This is a biography of Wesley Frank Willingham (Frankie Willingham Wyatt’s father). Wesley was kidnapped when he was a baby. Later, some neighbors took him in, but they were cruel to him. Finally, Wesley became a part of a caring family.
Wesley became a Christian when he was a teenager. God worked in his heart and life so that Wesley did not become bitter. He grew up to be a compassionate man who loved people and led many of them to Jesus. Wesley worked as a salesman and then, when God called him, as a preacher.
This book is a true collaborative work. Frankie and I live in different states. We wrote the book using Google docs, while talking over the phone. Working together, we inspired each other. When we were trying to think of the right word or phrase to use in a sentence, one of us would say something that would spark an idea in the other of the perfect word or phrase.
One of my favorite parts of the book is the chapter where, after he becomes a man, Wesley goes to find John Gates to confront him about all the abuse he (Wesley) suffered at the hands of Mr. Gates. Wesley’s anger melts away, and he leads John Gates to salvation in Jesus Christ.
In the fall, Mr. Young sent Wesley, along with his own children, to school. Wesley, who had never had any schooling, wasn’t sure where to go or what to do. The one-room school housed grades one through eight. Wesley, being rather tall for his age, sat with kids about his size, thinking that’s where he would belong. He only knew his ABC’s and numbers. When the teacher asked him to spell the name George, of course he didn’t have a clue. The teacher then asked the boy behind Wesley to spell George, and the boy spelled it with ease, G-E-O-R-G-E. Then that boy leaned forward and said to Wesley, with a drawl, “Don’t ya wish ya had a brother named George?”
Wesley decided that since he didn’t have a brother named George, he didn’t need to go to school, and the Youngs didn’t insist that he go. Instead, he worked on the farm with Mr. Young. This was the only major distinction that the Youngs made between their treatment of Wesley and their own children.