Earlier this year, Donna was at the Billy Graham Library for her volunteer shift following one of our annual events. She noticed an older couple walk in with their heads hung low and defeated looks on their faces. It was evident that they were carrying heavy burdens. 

When Donna approached the couple, they already had six prayer cards filled out with their specific prayer requests. 

They had been at the Library that morning and had prayed with a different volunteer. Donna offered to find the same person for them, but the couple was adamant that they pray with her.

Donna led them into the prayer room at the back of the Library. As she turned to face them, the woman was already in tears.  

She expressed to Donna how desperate they were for prayers—even though they didn’t believe it truly worked. Donna asked them if they had ever received Jesus into their hearts, but she was met with the same response from both individuals: it never works.

As Donna listened and asked more questions, she soon realized this couple needed a genuine relationship with the Lord. 

The more Donna talked with the couple, the more they opened up. She sat with them for over an hour, answering every one of their questions. They had little to no knowledge about the Bible, Christmas, Easter, prayer, or God’s free gift of salvation, nor how to receive it.  

Donna told them about Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection—explaining that He died in our place so we could be free of the eternal consequences of our sin and have a relationship with God, both now and forever. 

She asked the couple who in their lives would die for them. “I don’t know anybody that would die for me,” she told them. “Except Jesus.”

The woman looked at Donna, tears pooling in her eyes, as she explained their financial struggles. The couple told her that nobody seemed to like them, and they had no friends—that they had nothing. But Donna knew that with Jesus, they could have everything. 

She shared parts of her own testimony with the couple and explained how reading the Bible and praying daily gives her strength. When she asked the couple if they would like to pray to receive Christ as their personal Savior, they both said yes.

Donna walked them through the “Steps to Peace With God” before leading them in prayer. When they were done, Donna immediately noticed the change in the couple—from being sad and troubled to having bright eyes and smiling faces. Donna could also hear the newfound hope in their voices. 

“I was so thrilled just to see that change … knowing that God had really touched them,” Donna said. 

When she learned that the couple didn’t own a Bible—and that it was hard for the woman to read the small letters—she gave them a large print Bible from Ruth’s Attic bookstore and encouraged them to read God’s Word every day.

Are you looking for a way to share the hope of Jesus with others? Find out more about volunteer opportunities at the Billy Graham Library.