Ron Willingham In His Book Life Is What You Make ...

Ron Willingham in his book Life Is What You Make It, tells a story that took place about 30 years ago about a member of the Central Church of Christ in Amarillo, TX named Giles Tate who had a SERVANT’S HEART.

One day while going home from work, Giles saw two children playing in a VACANT LOT. They were DIRTY, RAGGED, and HUNGRY-LOOKING. He stopped his car and asked where they lived. They pointed to an old ABANDONED school bus standing near the ALLEY. They told Giles that they lived there with their father who was very sick.

Our brother in Christ went in to see what he could do for the children’s father. The bus was in terrible CONDITION. The WINDOWS were broken out and CARDBOARD was substituted. Beds were made of old, DECAYING seats, newspapers and weeds. It was a PATHETIC sight.

The children’s father was too WEAK to stand. Thinking him near death, Giles took him to the hospital. There it was DETERMINED that the man had TUBERCULOSIS. He was put into a HOSPITAL ROOM and QUARANTINED. Giles, this great servant of Jesus, told the HOSPITAL that he would pay for all of the man’s MEDICAL EXPENSES.

He didn’t forget the man but continued to VISIT him. Since he couldn’t go into the ROOM, he stood outside and talked through the WINDOW screen. The man asked Giles to bring his Bible and read to him. Giles did every single day.

The very day the man was RELEASED he wanted to be BAPTIZED into Christ. While getting ready to be baptized he told the preacher, “Over the years I heard a lot about Jesus Christ and how He cared about people. But never had I seen Him living in anyone like I did Giles who CARED so deeply for me and my children.”