Priority! Spring 2012

Spring 2012

L I F E ST O R I E S

OF

G O D’S P E O P L E

The Power of Forgiveness Couple Offers Grace to Attacker Kroc Center Evangelist

Beyond Willpower

A Father Who Won’t Leave

Time for Transformation

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am always amazed at stories of transformation—at people who for a significant part of their lives have traveled one way and, for whatever reason, make a complete reversal.

Sometimes these stories give us great hope. A drug addict or alcoholic

finds sobriety. A quiet, unassuming person comes out of nowhere to become a leader and affect the lives of thousands. A little–known athlete gets her one chance and becomes a star overnight.

Other stories of transformation are not so pleasant. A father leaves his family, never to be heard from again. A promising student with a “full ride” to a prestigious university drops out because she’s pregnant. When the market shifts, an investor’s promising profits disappear.

Sometimes, what we do can make a transformation happen. Other times, circumstances transform our lives in ways we can’t control.

History records one dramatic transformation, perfectly planned and carried out for an eternity, that would affect all of humankind. That’s the transformation of Jesus Christ.

The New Testament book of Matthew tells the story of an angel who announced to two women looking for a dead Jesus laid in a tomb, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he is risen, just as he said…” (Chapter 28:5) Jesus, in His death on the Cross, had been transformed into a living sacrifice, a substitute for all the sins of humankind—more specifically, your sins and mine. His Resurrection opened the door for us to eternal life.

In this edition of Priority!, you will read stories of transformation made possible by the power of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. A Chicago businessman’s path is completely changed by his faith; a Texas woman sees her father delivered, at a Harbor Light in Los Angeles, from 40 years of addiction; Salvation Army officer relies on God as he undergoes extreme weight loss; a woman comes through addiction and now helps others to do the same; and a man is attacked, suffering permanent brain damage, yet, with his wife, finds the power to forgive—and transform another’s life.

If you have experienced significant change in your life, may these stories give you hope so that you too can say, with the Apostle Paul, that you have been “transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

Commissioner R. Steven Hedgren Territorial Commander USA Eastern Territory

Another reason to love your job.

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Reference your Corporate ID NASVA_ZZZ Up to $350/line early termination fee (ETF) for advanced devices and up to $200 ETF/line for other devices (no ETF for Agreements cancelled in compliance with Sprint’s Return Policy). Individual-Liable Discount: Available only to eligible employees of the company or organization participating in the discount program. May be subject to change according to the company’s agreement with Sprint. Available upon request on select plans and only for eligible lines. Discount applies to monthly service charges only. No discounts apply to secondary lines or add-ons $29.99 or below. Other Terms: Coverage not available everywhere. Nationwide Sprint and Nextel® National Networks reach over 278 and 279 million people, respectively. Sprint 4G network reaches over 70 markets and counting, on select devices. The Sprint 3G network reaches over 274 million people. Offers not available in all markets/retail locations or for all phones/networks. Pricing, offer terms, fees and features may vary for existing customers not eligible for upgrade. Other restrictions apply. See store or sprint.com for details. ©2011 Sprint. Sprint and the logo are trademarks of Sprint. MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office. Research In Motion, the RIM logo, BlackBerry, the BlackBerry logo and SureType are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or N085329 registered in other countries - these and other marks of Research In Motion Limited are used with permission. The HTC logo and HTC EVO are trademarks of HTC Corporation. Other marks are the property of their respective owners.

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COVER STORY

24

FEATURES

®

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Radical Forgiveness Assaulted and nearly killed, Chuck Sandstrom suffered a severe brain injury that changed his life. He and his wife, Auburn, not only forgave the attacker but also took his son under their wing.

An Evangelist at Heart Paul Luhn has always had a heart for evangelism. He brings that heart to his new role as program director for the Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in Quincy, Ill.

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Beyond Willpower Alicea Jones tells her personal story as the daughter of a 40–year heroin addict who found deliverance at the Harbor Light in Los Angeles.

Cover photo by Roger Mastroianni / Getty Images Inset photo by Philip Jensen-Carter

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A Father She Can Count On Her own father simply wasn’t there. Noretta always knew God was, but somehow she didn’t completely connect until she came to The Salvation Army in Syracuse, N.Y.

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Great Loss, Great Gain Salvation Army Major Wes Geddes had been overweight most of his life. For him, losing

DEPARTMENTS 5 Letters

weight was more than just a physical issue.

7 Upfront 8 Who’s News 30 MyTake 44 Prayer Power 48 100 Years Ago

SPRING 2012 Volume 14 No. 1

A Battle Lost—and Won

A

lifetime ago, I taught English to high school seniors. Each year, when we began our study of Macbeth, several of us teachers would dress

in outrageous costume and makeup as witches and enact the opening scene. It begins this way (and even after all this time, I didn’t really have to look it up):

First Witch:

When shall we three meet again In thunder, lightning, or in rain?

Second Witch:

When the hurlyburly’s done, When the battle’s lost and won.

When I was asking the Lord what I should write in this issue, that line “when the hurlyburly’s done” came to me just as clearly as if He were saying it aloud. I thought about the idea that we’re in the “hurlyburly,” the

…promoting prayer, holiness, and evangelism through the life stories of God’s people

THE SALVATION ARMY Territorial Leaders USA Eastern Territory Commissioner R. Steven Hedgren Commissioner Judith A. Hedgren

Chief Secretary Colonel William Carlson

Editor Linda D. Johnson

Art Director Keri Johnson

throes of battle, right now. Then I remembered that next line, “When the battle’s

Senior Designer

lost and won,” and I realized what the Lord wanted me to say.

Saoul Vanderpool

In the play, “when the battle’s lost and won” is a riddle. We don’t know, until the story plays out, what it means. As a Christian, I see this riddle as a cosmic one.

When Jesus was about to die, Satan no doubt believed he had won. He who had claimed to be the Son of God was vanquished on the Cross. Satan, the victor, was more than ready to claim the spoils of humanity for all eternity.

But Satan didn’t know that even as Jesus breathed His last, He was on his way to victory, not just for that moment, but for all time. The seemingly vanquished Lord would soon be raised as the King who conquered not just Satan but also death itself. The “hurlyburly’s done”! The battle has been lost—and won!

As the witches’ scene from Macbeth continues, they prophesy again, that when it’s all over (“ere the set of sun”) they will meet once more—this time, with Macbeth. That turns out to be a match made in Hell. Macbeth by that time has virtually sold his soul in pursuit of his ambition, and the witches will help him along to his ultimate demise.

Whom will we meet when it’s all over? If we choose to go our own way, we will meet the one who still wants to claim the spoils of humanity. But if we choose God’s way, we will meet the One who has already won the battle: Jesus. That’s a match made in Heaven.

Editor

Contributing Editors Warren L. Maye, Robert Mitchell

Contributing Writers Lindsay Bonilla, Dana Cook, Craig Dirkes, Pauline Hylton, Alicea Jones, Thomas Smith, Anne Urban

Graphic Designers Dave Hulteen, Karena Lin, Joe Marino, Reginald Raines

Circulation Deloris Hansen

Marketing Christine Webb

SALVATION ARMY MISSION STATEMENT The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible.

Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

Priority! is published quarterly by The Salvation Army USA Eastern Territory. Subscriptions are $8.95 per year; bulk rates available. Write to: Priority!, The Salvation Army, 440 West Nyack Rd., West Nyack, NY 10994–1739.

Volume 14, No. 1, Spring 2012. Printed in USA. Postmaster: Send all address changes to: Priority!, 440 West Nyack Road, West Nyack, NY 10994–1739.

Priority! accepts advertising. Copyright ©2012 by The Salvation Army, USA Eastern Territory. Articles may be reprinted only with written permission.

USA National website: www.SalvationArmyUSA.org

EVANGELICAL EVANGELICAL

PRESS ASSOCIATION

PRESS ASSOCIATION

Letters ÂŽ

Winter 2012

Looking Back in Faith L I F E ST O R I E S

OF

G O D’S P E O P L E

Florida’s Sallie House A 60–Year Love Story Witnessing on Facebook

Retired Salvation Army Majors Bill and Alice Brown outside their home in Prescott, Ariz., in 1997

Sandi Patty

Still Singing & Serving ‘TIS THE SE

ASO N

More on ‘Silent Night’ Commissioner Robert Thomson’s epiphany [My Take: “A Christmas Epiphany,� Winter 2012] regarding the third verse of “Silent Night� is a big step in the right direction, but—unless I’m mistaken—he’s not quite there yet. If

Together Through Joy and Pain

by Daryl Lach

only someone had thought to insert a comma after radiant, it would be much more obvious that beams is indeed a verb. I’m quite certain that the entire verse—after the first line—is addressed to the newborn King. The writer speaks

T

$ % " ) % % !$ & , % ! ! " $ & &! % $ & $ $ % !&& $ , ) / "& + $ % $! % % $& ! - !) $ ' % % ( $ $ $% !$ . % !( % ' $ % & ! % ! $! % & & + ! % . ) & !$ ! + *& + #' $ & $!' & + $% * % ! & %

$' $+ $!) &, $ * & % + $ % $ %&!$+ ! !( !) + $% +!' $!!&

$ %& )!' . ) & !+ % ) % ' "

adoringly to the Son of God, saying, “Love’s pure light, radiant, beams from thy holy face, with the dawn of redeem-

37

www.prioritypeople.org

Identifying with the Browns

and his wife, Ruth, were missionaries in

I can readily identify with the article,

Africa with Wycliffe Bible Translators

the inspired words of the Apostle Paul:

“Together Through Joy and Pain� about

at the time, and their boys died when

“God, who said, ‘Let there be light in

the experiences of Majors Bill and Alice

on homeland furlough in Hamilton,

the darkness,’ has made this light shine

Brown, in your most recent issue of

Ontario. Eight years later, when Bob was

in our hearts so we could know the

Priority! (Winter 2012).

director for Wycliffe for all of Africa, he

ing grace, Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.�

The song brings quickly to mind

glory of God that is seen in the face of

My wife and I have also known both

and Ruth were tragically killed in a com-

Jesus Christ.� (2 Corinthians 4:6, NLT)

joy and pain during our officership in the

mercial airplane accident in Ivory Coast.

