Cliff’s recollection of the event….
”Gary worked in the editorial office of PT in Tower Bridge Rd and was on one of the trips to Israel. I seem to recall he got lost when we were at Mount Carmel and he had gone for a walk with another young man. We feared that he might have been abducted by Hezbollah and taken across into Lebanon. There was lot of anxiety at that time but he survived! He made a great contribution to the magazine and I will always be grateful to him.”
Gary’s memory….
A number of jobs before my current role at MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship), I worked for a Christian ministry that organised a trip to Israel. I was particularly proud that, due to our popularity, we were taking three coachloads of believers.
‘Three coaches!’ I remember saying to my fellow team members, ‘We must be popular. Mind you,’ I continued somewhat foolishly, ‘with so many Christians coming, someone’s bound to get lost on the trip!’
And yes, someone did, and it was me!
The Bible says, ‘God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble’ and, as Proverbs 29:23 and Matthew 23:12 explain, those who exalt themselves will be humbled, while those who humble themselves will be exalted.
So, puffed up at the thought of taking so many believers to Israel, I was inordinately pleased when I was asked to make an announcement to the assembled multitude. I forget what I said, but I thought it was pretty good at the time.
But as soon as I finished my inspiring oration and stepped down from the podium, one of the tour party accosted me. ‘Stop trying to act and sound like your boss,’ he commanded, commenting on my voice and mannerisms.
And so, somewhat humbled – and a little angry – I went to bed.
The next day, all was well. I enjoyed talking to two friends who’d come with me to Israel, and had been moved when visiting various sites of biblical significance. That afternoon, enjoying a conversation I’d begun with one of the younger guys on the tour, we decided to go for a walk before dinner, taking a circular route round the hotel grounds.
Unfortunately, neither of us had any sense of direction, there was no circular route, and we were soon lost and disoriented. Darkness eventually descended, we couldn’t find our way back to the hotel, and hyenas began howling in the distance.
We now felt vulnerable, jumpy and afraid. ‘What if we die out here or someone tries to abduct us?’ my friend asked. ‘If you see anything suspicious,’ I replied, ‘just run!’
As if on cue, two sinister looking men appeared – shining torches into our eyes. ‘Tourists, lost, hotel!’ I babbled and, when one of the men reached for what looked like a gun but was actually a walkie-talkie, I nearly made a run for it.
Fortunately, he spoke into the device, saying, ‘We’ve just found the idiots who got lost’, so we stayed where we were, then followed them home.
By the time we reached the hotel, we’d totally ruined the evening meeting which, originally dedicated to praying for the peace of Jerusalem, had degenerated into the assembled company praying desperately for our safe return.
Duly humbled, I heroically decided to take the blame but, before I could, my friend blurted, ‘It was all his fault’ – robbing me of the opportunity to sacrificially shoulder responsibility. So I just gabbled a pitiful explanation of the night’s events and went to bed with another great dent to my pride!