Author: adminsunrise

In Part One, we met Jim and Martha Buchanan and heard of their love story for each other and the love they shared (and continue to share) with their community and even the world. In part two, that love story now shifts to the Buchanan’s love for God.

“When we first got married, we always said God was first,” stated Martha. “The first thing was always the tithe.” When they were attending Walnut Street Baptist Church in Louisville, and Dr. Wayne Dehoney was pastor, the church had a very active children’s bus ministry. A part of the Buchanan’s tithe went toward this ministry. “We saw what the needs were for these children, and my heart just went out to them,” said Martha.

A few months ago, two of these former bus-ministry children (now adult men) came to visit the Buchanans. Both are now married, and doing incredibly well. One of the men asked the Buchanans if they would attend his wife and his 40th wedding anniversary celebration. Of course, they accepted. When they arrived at the church, the man gave Martha a corsage and said, “You’re going to be my surrogate mother tonight because you were always my second mother when I was a teenager.”

One Bible verse that always stuck with the Buchanans, particularly Martha, is Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not onto your own understanding.” One example of the Buchanans living this verse out occurred when Jim was in his early 40s, and he and his older daughter decided to go on a mission trip to Haiti. It was actually a combination of a mission trip and a medical mission. His daughter was a nurse, and Jim was a pharmacist. She was separated from her dad during the trip and placed in a village that had a clinic. Jim was paired with another nurse, and the two of them went up into the mountains with two others. Jim and his missions partner were the only medical people at this site.

The most important part of this trip actually occurred before Jim and his daughter even stepped on the plane. A wholesale warehouse in Louisville gave the mission team lots of medicine to take with them. “One of the things they gave us was a pound of Silvadene ointment. It’s for burns,” said Jim. “I don’t know that I would ever in a month of Sundays use it,” Jim stated. But in spite of Jim questioning taking the ointment, the nurse that would be Jim’s partner during the trip suggested that she fit it into her luggage, and she did. It didn’t take long before Jim would discover the importance of taking this particular medicine.

“The very first morning that we opened the clinic, they brought a young lady about 12 years old and, we don’t know how it happened, but she had fallen into a cauldron of boiling water. She had blisters all over her hands and arms,” shared Jim. “I went into my cache of medicine and got out the Silvadene.” Jim lathered the crème on the girl’s wounds. He told the girl through his interpreter that he needed to see her every morning for the rest of the time that he was there. At the end of about eight days, all the blisters were gone. Pushing through tears, Jim said, “If that’s not providential guidance, I don’t know what it would be.”

Jim and Martha Buchanan always chose to follow God, even when at first, they may not have wanted to – like the time they purchased one of their favorite houses. “We had bought my dream home,” said Martha. “I was never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever leaving my dream home! And then God called them both to St. Louis. Martha knew what she had to do: “Let’s sell the house.”

But that wasn’t the end of the house story. “We had said that whatever God gives us on this, we will tithe it,” said Martha. They were true to their word. From their tithe on the house, they paid for the furnishing of a mission house for a church in St. Louis. The rest of the tithe was given to mission work in Haiti.

To this day, the Buchanans continue to give to others, including Sunrise. As mentioned in Part One, they make regular trips to Sunrise’s Ministry Support Center in Mt. Washington, dropping off a vanload of needed supplies with each visit. Eventually, the boys who live next door at Sunrise’s Spring Meadows Center got word of what Jim and Martha were doing. So, the boys sent Jim thank you letters. Martha and Jim knew what they needed to do next: visit the boys in person.

When the Buchanans did make that visit to Spring Meadows Center, the boys were waiting for them. A cake was ordered in honor of the Buchanans, and they were given a tour by one of the young men living there. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed cake, and Jim took time to share some stories with the boys and answer questions. Martha also enjoyed talking with the boys and getting some suggestions on specific donations she would give in the future!

The Buchanans are grateful for the journey they have traveled so far. “It has been such a wonderful walk with God as our guide, and He has been so good to us,” said Martha. “He’s blessed us beyond anything we would have ever thought of.” Jim agrees. “The things that have happened in our lives that I am absolutely sure in my mind, that if it hasn’t been the Lord’s intervention to my own resources, I could never ever have done what I have been able to accomplish,” Jim said. “We have many, many things with providential guidance that came our way, and I’ve said many, many times that if I had to live my 85 years over again, I don’t remember doing anything different coming along.”

We wouldn’t suggest you change a thing, either, Jim. And on behalf of Sunrise, thank you both for your faithfulness to God, to those people He has placed before you on your path, and to the children and families of Sunrise. You have reached, and are continuing to reach, generations.

