By Tiffany Jothen

Debbie Hall and her husband are restaurant managers with conflicting schedules. They don’t get much time together but did take an early Valentine’s Day trip to the Billy Graham Library. Debbie kept hearing about the Library on Billy Graham’s radio station, 106.9 The Light.

“It was really breathtaking,” she said. “From the moment we got there, I was just in awe.”

The couple from Spartanburg, S.C., said it wasn’t just a day trip to a Library; it was a much-needed spiritual retreat. At the entrance, a security guard greeted the couple with a spirited welcome: “Praise the Lord; we have been waiting on you!”

Outside, it was gloomy and raining, but inside, Debbie said, she found the Library calm and inspiring.

“I think this place is so touched by God’s own hand,” she said. But there was another reason she wanted to see it for herself.

Growing up, Debbie lived next door to a woman named Geneva Luther who took care of her as a child. As Geneva got older, the roles reversed and Debbie took care of her.

Geneva, who Debbie refers to as her grandmother, has since passed away, but Debbie remembers her deep respect for Billy Graham. Anytime he was on TV, she said, Geneva would invite people over to watch. Debbie’s trip to the Library was in her honor.

“This was an eye-opening experience,” she said. What impressed her most was Mr. Graham’s many encounters with national leaders and all the letters he has received from children around the world. She plans to come back with her children, friends “and anyone else who will go with me.”

Not only does Debbie plan to return, but she has since become a Friend of the Library, offering financial support to the Library’s ministry. A Friend of the Library donates $20 a month and receives special benefits, including access to invitation-only events.

Debbie never thought of donating to the Library before, she said, “but after getting a real education today of the worldwide impact for the Gospel of Christ, … I find no reason at all not to be a Friend.”

As a restaurant manager, Debbie knows that every dollar counts. “I look forward in great anticipation to what God is going to do through the Library,” she said.

But it doesn’t end there.

Debbie recently found that one of Geneva’s daughters is in financial straits after being forced into retirement. Becoming a Friend of the Library encouraged her to send the same amount – $20 a month – to her longtime friend. God has blessed her and her husband, Debbie said, so she wants to bless others back.

Like Debbie, you too can partner with us as we share the Gospel at the Library with tens of thousands every year. You can learn more about becoming a Friend of the Library here. Join us now, and you’ll have access to upcoming special events reserved for “Friends of the Library,” including a private meet and greet with Christian author Stormie Omartian when she visits the Library for a book-signing on May 9.