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This is the story of Reverend Charles Harrison Bell (1912-1993), reaching back to his ancestors in the UK, to his early New Zealand settler forebears, and to the lives he touched as a church man, a family man and - a pig farmer. The impact of his evangelist, strong work ethic and impecunious heritage is striking.
He was a restless soul, his life one of conflict, torn between farming and the ministry. He chose what he thought was the higher calling but was it - ever - the right path for him? He was continually led astray by the dream of having his own land and his own animals. His parishioners didn’t share his dream and he achieved notoriety not popularity as a Reverend Farmer. His commitment was questioned and top appointments in the church eluded him which inflamed his self doubt. As a compassionate, good man, he was a successful pastor, but as a high flyer in the church he was not.
His wife came from a wealthy family of successful businessmen and her husband’s pitiable earnings and his struggle to succeed both dismayed and touched her. Her own life was marked by tragedy and his by disappointment but they always stood together.
Dad was kind hearted, gentle and loving - and always well meaning. Through a combination of sometimes delightful and sometimes dismal naivety, and more than his fair share of bad luck, the tales of his life are often hilarious, often tender, often sad. He wrote a lot and thought a lot. Behind his innate shyness, he felt a lot. This is the extraordinary story of a very ordinary man.
