MJS- When you started building this did you have a picture in your mind of what kind of result you wanted, or do you make it up as you go along?
LK- Yes, in 1971 I saw a hot air balloon fly over Burlington Vermont, 32 or 3 years ago. I don’t know what it said on it, but it wasn’t “God Is Love”. Kids were pulling their parents out by the 100’s- “Daddy, what’s that balloon say? Mama, what’s that balloon say?” And I looked up at God 32 years ago more or less and says “God, I want a balloon that says that you love everybody, and it’ll say “Jesus, I’m a sinner please come onto my heart” on it. And that’s what was on the balloon. And it took me 10 years praying for it, 4 years to make it in Nebraska- I made it 10 stories high, 200 feet, and it was too big, and too clumsy, and it never worked, so when it broke down here in 1984, that’s when I told God “I’ll stay here one week and…”
MJS- Wait a minute- when did you start praying for it?
LK- It was in…jeez…it was in 1971. I started praying, really, I prayed the longest years of my life were 10 years- from 1971 to 1980, see?
MJS- That’s almost 35 years…
LK-That was 10 years, from ’71 to ’81…
MJS –‘Till now…
LK- Anyway, I started praying for it for 10 years in the 70’s, and every day I‘d keep praying “God I want a hot air balloon” and nobody would help me. And I broke down in Nebraska in 1980, and a man that didn’t know God, I guess, at the time, he just said “Leonard, all you want to talk about is a hot air balloon. You’re my friend so I’ll help you build one. I remember huggin’ him- “Oh thank you, we’ll build it, we’ll build it!”, ‘cause the churches wouldn’t help me, nobody would help me, I wasn’t capable of doing it. And, uh, I stayed there 4 years and built balloon 10 stories high. I sewed it every day on a sewing machine. I had “God Is Love” on it, and had the Sinner’s Prayer on it- like my mountain. And then it rotted out here. And I said “God, I’ve got 14 years in a hot air balloon, and it’s rotted out on me, so I’ll stay here one week and make a little (unintelligible) . 20 years later I’m here and God Is Love Mountain is up there- now I’m making a duplicate of the hot air balloon from bales of hay, from 1000 bales of hay. The only plan I got is to put “God Is Love” to the world, especially the Sinner’s Prayer. I can’t believe that anything is so simple that all we have to do is get all by our self, and repent to Jesus Christ and say “Jesus, please come in to my heart, Jesus, I’ve sinned, I’m sorry, and then you’re saved. Man! Jesus paid the price, and I’m trying to tell the church leaders that, and man, they’re as stubborn as I am! And I’m stubborn. But when it comes to the Bible, boy, God’s got me collected into the Bible from cover to cover. I don’t argue with the Bible. I’ll tell God “I don’t understand it, and I’m sorry, but you wrote it, and you’re the boss, and I love you. And He must love my attitude on it because I’m 72 years old and I’ve been putting bales up there by myself… and, uh, I do some of the dumbest things there ever was and God just keeps on loving’ me and hugging’ me and cuddling me… such as I had 40 bales fall in on me- three years ago. And I jumped back- this is kind of a joke, but it’s how it really happened, somewhat” “God, I don’t know what I’m doing!” I think God says:”I know that, Leonard”. I get a kick out of saying that because that’s about what happened. Now, I’m looking for three telephone poles, 30 feet high, and put limbs all out by the hundreds, and every bale of hay will have a limb to it, so this whole thing’s going to be domed over as a museum. So it’s getting popular now overseas, I just think it’s going so good.
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