In God's lounge room

Last year, corps officers Neil and Gill Waugh celebrated Neil’s healing from cancer. Last month, they received the grave news that his cancer had spread. But Neil and Gill say they are living in God’s lounge room—enjoying his presence, holding on to his promises and praying the big prayers.

Neil and Gill Waugh, corps officers at Belfast Corps, shared many similarities in their early years. They were both brought up by loving Christian parents. Both of them felt God’s call on them to become Salvation Army officers in their teen years. But perhaps most spectacularly, both had fathers who experienced miraculous healings from cancer.

Gill’s parents were Salvation Army officers. When Gill was eight years old, her father, Ray Knight, was diagnosed with a brain tumour. After six weeks in hospital, the situation was critical. But a friend visited the hospital, anointed Ray with oil and prayed. What followed was a healing that can only be described as miraculous.

‘The specialist wrote “miracle” on Dad’s records and we had another 35 years with him before he died,’ Gill recalls. ‘That’s the kind of faith we’ve grown up with. I believe that God is the God of the impossible, I’ve seen it.’

Neil describes himself as a ‘country boy at heart’ who grew up in the small town of Patutahi, just outside Gisborne. They were a close-knit family who attended the Gisborne Salvation Army. When Neil was young, his dad—then in his early 40s—was diagnosed with cancer. From his ward in the hospital, Neil’s dad was the only one who walked out, cured.

‘So for me, where I am now, we say, “God, those healings you’ve done in our family we have witnessed and that’s the floor on which we walk.” I have no excuse not to believe in God’s power to heal because I am a witness to it,’ Neil says.

Getting the call

Gill says she was about 18 when she realised that she needed to find her own faith, and felt a growing realisation that God was leading her into officership. ‘I can’t say I was thrilled about it,’ laughs Gill. ‘Having grown up with parents who were officers I knew it could be tough—I had seen my parents hurt. But in the end, I knew this was where God was leading me and it came to a point of surrender.’

For Neil, a significant turning point for him came during a Salvation Army Easter Camp in 1979. ‘It was there God spoke to me and said I would be a spokesperson for him,’ Neil says. ‘I decided that I wanted to say “yes” to God, and that whatever he asked, I would not say “no”, I would say “yes”.’

Gill had only been an officer for a year when she met Neil, who was in the middle of filling out his application form for Salvation Army training college. Sparks flew immediately, and they quickly knew they were meant to be together.

‘It was a big surprise to me,’ says Gill. ‘When I became an officer as a single person, I thought that was it.’ They waited for twoand- a-half years for Neil to graduate from his officership training, before they were married. Yet, God’s timing was perfect: Neil’s session name was ‘Ambassadors for Christ’—confirmation that God was indeed calling him to be his spokesperson.

Gill reflects on her own sessional name, ‘Guardians of the Truth’. She vividly remembers getting prayer from a pastor, who knew nothing of her session, praying she would guard the truth that had been deposited in her heart. Little did Gill know how many times she would come back to these words.

The tough stuff

‘Up until Gill and I had got married I had never experienced significant loss or hardship in my life,’ reflects Neil. But soon into their married life, Gill had a mild stroke. Then they discovered they only had a 10 per cent chance of being able to have children.

This was the beginning of a journey, not only of dealing with infertility, but understanding the power of holding on to God’s promises. Proverbs 3:5–6 has become one of Gill’s most precious verses: ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.’

‘It was tough and painful, because you get married thinking you’re going to have children,’ says Gill. ‘But God’s promises are powerful and profound. I know now you can live in the power of those promises in your day-to-day life. She quotes Psalm 23:1 (GNT), ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need,’ adding, ‘That’s not just a nice verse to read at a funeral, that’s a powerful verse to live by.’

After three years of treatment, Gill became pregnant. They now have two grown sons, Ethan and Caleb, an ‘adopted in love’ daughter Shannon, and two other ‘adopted in love’ young ladies who are like grandchildren. Recently, Ethan and Nive had a baby boy and so Gill and Neil are now Nana and Pop to Josias.

‘I don’t think God causes hardship,’ reflects Neil. ‘But he can turn it around to grow us, discipline us and teach us. As a result, I can journey alongside people in a way I wouldn’t have been able to before.’ But there were still other transforming times to come.

Into darkness

About five years ago, Gill and Neil’s world fell apart when memories of childhood sexual abuse surfaced for Gill. She describes this as the darkest period of her life. ‘It was ugly and painful. Neil would go into the office some days not knowing if I would still be there at the end of the day.’

Neil put scripture verses around the house for Gill to find. Gill found it difficult to leave the house, so one of the kids always went with her to the supermarket. Despite this, Gill insisted on going to church every week. ‘Worship was a big part of my healing—I learnt why the worshippers would stand at the front when the Israelite troops went into battle,’ she says.

‘I would sit in the worship and cry out, and it was very healing. God unwrapped those promises again, and Psalm 40:1–3 became my song and Proverbs 3 my anchor. I realised what it meant to trust with my all.’

Now, Gill says she is not the same person, and she recognises how she was unknowingly living out of the scars left by the abuse. ‘Before, I was a bit of a perfectionist, but now I don’t worry so much if we have visitors and the dishes aren’t done,’ she laughs. ‘It may seem frivolous, but I dyed my hair blonde last year, I would never have done that before!’ Gill has learnt to express her true self, rather than trying to be perfect for others.

