Millard and Linda Fuller, Habitat for Humanity “Standing before a throng of television cameras and onlookers, Colin and Mercedes Baynes trembled with joy as they finally took possession of their new home in Harlem, New York in September 2000. This was no ordinary house. It marked the 100,000th home built by the international nonprofit organization, Habitat for Humanity. It was also a major milestone in the lives of Millard and Linda Fuller, who gave up a fortune 25 years ago in order to save their marriage and build a dream. Their dream had grown into the 15th largest homebuilder and the 12th largest charitable organization in the United States. The Bayneses were handed the keys to their special new home that blessed day in Harlem. Raised from humble beginnings in Alabama, Millard Fuller was determined to become a self-made man. While still in school, he and a college buddy created a direct mail-order and publishing business. Their enterprise prospered, but Fuller’s workaholic habits took a toll on his health and integrity, and eventually threatened his young marriage to Linda. “I found myself a millionaire before I was 30 years old, but it had negative consequences on my marriage. In 1965, Linda left me,” Millard confesses. “She had a Lincoln and a big house, a maid, a cabin on a lake with two speedboats, and 2,000 acres of land with horses and cattle and the whole nine yards—but no husband because I worked all the time.” Millard pursued her. In a New York taxi, the Fullers decided to try to save their marriage and asked God to guide them. And they were guided—all the way to a small, rural, Christian community near Americus, Georgia called Koinonia Farm (Koinonia comes from the Greek word for “community”). Intending to visit for two hours, they stayed for a month after meeting with a captivating man of faith, Clarence Jordan. It was there the Fullers realized their lives had gotten off track, and they both needed to come back to their Christian roots. ..” |
