Many of the stories I write about are not so much to give credit to the individuals that might be in the story, although, credit is due, or to write about my bravery or hardship. It is to show you through these stories how God works in individual lives to move them along the direction where we can accomplish His purposes. I don’t always know why or how I was a part of any given situation; I only know I tried to be obedient to all I understood from the Lord through my Bible readings and prayer time and seeking to know His will.
By late summer of 1986, my husband, my daughter and I were still living in an army surplus tent as we were developing the Higher Ground Retreat and Conference Center. Part of the time in the tent, we did have an electric pole set by the first building site and were using extension cords to be able to use our refrigerator and coffeepot, etc. The water was hauled from the creek or in containers when we went to town. Just giving you a little background.
For appearance sake, it bothered Willis that all the mailboxes, 8 to be exact, by our road were every shape and size on every different kind of post. It was a clutter so he built a large rack at the highway to hold all the individual boxes. For some reason, it was important to him that all of the mailboxes be on a rack and be uniform since they were at the entrance to the camp road.
Who knew that the mailbox project would be the way we met the McAfees. Their dirt road and our dirt road met at the highway. We were each about a ¼ mile in opposite directions. Willis was just finishing up when Mr. McAfee came to get his mail that day and was impressed that someone would take the initiative to fix up the rural neighborhood. He invited Willis and me to come for a visit and also to meet his wife. We had such a wonderful time! We saw their fruit trees and even got a lesson on grafting. Turns out, Mr. McAfee was retired but, he was a horticulturalist and always planting, grafting, studying, experimenting and writing.
During the visit, the struggle to get electricity came up. He volunteered to call the Director of the Electric Coop and to write a reference letter on our behalf. It was very kind, but the Coop insisted that we follow their guidelines which were to have water on the property, a foundation in place and building materials on the site. We had noticed on other area building sites they had temporary lines while they were building. I’m not sure why we weren’t able to get a reprieve. We had water pipes and a water ditch in place but were not connected to the water system yet. Also, we were tearing down a house in Clinton to salvage materials for the camp house and building racks to hold the used lumber. My father-in-law and I also made a foundation with stacked rocks and packed dirt. As it turned out, it wasn’t where we ended up putting the house, but it was not in vain, one of the army tents was placed on it to house all the tools.
Looking back, we should have spent that time putting in the actual foundation for the house. Hindsight! I know there had to be a reason that seemed good at the time. After getting the lumber on racks and the foundation in place, the electric coop did install an electric pole with electricity in the area where the house would be built.
I shall never forget that first winter, though when we were still in the tent. The McAfee’s were spending a week with family in New York for the Christmas season and asked us to house sit. I am still amazed that they saw enough goodness in us to allow us to care for their home while they were away. They stayed an extra week because Mr. McAfee had gotten sick and had to go to the hospital. He recovered quickly.
It was so wonderful for us to spend that brief time in a real house. My son, away at college, came home for the holidays and it was just a great time for our family to be together. Can you imagine what misery we might have been in if we’d stayed in the tent during that time? We would have had to figure out sleeping arrangements, meals, showers, etc. It makes me cringe at the thought. We stayed warm and toasty in the McAfee house. This was just another one of those times when God provided us with sweet relief.
The muddy road was impassable most of the time. Tent life without any comforts became unbearable at times. When I just couldn’t stand one more minute, I would escape to see Mrs. McAfee. She always had a smile and a “now, Charlotte” and a cup of tea. Most of the time, we’d have a little slice of some sort of loaf cake depending on the fruit of the harvest. Since I had no oven this was a real treat! It was just another breath of God’s fresh air.
One day, I was to be the teacher/ guest speaker at an all-day mission conference at First Baptist Church in Clinton, Arkansas. By this time, we had started building the camp house and were living in it. However, it still had no doors or glass in the windows and plastic covered those openings. Since it seemed so cold that morning, I decided to take my hot rollers and make-up bag with me and go early enough to do hair and makeup in the nice, warm restroom at the church.
Because of the deep ruts and mud on our road, as well as a ditch being dug for water line, my husband drove the small truck out to the end of the road for me. That was the plan then I would drive it to town for the meeting. Halfway down the road, we met a man in a very small car who had gotten stuck trying to come up the road to read the electricity meter. What was he thinking? I ended up walking back to the house, in the mud, I might add, while my husband tried to pull him out. The time was slipping by fast. Finally, I walked down to see how the project was going. That vehicle was going nowhere and was still blocking the road. The easement road was only 20’ wide with a ditch on one side of the road and a pile of dirt all the way down the side of it to the main highway and a barbed-wire fence on each side, the only thing we could think of at that late time was for me to walk to the McAfees. Willis went back to the house and called them on the phone. By the time I had walked the muddy half-mile from my house to theirs, Mr. McAfee was in his car headed my way. Tears were rolling down my face by the time we arrived at the church. I got there just as the other ladies did. I slipped off my muddy rubber boots in the car and put on my dress shoes. Mud was on my face, dress, and heart! I wouldn’t miss the irony here. My talk to the ladies’ group was about the hardships of four other missionaries.
The McAfees came to the rescue again during the first big event at Higher Ground. We had set a date and were working on all the details like outdoor bathroom facilities, borrowing a tent from another venue, solving the heating problem for the tent in case the weather changed and also food for evening meals. This event, the Good News Celebration, was to be five nights for preaching and worship service. Each afternoon there was a Bible Study class. An evening meal was served for those attending the Bible Study and actually anyone was welcome. Preparations were being made for the outhouse, the tent was going up, the borrowed chairs were moved to the tent, and heat and electricity were being worked on. Also, my piano was moved into place.
On a really small budget, I planned smoked turkey, fried onions and potatoes, slaw and green beans for the first night. Oh, wait! How was I going to make dessert without an oven? So, I thought maybe a couple of bought sponge cakes, sliced thin might work. But one look at the crowd soon made my heart jump as I realized I just wouldn’t have enough dessert to go around. Just about the time for serving, Mr. McAfee came riding upon a 4-wheeler with a large tray of a variety of fruits from his trees and vineyard. What a wonderful surprise. I think we served 60 people that night and had cooked over an open fire.
I am glad to include the McAfees in this story. God provided relief from the tough times through them. It was no small miracle that their kindness was a Godsend. I have found that in my many years of serving God, His faithfulness comes in most unexpected packages. It is so important that we look for these gifts and thank Him.
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed; for I am your God, I will strengthen you, I will help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10