Legendary Evangelist Billy Graham crossed the threshold of eternity at the age of 99 years. In two days the farewell to Graham will be held in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington. He became the first religious leader who received this recognition. The funeral will take place on Friday, second of March. In North Carolina, the home of Evangelist people remember about the man the world recognized as one of the greatest evangelists.
Arriving in Charlotte, even before the first greeting of the Billboard you will see a trail that Billy Graham has left in this city. Roads bear his name, half-mast flags flying welcoming the honorable son of the country, and reporters fill the airwaves with the latest news from the library Billy Graham, where on Friday the funeral ceremony. Workers install in the Parking lot a big evangelistic tent in memory of the famous crusade Graham. In the background the cross symbolizing the faith he devoted his entire life.
“Our meetings, hundreds of meetings, were filled with joy and laughter, when we watched an interesting game of Golf or baseball, talked about the family — says pastor don Wilton, First Baptist Church, Spartanburg, South Carolina. — But most importantly — the spiritual depth of his heart, his passion for the gospel”.
Don Wilton has served as a pastor Graham is a difficult responsibility to the man called “America’s pastor” and adviser to presidents. But don says that Graham was a special feature that facilitates this task.
“Every time you talked to Billy, he made you feel the most important person. And you can ask anyone who’s ever had been. And I’ve seen them all come and go,” he says.
“You will not be able to preach the gospel to the world, ignoring the people, and, of course, he really cared about everyone who was there,” recalls the Reverend Robert Pittenger, North Carolina.
Pittenger met Graham on a Golf course, being an undergraduate College.
“Dr. Graham was playing with Bob Hope, Arnold Palmer and Byron Nelson and I was his assistant,” he says.
After the game, the Evangelist gave him this Bible, signed it and thanked him for his help. Throughout life, Graham has always been the message he shared with others.
Now, after his death, people from around the world return to him. In Training Billy Graham center in Asheville many people leave flowers, letters of thanks and prays.
“He gave me hope when I was a girl. I mean that his messages were so simple they could be understood even by a child, and that child was me,” says Barbara Mitchell, a Training center Billy Graham.
Carolyn Dunlap came with my 83-year-old mother, who became a Christian during crusade Billy Graham in 1952 when she was only 17 years old.
“If not for Billy Graham, I wouldn’t have that kind of faith, laughs Carolyn Dunlap. — It’s true, because we went to Church every Sunday”.
While people are rushing to honor the memory of the great preacher, pastor Wilton believes that the prayer for the Graham family and the future is what would be the Evangelist most valuable.
“They lost their father, grandfather, his best friend. Pray for them. Pray for them during this test. Second, pray for the promotion of the gospel. It would be the greatest desire of Mr. Graham,” says don Wilton.
This week the circle of life Billy Graham closes in the house of his childhood, next to the love of his life Ruth, on the earth, which bears his name in memory of him, of his mission and message of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. Many describe the funeral mass as his last crusade.