Waking the Lion

Within each of us is the heart of a lion. Each of us can make a difference.  


One man, a hunchback working for the YMCA, saved 1,250,000 people from death. Others who could have helped to save humanity instead were self-dealing. Most people of the world would cower and run. They are called refugees. Americans are different. This American from the Y risked his own and his son’s life to save people he did not know and who were not his countrymen. For his service, he became the highest decorated person in Greek history.


This, incidentally, is the story of why Greeks hate Turks. Neither knows the truth of this tragedy, or how the Greeks with their superior negotiating skills could have, and still can, bond with the Turks as brothers. Both would benefit enormously. The Greeks and Greece need help, and the Turks could be their salvation.


The principal character, the Y man Asa K. Jennings, was also a Methodist minister who lived by his principles. He so impressed the leader of the Muslim Turks, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, that the Gazi asked the Christian to set up programs that were based on Christian principles all around Turkey while the Gazi was closing the mosques and banishing the mullahs. Turkey changed from an imperial power to a nation that is at peace at home and abroad. Their growth has been impressive while the Greeks are mired in debt and political fighting.


When elected officials will not bring peace and positive change, then it is up to the citizen, that’s you, to take the steps necessary to force those changes that benefit humanity. When you read this book, you will see how this hunchback organized people to make a difference for so many helpless people. This book was prepared from thousands of documents left by Asa K. Jennings and his son.


There is a higher calling than the daily grind, and to find it, look within your own heart.


Roger L. Jennings


On the Cover of the Book


This lion protecting the lamb was a Christmas card sent to family and friends by my parents Asa W. and Irene M. Jennings