Category: Memories

I first met Peter at morning tea in the mess on MV Doulos during the heart transplant of the vessel in Capetown South Africa. He had heard about the ship’s transformation program and came to offer help as a carpenter. He was always smiling, helpful & the dispenser of much encouragement from the Lord.
Led by God he decided to join this ministry but, as OM’s recruitment policy requires, had to raise his own support which meant returning home & applying through his country’s OM office. I sensed we were in for great blessing when he arrived back for a two year commitment. I thought he always reflected the love of the Lord Jesus everywhere, walked closely with the Lord, always helpful, bringing encouragement & blessing to us on board & those he would meet in teams off from the ship.

It was not long before he was appointed to the Ship’s Line Up office, preparing ahead for the vessels arrival in ports. This meant he was not on board for long periods of time but when he was there was always great meal-fellowship at my table & at other times.
After I left OM ministry I lived in Eindhoven, Holland for a locum & one day caught the train to Ghent, Belgium where Peter was heading up preparations for the ships visit there. It was a great day of fellowship & like a breath of fresh spiritual air to me. We never saw each other again after the vessel left Belgium & Holland until his marriage.

We were praying together by remote about this young lady he had met in Cyprus & was surprised & honoured to be invited to officiate at his forthcoming marriage to Hasmig.

My last time of fellowship with Peter was the marriage week in Cyprus.

Like a great Line Up person all his friends had been instructed to arrive in Cyprus by the Sunday night before the Saturday wedding. I soon found out the reason we were to be there so early. He had arranged for us to visit castles, beaches, tourist and historical sites of Cyprus.It was an amazing week but the question over our head was “is the wedding going ahead or not?” Finally on the Thursday night his doctor gave the all clear & things moved rapidly from then on.

It was a glorious and beautiful wedding of great fellowship & excitement, the happy couple and their families, friends catching up with each other – all quite usual for most weddings, but theirs was special & different. His battle with his cancer of the skull was a shadow – was it healed or not?
I have always been glad that that was the last time we met because of the memories I have. Due to my locum work I was not able to be with him for his homecoming from New Zealand to glory. I guess the Father wanted him home with them, forever with the Lord.

But I rejoice in the grace of God that he was able to hold their daughter Keziah in his arms a few days before he left us. I still struggle from time to time over his passing – a beloved son & bondservant of the Lord, faithful, patient, caring, and I miss him even after these years. The small gift they gave to each of the wedding guests still sits on the only table in my retirement unit & that keeps his memory strong.

I first met Pete in 1975, but Dave met him a few years earlier. Pete was about nine when I met him and I remember him being a placid and polite boy.
He loved the beach and often went body surfing after school. He would come up out of the water all pink from the cold but he always had a big smile on his face. He was a good swimmer and he and Denny had swimming lessons every Friday for quite a few years.

Pete was crafty [in the good sense]. I remember him making lovely cakes with American Frosting on top. He also made a teddy for Larissa his cousin when she was born. He won many prizes at the Amberley Show for things he had made.

Dennis and Sharon built a new kitchen in the home at Leithfield Beach and I remember Pete asking if he could sleep in the unfinished cupboard. He crawled in with his sleeping bag and pillow and slept there the night.

On the 22 November 1977 at a Barry Smith meeting in Rangiora Pete went forward to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour. I remember the night well as Dave and I went forward at the same meeting. From that night on Pete had a heart for the lost.

It was a pleasure to have known Pete and we love his family as our own. Every time I read about heaven I think of him. It will be exciting to see him again.

Often in life, it is the simple and small gestures that leave the most profound and significant impressions on a human heart: a flower bouquet; an unexpected hug; a thank-you card; an invitation to dinner…or someone leaving you a pair of used shoes!

That last one seems a bit unusual and strange, doesn’t it? It could make sense if we were talking about ladies with a passionate affinity for special shoe designs or brands. If another lady were to leave them a pair they have been craving for – even a second-hand (foot?) pair – one would appreciate the significance.

