Priority! Winter 2012

®

Winter 2012

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

Sandi Patty

Still Singing & Serving ‘TIS

THE SE

ASO N

Facing the New Year

H

arold Sala, in his daily devotional Tomorrow Starts Today, tells the story of Pastor Ted Cole. After arsonists burned down his church, he picked his way through the charred rubble and sat

down at the piano. Defiantly he began playing an old hymn written more than four centuries ago by Martin Luther—who himself experienced trouble—that bears testimony to God’s provision for every person assaulted by hostile forces: “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood, of mortal ills prevailing.”

When life challenges us with what seem like insurmountable obstacles, we need to remember that our God is bigger than anything that Satan can put in our way. One of the best examples of this truth can be found in the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of captivity.

Moses stood before the Red Sea watching as the Egyptian Army closed in with more than 600 war chariots. He also faced his own people, who cried out: “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us here to die?” (Exodus 14:11, NIV) With every ounce of faith he could muster, Moses responded with one of the greatest statements in the entire Bible: “ ‘Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today.’ ” (Exodus 14:13, NKJV) God always has a plan to deliver that encourages confidence and hope. In the case of the Israelites, that plan was worked out because of the faith of a leader who felt inadequate for the job.

One commentator describes the situation of Moses like this: “How often faith weakens just when God is ready to do His greatest work! But God had His man of faith!”

Moses had learned that no matter how devastating the situation might seem, he could always trust God’s promise to provide a way of escape and fulfill perfectly the divine plan for his life. And how true this promise is for us today!

Lt. Colonel James Reynolds Secretary for Business Administration USA Eastern Territory

Another reason to love your job.

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COVER STORY

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FEATURES

®

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Singing God’s Grace She’s a Gospel singing legend. But did you know that Sandi Patty and her family have been involved in red kettle and disaster response efforts with The Salvation Army?

Sidebar: Who’s ‘The Voice’ for Her?

She’s ‘truly living’ As a missionary kid (MK), Viki Payton found the Lord early in life. But at a youth conference, she heard a Chris Tomlin song that made her question whether she had been “truly living” for God. The answer drew her back to a ministry teaching fellow MKs in Germany.

31 Miss Chanté of Sallie House Sallie House is a Salvation Army home for kids who have been abused and neglected. Chanté Douglass, who works with the children, has Cover photo and inset photo by Nicole Carpenter

been there herself, so she relates. She also wants the kids to meet a friend of hers: Jesus.

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Together Through Joy and Pain Theirs is a 60–year love story that began with an exchange of Valentine’s Day cards. Bill and Alice Brown, retired Salvation Army majors, had no inkling then that their journey would bring unimaginable loss and great joy.

DEPARTMENTS 5 Letters

‘Tis the Season

7 Upfront 10 Who’s News

WINTER 2012

21 MyTake 44 Prayer Power 48 60 Years Ago

Volume 13 No. 4

22 30 47

Red Kettle Champion A Christmas Encounter The Unclaimed Stocking

It’s all about POV

T

he Christmas story is all about points of view (POVs).

Let’s look at just a few. First there’s Mary, a

teenage girl visited by an angel. He tells her that God has chosen her, of all the women in the world, to bear His son.

Mary’s POV shifts rapidly. At first she’s really scared. But within a few seconds, she answers the angel, “Let it happen just as you have said.”

Joseph, her fiancé, also switches POV quickly. When he learns Mary is pregnant, he wants to break up with her. But an angel visits Joseph, too, and lets him know that Mary is still a virgin. She’s with child, all right, but the Father is none other than the Holy Spirit. When Joseph hears that, his POV changes. He’s ready not just to go through with the marriage, but also to protect both Mary and his baby stepson—who will be called Immanuel, “God with us.”

Another angelic visit makes for a change in POV—this time of some shepherds on a pitch–black night. When the angel shows up, bathed in brilliant light, they’re terrified. But after the angel tells them what’s about to happen, they’re not the least bit afraid, even when a whole army of angels shows up. The shepherds’ POV has changed. Now they’re excited; they rush to see the Christ child.

The wise men—aka magi—have an interest in the baby that is both scientific and religious. They somehow seem to know that a certain star means a new king of the Jews has been born, and they want to worship him. At first, their POV is very open and trusting. They come to King Herod and announce what they’re up to.

Herod (whose own POV is to protect his throne at all costs) tells them to let him know when they’ve found the baby so that he can worship too.

The wise men find Jesus, deliver their famous gifts, and do just what they set out to do—worship. They’re all set to report back to Herod, but something changes their POV: a dream (another angel’s visit?) warning them not to do that. They find a way home that goes nowhere near Herod’s palace.

These people are all so different. A teenage girl. Her much older fiancé. Poor, uneducated shepherds. Much richer, better–educated magi. But they do have something in common: they all come to a new POV. Because they are willing and open to listen, they get inside the most important point of view of all: God’s.

This Christmas, is that your POV?

Editor

…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

Senior Designer Saoul Vanderpool

Contributing Editors Warren L. Maye, Robert Mitchell

Contributing Writers Jack Corbin Getz, Carey Haivala, Bob Hostetler, Pauline Hylton, Paul M. Kelly Jr., Daryl Lach, Nancy Sampson, Robert E. Thomson, Larry Thorson

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 13, No. 4, Winter 2011. 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 9/11: We Remember Thank you for your excellent reporting.

memorabilia.

Majors Norman & Ruby Zanders

Lt. Colonel Joe DeMichael

Myrtle Beach, SC

Clearwater, FL

21st–Century Ministry

Calling Back Memories We received our Fall Priority! magazine in the mail a few days ago. You and your staff have done a marvelous job presenting the work of The Salvation Army during “9–11–01”!

We were stationed at The Markle Evangeline Residence [a Salvation Army residence for women in New York City] on 13th Street at the time of that terrible tragedy. Only by the grace and strength of God were we able to minister to our 335 residents and employees.

It was also possible for us to be of service responding to the needs of people, as we took charge of the shelter at the New York Temple Corps building and also worked at Ground Zero. We have received several emails and notes this year from residents at The Markle thanking us for helping them through those very dark and sad days.

Priority! magazine is on our priority list of reading—cover to cover—and this issue was especially thrilling.

placed with our other September 11th

DeMichael was divisional commander of the Western Pennsylvania Division

WONDERFUL!!! Excellent quality and

at the time of the crash of Flight 93 in

great reading. Thank you for the time,

Shanksville, Pa. Now retired, he serves in

talent, and spirit that is evident in the

officer development for the Army’s Florida

wonderful ministry of Priority! I believe

Division.

that we are now moving into the 21st century with spirit, vision and a clearly

Wow!

articulated and presented message of

Congratulations on the superb issue of

hope, healing, and salvation.

Priority! WOW! What a job you did on

Thank you for getting the Priority!

ONLINE!!

that one!

Thanks for including Esther and

Major Chester Emmons

myself. We are humbled by the amount

Garnerville, NY

of space you generously committed to

A new “page–turning”Priority! is avail-

our words and photos.

able at www.prioritypeople.org.

Lt. Colonel Danny Morrow Dunnellon, FL

It’s Who We Are

Morrow was press liaison at the Pentagon

Congratulations to you and your Priority! staff! The 10 anniversary

crash site following 9/11.

th

commemorative issue of September 11th

Healing after 9/11

is wonderful. Words seems inadequate to

I received the beautiful magazines and

describe it other than.... This is why we

wanted to thank you so much for send-

are who we are. Right on target cover-

ing them. You all did a wonderful job,

ing all three sites! Praise God that we,

and [the issue] certainly tells the won-

as His Army, were there!

derful story of the Salvation Army’s role

Thank you so very much. Gladys and

in healing after 9/11. The world is better

I relived the days as we read [the issue]

because of the Army, and I am proud

through last night. What an honor to

to be a volunteer for such an incredible

have been in the midst of such tragedy

Christ–based organization.

representing Jesus.

Debi Thomas

An absolutely fabulous issue! Will be

Ocean Springs, MS

Letters 9/11: We Remember A Harrowing Morning On Sept. 11, I was employed as the administrative assistant in the Property Department on the 11th floor at Greater New York Divisional Headquarters.

Although I did not see the first plane hit the [North] Tower, we watched out the window as the second plane hit. I remember thinking how powerful Satan was, but then I remembered that God is mightier! I then realized that my husband had a meeting in the World Trade Center, and I wasn’t sure if his meeting was already in progress. My heart sank as I was bracing for the worst but hoping for the best. I couldn’t reach him on the

phone, and I could only breathe inau-

As the rush of emotions overcame me,

dible prayers to the Lord. During this

I was thankful to the Lord that my hus-

time I had to set my own feelings aside

band’s life was spared that day. I spent

as I was asked to assist calling in the

the next 10 days answering the phones

personnel who could man the canteens

in the command center at Greater New

and emergency equipment for the Army.

York DHQ, grateful for God’s abiding

Then the call I was waiting for came

love.

through. My husband and his business

Linda Rowe

associate [had been] getting ready to

Nutley, NJ

leave their office to travel to the World Trade Center for their meeting when

Correction

they heard the news that the Towers had

An article in the Ground Zero section,

been hit. (The meeting they were to at-

“Sandwiches and Hot Chocolate,”

tend in the Tower was on the 101st floor,

was written by Matthew Conklin, not

near where the plane hit. Unfortunately,

Jay Conklin. Matthew’s wife, Jessica,

the woman they were to meet with was

pointed out the error. Matthew and Jes-

never found.)

sica live in Monroe, N.Y.

