The Bible Speaks:

Romans 3:23 "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

Romans 6:23 "The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Romans 5:8 "But God commended His love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 

Romans 10:9-10 "...whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the word, but that the world through Him might be saved."

 

"Jesus said, 'By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you love one another.' God designed Christian disciples to show the reality of Jesus by the way they live and extend the love of Jesus to others. In a day of unashamed selfishness, it is indeed a privilege to show the world that Jesus is real in our lives by loving others. I know that I have been saved by the grace of God through Jesus Christ. The only way you can know is to see how I love."

Randy Rich

After three years of starting and developing a College of Agriculture and Forestry at the University of Liberia, things were not going so well. The plan was well designed but objectives were not being met due to a host of problems. Students were unable to feed themselves while studying. Help from CARE was wonderful but still had to be supplemented out of my pocket. Since the Government of Libera was not contributing its part to the program, a realistic success was virtually hopeless.

It was time to look for a new position. In July 1965, my wife Mary Alice and I came to Jackson, MS on vacation. A friend, Morgan Williams, met us. Morgan and his wife Jeannie opened their home to us and we shared the difficulties of the program. Morgan explained that he was aware of a new program in research in vocational-technical education in Mississippi. The federal program was being overseen in Mississippi by Senator Robert Crook. After a phone call, Senator Crook agreed to meet me the next morning.

We met and discussed the program at length. Each state was going to develop a similar program. In Mississippi, the program was going to be coordinated by Mr. A.P. Fatheree, then director of Vo-Tech in the state Department of Education. Senator Crook called Mr. Fatheree who agreed to meet me at 1:00 PM, the same day!

I met with Mr. Fatheree and we discussed the program in great detail. I shared my educational credentials and work experience. Then Mr. Fatheree asked a strange question, "How long have you known Senator Crook?" I answered that we had just met that morning. He responded that he thought that the position was going to be that of a political appointment. Being an educator and not a politician, I was somewhat alarmed. There are so many strings attached to political positions.

Mr. Fatheree assured me that we were on the same page about that. Still, he needed to confirm my educational credentials and research experience. Having graduated from LSU some fifteen years earlier, I could only think of one person that could vouch for me. I had neither seen nor heard from Dr. Malcolm Garr since LSU days, but it was the only name I had.

Mr. Fatheree quietly rose from his desk, excused himself, and said he would be right back. A few moments later, the office door opened and in walked Mr. Fatheree accompanied, to my surprise, by Dr. Garr himself. He was in Mississippi, as a last minute substitute from the Atlanta office of the United States Department of Education. Mr. Fatheree asked pointedly, "Can Jim Wall do the work required in the RCU program?" Without hesitation, Dr. Garr answered that I inded could. "When can you start...tomorrow?"

We were on our way to Mississippi State University almost immediately. I had to make one side journey. My car was being shipped from Liberia to New York and I had to retrieve it from the ship. Before I returned to MSU two days later, I received word that the salary discussed had been increased by $4000. This resulted from a conversation confirming my Ph.D. from Michigan State University...before I ever set foot in the office.

I spent the next 27 years teaching at Mississippi State, all because a real God collected as set of circumstances, set me on a new path in life. Every time I think about how things worked out that day in 1965, I am still humbled beyound anything that has ever happened to me before or since.. GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS!!!

Dr. Jim Wall, Retired Dean
Mississippi State University

Jesus Christ is real to me beacuse he saved me from my stains of sin and guilt; I was lost in the "rituals of religion" not knowning true peace and fellowship with God the Father.  My trust in the blood sacrifce of his Son Jesus has brought me to that peace that passes all understanding by mere mortal human beings.  This passing eartlhy life; although not a "bed of roses" is a life much more rewarding through my belief in the "real" Jesus Christ guiding me all the way and beyond into eternity.  This is why Jesus Christ is very real in my life.

Curtis Favre