1 November 2014 NZFT War Cry

FAITH IN ACTION | 01 November 2014 | Issue 6604 | $1.50

The Right to Palliative Care

HELPING KIDS WITH HOMEWORK

BENEFITS OF SPIRITUAL RETREATS

WELCOMING ADDICTS AND ALCOHOLICS TO CHURCH

THE POWER OF LISTENING

14 HOURS HOMELESS

YOUTH COUNCILS

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Kia ora Matters of life and death WAR CRY

The Salvation Army Te Ope Whakaora New Zealand, Fiji & Tonga Territory FOUNDER William Booth GENERAL André Cox TERRITORIAL COMMANDER Robert Donaldson The Salvation Army’s message is based on the Bible. Our ministry is motivated by love for God. Our mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human need in his name without discrimination.

War Cry exists to support and advance The Salvation Army’s message, ministry and mission.

EDITOR

Major Christina Tyson GRAPHIC DESIGN

Lauren Millington, Amber Wilkinson STAFF WRITERS

Ingrid Barratt, Robin Raymond, Vanessa Singh CONTRIBUTORS

Martin Barratt (movie review), Kris Singh (music reviewer)

PROOF READING

Major Jill Gainsford COVER

Photography: thephotographer.co.nz OFFICE Territorial Headquarters, 204 Cuba Street, PO Box 015, Marion Square, Wellington 141 Phone (04) 384 549 Fax (04) 382 071 Email warcry@nzf.salvationarmy.org SUBSCRIPTIONS Salvationist Resources Department Phone (04) 382 078 Email mailorder@nzf.salvationarmy.org $75 per year within NZ PRINT MANAGEMENT MakeReady | www.makeready.co.nz

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All Bible references from the Holy Bible, New International Version, unless otherwise stated.

Articles are copyrighted to The Salvation Army, except where indicated, and may be reprinted only with permission.

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This weekend a 29-year-old American woman called Brittany Maynard plans to die. Brittany has an inoperable brain tumour and lives in a US state that permits assisted suicide. She has decided to die the day after celebrating her husband’s birthday.

I do not know what it is like to be told you will die from cancer, or how that news feels for the wider family. As a mother, I recall the excitement and nervousness of waiting for the birth of our first child. Of not knowing when this baby would arrive and of hoping all would be well. After complications, Alisha was born by emergency caesarean. Because of this, our next two children were planned caesarean births.

I therefore knew exactly when Scott and Sofi would be born. But I don’t know when they will die, or the circumstances that will surround their deaths. Naturally, I hope that this will be many years after my own, but there are no guarantees.

Nor do I know how my own life will end. And so, at one level, I understand the attraction of Brittany’s plan, which places death within her control. But at the same time, as our article by Australian palliative care physician Dr Frank Brennan discusses, death is a mystery.

Euthanasia is a tempting solution to the perplexing problem of leaving this world. But, as a follower of Jesus, I believe God teaches us lessons throughout our lives—including at its end.

God also teaches us lessons through the deaths of those we loved. Lessons of compassion, empathy and forbearance. In the sometimes extended season of a person’s passing, God also invites us into conversations that really matter, forming memories that can bring comfort for years to come.

Join with me to pray for those who encounter matters of life and death up close, where there is sadness and anxiety and perhaps pain that needs to be well managed. Pray that in these challenges, there will still be moments of happiness and celebration and peace.

Christina Tyson Editor

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BIBLE VERSE 2 Peter 3:9 The Message

‘God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness.

He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.’

2 Pita 3:9

‘Kāhore he whakaroa o te Ariki ki tāna kupu whakaari, kāhore e rite ki tā ētahi e kī nei he whakaroa; engari e manawanui ana ki a tātou, kāhore ōna whakaaro mō te tangata kia ngaro; engari kia tae katoa ki te rīpenetā.’

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WISE WORDS

If you stopped tellin’ people it’s all sorted out after they’re dead, they might try sorting it all out while they’re alive.

Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett Good Omens

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Let’s Talk | 03

I

’m a keen fisherman. Well … maybe ‘keen’ isn’t the right word. I’m a pathetically hopeful fisherman who is rather useless at fishing. Fish look forward to free takeaways when I’m around. My bait has helped many fish increase their waistlines.

I’ve gone fishing on numerous occasions—leaving home with high hopes only to return in a state of fisherman gloom. A few bites here and there … and those were from pesky sandflies! So now my fishing gear slowly gathers dust in the garage along with my big fish hopes.

But to feed my fishing fascination, I like to watch the Saturday afternoon fishing programmes on TV. And as I watch these guys (they do seem to be mostly guys, I notice) reel in fish after fish, I think, ‘Wow! It’s so easy!’

And I say to myself, ‘If I actually knew what I was doing, I’m sure I’d be able to catch those big fish too.’ And then I begin to get hopeful enough to grab my fishing gear with renewed enthusiasm.

You see, those fishermen on TV really do know what they’re doing. They know what gear to use, what bait will do the trick and where the fish are most likely to be. They have honed their skills to become highly successful fishermen.

Not just average, but extremely good at what they do.

It’s great to be around people who are amazingly good at something. Their excitement and passion can be catchy. Their encouragement can help lift a discouraged person up.

Let’s face it; at times our hopes can take some pretty big hits. Unfulfilled hopes and dreams can be crippling. And sometimes it does take another person to help renew a dying passion in us. Like blowing on a smouldering fire, they can set that fire going again.

Renewed hope is a powerful thing. Talk to the woman reunited with her five-day-old baby daughter after she was kidnapped from Middlemore Hospital’s maternity unit in September. Discuss the subject of renewed hope with the American doctor who caught Ebola in Liberia, was subject to three weeks of quarantine as doctors administered an experimental medicine, and who is now a survivor of the Ebola virus. Hope helps us fight for what could be.

The Bible says in Psalm 42, Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God. I need encouraging people around me to help me walk strongly with God. People who will help fire up my hopes and dreams. But more importantly, I need to put my hope in God, because he is the One who makes my life come truly alive.

‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit,’ writes Paul in Romans 15:13. So, maybe it’s time to stop letting those hopes and dreams gather dust in the garage and trust God to rekindle our enthusiasm for what might still be. BRENTON MILLAR

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Bookshelf Portraits Patient Dr Chris Reid It’s rare to find a book that captivates by its sheer beauty, and this is one of those exceptional finds. With proceeds to St John Ambulance, Dr Chris Reid—a Kerikeri GP and photographer —spent two years photographing his patients. His intention was to focus beyond illness to the unique character of each person. Every portrait is accompanied by a simple explanation of why they came for consultation, and this simplicity gives the stories poignancy. Many photographers claim to capture the human condition, but this really speaks to a beautiful, sorrowful, life-giving, thoughtful, joyful humanity. (Craig Potton Publishing)

Playlist

The Bible The Wayfinding Bible

By God! There has been a glut in recent years of themed Bibles that can feel exploitative of the lucrative Christian market. However, there are some gems and one of these is the Wayfinding Bible, which uses travel metaphors to navigate the New Living Translation. The ‘flyover’ provides a chronological overview of the Bible in 54 readings, the ‘direct route’ is 215 readings that show how the Bible fits together, and the ‘scenic route; is 386 readings that provide depth and richness to key passages. Although this may seem gimmicky, it is an accessible way for people unversed in ‘Christianese’ to navigate the Bible. (Tyndale)

Christian Living The Power of Listening Lynne M. Baab Possibly one of the most overlooked but profound social skills we can acquire is the art of listening, and listening well. Lynne M. Baab is a self-confessed chatterbox who has spent many years as a chaplain and communicator. She examines the call to listen—within congregations, in mission and as a spiritual exercise with God— and provides practical ways of becoming a better listener. She also provides some deeper insights into the ‘inner noise’ that can prevent us from becoming good listeners, including self-talk, anxiety about silence, and our beliefs that may make it hard to hear different viewpoints. (Rowman & Littlefield)

Reel News

Worship This Is Our Time Planetshakers Planetshakers’ latest release is a fun album. Full of catchy melodies and dance-inspiring electronic grooves, it borrows (and contributes) heavily to the synth-dominated praise and worship scene. The real treasures of this album however lie hidden in the slower, relatively stripped back songs. The lyrical language of a Planetshakers record is typically simple, but this definitely works to their advantage in songs like ‘Leave Me Astounded’ and ‘Covered’. Both tracks use simplicity and repetition to much greater effect than any of their upbeat songs. There’s a lot going on musically, but a majority of the record is an easy synth-pop listen that’s edged with powerchord choruses.

Alternative Weatherhouse Phil Selway Weatherhouse is the follow-up to Radiohead drummer Phil Selway’s first solo effort, Familial.

In stark contrast to Familial’s soft melancholy folk, Weatherhouse takes a decidedly darker turn, incorporating colder, more precise electronic influences, no doubt borrowed from his experience as the rhythmic force behind Radiohead’s sound. This about-face in style is immediately apparent in the record’s pulsating basses, heavy reverb and simple, minimalistic grooves. These elements swirl together to create dense, layered songs. Selway’s lyrics tend to the cliché and while empassioned, it’ll be hard to shake the notion that this record is simply ‘Radiohead lite’.

GIVEAWAY To win a copy of Patient tell us a lesson you’ve learned through illness.

War Cry Giveaway, PO Box 015, Marion Square, Wgtn 141 or email warcry@nzf.salvationarmy.org. Entries close 17 Nov. Living With a Black Dog winner is: L. Smith

Action Sci-Fi Edge of Tomorrow Doug Liman / M (Violence & Offensive Language) If you didn’t catch it in the cinema, you can now pick up Edge of Tomorrow on DVD. The story unfolds in a near future in which an alien race has hit Earth in an unrelenting assault, unbeatable by any military. Major William Cage (Tom Cruise), an Army PR man not trained for combat, is thrust into the war effort’s biggest invasion yet … and promptly dies.

He awakens a day earlier, stuck in a time loop that brings him back to the same starting point each time he’s killed. But with each battle, Cage becomes a more skilled soldier, alongside warrior Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt). As Cage and Rita fight the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy. Think high-concept futuristic D-Day, a sort of a Starship Troopers-meets-Groundhog Day on the beaches of Normandy.

And so Cage is set on a slow path to becoming a better soldier and a better man. As time goes on, we see him giving his all, fighting fearlessly for others. Cage grows to selflessly love Rita, and he becomes committed to doing absolutely anything to find a way to save her and all humanity.

This film works as a metaphor for Jesus’ call to his followers to die to self daily. That is what the heroes in this movie literally do to save millions of lives from the aliens: they must die to themselves daily to improve themselves as warriors and figure out a winning strategy. (Of course, there is more to this film than just warriors needing to become better, faster, stronger.)

In a similar way, we die to ourselves daily as Christians and grow in our maturity, in our faith and in our ‘spiritual warfare’ skills on a daily basis. We become stronger warriors in a spiritual sense in Christ. Each new day that God gives us is like the time loop from this movie: God is giving us another chance to grow.

Feature | 05

Photography: www.thephotographer.co.nz

l l e H , n e v Hea s n o s d i v a D y e l r a &H

RRATT

BY INGRID BA

d way,’ says isis—in a goo cr d ge -a le d id he has ‘It’s a m e abiding love th f o y, le ar H b l of the journalist Ro ns and the ‘cal so id av D y le ar or rH ome a metaph discovered fo ec b e av h es ik motorb d in his road’. Big, bad urney, reflecte jo al u it ir sp g o. in to Hell, Part Tw for Rob’s evolv e id u G rs o iv The Surv latest series,

06 | WarCry 01 November 2014

R

ob Harley tells me he has got a tattoo. It was an act of ‘pure recklessness’ in Waco, Texas, while filming the DVD series, The Survivors Guide to Hell, Part Two, which is released this month. I’m expecting something discreet, something meaningful. Rob rolls up his sleeve to expose a big, bad tattoo taking up most of a bicep, emblazoned with the Harley Davidson logo and expansive eagle wings. It’s not discreet. But to Rob, it is meaningful.

Gas-guzzling motorbikes are as much part of The Survivors Guide to Hell as the stories themselves. It’s a kind of spiritual Long Way Round, where two mates drive bad-as motorbikes in exotic locations, collecting stories and leaving behind memories. In this version, though, the stories are about suffering, faith, forgiveness and transcendence.

Richard Nauck, Rob’s sidekick, takes the role of the wondering cynic.

And the two reflect on spirituality over the snarl of their Harleys.

Born to be wild Rob is well known for telling other people’s stories of faith, but the bikes are about Rob’s own journey. ‘I was coming down the road one day in my perfectly suburban rural lifestyle vehicle, when this column of about 20 bikers came up the road, all of them on Harleys, all of them in black and wearing German army helmets. And I thought, “My goodness, I would love to be with them!” ’ Rob bought his first, big, ugly motorbike and fell in love with the ‘camaraderie of being on the road’. But this has also opened up a new way of exploring spirituality, free of the church walls.