Upfront: kenya Photo Courtesy The Salvation Army International Headquarters

Drought Relief

Young women bring containers for water from a Salvation Army ‘bowser’ (in background).

W

ater is in extremely short supply in the horn of Africa, but there is no lack of sun. So The Salvation Army’s Kenya West Territory is looking into drilling deep wells and linking them to solar–powered pumps.

The first borehole will be

located in a school and benefit the surrounding community as well as the 500 schoolchildren, and hydrological surveys have begun to find other good places for wells. In the meantime, the Army is using tractors and bowsers (mobile water containers) to deliver water weekly to

20 remote areas in the Turkana region, a desert in north Kenya.

Another project will bring food to 5,886 students in 17 secondary and high schools in Turkana. In Kenya, parents have to pay school fees for their children to attend secondary school. But here, many families earn income from raising small flocks of sheep and goats, and the animals have died in the drought. So many people have no money at all.

That’s where the “Food for Fees” program comes in. This Salvation Army program will provide schools with food; in turn, the schools will waive school fees for the coming term.

This way, schools can concentrate resources on teaching materials—and students will have at least one good meal a day.

T

www.prioritypeople.org

Salvation Army Worldwide Membership 2010

1.1 million senior soldiers (adults) 47% in Africa 375,000 junior soldiers (children) 66% in Africa

Mobile App for Social Justice here’s an app for that! The Salvation Army’s new Daily Cup Social Justice app for mobile phones is a finalist for “Most Effective Mobile Charity Campaign/Solution.”

Created by the Army’s Southern Territory, Daily Cup raises awareness of social justice issues and encourages people to donate both money and time to help.

Fast Facts

The Army worked with DIDMO, the award–winning Magmito mobile app company, and GetJar, the world’s largest free app store, to create the app.

To download the app, type this URL into your mobile phone browser: http://getjar.com/ Salvation-Army. Or just scan the bar code here!

Source: Salvation Army Yearbook 2011

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Upfront: books New RELEASES Have Salvation Army Connections

Paper Angels Released Nov. 1, this is country singer Jimmy Wayne’s first novel, based on his own childhood experience with the Angel Tree program. Co–authored with Travis Thrasher, the book is about a struggling man whose life is changed when he takes a paper angel from the Angel Tree, and a boy whose life is transformed by this man’s simple expression of kindness. The book cover includes the Salvation Army logo and “Doing the Most Good” promise.

Healthy choices, healthy children

where to BUY Amazon.com

Amazon.com paracletepress.com

Sue Schumann Warner, award–winning journalist and former editor with the USA Western Territory, has collaborated on this new book with author Lori S. Brizee, a registered dietician and certified specialist in pediatric nutrition.

Says Marti Erickson, co–founder and chair of the Children & Nature network, “At last, here is a book that pulls together in one place all the information you need to engage your children in a healthy lifestyle.”

Thrive

TheThriveBook.com

When CJ McClanahan of Indianapolis was asked to serve as an advisory board member for The Salvation Army, he was thrilled. “There are only a handful of organizations that have an image that is so well– recognized with serving those in need. … I wanted to be a big part of that.” Founder and president of reachmore, a leadership training and consulting firm, McClanahan lays out five simple strategies for success in his new book, Thrive. One is “Be Grateful.” With that in mind, CJ decided to give $5 for every book sold to The Salvation Army. Available at www.thethrivebook.com. In address line 2 of the credit card form, write “SA.”

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www.prioritypeople.org

‘I’m old enough to know something about preparing for the future.’

—Edwin Lee, Salvation Army intern.

“As part of my education, I’m preparing for the future by helping The Salvation Army. I found that the Army helps many people plan for their family’s future with information on wills and estate planning. The information is provided at no charge. “

Doing the most good®

To obtain this free information call 845-620-7318.

11PG4PR113

Who’s News

Moving Beyond the Crossroads

W

hen Enrique and Chrissie become their church home. tion Army Central Territory’s College Coreano married in 2003, they “If you had asked me before Enrique for Officer Training in Chicago. The committed to serving God got his job what I knew about The next two years will be an intense time together in full–time ministry. At that Salvation Army, I would’ve said I bought of classroom and hands–on training in time, they felt God was leading them to my first car from one of its thrift stores,” Salvation Army ministry and operations missions in Guatemala. They prepared says Chrissie. As they became involved while they live in a rich atmosphere of themselves for ministry over the next in its ministries, they soon came to community and spiritual formation. The three years and went overseas in 2006. know the Army is so much more. adventure extends to the Coreanos’ 5– “When we moved to Guayear–old daughter, Marissa, temala, we planned on living and new baby Abigail, born there for the rest of our lives,” in September. explained Chrissie. “But God “We’re looking forward had a different plan.” to serving God as officers After two short years, the and as a family,” says Chrisministry shut down. The sie. “We were so happy to Coreanos found themselves at see Marissa adjust to everya crossroads. They prayed and day life here. Leaving famitrusted God to guide the next ly, friends, jobs, and a house steps they should take. is hard, but we know this After returning to the opportunity to serve God States, in spite of the challengfull–time again is beyond ing U.S. employment climate measure.” The Coreanos and economy, both Enrique hope to one day return, this and Chrissie found jobs. Chris- Enrique and Chrissie Coreano and daughter, Marissa. Another time as Salvation Army ofdaughter, Abigail, joined the family in September. sie returned to nursing, and ficers, to overseas ministry.

Enrique accepted a position Enrique and Chrissie now with The Salvation Army as the outIn addition to supervising the after– see it was no accident that, when they reach ministries supervisor at an Army school program and summer day camp, stood at a spiritual crossroads, they met church, the St. Paul Citadel, Minn., Enrique taught a youth Sunday school The Salvation Army.

Corps. class. Chrissie was named to the corps “When life throws unexpected twists Although they recognized God’s procouncil (board) and became the young and turns, people tend to think God vision, their first year back in Minnesota adult Sunday school teacher. They both changed His plan. We know God’s plan was one of the hardest in their lives. volunteered for corps outreach and for us never changed. He knew we’d Hurt and disillusioned by their time in special events. be right here, right now,” said Enrique.

Guatemala, they struggled to understand But a yearning for full–time ministry “Isn’t it reassuring to know God is in what God was doing with their lives. persisted. After much prayer, Bible study control?”

They yearned to hear His voice in and counsel, they realized God was regard to their future. But in time, their leading them to serve Him as Salvation This article was submitted by the editors of broken hearts began to heal as they Army officers (pastors). the Salvation Army’s USA Central Terriserved God at the corps, which had now This past fall they entered the Salvatory, based in Des Plaines, Ill.

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www.prioritypeople.org

by Nancy Sampson

A

s I approached the Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Wallkill, N.Y., I had the idea that because I am clergy, my entrance into the prison would be easy.

That thought would soon fly from my mind. An armed officer in a tower watched me as I made my journey from parking lot to check–in center. Once there, I was told to leave all my possessions, including the notes I had brought for my visit, in a locker. Next came the metal detector. Then, in a long narrow hallway, I was stopped at each of seven metal gates, and a person obscured by one–way glass inspected, under ultraviolet light, the security number printed on my hand.

I had been stripped of both possessions and identity. The visiting area had its own strict rules: face the officer at all times; your every move will be monitored. Soon a tall man in a prison–issue grey jumpsuit approached and asked, “Are you Captain Nancy?” After a brief greeting, Prisoner X told me his story.

This 52–year–old man had spent more than half his adult life incarcerated. While under the influence of alcohol and drugs, he had killed a man.

He had turned himself in and received a sentence of 30 years to life. His rehabilitation was difficult, but Prisoner X has been sober for 25 years. He leads an AA group. He attends worship services whenever the clergy from town can make it to the prison, and he witnessed www.prioritypeople.org

to me that he has accepted Jesus as his Savior.

“I do not know what I would do without my relationship to Jesus to sustain me,” he said. He contacted the brother of the man he killed, and that man forgave him.

Rejected for parole two years ago, Prisoner X was scheduled for another hearing. I was there to help facilitate his re–entry.

I asked if he had any family. He said he has one sister in New York, but they are estranged. I learned that I was the first person to visit him in 27 years. I asked about his job skills. He had been a mechanic, but he said he realizes that new technologies have likely left his skills without a market.

At the end of our conversation, I prayed with Prisoner X. I know that the young corrections officer, as well as other prisoners and guests, were watching. In a cold prison visitors’ room, the warmth of the Holy Spirit was moving, and God was truly present.

As I exited the prison through the same cold, impersonal process through which I had entered, I prayed that The Salvation Army would be able to help and support Prisoner X and others like him make their way back into the world.

That journey begins in relationship, even in the most unlikely of places.

Captain Sampson is a corrections consultant in the USA Eastern Territory.

One–Year Snapshot* Salvation Army’s Correctional Ministries

6,000 Visits to correctional institutions (4,000 volunteers/21,000 hours)

83,000 Inmates visited

77,000 Inmates attending Salvation Army religious services

18,000 Inmates taking Army’s “Bible Correspondence Course” (1,000 lesson graders/10,000 volunteer hours)

213,000 Persons assigned to Army supervision on release

38,000 Court cases involving Salvation Army assistance

52,000 Children of inmates participating in Prison Toy Program *Nationwide statistics, Oct. 1, 2009–Sept. 30, 2010.

Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand.

