A Life of Miracle

Immediately after I accepted Christ as my Savior as an eleven year old Texas boy I knew some day I would be a preacher.  God's call was within me but I was not prepared to act on it.  At 16 I graduated from high school and it seemed God was pressuring me to yield to His call.  After wrestling with God for a long time I finally surrendered to Him completely and sought to do whatever He would ask of me.  I had wonderful peace about it and left immediately for Baylor University to study for the ministry.

Later I transferred to Bob Jones University where I was part of hundreds of preacher boys under the training of Dr. Bob Jones, Sr.   It was there I met Jeanette Thomas, the girl who became my wife.  I graduated, got married, and we set off for our honeymoon with all our earthly possessions, --very few, and a one hundred dollar bill received as a wedding gift.  I had joined with three other fellows from Bob Jones to form the Gospel Light Evangelistic Team.  We spent the entire summer preaching on street corners, getting into churches to show gospel films, and setting up revival meetings.  I was usually the designated preacher in these meetings.  Keep in mind I was only 20 years old. (My parents had to sign for me to get married!)  Offerings were sparse and everything was put into a common pot to buy food and supplies for the ministry.  During that summer Missouri suffered a record heat wave and many died of heat related causes. --Twenty-five in Kansas City alone.  Jeanette became very ill and it was a cause of great concern until the doctor announced that she was pregnant.  The memory that stands out with both Jeanette and I is the absolute trust we had in God, both for His purpose and His provision and the peace and happiness it brought to us.

In July of 1954, I was ordained in Dallas, Texas.