Caring Vol. 19, No. 4 (Winter 2012/2013)

Contents Strike Out Your Stress WINTER 2012_2013 • VOL. 18, NO. 04

03 04 05 06

My Corner

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Interview_ Dianne Callister

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ideas_ inspiration initiative first person

18 22 26 29 36 38 40 43 44

INTERACT PERSPECTIVE NEWS BITES_ World culture faith work

Therapy dogs s.e.l.f. finding sanctuary from life making room ‘apologies due’ revisited building a bridge to hope survival to salvation review resources

CIRCUS TO SEX WORK Cover photo by Adriana Rivera

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Visit Caring online

THE HOLISTIC MINISTRY OF THE SALVATION ARMY WINTER 2012_2013, vol. 18, no. 04 ISSN 2164-5922

Caring is published quarterly by The Salvation Army and seeks to: Reclaim ‘acts of mercy’ as imperatives to holiness.

Bring the Army’s ministries of evangelistic and social outreach into one holistic ministry.

Describe exemplary programs seeking to integrate the goals of the Army’s holistic ministries.

Foster innovation and the development of creative approaches to ministry.

Edify, enlighten, enrich and stimulate discussion among Salvationists involved in caring ministries.

Provide a forum for examination of critical social issues within the Army.

Report on important and relevant research in areas of holistic ministry.

Review critical contributions of scholars and writers within relevant fields of ministry.

Examine The Salvation Army as an organization in respect to its history, purpose, mission and future.

STAFF

Editor in Chief/Robert Docter, Ph.D. bob.docter@usw.salvationarmy.org Managing Editor/Christin Davis christin.davis@usw.salvationarmy.org Assistant Editor/Erica Andrews erica.andrews@usw.salvationarmy.org Contributing Editor/Karen Gleason karen.gleason@usw.salvationarmy.org Associate Editor/Buffy Lincoln buffy.lincoln@usw.salvationarmy.org Editorial Assistant/Jared McKiernan jared.mckiernan@usw.salvationarmy.org Circulation/Arlene DeJesus arlene.dejesus@usw.salvationarmy.org

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Major Betty Israel/USA National Headquarters Maribeth Swanson/USA Central Territory Major Claranne Meitrott/USA Eastern Territory Major Howard Bratcher/USA Southern Territory Major Lawrence Shiroma/USA Western Territory

LAYOUT & DESIGN

for daily doses of The Salvation Army’s holistic ministry. caringmagazine.org Like and Follow: facebook.com/caringmagazine @caringmagazine

Art Director/Kevin Dobruck kevin.dobruck@usw.salvationarmy.org Graphic Designer/Adriana Rivera adriana.rivera@usw.salvationarmy.org

ADVERTISING

Inquire to 562/491-8723 or caring@usw.salvationarmy.org.

CIRCULATION

Send address changes to Caring, P.O. Box 22646, Long Beach, CA 90802 or caring@usw.salvationarmy.org.

SALVATION ARMY USA WESTERN TERRITORIAL HEADQUARTERS Territorial Commander/Commissioner James Knaggs Chief Secretary/Colonel Dave Hudson P.O. Box 22646 180 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802 562/491-8723 • Fax 562/491-8791 e-mail: caring@usw.salvationarmy.org Facebook: CaringMagazine Twitter: @CaringMagazine Unless otherwise indicated, all contents copyright© 2012 by New Frontier Publications, The Salvation Army, USA Western Territory, 180 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802 USA. If requested, permission to reproduce is usually freely granted.

Please contact the publisher before reproducing.

Tense and relax

By Robert Docter

ALL OF US TRANSIT LIFE with varying degrees of stress— some on the short run and some seeming almost permanent. It’s impossible to avoid. Innumerable stressors from a wide range of sources, internal or external, demand our attention in varying ways. Stress is a person’s response to actual or imagined threatening conditions.

Some of these stressors could be considered environmental, like problems at work, some are social, like problems at home, some are psychosocial, like loss of identity or declining employability due to job loss, some are personal, like shyness—a complicated collection of thoughts, anxieties and behavior described by Philip Zimbardo as “all the forces within each of us as well as the pressures from society that combine to isolate us from one another.”

Stress seems to require us to make some kind of adjustment to our behavior. If you perceive (i.e. give meaning to) danger, you’re going to engage your flight or fight response automatically.

If you’re frustrated, seemingly unable to achieve a desired goal, you’re probably going to turn on your anger and attack the barrier, thus, increasing the problem.

If you’re filled with anxiety,

you are manufacturing stress. Anxiety, a generalized, non-specific fear, often relates to feelings of an impending, but unidentified threat.

Researchers have identified two different types of stress: eustress, a pleasant, even motivational stress, and distress, an unpleasant stress that is destructive to health.

Some personality types are prone to have stress, and some thrive on it.

Burnout occurs when levels of stress combine with exhaustion to “deplete physical and mental resources characterized by a loss of motivation, enthusiasm, energy and interest along with a significantly lower level of performance.

Being a Salvation Army officer is fraught with burnout potential. The officer has so many different roles, some even conflict with others. Everyone seems to want your full attention and you require yourself to be perfect in all circumstances. Your week is full of demands, and if you don’t meet them you feel tremendous guilt. Stress has a lot to do with perception of role failure, role ambiguity, conflicting roles, and little direct feedback.

The complexity of the job of Salvation Army corps officer leads to quantitative overload.

So how does one handle this silent enemy?

Start with stress inoculation. Develop certain knowledge and skills that allow you to cope with stress as effectively as possible.

First, recognize the source of the stress. Does it start in you or is it external to you?

Next, tell your body to relax. Don’t laugh. If you

Connect with Bob

website: caringmagazine.org facebook.com/CaringMagazine twitter @CaringMagazine email: bob.docter@usw.salvationarmy.org

Robert Docter, Ph. D., is the editor in chief of New Frontier Publications.

know how, you’ll relax your body easily, probably because you’ve practiced it.

Here’s how.

Learn the Jacobson method of progressive relaxation. Look it up. It has to do with learning the difference between how a muscle feels when its tense and when it’s relaxed. You start with deep breathing—three big ones let out slowly. Tense a single muscle, say your fist, for 3-5 seconds; then relax for 10-15 seconds. When you relax, you’ll feel the blood coursing back into that area.

Repeat the same tense and relax method. Work your way through every muscle in the body from your toes to your scalp, including the shoulders, arms and hands, the jaw and mouth, and the forehead, especially.

When you have mastered that much, you identify the four major areas of the body: (1) legs and feet; (2) back, shoulders and buttocks; (3) arms and hands; (4) face and head. Go through each separate muscle of each sub-section while learning to recognize tension daily for at least a week.

Soon you will be able to relax whatever muscle holds the tension.

Identify your thought patterns that lead to stressful responses, and when they appear, breathe deep.

Assertion is good. Aggression is not. Know the difference. Practice the strategies that work for you.w

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IN YOUR WORDS “I love the photos you used on this issue’s cover!”

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is reported by researchers to be considered the most Christian this information is totally erroneous and misleading (i.e. Mormons publication and I saw this article in it, I would cancel my subscription because I wouldn’t trust their judgement or stance. I’m just sad and disappointed that I saw it ours.” —Major Candi Frizzell, Mesa, Ariz.

“If you are not familiar with this magazine, please let me know—I’ll see if I can’t get you a copy to review. I

believe that this is, hands down, the best piece to showcase the holistic ministry of The Salvation Army and

to help our valued friends know that they are part of an enormous movement.”—Christopher McGown, Louisville, Ky.

Stress, meet resilience

By Christin Davis

YOU KNOW THE FEELING. You’re late. Traffic holds you captive. Your boss texts you, angrily. In your haste, coffee spills on your new pants.

The scenarios from everyday life are seemingly endless, and we’ve all experienced it.

Stress.

It’s difficult to define the word (is it a cause or an effect?), but we know how it feels and are aware that it impacts our well being. The word originates from Middle English “destresse,” from the Latin “stringere – to draw tight,” according to the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Long used in physics to refer to the internal distribution of a force exerted on a material body that results in strain, in the early 20th century biological and psychological circles began using the term to refer to mental strain or a cause of illness. Stress, physiologist Walter Cannon said in 1926, referred to external factors that disrupt homeostasis, a steady state of equilibrium in the body.

Today we know the biological mechanisms related to stress. The body redistributes energy to areas that need it most—the heart and the brain—assisting in overcoming the challenge at hand. It’s a healthy stress mechanism that can turn harmful if the challenge or threat is chronic.

Under continued stress, the body’s immune system is severely weakened.

We know the negative impact stress can have, but it’s near impossible to live stress-free. If you’re part of The Salvation Army, you’re familiar with stress, often working in areas of disaster, extreme poverty or addiction. It’s not something we can avoid, but it can be overcome.

We need resilience.

According to the American Psychological Association, resilience is the process of adapting while facing adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or other sources of stress. By strengthening resilience, we are better able to persevere through Christin challenges.

Davis is the Psychologists say resilient people managing editor of have awareness, an understanding that New Frontier setbacks are part of life, an “internal loPublications. cus of control,” strong problem-solving

skills, strong social connections, identify as a survivor not a victim, and are able to ask for help.

For some, it’s a natural quality, but resilience can be learned. Try a few of these ways to be more resilient: Build positive beliefs in your abilities; take Gallup’s StrengthsFinder test to know your top five areas of strength and build upon them.