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Photo © James Steidl for iStockphoto.com

‘I was in prison and you visited me’

Who’s News

Young Facebook Witnesses

H

igh school is a time when many teens are lukewarm about faith or drifting away from it—and their Facebook pages show it. But Ramiro Enamorado is not your typical 17–year– old. His Facebook page is filled with Bible verses and Christian song lyrics.

“I just feel like sharing [them] with everybody because that’s what God is talking to me about, and I’m sure someone out there needs to hear the same thing,” says Ramiro, who attends the Norwalk, Ohio, Corps, a Salvation Army church.

“What motivates me is all God. I feel

like even if one person can get saved through a message or something, that would bless me and make me feel like I’ve done what God wants me to do,” he says.

In one recent Facebook post, Ramiro shared these lyrics: This is the day, the hour, the time I give it all away to you I wanna say I’ll go your way, living my life for something real I can’t survive, I can’t go on if I’m without you by my side I wanna spend eternity with you! :)

by Robert Mitchell In another post, he shared a picture of the Laminin molecule, which is shaped like a cross. He also quoted Colossians 1:15–17: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Some of his posts are not so deep, but they still reflect his commitment.

Jesus and Gummy Bears. Great start to what’s gonna be an awesome Sunday. :D Ramiro’s two younger brothers, 14–year–old Anthony and 13–year–old Edgar, also use their Facebook pages to witness.

Grounded in the corps “I just can’t say enough about all three boys,” says Captain Michael Morales of the Norwalk Corps. “They’re very amazing individuals.”

Morales says the boys live in a rough neighborhood and “have a lot that could take them in another direction,” but the corps keeps all of them grounded. That’s especially true of Ramiro, but Morales says the younger boys “are following in their brother’s footsteps.”

“We have seen amazing strides from Anthony and Edgar,” Morales says.

Ramiro says he will post a Bible verse 12

www.prioritypeople.org

Heavenly Hogs

by Robert E. Thomson if he finds a powerful one in his daily devotions. He also listens to a variety of Christian music, so he posts lyrics by everyone from Chris Tomlin to Skillet.

“I think God really speaks through me with music as well,” he says.

Major Allen Satterlee with a donated piglet in Jamaica.

When they don’t ‘like’ him Ramiro says his friends usually “like” his posts, but not always. When people criticize a post, he says, “I just sort of turn the other cheek.

“I say, ‘I’m sorry, guys, this is me. If you don’t like it, I’m really sorry. I’m not going to change who I am.’ I’ve been praying for them too. Hopefully their hearts change.”

Ramiro’s brother Anthony says he tries to post something about once a week, usually after Bible study or church.

“Hopefully somebody else will catch on to it and want to learn more about God,” he says.

Ramiro’s brother Edgar says he posts occasionally, but it’s not something he plans out. He likes to post Bible verses.

“I just think it kind of sounds cool, and some people I think should really hear it,” he says.

Ramiro’s witnessing on Facebook may foreshadow his life’s work. He has made reference on his page to someday trading the blue epaulets of a Salvation Army senior soldier (church member) for the red ones of a Salvation Army officer.

“I’ve felt called for about two years now,” he says. www.prioritypeople.org

O

ne Salvation Army church, the Clearwater, Fla., Corps, has a real heart for missions because many retired officers who have served overseas are part of the congregation. Last year, for example, the corps raised a total of $121,320 by any means necessary— personal donations, bake sales, a spaghetti dinner, a yard sale, and a golf tournament.

Most of those funds go directly to International Headquarters for distribution around the Salvation Army world.

But each year, a very small amount can be earmarked for a special project. Last year, the corps provided $7,000 for a medical clinic in Haiti. This year, the corps is making an unusual donation.

At the request of Major Allen Satterlee, a Southern Territory officer who has served in Jamaica, the corps will supply 40 piglets costing $150 each to corps in Jamaica.

Under the “Heavenly Hogs” program, each of 10 corps will be given four piglets to raise, breed, and market. In addition to the piglets, the corps will receive feed for six months.

“At the end of six months,” Satterlee says, “the pigs will be mature and ready to sell. From the proceeds, the people will buy a larger number of pigs, along with the necessary feed. They’ll have a small balance left over for the corps to use.”

That’s important because fundraising is difficult for The Salvation Army in rural western Jamaica, where unemployment is high.

“More than 75 percent of our officers received less than half the allowance [salary] to which they are entitled,” Satterlee says.

So Heavenly Hogs will provide a double benefit: income for the people of the corps—and for their pastors.

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Music Makers

Singing God’s Grace

by Robert Mitchell

Photo Š Nicole Carpenter

Music Makers

Sandi Patty at home on a break from her grueling travel schedule.

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www.prioritypeople.org

can channel that through The Salvation Army, which has a pulse on the community, it just makes a big difference.”

Sandi relates many of those family stories in a new cookbook she has written called Around the Table with Sandi Patty: Faith, Family & Food. The book is her sixth and includes recipes and photos of her family.

“That really became such a great time of communicating with each oth-

er,” she says of family mealtimes. “We’d sit around this big round table and we’d share food, of course, but we shared conversation more than anything else.

That really became such a great time of communicating with each other.”

Each member of the family would take a turn sharing the high and low points of the day and Sandi says her children would invariably bring up volunteering for The Salvation Army.

Sandi released a new cookbook this year.

Photo © Nicole Carpenter

T

ake a second look before rushing past that Salvation Army bell–ringer this Christmas season, especially if you live in the Oklahoma City area.

It just might be Gospel singing legend Sandi Patty making music with her bell instead of her voice.

Sandi, who this year won a mind–boggling 40th Dove Award (the Christian equivalent of a Grammy), is not only a veteran of “standing kettles” when she lived in Anderson, Ind., but she also volunteered with The Salvation Army during disaster relief projects before moving a few years ago to Oklahoma City.

“Our family would ring the bell at Christmas at the mall,” Sandi says.

“It was just something that was real important for us to do and for us to include our children in doing that as well.”

Sandi says she worked disaster relief in Anderson during floods and ice storms. She and her husband, Don, and the couple’s blended family of eight children would form an assembly line to make sandwiches for flood victims.

“One of the things that I really found gratifying was doing it with my family,” Sandi says. “It was just really special. I just remember how important that felt for the kids and how much they really gained from doing that.

Family time “I think it’s just really important to give back, but to give back in a way that’s going to make a difference. When you www.prioritypeople.org

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Music Makers

Photo © Getty Images

Who’s ‘The Voice’ for Sandi?

W

ho does the woman known as ‘The Voice’ listen to as a fan?

One of her favorite artists is Christian singer Natalie Grant.

‘I love her personally and I love her music,’ Sandi says.

Sandi says she is also a huge fan of the Michael W. Smith instrumental CD ‘Freedom.’ She called it ‘one of my absolutely favorite projects.’

‘I think because I deal with words so much I find myself drawn to instrumental music,’ Sandi says.

She says she appreciates the diversity in today’s Christian music scene.

‘My kids will go to some concerts with a lot of other kids who would never come to mine and vice versa. I think what makes Christian music “Christian music” is not so much the musical styles, but it’s the message and the content.

I’m grateful that there is just a wide variety. My kids have alternatives to listen to that have life–changing and life–giving and life–empowering messages because they’re based on Christian truths.’

“As we sat down and had our ‘high– low,’ the kids all [would say], ‘My high today was making food for the workers and then seeing how appreciative they were.’ That’s just pretty awesome,” Sandi says.

Army connections While Sandi is not averse to getting her hands dirty with disaster relief, she has other connections to The Salvation Army as well. She has spoken at Salvation Army events and has performed in concert, most recently last summer at the Old Orchard Beach Camp Meetings in Maine.

“I love The Salvation Army,” Sandi says. “You always think of the trumpets and the music, but I think what I love more than anything else is there is always an open door.

“I have always felt that when there’s a need, The Salvation Army, if they don’t have the answer for it, they will find the answer for it. I just so appreciate the quality of people that I have met through The Salvation Army. It’s meant a lot to our family.”

During her concerts, Sandi often wanders through the audience while singing and then stays afterward to sign autographs and pose for pictures with fans.

Sandi also is partial to the classic hymns she grew up singing in church because, like many Christian singers, that’s where she got her start. At age 2, she performed “Jesus Loves Me” in church.

Sandi and her family later toured

the country as “The Ron Patty Family,” performing in churches.

In her concert in Maine, Sandi told the audience how she grew up in California dreaming of one day singing and dancing at Disneyland. She was devastated after not being chosen at a tryout; the organizers were not impressed with her dancing.

She cried for days and eventually decided to move across the country in 1974 and attend Anderson University in Anderson, Ind., to earn a degree in teaching music. She was teaching voice at Bill Gaither’s studio and making extra money singing in chewing gum commercials when Gaither heard her sing and asked if she would like to tour with his group.

“I said, ‘Well, Bill, let me pray about it—yes!” Patti said to laughs.

Patti says while she initially saw losing the Disneyland gig as a major setback, it was actually “something divine.”

She began touring with the Gaithers in the late 1970s and went on to become one of the most successful Christian artists of all time.

Amazing grace Known for her rendition of “How Great Thou Art,” as well as megahits such as “We Shall Behold Him” and “How Majestic Is Your Name,” Sandi was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2004.

“I think what I’ve tried to do over the 30 years is just tell the story of God’s grace through music,” she says. “More specifically, to tell about that grace in

my life.”

Sandi says she doesn’t write her own songs but chooses ones that help her tell the story of grace. In Maine, she told the audience there was a time when she feared she had “lost the music,” but God was faithful as she bounced back from a painful divorce that rocked the Christian music world and nearly ended her career.