‘Men were made to make and break things. But for many of us young men who came to faith in our early teens, we never got the chance to explore that side,’ explains Rob. ‘There’s something about the call of the road.’

Following this call of the wild is not about leaving Christian culture, but about deepening his expression of faith. ‘We all desire a sense of belonging and a shared experience. You get a bunch of Christian bikers together and it’s a real brotherhood.’

One of the most powerful moments Rob has experienced was when he was a celebrant at a biker friend’s funeral. Rob was part of a cavalcade of bikes that accompanied the coffin. He recalls, ‘There was such a raw sense of emotion and devotion there. All these men riding their bikes, with tears streaming down their faces. I want to be that raw in my storytelling.’

Raw stores And so The Survivors Guide to Hell was created to tell faith stories, with a twist. Rob keeps his interpretations of the stories to a minimum, and any faith reflections are told in the form of conversations between him and Richard. ‘We’ve tried to stand right back and let the stories earn us the right to talk about spiritual issues,’ explains Rob. ‘We wanted to see things through the eyes of ordinary, slightly jaded people who’ve heard enough of the Christian clichés.’

One of the highlights for Rob from the recent series was meeting Dr Izzuldein Abuelaish, who was born in a Gazan refugee camp.

Educated in the refugee camp schools, Izzuldein won a scholarship to attend Cairo University and became the first person from a Palestinian refugee camp to attend Harvard University’s School of Public Health. In another milestone, Izzuldein became the first Gazan doctor to be appointed to an Israeli hospital, treating equal numbers of Palestinians and Israelis, and using his position to promote his message of reconciliation.

Then, in 2009, the apartment block where Izzuldein lived was hit by an Israeli tank round—despite claims that Israel wasn’t targeting

civilians. His three daughters and niece were vaporised, and Izzuldein returned home to a room filled with only red mist. In the days coming, he questioned the humanitarian work that he had devoted his life to.

But from this inhumane act, Izzuldein went on to do something sublimely human, setting up the Daughters for Life Foundation, which provides education scholarships for both Palestinian and Israeli women. His book I Shall Not Hate has become a modern classic, urging ethnic and religious groups to overcome hate and revenge, and to view their differences through the eyes of peace and human dignity.

It’s a challenge to the Christian worldview, which often only recognises the work of God’s kingdom in fellow Christians. ‘Jesus was constantly shocking his followers and Jews by commending and highlighting the faith of people who had nothing to do with the Jewish tradition,’ says Rob. ‘If God can speak through donkeys and through a despised Samaritan woman—who became the first missionary for Jesus—then we shouldn’t shut our minds down to eloquence and truth wherever we find it.’

There is such a thing as courage, and courage does not come except through trials.

Finding truth Rob made a name for himself early in his career as a daily television news journalist, but became disillusioned with what he calls the ‘same 15 minutes at the beginning of every news bulletin, playing the blame game’.

At 48, he decided to devote the rest of his life to telling stories of people who had found the solutions, not the problems. Since then, Rob has become a collector of people’s stories: finding those who have suffered deeply and who, through their experiences, have learnt

Samiha Ah, Samiha, Samiha, you have undone me again!

And I said I wasn’t gonna be undone till next week.

I saw you on the news tonight, with a small bag of clothing For your husband trapped inside that city That city they say is gonna fall, Samiha They say your man will likely die.

Ah, Samiha, I watched your friend there with you, Trying to get food to her five boys Inside that city, they say is gonna fall But no one will let the food and clothes through Ah, Samiha, when will Moloch have gobbled up enough boys?

When will the gods utter one last belch, and say, ‘I’m full?’

Ah, Samiha, I ‘remoted’ away from your tears for a moment Jimmy and the choir on the ol’ time gospel show were singin’ ‘King Jesus, you’re gonna hear me when I call.’

Ah Samiha, if only it was that simple for your shivering husband and five hungry boys Inside that city, they say is gonna fall.

Ah, Samiha. © Rob Harley

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how to live more deeply still. The tagline for The Survivors Guide series is: ‘People who have experienced the worst that can happen, and through it become the best they can be.’ Finding these people has become Rob’s life mission.

There is a recurring theme for those who overcome adversity, says Rob, and it is the simplicity of thankfulness. For these people, counting their blessings is not just a platitude, it is a survival mechanism.

A couple that Rob has followed for several years are Andy and Nikki Bray. As a young man, Andy was a New Zealand representative athlete, but a bout of strep throat led to kidney failure. He had two kidney transplants, which allowed him to stop daily dialysis, and importantly, meant Andy and Nikki could have children. They had three daughters, but when Andy got cancer, he lost his kidney transplant in the process.

Then, in 2008, their eldest daughter Natasha went rafting down the Mangatepopo River as part of an Elim Christian College trip. In a flash flood, seven young people lost their lives, including Natasha.

Andy became a spokesperson in the daily news. ‘It absolutely does test my faith in God. Of course it does,’ explains Andy honestly.

‘So, sure, we’re saying to God: “Why has this happened? Where does this fit into your plan?” And I don’t have an answer for that. But I do have a place to go in my heart, and I can trust that we’re going to get through this.’

Rob says that whenever he follows someone’s story, he looks to see if their optimism is a ‘barely disguised bitterness’, but he believes Andy and Nikki are the genuine thing. Last time they spoke, Andy was on dialysis and said that the key to getting through their immense grief had been to find something every day to be thankful for. ‘When I’m home, and not in hospital, that’s something to be grateful for,’ he says, simply.

Nikki is honest that she has her ‘bad Natasha days’, where she asks God that most aching of all questions, ‘why?’

‘They are realistic, but they’ve made discoveries along the way that God can be trusted in good times and bad,’ reflects Rob. And for Richard, Rob’s younger counterpart, Andy and Nikki were the first people to ‘keep him up all night’.

‘Seeing people come to the quitting points in life, and choosing to overcome it is utterly profound,’ says Rob, effectively summing up the Survivors Guide series as a whole.

Quitting points More than profound, it is divine. For, as Romans chapter five, verses four and five say: ‘We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.’

Rob has been through his own quitting points in life. He has spoken openly about his journey with depression and the ‘near financial collapse’ that came with owning a leaky home. ‘I call depression “the mad aunty that lives in the attic”. Every now and then the aunty gets out of the attic and runs riot through the previously seamless veneer of your life,’ laughs Rob. But he is not so interested in telling his own story as the stories of others. Instead, Rob chooses to quote his friend Trevor Yaxley, who lost his son in a horrific car accident, and who suffers from chronic pain. ‘Trevor said to me that he has learned to live above it.

‘For me, I’ve been at the point where I’ve wanted to break something and stamp my feet, but you have to live above it. There is such a thing as courage, and courage does not come except through trials.’

