Mildred McWhorter
(AD 1930-2018)
died June 17 in Franklin, Georgia at age 87.
A native of Georgia, she came to Texas in 1958 to do mission work in
Port Arthur. She then moved to Houston,
TX in 1963. She led the Baptist Mission Centers
in Houston from 1963-1992. The Baptist
Mission Centers were a ministry of local Baptists as well as the Southern
Baptist Home Mission Board (now North American Mission Board).
At
Centralhatchee Baptist Church, Centralhatchee, GA, Mildred was saved at 13
after learning John 3:16 and realizing the “whosoever” meant her. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees
from Berry College, Rome, GA and studied at the Carver School of missions and
Social Word at Louisville, KY. Turned
down by the Foreign Mission Board (IMB), she began work with the Home Mission
Board.
She
became legendary in her work in lower income areas of inner-city Houston. She loved the people and loved Jesus. In meeting needs of food and clothing, she
always shared the love and salvation found in Jesus Christ. She ministered to drug addicts, prostitutes,
gang members, and regular low-income folks.
Not all appreciated her ministry, she estimated the tires on her car had
been slashed well over 100 times. She
coordinated the work of hundreds of volunteers, often college and seminary
students. David R. Brumbelow had the
privilege of being one of her volunteers (Critters) for two summers while he
was in High School (more about that in a future article).
Miss
McWhorter (Miss Mac) never married and felt she could not have accomplished
what she did with the responsibilities of a husband and children. She did adopt three boys after their mother
died, Carl Guevara, Lloyd Lane, Terry Lane.
She
never lost her love of Georgia. She
would occasionally speak of going to the Holy Land. Some thought she was taking a trip to Israel;
she was speaking of Georgia. Upon
retirement, she returned to the Holy Land, Centralhatchee, Georgia.
My
parents, Joe and Bonnie Brumbelow, knew her well and thought the world of Miss
McWhorter. I remember in the late 1960s
my church provided a meal for the critters at the Baptist Mission Centers. Miss McWhorter told mom and dad (my dad was
the pastor) she always looked forward to a meal from their church because they
always did a first-class job. By the
way, when your church provides such a meal, make sure you do your best cooking
and provide plenty of it; it can be a huge blessing.
Miss
McWhorter had a tremendous influence on the volunteers, as well as thousands in
the communities of the Fletcher and Joy Mission Centers.
For more about
Mildred McWhorter:
Always
a Friend: The Story of Mildred McWhorter, by Jan Turrentine; 1988.
-David R. Brumbelow, Gulf Coast Pastor,
November 14, AD 2018.
Other
Articles in lower right margin.
No comments:
Post a Comment
What do you think?