But my case was quite different: an ordinary pair of black shoes – not new, slightly old fashioned and of average monetary value. So why did they make a significant impression on my heart? Because they were left for me by my brother-in-law, Peter.

Peter did not have much earthly possession. That’s not because he wasn’t capable or smart enough to have a well-paying job. Nor did he lose his earnings on expensive habits and vices. No, the reason he didn’t have much is because he chose to give to others rather than keep for himself. He managed to neutralize and kill off the self-centeredness that threatens to shackle us all, and instead lived to serve, help and generously give to others.

Peter’s benevolence was deeply rooted in his faith and commitment to Jesus Christ. His kindness, compassion and generosity were not just a byproduct of his personality traits and self-discipline; they were founded on the fundamental teachings of the Gospel and were borne by the very presence of God in his life.

The shoes Peter left me upon departing from Cyprus were not a spare pair. Hasmig told me afterwards that he had to wear his casual tennis shoes to a formal evening… because he had given his nice shoes to me! Giving from abundance and excess, we can all do. But few have I met in life that gave and sacrificed like Peter did.

Five years on, I still wear Peter’s shoes. And every time I do, I pause to remember him and reflect on the things he taught me through his life. Walking in his shoes today is a special honor and privilege for me. Walking in his footsteps and following his generous example is a daily challenge for all of us who knew him.

You never would have guessed it…not in a million years! How do you take a short, quiet guy you could pass on the street every day without noticing and turn him into the middleman for a huge peace operation? How does the son of American immigrants from small-town Blenheim, New Zealand end up hundreds of miles away in a country not one year out of a 10-year civil war? You’ve got me stumped; even I couldn’t have made this up…
Meet Peter Capell. He is five’foot, seven and a half- the half being very important’ with blue eyes, brown hair and small hands. His profession? A Librarian. Does he practice this? No.

As a great fan of Asterix and Indiana Jones, coupled with being a dreamer, Peter sought adventure. Something more exciting than sorting and stacking books. (This shouldn’t have been hard to find, but he soon found he was in for far more than he had bargained for.)

In 1995 Peter decided to join a ship – The MV Doulos – as a carpenter. With this newly acquired skill, he enjoyed his job immensely, but was soon asked to go ahead of the ship and prepare for its arrival in future ports. This meant visiting places like Liberia, Lebanon, Myanmar (Burma) etc…. It sounded interesting to him, and the thought of living in places like that for three months was more exciting than anything he could have dreamed up.
So he agreed, and after two terms with the ship, he had had more than his share of “adventures”.

In Yemen he had a man point an AK 47 at his stomach and say, “You know, if I kidnapped you we could be on CNN tonight.” Peter calmly picked up his bag and said as he prepared to leave, “No thanks. Besides, you would need an American for that…not a New Zealander.” He was extremely grateful that the man didn’t know about the American passport in his bag. In India he was nearly trampled to death by a raging mob. In Germany he was bitten by a tick and contracted tick fever. In Ghana he was bitten by a mosquito and ended up with malaria.

Because he deliberately chose interesting – and generally war-torn countries like Liberia, Burma, Lebanon, Yemen, Ghana, and Albania, the people on the ship nicknamed him, “The Indiana Jones of Doulos.”

As I talked with him, I was astounded that this very ordinary man had had so many extraordinary experiences. I watched, fascinated at the way he expressed his love for these countries with his hands waving and light shining in his eyes. As he explained the suffering of the people, his voice became softer, and he faded off into his own world, then he shook himself, smiled, and said…”Whenever I am feeling like I don’t have enough because I have never even owned a car, I just think of those people with less than me. It’s a very humbling thought, and I feel so rich all of a sudden.”
Yes, Peter had his adventures, and he had fun, but nothing could have prepared him for Bougainville, Papua New Guinea…

Bougainville is a remote little island somewhere above Australia. Very few people know it exists and even fewer care about it. At the time of Peter’s visit its people were afraid and suspicious after coming out of a 10-year civil war. It had no electricity, phone lines, roads, running water or fuel. Yes, just the sort of place Peter thrived in. He was as excited about going there as a boy is on Christmas morning. He left New Zealand in July 1999 after a short stay with his family, eager to be off.