The journey goes on! The quest to discover the beating heart of human resilience, sought out by two marginally civilised men on large, loud motorcycles.

From the awesome courage of the Bray family, who’ve battled not just life-threatening illness but who also became the public face of optimism in the face of grief after losing a daughter and half a dozen friends in a tragic storm. From the almost unbelievable olive branch of love extended by a Gaza doctor after the loss of three daughters.

To the mind-bending account of recovery from dreadful childhood abuse that led William Paul Young to write his best-selling book The Shack. And much more.

Richard Nauck and Rob Harley follow the success of Survivors Guide to Hell Part One with a new clutch of stories that will move you, inspire you and teach you some of the most powerful lessons you’ll ever learn.

Order for $49.95 (plus p&p) from or e: robharley.co.nz

robharley.co.nz

Today, Rob is more interested in reflecting on life, rather than preaching about it. ‘You do become more thoughtful. There are very few things that can be solved by a three-point sermon.’ Instead, Rob has been writing poetry.

‘What I’m feeling passionate about, and I’ve been writing poetry about it, is “the mad carpenter”. If only we could discover what the mad carpenter was really trying to say, our world and Christendom would look so, so different.’

Rob recalls one final story, of a woman who is truly living out the mad carpenter’s teachings: ‘I talked to a young Māori woman who grew up in the Mongrel Mob and had her first baby at 14, and has now set up an organisation to stop child abuse. She may not be a churchgoer, but she lives out the stuff so many of us just sing about and hope might happen one day. I think she’s stolen our stuff. She’s doing better than me.’

Rob recently celebrated his 60th birthday, and many of the people surrounding him at his celebrations were those whose stories he has told. Rob says that, now an official sexagenarian, he’s become an obsessive list maker—of favourite rock albums, Bruce Willis movies he’s seen, favourite movies in general. He’s in love with writing and reading ‘words well written’.

Rob is still busy teaching—he is often a visiting speaker at The Salvation Army’s Booth College of Mission, saying he is a ‘huge fan of the Sallies’—and is trying to follow the advice of his friend Erwin McManus to ‘get people into conversations with the Holy Spirit’.

On his next sunny day, Rob will be joining his brother on their Harley Davidsons and hitting the open road. ‘With a last name like Harley, we’re not going to be riding Yamahas,’ he quips. ‘It’s not like I’m trying to become a fake bad boy. But, perhaps, I am becoming a little more irreverent,’ he adds, with just a hint of a smile.

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LIFESTYLE

HEALTH

Diet Wars: Sugar vs Fat

Helping Kids with Homework

So what are the real baddies in the dietary war? The Harvard School of Public Health recently published a paper debunking common myths.

Homework can be a battleground, but here are some tips for getting on schedule and even making it (gasp!) fun—for you and them.

It was around the 1960s that fat first started to become the enemy, when a seminal study linked cultures with diets high in saturated fat to higher incidents of heart disease. But the complicated message—that some fats are good for you and others are bad—didn’t reach the general public.

Get into the groove: ‘All the research says the single best way to improve your child’s homework performance—and bring more peace to your home—is to insist on a daily schedule or routine,’ says Ann Dolin, author of Homework Made Simple.

She suggests at least a 30-minute break between getting home and getting stuck into homework. This is non-screen time, where the kids can have a snack and wind down.

During the ’80s and ’90s, fat-free alternatives flooded the market, high in refined carbohydrates (such as sugar) that may be worse for our health. It was one big, happy, fat-free feeding frenzy … and a public health disaster.

The recent public backlash against sugar is a result of supermarkets now crowded with high-sugar high-carb foods. But leading nutritionists says that demonising another nutrient is not the answer.

The problem isn’t just what we eat, but also how we think about food.

We fixate on the nutrient of the day—such as sugar, carbs or fat. We eat mindlessly in the car and in front of the TV. We value volume of food over the quality of ingredients, beauty of presentation and even taste.

Here’s what scientists agree on:  Foods rich in polyunsaturated fat will reduce the risk of heart disease and insulin resistance (diabetes). Eg, olive, canola and soybean oil; nuts and fish.  Replacing fat with refined carbohydrates will not reduce heart disease risk.

Get some goals: In collaboration with your child, set out two or three goals.

What are their stumbling blocks? Maybe homework time is running into bedtime, so agree on an earlier start time. Review and adjust these goals each term—letting your child take ownership.

Resist re-offending: If your child is a repeat homework-forgetting offender, lay down some consequences. This usually improves their memory. But, if your child is naturally disorganised, work with them. Pinpoint what makes them forget and find solutions, like a special ‘homework folder’ or a checklist posted by the computer.

 We should eat less: processed meats and cold cuts, sodium (salt), processed snacks that are low in fat but high in sugar.

Be creative: Does your child resist reading? Work on ways to make it fun —maybe set up a reading tent under your dining room table. With the help of your child, create a fun homework space—get them to choose the theme, and make it a place they want to hang out.

 We should eat more: diets high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and seafood.

Know when your child needs help: Don’t try to become your child’s study buddy or re-teach information—you may have a different method of doing long division than their teacher, for example, causing more confusion.

Instead, ask the teacher to spend a little extra time explaining it to your child again.

Source: ‘Is Butter Really Back?’ by Barbara Moran, Harvard School of Public Health

Know when they don’t need help: Answer their questions with more questions—it’s easier to give the answer, but more effective if they can come up with the answer themselves. A project can be a fun way to bond, but make sure the child is taking the lead.

Source: www.parenting.com

Mini Meatloaves Serve with pasta or mashed potato on the side for an easy family meal | Serves - 4 slices bread, crumbed ½ medium onion, quartered ¼ cup chopped parsley, optional ½ tsp each basil and oregano 500g lean minced beef 500g sausage meat ½–1 tsp salt pepper to taste ¼ cup tomato sauce extra tomato sauce About half cup grated cheese

Preheat oven to 180°C. In food processor, process bread into fine crumbs. Add onion pieces and herbs, if using. Process again until onion is finely chopped and everything is finely chopped and everything is well mixed.

Break the mince and sausage meat into smaller pieces and add to food processor, along with seasonings to taste and tomato sauce. Process in short bursts until everything is mixed.

Divide mixture into halves, then shape each half into three or four evenly sized oblong loaves.

Arrange mini loaves on baking paper-lined oven tray, then brush with a little tomato sauce and sprinkle each with a little grated cheese. Bake for 25–30 mins.

From Quick Meals by Simon Holst. www.holst.co.nz

Lifestyle | 09

Q&A Going Bananas?

