Journey out of Lodebar: Testimony of a Prisoner's Wife

By Glenda Jenkins Simmons

Journey out of Lodebar: Testimony of a Prisoner's Wife is based on the true-life story of Robert and Glenda Simmons, a couple residing on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Almost nearing retirement, Robert was implicated in a bribery scheme with the commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and was sentenced to prison at sixty-one years of age. This unexpected legal trouble occurring so late in life for the couple found Glenda regrettably unprepared emotionally and financially. She was completely falling apart. Glenda was at a place in her life in which she knew that the only way she would survive this upheaval in her happy, comfortable home and lifestyle was with God's help and strength.

So Glenda went into survival mode, and throughout this book, she tells us about her plight, her innermost thoughts, disappointments and victories, and how she found strength through prayer, Bible verses, and gospel songs. In the process of developing a closer relationship with God, Glenda was inspired to write this book to celebrate the goodness of God in her life.

We also learn that life had not always been peaches and cream for the happy couple. There had been a terrible storm in their marriage over twenty-five years prior to their prison predicament, and Glenda had not fully recovered from that storm. The book has a surprise ending because God is always full of surprises!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685177881

Book preview

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Journey out of Lodebar

Testimony of a Prisoner's Wife

Glenda Jenkins Simmons

ISBN 978-1-68517-787-4 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68517-788-1 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Glenda Jenkins Simmons

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Special Tributes

In Appreciation

My Prayer

Introduction

The Journey Unfolds

A Seed Is Planted

Stumbling Down Memory Lane

Leaving Lodebar

About the Author

Special Tributes

To my dearest Robert,

Some days we celebrated on a bed of rose petals.

Some days we wept on a bed of thorns.

I count it all joy, and I thank God for us.

Glenda

In loving memory of a wonderful woman with a benevolent spirit,

my mother

Lessie B. Jenkins

In loving memory of my grandparents, Peter and Lorena Jenkins:

You lived by Joshua 24:15, But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

From my earliest memories, I heard God in your house. I heard you praying and saw

you on your knees. I heard the spirituals playing on your radio. You always had a song of praise in your spirit, humming as you performed your daily chores. You acknowledged your dependence on God in your daily plans, always saying, If it is the Lord's will.

You revered God and taught me to do the same. Because of you, I never doubted

God's existence, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and love.

To my little country church,

the St. Andrew Missionary Baptist Church of Greenville, Mississippi:

You were the first step in my Christian journey.

I thank God for you.

In Appreciation

Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves are suffering.

—Hebrews 13:3 NIV

To Pastor Seymour V. Adolph Jr., Dr. Virginia Adolph, and the First Missionary Baptist Church of Gulfport, Mississippi: Thank you for your prayers, support, financial assistance, and showing that you cared in so many ways during this most trying season of our lives.

To Robert's brothers in Christ who also happen to be his brothers in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and Sigma Pi Phi Boulé—Atty. Frederick Clark, Dr. Alfred McNair, Dr. Roy Irons, Dr. Jeffrey Knight, Dr. Napoleon Moses, Dr. John Kelly, Dr. John Walls, Dr. Jessie McGee, Mr. Mat Thomas, Ret. Col. Dennis Crimiel, Dr. Tracy Cook, and Rev. Philip Wiley: Thank you all for demonstrating true brotherly love.

To Dr. Kenneth M. Davis and the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church of D'Iberville, Mississippi: Thank you for your prayers and support.

To Rev. Michael T. Williams: Thank you for always being there.

To Rev. John Whitfield: Thank you for the prayers, support, and daily words of inspiration.

To Dr. John W. Davis Jr.: You visited Robert, you prayed for our well-being, you shared your blessings, and we thank you.

To my cousin Gloria Acoff: You were my sister and psychiatrist during this ordeal. Words cannot express how much I appreciate you.

To our goddaughter Jasmyne McConnell: We are so proud of you, and we thank you for all your help.

To our sister Betty Simmons Taylor: You, Ned, Robert, and I started out together some forty years ago. You and Ned stood by us from the first day of this prison journey. You checked on me daily, and I knew that I could always count on you. Ned recently went to be with the Lord, and the four musketeers are now three. By God's grace, we will stay strong.

