Recently I had the privilege of ministering at one of Shiloh’s supporting churches. It will remain a day I will always remember. I invited my Dad to come with us that particular day. My Dad had been very sick and near death just a few months ago. I had visited my Dad while he was in intensive care. He was a very sick man who seemingly had little fight left in him. He had many and various kinds of apparatus attached to his frail body and at times I do not know that he was even aware of my being there. One particular night, I stayed in ICU with him the entire night. I called out to my Heavenly Father; I pleaded my case before Him. I said to Him, “Father God”, please  heal my Daddy!! “You know I have never had a quality relationship with my Dad due to my many years of drug abuse. Please Father; raise him up so I can have a father & son relationship with him”. I prayed and I wrote. I have this prayer dated and recorded in my journal. I will never forget God and His faithfulness to answer my plea. Not only has God healed my Dad, but He has given him such a tender heart for more of Him. My Dad was ministered to in a big way when he went with us to hear me preach & testify about the goodness of God. I saw my Dad enjoy Church as he wept and experienced the love of his Heavenly Father come from the anointing that was flowing like a River. You see there were many nights when my Dad and my Mom worried about me and if I were dead or alive. There were many times their phone would ring and they would wonder if this was the one dreaded phone call regarding my demise. I write this to you to encourage you not to give up. Do not quit when you want something that is good and will bring honor to God. Hold on until you see the manifestation. I write this Newsletter thinking about my parents and how they did not give up on me. One of the hardest and most difficult times for my Mother was her courageous and tough love she had to muster up to get me the kind of help I desperately needed. In 1991, when I was at my lowest point in slavery to drugs, I had stolen one of my parent’s checks and had forged my dad’s signature. My Mother was desperate to get me help for my heroin & cocaine addiction. It was my Mother who contacted a Constable in their community who also went to their Church. She pleaded with him to arrest me and have me put in jail. Her purpose was for safety for me until there was bed space at Canaan land Ministries in Alabama. My Mother even as painful as it was did what was needed for my safety and my deliverance. My Mom detained me at her home knowing what was awaiting me, the arrival of my escort (Hardin County Sheriff) to jail. I was really angry at her initially.  My state of mentality at the time felt she had done to me the cruelest act of trickery and forsaking me. Little did I know at the time that God was about to take me to a safe and peaceful place, a place of rest finally from all my torment. I was not held in jail very long; God was merciful to me with a bed opening at Canaan Land rather quickly. However, during my jail stay, it was all purposeful. God got me to a place of agreement to go to Canaan Land. It was one thing for my parents desiring me to go, but I was a grown man and I had to want it myself. God worked it all out. Canaan Land was where God delivered me and set me free of years of drug use. I thank God for a Mama who was bold and very courageous and who demonstrated a tough kind of love. We get phone calls most every day at Shiloh from parents desiring a place of refuge for their sons. It breaks our heart to turn any one away. Our bed space is limited. We usually keep a full house of 15 men counting our two resident counselors. It is our vision to be able to take in more students.  What would have happened to me had Canaan Land not been available to me as quickly as it was? Would I be dead and in hell?  I will always be thankful to God for my deliverance and for giving Mama the boldness, the grace and wisdom of a plan of action for my help. I am indebted to Brother Mac Gober of Canaan Land Ministries who received me with open arms and taught me about the love of God, and kept me for one full year free of charge. How can I not give back to others when mine was so freely given to me? My wife and I have a hard and difficult time when because of bed space we have to turn desperate people away. God has given us the faith in Him to believe for His people to give towards the vision to enlarge our living quarters here at Shiloh Ministries. We realize it will be the greatest financial project we have set forth to do yet. Yet, we believe God wants us to make ready for more bed space. It is a subject that is like the theme of this newsletter, “Priceless”. You can not put a dollar sign on a soul. I am a living testimony of the grace and mercy of God. I know now what I was created and destined to do because, “The Spirit of The Sovereign Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the broken hearted and announce that captives shall be released and the blind shall see, that the downtrodden shall be freed from their oppressors, and that God is ready to give blessings to all who come to Him” ( Luke 4:18-19). Will you help us in preparation for the end time harvest of Prodigals returning home? God has His arms opened wide to receive all of them home (Luke 15:11-32).  We must do like wise.  Happy Mothers Day, Mama!

Rocky Fondren

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