She describes her officership as a ‘latte ministry’, walking with people through their lives. ‘That darkest time in my life has deepened my relationship with people and my empathy as I journey with people. I have greater awareness of mental health issues, and my kids would say I let go of things easier.’

The dreaded news

Just days before we speak, Neil and Gill have come face-to-face with perhaps their biggest challenge. It began in March last year when Neil was diagnosed with cancer of the bladder and stage one melanomas. Gill very clearly felt God’s voice saying, ‘The cancer will not take him’, and they clung on to that promise. Neil had to have a new bladder constructed out of his bowel. They were tough days— in hospital Neil developed pneumonia and had be transferred into the intensive care unit. He can’t remember much about that time. Yet God was true to his promise and Neil recovered completely.

But during a routine follow-up visit last month, things took a grave turn. A CT scan found cancer had spread to Neil’s liver, lung and lymph nodes. ‘From their angle, the treatment they can give me now is not about a cure, it’s about palliative care … and so we sit here today,’ says Neil.

Gill is honest about the ‘ugly emotional rollercoster’. ‘I pretty vehemently told God my confusion to be in this place,’ she says, ‘because he had very clearly said last year that the cancer wouldn’t take Neil.

‘There are moments of absolutely gut-wrenching grief. But I go back to those verses—trust the Lord with all your heart—and I can do nothing more than that. I continue every day to thank God for his healing; that’s where I have to stand. And that’s where I’ll stand until God tells me otherwise.’ But the real story for Gill and Neil is not the cancer.

The real story began when they were new officers, in their first appointment in Alexandra.

Presence and power

‘It was my habit to go down to the church every day and pray over the place,’ Neil says. ‘But God said to me, “Are you more interested in bums on seats, or in building my Kingdom?” So, since then, my focus has been to seek fi rst his Kingdom and trust God to build the church. It’s about discovering God’s presence and his power today.’

‘Now I just say, “God, I want your presence here on earth as it is in heaven.” I don’t want to be comfortable when you’ve called me to something higher.’ Neil admits that as an experienced offi cer, it can be tempting to rely on your own skills to do the job. ‘But real faith isn’t comfortable. Faith says, “God, if you want me to do this, you’re going to have to show up, cos I can’t do this.”

‘I want to live in the days of [Salvation Army founder] William Booth when they saw drunkards get up dry and sober. I want to say, “Your kingdom come!” ’ continues Neil with excitement.

Today, Neil and Gill are living in this reality more than ever before. ‘I have to now live in the element of faith where unless God Being in God’s presence is like sitting in the lounge room with my dad. I’m just enjoying being with him. shows up, I’m not going to be here,’ reflects Neil. ‘I can pray, “God, your will be done,” because that’s a comfortable prayer. If I live or die, we can say, “That was God’s will.” But we’ve been called to hear God’s voice in the midst of our circumstances, and he’s looking at my situation from an eternal point of view.’

So Neil is praying the brave prayers. He says, ‘I have no shame in saying that I believe God is going to heal me, and I’ll prophetically declare that God has already given me the healing, even though I can’t see it in my body right now.

‘I’m not living to die; I died already when I gave my life to Jesus. He’s called me live. He’s called me to bring his kingdom here to earth, and I want to see people’s lives transformed.’

Gill and Neil put the call out and people gathered at their corps in Christchurch, around New Zealand, and even the world, to pray for healing. ‘We’ve had many promises from God that the cancer will not take me,’ confirms Neil.

Being in God’s presence is like ‘sitting in the lounge room with my dad,’ reflects Neil. ‘I’m just enjoying being with him. I don’t want to go to him for what he can give me; I just want to be in the lounge room with him. But he’s my dad, so he wants to give me stuff . I don’t believe my heavenly dad is okay with my cancer, so I’m not going to be okay with it.’

Neil likens this to his own relationship with his children. ‘They can pull stuff out of me that no one else can, because they’re my children. Nothing can separate me from that love.’

On the job

In the midst of emotional turmoil, grief and hope, Neil and Gill’s focus remains on their two loves: their family and their ministry. They speak excitedly about their adopted daughter Shannon, who is bring her new man to meet them in the weekend and the joy of their precious wee grandson.

And they reflect on their lives as Salvation Army officers, Gill says, ‘Officership isn’t easy, but it is the most fulfilling life if that is the calling God has placed on your life. For me, it’s about relationship—being in relationship with Jesus and building relationship with others through our connections. I love it!’

Neil sums this up: ‘On the whole, I would not choose any other life [than that of a Salvation Army officer]. I’ve learnt to rely on God’s presence and empowerment in my life, and God has done something with that. I can’t do anything other than say “yes” to God.”

Postscript

Sadly, Neil passed away on 29 August 2015. In The Salvation Army, we refer to the death of a Christian as a 'promotion to Glory' because of the promise of eternal life Jesus made to all who believe in him. Jesus said in John 14:1-3, 'Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.'

We know that Neil is now enjoying being in the presence of his friend Jesus, whom he loved and served with such dedication and passion in life. He now lives in a place where there is no pain or suffering. However, our prayers are with Gill and their sons, other members of the family and friends - who will grieve the absence of a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend. Many people will be thanking God for the impact of this godly man in their lives and will also be in awe of his courage in battling cancer. Neil lived to serve God and to bring God's Kingdom to the people of New Zealand. We will miss him.  

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by Ingrid Barratt (c) 'War Cry' magazine, 13 June 2015, pp 5-7.
You can read 'War Cry' at your nearest Salvation Army church or centre, or subscribe through Salvationist Resources.