010:

September   9                Holly Wood                Alabama                     

September 10                Cal Brown                  Washington

September 14                Anthony Dick             Pennsylvania (Stayed)

September 15                Kevin Keith                Ohio

September 16                Gregory Wilson          Kentucky

September 23                Teresa Owens             Virginia                                         

     Please pray for Holly, Cal, Anthony, Kevin, Gregory and Teresa. Please pray for salvation for the unsaved, peace for the saved, and that if any are innocent, that their innocence be discovered before they are executed. I encourage you to pray for their families and the families of the victims of the crimes for which they are convicted. Pray for salvation for the unsaved, peace for the saved, and the ability to forgive. I encourage you to check our website weekly www.theforgivenessfoundation.org for additions to this list.

     The Christmas card outreach still needs $491.00 to fully fund our Christmas card outreach for 2010. Prayerfully consider a gift of any size to fully fund the Christmas card outreach for 2010.

      Please pray for our ministry and prayerfully consider a gift of any size to help pay for the supplies we need to share the Gospel on death row in the United States. You can make a gift online by going to our website www.theforgivenessfoundation.org and clicking on the word here under the PayPal logo or you can mail your gift to:

The Forgiveness Foundation

P. O. Box 24098

New Orleans, Louisiana 70184

     I close with this verse, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7 ESV

     Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend with family and friends.

                                                                 Your brother in Christ Jesus,

                                                                       Rodney Rexrode