W. Harold Fuller
W. Harold Fuller's entry in Hot Apple Cider is an article adapted from his latest book, Sun Like Thunder: Following Jesus on Asia’s Silk Road. The article, on page 136, tells about Harold's meeting Dr. Aletta Bell, a Canadian woman who moved to India in 1964 to help ordinary people, in particular Muslim women and children who were not allowed to see a male doctor.
A truly inspirational leader, during her time in India, Dr. Bell coped with many difficulties – political, cultural, and physical – including a stretch of 17 years without a visit home to Canada because she might not have been allowed to return to India. Now retired and living in London, Ontario, Dr. Bell still returns to India for visits.
W. Harold Fuller was born on Canada’s west coast, served in the Canadian Navy on the east coast, studied missions and Bible on the prairies, edited Africa’s largest circulation (at the time) monthly magazine, and has ministered in six continents.
An award-winning author (“Jesus Wears a Stethoscope” is adapted from his 12th book, Sun Like Thunder), Harold holds a diploma in journalism from
the Newspaper Institute of America, an honorary doctorate in literature from Biola University, and the 1996 Leslie K. Tarr Award for career achievement and outstanding contribution to the field of Canadian Christian writing.
Harold's books include Sun Like Thunder: Following Jesus on Asia’s Silk Road (SIM); Maxwell’s Passion & Power (Maxwell Foundation); Global Crossroads, editor (World Evangelical Alliance); People of the Mandate (Paternoster/Baker); and Celebrate the God Who Loves (SIM).
Harold and his wife Lorna now reside in Stouffville, Ontario.
Hot Apple Cider came together in a rather unusual way. What made you want to have your work in it?
I love to write! I recognize writing as a gift from the Lord, as far as I'm concerned. Since all I do should be to God's glory, I write in order to let God work in readers’ lives through the medium of words. (I could cite a couple of illustrations of God’s working through publications I’ve had the privilege of producing, but I don't want to burden you.) Therefore, when That's Life! Communications joined with World Vision and The Word Guild to open up another opportunity for people to read something the Lord had enabled me to write, I sent in a chapter for Hot Apple Cider.
This book is 100% Canadian. Canadian authors, publisher, printer—everything. Is that important to you?
I'm blessed to be a Canadian, although I'm not a hyper nationalist—having lived in several other countries, ministering on six continents and respecting people and their countries. However, I feel that onlookers think of Canada as some backwater, or even frozen waste.
When I served in the Canadian Navy and sailed up the Hudson into New York's harbor, I could not help feeling that I was in “the centre of the universe,” and Canada was a northern fringe. No one tried to make me feel that way (Americans are among the most generous people in the world), but everything was so a-bustle that I instinctively (not resentfully) felt that way.
So—being involved in a compilation of Canadian authors, I felt this production had international merit in itself for a couple of reasons: (1) It would speak specifically to Canadian readers; and (2) for non-Canadians, it would provide "voice" from a direction they would not normally expect to hear from—and that could add “freshness” to its effectiveness.I realize there are actually more Canadian "artists" (including writers), scientists, and athletes active in the US than most people are aware. (One athlete is from our home church.)
One side note: While it may be a bit harder to get known in Canada these days, the Canadian Media was quite open to relevant “religion” articles back in the 1950s. For example, Canada’s national Weekend magazine (an insert in 26 Canadian newspapers from coast to coast) apparently liked the Canadian slant of our mission work, giving us an unusual nation-wide opportunity for Christian witness. A 1956 issue carried a three-page photo feature of our wedding, titled “The Bride Wore White in Darkest Africa” (not our choice of headlines!). All our attendants and the officiating minister were Nigerians. Then in 1960, the same magazine ran a cover photo and story on our family: “Canadian Boy Calls Nigeria Home.” Inside was the caption: “Three-year old David Fuller is helping his parents’ missionary work in a fast-changing Africa.”
In her foreword for Hot Apple Cider, Janette Oke mentions that writers are often asked, “Why do you write?” How do you respond to that question?