In honour of Banana Pudding Lovers Month (yep, it’s a real thing*), we celebrate the many extraordinary uses of the humble banana.

Bananas are exceptionally healthy, containing many nutrients including vitamins A, B, C and E along with minerals like potassium, zinc, iron and magnesium. Carb watchers have been told that bananas are high-GI, but this is offset by being rich in fibre—which is why athletes eat them to provide a healthy energy surge after training.

We know that ripe bananas are great in baking (yum, banana cake!), but here are some lesser known uses of the banana: • Alleviating mossie bites: Rub your itchy bites with the inside of a banana peel to alleviate itching.

• Moisturising face mask: Because of its moisturising properties, banana also helps restore dry skin.

Simply mash a banana and put it on your face for 20-25 minutes before washing off with cool water.

Or try this mask: 1 banana, ¼ cup plain yoghurt, 1 Tbsp honey.

• Cure cracked feet: Get rid of ugly winter feet by mashing two bananas and putting them on clean feet like a mask. Leave for 10 minutes so the banana can penetrate and moisturise dry, cracked feet.

• Tenderise a roast: Banana leaves are commonly used in many Asian countries to wrap meat while it’s cooking to make it more tender.

• Polish silver and leather: Take the leftover stringy stuff from the inside of a banana peel, and rub your silverware and leather with the inside of the peel. Finish by buffing with a cloth.

• Brighten up your plants: Rub the leaves of plants with the inside of a banana peel to clean them and leave them glossy.

• Attract butterflies and birds: Punch some holes in an overripe peeled banana and put it on a raised platform in your backyard to attract birds and butterflies.

Don’t leave out overnight, though, as it may attract other unwanted visitors.

• Make banana ice blocks: Simply cut a banana into thirds and insert an ice block stick into each piece. Freeze for summery frozen desserts. * An official US observance, unsurprisingly started by Rogers Banana Pudding Sauce. November is also US Novel Writing Month, National Peanut Butter Lovers Month, Sweet Potato Awareness Month, and perhaps summing it all up, ‘National Absurdity Day’ on November 20.

Testify!

At 87, dedicated Salvationist Eva Hopkins of Invercargill has no plans to retire.

My grandad, John Boniface, was ‘saved at the drum’ during an open-air meeting in Riverton around 1930. He was a ratbag—a drunkard who gave Grandma a bit of a hard time. But once he was saved it was a different story.

He became a soldier and wore full uniform. The townspeople certainly found it a bit hard to believe.

When I was young we lived in the country. I started going to the Army about 1935, when I was around eight and we moved back to Riverton. I went to Sunday school and youth group and corps cadets.

I was enrolled as a senior soldier in December 1947. That wasn’t yesterday.

It was earlier that year I decided to become a soldier. A group of us went from Riverton to Invercargill for youth councils and I felt the calling of the Lord during a service. I felt the Lord was speaking to me and I went forward. It was the first time I had done that.

It changed me. I wasn’t into mischief or anything, but it did make a difference. I have never regretted it. The Lord is a big help to me.

When I was 26, I married Stanley Hopkins at the Riverton Hall. He was a Presbyterian, but he came to the Army with me when he could.

Stanley dropped dead at my feet 34 and a half years ago. It was a heart attack. We were living in Invercargill by then. After he died I

felt a blank, like there was nothing there, and I needed something to fulfil my life. That’s when I felt there was a calling for me to start visiting people. I started at the hospital first and later I was commissioned as a community care worker. It’s all voluntary.

I don’t go out every day.

Sundays is my biggest ‘do duck in’ day. I start after the meeting and finish sometimes at 7 pm.

I still wear a bonnet. I like it.

It stands out and people recognise it. People in Invercargill know me as ‘the bonnet lady’. I can meet staff from rest homes on the street, and if I’m not wearing my bonnet they look twice before they know it’s me.

One day I was walking past

some flats in my uniform with War Crys in my hand when a man came out and said he liked the War Cry. ‘Well, here you are then,’ I said.

He’s been taking a War Cry ever since.

In 2010, I got an Invercargill City Council Civic Honour. I was shaking at the knees before the presentation, but Captain (Russell) Garbett got down on his knees and prayed with me in the middle of the Civic Theatre, and I was all right after that.

I love visiting. I feel I get satisfaction from it and I know I’m doing the Lord’s work. I have no plans to retire. The good Lord hasn’t told me to retire yet. I like to keep busy. My motto is: if I rest, I rust.

The good Lord hasn’t told me to retire yet.

I like to keep busy. My motto is: if I rest, I rust.

Let’s Talk I would like: to explore what it means to follow Jesus information about Salvation Army worship and activities prayer for the following needs:

NAME: ADDRESS:

Please post to: War Cry, PO Box 6015, Marion Square, Wgtn 6141 or email: warcry@nzf.salvationarmy.org

10 | WarCry 01 November 2014

Be a Good Listener

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Most of us think we’re good listeners—but stats tell us that we remember much more about what we say in a conversation, than what the other person has said.

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Kind of lantern Vague Domestic Cursive script ‘Remember, remember the 5th of ’ Powerful person Bovine animals Describers Imbibing Decries Brushed aside Intense animosity Director’s cry Chows down

Let’s get quizzical …

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Costa is the Spanish word for what?

From what flowers do vanilla pods come?

What is the collective noun for a group of crows?

Tay St is a main street in what NZ city?

Who was told by his wife to curse God and die?

Do you know someone aged 16 to 19 who could benefit from practical, zero-fees education?

The Salvation Army Education & Employment can help.

For more information phone 0800 437 587 or visit salvationarmy.org.nz/E&E

Some of us are born natural observers, while others jump in to the centre of conversations.

But listening is an important skill for making others feel valued and developing genuine friendships.

And it’s an important spiritual tool too.

Listening is a skill that can be learned, and learned well.

When journalists study for their qualifications, a whole part of the curriculum is dedicated to the skill of active listening.

Without truly listening, you cannot understand people’s stories. Active listening requires full concentration, being aware of key points in the person’s story that are significant. Any journalist will tell you that a day of active listening takes the same level of concentration as doing back-toback exams.

Active listening requires your participation; it’s not just about nodding your head at the right time (we’ve all done it!). It means picking up on key points and asking questions for more information, so that the person understands they are valued and that you care about what they are saying.

Have you noticed that when you meet someone at a social gathering and they ask you lots of questions and seem interested in what you have to say, you often come away feeling valued and affirmed? You probably also feel like you’ve met a lovely person. That’s because you’ve met someone with great listening skills.

Essentially, an active listener encourages others to keep talking.