Lynell Johnson

deaths of two grandchildren, aged 10 and

Four family members were taken; only

West Hartford, CT

5, who died with malaria. Our son Bob

their daughter Erin survived.

From New Zealand

From Prescott, AZ

entitled In Heavenly Love Abiding, which

Thank you for doing the write–up

The last publication of Priority! maga-

is now out of print. Since then I have

on Bill and Alice Brown (“Together

zine was simply outstanding. The article

written a book about my family roots en-

Through Joy and Pain,” Winter 2012).

regarding Majors William and Alice

titled My Godly Heritage, which contains

My aunty was a soldier of these [officers]

Brown was very nicely written.

some of the details of our own “joys and

at a corps in the Midwest for some

pain.”

years. Four of us from New Zealand

dedicated Salvation Army officers I have

were able to get to the corps at different

ever known in 40 years of service, and I

copy of this book to any who might wish

times, and in 1987, the Browns were able

was personally thrilled to see the story.

one. My email address is r.chapman@

to come to New Zealand for a holiday

Colonel Robert Bodine (Retired)

sasktel.net.

and be at our Congress that year. And

Prescott, AZ

After this tragedy, I wrote a book

I would gladly send a complimentary

I have just read this verse from James

then in 2006, I went to see them in

They are simply two of the most

1:2: “Whenever trouble comes your way,

Prescott, Ariz. It is great to read about

Correction

let it be an opportunity for joy.” (NLV)

other territories and how things are

A caption in the article “Together

To this fact, I can say a firm “Amen.”

going.

Through Joy and Pain” incorrectly iden-

Thanks for a wonderful publication.

Keep up the good work.

tified Majors Bill and Alice Brown’s son

Lt. Colonel Robert Chapman

Dorothy Ross

as Bradley. His name, as printed in the

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Canada

Wellington, New Zealand

text of the article, is Bradford.

(800) 979-4579

6

THIS END UP F U R N I T U R E

C O M P A N Y

www.thisendup.com

www.prioritypeople.org

Upfront: What They’re Up to Now Joe Maddon & Freddie Freeman Win Baseball Honors

T

hey both have ties to The Salvation Army and graced the cover of Priority! before making national headlines this baseball season.

Tampa Bay Rays’ Manager Joe Maddon, whose work with the Salvation Army’s Sallie House in St. Petersburg, Fla., was profiled in the Summer 2010 issue, won the American League Manager of the Year Award in November 2011.

The Rays’ manager hosts

several “Thanksmas” meals at Salvation Army centers between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year.

Meanwhile, Freddie Freeman, a sixth–generation Salvationist who was profiled in the Spring 2011 issue, finished second in the race for the National League Rookie of the Year to Atlanta Braves teammate Craig Kimbrel.

Maddon was named the AL’s top manager after his Rays, who

trailed in the wild card race by nine games in September, closed the season with a 17–8 record to finish 91–71 and make the playoffs.

Freeman, just 21 years old, batted .282 with 21 homers and 76 runs batted in during his rookie season. He led all NL rookies in batting average, hits (161), doubles (32), homers, RBIs, on–base percentage (.346) and slugging percentage (.448).

®

Spring 2011

‘HIT LINE DRIVES, LOVE THE LORD’

Freeman On First Ohio ‘God Girl’ Dancing Across Cultures Atlanta’s Major Doctor

Numana Founder Honored at UN

R

ick McNary, founder of the Kansas–based Numana hunger organization, was honored in October with the Howard and Jeanne Johnson Global Community Citizenship Award at the United Nations’ 66th Anniversary Banquet.

The award recognizes “outstanding contributions to global

learning through exceptional, devoted, and inspiring work.”

Numana recently passed the 23 million mark in packed meals for hunger relief; The Salvation Army has packed about half of those meals.

Numana and McNary were featured in the Summer 2011 issue of Priority!

Zoro on Cover of Christian Musician

Z

oro (his full legal name), who got his start drumming on a Mickey Mouse drum set provided by The Salvation Army, is on the cover of the November–December 2011 issue of Christian Musician magazine.

Zoro’s story of growing up poor in South Central Los Angeles to become of the world’s most renowned drummers was featured in the Winter 2008 issue of Priority!

Over a 30–year career, Zoro has toured and recorded with Lenny

www.prioritypeople.org

Kravitz, Bobby Brown, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, The New Edition, Jody Watley, Sean Lennon, Philip Bailey, and Lisa Marie Presley, among many others.

His mother, Maria, asked The Salvation Army to provide her son with a drum set one Christmas and the Army delivered. The rest is history.

“If it were not for The Salvation Army, we never would have had a happy Christmas,” says Zoro.

“All of our toys came from The

Salvation Army because we didn’t have any money. I was amazed that the things [my mother] wrote down, they actually brought.”

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Who’s News

CATCHing the Children

by Thomas Smith

Photography by Charles Harris/Getty Images

I

n these difficult economic times, the face of homelessness is looking much younger.

“Families with young children are the fastest–growing segment of the homeless population currently,” says Mary Haskett, a North Carolina State University psychology professor who has been collaborating with The Salvation Army on ways to help homeless children and families.

In Wake County, N.C., for example, each night about 300 children spend the night in homeless shelters. Many more children are on waiting lists or living with extended family.

There is renewed hope for these children because of a new partnership between The Salvation Army of Wake County, the Young Child Mental Health Collaborative, the John Rex Endowment, and 11 area homeless shelters.

Project CATCH (Community Action Targeting Children who are Homeless) focuses on helping local shelters better identify and care for the health needs of children in homeless families.

“Project CATCH understands that children experience trauma and need assistance as much as their parents,” says Jason Lake, outreach case manager for The Salvation Army, “and we hope to provide an environment that [offers] support and guidance to a population that is largely undeserved.”

Shelter Lessons Major Pete Costas, commanding officer in Raleigh, helped spur the project.

After years of working with families in 8

A mother and her child receive help from Project CATCH, a new program to help homeless children in Wake County, N.C.

the Wake County Salvation Army shelter, he began to realize the importance of focusing on children. Costas says, “The transition to permanent housing

and parental employment is frequently jeopardized by behavioral and health problems in children. This is a critical issue for homeless families in Wake www.prioritypeople.org

County, and we are very excited to begin Project CATCH in order to address these needs.”

Through a $400,000 grant from the John Rex Endowment, Project CATCH became a reality. The endowment staff was especially impressed with the fact that the project brings so many community agencies together. “[That way], the whole system addresses the problem,” says Kevin Cain, John Rex Endowment president and CEO. “The project will raise the level of performance in the agencies and puts into place policies and procedures that will keep helping the children. … It hits on a target population that our mission calls us to serve.”

Lake has come to understand that homelessness is not a single–faceted problem, and that many agencies can help.

“We hope to create a system of care throughout Wake County that connects young and school age children to services such as early intervention, medical homes, and school–related services,” Lake says.

“We also see a system that works together to provide stability for these children no matter where they are in the county by bringing together homeless shelters, transitional housing programs, service providers and health care providers.”

‘Invisible’ Children “Children are sometimes ‘invisible’ within shelter settings because case managers are not always trained to www.prioritypeople.org

recognize children’s developmental and mental health problems,” says Haskett, the N.C. State consultant who is helping to develop new mental–health protocols. “As part of this training, shelter staffs are evaluating their policies and practices to ensure that they are establishing a nurturing environment so that parents can focus on their children’s needs.”

Project CATCH began with training from the National Center on Family Homelessness. Through programs for staff, support for parent/child relationships within the shelter community, and links to better medical and physical resources, the project has the potential to become a national model.

As overseers and gateway for the project funds, The Salvation Army has seen its role expand. In addition to writing the grant and being one of the two original collaborators on the project (with N.C. State), The Salvation Army oversees the grant/project funds for the entire program.

Though the Salvation Army’s role is evolving, Lake says one thing remains constant. “[Our] mission is ‘to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.’ Project CATCH is an extension of that mission in meeting the needs of children experiencing homelessness. We hope that by focusing on the trauma of young children, we can help reduce the number of children who experience trauma or homelessness as adults.”

How Can Shelters Help Kids?

H

ow can shelters reduce the trauma for children who must live there? Professor Mary Haskett of North Carolina State outlines five essential steps. t "EPQU USBVNBoTFOTJUJWF QPMJDJFT and practices that support and encourage parents to provide nurturing, responsive care to their children. t 1SPWJEF PQQPSUVOJUJFT GPS QBSents to have as much autonomy as possible in establishing healthy, familiar routines for their children. t 1SPNPUF DPOOFDUJPOT UP extended family. t 8IFO QPTTJCMF DIJMESFO TIPVME not change schools when they enter a shelter (and there are federal laws that mandate this). t *EFOUJGZ QBSFOU BOE DIJME NFOUBM health needs quickly. Services should begin as soon as possible and continue beyond the shelter stay if necessary.

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Who’s News

Boom Creates Need for Prayer

by Craig Dirkes

T

o be sure, the Williston, N.D., Salvation Army needs more money to keep up with residents’ increased needs for food, rent and utility assistance, all byproducts of the town’s mesmerizing oil boom. (See sidebar.) But they need even more of something else.

W

illiston, ND—The parking lot of the local Walmart is strewn with campers and RVs as job seekers flock to this small town bustling with too much work and too few workers. Is this another country?