Find a sense of purpose in your life; focus your energy into an area of passion.

Develop a strong social network; surround yourself with supportive people who you can confide in and who will be there in times of crisis.

Embrace change; learn how to be more flexible.

Be optimistic; understand that setbacks are temporary and that you have the skills to combat challenges.

Nurture yourself; eat well, exercise, get enough sleep, maintain your spirituality and make time for activities you enjoy.

Develop problem-solving skills; with any challenge, make a list of ways to solve the problem and experiment with different strategies of working through it.

Establish goals; assess, brainstorm possible solutions, and set manageable steps.

Take steps to solve problems; focus on progress, rather than what still needs to be accomplished.

Keep working on your skills; build resilience.

In this issue of Caring, we explore ways to “strike out your stress.” The articles range from ways to deal with stress and live healthy by Dr. Kathleen Hall, founder and CEO of The Stress Institute; to the story of Dianne Callister, given up for adoption at a Salvation Army Booth Home and in recent years named National Mother of the Year; an Australian home committed to the renewal of people in Salvation Army ministry; and ways The Salvation Army partners with therapy dogs to counteract tensions.

It’s an issue dedicated to building your resilience and striking out stress. w Connect with Christin website: caringmagazine.org facebook.com/CaringMagazine twitter @CaringMagazine email: christin.davis@usw.salvationarmy.org

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Mandela sculpture unveiled A new sculpture, unveiled in Howick, South Africa, honors Nelson Mandela on the 50th anniversary of his arrest by the apartheid police. The installation is comprised of 50 steel columns that symbolize prison bars, and that display Mandela’s face if viewed at a certain angle.

Kenyan corps attacked A Salvation Army church in Mombasa, Kenya, was attacked in late August during a time of religious tension for the community. Two people suffered minor injuries and church equipment was damaged, according to Lt. Col. David Shakespeare, assistant chief secretary in the Kenya East Territory. The corps continues to meet for worship services and open air ministry in the community.

“The corps, and indeed the territory, have been enriched by expressions of concern and the promise of prayer,” Shakespeare said. “The Salvationist community in Mombasa continues to reach out to their locality in the name and nature of Christ.”

Australia seeks Army’s help The Salvation Army, which has overseen the Australian government’s community detention program in recent months, is now providing welfare services for the exiles of war-torn Malaysia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, who come from many different faiths.

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Farming goes online Farmhopping will soon launch a gamelike interface for financing small-scale farming. The web-based platform provides users from around the world a chance to own and manage a virtual share of a real farm. For a small investment sum, users can purchase animals and receive rewards, like shipments of cheese or free stays on the farm to consume organic produce and learn how to take care of animals. Beginning with a small farm in Bulgaria, with 250 sheep available for purchase, user fees will cover almost all of the farm’s expenses.

Greater freedom A state high court ruled in favor of greater religious freedom in India’s most Hindu state, striking down certain restrictions outlined in Himachal Pradesh’s Freedom of Religion Act of 2006 as unconstitutional.

Be happy, live longer Extroverted, happy, optimistic, socially connected, easy-to-laugh and conscientious are six personality traits that help you live longer—according to researchers at PloS Medicine, Einstein’s Institute for Aging Research, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Foundation to ‘Chronicle’ Lewis’ legacy The C.S. Lewis Foundation will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the renowned author and scholar’s death with a series of events in San Diego, Houston, Cambridge and Oxford over the next two years. “Living the Legacy: The Vision, Voice, & Vocation of C.S. Lewis” will feature a variety of notable Lewis scholars and performing artists.

Foreclosure plagues older Americans Roughly 600,000 people over age 50 are in foreclosure; 625,000 are at least three months behind on paying their mortgage; and 3.5 million now owe more than their home is worth, according to a new AARP report.

Christian music popularity surges Christian rapper Lecrae hit number one on iTunes with his album “Gravity” in September. Less than a week later, fellow Christian hip-hopper tobyMac claimed the top spot on the Billboard 200 with his album, “Eye On It,” becoming the first Christian artist in 15 years and just the third ever to top the mainstream music chart.

Green guilt Americans are the least likely to suffer from “green guilt” about their environmental impact, despite trailing the rest of the world in sustainable behavior, according to a new National Geographic survey.

Miracle believers A Pennsylvania State University researcher recently reported to the American Sociological Association a finding that the number of Americans who definitely believe in religious miracles increased 22 percent in the past two decades, with 55 percent now certain of this supernatural phenomenon.

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Bible engagement A new LifeWay survey revealed that only 19 percent of regular Protestant churchgoers read the Bible daily.

Pastor freed Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, born to Muslim parents and a convert to Christianity by age 19, was released after being held in prison for almost three years under a death sentence in Iran. Disregarding the sentence, a trial court convicted Nadarkhani of a lesser charge—evangelizing Muslims—and declared that his prison sentence had already been served.

Poverty a priority According to a U.S. Census Data report, median household income declined in 2011 and the poverty rate remained mostly unchanged from 2010 at 15 percent. The federal government considers a family of four under the poverty if their annual income is less than $23,021.

Rev. Jim Wallis’ “Circle of Protection” was signed last year by more than 65 denominational heads—including The Salvation Army’s National Commander Commissioner William Roberts—relief and development agencies and other religious leaders. Wallis is calling on Christians to make decreasing poverty a top priority.

Plummeting confidence The number of Americans who have faith in organized religion is at an all-time low, according to a recent Gallup poll. Only 44 percent of Americans today have a lot of confidence in organized religion, compared to 66 percent in 1973.

Jesus married?

A historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School claimed to identify a piece of papyrus written in Coptic in the fourth century containing the phrases: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife ...’” and, “‘She will be able to be my wife’”—a wife never mentioned in Scripture. Questions have followed the claim’s authenticity.

Read a draft of the paper about the fragment: hvrd.me/S95aCD.

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Response in Rwanda continues The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo caused thousands of Congolese to cross the border seeking refuge in Rwanda and neighboring countries. The Salvation Army responded with support for medical needs, including medication, staff and transport. Recently, the Army partnered with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to distribute 1,800 blankets to those displaced.

Annual report The Salvation Army’s 2012 Annual Report is now available online, detailing the Army’s provision of assistance to Americans last year, including 10 million nights of lodging; 60 million meals; 86,000 job referrals; and substance abuse rehabilitation to 324,000 people. Read it: http://annualreport.salvationarmyusa.org

Army combats trafficking Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and The Salvation Army in Columbus pooled resources and formed a new partnership—the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Collaborative—to bring raise awareness to human trafficking, add capacity to respond to human trafficking cases, and build communication channels across jurisdictional boundaries and between law enforcement, prosecutors, and social service providers.

The group’s operations are being funded by two U.S. Department of Justice grants totaling nearly $700,000.

Scripps donates The Ellen Browning Scripps Foundation awarded the San Diego Kroc Center $20,000 for a new literacy curriculum and technology at RJ’s Preschool Academy, which serves more than 135 students from 8 weeks to age 5. The gift will provide a library of 400 children’s books, resource books for teachers, Hatch iStartSmart technology, Zoo-Phonics curriculum and Handwriting without Tears curriculum.

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Former Booth baby becomes Mother of the Year and starts her own nonprofit.

By Erica Andrews

Dianne Callister re-

ceived a tremendous shock from her parents at just 8 years old—she was adopted.

In 1964, a teenage girl gave birth to Callister at a Salvation Army Booth Home in East Los Angeles.

Stigma surrounded teenage pregnancy during the 1960s so Booth Homes existed to be a safe shelter for young girls. At two months old, Callister was adopted and believes this upbringing helped cultivate a deeper meaning in her life.

She’s currently the UN representative for American Mothers and started Project Give, which educates and funds student-driven service for middle school students nationwide. In 2010, she was recognized as the National Mother of the Year. Caring met with Callister to learn more about her journey.

When did you first find out you were born at a Salvation Army Booth House?

I play the harp and I was volunteering for an organization that brought music to inner city kids.

When they gave the address, something rang a bell. I went back to my birth certificate and realized that’s where I had been born. I ended up playing the harp on Mother’s Day at the same location that I had been born 48 years ago.

When I was done playing, one of the girls came over and started talking to me and I said to her, “You look like you’re due anytime.” She replied, “Well I’m just twice as unlucky I’m pregnant with twins.”

I said to her, “Do you want to know a secret? I know what you’re doing is really important and it matters. I know that because I was born here.

What you’re doing is important to me.”

The look in her eyes changed and I think it was just hard for her to grasp that what she was doing could matter to another human being. It made me realize when we understand that what we’re

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Paying it forward

doing matters it changes our perspective. I think that’s what The Salvation Army does. Helping people understand that touching the life of one person matters. I will always be grateful to The Salvation Army for my chance here on earth.

Do you think knowing that helped shape your values?

Definitely because I’ve always had a strong faith in God and known that I had a purpose here—that I wasn’t an accident. I mean maybe my circumstances for coming here were accidental, but I think it makes you more purpose driven.

Is that part of what inspired you to start Project Give?

My daughter was working in Rwanda and the Congo with One Laptop per Child [a non-profit that gives laptops to children in developing countries] and she called me one day and said, “Mom, if I would have known how the rest of the world lived in middle school, it would have changed my whole life.”