We do this through our questions, body language, non-verbal sounds, and sometimes silences that leave space in the conversation. We can also reflect back to the talker what we have heard, which encourages more feedback.

‘Another way we indicate our engagement with the thoughts and feelings of others is through empathy … the degree of empathy we are feeling influences our ability to use skills that keep people talking, as well as reflecting skills,’ says Lynne M. Baab, in her book The Power of Listening.

Lynne says empathy is probably the hardest listening skill to learn to because it requires character. The Bible has some encouragement for us here.

Colossians 3:12 says, ‘Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.’

‘This “clothing”, which reflects the character of God as revealed in Jesus, becomes easier to put on as we grow in character and faith,’ says Lynne.

Reflect on a recent conversation: What did you do to encourage the other person to talk? Did you ask questions about them? Did you listen for significant points they were making, and respond? Did you engage your emotions at an empathetic level?

What might you have done to discourage their input: Did you focus the conversation on yourself, rather than asking questions of them? There is absolutely nothing wrong with being talkative, and it can be a delightful attribute, but becoming aware of a good balance between listening and talking will help build more meaningful friendships.

Lynne—a self-confessed talker who laughs that a school report once said she ‘talks more than enough for one’—puts it this way: ‘All listening skills require a baseline commitment to stop talking ourselves. We simply cannot listen if we are talking.’

Close Up | 11

Coming Home to God Spiritual retreats can be defining moments in our spiritual journey

BY HEATHER RODWELL I’ve twice had the opportunity to introduce some Salvation Army officers to the experience of taking a directed spiritual retreat this year. For most of those taking part, this was an entirely new experience that differed from other events such as an officer fellowship or leadership weekends.

The structure allowed for each participant to go on their own journey with God over the course of the week, yet also provided daily group connection and input. These retreats got a unanimous ‘thumbs up’, providing vital tools and defining moments for ongoing spiritual growth which continue to be worked out in the rigours of regular daily life.

I was in my first appointment as an officer in the early 1990s when I took my first retreat. It was offered by Spiritual Growth Ministries, an ecumenical network that offers a variety of opportunities to explore Christian contemplative spirituality.

This ‘Pathways to Prayer’ retreat was just for a weekend, yet that introductory experience got me started and I’ve taken various other retreats since then.

Some people take an annual retreat as part of their regular pattern of spiritual practices. I haven’t been able to achieve this, but from time to time I’ve become aware of a retreat opportunity and an ‘inner-nudge’ told me I needed to be there. Inevitably, this time has been a means of God revealing something to me that I would likely have missed if I had not been in that place of intentionally taking time aside from the everyday routine of life.

In her book Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership, author Ruth Haley Barton says, ‘Times of extended retreat give us a chance to come home to ourselves in God’s presence and to bring the realities of our life to God in utter privacy. This is important for us and for those we serve … On retreat, we rest in God and wait on him to do what’s needed. Eventually we return to the battle with fresh energy and keener insight.’

I wonder what the idea of ‘coming home to ourselves in God’s presence’ conjures up in your mind? The pace of life and its demands these days can certainly leave us feeling fractured, distracted or simply worn out. Maybe for a while we can get away with responding on autopilot and appearing to get through, but a closer look within ourselves reveals the true state of affairs. Our inner resources are depleted and we’re running on empty. That is not God’s design for us.

Our inner resources are depleted and we’re running on empty. That is not God’s design for us.

So, a time of extended retreat gives us a chance to come home to ourselves and bring God to the realities of our lives. No more keeping up appearances. We open ourselves up to God, do a stocktake and take some corrective action. In coming home to ourselves and to God, we can rediscover the life that God wants for us, which is usually markedly different to the patterns we’ve fallen into. A quiet revolution begins within us as we surrender to the process of resting in God and waiting on him to do what’s needed.

But we cannot live constantly in this place of retreat—as appealing as that may seem! It’s simply one of the rhythms that must mark our lives if we want to grow roots that are deep in God. The pattern we read about in the life of Christ was one of regularly withdrawing to a solitary place to pray. We especially see this in the gospels at the end of an exhausting day of ministry with unrelenting crowds, or when the increasing opposition was heating up. It was a massive adjustment for Christ to take on human form and come to earth as he did. What Jesus encountered broke his heart and tired him out. If Christ needed regular times of withdrawal, prayer and solitude, how ridiculous for us to think that we can sustain ourselves spiritually without similar patterns.

While refreshment is a welcome by-product of our times of prayer or retreat, there’s something far greater that we can enjoy.

By withdrawing to spend time with God—whether on an extended retreat or in our regular periods of prayer each day—we develop a personal connection with God that it is strong and deep. This vital relationship becomes the centre of our lives. It’s in the solitary place that we meet God and God meets with us. This is a time of interchange: God’s life infusing our life, his wisdom shaping our wisdom, his love increasing our love.

Thinking of taking a spiritual retreat? Spiritual Growth Ministries will shortly be posting their 2015 programme on sgm.org.nz Major Heather Rodwell is Territorial Secretary for Spiritual Life Development for The Salvation Army New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory. p: (04) 384 56498, e: heather_rodwell@nzf.salvationarmy.org

12 | WarCry 01 November 2014

The Right to Palliative Care Many myths surround the topic of palliative care, says Australian palliative care physician Dr Frank Brennan, but it is a basic human right.

A 76-year-old man comes to you. He has prostate cancer. The cancer has spread to his bones. He has pain, weakness and loss of appetite.

‘Look at me,’ he says. ‘I could do everything once, now I can do practically nothing. My wife is struggling. The doctors have tried all their treatment. It’s no use. I don’t want to live any more. I want to die. What can you do?’

Those who favour and those who disagree with euthanasia start at a common point: the simple acknowledgement of human suffering. Our point of commencement is the same. Our destination is completely different.

What is ‘palliative care’? To the lay public and indeed to many health professionals there is probably no discipline so enshrouded in mystery and misconception. Yes, I could read to you a technical definition of palliative care, but perhaps the best definition I know came not from a doctor, but a lay person—and not someone who experienced it but one who regretted he did not. It comes from a poem by Australian poet Bruce Dawe [see box].

What is the difference between palliative care and euthanasia?

Palliative care is the concerted endeavour to control pain and other symptoms, to support the patient and the family through this time which is simultaneously challenging and precious, and to allow death, when it comes, to be dignified and loving. Note that I said ‘endeavour’, for we cannot guarantee perfection. Euthanasia is the deliberate act to cease the life of a patient who is suffering with a serious illness. So when I said our destinations are completely different, it is true. One is palliative, the other is obliterative.