Upon arrival, Peter was met with hostility, fear, and a few problems. Getting from place to place was not easy, because the roads were mare like four-wheel drive tracks, and cars were few. Finding a place to stay was also a difficulty, but not as hard as winning the trust of the people.
Peter knew that if he couldn’t do that, then there was no hope of bringing a ship with a majority of white people to the island, no matter how they could benefit it.

Everywhere he looked he saw signs of the war: roads were wrecked, buildings were broken, the government was in a shambles… but worst of all, the spirits of the people were torn. Torn, but not broken. This saddened him, but at the same time, he saw the opportunity to invoke change. The people were ready for it, but they didn’t know how to begin.

Slowly, surely, Peter began to win the hearts of the people. Not just the locals, but the officials as well. Permissions to do with the ship began to come in, and doors slowly began to open. Opportunities arose, and teams were organized for people from the ship to go and live for a few days with people on land.

Peter was well pleased with the progress he was making, but he was still concerned with the state of the government. It was set up with
representatives of leaders from both sides of the civil war, and though they had signed a treaty of peace, they had never apologized to one another. There was still a ‘war’ going on in the hearts of the people.

The ship was coming into port in a few days and time was running out. Then one day Peter came home – to the family he was staying with at the time – so excited! The President, Joseph Kabui, had requested that a seminar of peace be held on board the ship so that proper peace could be established. (Peter’s eyes lit up especially bright when he reached this point, and his talking became animated. He was still excited 4 years later!) “The ship was sailing in, but they didn’t have the technology to say where it was, so I had to climb the highest coconut tree I could find to see if I could spot it!” Peter said, laughing at himself. “It was a great moment. One I will remember for the rest of my life…”

Doulos had an incredible 6 days in Bougainville, and it was topped off by a peace ceremony where the “warring” parties officially apologized to one another. “I will still remember Vice President, James Tanis’ words,” Peter says as if still in disbelief, “He said, ’18 months ago I was searching the bush in order to kill you (President Joseph Kabui). I wish to ask for your forgiveness…’ ”

Wow! So how do you take a librarian and make him the middleman for a huge peace operation? I’m still not sure…but I know that if you embrace even the smallest opportunities in life, no matter how strange, they’ll take you somewhere. I think it’s safe to mention that I’d rather not have an AK47 pointed at my stomach like Peter, but they do say, ‘whatever does not kill you, will make you stronger – and for him, I guess it did!

Peter is one of my heroes. He lived to praise and serve the Lord. His ministry with the ships seemed to take him most often to places where even angels fear to tread. I used to introduce him as the Indiana Jones Of Missions.

I was in Yangon, Myanmar, preparing for the historic Doulos visit, that our friendship began. But it is in a mosquito and leech infested region 40 miles beyond Yangon where Peter’s enduring legacy can be found. When he and I, along with our good friend Steve Cassidy, first visited the Agape Village Orphanage it was just a few straw and wooden huts. No running water and no electricity. Some of the painfully thin children were sleeping under a tree. Peter was instantly gripped with a vision to transform not just the huts but the lives of the children.

As the project grew there were a few anxious emails from the Doulos finance department. Peter just kept smiling, praying and working.

I returned to the Agape Orphanage earlier this year. Now, with running water from the “Doulos Water Tower”, electricity, new dorms and 150 beautiful healthy children – all with Bible names. As we prayed for Peter the children wept for their friend who’s love had touched and changed their lives. It was looking into the tear streaked faces of Esther, Naomi, Deborah, Martha, Timothy, Gideon, Andrew and many others, that I saw Peter’s lasting legacy.
Today I asked the Lord why He had not allowed Peter to complete all of the other visions that were in his heart. The Lord quietly said, “That’s my part.”

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus – Philippians 1:6
Peter’s huge smile hid a multitude of schemes – none for his own personal gain and all for God’s Kingdom. The bottom line for Peter was very simple.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!