I don't know why I wanted to write when I was only five (I “logically” started by producing a taped cardboard cover but got no further). Was it because, as a “blue baby” that had to stay home and rest while other kids played, I spent time “dreaming”? (I grew out of my childhood disability, obviously.) Or maybe it was because my father was an editor and lined our hallway with shelves of books, which he encouraged us to read. However, when I grew into my teens, it was simply "fun" to write.
After WW II naval service, I put my discharge money into a journalism course (Newspaper Inst. of America). In Bible college, I saw writing as a ministry and decided to go into writing/editing full-time. But by my last year of Bible college, I realized that (for me, at least) seeking such a career could lead me into self-glorification ("See what I've written, on the newspaper’s front page!")—unless the Lord called me into it. A spiritual catharsis caused me to promise God I would not seek such a career unless he called me to it. Instead, I applied to SIM (Serving in Mission) for "General Mission Work."
While studying an African language (loved it!), I expected to be assigned to the traditional rural Africa of grass huts. Meanwhile SIM had been searching for an assistant for the editor of its new urban magazine, and in the small print of my application papers, noticed I’d studied journalism. HQ sent me post haste to Nigeria’s bustling seaport capital. Instead of grass huts, Lagos boasted tall office buildings (that overshadowed fetid slums, open drains, and malaria-ridden swamps).
Within a year, the magazine’s founding editor had to leave, and the magazine’s editorial production fell upon my shoulders. By then, however, writing was not an ambition—it had become a task, a question of survival from issue to issue. For the first year, until reinforcements arrived and we were able to train African staff, I had to do most of the writing, as well as editing, art illustration and layout, plus photography. (Fortunately I was still single, or my wife would have charged me with desertion!) African Challenge became Africa’s largest circulation monthly at the time, but you would not find my name in any copy—only “The Editor” or the penname I used for fiction stories.
I also wrote “The Pastor’s Page” for a national daily, was Africa correspondent for Christianity Today, and wrote occasional feature articles for magazines in the UK and North America.
You were involved in mission leadership for many years. How did your writing and editing fit in with your call to work in missions?
When SIM asked me to take up mission administration (after we had trained Nigerian staff for the magazine), I agreed, but with one proviso: allow me to include writing in my position description (PD). I soon found that writing could be a powerful administrative tool; I produced in-house publications to inform and develop missionaries and national church leaders.
As well, SIM’s General Director (GD) asked me to design and edit a magazine for the mission’s constituencies in sending countries. Eventually, SIM asked me to become the then current GD’s Deputy—and my PD included writing/editing, and management/leadership development. In a way I could not have imagined, the post opened up the world to me, as I had to minister on all six continents. Lots of writing material!
You’ve been writing and editing for over 50 years, in both Africa and Canada. You’ve been honored in both Canada and the United States, including being the 1996 choice for the Leslie K. Tarr award for outstanding contribution to Christian writing in Canada. I know this question might be a bit like asking a parent which child you like best, but when you look back on all you’ve accomplished, what gives you the most satisfaction?
Funny, I look upon such recognitions subliminally, as if they’ve been conferred on someone else! Receiving the Leslie K. Tarr award meant more than just the recognition, because Les was a personal friend, with whom I would visit to chat and to pray. An inspiration was Les—strapped into his mechanical chair like some kind of human spider, and writing with the aid of a leather brace on his right hand, nevertheless always replying to my “How are you?” with a cheery, “Oh, I’m fine!”
On the practical side, I’d say that the Lit. D. granted me by Pasadena’s BIOLA University (prompted, I presumed, by my book on church-mission relations, since used by several college professors) proved to be an award that continues to open doors of ministry.
Which of your 12 books are still in print, and how are they being used?
Books, as you know, soon go out of print. So only my 12th (Sun Like Thunder) is still in print. Several instructors are hounding me to update Mission-Church Dynamics, some having run off photo copies for classroom use. I am currently updating my history of World Evangelical Alliance, at WEA’s request, for the centenary of Edinburgh 1910.
Why did you think Canadians needed to hear Dr. Aletta Bell's story? )Why was she unknown till now? Have you had any readers’ reactions to learning about the woman and her work?
