Words That Inspired the Dreams True Stories of the Power of a Few Choice Words

Choice Words of Challenge The 358-Million-Dollar Question You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life.-- Zig Ziglar She was just one woman trying to make a difference in her corner of the globe. Nothing particularly unusual stood out about her. When she walked down the street, no heads turned, and no one asked for her autograph. Certainly no one would have guessed that she would launch a worldwide movement. Setting out from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Tena Hoelkeboer had trudged halfway around the world to the town of Amoy to teach little Chinese girls. Every day, she and her four hundred students faced poverty, overcrowding, and malnourishment. Though her life was a struggle, Tena saw the children as her own private mission from God. On one occasion, an American named Bob happened to be visiting a nearby university campus. Bob was traveling through Asia on a speaking tour for Youth for Christ, and as he stopped in different cities, he made a point to spend part of his time encouraging missionaries and taking pictures of their work.Tena had heard that Bob was coming, so she invited him to speak to her students. Bob agreed. But during his presentation, he used an American style of communicating the gospel of Christ. In accordance with that style, at the end of his talk, Bob invited the kids to accept Christ and told them, "Go home and tell your folks you're going to be a Christian."But when Bob returned the next day, Tena met him at the door with a little girl dangling in her arms. The child's father had disowned her, and her back was bleeding from the beating he had given her when she announced her intention to live for the one true God. The father was enraged that his daughter had dishonored his ancestors by turning to Christ. Tena's eyes blazed at Bob. She was incensed that his "American-style" altar call and cultural insensitivity had resulted in the beating and abandonment of yet another child. She walked over to him and dumped the whimpering girl in his arms. Then she said something that probably did more to save the lives of starving children around the world than anything else. With tears streaming down her face, Tena said, "She listened to you. She believed what you told her, and she obeyed God. Now look what it's costing her! Don't think you can walk off this island without doing something for her. I've got six other little kids already sharing my rice bowl. Now you've given me one more. Tell me, what are you going to do abouther?"That was it. Bob felt shaken to the core as he held the frightened little child in his arms. He knew he didn't have the funds to save the hundreds of needy, deformed, and leprous children he had already seen on his trip. But he could rescue and support this one, whose name, he discovered, was Tam. Immediately, Bob dug in his pocket for money to feed and clothe the girl. And as he did, a vision was born. That was 1947.Within two years, Bob and Dr. Frank Phillips formed an organization to help missionaries meet the emergency needs of Korean War orphans. By 1961, they were supporting fourteen thousand children from 156 orphanages in nine nations. By 1998, their organization raised $358,351,000, sponsored 1,383,218 children, and met the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of more than fifty millionpeople.It was just an off-the-cuff remark. But God used an ordinary woman to speak to an American man about a homeless Chinese girl. Tena's challenge, delivered at a ripe moment to exactly the right person, made all the difference. The man's name? Bob Pierce. His organization? World Vision -- now the largest international Christian relief and development agency in the world.You might like to knowIn 1967, Bob Pierce retired from World Vision due toLoveless, Caron Chandler is the author of 'Words That Inspired the Dreams True Stories of the Power of a Few Choice Words', published 2000 under ISBN 9781582291246 and ISBN 1582291241.