Many myths There are many myths here. That palliative care is a form of euthanasia. It is not. That withholding or withdrawing treatment is a form of euthanasia. That is a myth. Let me give you an example.

An elderly patient with a serious illness affecting her bone marrow such that she cannot make any blood herself. She is now more reliant on blood transfusions and even they, with time, are having less effect. The decision is made between the doctor, the patient and her family to cease blood transfusions and allow the natural process of dying from the underlying disease to progress. That is withdrawing of treatment. It is not euthanasia. It is simply an appropriate and ethical response to her condition.

Yes, in modern medicine we can do many things, but we need to recognise a simple and incontrovertible truth: we are all mortal. An 82-year-old man with very poor kidney function meets with his kidney specialist. The decision is made not to commence dialysis. This is withholding treatment. It is not euthanasia. Sadly, too often patients and families worry it is. ‘Are we doing the right thing?’ they ask.

Other myths concern morphine. The first is that prescribing morphine, irrespective of the dose given, is a form of euthanasia. The second is that toward the end of a person’s life the standard of care is to increase opioid doses independent of the pain of the patient.

Neither is true. The important consideration here is proportionality.

The standard of care is to give morphine proportional to the pain or sedation proportionate to the level of agitation.

The difficulty here is one of education. Generations of doctors have graduated with little or no training in pain management, palliative care or the care of the dying patient. Generations of doctors have graduated with none or very limited training in the safe use of opioids. But is it more than that? As has been observed in the Medical Journal of Australia: ‘To what extent is the issue of assisted suicide or euthanasia symptomatic of the failure to equip doctors with better skills in the care of the dying …? The reactions of doctors tell us less about the appropriateness of euthanasia … than they do about how troubled and problematic the medical responses to a dying patient can be—a “symptom’’ of the problem modern medicine has with dying rather than the solution.’ 1

What am I to say?

How can I reply to the man described earlier? I will sit with him and ask him what troubles him. Is he troubled by symptoms such as pain and nausea? Is it fear of what may occur later, closer to his death? Is he depressed? Is it exasperation about the current situation? Is he worried that he is going to become a progressively greater burden on his family?

I will explore, but I will never judge.

To health professionals working in palliative care, the question I want to die, what can you do? (or a more explicit request for euthanasia) is a welcome one as it invariably opens up the inner anguish and fears of the patient. It should never be a moment of censure; it is always a moment of liberation.

If a doctor stands with the patient on that precipice where all they can see is suffering, that would be one thing. We would stand there, mute witnesses to their suffering. Too often the euthanasia debate is characterised as a simple choice between suffering and death. It would be completely understandable if a patient chose death. But that choice is a false choice, a dichotomy that is blind to a third approach—it is blind to the enormous advances made over many decades in actively dealing with the constituent parts of the suffering of human beings in illness—physical, yes, but also the emotional and the spiritual.

Hope and dignity Firstly, is the patient depressed? That is a very important first enquiry because depression can so cloud the mind, and we have treatment for that. The patient may not be depressed but may feel he/she has lost all hope. Hope is intrinsic to us as human beings. So, with serious, progressive disease, what can we say to our patients?

We may start with a simple acknowledgment to the patient of the truth. This may slowly reset the focus of care. It may broaden the plane of hope to something that is at once obvious but also, if never said before, a revelation.

At this point, what the doctor says and how it is said may extend the vision of hope. In simple terms, we may say to the patient words to the effect: Let us look at things clearly. Despite all that we have done together, despite your greatest efforts, we have come to a point where

Soul Food | 13

there is no hope for cure. We know that. But there are different forms of hope, and while there is no hope for cure there is clear hope that you will be comfortable and supported throughout. That you will not be abandoned.

That you will always be listened to. That your symptoms will be treated to the best of our ability. That you will not needlessly suffer. And that you will be treated with respect and dignity at all times.

Therein lies the hope. Hope redefined may be hope reaffirmed.

The other issue is dignity. Perhaps the patient feels that they have been stripped of everything, including their dignity. ‘Look at me—I can’t do anything—I’ve lost all my dignity.’ What I say to them are words to the effect: This disease has done many things to you and it will continue to do so, but what it cannot do is take away who you are, your core, your history, the good things that you have done in your life. They are untouchable.

I look beyond the external sense of dignity to the internal or inherent. That sense of dignity has a long antecedence and, indeed, is the foundation of the international human rights documents that emerged after the cataclysmic events of World War II. Chochinov and his group have published widely on the concept of dignity at the end of life. For those patients describing a collapse of their sense of dignity, some of whom are requesting an active cessation of their life, a simple, though profound, intervention was to interview patients at length about their lives and to have that transcribed record presented to the patients and their families.2

The ‘right to die with dignity’ We often hear the mantra from those supporting euthanasia that ‘it is my right to die with dignity’. I do not have trouble with the literal words in that statement. What is problematic is the content of the obligation. If that mantra seriously implies that the only way of dying with dignity is euthanasia then I would seriously disagree.

And what of this rights-based discourse? Given the paucity of palliative care services around the world, surely as a foundational

Before the legal debate, let us have the medical debate. issue, would it not be more productive to argue for a right to palliative care, rather than a right to euthanasia? This is precisely the call from the international bodies overseeing my discipline: that the provision of palliative care should be seen as a basic human right.3 One right is solidly built on foundations of international law.4 The other is not.

Before the legal debate, let us have the medical debate.

One of the most powerful reasons articulated in the promotion of euthanasia is self-determination. We are used to control. We want it even, and perhaps especially, at this point in our lives. Our lives, including the most orchestrated, float on a sea of uncertainty. That uncertainty ebbs beneath us. We may imagine we are creatures who think the world into our image. But we are not gods; we are humans, frail and vulnerable. We yearn for certainty. We are met by mystery.

Euthanasia offers certainty. A natural death promises mystery.

No one seeks suffering or ignores it. This debate is not about our recognition of suffering. It is about our response to it. It is right that we talk about these things. We are mortal creatures. Our deaths are a universal experience. But they are also unique. How we respond to these facts is the continuing challenge to any society.

References 1. Kelly B. Medical Journal of Australia 2001; 175: 523-524.

2. Chochinov HM, Hack T, Hassard T et al. Dignity Therapy: A Novel Psychotherapeutic Intervention for Patients Near the End of Life. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2005; 23: 5520-5525.

3. Joint Declaration and Statement of Commitment on Pain Management and Palliative Care as Human Rights (2008). International Association of Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) and Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance (WPCA).

4. Brennan FP. Palliative Care as an International Human Right. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management—Special Issue. 2007; 33: 494:499.

