A Legacy for Young Pastors by Roberts Liardon
Posted on November 3, 2011
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The C-130, nicknamed “Mercy Plane Zoe,” was even used for more than two months to bring relief supplies to the suffering Kurds after Desert Storm.
Roberts Liardon tells us that the mission was a success. Quickly, the Lord multiplied the work. God brought a Christian businessman named Don Tipton into Lester’s path. Tipton owned a large cargo ship, which he named “Spirit” and dedicated to the work of bringing food, clothing, and medicine to those in need under Sumrall’s direction. Where there were friendly ports and places where food could be distributed from the cargo ship, Don was there.
For Lester, this became the greatest step in his ministry: LeSea Global Feed the Hungry. This last branch on Lester Sumrall’s tree of life was to feed the hungry around the world as the Lord supplied the need, mostly through donations collected from churches in the U.S. He worked on this last project with great passion until the end of his life. He was delighted that “God’s people in a place of plenty had become an answer to the prayer of His people in places of need.”
In his later years, Lester became a prolific author, writing many books for the benefit of young pastors. He would generously give of his time to preach anywhere in the world whenever he was asked by another pastor. It didn’t matter if there were thirty people or three thousand people to hear him. He wasn’t there for the audience; he was there for the benefit of that pastor. When he would arrive someplace, he would insist on being picked up by the local pastor; he had no interest in spending time with anybody else.