He Forgot He Was a Wanted Man

I want to tell you the true story of a man named Victor Houston. His real name is actually Frank

Dryman. In 1951, Frank, freshly bounced out of the Navy for mental issues, car-jacked an unfortunate

café owner named Clarence Pellet. Frank ordered Clarence to get out of the car, then shot him in the

back six times as he attempted to comply. Frank Dryman murdered Clarence Pellet.

Frank narrowly avoided the death penalty for his crime, and he wound up getting parole after spending

just shy of twenty years behind bars. But Frank did not like checking in with his parole officer, so he

skipped town and settled in Arizona. That’s where he remained for forty years. He got married. He had

children. He built himself a life. He was, apparently, a good citizen of his local community. Frank

forgot that he was a wanted man. Frank forgot that he was a murderer. He even applied for his Navy

benefits from the VA. He tried to become a new man named Victor Houston, and he believed that this

would be enough to cleanse him of his guilt.

Almost sixty years after Frank killed Clarence, Clarence’s grandson tracked him down and ruined

Frank’s illusion. Frank was promptly arrested and put back into prison, and he will most likely die

there. The court was not impressed that Frank had lived a good life after skipping bail. He was a parole

violator and murderer to them, and now he will spend what little time he has left on earth behind bars.

Frank says that he forgot that he was a wanted man. He said, “I never thought I was a parole violator. I

was Victor Houston. I never looked over my shoulder, I just forgot about it…to be honest, I didn't even

remember the victim's name.” But Clarence’s family did not forgot. More than a dozen members of the

family showed up for his parole hearing to testify of the carnage Frank caused by killing Clarence

Pellet.

There is a parable here for us, a parable of the danger of forgetting our guilt before God for our very

real, very terrible crimes against His Majesty. Men, convinced that they can make up for wickedness

by good works, are displeased that God would hold them to account for sins committed in the past, sins

the sinner himself may not even remember. Frank said this of Clarence’s grandson’s quest to see him

put back behind bars, “I think it was so wrong he spent so much money getting me here. I feel it is

unfair.” Does that sound like a man aware of the heinousness of his crimes?

It is the natural inclination of the sinful heart to downplay the seriousness of its sin. It is our tendency

to forget that we are guilty sinners, and except for grace, we would be undone. May the Lord reveal to

us how sinful we are that we may own up to our guilt and receive the forgiveness He offers.

group. We also need a few more host homes, if you are interested please let Bro. Brad or Bro.

Drew know ASAP. The four options are 1) Sharing the Gospel - Matt Colvin 2) God, Money, and

Possessions - Randy Spence 3) Biblical Hermeneutics: How to Study the Bible - Brad Williams

4) 1 Thessalonians - Drew Dixon

Rec Center. Future Games: Monday July 19 at 6:30pm and Monday July 26 at 5:30pm

Student Retreat: "Sojourners and Exiles Retreat" 1 Peter 2:11-12.

Cost is $75. Students will need to bring money for lunch on the way to Louisville and dinner on the

way back, as well as 2 meals at Kings Island and dinner on Wednesday night. Bro. Drew will be

sending out more details on this retreat very soon. Let Bro. Drew know if you have questions. He

needs to know by Sunday who plans to attend. The group will be going to Kings Island (Theme Park)

and the Creation Museum.

Ladies Fellowship – Monday night, July 12 at 6:00pm at Kathy Coy’s house. Bring your favorite food

and the recipe.

Summer Book Club - We are so excited about our summer book club! Here's how it will work: we will

read one book a month for June, July and August. At the end of each month we will meet and talk

about what we liked and didn't like and what we learned, if anything. Dates will be announced in the

coming weeks. If you are interested in having the book club meet in your home one of those months,

please let Amy or Lisa know! Here are our book club selections:

July: Contentment by Lydia Brownback

August: Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney

You can purchase the books yourself via amazon or some other bookseller (they should be available at

most bookstores) or even borrow them if you know someone who has them already.

Tenley.

is still recovering.

infection.

Nolen Junhay Hixon. There is still some paperwork and such to finish, but the main hurdles have

been cleared. Pray for baby Josiah and the Hixons. Josiah has a few physical challenges that he will

have to overcome, so pray for him!

of the stomach cavity.

tumor that affects the pituitary gland causing hormone imbalance and headaches. It can also put

pressure on the optic nerve, causing vision problems. The good news is that it isn't cancerous. The

bad news is that she may have to deal with the affects of the tumor for life. Please pray for the

doctors that the Lord will lead them to the best treatment.

pray for Denise as she is trying to help her mother as much as possible.

her.

If you are interested in supporting M.U.D. Ministries, please contact Eric Hixon at

If you would like to get in touch with the Teague’s, you can contact them at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

They are working United World Missions. The website is www.unitedworldmission.org.

Saturday, July 10 - Cooper Colvin