So I was going to post this on Wednesday, but I had to re-cap the weekend so here is the encouragement you'll need to get through the very last day of the week. I am putting up videos of a guy named Louis Zamperini who I had never heard of until the fall. I heard him speak and this guy is quickly becoming one of my heroes!!
He is from Torrance, CA and now lives in the Hollywood Hills. He is a sprightly 93 years old and still sharp as a tack. He got into trouble a lot growing up but by the time he was in high school he realized he was a fast runner and he entered the Olympics in 1936!! He didn't fare so well though, because he ate too much while he was there! He said that during that time it was hard to have a full meal seeing as how the Depression was going on, and then he comes to these Olympic games and there is food everywhere! He gained about 10 pounds I think and while he finished last in his race, he caught the eye of a Mr. Adolf Hitler! Even though Louis was going to finish last, he wanted to finish well and he apparently gunned it and had a strong finish, so that when he was done Hitler asked for him *by name* to meet him. When they shook hands and met face-to-face, Hitler simply said he was the "boy with the fast finish." Yeah, he shook Hitler's hand AND even stole a Nazi flag, because, hey why not right?
Then he goes to USC and becomes a life-long Trojan, graduates and enters World War II. He was stationed in the Pacific and on a rescue mission his plane was shot down and he and two others were stuck in a raft for over 40 days with no food or water besides the occasional rain. After 40-some days, one of the guys didn't make it, and then they get rescued/captured by the Japanese. He then endures 2 years of beatings, experimentation and starvation and he only gets out once the war is over. He comes back to the US as a national hero, decorated in war, marries a socialite and all is well, until he goes to sleep every night and has nightmares about his POW imprisonment. He and his wife almost get a divorce, but then she went to this event by a little-known guy by the name of Billy Graham. She becomes a Christian and decides she wants to stay in the marriage. This gets Louis' attention, and he goes to the same event and becomes a Christian too and then a year later he flew back to Japan to visit his old captors, who are now in prison, and he hugs and forgives each one of them to their faces!! WOAH!! There was a short video done about his life by CBS during the winter Olympics of 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Louis was one of the torch-bearers and he ran through the streets and even re-visited his old POW camp - it is quite powerful!!
It was so cool to see the power of Christ in one's life and how He can literally change your heart and help you do things you never thought you would, like forgiving those who tortured you and being able to let go of that bitterness. One of the girls in my small group found his video on youtube and it's only 30-ish min so you can't really watch it at work, but it's definitely something to watch when you have the time - there are 4 videos total and I highly highly *highly* recommend you watch them if you haven't already seen them!
This guy is a living and true hero, and you can't help but be inspired at how God saved him time and time again and helped him survive his experiences!! They are trying to make his life into a movie, and have been for quite some time, even starting in the '50's and again in the '60's and then the '90's, but they always want to gloss over Louis' conversion once he got back and Louis won't allow it to be made otherwise, seeing as how that is the whole point of his life now! He won't take any amount of money to have a movie of his life that is not an accurate depiction of what went on, and I hope someday those bigwigs in Hollywood will put aside their biases and make this incredible story because you can't help but get wrapped up in it!!
Hope this was encouraging to you and hope you have a great weekend!!
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