[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 108 (Thursday, June 11, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2930-S2931]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                       REMEMBERING RAVI ZACHARIAS

 Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, the State of Georgia and truly the 
entire world lost an exceptional beacon of goodness and faith when Ravi 
Zacharias passed away on May 19, 2020. However, our loss is Heaven's 
gain. Ravi was a man of deep faith, love, and service to others. He 
embodied the command of Jesus in Mark 16:15 to ``Go into all the world 
and preach the gospel to all creation.''
  Ravi first came to know the teachings of Jesus Christ when he was 17 
years old, when a nurse read the Word of God to him while he was 
recovering from a suicide attempt. From that day forth, Ravi made it 
his mission to share with others the joy and faith which had rescued 
him from despair.
  In 1971, when he was just 25 years old, Ravi traveled to war-torn 
Vietnam, where he ministered in hospitals, military bases, and prison 
camps. The trip nearly cost him his life. Yet he went on to travel to 
every corner of the world sharing the Gospel.
  In 1983, Reverend Billy Graham personally invited Ravi to speak at 
the inaugural International Conference for Itinerant Evangelists in 
Amsterdam. This helped Ravi develop a new passion for apologetics. Not 
only did he want to spread the Gospel, he wanted to help train others 
how to defend their faith in a rapidly secularizing world. A year 
later, Ravi founded Ravi Zacharias International Ministries to carry 
out this mission.
  Over the years, Ravi continued sharing faith and love around the 
world through speaking engagements, books, and radio appearances, 
reaching untold numbers of people in need.
  Ravi built incredible institutions for sharing the Christian faith. 
He founded the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. He founded 
Wellspring International, a humanitarian group helping women and 
children around the world. In 2017, he founded the Zacharias Institute 
to teach apologetics in Atlanta, Georgia.

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  Ravi spent the last 36 years of his life in Atlanta. He is remembered 
as a man of kindness, joy, and steadfast devotion to his faith. He 
leaves behind his beloved wife Margie and three children: Sarah, Naomi, 
and Nathan, all of whom are carrying on his incredible legacy of faith 
and service.

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