I honestly couldn’t even sleep that night because I sat up thinking about those words. I thought if I could save one parent, one child. I was just thinking one. Turning one person into focusing on the greater good.

I woke up the next morning and I thought I’m just going to go to the local school and I’m going to say what if we give you $2,000. I went to the principal and I said I’ve got this idea. If I give you this money, can you set it aside and get a group of kids together. However you want to implement it. I had no idea if it was going to go anywhere and he said, ‘I think that’s a great idea.’

So the school receives the funds and the kids decide how they want to utilize it in their community?

Yeah, so the funds are all leveraged into some sort of social cause. In Hawaii they’re leveraging them in environmental work.

In Boston they’ve done a lot of anti-bullying because that was a big issue there. In downtown Los Angeles they did a lot of feeding the homeless and helping families that were in dire situations.

Connect with Erica website: caringmagazine.org facebook.com/caringmagazine twitter: @caringmagazine email: erica.andrews@usw.salvationarmy.org Photo by Erica Andrews

Erica Andrews is the assistant editor of Caring.

Essentially it’s like paying it forward. Taking that money and doing something great with it for someone else?

Right! And it empowers them because they’re not just a kid anymore. They’re a kid with responsibility. It gives them a little taste of what its like to be a leader and what it’s like for someone to have enough faith in you that they’ve entrusted you with this money.

When did you decide to make it into a nonprofit?

Initially we just did it with a few schools and then it started growing. We started getting a lot of applications from different areas. It became so big I couldn’t fund it myself.

I hadn’t even officially formed it yet and I was at the local Staples picking up folders for our teachers. I walked in and there were all of these men in suits and I thought well that’s kind of strange. As I was collecting my folders, one of the men asked what my folders were for.

I told him they were for a service-learning program. He turned to his associates and said this is exactly the kind of program Staples needs to be sponsoring. I later found out he was the president of Staples.

Wow, that’s incredible.

Isn’t that amazing! I mean there are no accidents. They were our first sponsors. It was funny because at that time I knew nothing about sponsorship.

How many schools is Project Give involved in now?

We’ve operated in over 100 schools. Right now we’re trying to bring it back to Los Angeles because we’ve found that it really needs it. It’s great to get all the applications from different locations, but it really hasn’t strengthened one core area. So what we would like to do now is just focus on strengthening Los Angeles.

How can others help with this cause?

They can have schools apply, and I think partnerships would be amazing. Encourage people to take an interest in this age group, in middle school, and empower them to care about their community.

How are you able to juggle everything so well?

To be honest, I believe when you keep your priorities first and foremost God, your family and then everything else—and you try and just make a positive difference every day—you really are led. I don’t have any other way to describe it. You really are led by a higher power that helps you define your decisions. I’ve been fortunate to be able to tap into that in an effective way. w

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Trash bags, duct tape and fashion Gala raises money for Salvation army shelters

By Becky Kreienkamp

Fashion-forward supporters came out

en masse to The Moonrise Hotel in Saint Louis, Mo., for a cutting-edge fashion show to support St. Louis area Salvation Army shelters, raising $19,700.

Dubbed “The Garbage Bag Gala,” the show debuted outfits created out of trash bags, duct tape and other repurposed items that were used specifically to raise awareness of homelessness and poverty in Missouri. At $45 a ticket, the colorful, chic, and at times comical elements of this show helped to make it a one-of-a-kind spectacle.

Models for the event included local media personalities and social media influencers.

Designers ran the gamut from a 10-year-old first-time designer to the professionals. In all, 15 designers and 15 models contributed.

“I thought it would just be like cutting holes in bags,” said Justin Gallman, an attendee. “Some of those designs were amazing! They looked like actual dresses!”

Lexi Koenig, 17, designed an edgy, Goth, black ball gown of hefty bags, chicken wire and soda can tabs. It was so extravagant that the model had to practice walking the stairs in the gown to make sure she would not ruin the creation in the process.

“My favorite part of the show was just how creative the designers were,” said another attendee, Natalie Merseal. “I love how everything was made out of something recyclable.”

Local celebrities Gwen Ragno, associate editor for ALIVE Magazine, Angela Hutti, a local fashion-savvy meteorologist from the local FOX affiliate, and Deb Bass, managing editor for St. Louis Post Dispatch, served as event judges, making critiques based on outfit creativity and model personality. w

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Top: The bunker room. Above left: The engineering room.

Above: The nine garage band stages under construction.

Left: Painting a mural in the jungle room.

Becky Kreienkamp is the communications representative for The Salvation Army Midland Division.

Photos by Renaissance Recordings Connect with Becky twitter @cryincamp email: rdkreienkamp@gmail.com

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Fundraisers get creative TWIN CITIES SALVATION ARMY ATTRACT RECORD PARTICIPATION

By Jeff Olsen

The MOST Amazing Race

that connects back to the Northern Division’s home page. held in Minneapolis, Minn., attracted its largest field of “We tried to make finding us as simple as possible,” competitors and set two new high marks for fundraising said Nicole Nicklin, online communications manager for this year as 70 competing the Northern Division. teams, raised more than “The new address gives $64,000 for local food the event its own online and shelter programs, identity and it only cost pushing the event’s lifetime about $10 per year.” fundraising total over Nicklin and her team $316,000. created web pages to The Twin Cities Salvation match the feel of the race, Army boosted its race from including a fun, flashy 39 teams in 2011 to 70 landing page that asks teams in a year by changing potential participants almost everything it did to questions like, “Know market the event. anyone who would look “People who do the race good holding a giant check love it, so we knew our for $5K?” and “Don’t you challenge was simply to get think it’s time you and a more people to know about friend won a doughnut it,” said Julie Orlando, eating contest?” special events manager “We kept four words for The Salvation Army in mind for everything Above: Laura Pook from Team Pinky and the Brain Northern Division. that we built: have fun, do competing in a juggling challenge. Left: Team Two With images of the most good,” Nicklin said. “There Guys members Grant Dietrich and Jesse Struve work talked about moment from are more and more races through a “name that sushi” challenge. the 2011 race—a challenge like these in the market, that had teams diving off but ours fuels a mission. the highest platform at the University of Minnesota Aquatic We want people to know it’s a good time, for a good cause.”

Center—Orlando devised a one-minute highlight reel, Now that Orlando and Nicklin have increased the which turned out to be a key selling point in bringing the number of racers, they intend to stay in touch with the local CBS station on board. individuals online and continue the conversation on a race“A simple video that we made for free on a home specific Facebook page. computer became our best pitch,” Orlando said.

Orlando hopes to see even more racers next year as Not only did WCCO-TV become the presenting sponsor, word spreads that The MOST Amazing Race lives up to a pair of the news team’s anchors joined the race and the its promise as a way to have fun and do good at the same station created the Ellen DeGeneres dance challenge. time. w Orlando said the video also helped with a connection to the local sports radio station. “They could see it’s a fastJeff Olsen is the communications and marketing director for The Salvation Army Northern Division. paced, fun, sports-themed event and a perfect opportunity for partnership,” she said.

Photos by Dan Oksnevad and Kaitlyn Link Besides the video, web branding became a focus of event planning. The race is no longer behind a backslash on the Connect with The MOST Amazing Race website: AmazingRaceMN.org main website, but has its own—AmazingRaceMN.org— facebook.com/mostamazingrace email: julie_orlando@use.salvationarmy.org

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A story of ‘downward mobility’

By Eugene Cho

A few years ago, my wife,

Minhee, and I made one of the hardest decisions we’ve made thus far in our marriage and in our calling as parents.

In our hope to honor a conviction of the Holy Spirit to give up a year’s salary, we had begun the two-year process of saving, selling and simplifying in 2007. Our goal was to come up with our then-year’s wages of $68,000—in order to launch a movement called One Day’s Wages. With only a few months left to come up with the total sum, we were a bit short and decided to sublet our home for a couple months, and asked some friends if we could stay with them on their couches or their guest room.

Needless to say, it was a very humbling time.

Our instruction for ourselves and our children were very simple: Each person gets one carry-on bag for their belongings.

I still remember crying the night I told our kids of our plans. This wasn’t what I had signed up for.

This was by far more difficult than I had imagined. I felt I had failed my wife and children—a deadbeat.

Had I known, there is no way in Hades I would have agreed to this conviction.

But as I look back now, I’m incredibly grateful for this experience. We simplified our lives, sold off belongings we didn’t need. For about two years, we agreed as a family not to buy anything beyond our necessities. When we stayed with friends, we were reminded what was most essential in our lives: It was the people right in front of us. Faith and hope in Christ. My marriage. My children. My community.

In our 2,500-plus square-feet home, it’s so easy to get lost in our stuff, our possessions, our rooms, our floors, our gadgets, our TV sets, our personal music listening devices, etc. We can get so lost in our stuff we forget—or take for granted—the most important things: relationships.

• • •

Two years later, I worry that the invaluable lessons we learned during our season of simplicity may be getting lost on us—again. Recently, I was

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on my sabbatical. It’s something I treasure every three years and during my sabbatical, we usually leave Seattle. During our time away, we try to sublet our home—if we can find renters we trust.

While it’s not something we particularly want to do, it’s an important source of income that allows us to travel without financial worries. But in order to sublet the home, we have to minimize and clean up the home.

