Servant Heart

This picture was on the NAMB website, and we didn't even realize it!!! That's my Dad, Jerry Schleiff, in the foreground.

It was taken on one of the trips with his Arkansas Disaster Relief team--feeding those affected by the hurricane.

I wanted to share this picture because it characterizes my Dad. He has such a servant heart. One story in particular sticks out in my mind.

There was an epileptic man, Manyai, who lived near our mission station at Sessami. Manyai was a sweet man, but was too disabled to care for himself. He smelled of body odor and urine, and his beard was tangled and scraggly. The other villagers shunned him.

But every few months he would show up at our house, and after eating a good, hearty meal, he would submit to Dad for his annual bath. It literally took hours to wash the layers of dirt from Manyai, and to shave his matted hair and beard. It was such an labor of love. I will never forget the friendship between Dad and Manyai.

But my Dad is like that with everyone. As kids, if we ever needed anything, he would bend over backwards to meet that need. Each morning he would wake us up gently with a cup of tea and a backscratch. (That was usually followed by him coercing us into a morning run. He and I still enjoy going to the track together--and Dad will be 71 this year!!!)

Even now, he and Mom have people in their house constantly--especially college students. And the first words that you will hear out of Dad's mouth when someone walks through the door are, "Hey, can I get you anything?"

Mom and Dad just love people. They have adopted "kids" all over the world. After serving for 28 years in Zimbabwe, they had the opportunity to work at IMB headquarters in Virginia. But instead, they chose to go to Asia and spend 5 years as Member Care personnel--serving, encouraging and supporting other missionaries.

The amazing thing is that my Dad has had opportunities at various times in his life to take denominational positions that carry some prestige. When he was younger, he could have been on staff at a large church in Texas. But he has turned all of those down and opted for the mission field. It has meant working in some dangerous, tough places.

He has not had a high-profile life, but he has certainly had a rich and meaningful one. I don't believe we'll know the full impact of my parent's lives until we get to heaven. So much of it has been lived in quiet, servant-hearted anonymity. And I could not be prouder of them.