When she moved to Oklahoma City, Sandi found a metaphor for her life after friends urged her to visit a church damaged in the 1995 bombing of the Federal Building. The church’s stained–glass window had been destroyed, except for a piece from the face of Jesus. The church used that piece from the original in its new stained–glass window.

Sandi told the audience, “He takes our broken pieces and by His love makes us whole. He has gathered my broken pieces.”

‘The past is gone’ Sandi says she hopes that message somehow comes through in her music and testimony.

“I hope that over the course of my career, that as people listen to my music, they can be encouraged that even when you make mistakes and mess up, God is still going to be there and He’s going to be faithful,” she says. “He can’t help but be faithful. He’s God. “He will help us get back on the right path and what we have to do today is show up and be available to Him. Whatever that looks like, the past is gone.

Tomorrow, we don’t know, but what we www.prioritypeople.org

can do is show up and be available to what He needs us to do today.”

Of all the songs she has sung, Sandi says “His Eye is On the Sparrow” is her favorite because it helps her tell

the story of grace.

“The words are, ‘I sing because I’m happy. I sing because I’m free. For His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.’ I just love what that says.”

Sandi sings for a packed house at the Salvation Army’s Seaside Pavilion in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

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Music Makers

‘Broadway Stories’ Sandi’s most recent project took her outside the world of Christian music. In October, she released a new CD called “Sandi Patty: Broadway Stories.”

The album, recorded in the Czech

Republic with the Prague Symphony Orchestra, features Sandi singing many of the great songs of Broadway from such musicals as “The Sound of Music,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Music Man,” “Oklahoma!,” “My Fair Lady,” and “Les Miserables.”

In February, Sandi will appear in a concert version of “Hello Dolly” with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

The Indiana Historical Society recently named Sandi an “Indiana Living Legend” and her old friends Bill and Gloria Gaither, who were given the same honor several years ago, attended the ceremony.

Sandi continues to speak at Women of Faith conferences throughout the country and, for the time being, has no plans to slow down.

“I don’t love the travel,” she says. “I do love what happens on the other end of it. I love meeting the people and sharing through music.”

A photo from Around the Table with Sandi Patty: Faith, Family & Food.

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Photo © Nicole Carpenter

‘Just me and God’ Wherever she goes, Sandi hears stories about how her songs and testimony have blessed lives and furthered the Kingdom of God. While she is far from retirement, Sandi was asked if she ever reflects on the eternal impact of her music.

“When people share their stories with me it really is astounding,” Sandi says. “I was just this 5–year–old kid who loved to sing in my bedroom with those little records.

“Still, I feel like when I’m singing, it’s really just me and God and I’m so grateful that other people have chosen to listen in. My hope is that maybe somewhere along their journey, something that I’ve sung or said has connected with them. There are no words for that.

It’s really humbling.”

www.prioritypeople.org

MyTake

A Christmas Epiphany*

by Robert E. Thomson

I

t came all of a sudden— a new understanding of a line from a well– known Christmas carol that I have sung perhaps a thousand times. And the new meaning was revealed by my awareness of overlooked grammar and punctuation that had been there all the time.

As an experienced writer, I’m usually cognizant of such things. I have known for a long time, for example, that in the carol “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen,” the word merry is not an adjective modifying the word gentlemen. Rather, it is an adverb modifying rest.

To be sure, the language is Victorian English. A more modern but less poetic translation might be “God bless you well, friends.”

I really have no excuse for my careless reading of the line through the years.

While I’m writing, let me express one more concern about that third verse of “Silent Night,” which reads, “Radiant beams from thy holy face.” As written, beams is a noun modified by the adjective radiant. In my thinking the line should read “Radiance beams from thy holy face,” making radiance a noun and beams a verb.

But perhaps I’m jumping the gun.

Maybe during this coming Christmas season I’ll have another epiphany and suddenly realize that Joseph Mohr and his translator, John F. Young, were right all along. *epiphany: sudden perception of the essential nature of a thing

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Illustration © Ain Vares for Goodsalt.com

www.prioritypeople.org

My new revelation came during the singing of the third verse of “Silent Night” at a large united carol service.

The verse was printed in bold type on the program, and for the first time in my life, I noted the comma and the apostrophe in the line that reads “Son of God, love’s pure light.”

For a lifetime I’ve been singing, “Son of God loves pure light.” But I’ve been wrong all along. I thought the line was a statement of divine preference. Now I know that Joseph Mohr, who wrote the carol in the early 19th century, was making a statement about the essence of Jesus, based no doubt upon the Lord’s own declaration, “I am the light of the world.” (John 9:5) He is pure light.

I’d like to excuse myself by saying that Love, as a personification of the Son of God, should have been capitalized. But

‘Tis the Season

Red Kettle Champion

by Carey Haivala

A

frigid wind whips the clang–clang sound of the Salvation Army bell to the icy corners of the shopping mall parking lot.

It’s the week before Christmas and Harold Hepfer is at his post beside the kettle. A rosy–cheeked 3–year–old trots up to him with some coins rolled in her fist.

“Let me get this down so that you can reach it,” says Harold, as he disconnects the kettle and lowers it to the smiling girl. “Now you can get it. Thank you so much and merry Christmas!”

In Kansas City, Harold’s volunteer commitment is legendary. He first picked up the Salvation Army bell 42 years ago.

Since 1983, he has rung 12 hours a day, six days a week, from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Harold, now 71, figures he’s raised about $100,000.

But his guess is wrong. Records show he’s raised closer to $350,000.

“He is one of our best,” says Betsy Baird, the Army’s volunteer coordinator.

“Sometimes we have to go out there and send him home. Otherwise, he would never leave.”

Harold shrugs, “It costs money to stock the kitchens and help with utilities and rent. There are so many people that need help.”

Paying It Back The Salvation Army has never given Harold a dime. He says he rings to pay back something more valuable than money.

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“They were there at critical points in my life,” he says In college, he was in a car accident.

His left arm was severed, and he was unconscious for nearly a month.

“I had friends in the Salvation Army,” he says. ”They prayed for me. As a result, I lived and I’m here today.”

Harold switches the bell from his right hand to his left and grins. “This should have been a hook.” Another miracle attributed to those prayers. “I can’t pay it back.”

One Tough Bell Ringer The wind chill falls into the single digits and flurries spin around Harold’s boots.

He reluctantly admits this weather makes it harder. “I have no feeling in my left leg and I’m numb up to my knee in my right. It could be a pinched nerve. I have a few ruptured discs.” He laughs, “That’s why they let me have a stool.”

It’s been a tough year. Harold missed a day of kettle work for a spinal injection. “One morning I couldn’t walk. I used a walker to get to the emergency room. They gave me an injection and some pills.” And then he came back.

Harold is goal–oriented to a fault.

He wants to raise $30,000 this year. It’s a record he knows he won’t achieve if he gives in to the pain. He knows that the clink of every coin translates to real help for those in need: programs funded, food, heating bills paid, prescriptions purchased, and rent paid. www.prioritypeople.org

So he shifts his weight. And keeps ringing.

Church at the Kettle It’s not just the money that brings Harold here. It’s the people. He’s a retired volunteer military chaplain, and this four–foot slab of concrete is now his parish.

“This year alone, I’ve prayed with three people and counseled five,” says Harold. “Last year I had a woman come who had just lost her house. I directed her to the corps [local Salvation Army church], and she got food and shelter. It wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been sittin’ here all day.”

Every year there are the regulars.

They look him up.

Like the military doctor who dropped money in the bucket last year. His wife was sick, so Harold prayed with him.

This year the doctor came looking for Harold. His wife had passed away.

Again, with heads bowed toward that kettle, they prayed. When the doctor raised his eyes to Harold, he said, “You are the best help I have had in months.”

Harold also volunteers at the Salvation Army’s Children’s Shelter.

“His commitment almost reaches the level of being crazy,” says Baird.

“There is a fine line between dedication and insanity.” Harold laughs.

He walks that line every day.

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All That I Am

She’s ‘truly living’ Photo © William Koechling

by Robert Mitchell

“M

issionary kid” Viki Payton had a life–changing moment seven years ago while praying about her future at a youth conference in California.

During a time of worship with Christian singer Chris Tomlin, everyone was singing “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and Viki was struck by Tomlin’s new chorus: “Oh the wonderful cross …

Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live.”

“I began to pray and ask God about that phrase,” she recalls. “I asked myself if I felt like I was ‘truly living’ as the chorus says that we will. I realized that though I was comfortable in my life, I didn’t feel like I was ‘truly living.’ ” Viki, the daughter of retired Salvation Army officers Colonels Frank and Yvonne Payton, also asked herself if she had ever felt that way. Yes, she told herself. It was back in 1998–99, when she was ministering to her fellow missionary kids—“MKs” as they are often called—at Black Forest Academy, a private, co–educational boarding school in Kandern, Germany.

“I knew this was the ministry that made me feel truly alive, like I was doing what I was created to do,” Viki says. “I knew at that point it was time to prepare for a long–time ministry opportunity with MKs. 25

All That I Am

Viki (the tall one) with the children of cadets at the College for Officer Training in Mexico in 1983

Viki on enrollment day as a junior soldier with her parents, then–Majors Yvonne and Frank Payton, and her grandmother, Mrs. Brigadier Elsie Payton

It takes one to know one “I began to reflect on the baggage (good and bad) that we MKs have. I realized that I had learned a lot in my time overseas that I thought would be helpful to other MKs.” Three years ago, Viki returned to Black Forest Academy to teach Spanish and lead a small–group Bible study with young girls. (See sidebar on p. 29.)