Some months ago (before we left for our 7,400mile road trip), we couldn’t believe how much stuff we’d accumulated since we gave up our fast of “not buying anything beyond essentials.” We couldn’t believe the stuff we’ve accumulated in our closets, our garage, our toyboxes, our offices and, to be honest, the stuff we’ve accumulated in our hearts. And this is from a family that takes great “pride” in simple living.

Again I’m reminded of the great power in the story of Jesus. There are so many things that compel me about Jesus, but one of them is what I call the story of “downward mobility.”

It completely contradicts the movement of upward mobility that is pervasive in our culture. We want to upgrade everything at every opportunity.

We want the bestest, the fastest, the strongest, the mightiest, the largest, the mostest, the most horse-powerful-est, the beautiful-est, the most blazing CPU processer-est and the list goes on and on. Even as I’m typing this on my lethargically slow netbook, I want ... I need ... I lust ... for a new Mac Air. But I digress.

Upward mobility never stops. Because we go through this cycle constantly. And the powers that be know this.

Jesus?

The incarnation is the story of how Jesus humbled himself and gave up the glory of heaven to descend upon this world; He gave up total divinity to be consumed by flesh and bone and to simultaneously assume full humanity—being fully God and also fully man. Born in a manger to simple commoners, he assumed a simple lifestyle as a carpenter and throughout his life, he owned nothing except the stuff he traveled with.

It’s the story of downward mobility.

This is a lesson and a story we have to all get behind. This is the Jesus we have to get behind—not the Jesus of bling bling, the Jesus of total prosperity theology, a Jesus of exclusivity and elitism, a Jesus of total health and prosperity or the Jesus of “send $49 and we’ll mail you this special anointed cloth.”

It’s not to suggest that we have to adopt a lifestyle of poverty, but rather a lifestyle of enough.

We have enough. We are blessed and blessed immensely. God has given us enough. God is our enough.

I’m reminded of the wise words of G. K. Chesterton: “There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.”

So true. So true.

Perhaps, an easy and one (more) step we can take to grow in “our lifestyle of enough” is to simply give away our birthdays to model Jesus’ model of downward mobility. w

Eugene Cho is the founder and lead pastor of Quest Church in Seattle and the executive director of Q Cafe, an innovative nonprofit neighborhood café and music venue. With his wife, Cho founded One Day’s Wages, a movement of people, stories and actions to alleviate extreme global poverty.

Connect with Eugene website: eugenecho.com | onedayswages.org facebook.com/eugenecho email:@eugenecho

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Therapy dogs Canine companions serve as calming conduits for The Salvation Army

By Jared McKiernan

Daily trials, tensions and tribulations confront each of us with stress. Its repercussions can affect not only our mental and emotional health, but our physiological health as well. Stress can increase both heart rate and blood pressure, according to the American Institute of Stress, which are two of the most common risk factors for heart disease—the number one killer in the U.S. The Salvation Army serves millions of struggling individuals all over the world according to their circumstances, but each one shares the palpable commonality of stress. To counteract this menacing burden, the Army utilizes an uncommon method—dogs, therapy dogs, specifically—in collaboration with several Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) organizations, which often require testing or accreditation for therapy dogs.

Specially trained to provide comfort and affection to people who need it most, a therapy dog primarily works in hospitals, retirement homes and schools, but also in the midst of disaster. A good temperament is a therapy dog’s most important characteristic, regardless of the breed.

Billie Smith, executive director of Therapy Dogs Incorporated (TDI), an AAT program that has partnered with the Army for its annual Red Kettle campaign, believes that dogs offer a special type of comfort that humans can’t.

“Dogs are very non-judgmental,” Smith said. “They’re good listeners and they’re very calming. Plus, they can help drop the blood pressure of patients. It’s a statistically proven fact.”

Numerous studies have evaluated the physiological impact of therapy dog interactions, documenting significantly reduced heart rates and blood pressure in both medical patients and healthy volunteers. According to Dr. Blair Justice, author of Who Gets Sick: Thinking and Health, Jared playing with a dog can McKiernan, is an editorial elevate levels of assistant for serotonin and New Frontier dopamine, Publications.

“Dogs are very nonjudgemental.

They are good listeners and they’re very calming.”

– Billie Smith

Photo courtesy of ITDI

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“I’ve had some powerful ministry opportunities just by walking in a room with Bucky.”

– Captain David Ebel

ITDI Founder Shirley Colman and therapy dog Davy help a third grader read “Clifford the Big Red Dog” as part of the “Ruff Readers” program.

nerve transmitters that are known to have pleasurable and calming properties, which leads to lower blood pressure.

Captain David Ebel, corps officer in Escondido, Calif., adopted Bucky, a three-year-old Golden Retriever, after Ebel decided he would need assistance with certain physical activities due to arthritis and chronic pain in his legs and back.

Ebel soon made a habit out of bringing Bucky along with him everywhere, particularly to Palomar Hospital, where Ebel serves as a volunteer chaplain. He enrolled Bucky in the hospital’s RX Pets Therapy Dog Program, which allowed Bucky to visit with hospital patients. Though it is not a common practice to use a service dog as a therapy dog, Bucky flourished.

He quickly became a popular commodity among patients, developing a keen ability to pinpoint sick, stressed and depressed individuals. Ebel said Bucky’s playfulness and calm repose visibly helps to lift the spirits and quell the anxiety of many patients.

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“Bucky became a ‘regular’ on my rounds as a chaplain [and] it became evident that he had a gift to be intuitive and discerning regarding the needs of others, and would rise beyond his normal careful self and be a great comfort to many patients,” Ebel said. It’s not uncommon for Bucky to visit 50 patients a day on the “trauma floor” of Palomar Hospital.

“We came across one young lady, a single mother, who was diagnosed with sepsis [a potentially fatal blood infection] so the medical staff had to put her in a medically induced coma,” Ebel said. “The doctors had to amputate both of her legs and one of her arms to keep her alive. She was able to pull through but as long as she was at the hospital, all she wanted to do was cuddle with Bucky. She even said that the one hour a week she spent with Bucky was more beneficial to her than anything the doctors were doing.”

One of the key advantages AAT holds over other therapeutic modalities is that it provides the patient a much-needed opportunity to give affection as well as to receive it. It is this reciprocity that makes AAT not only a legitimate route to healing, but a valuable one, according to Dr. Andrew Weil, director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine.

Ebel believes the value of therapy dogs extends beyond their ability to help people destress.

“I’ve had some very powerful ministry opportunities just by walking in a room with [Bucky],” Ebel said. “I’ve been able to share the gospel in a number of situations thanks to Bucky.”

Besides hospital visits, therapy dogs have also played a pivotal role in some of the Army’s recent disaster response missions.

The Army partnered with AAT teams from the or-

ganization HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response (AACR) following tornados in areas of Indiana last March. Two therapy dogs, Charlie and Brie, assisted Captain Cynthia Shiels, Eagle Creek, Ind., corps officer, and the emotional and spiritual care team. Charlie and Brie calmed survivors, some of whom had lost homes and been detached from their families, and were overtaken with stress.

“It was amazing,” Shiels said. “It was really hard to get some of [the survivors] to talk at first but all we had to do was walk up with the dogs and they started opening up.”

Independent Therapy Dogs Incorporated (ITDI), another AAT program, is eyeing a collaboration with the Army in the near future. ITDI Founder Shirley Colman believes there is a misconception that therapy dogs are only useful for sick or bedridden individuals.

“One point that we try to get out to the general public is that most everybody has not been able to go through life without some pain, or grief, or disaster,” Colman said. “Volunteers and medical staff can benefit

just as much from interaction with therapy dogs, and so can the dogs. It lowers their blood pressure, too. It’s a win-win-win situation.”

ITDI utilizes therapy dogs in its “Ruff Readers” program, which allows children to improve their reading skills by reading to therapy dogs, unafraid of being judged or ridiculed in the event of a mistake. The dogs also visit college campuses at the end of each academic session to help students relax during stressful final exams.

Ebel hopes the Army further expands its use of therapy dogs to bring happiness in the midst of even the most turbulent times.

“Bucky is part of the corps family now,” Ebel said.

“Who knew that I would need Bucky and he would need me and together we would find so many in need? Never underConnect with Jared estimate website: caringmagazine.org God's plan facebook.com/CaringMagazine for your twitter @ CaringMagazine email: jared.mckiernan@usw.salvationarmy.org future.” w

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S.E.L.F. A simple acronym for healthy living

By Kathleen Hall

Most people live with a haunting feeling that something chaos Mother Nature imposes may appear as destructive or is fundamentally wrong with the way he or she lives, know- violent on the exterior, however the experience eventually ing deeply that we live in a fragile world riddled with tre- brings pruning, rebalance and health to our natural world. mendous stress.

The trees in these storms have taught me much about I believe that stress—physical, emotional and spiritual— the human soul. It is not if suffering, loss, disappointment, can fracture us when we become alienated or distracted and disease come into our lives, but when they show up. from our true purpose and the calling of our lives.

