Surprises in the Snow

 Last week I talked about three great men who impacted our lives for the good: Steve Metcalf, Eric Liddell and David Hayman. This morning, just for a break, I’d like to tell you, as that late great news commentator Paul Harvey used to say, ‘The Rest of the Story’ about Steve. Tony and I had heard this story a number of times back when we knew and often worked together with the Metcalfs, but we still shake our heads in wonder.

After being released from the POW camp in China and being reunited briefly with his family, Steve went to Japan in 1952 to be a missionary.  This was to the people he had hated so much from his wartime internment camp, but thanks to his friend and fellow prisoner Eric Liddell, had learned how to forgive.  He was single, and so attacked Japanese language school with a fervor given to those who were not encumbered with family. 

I look back on my own language school experience, and it still makes me tired!  We had a family, and we found that learning what one 16th century Jesuit missionary called “the devil’s language” was a real strain.  We attended a Catholic language institute, which by Tokyo standards, was an ‘easy commute’ of only 90 minutes each way, and I remember leaving school every day, envying the priests and nuns who could go home to a prepared meal and a quiet contemplative evening.  Of course, the evening for them continued in Japanese, since it was the only common language for these folks who had come from all over the world, and it was no surprise to discover that they learned their lessons much faster than I did.

But back to Steve, he was single, as I said, and with all the distractions of language and culture learning, wasn’t all that interested in the opposite sex; that is, until he met Evelyn.  She was an Irish redhead who was 100% dedicated to her ministry.  She was a couple of years behind Steve in school, and for the most part wouldn’t give him the time of day in any language.  Steve tried writing her a couple of times, but was rewarded with a reply absolutely devoid of compassion saying firmly that he was barking up the wrong tree.

As is often the case with ‘forbidden’ things, the more he thought about her, the more he felt that she was the one.  But now he was scared. So scared that one day, when traveling in the North of Japan with two other missionaries, he chose to suffer rather than be brave. It began to snow, as it only can in Northern Japan, and finally the train was overwhelmed and stopped.  This was not uncommon, but in this case especially awkward, since the only refuge in this particular little village was the home that served as mission headquarters ……… and where Evelyn herself lived. It had been 4 months since she told him to take a hike and he hadn’t seen or heard from her since. 

When they arrived at headquarters, Steve, in an act of self-preservation, chose to sit out on the front porch in the blizzard, rather than risk being discovered and accused of making the weather get bad enough to stop the train. As he sat shivering, the door opened with a bang, and out popped Evelyn, obviously intent on some errand as she pulled her collar around her ears. Then she whirled around to see him and stopped dead in her tracks with what can only be described as a look of horror. While Steve was looking for a place to duck for cover, she said in a loud, accusatory voice, “We have to talk!”  

Meekly, he followed her into a warm dry room, and as he prepared himself for another final rebuttal, she said, “I guess I need to have a word with you.”  She went on to explain, even though Steve already knew the words to this story, but listened patiently while she reminded him that she was committed to God and needed to concentrate, etc. And then she continued, “Today, as I was praying, I had a picture of your face and, no matter what, I couldn’t get you out of my mind.  In the end, I told God that if He wanted me to marry you, I would need a sign ……. He would have to bring you here to this house …. this very morning!”  And, the rest is history.

Isn’t it amazing when sometimes God just does things?  Steve and Evelyn married soon after that encounter. As a couple, they went on to accomplish a world of great things for God amongst the Japanese. They had five children and were happily married for 57 years before he went to be with the Lord in 2014.  

God has blessed us with great friends, with great stories to inspire us, and at every turn in the road reminding us that a life given to Him is the greatest, most productive and rewarding life we will ever know. In our case, it didn’t take a snowstorm to get Tony & Marsha, Inc going, but we can add our “amen” along with folks like Steve and Evelyn, who never underestimate the power of prayer.

I believe Steve mentioned on one occasion that his favorite Bible verse was James 5:16, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

Gotta work on that. Join me, will you?

Marsha