Viki certainly comes to the job with top–notch credentials. Her parents served as missionaries on two separate occasions in Argentina and once in Mexico and Jamaica. They also ministered twice in appointments in Puerto Rico.

The youngest of five children, Viki is the only Payton offspring born while her parents were stationed in the United States. She moved to Puerto Rico when she was 2, Mexico when she was 4, and Jamaica when she was almost 15.

Leaving Mexico for Jamaica By the time the family moved to Jamaica, she was the only child left at home.

“I loved growing up overseas, usually,” she says. “When it comes to shaping me and what I feel is my cultural background, Mexico had the biggest influence on me, both because of the amount of time we were there and my age during that time.”

One way Viki can help her students is learning how to handle that difficult time when a missionary is abruptly called to a new location and the entire family is uprooted. She has been there.

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www.prioritypeople.org

Over Christmas break of her freshman year in high school in Mexico, Viki was cleaning her father’s study and came across a letter from Salvation Army General Eva Burrows talking about the possibility of the Paytons getting new orders. Viki had no desire to leave Mexico.

A few weeks later, her parents called her to a family meeting with the news that they were moving to Jamaica.

“This was devastating,” Viki says.

“This was the single most difficult part of my life.”

Viki had lived in one culture and gone to one school for 11 years. She had always worshiped in Spanish, and that

wouldn’t be the case in Jamaica, where most people speak English.

“The transition to a new culture, new school, new language experience—it was a lot to take!” she says. “It really tested my faith for the first time and made it necessary to make my Christianity not just rules to follow, but a vibrant relationship with God.”

Giving God a shot While the move was difficult enough, Viki said it came during spring break and she had to finish her studies in a foreign school system with just a quarter left in the year.

God revealed His Word to Viki during the ordeal. She was in a Bible study that covered Matthew 2 and the story of God sending an angel to Joseph, telling him to take Mary and the newborn Jesus to Egypt. Would she be obedient as Joseph was?

“I could tell God was preparing me for what was to come,” she says, “and that He would guide me.”

Viki also came to realize that God was in control and that she had a choice.

“I could either live life during this already difficult time bitter and angry or I could trust God to get me through it,”

Viki with her parents and older sister Karen in Mexico City

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All That I Am

she says. “I figured I’d give God a shot at helping me handle this massive transition. He proved faithful.”

While the next two years and 49 days in Jamaica were sometimes difficult, Viki says she also saw God at work in her life.

“I don’t regret adding another culture to my mix,” she says. “I loved The Salvation Army in Jamaica. I made good friends there. I loved the warm weather.

I learned to sing the church songs in English, and God filled me with inexplicable joy, the kind that only comes from Him. “It was that experience that made my knowledge of God not just a religion but a relationship. I needed Him, and He was there!”

Photo © William Koechling

A bit of this, that Viki accepted Christ for herself as a young girl after hearing the entire Gospel story in a junior soldier class.

“When my mom was putting me to bed that night, I asked her to help me pray to ask Jesus to be my Savior,” she recalls.

Viki says her parents not only instilled in her a strong faith, but also taught her to be a proud American even as she became immersed in other cultures.

“It was the perfect balance that now makes me a little like the ‘melting pot,’ ” she says. “I’m a little bit of all the cultures I’ve lived in. I’m so grateful to my parents for raising me overseas, for giving me the opportunity to learn Spanish as a native speaker, and for broadening my worldview. I’m blessed!” www.prioritypeople.org

Viki says while the Lord is lighting only one step of her path at a time, she knows her background and the values she learned from her parents are something she should impart to other MKs. “I do feel called to this ministry for the long term,” she says.

‘They need … constancy’ Viki noted that MKs tend to live a very transient life, as do the people in their lives. The staff at Black Forest Academy has about a 30 percent turnover each year, and she would like to change that.

“That’s challenging for our students to deal with,” she says. “They may not always show that they care about your

Sharing Their Lives ‘We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.

—1 Thessalonians 2:8

V

iki Payton says the most rewarding part of her ministry at Black Forest Academy last year was leading a group of six girls, all high school sophomores, in a weekly Bible study.

The girls hold passports from the United States, Canada, Korea, and Germany. They each speak multiple languages: English, Korean, Turkish, Russian, German, Spanish, and French. They live, when not in school, in Germany, Russia, Kyrgyzwww.prioritypeople.org

being here, but they do. It affects them that people leave them as often as they do. They need some constancy.”

She recalls one student, upon hearing that the school’s director and his wife were leaving after 20 years, commented, “I can’t believe they’re leaving! Everyone is always leaving us!”

“So, I want to be here long–term,” Viki says. “I want to bring some stability and consistency to my students.”

Viki, like most missionaries, depends on financial support from sponsors. So she chose, reluctantly, to take a one– year furlough from Black Forest Academy and return to the United States to raise money and spend time at her home

stan, Qatar, Turkey, and Korea.

Every night they play a game or watch television. Then they study a portion of Scripture or discuss a spiritual question. The group has been studying Philippians, but Viki challenged them to embody the words of 1 Thessalonians 2:8.

‘We also have a prayer time when we share prayer requests and pray for each other,’ she says. ‘I’ve often been challenged and/or encouraged by my girls and their genuine desire to grow in their relationship with the Lord.’

One night, in talking about Philippians 2, the discussion centered on the difference between pride and self–deprecation.

‘One girl stayed to talk to me

church, the Salvation Army’s Oakbrook Terrace Corps in Chicago.

She’ll be back Viki says while she was eager to reconnect with friends and family and worship at her home church, the decision was not easy. She plans to return next year to “loving kids, teaching Spanish, discipling teens, preparing MKs for the life ahead.”

“I trust God with my future, because He has always been faithful to me! I continue to feel called to this place, to these students. I still feel like this is the place where my ministry makes me feel like I am ‘truly living.’ ”

after we finished praying, sharing the fact that this was a real struggle for her, finding that balance, seeking advice and specific prayer,’ she says. ‘Wow! To be in the presence of teenagers sensitive to the Spirit’s work in their life and eager to grow!’

Viki says she was impressed that at one prayer meeting, the girls, many of whom don’t speak English that well, all prayed out loud for her—in English.

‘I was floored and blessed beyond measure,’ she says. ‘I can honestly say that I love them so much that I am delighted to share with them, not only the gospel of God, but my life as well, because they have become so dear to me!” ’ 29

’Tis the Season

A Christmas Encounter

by Robert E. Thomson

Lt. Colonels Vern and Martha Jewett are now divisional leaders in Florida.

I

t was Christmas Eve 1981. Captain Vern Jewett, corps officer (pastor and administrator) of The Salvation Army in Columbus, Ga., breathed a sigh of relief and sat down in his office, reviewing in his mind all that had transpired since Thanksgiving Day. He had been responsible to see that the red kettles were on the streets every day except Sunday. With the help of volunteers, he had counted the income each evening and had carried the coins and bills to the night deposit chute at the bank.

Along with his wife, Martha, Vern had purchased hundreds of toys and 30

turkeys to be distributed to the less fortunate in the community. He had joined with the corps (church) social worker and volunteers to screen applicants for Christmas assistance.

All the while, he was also still responsible for the spiritual ministry of the corps—preaching twice each Sunday, visiting the sick, counseling the distressed.

“I was exhausted,” Vern recalls. “The extra holiday work had been completed, and I was looking forward with anticipation to joining Martha and our two daughters (aged 3 and 1) for a quiet but exciting family Christmas.”

Just as he was about to leave, he heard a prolonged knocking at the front door of the Army building. Peering through a window, he saw an obviously drunken man in ragged clothes.

“My first instinct,” Vern said, “was to exit out a back door. After all, I thought, what can I possibly do for a drunk on Christmas Eve? In his condition, he’s not eligible to be housed in our emergency shelter. I think I’ll just duck out.”

But compassion—and a sense of duty—prevailed.

Vern opened the door and invited the stranger into the vestibule.

“Before I knew what was happening,” Vern said, “the man had grasped my elbow and was leading me into the chapel. Sitting in the back pew, he poured out his story. He had been a Christian.

Indeed, he had been a Salvationist, a

euphonium player in a Salvation Army band. But he had drifted away from the Lord and the Army, and now he was an alcoholic yearning for someone to hear him and to help him on Christmas Eve.” Moments later the captain and the backslider were kneeling together at the mercy seat (altar), weeping together, praying together.

Vern drove the man back to his rented apartment and helped him climb the three–flight outside stairway and promised to return in a few days for more counseling and fellowship.

The captain was as good as his word. He returned to the apartment on several occasions, only to find no one home.

“I wish I could provide a happy ending for this story,” said Vern—now a lieutenant colonel and divisional commander for The Salvation Army in Florida. “I eventually learned that my new friend had been evicted, had moved on, and had left no forwarding address.”

Reflecting on the experience, Vern turned to Matthew 25:31–46, where Jesus describes help given—or not given—to strangers or the hungry or the thirsty or the sick or those in prison, and declares, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (RSV) “I don’t know what happened to that man,” Vern said, “but of one thing I’m certain: on that Christmas Eve I ministered to Jesus.” www.prioritypeople.org

What God Is Doing in … St. Petersburg, Fla.

‘Miss Chanté Of Sallie House

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Photography © Steven P. Widoff

by Pauline Hylton

What God Is Doing in … St. Petersburg, Fla.