I have found that, like the trees on our farm, we all have These stresses compare to the image of the storms in na- the capacity to weather the storms of our lives when we are ture. After living on our farm at Oak Haven for many years, deeply rooted in a strong foundation and we can emerge I developed a great respect for the sudden shock of a vio- transformed. The crucial element to remember is not to lent thunderstorm as it rips through the farm on a blister- fear the magnitude of the storm, but to trust that we have cultivated the roots that anchor and sustain us ing, sultry summer afternoon. Rooted deep in the face of the events of our lives. We do so in the earth, the strong trunks of the venerDr. Kathleen Hall is an internationally not merely to survive, but to create an incredibly able trees hold steady, while the branches are recognized lifestyle prosperous, balanced life rooted in love, compasflexible, yielding with humility to the wind expert in stress, sion and happiness. and the rain. If these branches could not surwork-life balance and Some of us have lost our deep awareness and render and be flexible to outside storms, the mindful living, and is reverence of the sacred after losing confidence tree could not survive and flourish. The utter the founder/CEO of The Stress Institute and The Mindful Living Network.

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and becoming distracted with our busy, frenetic lives. Yet when we disconnect from the sacred and the holy, we lose our reverence, awe and humility for all of life.

Instead of attempting to change the weather, or running from the storms, or fleeing the stresses of our life, we can choose to turn within and cultivate deep roots, a strong trunk and flexible branches. When we turn within, we create the opportunity to emerge transformed by the storm, more resilient, creating a new sense of strength, power, confidence and health. As you weather the seasons of life, be courageous and confident that your authentic self is evolving and unfolding your purpose.

Research shows that stress prematurely ages you, shrinks your brain, hurts your memory and makes you gain weight.

Stress drives depression, a leading cause of illness and disability according to the World Health Organization. Stress is the epidemic of the 21st century. Every thought, word, emotion and feeling you experience creates a chemical release in your body. Stress is the driver for most diseases, weakening the immune system, and raising your risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, insomnia, obesity and most other chronic diseases.

S.E.L.F. Care® is a simple, easy to remember acronym derived from illustrious scientific research institutions at Duke University, Harvard University, the University of Texas MD

Anderson Cancer Center, and Johns Hopkins University on how to reduce stress.

S—Serenity Serenity is the opposite of stress. Learn a few simple practices that scientific research has proven lowers blood pressure, lowers heart rate, provides an immune boost and reduces stress hormones. These practices also help your body produce calming, healing hormones that de-stress the mind and body.

1. Be silent, pray, take deep, slow breaths and be grateful.

2. Repeat a positive affirmation. Make it something uplifting like “I am enough” or “Everything has a purpose.”

3. Listen to relaxing music.

4. Listen to nature sounds. Download bird, water or nature sounds to or take a walk in nature.

5. Visualize. Download a guided-imagery audio or create your own by imagining you are at your favorite place on earth. Visualize yourself there, smell this place, feel your presence, hear the sounds and touch the flora.

E—Exercise Research tells us that exercise produces endorphins and

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Read more by Kathleen Hall can be as effective as antidepressants in reducing stress and depression. It also helps to reduce your risk of contracting disease.

1. Walk. When you are stressed, walk around your office building or up and down the stairs.

2. Work out. Going to a gym, at home or away, reduces stress and makes you resilient to future

Does S.E.L.F. Care really work? “Alter Your Life” is

a reality show that followed six people as they transform their lives using stress resilience techniques taught by Dr. Kathleen Hall at Oak Haven. You can watch the show at youtube.com/mindfullivingnetwork.

stress. Download workouts, such as yoga or dance moves to your smartphone, iPad or computer.

3. Family exercise. Keep a basketball hoop or badminton net in the back yard. When the family is stressed over a situation, get outside and play or go for a walk. A family walk after dinner each night creates a time of communication, intimacy and play.

L—Love Sharing your stress and concerns helps the mind and body relax and renew. Research tells us there is a positive relationship between having a community and our health.

1. Meet with a friend or coworker. Being with someone you care about produces endorphins

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and oxytocin in your body.

2. Get in a group.

Create a study group, a walking group, a gardening group, or a group around an interest you have.

When you have friends that support you, there is less stress in your life.

3. Phone or text support. Keep at least three close friends or family on your phone list who you can call when you need support. It will help you destress to realize you are not alone and someone cares about you.

Alter Your Life: Overbooked?

Overworked?

Overwhelmed?

(Oak Haven, 2005)

A Life in Balance: Nourishing the Four Roots of True Happiness (AMACOM, 2006)

Uncommon H.O.P.E (Sourcebooks, 2010)

F—Food Food is medicine.

Food is healing. Food regulates your moods, your sleep, and your health.

Stress can be regulated by what you eat.

1. Eat breakfast, which increases metabolism, helps keep weight down, and helps with mood swings.

2. Eat omega 3’s—such as fish and nuts—which help with anxiety, stress and depression.

3. Eat Vitamin B6—such as bananas, tuna, turkey, salmon, rice, sweet potatoes and sunflower seeds—which increases the serotonin in your body that calms and heals.

Take responsibility for your own S.E.L.F. Care and teach it to your spouse, children and co-workers. Practice S.E.L.F. Care every day and discover Connect with The Stress Institute website: stressinstitute.com the benefits of a mindfullivingnetwork.com happy, healthiemail: info@stressinstitute.com er life. w

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Finding sanctuary from life A couple committed to the renewal of people in ministry

By Esther Pinn

It’s quiet. The loudest sound is the crunch of my shoes as I walk down the pebbled pathway.

Bordering the Lane Cove National Park in Australia is an oasis from the hustle and bustle of city life—Sanctuary House. And there is only one word to describe this place: Selah, from the Hebrew word meaning to stop, pause, reflect and rest.

For Jonathan Browning and his wife, Michelle Kay-Browning, this word is essential to their lives.

And Sanctuary House was birthed out of their desire to help other people, particularly Salvation Army officers, soldiers and other personnel learn how to rest, find healing and encounter God. “It’s a necessary part of life to stop, take time out and to renew your mind, renew your heart and deliberately spend focused time with God. We need to do that to look after ourselves,” Kay-Browning said.

“This place is for someone who is struggling in ministry and needs a bit of time out and care.”

Learning how to rest wasn’t something Jonathan understood until his first wife, Amanda, died in 2007, leaving him and two sons, Jacob and Eli, now 13 and 11.

“For me, my own personal journey of restoration came through people looking after me," he said.

"The restoration of the heart was a big part of my own recovery journey and the need to meet with God for that healing.” Along with that, Browning said he needed space to sit down, relax and feel comfortable—a Esther Pinn place to feel safe. is a staff "The design [of Sanctuary writer for Pipeline.

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House] was very much creating a place that would be safe, where people would come and just share life’s journey and meet with God, but also meet someone who would just sit there and listen to you,” he said.

“That’s my part of how the house came about.”

The need to retreat Kay-Browning shares a similar healing journey as her first marriage ended in divorce. She said she wasn’t surprised to meet someone who shared her passion for renewal and restoration ministry.

“God had spoken to me for years about a husband who would have been involved in the healing process," she said. “So I wasn’t surprised when I met Jonathan and inherited two boys. God prepared me for that years and years before.”

Kay-Browning also had a vision for a safe space.

“Through lots of ministry, through worship and prayer, God had spoken about a place where people could come to encounter him and to Selah, to rest,” she said. “So when we met it was [a case of] how do we outwork that when we have a similar passion for restoration and renewal.”

A week before Jonathan and Michelle married in 2008, they signed a contract for the property where Sanctuary House now stands. Just over three years later, the shack that was originally on the property has been turned into two beautiful, modern retreat homes.

The first house is where Jonathan, Michelle and their three children [a daughter, Abbey, joined the family in 2010] live. The second house is for guests, and has three bedrooms, a kitchen, a sitting room for relaxing, reading and prayer, a training room with a piano, and a bathroom that includes a retreat spa bath.

“There’s very deliberately a spa in there,” KayBrowning said. “God really put on my heart that we need to put something in there for care and well-being. It’s a very deliberate thing that I think the church really needs to start to take notice of. The world [retreats] so we need to do that better than the world.”

Aside from relaxing indoors, guests are welcome to venture into the tranquil national park for a walk, to feed the chickens, collect eggs, tend to the vegetable garden or sit outside and read a book.

The property epitomises the word “sanctuary” in every aspect. Kay-Browning said the name “Sanctuary House” was also a deliberate choice.

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“A sanctuary is both a meeting place with God and a safe place, so that’s a very intentional name,” she said. “A safe place to retreat to and a holy place to set time aside to deliberately meet with God.” While Sanctuary House has only been running for a few short months, it's already hosted a number of guests including a couple of Salvation Army officers. And while the space is set up primarily for Salvation Army personnel, they also welcome anyone in ministry who needs time out.

SoulCare program The couple developed a program called SoulCare to help guests find healing. It is not a focused structure because they recognize that every individual will find restoration differently.

“Some people want to sit here and talk; other people just want to go for a walk,” Browning said. “But we start out just talking with people, letting them share the journey, and out of that conversation we might suggest books to read or reflections or some guided retreats such as meditation, to help facilitate their encounter with God.” Sanctuary House is set up for short-term stays, and at a low cost of $50 per night, Browning said they are

committed to making sure every stay is suited toward the individual’s circumstances.

“It might be multiple short stays for a weekend, or regular stays,” he said. “I like the idea that it could be ongoing. For someone who is struggling in ministry they might need to come here every month for three days and make it part of their every intention strategy to stay in ministry and look after themselves.”

