In 1979, Larry Jones attended a conference in Port Au Prince, Haiti, the poverty capital of the Western hemisphere. While there he met a small, thin boy named Jerry.
Larry’s brief encounter with that hungry child was something he would never forget. He began to wonder how many other children in the world were hungry and what he could do about it.
Returning to his home in Oklahoma, Larry compared the abundance of food in America’s overflowing grain elevators to the empty bread basket in a country just two hundred miles away.
Larry began to tell Jerry’s story on television, asking the simple question, “Why should children be starving to death while we have surplus wheat in America?”
Feed The Children was born.
By 2002, the organization distributed 63 million pounds of food and 24 million pounds of other essentials to children and families in all 50 states and in 51 foreign countries. The organization supplemented over 484,453 meals per day worldwide.
Larry Jones - I admire you!
Showing posts with label People I admire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label People I admire. Show all posts
Friday, December 29, 2006
George Williams - YMCA
In 1841, George Williams moved to London to work as a salesmen in a draper’s shop. He was just 20 years old and was shocked by the immoral lifestyles he saw lived out each day. (Wow, I wonder what he'd think of modern day America?)
He and a group of like-minded Christians organized the first Young Men’s Christian Association to substitute Bible study and prayer for life on the streets. The idea caught on quickly and just 10 years later, there were 24 YMCAs in Great Britain, with a combined membership of 2,700.
In 1854, the first international convention was held in Paris. At the time there were 397 separate Y’s in seven nations, with 30,369 members total.
In 1894, George Williams was knighted by Queen Victoria for his YMCA work. He passed away and was buried in 1905 under the floor of St. Paul's Cathedral, among that nation’s heroes and statesmen.
Today, the YMCA and its counterpart for women, the YWCA, continue as global movements, touching the lives of millions.
He and a group of like-minded Christians organized the first Young Men’s Christian Association to substitute Bible study and prayer for life on the streets. The idea caught on quickly and just 10 years later, there were 24 YMCAs in Great Britain, with a combined membership of 2,700.
In 1854, the first international convention was held in Paris. At the time there were 397 separate Y’s in seven nations, with 30,369 members total.
In 1894, George Williams was knighted by Queen Victoria for his YMCA work. He passed away and was buried in 1905 under the floor of St. Paul's Cathedral, among that nation’s heroes and statesmen.
Today, the YMCA and its counterpart for women, the YWCA, continue as global movements, touching the lives of millions.
George Muller - The George Muller Foundation
George Muller was born in September of 1805 in the kingdom of Prussia. He was the son of a tax collector. He was a bad kid. By age 10 he was regularly stealing government money that was entrusted to his father. At age 14 his mother passed away unexpectedly. That night he stayed up until 2 am playing cards with his friends, then went to a tavern for drinks. By age 16 he was a convincing young con artist and thief. He had the habit of visiting luxury hotels and inns pretending to be an upstanding citizen, then skip out without paying. Finally, that year he was arrested and sentenced to prison. A year later he was released after his father paid restitution. His father arranged for him to finish high school and surprisingly, he was accepted into University. While he was there he began attending a Bible study and committed his life to Christ.
His studies took him to England were he remained most of his life. At the age of 25 he was serving as a Pastor for a small congregation in Teignmouth. He began to be concerned about the churches practice of renting pews to parishioners. In those days, as a form of financial support, the church would rent the pew to families. In this way they would always have a place to sit and the financial needs of the church would be covered. The problem George had with this was that it meant the poorer folks were relegated to the back.
George became convinced that the right thing to do was to give up his salary and live entirely by faith. The church agreed and George and his young wife began living without a predictable income. For several years George and his wife, Mary, struggled with their finances. Time after time, when almost penniless, God would provide. They agreed to never speak about their financial needs to anyone, and they would not send out any type of appeal letter. Instead, they would pray and believe for miracles.
