In December 2000, Gene Garland was convicted of multiple counts of securities fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering. Because he maintained his innocence, he did not accept a plea agreement and demanded his day in court.  Though we are guaranteed our day in court by the US Constitution, it is a very costly day. The United States system of justice makes an example out of anyone who refuses to plead guilty. Gene was sentenced to 23 years in Federal Prison.

However, this injustice turned out to be a life-changing blessing! Just like with Joseph in Egypt, what they intended for evil, God used for good, Gene’s testimony is that no matter what hurt and humiliation he had to endure, no matter what loss he suffered, no matter how long he was away from his family, “I wouldn’t change it if I could..”

Gene, who was not serving God before prison, finally listened to God’s purposes for his life. Gene led praise and worship in five different Federal Prisons. God gave Gene over 200 songs during his incarceration. He led Bible studies in every prison where he served and eventually was even allowed by the chaplains to preach the Word of God.

In 2016, Brenda was in a prison of her own. In January of that year, Brenda’s husband Edwin, who had a stroke five years earlier, deteriorated to the point that he had to be placed in a nursing home. Two months later, her oldest daughter Dana, who has Down Syndrome, also had to be placed in the nursing home. Brenda made the difficult decision to quit her job with the Denton Independent School District in May of 2015 to take care of her husband and daughter at home. Now her life was centered around the nursing home. Taking care of both her husband and daughter and daily feeding both of them, demanded the majority of her time and energy. Edwin died before he made his first year in the nursing home. Dana still lives in Corinth Rehabilitation Suites.

In 2019 Gene was released from prison after overturning 58 twenty-three sentences in the court case Garland vs. Roy. Gene was victorious in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. While in the halfway house in Fort Worth, Gene started working at Thousand Hills Church in Corinth, Texas.  While at Thousand Hills Church, Gene was given the opportunity to play music and minister at Corinth Rehabilitation Suites. That is where Gene met Brenda. They were married on March 17, 2020, at Thousand Hills Church.

Today Gene and Brenda have gone to fourteen different nursing home facilities, five of them on a weekly basis. They have been invited to churches in three different states so far to preach, lead praise and worship, and perform live concerts of the songs God gave Gene. Gene is now in the process of recording those songs. Gene has three amazing sons and three wonderful daughters-in-law. Brenda has four beautiful daughters and three fantastic sons-in-law. Together they have ten grandchildren. They do a lot of babysitting and love every minute of it!