In reading the story of Abraham and his journeys in response to the call of God in Hebrews 11 I reflected on my own similar journeys over my lifetime. Abraham obeyed God’s call and went “even though he did not know where he was going” (v.8). After completing my undergraduate degree at Canterbury University in 1963 God called me to seek my theological graduate education in England. After researching the possible options I chose to go to Cranmer Hall of St. John’s College at Durham University for its strong biblical emphasis. I had come across the writings of Robin Nixon who was Senior Tutor there and appreciated his evangelical perspective. Little did I know then that Robin, his wife Ruth, and their children would become close friends and they would invite me to be godfather to their youngest daughter.

It was a radical decision to leave New Zealand, where I was born and raised, to travel half way across the globe, to where I knew no one. I had no scholarships so I had to raise the money to pay for tuition and board. I obtained a position teaching high school in a neighboring town, wrote a daily editorial and court reports for the local newspaper, preached on Sundays as an interim for the Presbyterian church, and worked for my parents at their hotel business.

After a five week voyage on a cargo passenger ship stopping at Tahiti, Panama, Jamaica, Florida, and Bermuda I landed at London in September 1964. I had reserved a room at the YMCA but when I arrived they said they had not received my letter and were full. I had nowhere to stay. I had one contact, Gilbert Kirby of the Evangelical Alliance. I called him and he directed me to the Evangelical Alliance Club in Bedford Square where I obtained a room while its occupant was on holiday. The Lord provided me with a haven. A painting of Durham Cathedral hung on the wall of the dining room at the Club which I obtained when the Club closed down several years later. It now hangs in my home entrance.

On Sunday I worshipped at All Souls Church, Langham Place in the morning and Westminster Chapel in the evening where I heard Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preach. Again, I was ignorant that God would be calling me to minister at All Souls in the future. I travelled to Durham and began my studies at Durham University where I met and made many lifelong friends. After my first year at Cranmer Hall  I began to run out of funds so I applied for many scholarships. Again, the Lord provided for me in being accepted as an ordinand by the Church of England, which paid for the rest of my education. In my first interview with the Principal, J.P. Hickinbotham, he told me that he was a fan of the New Zealand mystery writer, Ngaio Marsh whom I knew from her leading the drama club at Canterbury University. We immediately established a rapport.

I was a long way from home as was Abraham when he left Ur of the Chaldeans and went to Canaan. “He made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country” (v.9). But I was befriended by many. The Nixon’s looked after me in the holidays. A fellow student, Nick Carr, invited me to spend my first Christmas with his family in Carlisle. Nick was an older student with a large family who made me welcome. They were the Carr’s of Carlisle, the world-famous table crackers manufacturers.

Peta Sturrock was the sister of the mother of a college and camp friend in Christchurch, NZ. She was married to Muir, an attorney in Jedburgh, Scotland, who made me welcome whenever I could visit from Durham. Gwen Wilkinson lived in a mansion over-looking Durham Cathedral. Her brother went to New Zealand as a clergyman and she visited there for a Girl Guide jamboree. She heard about my being at Cranmer Hall and adopted me. She was a local celebrity and was awarded the MBE by Prime Minister Tony Blair for her volunteer work with the Royal National Lifeboat Association. Her friendship endured over the years until she died. Although I was a stranger in a foreign country God provided homes away from home for me.

None of this would have happened without the call and leading of God, who took me from a small town to other countries. The hymn, He Leadeth Me, became a favorite of mine.

He leadeth me, O blessed thought
O words with heavenly comfort fraught
Whate’er I do, where’er I be
Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me

He leadeth me, He leadeth me
By His own hand, He leadeth me
His faithful follower I would be
For by His hand, He leadeth me

Sometimes ‘mid scenes of deepest gloom
Sometimes where Eden’s flowers bloom
By waters still, o’er troubled sea
Still ’tis His hand that leadeth me

He leadeth me, He leadeth me
By His own hand, He leadeth me
His faithful follower I would be
For by His hand, He leadeth me

Lord, I would clasp Thy hand in mine
Nor ever murmur, nor repine
Content, whatever lot I see
Since ’tis Thy hand that leadeth me

He leadeth me, He leadeth me
By His own hand, He leadeth me
His faithful follower I would be
For by His hand, He leadeth me

And when my task on earth is done
When, by Thy grace, the victory’s won
E’en death’s cold wave, I will not flee
Since God, through Jordan, leadeth me

(J.H. Gilmore)

Part of my theological education at Cranmer Hall included a trip to the Holy Land in 1965 when we had to cross No Man’s Land in Jerusalem from Israel into Jordan carrying our own bags using two separate passports since Israel was not recognized by the Arab world. I still have the prayer rug I bought in Jerusalem when we visited all the holy sites there and in Galilee. I also participated in a theological conference at the Ecumenical Institute at Chateau Bossey in Switzerland where I met students from many countries and traditions. Cranmer Hall sponsored missions at St. John’s Church, Walsall Wood, near Birmingham in the Midlands and St. James Church, Whitehaven in Cumbria. Misaeri Kauma from Uganda joined me in preaching there. I also did student preaching at St. Catherine’s Church, Fishburn, Christ Church, Sunderland, and All Saints, Gosforth. My teachers included some celebrated theologians: Kingsley Barrett, a Methodist, Charles Cranfield, a Presbyterian, and H.E.W. Turner, an Anglican. It was an enriching time of my life, where the world was opened up to me and my faith was deepened. Out of my window I could see the 12th century Durham Cathedral looming over us reminding us of the ancient faith of St. Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede whose shrines hallowed it. I made many trips to Holy Island, Lindisfarne where Cuthbert lived and ministered. My three years at Durham were life-changing. My calling was confirmed and God provided for me in finances, faith, and friends. I am grateful for the experience as I was “looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (v.10). What would be the next step on my journey, which was then unknown.