Lester Holts about how Faith leads him through difficult times

Holt, 66, said: “It is a question with which a person of faith struggles, not just a journalist or newsreader. You see misery in the world, suffering terribly and wonders how it can be honest.

“How can you live through your life of abundance if others suffer such hardship? How can some have so little while others have so much?”

“She went to school while she worked full -time in her government job. I was one of the four children, and the unspoken message was:” You have to make something of yourself. “

He continued: “Church on Sunday? Verz about that. My parents were people people twice on Sunday and Bible study on Wednesday, and they remained faithful.

“My work brought me to places that have been destroyed by war and natural disaster. I have stared in the hollowed -out faces of people who suffer hunger and thirst. I have seen refugees in horrible circumstances.”

At the more difficult moments in his career, the crisis after the earthquake in Haiti struck him very hard.

He said: “Nothing was worse than reporting from Haiti after the catastrophic earthquake of 2010, in which more than 200,000 people died.

“Here was death on a scale that I had never seen before: mass graves, whole neighborhoods equal, survivors who live on the street and desperately go to food and medicines. All this less than 700 miles away from the richest country on the planet.”

The newsreader started to question his role about these tragic events and said, “My God, I thought, I never want to be in a position to exploit people’s suffering.

“Was that what I did? In journalism there is always a different story to be covered.

“The network offered counseling to anyone who needed it. In the past I would always think that I was doing well. A professional. I had treated many terrible events and it was always able to submit it.

“This time I had to talk to a professional. Of course I prayed, but I had to know that our work helped instead of hindering.”

He even went and spoke with the counselor for help with his moral dilemma.

“The counselor I met early, what would have happened if you hadn’t gone to Haiti? What if nobody had covered that story? What if the destruction had never appeared and people knew nothing about it?”

“I thought back to all the donations that people made and were still doing. All those huge transport aircraft that landed at the airport, even when we were still there and delivered medicines, food, water, clothing.

“What if nobody had reported the story? Nobody would know about it.”

At that time, Holt knew he made the right choice and his conscience was at ease.

“This was my calling; this was what I expected to do. To shine a light in dark places. To give a voice to the voting. To make the invisible visible. That lights our condition as people.”

He added: “I certainly have the family and work ethic.

“As far as my faith is concerned, it is not something that I share in the air, although I hope it penetrates what I do. When I worked on the ‘Weekend Today’ show a few years ago, I said in the air that I had to press after leaving the studio to worship on time.

“I don’t know what viewers thought, but Mama quickly said,” Lester, you just showed the world that you are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. “

Holt ensures that he ends his broadcasts with a sincere message: “Take good care of yourself – and each other.”