To our cousins Gloria Thomas, Diane Clines, and Artis Butler: You three never want any recognition for your good deeds, but we must thank you for your support.

To our cousins Sheila Rushing Jackson, Linda Cockerham Hampton, and Jimmy Davis: Your kindness will never be forgotten.

To our nieces Linda McClain, Shirell Green-Lenoir, Linda Schultz, and Quatavia Winding: We appreciate everything you did to make a difficult time a little easier.

To Robert and Katherine Johnson: You supported me all the way. You were there to fix my water heater and other little mishaps. You visited and constantly checked on me. You drove me to visit Robert and paid for everything. You are so appreciated.

To our friends Debra Anderson, Marsha McCraven, Simmons North, John and Gail Horhn, Harvey and Patricia McElveen, Davis and Florence Weathersby, Ellis Ray and Deborah Robertson, Joseph Hudson, Michael Cavanaugh, Bobby Mahoney, and Ronald and Ramona Peresich: Thank you for your encouragement, prayers, and support.

To our neighbors Jim Clark, Tyrone and Vera Burton, Pat and Melann Machado, and Bennie and Pamela Dearman: You looked out for me, kept an eye on the house, made repairs, and invited me for holiday meals. We are blessed to have such caring neighbors.

To all the relatives and friends who hung in there with us through this prison experience: You deposited funds into Robert's commissary account so that he could purchase the items he needed to make his plight a little easier. You visited, sent letters, cards, books, and newspapers. You bought fuel and food, and paid for lawn care and other necessities. You propped me up so that I could be there for him. We are forever grateful.

To Rev. Eric E. Dickey: Thank you for Lodebar.

Thank you all for following Hebrews 13:3.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father,

I praise Your name, for it is in You that I live, move, and have my being. I thank You for life, health, strength, and mental ability. Thank You for the many blessings You have bestowed on me from my earliest existence to this present day. Thank You for those You have placed in my path to travel with me through this tedious journey. Thank You that my latter days will be greater than my former. Thank You for my testimony, and most of all, thank You for Jesus who died on the cross that we may have everlasting life.

In Jesus's name,

Amen

I been through the fire,

Been through the flood,

Broken in pieces, and

Left all alone, but

Through it all, God blessed me,

Through it all, God kept me, and

I still have a praise inside of me…

Rev. Milton Biggham

Introduction

Having grown up in the Mississippi Delta, I remember vividly the little country churches we attended and the members who, after an exhausting week of hard work, struggles, and lack, were excited to be back in the Lord's house one more time. They didn't have much, maybe one suit or two or three dresses, but they wore their Sunday best and thanked God for what they had. My aunt Viola often sang in these little country churches scattered about the Mississippi Delta. She sang and praised God with every fiber of her being, and it was evident that God was her all and all. One of her favorite songs was simply entitled Yes He Did. The chorus of this song says:

I can't thank Him enough,

I can't love Him enough,

I can't lift Him too high for men to see.

You don't know how good God's been to me…

I cannot sing like Aunt Viola once sang. I only sing along with the congregation at church or around the house, and I can barely carry a tune. I have two left feet and no rhythm, so I cannot perform a beautiful praise dance. I get nervous and tongue tied and sometimes lose my train of thought, so I cannot deliver an eloquent oration. I do not own an alabaster box filled with oil. But when I think about the goodness of the Lord and all He has done for me, my soul overflows with joy. Although my gifts and talents may be limited, somewhere along my journey out of Lodebar, I discovered that God had given me the ability to write this book to let the world know how good He has been to me. I just couldn't keep it to myself. This is my book of praise, my tribute, my way of saying, Lord, I thank you. My friends, please join me on my journey out of Lodebar.

Part 1

The Journey Unfolds

How it all began

It was February 17, 2016. The front-page article of the local newspaper and all the major newspapers in the state was, Simmons Expected to Plead Guilty in Bribery Case, and Simmons's face inundated the television news throughout the state. Well, Simmons is my husband. His first