Aside from running Sanctuary House, Jonathan also works for The Salvation Army as the team leader for "Welcome Home," a program focused on bringing people back to the Army. Michelle works as a teacher at Tara Anglican School for Girls in North Parramatta, running choral groups and developing worship at the school chapel. Music is her passion and she intends for worship to become a significant part of the SoulCare program.

“It’s very much about personal engagement," she said.

"Providing tools of worship that they can choose to engage with, whether that be reading, music or out in nature with a focus on meditation.” w This article Connect with Sanctuary House originally apwebsite: sanctuaryhouse.net.au peared in Pipeemail: jonathan@sanctuaryhouse.net.au line.

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Making room Helping others feel welcome

By Andy Miller III

I wanted to leave, and you wouldn’t have blamed me. I stood before an ocean of gold and blue, of 40,000 people looking at me, not one of whom was glad to see me. Forty rows away from my seat, my legs tightened for the climb ahead.

It was 2001, and my parents were stationed at a Salvation Army corps in St. Louis, Mo. They gave my brother and I tickets to see our team, the Chicago Bears, play the St. Louis Rams in their home stadium.

My brother and I arrived wearing our Bears jerseys in the middle of the second quarter; the Bears were already losing 14-0.

I have never felt as unwelcomed by so many people as I did that day. Rams fans did not want to make room for us in their stadium.

Have you ever felt unwelcome? It might not be as dramatic as being out numbered by thousands of people at a football game, but maybe for you it is arriving in a new setting, a new town, a new school. Maybe you felt unwelcome on your first day of college, or when you were sent in Captain Andy to replace someone in the workMiller III,

place. Sometimes people are forced to make room.

It is possible, as well, that you might not want to make room. Making room is hard, and giving up yourself and your space is hard. Perhaps making room is more than a physical reality. Maybe we don’t want to make room in our world for people we don’t like.

Making room stinks. Why? Because you have to give up, you have to give in, and you have to share.

At first glance, Romans 12 seems like a typical list of dos and don’ts. Be devoted…honor one another… never lack in zeal…keep your spiritual fervor…be joyful in hope…patient…faithful in prayer…share… (Rom. 12:9-16 NIV). It reminds me of the day my wife and I sent our oldest child to preschool having summarized everything we had taught him in three years of life: “Ask for help, say please, eat your food, tell you teachers when you have to go to the bathroom.”

Yet, following the list of affirmations, Paul writes: “Practice hospitality.” The church in Rome was not a big group that came together with a thousand people in a large cathedral. Instead, small churches met in a variety of houses. Some were Jews who became Chris-

D.Min., is the corps officer of the Lawrenceville, Ga., corps, with his wife Abby.

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Instead of thinking of a bifurcated mission...we must view every ministry as expressing the hospitality of God’s kingdom.

tians and others were Gentile Christians.

Paul’s letter was likely written as the Jews were returning from their exile from Rome, and learning how to love each other and exist as the church. Be devoted to one another in love (Rom. 12:10), and Share with the Lord’s people who are in need (Rom. 12:13). Maybe these Christians needed to be challenged to make room for each other.

We often don’t want to make room for others, specifically strangers. It’s easy to be busy, and as our world becomes flat to stick with the friends we have on Facebook, the contacts in our email list, or the people we see. We don’t have time for new people— for strangers.

More than not wanting to, the scary assumption

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is that “I don’t have to make room…I don’t have to practice hospitality…I don’t have to love the stranger.” A society that says “it’s all about you” lets us think these things, and our inhospitableness shuts people out. That’s why Salvation Army shelters have waiting lists, why people are starving, why children are left alone, why people are sold into slavery today, why there are wars. We don’t make room because we don’t have to take care of strangers.

Instead of thinking of a bifurcated mission separated by terms like “corps” and “social service center,” we must view every housing ministry, community center, bag of groceries, holiness meeting, or mobile canteen as expressing the hospitality of God’s kingdom. If we do our action in the name of Jesus, we are opening ourselves, our resources, our buildings, and our lives as commanded in Romans 12:13 and following the example of Christ, Connect with Andy who made room website: andymilleriii.blogspot.com for us.w twitter @captainandyiii

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CiRcus TO sex work The Salvation Army cares for Sarai and other prostituted women and their children in Mumbai slum

By Christin Davis

As a young Nepali girl, Sarai loved the circus.

Daring acrobatics, elephant tricks, and glitzy, colorful costumes made it glamorous.

At 13, Sarai joined the circus, believing her life would drastically improve.

“When we got to Mumbai, they sold me, and forced me into commercial sex work,” Sarai said.

She is not alone.

An estimated 27 million people around the world are victims of human trafficking, including forced labor and forced prostitution, according to the U.S. State Department’s 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report.

Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) estimate that up to 65 million people in India are in forced or bonded laChristin bor, but no account of those trafficked for sexual Davis is the managing exploitation exists. editor of Kamathipura—the city’s “red light” district—is New Frontier just one of the slums that half of Mumbai’s popuPublications. lation lives in, according to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. A lack of sanitation faPhotos by Christin cilities, organized garbage collection or clean water Davis

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“There’s no joy for us,” one woman said. “If our children can get out, that will give us real joy.”

result in people defecating in the open, mounds of trash rotting on the streets, and the spread of illness.

In this district, prostituted girls service up to 45 men a day, according to Apne Aap Women Worldwide (AAWW), a registered non-profit in the U.S. and charitable trust in India that works against sex trafficking.

At the center of it all, visibly occupying multiple buildings in Kamathipura, The Salvation Army is at work.

It operates an English school, a blind working men’s hostel, an HIV/AIDS clinic, and churches in this area, in addition to two programs designed specifically to combat

GIVE

commercial sex work: Jeevan Asha, a drop-in center for prostituted women and a daycare for children ages 1-17, which converts into a night shelter for young boys, and Aruna Shelter, a boarding school for 30 girls ages 4-12. It once physically rescued girls, 25 girls between 2004-2010, but now turns over information about confirmed underage sex workers to organizations like the International Justice Mission that focus on rescues.

Up a steep, darkened flight of stairs, three tile-floored rooms that once functioned as a brothel, now offers refuge to women and children. With four Salvation Army staff members, Jeevan Asha is open for eight hours each day, beginning at 9:30 a.m. In existence since 2004, the program focuses on nutrition, spirituality and education. It provides three meals and snacks a day, counseling, HIV/AIDS testing, and service referrals.

On this day, roughly 40 women and children filled the small space, sitting on the floor. The women were dressed elegantly, in traditional silk and chiffon saris in colors ranging from turquoise, lavender to green, and with gold adornment from earrings, toe rings to nose piercings.

To be a woman in India, one said, you are expected “to live a moral life, but we are not in the position to do so.” In mid-2012, a TrustLaw poll of 370 gender specialists around the world voted India the worst place to be a woman out of all the G20 countries, due largely to infanticide, child marriage and slavery.

The women at Jeevan Asha would agree with this ranking. “There’s no joy for us,” one woman said. “If our children can get out, that will give us real joy.”

The Salvation Army focuses largely on the children. As Captain Andrews Christian, who was appointed to oversee work in this area in June 2012, said, “We believe the activi-

The Salvation Army in Kamathipura is struggling to pay the $666 USD monthly rent for the Jeevan Asha space. You can donate to their work at salvationarmy.org, naming the specific use for “CARE program, Mumbai.”

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ties of the mother should not affect the children.”

In 2011, Jeevan Asha began housing boys at night upon their request, including Anshul, 18. When his mother was sick, The Salvation Army arranged for hospital care and eventually paid her funeral expenses. No longer having to worry about how he will eat, Anshul is currently enrolled in a hospitality management course taught by the local YMCA. He teaches a lesson to other children at Jeevan Asha once a week from what he learns.

“Growth is natural, but what you do to study will develop yourself,” Anshul said of his upcoming lesson on growth and development.

Rahul, 19, said he came to Jeevan Asha because he didn’t feel comfortable at home with his mother working in commercial sex work. He completed the YMCA course and recently found a job preparing sandwiches, making enough to support himself.

Ajay, 6, who wants to be a Bollywood actor, likes the food and the gifts at Christmas.

Mothers of young girls who attend the Jeevan Asha daycare and are in need of education and shelter, can sign a legal agreement to enroll their daughter in the Aruna Shelter. Since opening in 2001, roughly 150 girls have gone through the shelter, with 30 in residence at a time. The girls, ages 4-12, age out only after passing the 10th standard.

Stone shows through the once painted inside walls of the gated shelter in Kamathipura. Small barred windows reveal the reality of the area outside, but posters of animals, plants and shapes, and a bulletin board with each girl’s photo livens the space. Mothers are allowed to visit their daughters twice a month; no men can visit.

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Priya, a mother of five, was married at 12 in Calcutta and moved to Mumbai with her husband at 20. She entered commercial sex work to earn money, but has enrolled all of her children in NGO shelters, including her two daughters at Aruna Shelter. The girls, ages 8 and 11, want to be a computer engineer and a teacher, respectively.

“I want them to have a future where they will stand on their feet and care for themselves,” Priya said.

Sarai, the once-hopeful circus performer, wants the same for her daughters, ages 6 and 10, who live at the Aruna Shelter. Though Sarai is one of a few women who got lucky when a man she later married rescued her from commercial sex work, their combined income as a driver and a tailor is not enough to adequately care for their three children.

