Trip opens pastor’s eyes to India

December 7, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal staff writer

For most pastors, spreading the word of God as far as possible is an important facet of what they do.
One Greenwood pastor recently traveled halfway around the world to explore that facet.
Tony Foster, pastor of Restoration Worship Center in Greenwood, traveled in November to India, where for two weeks he performed mission work. Foster is a member of Destiny World Outreach, an organization that specializes in mission work abroad.
Foster, who was in Dimapur, India, from Nov. 7-15, had quite a bit of traveling to do just to get to his destination.
“It was a 21-hour flight,” Foster said, smiling as he reminisced about his journey. “We had to catch five different planes to get over there. It was my first trip overseas, so it was a bit of an eye-opener, to say the least.”
Foster admitted to a bit of culture shock when he arrived in Calcutta, where he and the two other pastors he was traveling with stayed for one night before traveling on to Dimapur.
“In this country, there is often talk of African-Americans being a minority,” Foster said. “I can truly say I felt like a minority when I first arrived there. Everbody looked the same at first. Many of them thought I was actually from Africa. But I can say that the people there were very, very friendly, from beginning to end.”
Foster and his two companions stayed in a hotel in Dimapur, and the pastor said they felt fortunate to have a luxury not many had in Dimapur: a toilet.
Foster said many hotels and homes simply had a hole in the floor or ground, covered by decorative porcelain, to use as a restroom facility.
“They didn’t have toilet paper there,” Foster said. “You made sure you shook their right hand. You made sure of that.” The pastor said the differences between life in the U.S. and India were vast. Whether it was bamboo housing, the lack of electricity at certain times of the day or cows roaming in the streets, Foster said he was introduced to a completely different way of life.
Foster said the majority of the people he met in India are part of the Hindu religion. He said Christianity, while seeing phenomenal growth in the region, is still behind several religions there in terms of numbers.
However, Foster’s group was able to train 500 leaders in Dimapur in the time they were there. They instructed the leaders on how to better communicate Christian principles and in appropriate ways to spread the Gospel.
After morning-time leadership sessions, Foster said his group would conduct worship at night.
“Ten thousand people showed up every night,” Foster said. “We were on national television there. It was amazing.”
Foster’s group received numerous gifts and keepsakes from citizens of Dimapur, including hand-woven blankets and bags of vibrant color. One of the more unique gifts they received was a ceremonial tribal sword.
“Many of the ancestors of the people in Dimapur were headhunters in the 1600s,” Foster said. “So they presented us with these swords. Interesting, to say the least.”
Foster said he was pleased with what his group was able to accomplish while in Dimapur.
“The last night I preached, 500 people came forward and received Christ,” Foster said. “The Lord blessed us throughout the trip. I’m very much looking forward to heading to Nepal next year, and I hope we will have even greater results.”

Obituaries

Rev. Carroll Andrews

CONWAY — The Rev. Carroll Willis Andrews, 74, of 240 Amber Lane, husband of Lucille McClain Fullwood Andrews, died Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006, at his home.
Services will be announced by Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Greenwood.

Mozelle Chapman Bobo

ABBEVILLE — Mozelle Chapman Bobo, 65, of 309 Cambridge St., wife of Roy Lee Bobo, died Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006, at the home of a daughter.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Brown and Walker Funeral Home.

