A Wheel Down Memory Lane…

By |Published On: August 15, 2011|Categories: News|

joni next to a poster promoting the Joni movieEarlier this month after my visit to the Bonclarken Family Retreat, my friends and I visited the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC (first time for us)! Having spoken at 12 Graham crusades, and played my part in the Joni movie, it was a very moving experience (they have an old Joni movie poster on display… I was 28 years old when I played my part in the film produced by the Graham Association). My eyes got damp when I saw a video of Mr. Graham’s 1992 crusade in Moscow, Russia – Ken and I will never forget the night the Red Army choir sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
 
I lingered long in front of a photograph of the 1989 crusade in Budapest, Hungary. I will never forget looking out over the sports arena filled to overflowing (it was only weeks before the Berlin Wall came down, and thousands of Eastern Europeans came to hear Mr. Graham preach the Gospel). I remember many hundreds of people with disabilities being dragged into the stadium on blankets, pushed in carts, or hobbling in on old crutches. The Graham Association generously paid the train fare for any disabled person who wanted to come to the crusade! Mr. Graham spoke about the cross that night and I sang a hymn in Hungarian (no, I don’t know the language; I’m just a quick study). After the invitation, a sea of people flooded forward to receive Jesus Christ as Savior.
 
joni-billy graham billboardOne more thing. When I started Joni and Friends in 1979, the Billy Graham Association paid Judy Butler’s salary for a whole year (Judy is my executive assistant and she transitioned from working for BGEA to help me start the ministry). With that help and a small grant from World Vision, Joni and Friends was off and running. Thank you Mr. Graham – it wouldn’t have happened without you and your team!

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