Their work grew and prospered. they established a missionary training school, which had included Sunday Schools, day schools and adult schools. While his ministry was growing and seemingly blessed. Two events occurred that lead George in a new direction.
One day George was presented with a heart-wrenching story about a little orphan boy who had been attending their day school. The boy was shipped to a facility outside of the city and could no longer attend school. The "Poor House" that he was sent to allowed adults to live with children and it meant the boy would likely be abused and mistreated in many ways. On another occasion, George visited a parishioner who was a hard working family man. So hard working in fact, he was spending 14 to 16 hours a day at his job and was physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted. George pleaded with him to slow down and spend more time with his family and in prayer. His response was that he could barely make ends meet now, and that if he worked less he wouldn't be able to support his family. George told him, 'it's not your work which supports your family, but the Lord'. George did his best to convince the man that by faith, he could trust God to supply the needs of his family. The man respectfully listened to George’s stories of God’s faithfulness, and the conversation ended. George left knowing that the man believed in God, but wasn't trusting in God in a practical way.
George decided the best way to give the town a visible object lesson was to prove in a large way that God could take care of those in need. He began dreaming of opening an orphanage for the town’s homeless children. But he would do it without ever asking for support. He prayed that God would supply all the resources necessary. As George prayed, item-by-item, God came through. First he received unsolicited money. Then a husband and wife who said they felt called to support the project by giving all their household goods, and working for free as house parents. Then he received a house, then another. Money poured in without it ever being asked for.
Eventually, George & Mary's orphanages supported 700 kids at a time, and over the years, thousands of orphans were assisted.
Today The George Muller Foundation is still blessing those in need. Although their activities have changed, the heart of the work is still the same, demonstrating to others that faith in God makes sense.
George Muller - I admire you!
His studies took him to England were he remained most of his life. At the age of 25 he was serving as a Pastor for a small congregation in Teignmouth. He began to be concerned about the churches practice of renting pews to parishioners. In those days, as a form of financial support, the church would rent the pew to families. In this way they would always have a place to sit and the financial needs of the church would be covered. The problem George had with this was that it meant the poorer folks were relegated to the back.
George became convinced that the right thing to do was to give up his salary and live entirely by faith. The church agreed and George and his young wife began living without a predictable income. For several years George and his wife, Mary, struggled with their finances. Time after time, when almost penniless, God would provide. They agreed to never speak about their financial needs to anyone, and they would not send out any type of appeal letter. Instead, they would pray and believe for miracles.
Their work grew and prospered. they established a missionary training school, which had included Sunday Schools, day schools and adult schools. While his ministry was growing and seemingly blessed. Two events occurred that lead George in a new direction.
One day George was presented with a heart-wrenching story about a little orphan boy who had been attending their day school. The boy was shipped to a facility outside of the city and could no longer attend school. The "Poor House" that he was sent to allowed adults to live with children and it meant the boy would likely be abused and mistreated in many ways. On another occasion, George visited a parishioner who was a hard working family man. So hard working in fact, he was spending 14 to 16 hours a day at his job and was physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted. George pleaded with him to slow down and spend more time with his family and in prayer. His response was that he could barely make ends meet now, and that if he worked less he wouldn't be able to support his family. George told him, 'it's not your work which supports your family, but the Lord'. George did his best to convince the man that by faith, he could trust God to supply the needs of his family. The man respectfully listened to George’s stories of God’s faithfulness, and the conversation ended. George left knowing that the man believed in God, but wasn't trusting in God in a practical way.
George decided the best way to give the town a visible object lesson was to prove in a large way that God could take care of those in need. He began dreaming of opening an orphanage for the town’s homeless children. But he would do it without ever asking for support. He prayed that God would supply all the resources necessary. As George prayed, item-by-item, God came through. First he received unsolicited money. Then a husband and wife who said they felt called to support the project by giving all their household goods, and working for free as house parents. Then he received a house, then another. Money poured in without it ever being asked for.
