Have you experienced the life-changing power of God’s Word? Billy has, and he offered to share his unique story with us. We’re able to continue taking God’s Word to a world in need because of our faithful ministry partners and friends. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

my mother and my father divorced when I

was at a very young age I was like six

years old and all I knew is I had an

absent mother that was nowhere around

any longer as the years went by my older

siblings moved away from home and this

left me with just my dad I began to run

away from home at a very young age at

eleven years old and trying to find my

mother not even realizing how big this

world was I just get on the freeway and

begin to think somehow along this

journey I would find my mom I found

myself in and out of juvenile detention

facilities because of my running away in

rebellious life and ended up finding my

mother my mother at that time had done

been married to another guy her in him

were already functioning alcoholics when

I got with her I was 12 years old never

even completed the sixth grade as time

went by I ended up meeting this young

lady me and her never got married we

were both young and she ended up getting

pregnant we had our first child which

was a little boy within 45 minutes after

the boy’s birth he died from he was

premature that sent me into a whirlwind

I didn’t know how to deal with that as I

was excited about having a little boy

even though I was still a little boy in

myself me and her ended up having

another child a little girl and then

following that one we had another little

girl and in 1989 my daughters were five

years old and three years old and things

I was not giving her the attention that

a wife or common-law wife deserved I

realized that now someone else stepped

into her life while I was not there and

me and her separated and this guy that

she was with he ended up molesting my

five-year-old daughter throwing a pot of

hot boiling beans on her and that night

her and him both went to jail her for

neglect and her children him from doing

what he’d done and my children were

taken into temporary custody with CPS

well during this time I was the only one

allowed to go to a Catholic Charities

place in downtown Houston to visit my

daughters for four hours every Sunday

and in between the Sundays

I did not know how to deal with all this

hurt and anger and resentment and the

things that would rise up within me

every morning when I’d look at the

coffee table and see their pictures and

realize they weren’t home with me and I

would just begin to consume enormous

amounts of alcohol drugs whatever it was

I could take take to take my mind out of

its original state to keep from having

to deal with these issues well

unfortunately before I could get on the

docket to get my children that’s when

some friends of mine came over and told

me that this guy had got out on bond and

my next question was where is he at

where does he live and when they told me

that I am Telling You I was so out of my

mind my kids were my life but I wasn’t

thinking rationally and reasonably I

wasn’t thinking about their future my

future anybody’s future all I was

thinking about was revenge and a

vendetta so I made my way over to the

condominium where this guy and his uncle

was residing and unfortunately I

murdered both of them

I made it way back to the house of

course um you’re always going to give an

answer for your actions the Bible even

tells us that be careful your sins will

find you out and that’s exactly what

happened it was approximately a year

later I was arrested for the murder of

these guys at that time my kids had yet

to been released into my custody and

they were adopted out to a wonderful

Christian family that is that couldn’t

have children and they raised him really

well I sit in the county jail for almost

five years awaiting trial and I had so

much hate bitterness anger and

resentment within me

just ball over out of my life and to the

lives of those around me before going to

trial

I made a plea bargain for 30 years

sentence in my mind thinking I was going

to do seven and a half according to the

law at that time I would go down there

just a couple more years and I’d be back

out well thank God he didn’t let me back

it out I went down to prison and I began

to express my faithfulness to rebellion

so much that in fact the other gang

members started recognizing it I would

continue to pursue to even get better at

that which I was doing so that I could

get more recognition more love and

acceptance was transferred to a unit in

Amarillo Texas bill Clements unit and

was involved in a gang riot one guy was

life-flighted out to the hospital and

under the assumption that he may die

this is when the warden and the gang

intelligence had called me out to their

office and they sent me down and laid

three pieces of paper in front of me but

with these statements from guys that I

recognized their handwriting they were

of that fictitious family that I was

involved in which we called back then

our brothers we have a different family

now but in looking back this is what you

get for serving a fake god a false god

