AN UNLIKELY PAIR

Ian McDowell was the principal of the Emmaus Bible College in Sydney some years ago. My husband and I attended during the twenty-three of their stay. Recently I asked Valerie McDowell to share their story.

"I first became aware of a certain young man at during my college days. He wore bright red socks and appeared to be an immature, undisciplined student who enjoyed miscievous pranks. Definitely not my type! 

The following year we both attended the same Maths lectures and he began phoning me. As I'd planned to attend a Christian camp over the break, I invited him. He surprised me when he agreed to take time off his work as an engineering cadet. When I met him at the train station I was appalled. He had a rifle slung over his shoulder and a pistol in his pocket! He was hoping to share his shooting skills there. 

Up to this time Ian had no respect for religion, however he enjoyed all the activities and the talks.  On the last Bible study session he was struck by he contrast between unbelievers and Christians. He said to me, "Your way is better because you always have joy in your heart. I have to keep creating pleasure through drinking, smoking and gambling."

Soon after having the Gospel explained to him, he knelt down and thanked Jesus for dying for his sins. From that moment his former desires left him and although known for his"filthy mouth", he never swore again for the rest of his life. God had truly transformed him.

Our friendship developed with the outcome of our marriage. Every morning and evening we read the Bible together and prayed for God's guidance in our lives together. This practice became the anchor for fifty-three years of our happy, fulfilling marriage."

As Valerie told me, theirs was " a marriage made in heaven" because there was no other way to describe such an "unlikely union".

The PARTING

As the P and O Liner slipped away from the       

Fremantle Wharf on that September day so long

ago, I could feel the pang of loneliness creep up

my spine. The streamer became tighter as the

young nurse on the wharf wrapped her end 

around her hand. I leaned over the deck rail

hanging onto my end as long as I could. Finally

the paper snapped and we were reduced to waving until we could no longer make out each 

other's face. What had I done? What had brought us to this moment of painful separation?

Two years earlier, a Gospel preacher gave the challenge,“Is God sending you to a lost world?” He seemed  to be pointing his finger right at me and I responded, convinced that India was to be the “world” which I would love for my Saviour. No sooner  had I come to that conclusion than a telegram arrived from my mother saying “Dad died last night. Please ring.” How could I go to India and leave my Mother and siblings in a difficult situation? So I finished my course at Emmaus Bible College, and somewhat perplexed, returned to Western Australia.

Only a few months after settling in Perth things changed a great deal in my family’s circumstances and I prayed “Lord I believe You have freed me to respond to your call to India, but when and where?” That night I received a phone call about a new venture (now called GLO Ministries) and a team was being formed to work in Madras, (now Chennai) India, to spread the Good News via literature and visitation. About this time two young Queensland girls had just finished their general nursing training. Deciding to qualify in midwifery they applied and were accepted at the WA King Edward Memorial Hospital. Both were keen Christians and turned up at my home church. We mixed socially and on one occasion with no thought other than to be polite, I suggested coffee while waiting for her friend to come off duty. It was over coffee in the El Calib Cafe in Hay Street, Perth that I fell in love with Daphne.

What a dilemma! I was committed to going to India. Daphne was committed to doing her training. Would I cancel my plans for India, or would Daphne quit her nursing course and come to India with me? We both believed that God was in control of our lives and that He had planned our future for us so we prayed in earnest. We reasoned together that God had led me to missionary service in India before I met Daphne and that God had led her to her present course of action before she met me. So we made the most difficult decision of our lives. I would go to India and she would complete her plans and then we would marry. For six months we prayed and planned and, yes, we had the peace of God about our decision.

On the lighter side, my workmates at the Kodak Company, were convinced that no girl would wait for me while I flitted off in some hair-brain scheme for two years and were prepared to “put money on it” They lost but I never saw the cash! As I think back, I realise that if I had gone to India earlier, as planned, I would never have met my Daphne. So, I learned that my disappointment was God's appointment. After two years and 1500 letters we were married, but the drama of that “near miss” is another story woven into the fabric of God's perfect will. And for 46 years God has remained faithful to us.

* Thanks Ken for sharing your touching story with us. Ken Harding is involved in an itinerant Bible teaching and evangelistic ministry.