Angola in my Heart

Margaret Skea, MA 1978

‘None of us have the desire to play the hero or martyr, nor are we made of that sort of stuff… I am fully aware of the possibilities and dangers… If God has called me here, he can keep me. Ruth Hadley went to Angola in 1982, aged 26. She left behind her family, her friends, and a life as a dedicated and gifted teacher. On the cusp of gaining a place in the England international hockey squad, she set aside both her career and her sporting ambition to devote her life to serving God and the Chokwe people. When civil war broke out in 1984, she stayed, despite the advice of the Foreign Office. For thirty-four years she lived among the Chokwe people, sharing in their privations and the perils of conflict – including danger, disease, minefields and hunger. Alongside her Bible teaching work, she organised and dispersed humanitarian and medical aid and, when the war finished, oversaw the building and equipping of five rural schools. If you are a person of faith, perhaps you think a missionary is some sort of ‘super-Christian’. If you aren’t, perhaps you’ll consider her crazy to have done what she did. But Ruth was neither super-spiritual nor crazy. What follows is, on the one hand, a very human story, a patchwork of courage and comradeship, and of humour and hardship. There were moments of joy and satisfaction and also of heartache and tears. She faced many challenges and frustrations and periods of danger and disappointment, as well as struggles with environment and culture, with mistakes and self-doubt. No one, missionary or otherwise, gets it right all the time. This is a story of courage in the face of danger, compassion in the face of suffering and confidence in God. Review quote: ‘I have laughed and I have had a lump in the throat as I was reminded of some of the memories of the hard times in Angola especially during the war. That makes me feel you've got it right - it is my sister you're describing. I recognise her in your writing, so thank you.’ A Hadley family member.

ISBN: 978-1-916905-83-2