A

young girl with wispy blond hair struts across the simple stage.

“This is Jessica. She is wearing a pink boa, along with the latest in purple eveningwear,” announces Chanté Douglass, the emcee. She adds, “You look fierce, woman!” The crowd erupts with cheers, then they return to munching on carrot sticks, fresh fruit, and saucer–size cookies.

It’s the first–ever “Salvation Army’s Got Talent” at the Army’s Sallie House in St. Petersburg, Fla. Next up is 12– year–old Carlos. Behind him stand three 32

young girls doing backup for the song Carlos is belting out: Today is the day You have made.

I will rejoice.

I will not worry about tomorrow because of what you say.

Today is the day.

If anyone had something to worry about, it would be Carlos—or Jessica, or any of the other children living at Sallie House. All the kids here have been removed from their homes because they

were abused or neglected.

Sallie House was founded in 1990.

Once a small facility with limited space, it was recently rebuilt to become a state– of–the–art group home. One bedroom is decorated by the Tampa Bay Rays. Another, with ships for beds, is sponsored by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The girls’ rooms are “sugar and spice.” One has a life–size Tinkerbell painted on the wall while another is decorated with princesses. Dreamy.

The philosophy of the Sallie House is simple; when children are safe and www.prioritypeople.org

well–cared–for, they thrive. The goals of the program include 24–hour care with qualified staff as the functional equivalent of a family. The intention is to meet the physical, emotional, and social needs of the kids.

But William Booth, the Founder of the Salvation Army, desired something more—for everyone The Salvation Army serves, including children. If he were alive today, he would likely say now, as he did back in the 1800s, “I want to win them for Christ! After all, we are The Salvation Army!”

Call me Mom? That is where Miss Chanté (as the children call her) comes in. She knows two things. She knows what it is to be neglected, and she knows Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.

Chanté was 13 before she even met

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her mother. At that time, Chanté lived outside Washington, D.C., with her great aunt and three sisters.

One day, Chanté’s biological mother showed up after she was released from prison; somehow, she regained custody of her girls. Chanté was shocked. She had known she had a mother somewhere, but she’d always thought of her great aunt as her real mother. Now this woman who had been in and out of prison for 13 years was saying, “Why don’t you call me Mom?” Chanté and her sisters reluctantly returned to Pinellas County with their mother. They lived at a rundown hotel for several weeks. Then one day the innkeeper called the police. Because the children weren’t attending school, and because of living conditions at the hotel, the government placed all four girls in foster homes.

At first the sisters were together. But eventually they had to be separated.

Finding ‘home’ Chanté and her younger sister, CeCe, were placed in a home for older children.

Here, there were many rules. No one in the kitchen. Girls upstairs, boys downstairs. There were even laser alarms to alert the houseparents when the children were not abiding by the rules.

“That place was terrible,” Chanté remembers. “They shut it down and we had to move to another home. That one was better. They gave me and my sister more freedom, but after a few months, that was shut down too.

“We were in and out of homes, sometimes for just a few days, sometimes a few months. Then I ended up at The Children’s Village, also run by The Salvation Army. It’s just across the street

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What God Is Doing in … St. Petersburg, Fla.

An Afternoon in the Park

‘I

’m going to do an experiment, Miss Chanté. I want to use bait to attract bugs,’ 8–year–old Sam says. He scrunches up his face. ‘Do you think I should put it in the shade or the sun?’

‘I don’t know, Sam, why don’t you try both? What are you using?’

‘A chip and some water.’

Chanté smiles. ‘Good choice, Sam.’ It is an especially hot August afternoon at the park. Shore birds linger by the pond. A teenage couple sit close to each other in a nearby shelter, sharing iPods.

Chanté and I sit on a picnic bench under a minishelter. When the Sallie House children arrived a short time ago, the workers had carried the smallest ones to a shaded playground. The older children had raced away, with adults tagging along behind.

Few would suspect that these children—laughing, arguing, playing—aren’t living ‘normal’ lives.

They’ve been removed from their homes because it’s too dangerous for them to live there. Now, they find ‘family’ with the caring workers and the other children of Sallie House.

34

A young girl sits doodling while I talk with Chanté. Occassionally, the girl interjects a comment. I sense that she admires Chanté. Even loves her.

Sam comes back. ‘No ants are coming!’ He held up a piece of paper to show us his notes on his experiment. ‘See, I recorded everything I did, but they won’t come. What should I do?’

I follow Sam to a shady spot and watch with him. One ant sneaks up. Then another.

‘See, Sam, they are coming,’ I say.

He beams a triumphant smile.

I smile back but I am wondering too. What were Sam’s parents like? How could they let their only child be taken away? This was a

world I hadn’t known about.

Then I thought, ‘I am glad for places like the Sallie House—and people like Chanté.’

‘Time to load up!’ the worker announces. One boy walks away from the group, unhappiness clouding his face. Girl problems.

Chanté follows. We watch from the van as Chanté catches up and walks beside him.

At first, they walk away from us. Soon they move toward us again, and I can see that the boy’s countenance has lifted.

They arrive at the van and we ride to Sallie House, where the kids will have dinner and do chores and homework.

Just like at home.

—PH

www.prioritypeople.org

Chanté chats one–on–one with a girl at Sallie House.

from the Sallie House. My sister and I lived there all through high school. Our houseparents, Mike and Lisa Gild, were great! They were like real parents to me.

“I’d see Mike come home with his briefcase and kiss Lisa. Then they would talk about their day. Mike would change and join us for dinner. I’d never been around a married couple before. I wanted a marriage like theirs.”

Soon Chanté became too old for that section of The Children’s Village, but the Army had transitional housing available within the complex. She moved out of Mike and Lisa’s house and into her own apartment.

“I wasn’t too sad moving because I knew that I could walk across the road and visit them,” Chanté says. www.prioritypeople.org

Jesus on MySpace She attended St. Petersburg College and worked. She hung out with friends. She even worked at a Salvation Army camp.

But she knew something wasn’t right.

“I called myself a Christian, but I still did what I wanted. A friend called me on it. She said, ‘If you know Jesus, you don’t want to do those things.’ What she said made sense.

“One day I was on MySpace and came across the page of an old friend from high school. His whole page was about Jesus. Jesus this and Jesus that.

I couldn’t believe it! That wasn’t the guy I remembered from school. I looked up all his friends and requested their friendship online. I kind of stalked them. They all talked about Jesus too!

Finally, I messaged my friend, and asked him about it. He invited me to a Bible study at a church.

“After about a year, the Lord saved me. I realized I was a sinner. I turned from my sins and toward Him. I’m far from perfect, but I couldn’t get enough of Him. His Word. His people.”

Sharing the Word Chanté went down to the Bible bookstore, purchased a Bible, and had her name embossed on it. She read it constantly. One night at the Sallie House, she opened the Bible after the children were in bed. One of the older girls was still up and asked what she was reading.

Chanté told her and they began to study together.

Soon, Chanté took the girl to the 35

What God Is Doing in … St. Petersburg, Fla.

same bookstore and purchased a Bible for her. She paid to have the girl’s name embossed on it. The young woman stayed up reading all night. And she and Chanté continued to meet to study God’s Word whenever Chanté was on duty.

Then came a challenge.

“She went home to visit her grandmother one weekend, and when she came back, she started questioning everything we’d studied,” Chanté says. “We just kept studying. A few weeks later, she left. But I know that I did my best to tell her about Jesus.

“Another girl I will never forget. She was the kind of girl that made me not want to go to work. Sassy mouth. Angry.

She was always challenging me. One day

I heard that she was leaving. I thought maybe I should throw a party!

A tough parting— A new goal “I helped her pack her things, and I noticed that she was crying. She said, ‘Miss Chanté, I don’t know these people. How are they gonna treat me and my little sisters? What’s my life gonna be like? I don’t want to go, Miss Chanté!’ Then she burst into tears. I couldn’t believe it.

This little 8–year–old who’d made my life a living hell was crying and begging to stay with me.

“I comforted her and got her ready to go. I can still remember that two cars drove up from the state, and she got into one of them, and all the way down the

street, she stared out the back window crying. I decided then and there that it didn’t matter how these kids treated me, or what they said to me, I was going to love them and tell them about Jesus.”

As for Chanté herself, she is now on friendly terms with her mom, who has been clean for a few years. When you ask Chanté what she wants to do with her life, she says, “I want to be married, and just be a mom with lots of kids running around. I’d like to have some of my own and be a foster parent to others who need a home.”

For now, Chanté has one goal: to tell every single child who comes through the Sallie House about Jesus.

That is fierce, woman!

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

C O M P A N Y

500 North 7th Street, Sanford, NC (800) 605-2130 www.thisendup.com

Looking Back in Faith

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

Together Through Joy and Pain

by Daryl Lach

T

heir simple dwelling is in a senior citizens mobile home park adjacent to scenic Granite Creek in Prescott, Ariz. The well–kept yard has rocks, desert foliage, flowering bulbs, and several bird feeders for finches, doves, hummingbirds, and the occasional robin.

Inside, the tidy home is filled with memorabilia of family and extended family acquired through the years. Six decades ago this February, Bill Brown and Alice Seitzinger exchanged Valentine’s Day cards. Their story of love, now 60 years young and rooted in Christ, would be filled with joy as well as unimaginable pain.

www.prioritypeople.org

37

Looking Back in Faith

Alice and Bill on their wedding day: Dec. 26, 1953

The Good Old Days Alice, the fifth of 10 children, had a happy childhood in Indiana, where her father worked for the railroad. She remembers that at the tender age of 7 at a Free Methodist Camp Meeting, she made a commitment to follow Jesus.

