"Well," said C.D., welcoming Hark. "How did it go?" He was eager to see Hark's report.
"Wonderful!" said Hark. He put away his leather sandals and showed C.D. a little bit of purple cloth.
"What's that?" asked C.D. with interest.
"It's a piece of Bishop Festo's shirt. When he was escaping over the mountain, it snagged on a thorn. I brought it back as a reminder of a wonderful man. He was very brave -- a real hero of the King!" Hark replied, smiling.
"You'd better hurry," C.D. said, taking Hark's report. "Choir practice is starting."
Soon C.D. would add Hark's report to the other facts in Festo's record. C.D. already knew this about Festo:
1. He wrote several books about his experiences. One of them was called I Love Idi Amin.
2. He had been honored by Christian groups all over the world for his work in helping others and telling them about Jesus.
3. In 1977 he was awarded the International Freedom Prize in Norway.
4. He went all over the world preaching his messages of love and forgiveness.
5. Bishop Festo died May 18, 1988, of leukemia. More than 20,000 people attended the services held in his memory.20
"I've got a new song to teach you," said Hark as he arrived at choir practice. "I'll sing it to you. I learned it from Festo and his friends in Uganda."
Then Hark the Herald Angel sang his version of a revival song:
Glory, glory, hallelujah.
Glory, glory to the Lamb,
For His cleansing blood has washed us.
Glory, glory to the Lamb!
Listening to Hark's beautiful voice drifting across heaven, C.D. smiled. "That's wonderful Hark," he murmured as he worked. "I'll learn it, too."
And he did.
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Jill Briscoe has an active speaking and writing ministry that has taken her to many countries. She has written more than 40 books, including study guides, devotional material, poetry, and children's books.
Jill is executive editor of Just Between Us Just Between UsJust Between Us , a magazine of encouragement for ministry wives and women in leadership. She serves on the board of World Relief and Christianity Today, Inc.
A native of Liverpool, England, Jill launched into youth evangelism after becoming a Christian at age 18. She married her husband, Stuart, in 1958, and since then they have ministered together through Telling the Truth Telling the TruthTelling the Truth media ministries at conferences and mission organizations around the world. They reside in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Stuart completed 30 years of ministry as senior pastor of Elmbrook Church. Both Stuart and Jill now serve Elmbrook as ministers-at-large. They have 3 children, David, Judy, and Peter, and enjoy the blessing of 13 grandchildren.
Jill and Stuart call suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin their home. When they are not traveling, they spend time with their three children, David, Judy and Peter, and thirteen grandchildren.