Eventually, George & Mary's orphanages supported 700 kids at a time, and over the years, thousands of orphans were assisted.
Today The George Muller Foundation is still blessing those in need. Although their activities have changed, the heart of the work is still the same, demonstrating to others that faith in God makes sense.
George Muller - I admire you!
Loren Cunningham - YWAM
In 1960, a young Christian named Loren Cunningham had a vision. In the vision he saw a map of the world, but it was no ordinary map; it was alive. He could see all the continents with waves hitting their shores. The waves crashed into the continents, going farther and farther each time. But the waves weren't destroying the nations, they were blessing them. In his vision the waves changed into young people. They went ashore and spoke to person after person while going from house to house.
Shortly after Loren had this vision, he decided to start a new organization dedicated to sending young people on short-term oversees outreaches. He named the new organization Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Since then, YWAM has become a movement of Christians working to help make a difference in a needy world. They strive to know Christ and make Him known. By the year 2000, YWAM had over 11,000 staff from over 130 countries.
Loren Cunningham - I admire you
Shortly after Loren had this vision, he decided to start a new organization dedicated to sending young people on short-term oversees outreaches. He named the new organization Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Since then, YWAM has become a movement of Christians working to help make a difference in a needy world. They strive to know Christ and make Him known. By the year 2000, YWAM had over 11,000 staff from over 130 countries.
Loren Cunningham - I admire you
Arthur Ringland and Lincoln Clark - CARE
By the end of World War II, 30 million people were dead. Europe had over 13 million refugees and its cities were destroyed. Starvation, sickness and disease threatened to sweep through the war-torn continent. Unemployment was incredibly high and families that had once enjoyed a stable, middle class life, struggled for survival. In the US people wanted a way to help their European friends and relatives. No method for delivering assistance was available. The Marshall Plan had not yet been thought of, and average Americans wanted a way to personally assist their loved ones in Europe.
Two friends, Arthur Ringland and Lincoln Clark had a vision to see assistance provided to Europe. They remember how in the aftermath of World War I, Herbert Hoover led an effort to assist refugees. His program was a partnership with the American Banker’s Association. In those days you could walk into any bank in America and purchase a $10 package to be sent to a friend or relative in Europe.
Arthur and Lincoln new it could happen again. But how could they pull it off? Wisely, they approached a consortium of 22 charities in New York and proposed such a program. After months of discussions and planning, the charity agreed to support the venture and on November 27th the “Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe” was formed. The abbreviation CARE immediately began to stick, but the fledgling organization wasn’t without challenges. A well-respected corporate executive was hired to lead the new organization and after one month on the job, he resigned and boldly proclaimed the new organization would never work. Even if the American public would pay for packages to be sent, assembling them, shipping them, and delivering them to an individual would represent a huge expense that could not easily be paid for.
Undaunted, Arthur and Lincoln pressed on with the vision. Then the break that they needed emerged in a surprising way. To prepare for a long and difficult invasion of Japan, the US Government had stockpiled millions of army rations in the South Pacific. At the end of 1945 these surplus rations sat untouched in warehouses in the Philippines. Arthur and Lincoln went to work and after a few months, CARE took ownership of 2.8 million 10-in-1 rations. These were designed to feed 10 men for a day, or 1 man for 10 days. They included canned meat, dried milk, raisins, chocolate and cigarettes. The CARE package was born.
In the spring of 1946 the CARE packages went on sale and by May the first shipment arrived in France. The vision had become a reality. Then something surprising happened. A clerk at CARE’s office in New York received an order for a package, but instead of information about a recipient in Europe with a specific name and address, it simply read, “For a hungry person in Europe”. This anonymous donor, and their act of compassion, revolutionized the work of the organization and transformed the CARE package into a symbol of generosity. Soon a tidal wave of such generosity began to flow from Americans to Europeans in the form of CARE packages, not to a specific person, but to any person who was in need. Americans loved the CARE packages and eventually sent more than 100 million.