they weigh statements pointing the

finger straight at me that I was the

just reason for this guy being taken to

the hospital if I did not get the death

penalty I would spend the rest of my

life in prison this is when God began to

just rewind the tapes of everything that

I had been doing with my life

and as they got me to that cell when I

walked into that cell they took the

cuffs off and I before they could close

that door I was in the back of that cell

on my knees crying out to a God I did

not know in mice my words to God were

just simply God I do not know you but I

will get the Bible and I will get to

know you and I’ll serve you for the rest

of my life even if you desire for me to

serve you from the confines of this

penal institution I’ll serve you I just

got one request and one request only let

that man live well fortunately the man

lived and I still had to suffer the

consequences of my actions of course

seven years and administrative

segregation in an eight-by-ten cell with

him feeding me breakfast lunch and

slippered through a slot it was there

that I obtained my Bible and I had a

little clock am/fm clock ready

that I began to tune in to all the

Christian stations I would listen to the

Tony Evans ministry along with the many

others so I had already began began to

be filled with the Holy Spirit which was

my teacher my comforter and as I studied

God’s Word and then listen to Tony Evans

along with the other ministries I begin

to experience changes within my life of

a supernatural nature I could tell that

they were teaching me the truth I had

married a woman and while I was in

prison by proxy to which you’re allowed

to do and what it gains you is you’re

able to get that that touch affection

and in November of 99 my mother died

unfortunately from pancreatic cancer she

had left me

we’re very large insurance policy and I

needed to sign over this insurance

policy in order to make means for her

funeral they did not allow me to go to

the funeral it wasn’t but two months

after my sake experience I got divorce

papers in the mail and every bit of the

money was gone and I remember distinctly

walk in this cell when I got those

divorce papers asking God God how in the

world could this woman do this to me

where does she get to all – to do this

she knows my mom she knows that my mom

done this for me to do something with my

life while I was doing something with my

life by sowing into her life and her

kids lives and then that’s when I shut

up long enough to hear from God that’s

when he spoken to me that now I know

what it’s like to be victimized I went

to the back of this cell and I got on my

knees and buried my face into this bunk

as God would remind me of all the people

in my past that I had offended or that I

had hurt not necessarily physically but

emotionally all the way through my

family and friends and loved ones and as

he would remind me for each one of these

individuals I would ask him for

forgiveness and I stayed there on my

knees for about 45 minutes and then when

I raised it up to my feet I’m telling

you I experienced more freedom than I

had ever experienced in my entire life

and that’s when he brought to my

remembers that when his son sets you

free you’re free indeed when me and my

daughter’s mother had split up I had

gotten with someone else and we did get

married

I know it was not ordained by God it was

a flesh thing but yet we got married and

we had a daughter and she was 6 months

old when my arrest came about what she

took off with my daughter up in North

Texas and I never seen my daughter or

her again until she was almost 15 years

old my ex-sister-in-law was bringing her

to see me at the sto high security unit

and this young lady was a young lady

that was sold out to Jesus herself well

on April the 10th 2005 I seen her it was

on a Sunday and then it was that

Wednesday that a chaplain had came by my

door but it wasn’t abnormal for

chaplains to come by my door because we

would always fellowship I just felt

something come over me to make an

inquiry that chaplain you come here to

tell me something and unfortunately my

daughter had died in the house fire the

night before what I just say this took

me on another mindset or trip a journey

with the divorce and with my child dying

God was preparing me and equipping me to

be able to deal with those things in a

whole new way than the way I was dealing

with the situation with my daughter’s

before I even went to prison the same

energy that I had for living for that

world and the enemy God just transferred

it over for his kingdom and his purposes

and his glory I was invited to go over

to the Terrell unit which is right next

door and birth one of the very first

faith-based dorms in Texas that’s when I

requested mr. Gary Richards that I met

on the Terrell unit to come in and be my

mentor and he actually became the dad I

never had he would come and visit with

me every Tuesday and impart some wisdom

and truths into my life he picked me up

December the 31st 2011 I walked out of

that prison and he took me straight to a

Fuddruckers burger restaurant I’m

staring at the colors and he’s like go

get you a burger and I said no man just

