Interview: Franklin Graham Praying New Ebola Film Inspires 'Army' of Young People to Respond to God's Call
"God had a plan, and that's what this film is about," Graham explained. "It's about God working a miracle, and not just one..." -Franklin Graham
[Gospel Herald] In an exclusive interview with the Gospel Herald, Franklin Graham shared his hopes for the upcoming Ebola documentary from Samaritan's Purse. (Photo: via FacingDarknessMovie.com)
Franklin Graham clearly remembers the day in 2014 he was told Dr. Kent Brantly, a young doctor working with Samaritan's Purse, had contracted the deadly Ebola virus in Liberia and was certainly going to die.
"When I found out he had Ebola, it was the lowest point in my life," Graham, the president of Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, told the Gospel Herald. "This young doctor who was there to serve in the name of Jesus Christ was now going to die in Africa, and I couldn't do anything about it. I knew that it was a death sentence, and there was almost nothing that I could do. The doors were closing and the time was ticking. When you get Ebola, you've got about ten days max and you're dead."
Dr. Brantly wasn't the only one to become infected with the virus that claimed hundreds of lives every week. Nancy Writebol, a nurse who had been assisting Dr. Brantly at ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, was also diagnosed with Ebola a short time later.
Facing Darkness, a new documentary from Samaritan's Purse, gives an in-depth look at the struggles that came with fighting one of the deadliest epidemics of the century and the faith and determination that eventually led to the recovery of both Dr. Brantly and Writebol. (Photo: The Ebola caregivers were selected over other influential newsmakers on Time's shortlist, including Taylor Swift and Vladimir Putin/Time Magazine)
"God had a plan, and that's what this film is about," Graham explained. "It's about God working a miracle, and not just one. It's not only saving Dr. Brantly and Nancy Writebol, but at the same (time), their situation educated the world as to what Ebola was and how to fight it and deal with it. This country had no clue on how to fight Ebola until Dr. Brantly became ill. All of the sudden, the world's most dangerous virus—which the US was ignoring—was here, and it woke America up."
Ebola infected more than 28,000 people in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, and claimed over 11,000 in just a few months. Once news of the missionaries' infection hit, the team at Samaritan's Purse worked tirelessly to return Dr. Brantly and Writebol back to the United States for treatment—a seemingly impossible feat.
At one point in the film, Dr. Brantly, who now works as a physician for the JPS Health Network in Fort Worth, says, "Faith is not something that makes you safe"—a statement Graham says should empower every Christian...
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