“It is very safe here,” Sarai said on a visit to see how her daughters were doing in their studies. “I like that they teach my kids about Jesus, and that they do outings, like picnics.”

Yohan Jadhav, program manager for both Jeevan Asha and Aruna Shelter, said he sees a difference being made in the area via The Salvation Army.

“If one girl is rescued,” he said, “a future family is rescued, too.” w Names of quoted commercial sex workers and their children were Connect with Christin changed.

website: caringmagazine.org facebook.com/caringmagazine twitter @caringmagazine email: christin.davis@usw.salvationarmy.org

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‘Apologies Due’ revisited

Following an online apology, a dedication to connection ensued.

By James Knaggs

During the summer, Carolyn and I visited with a retired officer over dinner. She is not from the Western Territory, but rather a faithful officer and friend we have known for many years. We have visited this couple in their home, and welcomed them in ours. They are exemplary officers, and we have a lasting friendship and deep respect for each other.

In the course of the meal and into our diverse conversation, we began to hear something of a difficult part of her journey, where, late in her officership she was feeling devalued and used only for menial tasks, far less engaging than her extraordinary and demonstrated capacity. It was not unfamiliar ground for her, because she had experienced similar seasons throughout her officership as the wife of an effective husband, for whom most of their appointments were qualified.

This is not an uncommon experience of the married woman officer in the western world. I believe it is an issue that needs to be addressed and resolved with urgency in these days. Our handling of the overall matter will absolutely Commissioner mark our movement today and further identify James Knaggs is us according to how we approach and solve the the territorial comproblem to the emancipation of the married mander in the USA woman officer and the glory of God. It is absoWestern Territory.

For more, read “The Equality Paradox” in the fall 2012 issue of Caring.

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lutely one of the most critical internal issues of our day.

In concluding her story, it was apparent that while our friend retired with honor, in her heart she resigned herself to a disappointed place and gave in. It all broke her heart and ours as she had hoped to serve with vigor and fidelity until her last days. Feeling robbed of this joy, she has moved on in

retirement, employed by a secular firm in a meaningful role of her choice and in which she is respected for who she is.

Considering the realities of her journey and recognizing that she is not alone, I began to see that she was due an apology. She was past correcting the treatment, but in need of an authentic admission by leadership in The Salvation Army of the travesty of how she was treated and due an apology toward her healing.

Let me point out that it wasn't that she wasn't willing to serve Jesus or the Army in basic tasks or a servant role at any time. It was that she was personally minimized and reduced to insignificance when she had so much to offer willingly. The latter appointments were admittedly those of convenience by leadership, irrespective of her person.

It was that night that I wrote a blog post, as I do most days, entitled “Apologies Due”: For some ways people have been treated in the precious movement known as The Salvation Army, they deserve an apology. This is not about me.

The Salvation Army doesn't owe me anything, but I know quite a few others that would do well to receive an apology.

Is it the movement that has offended? Sometimes.

There are systemic flaws that affect people and do harm. More commonly, there are individuals in The Salvation Army that have hurt others in the name of The Salvation Army, and they need to apologize.

If that's you and you're in the Western Territory, please trust me enough to contact me and see if we can give you the apology you deserve. We may not

be able to fix the situation, but we may facilitate the healing. I believe that's what Jesus would do.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matt. 24:35 NIV).

It was also reprinted in the New Frontier.

The response has been no less than amazing— over 15,000 visits to the blog post with more than 400 comments, some posted and some not. I could not post comments that specifically mentioned others by name or a location where people were to be identified. The posting wasn't meant to be a witchhunt for the offenders, but rather an opportunity for the offended to move toward healing.

Since then, I have been following up on every inquiry and attempting to facilitate support for those who are hurting. In some cases, abusive claims much broader and more severe than my friend's needed to be researched as is our responsibility. One or two were handled according to standard procedures following a claim.

We've heard from people all over the world, and we've heard from people all over the territory. Some wrote their stories and others told stories of loved ones. Each requires a personalized consideration and response, including personal visits by Carolyn and I. Some conversations are continuing to this day.

What started as a simple appeal to lend support became an in-depth look at the shameful behavior of many in the movement against brothers and sisters, undeserving of harmful and hurtful words or decisions. In a word, The Salvation Army is not perfect.

We must continually be on our guard to convey and live out the holiness God requires. Most often we get it right. Sometimes we don't and apologies are due. w If after reading this article, you want to express yourself in this way and hope for resolve from an errant discipline or conversation by a member of our movement, I would be honored to receive your trust and communication at 180 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802, or by email.

Connect with James website: tcspeak.com facebook.com/jim.knaggs twitter @jimknaggs email: james.knaggs@usw.salvationarmy.org

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Building a bridge to hope Juvenile offenders reshape their lives with The Salvation Army

By Robert Mitchell

For young people whose lives are riddled by gangs, drugs, poverty and difficult family situations, life is stressful. Crime and jail or juvenile facilities are common, and living in a society with temptations is a constant struggle.

For kids in Massachusetts, The Salvation Army is dedicated to Bridging the Gap (BTG).

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“This program works,” said Anthony Falvo, coordinator of the BTG program in Springfield, Mass. He has seen lives change through the 12-week youth diversion program for juvenile offenders that is active in 13 corps.

This year, Falvo’s program alone will serve about 250 kids ages 12-17.

Springfield is home to at least 29 different gangs and, according to Falvo, 70 percent of the young people who come to BTG have a gang affiliation. Many BTG participants come from single-parent homes and the majority (82 percent) live in poverty.

BTG enrollees must agree to three conditions upon entering the program: To show up at the corps three days a week from 3-6 p.m.; to continue their education by staying in school or seeking a GED; and to remain law–abiding citizens for at least a year, at which point their criminal records will be expunged.

Robert Mitchell Many participants arrive with is the associate editor for Priority! distrust, but by the end don’t and Good News! want to leave.

“It’s almost like a miracle Photo by to see a young person come in Drew Forster from week one to week 12 and

see how it changes them,” Falvo said.

Amanda Thompson, coordinator of the BTG program in Worcester, Mass., received confirmation of this kind of change when a probation officer recently called her to ask how one particular student had changed so dramatically.

“I told him, ‘God changed this young man,’” Thompson said. “They’re just totally different people.”

Sixteen-year-old Alexis was sent to BTG in Worcester a year ago by his probation officer.

“I’ve actually learned a lot of stuff here,” he said. “I’ve learned how to control my anger, how to not fight, and how to respect other people. I find myself safe when I come here. I feel a lot better now.”

BTG clients follow a carefully crafted curriculum with guest speakers from law enforcement and other professions.

Session topics include self-esteem, communication skills, goal setting, education and employment, money management, rights and responsibilities, culture and diversity, relationships, morals and values, conflict resolution, and health, with a special emphasis on addictions, body image, and preventing STDs, HIV and teen pregnancy.

A few years ago, “Salvation Army perspectives” and Scripture were added to these topics. For example, the session on self-esteem includes Psalm 139:1, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

“We never hide the fact, of course, that we are a church,” Falvo said. “That’s very important.”

The Springfield Corps involves each participant’s family, requiring that parents or guardians attend four of the 12 sessions. The program even helps the families secure food, clothing, vouchers and Christmas presents.

In Worcester, Thompson invites participants to an optional Friday night session where she openly shares Christ.

“I really believe it’s God,” she said, “and even through our imperfections, we’re still able to show his love to these kids. They know when they come here they’re going to get fed; they know we’re going to ask them how their day was; they know we care about them and they know we’re Connect with Robert for real. It’s website: prioritypeople.org, SAGoodNews.org amazing how facebook.com/GoodNewsSA far that can email: robert.mitchell@use.salvationarmy.org go.” w

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Survival to salvation Undocumented and abused, one woman finds safety

By Melissa Jones

When I first met Sophia she spoke openly about music, faith and even politics, but whenever I asked about her, I received brief, oneword answers. How are you? “Oh I am blessed,” she said. How are your kids? “They are with their father,” she said. But when I finally met the real Sophia, I understood.

The real Sophia had walked into my Salvation Army corps [church] homeless, without U.S. citizenship, in a battle for her kids, and desperate to stay away from her abusive ex-husband. The real Sophia was frustrated because no matter how hard she searched for refuge, people only saw her as one thing: an undocumented immigrant. The real Sophia was merely surviving.

People like Sophia—the ones merely surviving—are those that Salvation Army founders William and Catherine Booth dedicated their lives to. The Booths saw people only as children of God. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord our God (Lev. 19:34 NIV). That is not a suggestion, it is a command, and in the midst of own ideals, we can lose sight of that. But for Sophia, and those like her, it is crucial we do not.

The Salvation Army’s stance on providing service to undocumented immigrants mirrors its overall policy of nondiscrimination: “The Salvation Army will not require that persons receiving services from us provide proof of immigration status…The Salvation Army will only require the use of a social security number if required by a grant or government agency. Services are provided to all people, whether documented residents or not.”

According to Major Allie Niles, assistant to the Chief Secretary in the Western Territory, the Army will accept a number of identification documents when necessary, in lieu of a social security number. “Our services are available because we don’t discriminate in any way,” Niles said. “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but when representing The Salvation Army that is our policy.”

For someone like Sophia, who was illegally brought into the United States from Mexico when she was just 3 years old, this policy makes the difference. “We lived in a shack [in Mexico],” she said.