While the unemployment rate hovers near double digits or worse in most parts of the U.S., it’s just 3.5 percent in North Dakota and less than 1 percent in the region around Williston, all because of an oil boom. If you can find your way here, there are literally thousands of job openings a day.

So many people have come here looking for work that temporary compounds called men’s camps have sprouted up. Many of the longterm unemployed have moved here from other states with a promise of work and, in some cases, six–figure salaries.

The boom has also affected every industry in the area, with companies desperate to find workers.

McDonald’s, for example, is hiring and paying workers $15 an hour 10

while offering full benefits and a $500 sign–on bonus.

Williston’s population has increased from 12,000 to 25,000 in less than three years, but some say the total unregistered population in the area is a combined 100,000. This has put a strain on public services such as schools, roads, and sewer systems. It takes hundreds of trucks—and drivers—to service the oil fields each day.

Williston has become an oil boomtown because of new technologies that make it easier to extract oil.

Hydraulic fracturing—known as ‘fracking’—and horizontal drilling have made it possible to extract oil deep into rock. The fracking procedure is controversial and has led to debates over groundwater safety in some states.

Last year, North Dakota produced 113 million barrels of oil from some 6,000 wells; another 20,000 wells could be drilled in the next decade or two.

Photo © Getty Images

There’s Oil in Williston

“Prayer,” said Captain Rhegan Stansbury, who arrived in Williston last June with her husband, Captain Josh Stansbury, as corps officers. “We need prayer so that we can know the best way to reach out in this changing community.”

And changing it is. The oil boom

www.prioritypeople.org

‘Where Words Fail, Music Speaks’

by Anne Urban has made Williston a veritable gold rush town. Housing is wildly expensive and nearly impossible to find. Transient workers—some with nary a dime to their name—are coming from across America looking for work, and the ones who don’t secure a job end up stranded.

“We’re turning away at least two or three people a day looking for a place to sleep. Unfortunately, we are not a shelter,” Rhegan said. “It’s hard because every day you’re seeing the same story over and over.”

Food issues Food has become a major issue for local stores and restaurants, as well as the Salvation Army food pantry, which has seen a 25 percent increase in demand.

“The cost of the food we’ve been giving out is double what it used to be,” said the captain. “You wait 30 minutes at a fast–food restaurant drive–through. Go to a grocery store at any time of day, and you’ll always wait a half an hour in the checkout line. And you may not even find what you’re looking for … because many of the shelves are empty.”

Indeed, there’s loads of money and opportunity in Williston, but right now the city is too small to support it all. It’s one big fantastic mess.

And that’s just how the good captains like it.

“With all the opportunity here, there are lots of new opportunities for ministry,” Rhegan said. “We have so many ideas, but we don’t know where to begin. So, really, what we need now is prayer.” www.prioritypeople.org

Meghan particularly enjoys directing performance groups.

M

eghan Pierson, named music educator of the year for 2011 in Lombard, Ill., teaches general music at Glenn Westlake Middle School and holds choir rehearsals before and after school hours.

“Three years ago I started with 22 singers; today we have three choirs totaling more than 80 students,” Meghan says. “I truly feel blessed to be in this position.”

Meghan speaks as a Christian. She’s a soldier (member) of the Salvation Army’s Oakbrook Terrace Corps (church) in Illinois, where she plays in the band and sings in the songsters (choir), leads its youth singing company, and gives private piano lessons. She’s also a member of the Army’s famed Chicago Staff Band.

The Army—and music—are in Meghan’s blood. She began attending

an Army corps in suburban Detroit with her family when she was just 3 years old.

When she was 5, her older older sister taught her how to play the C–scale on the alto horn. Totally enraptured by her ability to produce music, Meghan soon was begging her parents for piano lessons.

That was the beginning of her love for both music and teaching. But her first teaching job after graduation from college almost became her last.

“I walked into a middle school located in an economically impoverished area thinking I was going to change the world on my first day,” Meghan says.

“Instead, I found gangs running rampant, unbelievable student insubordination, and the need to break up fights in the hallways.”

To capture her students’ interest, she had to change everything about her 11

Who’s News

fledgling teaching style. She created games and projects to help them have fun while learning the fundamentals such as note names, intervals, rhythm, musical styles, and composers.

“From that point on, they loved com-

ing to music class,” Meghan says. “I no longer had discipline problems because my students wanted to participate in the activity of the day and knew they couldn’t if they weren’t well behaved.”

Missing the performance side of

One of Meghan’s young piano students plays under her watchful eye.

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music, Meghan eventually found a job a little closer to home at a middle school where she was given the rare opportunity to teach choir throughout the school day. She directed four choirs, one of which was an audition–only festival choir.

After Meghan gave birth to her daughter, she needed a job even closer to home that had even more flexibility.

She switched to part–time hours in elementary education, only to discover that weepy, wiggly kindergartners were a bigger challenge than gang–toughened middle–schoolers. But once again, she figured out how to captivate her students.

It wasn’t until Meghan taught a music class for severely disabled children that she realized the full value of music education. The feeling of blessing in her position at Westlake comes from the support she receives. “[The school] administration believes in teaching the whole child and is in full support of the fine arts. Music education not only increases cognitive development, raises standardized test scores, and promotes reasoning capabilities, [but] it [also] offers students an outlet to express themselves. In a world sometimes devoid of beauty for our children, music comes to the rescue time and again.”

Meghan’s passion for music comes through in her philosophy of teaching.

“It’s not about performance but about the joy students get from creating their own music. Where words fail, music speaks,” Meghan says.

www.prioritypeople.org

An Evangelist at Heart

by Anne Urban

PAUL LUHN HAS AN INFECTIOUS ENTHUSIASM FOR EVANGELISM.

‘There’s no greater joy in life than leading someone to Christ,’ he says. ‘We’ve been called to be ambassadors for Him and messengers of reconciliation with God.’

Photography Courtesy The Salvation Army Central Territorial Headquarters

Finding a Calling

Finding a Calling

The Luhn family

Since 1996 Paul has been a key staff member at The Salvation Army National Seminar on Evangelism (NSE), held annually at the Glen Eyrie Conference Center in Colorado Springs.

When Paul first got involved with the NSE, he was a successful Chicago–area businessman. He and his godly wife, Peggy, had two sons, and a third was on the way. They had a nice house, cars, everything they needed. A faithful soldier (member) at the Norridge Citadel, Ill., Corps, an Army church, Paul was heavily involved in music and teaching ministries as well as evangelism.

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“I was living the good life,” Paul says.

“But as I grew in my walk with the Lord, a holy discontent began to settle into my life; a feeling that something was missing.”

A familiar feeling The feeling brought back memories of the time leading up to Paul’s salvation.

The fourth of five children born to Majors Herb and Carol Luhn, Salvation Army officers, Paul was exposed from an early age to godly teaching. But for Paul, the teaching didn’t take, at least not at first.

“I knew about God, but didn’t know God,” says Paul.

Paul’s parents consistently modeled holiness, and four of his five siblings became involved in ministry, including two sisters who are Salvation Army officers. But Paul decided early on that he would lead a different kind of life from the nomadic, somewhat Spartan existence he had known as an “OK” (officers’ kid). Wanting what the world offered, he developed a rebelious streak.

But by the end of Paul’s junior year of college as a computer science major at Michigan State, living life his own www.prioritypeople.org

A Beacon of Hope On the Mississipi

by Paul Luhn

A Paul in a pensive moment.

way had caught up with him physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

“My life was going nowhere. I knew I was hanging out with the wrong crowd,” Paul recalls. An old, trusted friend pointed this out, and Paul ignored him, but he knew he was right. Paul grew increasingly depressed, feeling empty and without purpose.

One night, overcome with despair, he went out running.

“I cried and prayed the entire eight miles,” Paul says. “I asked, ‘God, if You’re real, please forgive my sins and come into my life.’ There was no bolt of lightwww.prioritypeople.org

tower on the corner of the Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in Quincy, Ill., lights up the night in this Missisippi River town and beckons families to find hope and help in a safe place.

The building of the Kroc Center sparked reinvestment in downtown and provided new jobs during construction and to staff the center. But few people realized how much of an impact the center would have on the city. Beyond the magnificence of the building itself, it would serve as a beacon of hope to the community.

When grand opening day arrived, thousands came to watch the ribbon cutting, which signaled the beginning of a new avenue of outreach to families for The Salvation Army.

People are inspired by the beauty of the building and by the Holy Spirit.

They come to receive instruction and learn something new. And there are always opportunities for everyone to get involved.

But the real heart of the Kroc Center is not in the beautiful building or its programs, but the belief that a life can be transformed through a relationship with Jesus Christ. The mission of The Salvation Army remains the same—to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and meet

human needs in His name without discrimination.

During the first week the Kroc Center was open, the front desk called to say a man needed to talk with someone. He was so distraught and empty. ‘You need to meet Jesus,’ I told him. Amid the bustle of the center, I shared the Gospel with him and we prayed. You could see the change in his demeanor; peace just washed over him.

That’s just one small example of what God is doing in this place. The center will have a great impact on Quincy as lives are changed, children are loved, and families spend time together. Shining brightly, the Quincy Kroc Center is truly a beacon of hope to all who walk through its doors!

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Finding a Calling

ning or anything dramatic, but when I woke up the next morning, my depression was gone. It was replaced with a spirit of joy. My whole life changed from that moment on.”

That summer Paul attended the Central Music Institute, an annual Salvation Army music camp in Wisconsin that features intense musical and spiritual training.

The right path “I realized at camp I couldn’t go back to the same circumstances at school,” he says. “It was a terrible move for my career but great for my spirit to transfer to Asbury University [a small Christian college in Kentucky].” Providentially, Asbury began offering a new major that year in computer science. Two years later, Paul was among its first graduates in the field.