The story of Jim and Martha Buchanan is a love story. Their love for each other is genuine, unchanging, and strong. But that’s only a part of their story.  The other part is, well, another kind of love story. It’s about loving others: their community, their nation, and even the world. And yes, Sunrise has definitely benefited from their love and generosity.

The best way to understand both love stories is to first learn a little bit about who Jim and Martha are and how their journey together began. Here is an introduction:

Jim was born in 1936 in the small town of Artemus in Knox County. Jim was raised by two loving parents. “I guess I grew up about as poor as anything but did not know it because Mother and Dad lived on a farm, and they raised everything that we had,” Jim said. “They were both school teachers, and they taught in a mining camp.” Jim’s mother would use pot belly stoves in the schools to prepare meals for students between classes. Jim’s father was also a bivocational pastor and would eventually serve as assistant superintendent of the county schools for many years.

His parents’ love for God and for others certainly influenced Jim. At age 12, he had his first job working with the county missionary in Knox County teaching Bible School. Later on, in high school, Jim helped begin a Christian youth organization of all the youth in the county.

After graduating high school, Jim enrolled at Union College, a Methodist college in Barbourville. From there, he went on to pharmacy school at the University of Kentucky, enrolling a year ahead of schedule. While taking pharmacy classes in Louisville, it didn’t take Jim long to get connected to a church, settling in at Walnut Street Baptist. He was quickly selected as the president of the church’s Baptist Young Training Union, where they soon decided to have a hayride. That’s where Martha enters the story.

Like Jim, Martha was a member of Walnut Street Baptist. She explained that the church had a horseshoe balcony where students would fill the seats every Sunday morning. There was a section of high school students, Southern Baptist Seminary students, U of L engineering students, just to name a few, and of course, pharmacy students. From the floor level, Martha spotted Jim sitting with his fellow students in the balcony. She turned to one of her friends and said, “Get me a date with that young guy!”

Martha’s friend introduced Jim to Martha; but before he could go on a date with her, he needed to meet her parents. So, one Wednesday night after church, Jim drove the winding roads to Martha’s house, visited with her parents, and invited Martha to the hayride. She said yes.

Three short years later she said yes again, and the two were married on December 20, 1958. “It’s unusual, but she is the only girl in my life, that I ever dated,” Jim said. “I was his first kiss!” Martha added. “But here’s the fun part, I didn’t find out about that until last year. He never told me.”

There were probably not many secrets they would keep from each other over the years. Instead they eagerly and lovingly walked life’s path hand in hand, having three daughters and even traveling the world together, visiting every U.S. state and all seven continents. While a pharmacist, Jim joined the army reserve, serving just two months shy of 42 years of military experience. He spent eight years in the Pentagon, working for three different Surgeon Generals. He also spent many years serving as a deacon at Walnut Street. Martha worked as a travel agent and always was there to support and encourage her husband.

But as mentioned earlier, their love was not limited to each other or even to their family. They have taken every opportunity to share their love with others. Over the years, they cared for children in the bus ministry at their church and supported mission trips to Haiti and Brazil. Jim and one of his daughters actually traveled together on these mission trips. And then there was the time that they met one of our Sunrise boys . . . .

About 15 years ago, a deacon at Walnut Street Baptist heard about Sunrise and invited some of the Sunrise boys to their Deacon’s Christmas Banquet. One of the boys sat at Jim and Martha’s table.  “He was probably 16 years of age,” said Martha. “He was a handsome young man. Very nice mannered. His mother was a single parent.” Martha and Jim learned from the young man that he had a girlfriend, she was pregnant, and he was wanting to marry this young lady, help raise their child, and join the military. “Mother was trying to do the right thing; the child was trying to do the right thing,” stated Martha. “And you just want to help somebody like that when they’re trying to do what’s right.” Jim added: “It really hit me that this was an organization that I needed to do something for.” And he has.

For many years, Jim and Martha have contributed to community missions, splitting donations to Sunrise and Walnut Street Baptist. “Every day that I’m home I’m collecting either from an office supply, or a school supply, or a drug store,” Jim said. “Right now, I have more than a van load if I put Sunrise and Walnut Street together. I don’t think I can get it all in my van right now!” Jim and Martha, who now live in Lexington, deliver these items personally to Walnut Street and Sunrise about once a month.

Jim explained why he and Martha do what they do: “Those attributes that were given to me, I can’t pay anybody back, so I have to pass it on. That’s how Martha and I have dedicated and determined that’s the way we will live our lives for the rest of time.” Martha added: “That’s maybe the reason we’re here so long!”

(To be continued . . . .)

Written by David Lyninger, Sunrise Director of Communications