Sully and Mully

Last week I took a few of my kids to see the movie 'Mully' (Thanks Bill Gilmore for the tip).  One of my older kids asked if it was the story of the guy who landed his plane in the river in New York.  No, I said - that was Sully.

I'm guessing that most of us have heard of Sully, the airline pilot who was at the helm when his plane had mechanical problems and made the decision to ditch in the Hudson River.  'Sully' is Chelsey Sullenberger, and for his quick thinking he was lauded as a hero, accounting for the safety of 155 lives that day.  He has since become a national figure, a symbol of American ingenuity and pride - someone that many people look to as a role model.  Sully has gained many honors, written 2 books, had a major motion picture made telling his story starring Tom Hanks, and was ranked second in Time's "Top 100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons of 2009."  There are 80 references on Sully's Wikipedia page.

I would also guess that most of us have never heard of Mully, an entrepreneur who is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mully Children’s Family (MCF). 'Mully' is Charles Mulli, and it just so happens that he is lauded as a hero in his native Kenya.  By some estimates he has saved the lives of 12,000 young children in Kenya, orphans he picks up in the streets and brings to his home, raising them as his own.  Mully has also won many honors for his philanthropy,  has written 2 books, and had a film produced about his story.   When I search Time.com for 'Mully', there are no results.  There are 7 references on Mully's Wiki.

Sully and Mully...what are we to think of these two men? 

I don't know anything about Sully's upbringing, but I would venture to guess that he had a typical American experience.  Stable family, good education, no worries about the necessities of life.  Again I am assuming he chased the American Dream - a good job, a loving wife, kids, house, car... Sully was trained as an airline pilot, and from all accounts was a damn good one.   When the time came for him to put an important part of his training into action, he performed flawlessly, his decision making spot on.

Mully grew up in a poor village in Kenya.  His family abandoned him when he was about 10.  He wandered around for years, begging to survive.  A kindhearted woman took him in, and gave him a job.  Because of his hard work and entrepreneur attitude he soon built a series of businesses, and in time became a millionaire.  He married and had 8 kids.  God tugged on his heart, and he gave it all up to serve the orphaned boys and girls in ravaged Kenya.  He gave and gave of himself and his goods until there was nothing left, and then gave more.  His wife and family thought he was crazy at first, but as time went on and the miracles started happening, they all came round.  He's been serving God through serving the orphans ever since.

I hope you understand I do not intend to disparage Sully in any way, for what he did was an act of heroism, and I know very little else about him - other than the clear fact that the media and our culture wants me to look to him as someone to emulate.

In my humble opinion, Mully is more like the person I want to be.  He overcame lack, and then he overcame abundance.  In the end he chose to follow God, at all costs.  He humbly and tirelessly serves his God, and touches the hearts of countless others with his faith and willingness to know and love those who have no one else to know and love them.

I would venture to guess that in 50 to 100 years, when both men are dead, not many will still know who Sully was, while there will be a whole chorus of men and women who will be telling their children about Mully and the impact he had in their lives.