When Alice was 10, in 1943, she and her siblings told their mother about the great time they had poking fun at a weird group of people they had seen singing on the street corner.

38

As “punishment” the following Sunday, their mother marched the kids off to the Salvation Army’s Sunday school.

Alice was soon playing in the junior brass band, and her family was attending the Hammond, Ind., Corps (church). As a teenager, she sensed God calling her to be a missionary nurse.

Bill, five years older than Alice, grew up during the Great Depression in East Chicago, Ind., with six siblings and an abusive, alcoholic stepfather. His mother was the bedrock of the family; she some-

how held everything together and made sure the children went to church.

“I would much rather remember the happiness I knew attending the Presbyterian Church than remember the situation at home,” Bill says.

Young Bill’s pastor saw something in the teenage boy that he was not aware of himself; he surprised Bill by asking him if he ever considered the ministry.

Much later, he would be called to be an officer in The Salvation Army.

In the meantime, Bill served in www.prioritypeople.org

“Uncle Sam’s Army” at the end of World War 2 and in the reconstruction effort in Germany.

Bumps in the Road

Top: Alice as a nurse; center, Martin, 2 months; bottom, Steven, 1 year. Martin died at 3 months, Steven at 18 months. www.prioritypeople.org

In 1950, he was in still the reserves when he saw Alice at a Salvation Army young people’s meeting. For him, it was “love at first sight.” Not so for Alice.

“It took me awhile,” she laughs. In the meantime, she entered nurses training, and Bill was called up for combat in Korea.

“We corresponded, became engaged in 1952, and tied the knot the following year,” says Alice.

Just a year later, the young couple chaperoned the teens of the Hammond Corps at a Salvation Army Youth Councils, and it was here Bill sealed his commitment to full–time ministry.

Bill remembers still what the speaker said: “If there’s anything [besides being a Salvation Army officer] you feel you can do, go do it!”

Bill knew he could do nothing else but be an officer. Right away, he and Alice began the paperwork to enter the Army’s Chicago Training College. At that time, Alice was a registered nurse working in obstetrics while Bill was an electrician. But their plans were interrupted when Bill’s brother was incarcerated, and the Browns found themselves foster–parenting two nephews and a niece ages 3, 5, and 6.

“There was no question in our minds,” Bill says. “We were to be our ‘brother’s keeper.’ As for training college, God would work out his will.”

Grief Beyond Measure The Browns’ first son, Steven, was born September 1955, and he was the joy of their life in a household now buzzing with four children. But at 18 months old, Steven got the measles and died one night in the emergency room.

Alice was pregnant then with the couple’s second son, Martin, who was born healthy just seven months later.

But once again, the Browns’ joy turned to anguish when, at 3 months old, Martin too died with complications due to measles.

Alice remembers being dazed at both funerals. Except for the little white coffins she can still envision, she barely recalls anything. Her mother lovingly gave her a Bible verse (Psalm 30:5) that Major Alice still uses when counseling other women who have lost children. ”Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

Though he was distraught, Major Bill clung to his faith. “… Cast all your care upon him for he cares for you.” This verse, 1 Peter 5:7, carried him through.

Devastating words It wasn’t until 1958 that the Browns were ready to enter the Chicago Training College. A week before their training began, in a casual conversation with a Christian leader, the Browns heard words that devastated them. He told them that their children’s deaths could have been a direct result of their not entering training as soon as God called them to be officers.

39

Looking Back in Faith

“This could be the reason God took your children,” he said. “You were not in His will.”

The Browns explained their circumstances, but the leader insisted, “God should always come before anything else.” Alice and Bill were so shocked that the words didn’t sink in at first.

When they did, they stung.

Bill says the remark hurt him deeply.

But he felt secure in the decision he and Alice had made.

“It was God’s will that we took care of those three children,” he says.

For Alice, forgiveness took a much longer time—25 years.

‘Our Captain’ on Chicago’s West Side

G

rowing up in the Rockwell Gardens Housing Projects on the west side of Chicago during the turbulent 60s and 70s, Dr. Katrinia Riley Hamilton and her family attended the Chicago Midwest Corps (church). She remembers The Salvation Army as a safe haven in a community racked by drugs, crime, gang violence, and absentee fathers.

‘Major Bill [Brown] provided a sense of security in a sometimes insecure community,’ Katrinia says. ‘He was steadfast and unwavering—the best example of what a man of God should be.’

Katrinia, now an education 40

While she was still a cadet, Alice became pregnant again. She was confident that since she was now “in God’s will,” nothing negative could happen. Three months after the Browns became officers, she delivered a full–term baby, only to hear these crushing words: “I’m sorry.

We did all we could.”

The doctor told Alice that her son, Patrick, had been strangled by a prolapsed umbilical cord. She experienced denial and did not attend the funeral. “I did not want to live and wished I could die. I could not handle being around anyone with babies or children, including my own sister,” Alice says.

consultant for the Chicago public schools, says, ‘The Browns were always there for us! I still remember being accepted for college in Macomb, Ill., five hours away. We had no car. The Browns packed all my belongings in the corps van and carted me off to school!’

Of the 13–plus years he and his wife, Major Alice Brown, spent at the corps, Major Bill says, ‘We were privileged to see many of our toddlers grow up and go to university. Several became teachers and two became doctors, which made us very proud. Years later, while visiting Katrinia, she paid me a compliment I will always remember. She said, “Major, you were like a father to us.” ’ Katrinia still remembers the 1968 Chicago race riots after the

Bill says this was the lowest point of his life. Yet his faith buoyed him. He declares with conviction, “God is faithful to His word. Heaven is MORE dear to me now because I’m going to see my sons when I get there.”

In the early 60s, new medical research revealed the problem with Steven and Martin: they had no “passive immunity,” the natural immunity mothers typically pass to their babies in the womb. Alice didn’t know it, but she had lost that ability when, during nurses training, she contracted severe amoebic dysentery.

Doctors told the Browns that any

assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.

‘There was a palpable hatred for all Caucasians at that time.

Then–Captain Brown was standing on the steps of the corps building witnessing the burning, looting, and violent devastation.

The hatemongers were determined to destroy everything and every white person in sight.

‘Fearing that rioters who did not know the captain would inflict harm on him, many of the residents—including ruthless gang members—begged him to go inside. This outpouring of love for Captain Brown was a testimony to all that he meant to our community. In him we saw no color. We only saw our captain and wanted him and his family to be safe.’ www.prioritypeople.org

further children would need to receive immune therapy at birth and be monitored carefully until their own immune systems developed.

Forgiveness: A Process Encouraged to get professional counseling after the loss of Patrick, Alice says she was surprised at how soon she got better. It helped that the following year, the couple adopted Bonnie, a little girl whom they adored and fussed over.

Three years later they were blessed with the complications–free birth of a son, Bradford. He immediately underwent gamma globulin treatments for his im-

mune system. Because her work involved daily contact with many children, Alice worried about him. But after two years, everyone knew he was home free.

Daily, Major Alice prayed over the remark that had devastated her. “It was always in the back of my head,” she says.

“I could not forgive the man who said it.” Finally, in 1983 at a Bible institute, she was able to “get the victory.” She says, “Still, out of nowhere, the hurt returns though it has been forgiven. Leaders and Christians need to be careful when giving advice; they are not always correct—nor do they know the lasting effects their words may have.”

A Calling Fulfilled The Browns’ service as officers covered 33 years, most of it spent shepherding inner–city African–American corps.

In 1963, the Browns dedicate their 1–month–old son, Bradford. Above: The Browns as lieutenants with their adopted daughter, Bonnie.

www.prioritypeople.org

41

Looking Back in Faith

The Brown family today

(See sidebar on p. 40.) Retirement came in 1992 but there’s been no discharge for the Browns from the “great salvation war.” They have soldiered on in the Prescott Corps.

“It’s been our longest appointment,” they quip.

Major Bill still teaches Sunday school and sings in the Songsters (choir). Major Alice plays in the band, teaches Sunday school and Bible school, and is heav42

ily involved in camp activities, Home League (a women’s group), and Community Care Ministries.

Corps Officers Majors Kyle and Martha Trimmer are impressed. “The Browns often encourage us with stories of God’s faithfulness in their officership and personal lives. They even started an unofficial ‘outpost’ at the local Starbucks, where they have a prayer ministry.”

And, Major Kyle says, “Anyone can see they are still deeply in love with each other.”

So whenever you pass a senior citizens retirement complex, don’t assume for one moment that nothing significant could be taking place there. Beyond its gates may be a 60–year–young love story, one that is triumphant over loss and pain and resplendent in God’s healing grace. www.prioritypeople.org

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Prayer Power

Gaining Prayer’s Best Dividends

by Jack Corbin Getz

G

Illustration © Rolf Jansson for Goodsalt.com

iven the nature of our distracted and often fragmented lives, praying covenantally usually requires some basic structures: a place, a time, and a

practice. … To help with that are three easily remembered prayer types, which, when balanced, will lead to great spiritual gain and effective praying.

Share Prayer Jimmy was driving down the street in a sweat because he was almost late for an important appointment and couldn’t find a parking place. At his critical crossroad of crisis, he did what many do, he tossed a Share Prayer God’s way: “Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I’ll go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life and give up all my bad habits!” Miraculously, a parking place appeared. With that, Jimmy looked up again and prayed: “Never mind Lord, I found one.”

