October, 1942
T H E 'K I N G 'S 'S ü S ÍÑ ÍÉ 'S S
S64
Where Soldiers See Prayer Answered
free to spend any or all of their off- duty hours. Some of the fellows call it the Welcome House,!’ he added with a smile. They entered the wide hallway as he spoke, and he motioned his com panion to the lounge at the left. “ I’ll look Up a train schedule while you have a bite to eat, since soldiers are known to be perpetually hungry,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “Fall to and have all thè cake and coffee you want. It is free,” he Of- t fered quickly. “I’ll get that schedule,” and he hurried from the room. The soldier, somewhat dazed by his good fortune, was not slow in -ac- . cepting the food that was served him by one of the women giving volun tary service in the kitchen. -Dr.'Palmer soon reappeared with a train schedule, and with something, else in his hand. “Here is your fare,” he said, handing the soldier eleven, dollars. He had not given gifts Of. money to the service men’ before— if was not the usual thing. But this, man’s need was not the usual need, either. “It comes from people who love and serve the Lord Jesus,” he hastened to say before the soldier could re monstrate, “ as does all the service in this Center. It is yours; you seem tb have a rather special need just now.” Then, o v e r a cup of coffee, Dr. Palmer began to speak of the pri mary purpose -of the Morning Cheer Center—that of presenting the Lord Jesus Christ and His way of salva tion. H e . found, as is so often the case among soldiers, that this one bad a Christian mother, and that he knew the plan of - salvation but had
all my life, but I never had been there before. I had a longer i e a v e this time than usual, so I decided on a quick trip to the city to see the bright lights, get a taste of night life, and so forth. I had plenty- of money— hadn’t had leave for a long time. I didn’t know anybody there, but I was ready for a good time—just to see what it was like. Well—there'was a girl who was easy to meet—we \ had a cocktail and that is the ' last thing I remember. Believe it or not, I woke up next morning in a dump, and out of my $261.00 there was just 31 cents in my •pocket. A lot of money for a trip to North Carolina! It’s my own fault, of course, but that doesn’t make t it any easier.” Dr. Palmer had listened to the bitter recital While the miles of New Jersey countryside slipped by. He made a ■quick decision. “If you w ill come, with me,” he said, “I think I can help you. You won’t get to Fort Bragg on time, but it may help.” i They soon came to the residential district of Wrightstown which lies just outside the limits of Fort Dix, New Jersey, and Dr. Palmer stopped the car before an attractive building. A sign above the doorway, on which -the word “Welcome” had been painted in large letters, attracted the soldier’s, attention. “What place is this?” he a s k e d curiously. “ This is the Morning Cheer Center for Service Men,” Dr. Palmer replied. “Here all service men are welcomed. They can relax, play games, eat, en tertain fheir friends and relatives. In short, it is -a place, where they; are
T I K E A LIFT, Soldier?” George ■ Palmer* called to the man in 1 J khaki walking at the edge of the wide highway. In every olive-drab uniform these days, he saw the figure of his own son, twenty-year-old George, at camp in Kentucky, and he could not pass one by. , ;» ; Something in the face of this sol dier caught Dr. Palmer’s attention. It was more than physical weariness. It was numb dejection that had. not cóme from a. long hike. , ‘‘Going to Fort Dix?” ':.hp,.,asked\as the câr gathered speed oñ the New Jersey highwaÿ. The soldier smiled grimly. “I wish I had only that far to go. No, I’m from Fort Bragg.” “ Fort Bragg! You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?” “ Yes, and I’m due there, at 11:00 to night. Oh, I’ll never make it;” he.an swered the amazement in the other’s face. “And you know what that will linean,” . ; “ You’ll ; lose t h o s e stripes, won’t,, you?” Dr. Palmer asked sympatheti cally, noting that his companion was a top ’sergeant. / ; “ Yes. And I’ve been èleven years earning them.” g $ ajm “ But why didn’t you start for your camp ¿earlier?” . ■ ■ “That’s a long story.” ; “ It is?” . ? -, \ “ Yes. I’ve lived near New York City *A récent speaker at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles ' and the Church of the--i Operi Door , and the recipienti on June 1Î, 1942 , of the honorary degree. of Doctor of-Diiriniïÿ on the occasion^ of the Institute’s commencement exercises. ’•v •„ • ’ • /
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