John Douglas Dowling

BEAUFORT — John Douglas Dowling, 55, Sherwood Plantation, Hardeeville, SC, and Beaufort, SC, died Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2006 at his residence, of liver cancer.
Born July 11, 1951, he was a son of Joab Mauldin Dowling, Sr. and Katharine Elizabeth Douglas Dowling. He attended Beaufort Academy, Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida and graduated from Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC, with a BA in History and Political Science. He was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity and served as Treasurer while at PC. John was Vice President of SC Federal Savings and Loan Association in Columbia, SC, and Hilton Head, SC, and in 1975, was the youngest VP of this size bank in the United States. He then attended the Art Institute in Atlanta, and after receiving his Photography degree, stayed on as Admissions Counselor for several years. For the past 20 years he had managed the family pine tree farm in Jasper County.
He was a volunteer with Jasper County Mental Health Association and Board of Directors of the Mental Health Association of Beaufort-Jasper Counties. He received a recognition award for his volunteer work in mental health education, housing and youth services at the local level and was National Volunteer of the Year for the SC Mental Health Association. He was Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of The Access Network, Inc. He received the Red Ribbon Award for volunteer work with families dealing with HIV and Aids and a volunteer for local children’s Self-Esteem Program, Jasper County.
A brother Joab Mauldin Dowling, Jr. of Beaufort predeceased him.
Survivors include three sisters, Jane Dowling Fender of Beaufort, Lou Dowling Davis of Asheville, NC, May Dowling Peach of Columbia; next of kin, Woody Fender of Asheville, NC, Addison Fender of Beaufort, Susie Dowling Herlong of Sumter, SC, Joab Dowling, III of Beaufort; Jimmy Dowling of Aiken, SC, Douglas Peach of Boone, NC, Daniel Peach of Columbia.
In lieu of flowers, memorials: ACCESS Network, 5710 N. Okatie Highway, Suite B, Ridgeland, SC 29936; Hospice of the Low Country, PO Box 3827, Bluffton, SC 29910; Connie Maxwell Children’s Home, PO Box 1178, Greenwood, SC 29648.
The family will receive friends on Friday, Dec. 8, 2006 from 6-8 p.m. at Anderson Funeral Home.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006 at 10 a.m. in The Baptist Church of Beaufort, with burial in the churchyard.
Anderson Funeral Home is serving the family.

Willie Mae Edwards

Willie Mae Edwards, widow of Emmett Edwards, died Dec. 3, 2006 at Hospice Care of the Piedmont. Born in Greenwood, she was the daughter of the late Henry and Mary Harris. She was the last survivor of her immediate family. She is survived by nieces and nephews. Services will be held 2 p.m. Dec. 9, 2006 in the chapel of Parks Funeral Home, with interment in Marshall Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery. Visitation is at the home, 632 Chipley Ave. Viewing is after 1 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Parks Funeral Home in charge of arrangements and service.

Mary Elizabeth Walker Freeman

McCORMICK — Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Walker Freeman, widow of Albert Freeman, died at Self Regional Medical Center on Dec. 3, 2006. Born in McCormick, SC, May 1, 1929, she was a daughter of the late Josephus and Estelle Dixon Walker. She was a member of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church and was a homemaker. Survivors include three daughters, Patricia (Paul) Leverette, Brenda Middeton-Collins and Beverly Freeman, all of McCormick; three sons, Curtis (Cornelia) Freeman of McCormick, Stevie (Patricia) Freeman of Greenwood, SC, and Lt. Mario (Donette) Freeman of Suffolk, VA; twenty-seven grandchildren; thirty-six great-grandchildren; two sisters, Annie Sue Tucker and Nellie Wray-Harmon of Columbia, SC.
Preceding her in death were a son and daughter Richard Freeman and Effie F. Morgan, a sister Seafie Sibert and two brothers Nathaniel Walker and James Walker. Funeral services will be Friday, Dec. 8, 2006, 1 p.m. at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church with the Rev. Roderick Cummings officiating. Assisting are Revs. Eddie Freeman and Derrick Scott. Burial is in the church cemetery.
The family is at the home of Paul and Patricia Leverette, 600 Brown St. The body is at Walker Funeral Home and will be placed in the church at noon Friday.

Ronnie Greenway

ABBEVILLE — Ronnie David Greenway, 59, resident of 1303 Hwy. 284, husband of Joyce Greenway, died Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2006 at Hospice of the Upstate in Anderson, SC.
Born in Hartwell, GA, he was the son of the late George Tommy and Wilma Evelyn Worley Greenway.
He was employed with Owens-Corning Fiberglass of Anderson, SC.
Survivors are: his wife, Joyce Greenway of the home; 3 daughters, Theresa Phillips of Abbeville, SC, Rebecca Greenway of Elgin, SC, and Jennifer Greenway of Belton, SC; 1 sister, Karen Brooks of Iva, SC; 1 brother, Tommy Ray Greenway of Chesnee, SC; 2 grandchildren, A’lyssa Phillips and Keelah Greenway Smith.
He was preceded in death by a sister Deborah Davis.
Services will be conducted Friday, Dec. 8, 2006 at 6:30 p.m. from the Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home Chapel.
The family is at the home, 1303 Hwy. 284, Abbeville, SC.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Upstate, 1835 Rogers Road, Anderson, SC 29621 or to PSP Foundation, Executive Plaza III, 11350 McCormick Road, Suite 906, Hunt Valley, Maryland 21031.
Online condolences may be made to the Greenway family by visiting www.chandlerjacksonfh.com.
The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home, Abbeville, SC, is in charge of arrangements.

