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For months following the death of his wife Agnes in March 1995, Reese Hurley, now 74, wondered why God would take his bride of 52 years without him. Depressed, he wondered about his purpose in life. But as he spent his days sitting in a rocking chair, God spoke to his spirit about going to Africa.

Though he'd been a Christian for more than 40 years, he wasn't too receptive to God's nudges. He wanted to get rid of the chair where God had called him. "I wanted to take that thing and bust it all to pieces," says Hurley, a resident of Cambridge, Maryland.

During revival services in late 1995, a preacher spoke to Hurley's church telling them God had called someone to Africa. Hurley came forward to say he was the man.

In 1996, he took his first mission trip to Albania. Then he went to Zimbabwe and Zambia in southern Africa. There, he used his skills as a master electrician to help build a compound for missionaries working with orphans.

Since those trips, he's been back to Albania, to Guatemala six times, to Kenya twice, to Kosovo, to Kentucky, and to Georgia twice. He works with orphans in war-ravaged areas and some of the world's worst slums. Nine trips are slated for 2000.

"I'm ready to go at the drop of a hat," says the member of Cambridge Wesleyan Church.

For the past two years, he's taken most trips with Joe Cacioppo, a member of Bay Country Bible Church and a medical doctor who holds clinics in bush areas. Hurley lives on a fixed income and has spent most of his life savings on these trips. He's only now considering asking for support from others.

Hurley's message to fellow Christian seniors is direct: "Bust up that rocking chair and get off (your) duff."

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