Most believers realize that a Christian’s purpose is to spread the word of God and lead others to His love, but few are called to travel the world in that service. One man who has is Harold Hutcheson, a new resident of the Reformed Presbyterian Home on Pittsburgh, Pa.’s North Side. While Harold now has time to explore the city after moving from Kansas, his life has not always been leisurely.
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, to parents working at a Reformed Presbyterian mission school in Latakia, Syria, Harold became a part of missionary work at an early age. He first came to the United States at age 3 but frequently returned to Syria, spending a total of 14 years at the mission. Three of these were as a full-time teacher following his graduation from Geneva College as a history major. He then spent two years in the Army before returning to the U.S., and, after 32 years of civil service all over the world, he recently moved to Pittsburgh.
Harold’s childhood was eventful. He and his parents, brother, and twin sisters made recurrent trips to and from the Syrian mission, often having to be extremely resourceful to procure transportation. One instance in which their determination was tested was the Hutchesons’ 1941 trip to the United States from Syria during World War II. Because of German submarine presence in the Atlantic Ocean, the Hutchesons were told that civilian transport would be impossible until the end of the war. Harold’s father, Chester, was not one to quit easily. “Dad was not stopped by that. He didn’t know much more than anybody else, but he was going to try.” Chester inquired at every consulate, embassy, and agency available, seeking information in Latakia, Beirut and Jerusalem. With no leads, the Hutchesons and several other families decided to rent a bus and make their way to a port where they might get passage to North America via the Pacific Ocean.
The group rented two buses and started a scorching 36-hour journey across the desert to Baghdad, where they were directed to take a train to the port of Basra, Iraq. Harold remembers of this desert trek, “It wasn’t very comfortable, being sleepy with no place to lay your head. But we got to Baghdad.” Upon reaching the train station, it became apparent that their difficulties were not at an end. The train had already been booked for a month. Many people would have given up, but the Hutchesons and their companions were a determined group. They entreated the British in Baghdad until the authorities relented, agreeing to attach an extra passenger car to the train to accommodate the America-bound families! This would not be the last time the group received British aid.
After taking the train to the Iraqi river port of Basra, the Hutchesons quickly exhausted the transportation options. It seemed as though there was no chance at leaving the city by sea, until a British messenger arrived with instructions to board a ship called Esperance, meaning “hope” in French. Unable to name a destination because of wartime secrecy, the messenger repeated the simple phrase “Get aboard!” The Hutcheson family had little choice but to comply. After sailing through “the hottest and most humid weather I have ever experienced,” Harold and his family found themselves in Bombay, now Mumbai. After asking around, the Hutchesons again received a British messenger with the repeated statement, “Get aboard!” and boarded the ship Empress of Japan.
The Empress brought them to Colombo, in what is now Sri Lanka, giving Harold and his family just enough time to explore nearby mountains and temples before again shipping off to Singapore. This exploration was risky, as the authorities on the Empress had told the family that the ship could leave at any time without notice. Yet Harold says the experience was worth it. “We knew we would never have opportunity to see that country again.” He also remembers, “What was interesting to me most was these working elephants; they were loading logs onto trucks at some lumber camp. The elephants did all the heavy lifting.”
The Empress was filled with mostly Indian soldiers under British command. During the interview, Harold stomped his feet in rhythm, recalling “Every morning we heard them drilling on the deck.” After arriving in Singapore the troops disembarked, and the Hutchesons sailed on to Vancouver, British Columbia. They took several trains before reaching Harold’s grandmother’s house in Kansas. Their long and tiresome journey was over. The best thing about the entire trip for young Harold? “Missing four weeks of school!”
Harold now realizes how hard his father had to work to ensure the safety of his family. He notes that each time the family stayed somewhere it would be in the houses of missionaries or in free lodging. “There’s another policy of Dad’s, besides being determined to get to the States. He did not stay at hotels, if at all possible, saving the mission money because this was official business…returning from a seven-year mission.” The entire Hutcheson family was extremely dedicated in their service to the Lord, pushing themselves to emotional and physical limits during this lengthy trip. Despite the extreme discomfort and young ages of the children, there was little complaint. Perhaps this childhood journey is one of the things that inspired Harold’s love for overseas service, as it is a passion that has remained with him his whole life.
Traveling also has been one of Harold’s chief hobbies. His favorite spots are places with biblical history. Seeing those places “makes the Bible much more real—to be where it happened in the same or similar culture.” Harold has made trips to Corinth, Jerusalem, Athens, Philippi, Thessalonica, and several other places of biblical importance in order to strengthen his faith in and understanding of the Bible. Though he prefers to explore foreign countries, Harold has also been active in his American travels. He has been to the World’s Fair in Seattle and the cities of Key West, Fla., and San Diego, Calif., among many others.
Because of his appetite for traveling the world, it is no wonder that Harold has maintained a large stamp collection. When asked how his collection began, Harold says, “It would be when I was nine years old. I got most of my early stamps from Dad’s mail. He had quite a bit of mail from the mission boards, other missionaries, and other missions. We had a close working relationship with the Presbyterian mission in Lebanon. We took their advice on a lot of things.”
In all that he does, Harold is never idle in his faith. When asked if he has a particular motto he lives by, he responded, “Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God things that are God’s—do your duty to God and country.” Also, he says, “Be in church on the Sabbath—if there isn’t any church, try to start one.” Living by these codes, Harold has helped start worship services and churches all over the world. He has done his duty to God and country by serving in the U.S. Army while never forgetting his true purpose of being a gospel-spreading Christian.
During his service in the Army, Harold realized that the chaplain visits in Turkey were all too infrequent; so he organized a worship and Bible study group despite knowing he would not be stationed there long. He also started services aboard a vacation cruise ship from the Bahamas and again on a ship heading back to Syria, searching aboard for a preacher and people to sing and pray. Harold, a prior deacon of 11 years, also helped plant a Reformed Presbyterian church in Maryland.
His faith is the most important thing in his life, and he has no regrets about dedicating his life to God and country. Harold sees Christians as “the most stable population element in the Middle East,” and perhaps the only answer to the conflicts that have been taking place there for centuries. “I don’t think any political leaders really know what to do to improve the situation.”
The story of Harold Hutcheson and his family is a story of Christians literally going to the ends of the earth to serve God with their entire lives. Harold and his family have made large sacrifices to bring Christ where He is needed most, and still Harold sees every situation as an opportunity for missionary work. Indeed, a foreign mission is not the only place a Christian can do real work for God; He expects us to bring His light into everything we do.
—Danielle Vance is a junior at the University of Pittsburgh. She was a summer intern in the RPCNA Education & Publication Office.