BILLY RIDDLE
I am a sinner, a hypocrite, an imperfect follower of the perfect Jesus Christ; I am a student, a football player, a preacher’s son, a guy with a vision; I am a dreamer of the Kingdom come, and I try my best to love God and all His creation.
I grew up in Cooleemee North Carolina. That matters a great deal to me.
I am currently a senior English major at Appalachian State University. I played four years of football for the Mountaineers, and was a part of two (’05, ’06) of the three FCS National Championships.
Soon after the ‘06 National Championship my blind desire for making this world a better place and divine opportunity finally met. That summer I skipped out on the usual football workouts and boarded a plane for the African wild. I barely knew where Sudan was on the map, and other than what I read on Wikipedia I knew nothing of Sudan or the Sudanese people. But in May 2007 I plunged myself right into the middle of a country recovering from a civil war that had given humanity a glimpse of Hell. My rookie year of mission work began in a world of malaria death tolls, wartime orphans, boy soldiers, and girl sex slaves…and suddenly…just by landing in their country with white skin and an American passport, I was their hope; the only hope of the country I felt at times. The weight of their suffering was heavy for this American boy. Eventually I broke. My customs faded, my ideas shattered, my world view crumbled, and God was no longer just the God I had bound between the leather cover of my Billy Graham Training Edition Bible. Humanity was sick, and I could not heal it with any of the medicines I had brought from home. Broken and hopeless, a little angel changed my life and revealed a purpose of divine origin. I know her as***(The Little Toothless Girl)*** After meeting this child my life drastically changed course.
In 2007 I started Why The Woods to help answer the cry of the village of Wadupe in Southern Sudan. That vision has grown to incorporate not only Wadupe, but anywhere there is darkness, injustice, poverty, and a need for Love. That pretty much means everywhere. So where I go, there I Love, there I serve, there I give…Well… I try.
People ask me what I want to do when I graduate. I want to love people. I want to rely on God for my daily bread. I want to make this world a better place. What will I do with an English degree? I don’t know that yet. I know this is very naïve and idealistic thinking; it’s kind of childlike—like believing you can walk on water. “What about a job, what about bills, what about a family?” First, I must seek the Kingdom of God, then “all of these things will be added unto [me].” I am sure I will fail, and people will say “I told you so.” But, on this rock I stand: God is my justification; God is my righteousness; and even when I do fall, I fall in Him. For now, I focus on who I am, what I believe, and how I do what I do. WhytheWoods is my way of pursuing this lifestyle. You are welcome to join me.
I love you and want to meet you. Email me and let’s get some coffee sometime. billyriddlejr@gmail.com or billy@whythewoods.com
