JLR (Dragon)
05-25-2001, 09:21 PM
You know there comes a time in your life where you finally realize that, &#34;HEY my parents are right!&#34; Some still haven&#39;t reached that point.... hehe but anyway you find out that your parents were not just parents but were more like your best friends. Now I didn&#39;t have the luxury of having a good dad, nor father, if you will. However I did have a swell &#40;Oklahomese&#41; Grandpa, and a very special one at that. Yeah, everyone&#39;s Grandpa is special, but mine is a little different.... <BR>This is just a little brag thing, telling you all about this wonderful man that I call Grandpa. &#40;Also father in the Lord&#41; <BR> <BR>Dr. Richard E. Williams Sr. was born into a not so good family. His mom had to get married at the tender age of 13, and unfortunately because of this, he was rejected in her heart. His father was a sop drunk, and left her soon after Grandpa was born, leaving them alone. With the lack of love from his mother, he turned to his Aunts and Uncles to make up the loss. In the end he ended up living in 14 different foster homes, and some were not so nice. This all happened before he turned 10. Finally his Aunt and Uncle Lester took him in, and raised him, for they never had children. Lester was an old Oil/Crop farmer. Looked like any other Okie hick, but this man was worth a gross of over 3 million dollars, yet you would never know it. Lester taught him the value of hard work, and many other lessons. Stepping back a little, while Grandpa was at a small country park, a young woman by the name of &#34;Granny Rhodie.&#34; &#40;A Nazareen Beauty!!&#41; was using flannelgraph to teach Jesus to the small children that gathered. Young 4 year-old Grandpa was inspired by this, and she invited &#40;lured <IMG SRC="http://www.electric-ent.com/bbs/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":&#41;"> &#41; him to come to church with her. In return she would by him a strawberry Sunday. <BR>While attending church Grandpa was Gloriously SAVED! He was only 4 years old. The preacher who led him to the Lord, made a rude remark based him Grandpa&#39;s poverty. Little did he know that this same man, would someday preach in the LARGEST churches in AMERICA! <BR>9 years later &#40;13&#41; Grandpa was sitting under a tree, when he felt something touch him. In the Christian realm, it is called Annointing. Not it isn&#39;t a physical touch, like a tap or something, but a touch that touches the heart. That afternoon he surrendered to preach the Word of God. <BR>For the next couple of years Grandpa prepared himself for Bible College. He went....OW there is just one little thing I forgot to mention. HE COULDN&#39;T READ! He memorized everything! He was half way through Bible College befor my soon-to-be Grandma tought him. Professors were literally baffeled over this. This one man, was doing 3 to 4 times the work the other students were doing, and he couldn&#39;t even read! Grandpa&#39;s life was Jesus, and he sought it very vigoriously. <BR>He met Grandma, and after 6 months they were wed. Then he went to the mission field. First Pakistan. Oooo the stories I could tell. But just to hilight. They were forced to leave because of the Pakistany revolution. My Aunt had to hide in a bathroom, while murderous Pakistanies stormed the Hospital, killing ALL americans. Grandma trying to get to her was mobbed by a riotous crowd, and she barely made it home. Grandpa went early the next morning to find the &#34;Body&#34; of his daughter, but thinking God, she was still alive. It wasn&#39;t soon after that they were forced to leave. Then it was to the Philippenes, where he established 300 churches and schools, braught the Word of God to head hunters &#40;Not practicing&#41; where he saved literally 100,000 thousands of people. I could tell you so so so much more. This man is amazing! <BR>In his life he has preached in every state in the US, with the exception of Alaska. In his time he was the number one money raising Evangelist of that era. One year he grossed 604,000 dollars for mission work, not himself. He was the most sought after missionary around. He was and still is an orator. A preacher that preaches with a tongue dipped in fire, yet it burns like an unquichable, undying love, of which Christ represents. <BR>Grandpa and Grandma can&#39;t go anywhere where somebody doesn&#39;t know them. He was in Hong Kong not to long ago, and a young man and his wife stopped by. The young man was saved under his teachings years back. This happens all the time. Yet in his later years, he likes things simple. He has a simple farm in the city, a simple house, and a small church. Last year Ted Everely, one of the Everely Brothers &#40;Old music group&#41; asked him to take over his multimillion dollar church, Grandpa declined. He loves his life, and he knew he wouldn&#39;t be happy. He is content where God wants him. <BR> <BR>I left so much out, but that is sort of his life. What I am saying is, that often we, especially writers, look all around for stories to write, when some of the greatest stories are those of our loved ones.