“Like most college grads, I moved back in with my parents until I could find a job!” Paul says. At the time, his parents were serving at The Salvation Army College for Officer Training (seminary) in Chicago. Paul began attending the Norridge Citadel Corps, his parents’ church, and finally landed a good job with a computer consulting firm, where he learned all the skills that would prepare him for a 1997 call from God to full–time Christian work.

“During those 15 years, I spent a lot of time commuting in the Chicago area,” Paul says. “In order to make that

time productive, I began memorizing Scripture. Hiding God’s Word in my heart transformed me. Even though I had a successful life, my dissatisfaction grew. I kept asking myself, ‘If we were created for fellowship with God, why am I only giving Him my leftovers of time after work, corps activities, and my family?’ A holy discontent was forming not only in my heart but in Peggy’s as well.”

Paul and Peggy had serious discussions and extended times of prayer over this. They asked God to use them

Paul declined; he believed God was calling him to something with more responsibility. But as the months went by, Paul and Peggy became aware of a growing conviction that Quincy was where God wanted them to be, particularly after they came across Psalm 107:4–7 in their devotions: “Some wandered in desert wastelands … He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.”

Paul called Major Fuqua, who said, “Let’s create a position together.”

Paul and Peggy sold their house, packed up their three sons (Matthew, then 8; Mark, 6; and Mason, 3 months) and moved to Quincy, where Paul became the corps’ outreach ministries director.

As the corps grew, the need for a larger facility became evident. The Quincy staff worked on capital campaign plans for a new building in three years, but the proposal wasn’t approved. Discouraged, Paul thought, “How can we build our numbers if we don’t have enough space?”

But God had a greater plan in mind.

Then the corps decided to apply to become a Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center. In 2004 The Salvation Army had received a $1.6 billion gift from the estate of Joan Kroc, wife of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc. The funds were designated to develop Kroc centers across the nation. In the Midwest, The Salvation Army Central Territory established a multi–stage application process

‘I began memorizing Scripture.

Hiding God’s Word in my heart transformed me. ’

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in full–time ministry. A three–year exploration ensued, during which time they even looked at becoming Salvation Army officers. But every path seemed to lead to a dead end. They finally found themselves asking, “God, do you want to use us or not?”

The Quincy connection Meanwhile, Paul became involved with the National Seminar for Evangelism.

While teaching a small group there, he met a delegate from the Quincy, Ill., Corps, who asked if Paul would do a weekend evangelism seminar at the church. While Paul was there, the corps officer (pastor), Major Herb Fuqua, asked Paul if he’d consider joining the corps staff.

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for communities to qualify for Kroc funds. That process included raising matching grant amounts and an operating endowment funds.

“We didn’t think we’d have much of a chance to qualify, but what did we have to lose?” says Paul. Through tireless work and determination by The Salvation Army in Quincy (then led by Majors Alan and Carol Wurtz), along with staff, advisory board, and community leaders, Quincy was awarded a center at the end of 2006.

The Quincy Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center opened last September. And Paul became its program director.

River Kroc The Mississippi River itself provided the inspiration for the design of the 98,000–square–foot facility. The center features a 500–seat worship theater, a

63,000–gallon–plus aquatic center (with a 157–foot slide and outdoor splash pad), a rock climbing and bouldering wall, cardio and fitness areas equipped with the latest technology, a weight room, two basketball/volleyball courts, a threelane track, classrooms, party areas, a conference center with state–of–the–art audio/visual systems and the Kroc Café.

With its varied programs and venues, people can enjoy new experiences and build new relationships.

“It’s unbelievable! Today we’re a big, fully equipped Kroc Center with a gorgeous chapel. It’s so much more than we had ever hoped for,” says Paul. At the huge downtown facility, he continues to focus on evangelism and help the center’s leadership stay mission–focused.

“It’s too easy to slip into a business mindset with membership and money concerns,” says Paul. He constantly challenges staff members to examine

The entrance of the Salvation Army’s Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in Quincy, Ill.

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the purpose of the things they do and emphasizes relationship–building as the key to leading people to Christ.

“You can fall into that ‘auto mode’ mindset anywhere, not just here,” Paul continued. “If you start to treat ministry like a treadmill, you think, ‘OK, I got that class or Bible study or band practice done, now what’s next?’ That’s what leads to burnout, when you lose the focus and purpose of what you’re doing.

Remembering why you’re doing what you’re doing motivates you.”

The Kroc Center officers and leaders are encouraged to see both staff and center members attending worship services. “We’re seeing new faces every week,” says Paul. “When people see the joy of the Lord in you, it’s attractive.

They want to be with joyful people and want joy for themselves.”

That’s the heart of an evangelist speaking.

Members of the Kroc Center enjoy the walking track.

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First Person

Beyond Willpower Photo Š 2009 Florian Oehrlein/Getty Images

by Alicea Jones

One day when I was supposed to be running an errand for my father, I doubled back, peeked through the window, and saw him inject a needle into his arm. His chin flopped down to his collarbone as if his head was too heavy for his neck. I was 10 years old. Now I understood why he nodded all the time and why things like my mother’s sewing machine had been disappearing. He had been selling them to get a fix. My father was a heroin addict.

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First Person

At that age, I didn’t understand the death grip of heroin, but it seemed that it made Daddy want it more than he wanted his family. It made him take the grocery money and fall into an intermittent stupor when I tried to talk to him.

When I reached my teens, I started thinking about ways I could help him.

If my five siblings and I intervened and if my dad would just tunnel deep and gather up all his willpower, I reasoned, he could get sober.

So we decided to have a talk with Daddy, a family intervention of sorts. We sat in a circle, each of us pouring out our angst and desire for him to get sober. He was nodding in and out of coherence, but surely, we thought, the appeals of his children would be powerful enough to make him stop using drugs.

“We can take you to rehab. Please, we want things to be like they were before.

Just use your willpower. We’ll help you,” we pleaded. While cathartic for us, this encounter did nothing for my father.

Then Daddy became very ill; he was diagnosed with myocarditis, inflammation of the heart caused by infection related to his drug use. We thought this would be his turning point.

When my sister and I walked into his hospital room, we were afraid for him.

We were afraid that he would die from his drug abuse, if not at that moment, then eventually. We wanted to save him, so we visited often and tried to encourage him. We hoped that this near–death experience and our visits would coax him out of using drugs.

They didn’t.

So many people tried to help my father, but, ironically, their help often enabled his addiction. He’d tell them a sob story about needing to pay a plumber to get our toilet unclogged, or he’d say there was no food in our refrigerator. The circumstances were true, but the money people gave him usually went to drugs.

‘Then late one night when I was in my early 30s, my phone rang.’

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More Chances My grandparents also tried to help. They sent him to a camp for recovering drug addicts. He stayed clean for a while, but the call of heroin was too strong.

When I was in junior high school, my father was arrested and sent to the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC), a facility for addicts. At least now he’d have no choice but to quit, I thought.

My mother took us to visit him on family day, and I was so happy that he was sober. His skin glowed; his eyes were clear and focused. He even shared his plans to move our family to a farm where we could raise chickens. I smiled and told him how much I was looking forward to our new life.

When he was released from CRC, I stood in line with him at a treatment center where he received methadone, a substitute for heroin. The goal was to wean him off heroin and eventually off

methadone. I thought that being there with him would give him the encouragement he needed—that somehow my presence would be powerful enough to help him toward recovery.

But a few months later, he was back on heroin.

The Final Cry By the time I turned 20, I had given up on my dad. It seemed nothing anyone could do would help him. I avoided his phone calls. So did the rest of the family. He just wanted money anyway.

Eventually, he stopped calling.

Then late one night when I was in my early 30s, my phone rang. Hearing my dad’s voice after so many years froze me like the two seconds after a car wreck. I thought I had cast off all affection for him, but he was my father, and I still loved him.

“Alicea, I need your help. I’m on skid row. I have no money and no place to go. It’s dangerous down here, and I’m afraid. No one will help me. I want to kick the habit—I mean it this time. I’m tired.”

Was he conning me again? I’d asked myself this question so many times before. Then he said, “I’ve been praying.”

Praying—a drug addict praying? I figured if he could pray, I would too. All night I prayed. “Oh God, let it be so.

Please give me my father back.”

It was 5:30 a.m. I rolled slowly, as if I were in a funeral procession, down Sixth Street in Los Angeles. Windows up, doors locked. I prayed for my father and for myself. Greasy bags, newspapers, and www.prioritypeople.org

Photo © Getty Images

scraps of forgotten food splotched the street. Shadowy figures clothed in baggy hues of faded gray and brown meandered past the buildings and stared into the street.

There he was, standing on the curb waiting for me. Tired. Gaunt. Soon we’d be sitting in the same car, closing the years between us, for better or for worse.

And when he got in, for the first time, as I looked at my father’s worn, dejected frame slumped in the passenger seat, I realized that his deliverance was going to take something more powerful than anything I or anyone else could do.

One week later, he asked me to take him back downtown, but this time it wasn’t to find drugs. He wanted to admit himself into Harbor Light, the Salvation Army rehabilitation center on Fifth Street.

I visited him there every day when I got off work. With each visit, his eyes shone brighter and his countenance improved. At Harbor Light, he received care and support from people who knew about addiction and could help him.

God knew that my father had to come to the point of depleted options. And when he did, Harbor Light opened their doors to him.

During my father’s 40–year enslavement to heroin, my family and countless others tried to help him, often depending on our own resources and my father’s willpower. Yet now—when my father had nothing and no one, and I had no answers—I realized that only God could bring my father back. God showed His grace through the people who helped my 21

Photos Courtesy of New Frontier Publications

First Person

The Harbor Light as it looked during the days when Alecia’s father found help there.

dad at Harbor Light.

