Bill learned this lesson the hard way. The
metallurgical engineer, who spent 27 years
with Union Carbide (six in South Africa),
turned 58 in 1995 and was quite comfortable
with his life in Danbury, CT. He owned a successful
business, Strategic Minerals Corporation,
had a great 35-year marriage, and his three
grown kids were leading productive lives.
Bill's vision of a second half contribution
was to serve as an elder of his church. God's
repeated nudging for Bill to return to the
inner city, where he grew up without a father,
was swatted away like a pesky fly.
But what a fly doesn't accomplish, a 13-foot
crocodile certainly can. While in Africa to
celebrate their 35th anniversary, Bill and
his wife, Kathie, decided to canoe the Zambezi
River. Although Kathie had encouraged Bill
to take canoe lessons prior to the trip, he
opted for the "training on the river prior
to departure" mentioned in the tour brochure.
"The training lasted five minutes ('This is
the Zambezi River. Be careful entering and
leaving the canoe.')," recalls Bill with a
laugh.
The first day was carefree for Bill and Kathie;
the guide was in their canoe. Bill watched
as their friends struggled in the other guideless
canoe -at one point going down the river backward.
The challenge wasn't rapids, however, it was
a continuous line of huge hippos that had
to be avoided because they had no qualms about
breaking a canoe in half if it got between
them and deep water. The second day Bill and
Kathie were the guideless - and the clueless.
They had obstacles in addition to territorial
hippos: tree stumps submerged in the water
and crocodiles eyeing them from shore.
"Canoeing in those conditions was pretty challenging
for this city boy," Bill admits. "Kathie and
I had a few 'debates' as to who had what responsibility.
It definitely tested our 35 years of marriage.
I was trying to convince her that I could
only steer the canoe if she were paddling
at a good rate, and she was afraid we would
paddle right into the hippos."
Before leaving shore the guide told the couple
to watch for lily pads; they signaled hidden
tree stumps.
"But who can keep an eye open for a lily pad
when you've got something as large as a hippo
staring at you?" Bill surmised.
It was a shortsighted call. By focusing on
the imposing hippos, Bill missed some lilies,
did a last minute swerve to avoid a tree stump,
and capsized the canoe.
Food, cameras, and the dynamic duo plunged
into the river. And unbeknown to Bill and
Kathie, so did a 13-foot crocodile. A rescue
canoe quickly scooped up Kathie, but Bill
had to gallantly wait for another one. He
pulled his legs up as far as possible, wedging
himself against his capsized canoe. As he
watched his lunch float down the Zambezi,
he prayed that he didn't become lunch. "Crocs
are very common in the Zambezie. They are
incredibly strong and take you down to the
bottom of the river to drown you before they
consume you. Not an appetizing prospect,"
says Bill.
Finally, another rescue canoe pulled Bill
to safety. On shore he learned the 13-foot
croc had come within 10 feet of him before
opting for the sandwiches floating down stream.
"I was exhausted from the experience, but
sitting by the fire later I had a chance to
reflect on the extraordinary fact that the
croc didn't attack me. Although we joked about
the croc's discriminating choice, I felt God's
presence and His call to service. There was
no doubt that He had intervened and saved
me for His purposes. Before our trip to Africa
a friend had given me a copy of the book Halftime,
and I had consumed it in two hours. Buford's
challenge for Christians to pause, plan, and
commit the second half of their lives to the
Kingdom of God using the experiences of their
first half came back to my mind on that river
bank. I committed right there to return to
Danbury and get to work on the inner-city
calling I'd been ignoring. I told Kathie about
my commitment and she told me in no uncertain
terms: 'If you're going to be with me you'd
better get to doing what God wants you to
do!'"
Chastised and challenged, Bill returned to
the States and attended a Navigator seminar
on halftime.
"It helped me assess my background, strengths,
and passion for the underdog and encouraged
me to seek a role in the inner city, particularly
with "at risk" youth. I was mentored by my
youth pastor and chemistry teacher when I
lived in the inner city; they had a profound
impact on my life."
In addition to connecting with this passion,
Bill saw his worldwide business experience
as a unique strength to help him form joint
ventures between diverse Christian groups
in order to serve the needs of inner city
youth. In 1996 he joint ventured Pathways
Danbury Mentoring Ministry with his church
and a local African American congregation.
"Pathways provides one-on-one mentoring by
Christian men for middle school through high
school "at risk" boys. Good men share Jesus
on a long-term basis with kids "at risk" for
poor school performance, delinquency, drug
and alcohol addiction, and family instability.
We also provide Bible study and tutoring during
the school year and summer Bible camp for
all mentees. Each mentee who graduates from
high school receives a $10,000 grant for his
education, business, or housing needs."
Approximately 25 kids now participate in the
Pathways program, supported by approximately
35 mentors. This year, the first Pathways
teen graduated high school and is now attending
college.
"I was the first person in my family to attend
college," says Bill. "Helping this young man
take that step was extremely gratifying."
"Looking back on my first-half experiences,
there's no doubt God was training me do the
work of the Kingdom in my second half. I recommend
those reaching their "halftime break" to follow
the halftime process for planning the second
half of their life. It's exciting, satisfying,
and a means of doing God's work when you're
best prepared and equipped to do it."
Bill will also be the first to tell you that
paying attention to God's nudges and following
the halftime plan helps you avoid a whole
lot of trouble in River City.
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