The program was so successful that it was expanded to assist those in need in Asia, Latin America and Africa. CARE is still assisting people worldwide.
Arthur Ringland and Lincoln Clark - I admire you!
Two friends, Arthur Ringland and Lincoln Clark had a vision to see assistance provided to Europe. They remember how in the aftermath of World War I, Herbert Hoover led an effort to assist refugees. His program was a partnership with the American Banker’s Association. In those days you could walk into any bank in America and purchase a $10 package to be sent to a friend or relative in Europe.
Arthur and Lincoln new it could happen again. But how could they pull it off? Wisely, they approached a consortium of 22 charities in New York and proposed such a program. After months of discussions and planning, the charity agreed to support the venture and on November 27th the “Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe” was formed. The abbreviation CARE immediately began to stick, but the fledgling organization wasn’t without challenges. A well-respected corporate executive was hired to lead the new organization and after one month on the job, he resigned and boldly proclaimed the new organization would never work. Even if the American public would pay for packages to be sent, assembling them, shipping them, and delivering them to an individual would represent a huge expense that could not easily be paid for.
Undaunted, Arthur and Lincoln pressed on with the vision. Then the break that they needed emerged in a surprising way. To prepare for a long and difficult invasion of Japan, the US Government had stockpiled millions of army rations in the South Pacific. At the end of 1945 these surplus rations sat untouched in warehouses in the Philippines. Arthur and Lincoln went to work and after a few months, CARE took ownership of 2.8 million 10-in-1 rations. These were designed to feed 10 men for a day, or 1 man for 10 days. They included canned meat, dried milk, raisins, chocolate and cigarettes. The CARE package was born.
In the spring of 1946 the CARE packages went on sale and by May the first shipment arrived in France. The vision had become a reality. Then something surprising happened. A clerk at CARE’s office in New York received an order for a package, but instead of information about a recipient in Europe with a specific name and address, it simply read, “For a hungry person in Europe”. This anonymous donor, and their act of compassion, revolutionized the work of the organization and transformed the CARE package into a symbol of generosity. Soon a tidal wave of such generosity began to flow from Americans to Europeans in the form of CARE packages, not to a specific person, but to any person who was in need. Americans loved the CARE packages and eventually sent more than 100 million.
The program was so successful that it was expanded to assist those in need in Asia, Latin America and Africa. CARE is still assisting people worldwide.
Arthur Ringland and Lincoln Clark - I admire you!
Larry Ward - Food For The Hungry
In 1971 Dr. Larry Ward was 50. He had served for years in Christian ministry and had dedicated his life to the poor.
He was a gifted writer, editor and photojournalist. But somehow, he felt that he needed to do more. He was at a crossroads in his life. He was frustrated by the massive loss of life he saw through his many travels.
In a time of intimate prayer he asked God, “I'm just one man, how can I help so many dying people?" He felt God’s clear response, "They die one at a time, you can help them one at a time". The response was enough to compel Ward to found a new charity focused on delivering Emergency Relief to the most desperate of situations. Food For The Hungry was born. Since 1971 Food For The Hungry has grow to become a global organization helping the most desperate people in the most desperate circumstances. They work in many countries around the world.
Dr. Ward, I admire you bro!
He was a gifted writer, editor and photojournalist. But somehow, he felt that he needed to do more. He was at a crossroads in his life. He was frustrated by the massive loss of life he saw through his many travels.
In a time of intimate prayer he asked God, “I'm just one man, how can I help so many dying people?" He felt God’s clear response, "They die one at a time, you can help them one at a time". The response was enough to compel Ward to found a new charity focused on delivering Emergency Relief to the most desperate of situations. Food For The Hungry was born. Since 1971 Food For The Hungry has grow to become a global organization helping the most desperate people in the most desperate circumstances. They work in many countries around the world.
Dr. Ward, I admire you bro!
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