“We had no windows or doors … no food or running water. So of course you flee… But it frustrates me because it was not my choice.”

Estimates say up to 1.7 million undocumented children (of 11.2 million undocumented immigrants that live in the United States)

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were similarly brought here by a parent or guardian.

These children experience the struggles any undocumented immigrant faces: moving every year, hiding in plain sight, learning a new language and trying to find any opportunity, albeit scarce, to work or learn.

“I had this thing where I would write down all my goals: finish high school, go to college, study psychology, music and arts, move out of my parents house,” Sophia said.

Melissa Jones “But, slowly, the older I got my is an attorney and dreams got crushed. For an imwriter committed to seeking justice for migrant like me, there is no such the oppressed and thing as dreams.” impoverished in this Unable to qualify for college, nation, and attends Sophia was told to get a job; The Salvation Army when she didn’t, she was kicked Compton Corps.

For more information about the Violence Against Women Act, U Visas, or Deferred Action see uscis.org.

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out of the house.

“I met a guy that seemed sweet,” she said. “It was an escape, but then he took my virginity without my consent.” Within two weeks of moving in with him he began to put his hands on her, disconnected the phones and even blocked the door.

“I became a robot,” Sophia said. “He didn’t respect me because of my status. He saw that I was an immigrant [and] that I had no rights and no family support, so he thought I could just be his slave. Then I fell into convincing myself that I had no rights, and that I couldn’t run because I was illegal.”

Undaunted by the consequences, Sophia did run only to receive another crushing blow; she was pregnant and could not find a shelter to accept her. Homeless and helpless, she returned to the abusive boyfriend.

“Two weeks after I delivered my baby, he physically threw me out of the house and told me to get a job,” she said. When she found a cleaning job, Sophia planned to leave with her baby.

“I told him it was over,” she said. “Then he just started hitting my head against the glass and threatened to throw me out of the car on the freeway.”

She wasn’t going anywhere.

And after being threatened, she married him, moved to San

Diego to care for his sister’s seven children, and then moved to Arizona.

“He took every one of my checks, but I managed to get my last check,” she said. “I got a ride to this Salvation Army shelter.

It was the only program that seemed genuine, like they actually wanted to help me.”

Yet her husband found her, and she ended up back in California with him.

“I became dependent on survival mode,” Sophia said. “I honestly thought I had no way out. I had tried my parents, family, shelters, legal help. You get those moments of courage where you leave, but one way or another the rollercoaster continues because of the lack of support.”

I met Sophia during one of her moments of courage, and though safe today, she is aware of her dark past and is dealing with its consequences. She is currently filing for permanent residency through the Violence Against Women Act, fighting for full custody of her children, and faithfully attending a church.

Connect with Melissa This time she is going website: musingsandtheoccasionalrant. somewhere. w blogspot.com Sophia’s name was changed

twitter @mjones1883 email: mnjonesesq@gmail.com

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Biblical Creation: An Illustrated Autobiography

By Matthew Jensen “There is a picture set into the words” begins Georgann Chenault’s recently published work, Biblical Creation: An Illustrated Autobiography. Through over 25 years of research, Chenault demonstrates through computer diagrammatic constructs how the numbers, days and dates listed in Scripture reinforce one another to form perfectly overlapping illustrations. Taking her readers through a breathtaking step-by-step process of her well studied journey, she shows how the genealogy of Jesus, through Mary, mirrors the diagram for creation and places the Lord’s birth at the very center of it all, with the cross linking man’s history to God’s ultimate redemption plan.

One of Chenault’s most interesting conclusions is the idea that the days of Genesis may not span seven literal 24-hour units of time as we associate with the account today. Building from the metaphysical theory that time isn’t linear, she diagrammatically finds evidence that the days are mere representations of specific ongoing works of God spanning all the way to the end of time itself. The implications of this fluid theory based upon the sequences revealed to us link together every section of Scripture into one luxuriant construct, proving that God who is outside of time had foreknowledge of his plan for today and tomorrow even from the very beginning.

Mesmerized by how Chenault’s diagrams for each section of Scripture fit perfectly into her original diagrammatic structure for the creation account, I wrote to her and asked if the breath of her work in diagram was contingent upon her opening model for creation.

And if they are contingent upon the opening model, could there be other models within the text that could equally represent the continuity and validate her correlations? “I cannot imagine it,” she wrote back, not-

ing that so much depends upon her original foundation of elementary symbols that it would be near impossible to construct the complex diagram overlays later presented in this work.

“I realized it was highly unlikely much of this later work could be done without a computer,” she wrote.

“I now consider this entire endeavor a ‘just in time’ discovery process and can only wonder how many other people are also working on seeing the Bible in this fashion.”

I have found myself in awe with Scripture in my own studies over the years, and agree with Chenault that there is a beautifully complex weave behind the words which give evidence of its divine authority. Many have drawn conclusions based upon the thought provoking study of biblical numerology, and many have claimed to have unlocked the definitive foundational pattern to it all. But after having spent many hours studying Chenault’s work and choosing to see things from her perspective, I hold onto a healthy skepticism that this is truly the initial framework that the whole biblical structure is built upon.

If all of the diagrammatic representations in this work find their origins to one initial root structure, I’d assume there would be more corroboration from outside influence to validate their objective truth. What I find instead, is corroboration from within a single train of diagrammatic progression, built from an initial presupposition that we have to assume is valid if we’re to move on through Chenault’s theory. So my recommendation? If you’re into this kind of stuff like I am, pick up this book, give it a read, and judge for yourself. In an age of self-help spiritual literature, it’s an increasing rarity to read works by those who truly pour themselves into the complexities of Scripture. w Lt. Matthew Jensen is the corps officer of the Ventura Corps and Transitional Living Center in Ventura, Calif., with his wife, Lt. Vanessa Jensen.

Connect with Matthew facebook.com/Modern.Berean twitter: @ModernBerean email: matthew.jensen@usw.salvationarmy.org

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TO VIEW IN PRINT BOUNDLESS SALVATION: THE SHORTER WRITINGS OF WILLIAM BOOTH edited by Andrew M. Eason and Roger J. Green (Peter Lang, 2012) remembers William Booth, founder of The Salvation Army, as a prolific author. He wrote countless articles and speeches, and the most important of these shorter writings are now presented in one volume for the first time.

NOAH’S ARK: ANCIENT ACCOUNTS AND NEW DISCOVERIES by Henri Nissen (Scandinavia Publishing House, 2012) features the Danish journalist’s research and expeditions to Eastern Turkey, where a research team discovered a large wooden structure on Mt. Ararat in 2010. Nissen presents the reader with information about this find, a historical review of the search for the Ark, and scientific details to confirm the flood. Watch a documentary based on the expedition at noahsarkmovies.com/ arkmovie/eng/.

CLICK 2 SAVE: THE DIGITAL MINISTRY BIBLE by Elizabeth Drescher and Keith

Anderson (Morehouse Publishing, 2012) is a practical resource guide for religious leaders who want to enrich and extend their ministries using digital media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and church or personal blogs.

THE FAITHS OF THE POSTWAR PRESIDENTS: FROM TRUMAN TO OBAMA by David L. Holmes (University of Georgia Press, 2012) looks at the role of faith in the lives of the 12 presidents who have served since the end of World War II, examining not only the beliefs professed by each president but also the variety of possible influences on their religious faith, such as their upbringing, education, and the faith of their spouse.

UNEXPECTED GIFTS by Christopher Heuertz (Howard Books, 2013) explores the inevitable challenges—failure, betrayal, doubt, grief, restlessness, ingratitude—that friendships, relationships and communities eventually face, challenges that often become reasons why people leave. Heuertz contends that if people stay and work through these difficulties, they can become something more, even beautiful.

ON THE WEB kidspiritonline.com—The award-winning magazine and social networking site by and for youth now publishes a column offering teens a specific forum in which to share their backgrounds and learn from their peers about how people of different faith traditions approach similar life questions. trendsendapp.com—An online performance measurement tool that gathers key metrics of non-profits, faith-based groups, and companies to identify performance trends and help organizations make important decisions to improve performance. metroyouthnetwork.com—A website for Salvation Army youth in the Chicago area, which includes chords and words to selections from the Salvation Army Songbook under its “Worship Resources.”

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AS WE FORGIVE speaks for a nation still wracked by the grief of a genocide that killed one in eight Rwandans in 1994. Overwhelmed by an enormous backlog of court cases, the government has returned over 50,000 genocide perpetrators back to the very communities they helped to destroy. Without the hope of full justice, Rwanda has turned to a new solution: Reconciliation. Watch the trailer at asweforgivemovie.com/see/ trailer.htm.

RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY offers distinctive, informed and one-of-a-kind coverage of religion, spirituality and ethics in American life on PBS. This fall, the program features religion’s role in voters’ decisions and the most controversial social issues, while also covering major trends and movements in American religious life and ethical issues. Visit pbs.org/ religionandethics.

HALF THE SKY is igniting the change needed to put an end to the oppression of women and girls worldwide, the defining issue of our time. Inspired by journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s book of the same name, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide brings together video, websites, games, blogs and other educational tools to raise awareness of women’s issues and to provide concrete steps to fight these problems. Watch the trailer at halftheskymovement.org.