get me the fat of sloppiest burger they

got it was three months after that that

the owner of the facility had came to me

and asked me to manage fertile ground

Christian transformational Center to

which I greatly took on there was like

67 guys that I would oversee I’d pick

him up from prison help them to get

their social security card their birth

certificate their driver’s license would

even let them use my car to do their

driving test and to see the fruits

guys growing in Christ just brought a

sense of joy into my heart knowing that

God chose me to be able to be used by

him to make a difference in someone

else’s life the following year after I

was out I was given the privilege and

the honor to go to Dallas Texas to the

Tony Evans ministry and participate in

the men’s conference that he has which

is the theme of the men conference is no

more excuses God has put a ministry on

his heart that serves as a serious

indictment to me and to be come to me

and that God has called us to be

approximately one month after the

attendant in as I’m managing fertile

ground Christian transformational center

I’m going through a home depot in

Houston Texas wearing this shirt so more

excuses men’s conference and I had a man

and his son looked to be about 18 years

old

approached me right in the front of Home

Depot and he held his hand up to my

chest and asked me loudly no more

excuses what’s that mean and I simply

stated hey it’s a men’s conference in

Dallas Texas before I could get any more

out he interrupted stating I know what

no more excuses it is and I know who

Tony Evans is when you pass me on this

aisle awhile ago God gave me a word to

speak to you and I was like really

God gave you a word for me he said yes

and I said what is that word he says I

has not seen nor ear has not heard of

the great and mighty things God has

prepared for the fertile ground within

you and within your care I must pray

with you was his next words so we stood

in the front of Home Depot as he prayed

with me but he did not know the name of

the facility that I was managing is

fertile ground Christian

transformational center when he walked

away I went to the car and said in the

car as tears rolled down my face I got a

job in Longview Texas I had this lady

and her husband contact me and tell me

Billy asked me Billy you’re going to

Longview yes I am well listen I want you

to meet our daughter

and I’m like hey I ain’t got time to

meet no woman I would be working seven

twelves

we was rained out a couple of days and

therefore there was no work so I had an

opportunity to meet my wife who is to

this day my lovely bride my life was

interrupted with my sister being

diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in

Florida to which I took off down there

to spend time with her staying by her

bedside until she took her last breath

from pancreatic cancer it wasn’t long

after my sister’s death

I admit Valerie and was conversing with

her in Longview and she reached out to

me she needed some help I didn’t know to

what extent what the help was that she

needed I knew that she had a very large

house I knew that she had went through a

divorce four years prior to that and I

knew that she had nine children she had

done gotten to the point where she was

being consumed with depression and I

took on the role and the privilege and

the opportunity of ministering to her

every morning I’d get the kiddos up and

get them off to school and then come

back and help her get packed up and off

to work while I would tend to the house

and the property it was approximants

after this that we started looking at

each other and from her story what she

says is that God was telling her are you

crazy

look at this man he comes down here to

serve you and to be faithful to you and

your children you need to marry this man

I have the privilege and the honor right

now of being a stepfather to nine kiddos

so it’s as if God’s given me an

opportunity to step in and be a father

when I was unable to be a father before

what I would like to challenge each and

every one of you that’s under the sound

of my voice

to do is to begin to study God’s Word

ask God to reveal himself to you in a

fresh new way see a lot of times we get

it twisted up and think that we’re in an

everyday struggle that we’re fighting to

overcome this we’re fighting to do this

when in fact we’re fighting for victory

when we should be fighting from victory

my friend the battles done been won at

the cross at Calvary I’ll tell you right

now through the heartaches and the

struggles and everything that I’ve been

through myself just like the Apostle

Paul we’re nobodies special he’s called

us all to do some great things

and I encourage you right now to submit

yourself to God I would like to say a

personal thank you to Tony Evans thank

you so much for giving to the Lord I’m

sure that you know the song thank you

for giving to the Lord I was a life that

was changed and I’d like to say as well

that your labor brother

is not in vain keep doing what God’s

called you to do keep raising up Kingdom

man I love you brother

[Music]

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