Ruth Graham Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Ministry== {{multiple image | align = right | direction = horizontal | header = | image1 = Ruth and Billy Graham Congressional Gold Medal.jpg | width1 = 160 | image2 = Ruth and Billy Graham Congressional Gold Medal (reverse).jpg | width2 = 160 | footer = 1996 Congressional Gold Medal coin shows Ruth and Billy Graham in profile (obverse); the Ruth and Billy Graham Children's Health Center in Asheville, North Carolina (reverse). }} In [[1959 in literature|1959]], Graham published her first book, ''Our Christmas Story'', an illustrated volume for children. She went on to write or co-write 13 other books, many of them works of poetry she wrote as an emotional release while her husband was so often on the road through the years.<ref name="latimes"/> Graham was a vital part of Billy Graham's evangelistic career, and he turned to her for advice and input about many ministry decisions. One of the early uses of media by the BGEA was the "Hour of Decision" radio program begun in 1950, which she named. After her upbringing in China and high school experience in Korea, she continued to have compassion for the people of Asia. She encouraged her husband to visit and later accompanied him during his historic visits to the [[People's Republic of China]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2007}} Graham's significant role in her husband's ministry was recognized in 1996, when they were jointly awarded the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] in a special ceremony in the [[U.S. Capitol Rotunda]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="wash"/> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page