Happy Birthday Don
(I wrote this when our friend turned 60 a few years ago.)
Dear Don
So, Don, you were born and raised in the Golden Age of the 50’s. You were probably not even aware of the launch of Sputnik 1 or the hydrogen bomb programme by President Truman or even the first organ transplant back then. While Hollywood released movies like Ben Hur and Sunset Boulevard, not even to mention Walt Disney’s animations becoming an important part of the movie world, your parents most likely had only eyes for their blue-eyed boy, growing up and filling their world.
While you probably spent most of your time outside playing, people in America spent time in front of coloured TV’s and worked on their computers. Don’t know if you had a dog, but bet you would not have sent it into space like Laika, the first live dog that went into space. Did you have a Hula Hoop? No, that was girly stuff. Maybe you had Lego’s? No, too early for that. I remember some years later, your boys had Lego’s and later BMX’s. I remember seeing a few ‘bigger boys’ playing with yo-yos on the YWAM base in Windhoek in the 80’s. The colourful Rubik Cube was also a popular fad on the base stimulating the grey matter during breaks, after lectures and during work duty time … It was real hard work, this cube it was. We appreciated the way you stimulated your children’s interests and celebrated their individual gifts and talents. I remember admiring your creative thoughtfulness in buying a doll from each country you visited, for Cindy.
We admire your skill as a handy man – painting your house in Pretoria, making beautiful furniture and strong security gates from wrought iron.
Things were also not so expensive back then, when you grew up: a few pennies for a loaf of bread if not home baked and fresh farm milk, a few cents a gallon. Credit cards were non-existent (only in far away America). As Mac Donald’s made its debut in America, you treated the family to Mike’s Kitchen specialities in later years to celebrate birthdays. Celebrations were part of your life as a family, making people feel special. I doubt your mum used prepared cake mixes when she baked cakes. Oh, how I remember Cecilia’s baked specialities for tea. She always baked two of something. One something was kept in the freezer for those unexpected guests that were always welcomed by the two of you. What an example of true, heartfelt hospitality you modelled, no, lived. As they say: “Hart soos ‘n taxi, altyd plek vir nog een.”
1951 introduced the Miss World beauty competition. You met and married your Miss World some years later. The black and white wedding picture is a piece of furniture which we remember from the house in Windhoek and since. What a dynamic couple and strong leaders you both are – some of the few multi-skilled, multi-gifted pioneer leaders we know who can do almost anything. Transforming an old mine compound into a YWAM base was no small project.
The teenagers, who rebelled against norms when you were born, gave way to the hippie culture of love of the 60’s. Back then, the love you experienced were probably mostly from your parents. In later years, we experienced your love and respect for your wife and children. We were privileged to be raised and taught by you in our early years in YWAM – to love God and our neighbour. Thank you for always keeping in touch and surprising us with a visit or a happy birthday-call from somewhere. I remember your unexpected knock on our door in Jeffrey’s Bay when you were there on a speaking engagement.
The significant events of the 50’s was somewhat of a prophetic prediction to your later life: Albert Schweitzer, the famous missionary doctor receiving the Nobel Peace Prize and the two of you moving into so called “full time missionary service”, taking you to many countries around the world. I always remember you saying you will go anywhere where God leads as long as you know it is Him leading. Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay reached the summit of Mount Everest in 1953. You climbed your own Everest in later years, not being able to have children and other situations we are not even aware of. We were blessed by the way you handled this challenge, adopting not just one, but 3 delightful children. Now you are teaching others that God has adopted us into His family and we need to even adopt our own children. DNA was discovered by Watson, Franklin and Crick in 1953: a prophetic prediction for a new set of DNA called David, born in January 1989?
There always seem to be some kind of war waging somewhere: Korean War after you were born, Bush War in Namibia and Angola, Falklands War, Afghanistan War … But you are a man op peace, proclaiming the message of peace. We have always experienced peace in your home and company. With the racial tensions in America and South Africa you always seemed to be colour blind teaching us that God is also colour blind. Your unwavering faith in the light of difficult circumstances was always an encouragement to put our trust in God, no matter what.
In the Golden Age jazz became hugely popular, The Sound of Music opened on Broadway and Elvis became a teen idol. Some years later you had your own ‘Sound of Music’ in the house with Cecilia and her beautiful voice and John, the drummer. I remember you leading worship on the base in Windhoek. We all waited for the closing song, the “Top of the Charts”, one of your favourite worship songs at the time.
Larry Walters on July 2nd 1982 (the year we met you) tied 42 weather balloons to a lawn chair and flew as high as 16 thousand feet before shooting the balloons with a pellet gun and landing about 90 minutes later. The FAA fined him $1,500. So glad you stuck to the traditional way of flying. Now you can shoot 60 balloons and start the party without a fine. Make sure you land safely after the party, in time for your early morning walk.
We are so privileged to share a part of this journey with you. You have enriched our lives. Your story became a story of God’s grace to us and many others.
H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y !
With love and appreciation