The upside of Share Prayer is that it’s portable and convenient, allowing a running “state–of–the heart” report to God, which in some cases is all the moment calls for. Other times, however, it’s not what God has in mind when He asks us to be people of prayer.

Far too many make Share Prayer their primary source of spiritual investment, which is akin to thinking that saving pocket change is a wise retirement plan.

While convenient, compact, and often comforting, Share Prayer is no substitute for more focused forms of praying.

Subject Prayer Subject Prayer has both great utility but also notable downsides. Such prayers grow out of hard times when we, or someone we know, need God’s immediate help.

Subject Prayer takes two forms: peti44

www.prioritypeople.org

tions for our needs, and supplications for others’ needs. When we make a promise to pray for someone else, it involves us, invests us, and indicates that we care enough pray.

But not all prayers carry the same weight. Some are tossed like darts at a heavenly target, in hopes that a few will hit the mark. Others involve painstaking sacrificial intercession that requires incredible commitment and ongoing desire. While both have value, the latter speaks clearly to the level of spiritual integrity and discipline that must accompany our public promises to pray.

Certainly, God cares about everything that concerns us and He enjoins us to tell Him whatever is on our hearts, but assuming He’s beholden to jump to our commands or to be our genie in a prayer bottle who ought to make everything fair and level is a disservice to both Him and prayer.

Silent Prayer Here is where great saints discover divine intimacy and mine spiritual power. Silence, more than any other form of prayer, convicts, confirms, calls, and conforms us to Christ’s image. In silence, personal interaction with the divine takes place (a possible reason why so many avoid it).

Of course, Silent Prayer is the most demanding form of praying to master and sustain. If you have mercenary mowww.prioritypeople.org

tives or too little time to pray, don’t try it. Remember, God’s written promise: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). Half–hearted prayers apparently don’t help us locate God because, as Ken Gire suggests, “God is not indiscriminately intimate.”

Silent Prayer is where serious spiritual formation takes place. Devoting good amounts of time in silence with God yields perspective, inspiration, courage, and spiritual power. It’s here where you gain an active relationship with the Lord because in silence, truth always has its way. (See Psalm 46:10.)

Brennan Manning writes, “Silence is not simply the absence of noise or the shutdown of communication with the outside world, but rather a process of coming to stillness. Silent solitude forges true speech. I’m not speaking of physical isolation; solitude here means being alone with the Alone, experiencing the transcendent Other and growing in awareness of one’s identity as the beloved.”

Given the benefits of contemplative or Silent Prayer, it’s worth at least half of a healthy prayer portfolio. Granted, other forms of prayer have a necessary and legitimate place, but none, combined or alone, yield the long–term benefits of silent, contemplative, meditational praying. Spiritually, we get what we pay for, and reap what we sow; therefore,

why not spend spiritual capital where the dividends are the greatest? (See 2 Corinthians 9:6.)

Excerpted and adapted, with permission, from Getz’s book Praying When Prayer Doesn’t Work: Finding a way back to the heart of God. (Available at. iUniverse. com/bookstore)

45

Prayer Power

One Prayer after Katrina

by Larry Thorson

B

ack in November 2005, my wife and I were deployed for six weeks to help in the massive Emergency Disaster Services effort in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. As corps officers for decades, we were used to helping during times of disaster—with the typical house fire, tornado, or blizzard—however, nothing had prepared us for the scope of this one, both in the readily seen physical damage and the deeper human toll—emotional and spiritual.

We learned much from the “victims” we met. I place the word victims in quotes, because so many people we met wouldn’t use that term to describe themselves. Many had lost almost everything yet were grateful for God’s ongoing care and concern for them. In their minds, the devastation that Katrina brought into their lives was but a setback in God’s overall plan.

Margo’s assignment was in the financial accountability for the work; mine was spiritual and emotional care.

On one occasion, I was assigned to a canteen unit that was part of a one–stop pickup area for hot food, canned goods, water, and cleaning supplies. People simply drove up to us, and volunteers put whatever was needed into their vehicles.

I was in my Salvation Army uniform, greeting people while they were in line.

One car pulled into the parking lot but instead of getting into line, drove 46

A Salvation Army mobile canteen visits residents in New Orleans in 2006.

right up to me. As I began to explain to the driver where to go to receive help, she said that she didn’t need it. Her next words simply stunned me. She said that as she was driving past our location, she had seen my uniform and knew that I would pray for her.

After she told me her story, I asked what she wanted me to pray about, and together we invited God to get involved in those needs. After we both said “amen,” I asked if there was anything else I could do for her, she said “No, thank you for praying with me,” and then drove away.

I’ve often though about that woman, her difficult situation, and the confi-

dence that she had that I would pray with her. That incident reminded me of the words of David, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry … the righteous cry out and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles” (Psalm 34:15,17).

Thank God for The Salvation Army uniform—on that day, prayer was “doing the most good” in her life.

Thorson and his wife, Margo, are Salvation Army majors with more than 40 years’ experience. They have served in the Central Territory’s Pastoral Care Department since 2004. www.prioritypeople.org

‘Tis the Season

The Unclaimed Stocking

by Paul M. Kelly, Jr.

time, that means so much to us. May I share how you can help grieving friends and loved ones this holiday season? e We don’t expect you to have the answers (even when we cry out the question) or to put things back the way they were. Only God has the answers. Just be a shoulder to cry on, and don’t be repulsed by our pain.

Kelly is the director of information technology at Salvation Army Eastern Territory Headquarters in West Nyack, N.Y. He and his wife, Sharon, lost their daughter Jennifer in June 2004 in a car accident just two weeks before her high school graduation.

F

or those of us who grieve, the holidays are especially difficult as we once again assemble the puzzle called family—only this time, a piece is missing. There is an empty chair where Dad used to sit, or a stocking to hang with no child to claim it.

While God has always walked beside us during this long journey, it is the company of people, even for a short

www.prioritypeople.org

e Don’t be afraid of reminding us about our loved ones. Believe me when I say we are already thinking about them.

We fear that their lives and faces will be forgotten. Your stories about them bring joy and laughter; your acknowledgement of their existence is more important to us than you will ever know. Include your stories in Christmas cards, tales that we will put into the unclaimed stocking. e During the first few weeks, we want to scream to the world to stop and take notice. But there comes a time when we need to get back to a routine. Sometimes we are pushed back to the rhythm of life by obligations such as work. It can take a great deal of time to re–establish daily patterns.

It is OK to ask about our emotional

health, if you don’t use the cultural cliches that require the obligatory answer “fine” while inside our hearts are bleeding. Just don’t make it the first subject of conversation or part of every encounter. We crave to get back to a new normal. e Fill the void left by the missing family member. Go shopping with us.

Eat with us. We prefer the chaos of a household of people to an empty chair filled with only our evaporated dreams. We’ll cry and laugh all at the same time and we’ll heal just as there is healing out of the pain of surgery.

Yes, we may still cry. Never be embarrassed by our tears.

For the Kellys and countless other grieving families, things will not be whole until all the pieces of the family puzzle are reassembled on the other side of death. But we want you to know that the ministry of your companionship helps us to better see God’s grace and the tapestry that He weaves in our lives.

If you are struggling with grief or want to learn more about how to walk beside a grieving friend, contact the Kellys at paul.kelly@use.salvationarmy.org.

47

60 Years Ago

‘Silver Bells’ Photo © DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images

by Bob Hostetler

Volunteers sing and ring bells in front of Saks Fifth Avenue in New York in 2003.

W

hile you’re shopping or eating out this Christmas season, at some point you’re likely to hear the popular Christmas standard, “Silver Bells.” Did you know that the song’s reference to “silver bells” being heard on “every street corner” was inspired by Salvation Army bell–ringers?

The song was composed for the 1951 motion picture, “The Lemon Drop Kid,” which was based on a short story

by Damon Runyon (whose stories also inspired Guys and Dolls, another play and film with Salvation Army ties). At the time, songwriters Ray Evans and Jay Livingston were under contract with

48

Paramount Pictures and were assigned to write a Christmas song for the movie.

Evans later said that he and Livingston were daunted by the assignment because there were already so many classic Christmas songs (including Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” which became a giant hit for Bing Crosby in the mid–40s). So, Evans said, “We set our attention on the ‘bell’ side of Christmas and to Christmas in the city—in contrast to ‘White Christmas’ and other standards, with lots of snow and country and small–town images.”

Livingston told American Songwriter magazine in 1988 that their song origi-

nally had a different title: “We wrote a song called ‘Tinkle Bell,’ about the tinkly bells you hear at Christmas from the Santa Clauses and the Salvation Army people. We said, ‘This is it, this will work for the picture,’ so I took it home and played it for my wife. She said, ‘You wrote a song called ‘Tinkle Bell?’ Don’t you know that word has a bathroom connotation?’ So I went back to Ray the next day and told him we had to throw the song out, and we did.”

As the pair kept working, however, they found themselves repeatedly drawn back to the melody and imagery of their earlier attempt. In the end, they settled on the phrase “Silver Bells,” and a classic was born.

In addition to the first hit version

by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards in 1951, “Silver Bells” has been recorded hundreds of times by artists as varied as Mahalia Jackson and Travis Tritt, Elvis Presley and the Hampton String Quartet.

Bob Hostetler, a retired pastor and former Salvation Army officer, is an awardwinning author of 26 books, including the novel, The Bone Box. He is currently working on a devotional book, Time to Be Holy, which features the writings of Samuel Logan Brengle, the Salvation Army’s “holiness apostle.”

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