“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” (Psalm 118:8, KJV).

Lean On Me Seventeen years have passed since that dark morning on skid row; for 17 years, my father has been heroin–free.

Although I’m the one who picked up my dad and drove him to Harbor Light, God softened my hardened heart and allowed 22

me to see that what I needed to do was to entrust my father to Him. And it was God who allowed my father to come to the end of himself.

A story appears in the Bible in the fifth chapter of the book of Mark. A sick woman who had had uncontrollable bleeding for 12 years had seen many doctors and, in the process, spent all her money. But nothing had helped; she actually got worse. However, she had heard stories about Jesus’ healing of the sick. When she finally saw Him, she

touched the hem of His clothes and was healed.

After exhausting all of her resources, she too came to rely on a power greater than her own. This story and many others appear in the Bible to tell us that we are limited in our strength, but nothing is ever beyond God’s power.

Through the years of my father’s addiction and other life challenges I’ve experienced, God often seemed to be ignoring my prayers. But I’ve learned that sometimes He intervenes only when I cease depending completely upon my own power and resources.

My faith would not have been as strong if God had delivered my father with the first prayer. And I never would have thought that feeling helpless and hopeless about my dad would be the turning point for both of us. We had no more answers, which was exactly where we needed to be.

Epilogue: I just returned from visiting my dad in California. We had a lovely time together—laughing, joking, and reminiscing. When it was time to say goodbye, I studied his humbled eyes and was reminded that my father wasn’t a bad man. He was a good man who, because of drugs, made some regretful choices.

Alicea Jones is a freelance writer, speaker, and magazine editor living in central Texas with her family. She writes inspirational stories and is currently working on a devotional book for adult children of addicts.

Blog: http://aliceajones.wordpress.com www.prioritypeople.org

COMING SUMMER 2012

All things Kroc

Everything you ever wanted to know

Articles by: w General Linda Bond w Commissioner Don Bell w Amy Ragen, Joan Kroc’s granddaughter w Kroc Centers administrators Pre-order in bulk or by subscription: caring@usw.salvationarmy.org 562/491-8723 Facebook: CaringMagazine Twitter: @CaringMagazine

The holistic ministries of The Salvation Army

Living a Holy Life

Radical Forgiveness Photography by Roger Mastroianni/Getty Images

by Lindsay Bonilla

If you want to know something about radical forgiveness, you need look no further than Chuck and Auburn Sandstrom.

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T

he Sandstroms’ difficult journey began on July 1, 2009, when Chuck, the beloved former development director for the Summit County, Ohio, Salvation Army, made a routine visit to check on a rental property he owned not far from the Akron Citadel, a Salvation Army church. While there, he noticed a car that had been parked in the lot for over three months but was not registered to any of his tenants. He called to have it towed. When the tow truck arrived, the car’s owner,

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Michael D. Ayers, who lived across the street, confronted Chuck. After the tow truck left, Ayers returned. He delivered a punch that knocked Chuck’s head into a brick stoop and left him in a pool of his own blood. Ayers, who had been drinking, hid in the bushes and watched as neighbors called 911.

At the time, Chuck’s wife, Auburn, was in Findlay, Ohio, two hours east of Akron, preparing to move. She and Chuck had been married for a year, but Auburn had stayed in Findlay while

her son, a star football player, finished his senior year of high school. She was eager to end the long–distance arrangement.

“My son and I had just left our house in the hands of new tenants and were staying with my parents,” she says. “I had started to come to Akron that night with a vanload of stuff but turned around and came home because I was too tired.” Her last conversation with Chuck was about the car he was going to have towed.

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Living a Holy Life

‘Sit down,’ the doctors said Around 11 the next morning, she received a call from Akron General Medical Center.

“They told me to sit down,” she remembers. “It was hard to take it all in. I remember waiting for them to say, ‘He’ll be fine,’ or something I could wrap my head around, but they didn’t. I asked, ‘Are you telling me my husband might not live?’ I was sure they would say, ‘Oh yes, yes, he’s going to live,’ but they wouldn’t even say that.”

Sandstrom sustained a traumatic 26

brain injury that left him in a coma for eight weeks. When he came out of the coma, he had no recollection of the event that had caused his injury and left him unable to walk or talk. The injury cost Chuck his dream job, as well as his new home, and set him on a long road to recovery. But he never allowed it to make him bitter.

“I knew I was going to forgive Ayers right from the very beginning because that was my way of life,” says Chuck.

He had struggled for years to forgive a man who had killed his mother and had

learned that holding onto an attitude of vengeance is like drinking poison and hoping it kills the other person.

Was he a monster?

After 15 months as a fugitive, Chuck’s assailant was finally caught and arrested.

When the Sandstroms attended his initial court hearing, Auburn saw for the first time the man who had changed their lives forever.

“I remember being invited by the community at large to view him as a monster,” she says, “and it was temptwww.prioritypeople.org

ing to adopt that attitude. But I had to counter that temptation by asking questions, meeting family members, talking to neighbors. Staying close to the neighborhood and the people involved kept me from becoming someone I didn’t want to be in reaction to the crime.”

Ayers was sentenced to four years in prison; the Sandstroms played a crucial role in reducing his sentence.

They didn’t believe that prison would make him a better human being, and they knew that his offenses had been committed while under the influence of alcohol. So they sought instead to get him into programs that would focus on his rehabilitation. All the while they extended a forgiveness that has had a profound affect on Ayers. He wrote a letter of apology that was read from the pulpit of the Sandstroms’ church by Ayers’s girlfriend. And he is grappling with how he can live up to the grace he has been freely offered.

Extended compassion The Sandstroms’ compassion has extended not only to Ayers but also to his young son. With his father in prison, the boy was falling behind in school, acting out, and picking fights with other students.

“It didn’t take a genius to see where his life was heading,” says Auburn. “We didn’t know if we could have an affect on Michael that would change his destiny, but we hoped we could have an impact on his son.”

They believed that impact might www.prioritypeople.org

come through education. So they worked to get Ayers’s son enrolled in the Salvation Army’s Learning Zone, an after–school program that focuses on the academic, social, emotional, and spiritual development of each child.

Chuck had spent time fund–raising for the program and knew of its success at working with at–risk youth.

Today the boy who was once shy

Bolstered Faith

W

hile the road has not been easy, the Sandstroms have been sustained by prayer, faith in God, and Chuck’s own positive attitude.

‘I see my injury as a blessing,’ says Chuck. ‘I have the perspective that the change in my life is for my good and that it really helps me more than it hurts me.’

The couple has also learned to lean on family, friends, and their Christian community, including The Salvation Army. In the aftermath of the attack, Major Jim Betts served as a comforting presence at the hospital and provided pastoral counseling to the family. Others from The Salvation Army helped Auburn clear out a rental property and offered encouragement when she ate lunch at the building during her round–the–clock hospital

and withdrawn has improved his performance at school and displays a happier attitude. He receives occasional visits from the Sandstroms although he doesn’t know how they are connected to his father. The Sandstroms have found that their intervention in the young boy’s life has created a bond between their two families and served as a big part of the healing process. vigil. Their display of faith in action caused Auburn to re–examine her own faith.

‘Before Chuck’s accident, I had become so worldly,’ she says. ‘I associate with a lot of intellectuals and artists who find the Christian message utterly ridiculous, and I’d begun to look at some Christians as almost quaint. Yet in the depth of our trauma, they became the most practical and sensible people I knew. We have been loved in every way by Salvation Army people who have poured themselves out for us, and this played a huge part in drawing us back to a faith we had largely abandoned.’

Today, Chuck maintains his connection to The Salvation Army by sitting on the development committee and playing trombone in the band on occasion. Wherever he goes, he flashes his signature smile.

‘I know we belong here,’ says Auburn, ‘and we feel completely at home.’

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Living a Holy Life

Story of healing “We want to be better for what we’ve been through,” says Auburn, “and we want the lives of Michael’s family to be better too. Every time our kindness is appreciated by Michael or his family, it affirms us in a way nothing else could.

I’ve given Michael my word that I will do what I can for his son’s education.

He has given me his word that when he gets out, he will look out for Chuck in whatever ways he can.”

The Sandstroms’ story of healing is one that they see as part of a much larger story, from genocides around the world to the bullying culture here in the United States. In an effort to share hope and spark change, Chuck has embarked on a new preaching and public speaking ministry. Refusing to let his speech impairment stand in the way of his message, he has spoken at churches and community events and most recently received the honor of delivering a TED (“Ideas worth spreading”) talk that earned him a standing ovation.

“When Chuck finishes speaking, many people respond that they could never forgive as we have,” says Auburn.

“But if they say that, then they’ve missed the point. We don’t want people to walk away thinking that Chuck and I are special. We want them to know that if we can forgive, anyone can forgive.”

“Somehow you need to love the person enough to put yourself in the position that you would want to be in if you committed the act yourself,” says Chuck.

That is true forgiveness.

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Living in the Present

A

uburn remembers the deep stabs of agony she felt when she realized that she could no longer pick up the phone and call Chuck when she got lost, and she could no longer hear his laughter. As Chuck began to come out of the coma, Auburn noticed that his concept of time had been impaired, leaving him no sense of yesterday or tomorrow. ‘I could be by his side all day long and yet he would smile at me and hug me as if seeing me for the first time,’ she says. ‘I have found life richer as I’ve learned to live in the present without speculation about the past or future.’

Today Chuck remains a man who lives in the present moment.

His ability to laugh has returned full force; he and Auburn joke about everything from Chuck’s mismatched clothing selections to gravy stains on his shirt. ‘We laugh all the time about his little quirks,’ says Auburn. ‘But what’s funny is that I feel fond of what we call his “new ways.” Chuck has a different walk now, and a friend of ours was trying to help him correct it until I realized that I’m attached to Chuck exactly as he is now.’