Willie Morgan

Willie Morgan, 87, died Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006, at Hospice Care of the Piedmont.
Services will be announced by Parks Funeral Home.

Slammin’

Greenwood drops Emerald in first rivalry match of year

December 7, 2006

By RENALDO STOVER
Index-Journal sports writer

The Greenwood Eagles (1-0) traveled into Viking country on Wednesday night and faced the Emerald Vikings (2-1).
It was the first wrestling showdown of the season between the rivals and the Eagles came away victorious 45-36 thanks to quite a few gutsy performances.
“We’ve got a bunch of new guys in the lineup that I thought wrestled real well tonight,” said Eagles coach Greg Brewer.
“Our bigger guys have only been out for two days, so they’re not in very good condition right now so it’s a good testament to them because they came out and wrestled real hard tonight.”
Andy Greer scored the quickest takedown of the night for the Eagles as he finished off the Vikings’ William Wingo in 22 seconds in the 112-pound class.
“I thought Andy wrestled real well,” Brewer said. “That was his first-ever match.”
The Vikings’ Luke Wingo finished off Cody Pippin in 17 seconds for the fastest pin overall.
Rakimme Long got things started for the Eagles in his 135-pound match-up against Maverick Harris.
Harris took an early lead before Long began to work his way back into the match, which culminated in a pin in a time of 5:30.
A.J. Hinen had his hands full from the very beginning of his match against the Vikings’ Justin Williams in the 140-pound class.
Williams used his quickness and strength to gain an advantage in positioning and Hinen was unable to escape his grasp.
Although Hinen missed out on an opportunity to pick up points for the Eagles in his match, Brewers’ squad was able to notch victories in seven of the 12 matches that took place to pick up the win.
“Top to bottom, I think our guys wrestled well,” Brewer said. “We’ve got a long way to go and we have some lofty goals.”
Six of those matches ended with pins, while Matt Carroll won by decision in a hard-fought battle against the Vikings’ Dusty Boggs.
Carroll had the edge early in the match, but Boggs found a way to work back into position to avoid trouble. Although he missed an opportunity to get the pin, the points were in Carroll’s favor by the end of the match.
The Eagles’ Michael Hellman and the Vikings’ Zane Newton won by forfeit in the 119-pound and 145-pound classes, respectively.
Vikings coach Andy Wright said he was pleased by the efforts of his wrestlers but expects continued improvement.
“We’ve got some pretty strong wrestlers in some good weight classes. We just need a little more time in practice and we’ll get them straightened out,” Wright said. “That’s what you have to do in wrestling. You can’t give up. You’ve got to keep fighting. If you get tired first you’re not going to win the match.”

Opinion

Pearl Harbor: The place where our world changed

December 7, 2006

Sixty-five years ago today - Sunday, December 7, 1941 - the people of the United States awakened from a peaceful slumber and wiped the sleep from their eyes. They arose to face another day in a troubled world. Coming on the tail end of the Great Depression, each day could be an adventure ..... with or without hope for better times to come. To say the least, times were tough in South Carolina and every other place you turned.
Still, it was the Sabbath, a quiet time for worship and family, a pastime typically American. Little did any of us know that this day would be one that would indeed “... live in infamy.” In a faraway place many of us had never heard of, our world would be changed forever.

EARLY ON THAT DECEMBER morning, the Japanese Empire launched a surprise attack on our naval fleet anchored in the Hawaiian port of Pearl Harbor. It was a crippling blow, and as disastrous as it was, it was the catalyst that galvanized the American people and fortified them for the conflict to come.
For every American that day, and for almost four long years to come, it was, as time has shown us, the end of the age of innocence, not just for the people of this nation, but for all people in every corner of the earth.
In spite of the misery and horrors that war brings, America came together as one, more than any other time in history, including, perhaps, our own war to achieve independence.
We can thank today all those who paid a terrible price so that freedom would not perish from these shores. Many died and many others were wounded.

ON THE HOME FRONT ALL Americans played vital roles in supporting our forces in every way possible.
They gave patriotism a new meaning not just in name, but in living it. All earned our eternal appreciation for securing history’s greatest experiment in freedom.
So, then, on this day, remember Pearl Harbor and everything it symbolizes. Then give serious thought to how we compare to 1941 Americans in 2006. And thank God that all was not and has not been lost, and that the great experiment in freedom continues. Some may ask how long. There is an answer ..... a good answer: They obviously don’t know, or else they underestimate the spirit of freedom ..... and spell that Americans.