Because of Dr. Bell’s dedication and unselfish service in Jesus’ name, and to encourage readers to pray for and assist less fortunate people in other parts of the world.
If you knew Aletta Bell, you wouldn’t ask why she's not well-known. Although a capable medic and able administrator, she never seeks the limelight but reflects her humble rural upbringing.
After reading the story in Hot Apple Cider, one neighbour, a secular man, exclaimed, “I had no idea that such conditions still exist!” Another purchased a copy of Hot Apple Cider to give to an acquaintance who normally would not read a “religious” book. A medical secretary read a copy and ordered several more to give friends.
I’m assuming you’ve had lots of feedback from people because of the nature of your books, and feedback is great for the author—you know someone is actually reading your words! But I’m wondering if you’ve learned anything from your readers that you could share with us?
(1) There is a definite reader niche for authentic travel books, which also provide an interesting, natural and acceptable “packaging” for spiritual lessons portrayed by incidents and people.
(2) There is a niche for writing on topics not normally covered by others.
(3) If we are led by the Spirit in our writing, the Lord can apply what we write in various ways—sometime unexpected ways.
(4) The Internet Age has not signaled the demise of hand-held books. On public transit, in parks, on air flights, I see people of various ages reading books; they like to hold a book rather than read a monitor screen.
Aside from your own piece, is there a particular piece or thought in Hot Apple Cider that stood out for you?
The first chapter by Angelina Fast-Vlaar is just one of many that touch the heart. Although I’m a veteran writer/editor, by the time I reached the end of Angelina's true story, “It Was Then That I Carried You,” I could not see the page.
A lot of people want to share their stories in order to help others. What advice do you have for someone who wants to write but doesn’t know how to begin?
Don’t be intimidated by that blank sheet of paper or computer screen, and don’t think you need to start writing a prize-winning treatise right off!
Write about what you know. (Experienced authors can take on topics new to them—but that comes with practice.) Instead, you likely have some interest or experience that you’d like to put down on paper. Start by writing notes—ideas that come to you as you’re on public transit, working at the bench or sink, or enjoying a leisurely meal. (My wife and I come to meals with a pen and notepad.) Sometimes thoughts (irretrievable gems!) come after you’ve turned off the bedside lamp and begun to relax: keep a pad and pen by your bed. (Although in the morning, I admit, I can’t always decipher my nighttime scribbles.)
Keep those scribbled idea notes until you feel the urge to put them together.
Where do you start? First ask the Lord to glorify not you but himself through what you intend to write, and to give you the needed skill.
When you do start, don't necessarily start at the chronological beginning of whatever. Think of a circle. With you pen, stab a mark anywhere on the rim—that’s where you can start, moving ahead or behind as you develop an idea. Sometimes you’ll hop over a space or do an ellipsis until you come around the circle back to your starting point. But at this creative stage don’t worry about structure/syntax, grammar, spelling—those details might stem the flow of brilliant thoughts! “The way to write is to re-write,” my mentor used to tell me; so write your ideas, take a break, let the porridge cool off—and then when you come back to it you can add your salt, sugar and milk, maybe cream, nuts, raisins, and apples! Stir (rearrange) to taste.
You’ve just produced a masterpiece—you think. But ask an honest friend to read it and to gently shred it for you. Painful process, but pick up the pieces and re-work them. Presto—you’ll end up with meaningful communication.
And let me warn budding writers—there can be a downside to being known as a writer. When serving on councils and boards, after a long day (or several days) of tiring meetings, the other council members would meet in the coffee shop or go swimming—while I had to head to my room to write a press release! ( : – (
I know you’re officially retired, but are you working on something new?
I was looking forward to writing my memoirs and a series of fun stories for our grandchildren, but as mentioned above, WEA pestered me to update the story of their history. (“You’ve got the background,” they said.) My wife tells me I was crazy to agree, but I do see several minefields in current society that evangelicals need to be aware of. So that’s my current challenge.
What is your prayer for the readers of Hot Apple Cider?
Along the same line that I pray as I sit down at my keyboard: “Lord, enable and enlighten my writing—and may it please you to touch some reader by your Spirit.” As Paul said in another context, “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
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