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MyTake

Soo’s Journal I woke up at 4 a.m. to prepare myself.

I showered with antibacterial soap all over, put no lotion on face or body (as instructed), put on an open–front shirt and drawstring pants. This brought back memories of nine years ago. I read this verse over and over again. I made it a prayer, declaration, and confirmation. I acknowledged my faint spirit—I want to rest in His power. I know and believe He is watching over my way, the way that awaits me today, the days of recovery, and the results. His words comfort me and give me assurance. He will take care of me.

Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011 THE DAY I RETURNED FROM THE HOSPITAL

Photos by Kurt LeVasseur

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with His love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

—Zephaniah 3:17

M

ajor Soo Yung Kim was about to have surgery for cancer, a second time. A friend brought her a dozen pink roses, with a Scripture promise tied to each stem, along with encouraging notes. A 13th Scripture, attached to the vase, was for the evening before the surgery. As Soo rose each day, she opened the promise and wrote journal entries as a gift to her friend, but also as an offering to the Lord. Soo says, “I am willing 30

to share it with others because I know in the sharing of my experience, others hopefully will experience strength.” Following are some excerpts.

Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011 THE DAY OF THE SURGERY

“When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who watches over my way.”—Psalm 142:3a

How delightful the picture was that my friend painted for me—that the Lord is composing a new melody of love over my life! It is unfathomable, but I believe, Lord! Someone prayed this prayer over me the day before the surgery, and now I hear it repeated as if confirmed. Keep singing in my heart, Lord, I pray, and I will dance to your melody.

I had a difficult time sleeping last night because of the pain, but it was manageable with the painkillers. I vomited with every food intake, so the nurse infused a stronger dosage of anti–nausea www.prioritypeople.org

medication. I was able to get up, wash with a washcloth, and even dress myself—no problem—slow, but able. It felt wonderful to be home, and to have my husband by my side, caring.

Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” —Psalm 18:2

a few hours, and throughout the day, I am fixed on Him. I’m trying to eliminate TV—only [to watch] the morning news. … This morning, especially, has inspired me to deeper meditation, reflection, and prayer—then to worship with Young [Soo’s husband] in our living room. We sang hymns and he reflected on Psalm 30. … He shared that he had turned to this text on Nov. 30 before leaving home to come see me at the hospital. It promises that God will turn

Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011

I went to the doctor’s office and found out that one of the tubes was twisted inside, and that caused pain and discomfort. I woke up with an excruciating headache. Another day of vomiting … the day seemed long. But Scripture today reminded me that God is holding on to me, that He will deliver me. I am holding on to His promises.

Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011 “The sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to tread on the heights.” —Habakkuk 3:19 How appropriate for today—I feel stronger! “Look back and see God’s grace with every [step you] climb.” My friend’s encouraging words resonate with the truth of His grace. … Waking up early, with time at home in complete seclusion, has allowed much time with the Lord. Every morning, I could spend www.prioritypeople.org

[Soo speaks of the many scars she bears from this and previous surgeries.] I feel scarred. I feel worthless whenever I see them; [they are reminders] of invasions unwanted and undesired. Greater than the physical scars are the emotional wounds of the past. I pray against this “orphan spirit” that robs me of the reality that I am worth more than many sparrows. He will not let me fall to the ground, into the abyss of nothingness, but will satisfy me with great fullness.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” —Psalm 28:7

my mourning into dancing! … My sovereign Lord, who made the heavens and the earth, the one who is full of mercy and love, will make my feet swift—to tread on the heights, to dance, to rejoice!

Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” —Matthew 10:29–31

I took my final Scripture from the bouquet of blessing my friend so graciously and thoughtfully gave to me. … I blessed her each day. … I declared out loud, “I have been healed!” … I am still sore and uncomfortable, but only physically. … It is my turn to sing to Him a melody of love. He sang to me these past days of rest and reflection. How appropriate to open to this final verse that exclaims, “The Lord is my strength and shield.” Amen and hallelujah! … My heart trusts Him and will continue to trust Him as I sing my life melody.

For Soo’s complete journal, go to www.prioritypeople.org 31

Salvation Story

A Father She Can Count On

by Robert Mitchell

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N

oretta Flemmings grew up in the same house as her biological father, but since he was only 13 years older than she was, she thought he was a brother.

“That was always a void for me growing up as a young woman—not having that father figure,” Noretta says. “I can clearly say that God has been my father figure all the time. All the time.

“He’s never left me. He’s always been that guiding force. Not that I always saw Him or recognized Him as being that guiding force, but he was absolutely always there.”

Photography by Mike Okoniewski/Getty Images

Orphan Noretta That doesn’t mean life has been a smooth road for Noretta, whose life verse is Isaiah 54:17: “No weapon formed against you shall prosper. … ” (KJV) “I’ve had a lot of weapons formed against me throughout my life,” she says.

Noretta was born in Brooklyn and initially lived with her grandmother, Martha, because her mother was an alcoholic and her father a drug addict. When her grandmother died, she ended up in an orphanage in Yonkers, N.Y. “Really, I thank God for it because it saved my life in a sense,” Noretta says.

“If I had grown up in the streets of New York, I don’t know what would have happened to me.”

Still, life at the orphanage was sometimes harrowing for the 4–foot, 9–inch Noretta, who was jumped a few times by the bigger girls.

“If it wasn’t for my strength and my belief in God, I don’t know a lot of 11–

year–olds who could have gone through what I’ve gone through,” she says. “I’ve had some bumps.”

Rekindled faith Noretta moved to White Plains at age 18 and met the father of her oldest daughter. She was soon introduced to marijuana and other drugs, including heroin. “[I] went from just experimenting … to really having a problem,” she says. “I battled and battled and struggled with that addiction for quite some time.”

Out of desperation, Noretta accepted a friend’s request to move to Syracuse, where she got clean for a while. She also joined a local church and rekindled the faith she had growing up with her grandmother.

“I rebuilt my relationship with Him,” Noretta says. “It’s not that God ever left me. I left Him. I thought I was unworthy and there was no way He could ever love me. He showed me, ‘Noretta, I’ve always had you and I always will.’ ” What happened next was something right out of a Hollywood script. Noretta was walking down a street in Syracuse when she saw a man resembling her estranged father. When she approached and asked his name, sure enough, it was her father, George. He was a beneficiary of The Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) program.

“That was nothing but God,” she says.

A second relapse Noretta got to spend a few years with her father before he died of AIDS complica33

Salvation Story

tions. It was while she was mourning his passing that she relapsed for the first time in nine years.

Noretta stayed in that cycle of drugs for the next six years until she overdosed on rat poison given to her by a drug dealer. The last images she remembers seeing before she blacked out were the faces of her three daughters.

“When I woke up and my eyes were open and I was still alive, I said, ‘That’s it. I’m done. I’m totally, totally done.

I don’t want to die. I want to live,’ ” Noretta recalls. “I remember saying, ‘God, if you bring me out of this, I will never turn back.’ I meant that.”

Noretta began attending Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings and found The Salvation Army when her boyfriend and future husband invited her to the Syracuse Citadel Corps. The pastors were Captains Dennis and Sharon Young (see Fall 2006 Priority!), and Noretta recognized many in the congregation from her NA meetings.

“I’ve been to a lot of churches, but I’ve never walked into a church that I could clearly feel the love from the people,” she says.

God’s unfailing love “We all loved the Lord and all had issues with drugs and were fighting to stay clean. I felt like I was among family.

People were crying. People were sharing their stories.”

Yet she was apprehensive at first because she “didn’t feel worthy” and told herself, “I’m just a junkie.” However, Captain Dennis Young also came from 34

a recovery background and through his sermons and the fellowship of the congregation, Noretta got more comfortable with each passing week.

“I’ve always known Christ,” she says. “I just didn’t know how to stay connected to Him. I didn’t quite understand that God will love me forever. That love doesn’t change. He’s never not going to love me.

I’ve got to love and forgive myself for some things and just know that’s He’s

‘I see me in every last person that I help. Even the little kids … ’ already done that.

“I felt at one time that [everyone] I loved would leave me. … Once I got a relationship with God, I learned that He doesn’t leave; He doesn’t go anywhere.

That has been a solid foundation for me.

I know that no matter what I do, right or wrong, God’s not going anywhere.”

Doing God’s work Noretta has led the choir, called the Songsters, at the corps for the last four years.

“I love it because I love to praise God and I love to sing,” she says. “That’s how I express my worship.”

Noretta also enjoys sharing God’s love.

When she worked as a telemarketer, she was written up twice for saying “God bless” to one customer and urging an-

other to pray. She asked God to give her a job where she could openly share her faith with others.

Last year, her prayer was answered as she was hired as the director of pastoral ministries for the Salvation Army’s Syracuse Area Services, which is in the same building as the corps. She sees herself as a bridge between social service clients and the church.

“When … God saw fit to bless me with this position, it was all I needed to give back and let what God has given me shine out to the people that I serve,” she says.

Given her background and life experiences, Noretta says she has found a job that is a perfect fit for her.

‘I see me’ “I can now take my experience and help somebody else and be able to say to that person clearly, without a shadow of a doubt, ‘You can do this.’ I know because I’ve done it. I’m a living testimony.”

Noretta tells the story of a young homeless woman she found crying outside the corps. She sought housing for the woman, who is now going to school and attending church at the Syracuse Citadel.

“That’s what this is about,” Noretta says. “I see me in every last person that I help. Even the little kids, because I was that little kid at one time. Everyone who comes in, there’s always something in that person that I can say, ‘Wow. I’ve been through that.’ ” Summing up what she does for clients, Noretta says, “I’m going to meet your needs, feed you, and then tell you about www.prioritypeople.org

a God I know that has been good to me and He can be just as good to you.”

