Billy Graham in New York Times

When I opened the New York Times this morning I saw a name which brought back old memories, Billy Graham.

I was fifteen when my friend took me to the Madison Square Garden to hear Billy Graham speak. I was very young then and had no idea who Billy Graham was.

My English at that time was far from perfect but I was able to grasp what he was trying to convey. Yes, he was speaking in such a convincing way that I really believe there was god for the first time in my life.

My family was not Christian but my father put me in a private girls school in Tokyo called Futaba which was a Catholic mission school in Japan. So I learned about Christ and Mary and all the things Catholics believe in. Most of the girls at the school were not Catholic but everyone in the school without exception had to attend the classes of Christianity.

So it kind of became a habit for me to go to Catholic church on Sunday. I went all on my own. Even as a kid, I had a better conscience when I went to church on Sunday mornings rather than staying at home.

Although my family moved to New York in fifth grade I kept the habit of going to church but this time to a Protestant Church as it was only one block from where we lived. I went there on my own will because I wanted to. However, I was not pious as I don’t remember going there as often as I used to do in Japan. Also I became a bit dubious about existence of God as my prayers were not answered or should I say nothing happened when I prayed.

However, when I heard Billy Graham’s speech, I really felt the existence of god. So after the speech when Billy Graham called from the podium asking people who believe in god to come down to the small square in front of him I did not hesitate but went right down the stairs and became his believer.

Maybe I am a gullible person. But I became one of his believers for a couple to months. That feeling didn’t last long as I had to move to Bogota, Colombia with my family and I lost touch with them. So I went back to my former state of mind of not believing in god.

This photo in the New York Times today brought back a flurry of memories from my teenage years and the influence Billy Graham had on them. However the greatest surprise was that I was not aware Billy Graham had such an influence on the presidents of the United States.

I am not sure whether the political leaders in Japan would consult any religious person for his decisions. But even if he did, it would not be made public and have an article in influential papers like the New York Times. The Japanese would keep it very discreet.

The article in the New York Times said:

Billy Graham, 89, who has counseled American presidents for the last half-century and is an enormously influential voice among millions of evangelical and born-again Christians, has been in poor health and made no statement. â€¦â€¦

After insisting he had not sought their backing, Mr. McCain was asked why he had requested the meeting. ‘As I say’, he said, ‘they’ve known my family, they’ve known me for many years. They’re great leaders in this nation, and I appreciate the opportunity to visit with them and I am very grateful for the time they spent with me.

So, to me, that a religious leader could be so influential was a bit of a surprise!