Officer material?

Captain Anita Stewart, co– commander of the Syracuse Citadel Corps, said Noretta is “very gifted, very charismatic,” and draws people to herself.

“She has such a pleasant spirit,” Stewart says. “God is going to use her in a mighty way if she continues to yield her life. We’re very excited and blessed to have her.

“She’s going to be a great asset for the Kingdom. We’re looking forward to all that God has in store for her.”

That could include becoming a www.prioritypeople.org

Noretta relates to a client.

35

Salvation Story

Salvation Army officer. Noretta’s three grown daughters are encouraging her, and she is moving in that direction but still seeking God’s will.

“I don’t do anything without consulting with God first,” she says.

Noretta says others have prophesied that she would be called into the ministry someday. Her response was always an emphatic, “No way.”

“As the years have gone by, God has continually shown me, ‘Yeah, it is you.

It is you,’ ” Noretta says. “The more I say ‘No, no,’ the Lord says ‘Yes, yes.’ The doors open and situations occur and God says, ‘I need you to walk through this door now.’ I’ve got to be obedient.

“I’ve been to other churches,” she says.

“No one does as much service for people as The Salvation Army and I want to be a part of that.”

Still standing Noretta says she loves helping the women who come into the shelter because their stories sound a lot like hers.

“Everything I’ve gone through, I count it all joy because it has taught me to be this person. I can say for real, without a shadow of a doubt to the women in the shelter, ‘Honey you’re going to make it.’ I also am able to give her the steps of what to do to make it.

“I’ve made some mistakes along the way, but the end result is I’m still here, I’m still alive, I still love the Lord, He still loves me, and now I’m able to give back.”

36

www.prioritypeople.org

Great Loss, Great Gain

by Linda D. Johnson

When he decided to have weight–loss surgery, he prayed, ‘Lord, if you want me to do this—and I know you do—I just want two things to change. I’m so tired of having to ask for a seatbelt extender, and I’d like to be able to sit in a chair with arms.’

Photography by Philip Jensen–Carter

All That I Am

All That I Am

W

hen Wes Geddes would get on a plane, he always had to ask for a seatbelt extender.

“The flight attendants were always very discreet about it,” Wes says. “It would be rolled up in her hand, and she would slip it into my hand as she walked by, as if she were passing a baton.”

When he decided to have weight–loss surgery, he prayed, “Lord, if you want me to do this—and I know you do—I just want two things to change. I’m so tired of having to ask for a seatbelt extender, and I’d like to be able to sit in a chair with arms.”

The Lord has answered Wes’s prayers.

He has a chair with arms in his office.

He doesn’t need that seatbelt extender.

And he discovered he could do something else he could never do before.

“A year ago, I flew, and I put the tray table down,” he says. “I wanted to leave it there for the whole flight. I wished I had a laptop so I could actually put it on my lap.”

Photo by Kurt LeVasseur

Childhood obesity

38

Wes, a 57–year–old Salvation Army major who is director of business at the Army’s School for Officer Training (SFOT) in Suffern, N.Y., had been overweight for most of his life.

“Even as a kid in sixth grade, I went on a calorie–counting diet,” he says. At that age, he was always chosen last for sports teams. But the diet worked, and his life changed dramatically.

“I was not only one of the first chosen for teams but was also sometimes picked to be the person choosing the teams.” www.prioritypeople.org

Beginning in eighth grade, Wes excelled in football as a linebacker. In those days, he could eat anything he wanted.

“However, when I stopped playing, I did not curb my food intake, and the amount of food I consumed was not balanced by workouts to burn the calories.”

Wes had begun what he calls “a very real and personal 40–year battle of the bulge.”

Like many overweight people, Wes has tried many diets.

“In 30 years, I’ve probably lost 1,000 pounds,” he says.

But nothing worked long–term.

“Some people think that if you’re overweight, it’s a lack of discipline,” Wes says. “But there are many reasons people are overweight.”

What was it for Wes? “I’ve not always had the best self–esteem in the world,” he says. As a young person, Wes didn’t have a problem with the Apostle Paul’s admonition in Romans, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.”

“I thought that my assessment [of myself] was a realistic appraisal.”

Wes says. Six years later, while a student at Slippery Rock State University in Pennsylvania, he received his calling to be a Salvation Army officer and pastor.

“God kept me awake for a whole weekend,” he recalls.” One morning, I went out to the kitchen and said, ‘Lord, why are you keeping me awake?’ He said, ‘You have to listen to me. I’m calling

you to ministry. You will do it now, or it won’t happen.’ ” Wes said to the Lord, “I will have to raise funds.” The Lord spoke again: “I’ll take care of that.”

Not long after, the officer at the Army church his parents were attending, Pittsburgh Temple Corps, asked if Wes knew anything about aquatics.

Wes still loves Wavy Lay’s. But he doesn’t overdo.

Finding Jesus—And Calling Wes grew up in church; his parents were Salvation Army officers. As a young person, he sang with the Pendel Brass & Singers, an Army group. Though he was communicating a Gospel message, he didn’t accept Jesus as his Savior until July 1973, at age 20.

“It wasn’t until then that I had a real understanding of my need for Christ,” www.prioritypeople.org

39

All That I Am

What’s a Gastric Bypass?

T

he surgery that Wes Geddes had is the most common type of weight–loss procedure. Doctors divide the stomach into two parts and connect the smaller part directly to the lower part of the small intestine. This creates a shortcut for food; it “bypasses” part of the stomach and the upper small intestine.

People who undergo this surgery typically experience drastic, rapid weight loss. Their bodies also can’t absorb nutrients well, so they need supplements for the rest of their lives to avoid side effects like osteoporosis and anemia.

Patients also must take care what they eat. Foods high in carbohydrates, especially sugar, can cause a syndrome called ‘gastric dumping,’ in which the food is ‘dumped’ into the intestine too quickly. When that happens, the patient can become violently ill.

Gastric bypass is generally a permanent choice. In most cases, it isn’t reversible.

Information from www.webmd.com.

The website also offers information on other types of weight–loss surgeries, including lap–band, along with pros, cons, and risks.

40

Wes had taught swimming at camp, so he was hired to run the program at the Army’s community center.

He quit school. But by January, he prayed to God, “Lord, this is not enough money.”

Shortly after that, Wes was asked to direct the community center, which meant an increase in pay. When it was time for him to go to training in the fall of 1978, he had saved most of the money he needed. But he was still $600 short.

Then his grandfather died and left each child—you guessed it—$600.

In denial When he got to training, he met Eva, the love of his life, who was a year ahead of him in school, and they were eventually married.

Even though Wes became more and more overweight, he took pride in his appearance.

“I never looked like a slob,” he says.

“I would look in the mirror, but I didn’t see an overweight person. That’s called denial.”

Wes kept overeating, something that seemed acceptable in the Salvation Army culture, where, he says, “Eating is a social event.” Yet he knew that some were judging him.

“Some people equate being overweight with being sinful,” Wes says.

“They also equate abilities with appearance.”

For Wes, eating was a compensation for other issues.

“If you’re frustrated, it’s immediate gratification,” he says.

Eventually, Wes realized he was addicted to food.

“For many years, I denied the fact that I was morbidly obese,” he says.

“I would use words like large–boned, muscular, and athletic (even though just walking up stairs winded me).”

But Wes began to face the fact that if he didn’t do something, he could die.

“It took me three years of research and prayer. I even watched gastric bypass surgery on the internet. Then, in December 2009, we were on a cruise— yes, with all that food—and that’s when I decided. I came home from the cruise and told Eva, ‘I’m going to start the process.”

The process begins When Wes had talked about gastric bypass with his wife, she expressed doubts.

She had known others who had not had good results with the surgery. She had another worry too.

“My major concern was maintenance of weight loss,” she says. She had lived through many ups and downs with Wes. But this time, she could see he was committed, and she said, “I will support you.”

Before he could undergo surgery, Wes went through months of evaluation and an approval process with The Salvation Army. He realized that he could be stopped at any point.

“God opens the door, and He can shut that door,” Wes says. But God left the door wide open; Wes passed the medical and psychological tests with flying colors, and the surgery was approved. www.prioritypeople.org

He chose gastric bypass because he wanted quick results. In the surgery, the stomach is stapled off, reduced to the size of an egg. (See sidebar on p. 40.)

“The surgery is a tool,” he says. “It gives you time to really adjust to changing your whole eating behavior,” Wes had already gathered a “brain trust” of friends who would suport him through the process. Two of those friends, Majors Ernie and Molly Koennemund, were there when he opened his eyes after surgery.

“I woke up and said, ‘Thank you, Lord, for relief.”

‘I must decrease’ Wes found encouragement in a Bible verse in which John the Baptist is talking to his followers about Jesus, saying, “He must increase but I must decrease.”

“I took that verse literally for me,” Wes says.

He had the surgery on a Wednesday, went home on Friday, and walked to the mailbox on Saturday. Three weeks later, he was singing with the Eastern Territorial Songsters (ETS), a Salvation Army choir, in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. By then, he had already lost 50 pounds.

“That was a challenge,” he says. “I was exhausted. Once, I just had to sit down.”

He remembers how great Eva was during that time.

“We were provided dinner, but I couldn’t eat the pasta. So Eva went out and found me a protein shake. Later, she was hungry because she hadn’t eaten.

She said, ‘Take me to the Pier’ (a local www.prioritypeople.org

Wes walks the halls of the Salvation Army’s School for Officer Training, where he is the business director.

arcade area). She had French fries and pizza. I said, ‘Just put it under my nose.’ ” That was in 2010. This past summer, Wes walked nearly a mile from the Old Orchard Beach Corps to the Pier, sang for 30 minutes with the ETS, then walked back to the corps.

“It was not a problem; I wasn’t even winded,” he says.

Wes’s health is vastly improved. He is no longer borderline diabetic, and he’s off blood pressure medications.

“All I take is a a multiple vitamin and B–12. For some reason, after surgery, the body doesn’t produce B–12.”

He still has some problems with his knees, but they are not nearly as painful as they once were. He can walk the SFOT campus without trouble.

A new man Eva says Wes now has a different attitude about food—and about himself.

“There is more confidence, especial41

All That I Am

ly,” she says. “For example, buying new clothes is a welcome experience instead of a dreaded chore.”

Wes adds, “What we’ve saved on food, we’ve spent on clothing.”

He agrees that he has more confidence—both in himself and in God. Before, he says, “If I was good at something, I would think, ‘Well, it’s not really me.’ But I’ve learned that when we are doing what God wants us to do, we feel His pleasure.”

Wes knows God is pleased with his singing and with his work, which he loves. As for eating? He still enjoys it, but he eats very little.

“I enjoy the tastes. I savor them more.

But I don’t live to eat; I eat to live.”

Eva says she too has benefited from a focus on cooking less food and eating at a “fine–dining pace.” Since Wes had the surgery, she’s lost 15 pounds herself.

“My wife is my biggest encourager,” Wes says. “She’s always saying to me, ‘I can’t believe how much energy you have now.’ ” Wes is also happy that his personality hasn’t changed with his weight loss.

“I want to be the real Wes Geddes. I feel good about myself. I’m more of what God wants me to be.”

But Wes also knows his own weakness; that’s why he agreed to be interviewed.

“This article holds me accountable to maintain my weight. I never want to weigh 360 pounds again.”

42

www.prioritypeople.org

Connect with Priority!

We would love to hear from you about how we’re doing: what you like, what you don’t like, or just an idea for what you’d like to see in the magazine.

Just visit www.prioritypeople.org and click on “Write to the Editor.”

Or email me (Linda Johnson) directly at linda.johnson@use.salvationarmy.org.

… and connect Priority! to others. r If you’re receiving only one copy of

Priority! at your church or corps, why not order more? Or just pass your own copy on to someone else!

t Send Priority! to everyone on your

mailing list. If you give us a list of 10 names and addresses, you’ll pay just $5 per subscription per year! (Regular price, $8.95) And we’ll let them know it’s from you!

t Sponsor a bulk subscription of Priority! to a local shelter or prison. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to put Priority! in the hands of people who need it?

t Let us know your ideas for getting

Priority! out into the wider world. With William Booth, we want all our work to be for “others” who need the Gospel.

If you send us a great suggestion, we’ll give you a free three–year subscription—mailed to the person of your choice!

To order … or give us a suggestion, go to www.prioritypeople.org or write to deloris.hansen@use.salvationarmy.org.

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Winter 2012

L I F E ST O R I E S

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Florida’s Sallie House A 60–Year Love Story Witnessing on Facebook

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‘HIT L DRIV INE L OVE ES, THE L ORD ’

Still Singing & Serving

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Prayer Power

Prayer Finds a Home

by Pauline Hylton

I

t was a dark time for the Kyle family of Rochester, Minn. First, Lance experienced kidney failure and had to have dialysis several days a week. Because of that, he lost his job, and he and his wife, Karen, couldn’t pay their bills.

They were evicted from their apartment.

To avoid homelessness, Karen and their four children moved into her mother’s small house, and Lance moved in with friends.

Karen had drifted away from her childhood faith, but the crisis compelled her to cry out to God. “Lord, please help us find a place to stay. We need to be together as a family again.” Looking back, Karen says her desperate situation made her realize that she needed to rely on the Lord.

“I felt God was saying to me that I had this safety net and was afraid to step out in faith. I was doing things on my own.”

Karen did step out; she made some calls. The Salvation Army called her back, offering transitional housing.

Her prayer had been answered.

44

The Kyle family moved into a four– bedroom, two–bath house on a quiet cul–de–sac. It is one of seven homes the Army owns in Rochester for situations like this.

“Our goal is always is to have permanent housing for two years to get [families] off the street and out of a crisis,” says Major Paulette Frye of the local Salvation Army church, the Rochester Corps Community Center.

It wasn’t long before life was back to normal for the Kyles. After they’d been there a few weeks, Karen came home to find Lance, Jr., and Jacquelyn raking the leaves. What a sweet thing to do, Karen thought. Her two younger children, Wesley and Anthony, popped out of the leaves to surprise her.

Soon after that, Major Paulette called.

“Hello, Karen. I wanted to invite your children to Salvation Army youth activities on Tuesday nights. We have girls and boys activities, along with music programs.”

That was another answered prayer for Karen. She wanted her children to be involved in a church, and the major said she would personally pick the children up from school.

After the first week’s activities, Paulette went into the house to meet Karen and Lance. Within a few weeks, she invited them to church services. Soon

the whole family was attending.

“If [our transitional housing families] aren’t ‘churched,’ we ask them to attend church services at the Army. That’s really the goal of the Army—to share the Gospel of Jesus with others.”

As the two years of transitional housing draws to a close, Paulette explains, families meet with a transitional supervisor, who helps them find a place of their own, works with them on the details of the move, and provides counsel about strategies for managing finances.

The Army counselor continues to be available even after the move.

The Kyles lived in their transitional home for two years and have now had their own place for two years. They are still attending the Rochester Corps.

Lance Jr., 17, plays in the senior brass band. The other three children play in the junior band. The older ones are also involved in Corps Cadets, a program for youth. Last summer, Karen helped with Bible School, and every few months, she assists in Junior Church. Kyle Sr. attends whenever his health allows.

Karen explains the reason for her attraction to the Army. “They love people, and I know it’s genuine. I love Major [James] and Mrs. Frye, too.

She adds, “Sometimes when you’re in a dark time in your life, and there doesn’t seem to be any hope, that’s when God comes through.” www.prioritypeople.org

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Prayer Power

Let The Band Play!

by Dana Cook

The new St. Joseph band fills the chairs put out on the platform in faith.

A

s I sat in my chair during the Festival of Worship Arts and heard Bandmaster William Himes challenge the (Salvation Army’s) Central Territory to have live music in every worship service by 2020, my heart was stirred. Listening to this challenge and seeing the brass bands that have been established with young people throughout the territory, I knew the St. Joseph, Mo., Corps was up to the challenge.

For the last two years we have prayed for live worship—with a praise and worship band, a piano player, or a brass 46

band. Returning from the festival, we felt the Lord wanted us to set up band chairs on the platform and pray for the empty chairs to be filled.

The Lord then gave us the opportunity to send 16 students to our divisional music camp in the summer; 13 of those young people registered for the instrumental track. After they returned from music camp, the new band members sat in their places on the platform. Our band is small, but we can hear four parts as they provide preliminary music, accompany congregational songs, and play the offertory.

Our congregation is so proud of our band that after every song, they applaud.

They simply love hearing and seeing the instruments being used for God’s glory.

We know that God answers prayer, for He has blessed our corps by filling the empty chairs on the platform with musicians and instruments that provide beautiful music.

We pray that our band continues to grow and play music that honors God and that He is pleased with our music offering.

Cook is an auxiliary captain in The Salvation Army. www.prioritypeople.org

100 Years Ago

Titanic: Salvation Army Survivors

by Robert Mitchell

T

he Titanic sank 100 years ago this April, but many people might not be aware of the amazing stories of two Salvationist women who survived the horrific sinking.

Rhoda “Rose” Abbott and Elizabeth Nye were among the 2,223 people on board the passenger liner, which was bound from Southampton in England to New York when it struck an iceberg on April 14, causing the deaths of 1,517 people.

Rose, a Salvation Army soldier married to an English boxing champion, has the distinction of being the only woman aboard the Titanic rescued from the water. She reportedly was asleep at the time the ship hit the iceberg and, by the time she reached deck, could not secure a lifeboat.

As the ship made its final plunge, Rose and her two sons, 16 and 14, jumped into the water. The boys never surfaced.

Rose suffered burns to her thighs when a boiler exploded as she searched below the surface for her sons.

She was rescued some five hours later. Salvation Army General William Booth, commenting on the loss of Rose’s sons, said, “They died, I am assured, like true Salvationists.”

Elizabeth Nye wasn’t even supposed to be on the Titanic.

She was booked on another ship, but a coal strike delayed her trip and she was transferred to the Titanic. She was initially thought to have perished but made it into a lifeboat and to safety.

The daughter of a Salvation Army bandsman, Elizabeth later worked at Salvation Army headquarters in New York City in the uniform department.

When she arrived in New York City aboard the rescue ship Carpathia, Evangeline Booth greeted her and the other survivors.

Elizabeth described her experience to a reporter for the Army’s War Cry magazine:

48

News that the Titanic had floundered and sunk on April 15, 1912, flashed around the world. On April 27, 1912, it was the front– page article in the British Salvation Army magazine, The War Cry.

“She did not sink flatly, like boats sail the ocean, but tipped up,” she said. “And when she was half submerged she broke completely in two and the lights went out … The cries for help were awful, many in the boats were insufficiently clad and suffering from exposure. We drifted about for five–and–a–half hours.”

While Elizabeth’s ordeal was indeed harrowing, God’s plan for the rest of her life took shape even as she arrived at the docks.

That day, she met George Darby, a Salvation Army colonel and national bandmaster. The two eventually married and served in the Army in both England and the United States.

www.prioritypeople.org

You pour out rain in buckets, O God.

—Psalm 68:9 (The Message)

go to

www.womensministries-tsa.org come Be a part!

Praise His name with dancing!

Psalm 149:3 USA Eastern Territory Commissioners R. Steven and Judith A. Hedgren Territorial Leaders

Women’s Ministries

Holy Spirit, Let It Rain Down On Me

Photo by Rudi Tinga