White-Water Rafting and Palliative Care (for my late wife, Gloria)

by Bruce Dawe (The Best Australian Poems of 2007) If I had understood (when down the river you and I went swirling in that boat) that there were those who knew the ways of water and how to use the oars to keep afloat I might have been less deafened by the worry, less stunned by thoughts of what lay up ahead (the rocks, the darkness threatening to capsize daily), if I had only realised instead that help was all around me for the asking.

I never asked, and therefore never knew that such additional comfort could have helped me in turn to be more help in comforting you.

I’d have found it easier then to simply hold you Instead of bobbing to and fro so much,

for it was you who seemed to be more tranquil and I whom death was reaching out to touch.

If only I had had sufficient knowledge in that white-water rafting I’d have learned that there were those around us (with life jackets) to whom I might have, in that turmoil, turned.

Instead, because I had not thought of rivers, or rocks, or rapids, and gave way to fears that seeking help might make a man less manly and liable to betray himself with tears, I was less useful then, as twilight deepened, than I might well have been, had I but known: however wild the waves that roll around us no one needs to live (or die) alone …

Go to salvationarmy. org.nz/masic for more resources on euthanasia from The Salvation Army’s Moral and Social Issues (Ethics) Council.

14 WarCry 01 November 2014

Kiwis Raise Over $20,000 for Homeless

Over 220 people turned out to sleep rough and support homeless New Zealanders at The Salvation Army’s inaugural 14 Hours Homeless event on Friday night 10 October. The event coincided with World Homeless Day. Participants in Auckland, Palmerston North, Wellington and Invercargill were in good spirits despite sleeping on cardboard, couches and in cars as part of the fundraiser to raise awareness of homelessness in New Zealand and support The Salvation Army services.

Within a week of the event, 14 Hours Homeless had raised $22,549, with fundraising continuing through each centre’s Givealittle fundraising page. Money was also coming in from a Trade Me auction of badges made by clients of the Community Ministries drop-in centre in Wellington to support World Homeless Day. Along with sleeping rough the teams also played games and listened to speakers talking about what is being done to tackle homelessness in New Zealand and make long-term, sustainable change.

Teams also heard from formerly homeless people about their experiences. In Wellington, the Wellington Night Shelter manager Mike Leon paid a moving tribute to three homeless men who had died in the past month. One of them was 81. He described people living on the streets as human beings first. ‘They are just people. People call

you homeless, but you’re actually who you are, you just happen to be homeless,’ he said.

Stephen Bennett, director of Wellington business Orange Box, was part of the first team to sign up for the event. He said hearing from the formerly homeless people was humbling especially one couple who lived in a car for 18 months. ‘It was pretty amazing listening to those stories.

It certainly makes you appreciate what you have. Imagine living in a car for a year and a half and that’s a luxury.’ Members of his team were discussing ways to volunteer and help out after hearing the stories.

Salvation Army national fundraising coordinator Shane Chisholm said the Auckland event he attended had been a fantastic success, with a small but passionate team committed to making a difference.

Although the participants were a bit stiff and tired after their night of rough sleeping, people were in good spirits and were already looking forward to next year, Shane said.

The Wellington City Council provided the largest team, with Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown and nine staff taking part.

The Mayor also spoke on the night, talking about working with The Salvation Army and other agencies to try and end homelessness in the city by 2020.

Food was donated by Countdown and Kelloggs, with Crown

Cadets’ Mission Weekend Exceeds Expectations

Wow! From the moment the 15 cadets from the Heralds of Grace and the Messengers of Light sessions started planning our Mission Weekend to Auckland, we knew it was going to be amazing. And it was!

Planning began in June, with seemingly endless meetings, shopping trips, resource making, discussions, negotiations, late nights, prayer and fasting … along with all the phone calls and countless emails.

On 5 September at 6 am,

the cadets and Captain RachealLee Kendrick (Mission Training Officer) met near the flag pole at Booth College of Mission (BCM) to pray and give BCM a final salute before our very long trip began. We wondered how we’d survive 10 hours travelling together, but the trip was surprisingly quick, with only three stops—one that featured a visit to the lovely ladies at the Tokoroa Family Store, and the other two giving an opportunity to refuel the vans and ourselves.

Saturday activities were varied. In the morning, Cadet Karen Below headed an ‘Activate Walkabout’. She said, ‘The personal connections made resulted in seeing many families attending the carnival event that afternoon. A further highlight was seeing several families attend Sunday worship.’

Cadet Jenny Ratana-Koia headed the carnival team. She said it was exciting that the Mount Wellington community was keen to meet The Salvation Army. ‘With bouncy castles, sideshow games, a prayer room, sausage sizzle, kids treats, and a café spread throughout the amazing space of the new Auckland City Salvation Army building, it was great to see families play together and make connections with the corps.’

That evening, Cadet Francis Vemoa headed a Trivia Night.

The quiz was compiled by Phil Daly at BCM, with giveaway t-shirts and bags donated by the

THQ Youth Department. ‘It was exciting to see the teams battling it out to discover who knew the most, but more importantly we all had fun,’ said Francis.

With Auckland City Korean Corps and Auckland City Corps now worshipping in the same place at the same time, Sunday saw Cadet Saimoni Gataurua (with a couple of other cadets) join the Korean Corps, where he shared his testimony.

Meanwhile, Cadet Ralph Overbye led the Auckland City Corps service, with entertaining participation from fathers and father figures. Cadet Jordan Westrupp delivered a thoughtprovoking message on the importance of leaving a legacy.

Raewyn Christiansen, a children’s worker at Auckland City Corps, summed up a weekend that saw around 800 people come through the combined corps’ doors with these words ‘An awesome weekend at church!’

Our Community | 15

Can’s Film Festival Celebrates Landmark

Relocations providing cardboard boxes.

New Zealand’s housing crisis is having a devastating impact on our most vulnerable families and individuals. With some of the most expensive housing in the world and rents in places like Christchurch increasing by 30 per cent since the 2012 earthquake, one in 120 Kiwis are now classed as homeless.

Housing deprived people include those living in unsafe and unsuitable locations such as garages, sheds, tents, caravans and cars, couch surfing or living in shared housing with other families. The community who are more commonly thought of as homeless, those sleeping rough on the streets, represent only 20 per cent of those now affected.

Every day, The Salvation Army along with other agencies, helps homeless individuals and families with access to food, emergency accommodation, clothing, furnishings, counselling and support to help address their financial, health, security and social problems.

For more information about how to donate, go to www. salvationarmy.org.nz/14hourshomeless, or buy a 14 Hours Homeless badge on Trade Me by searching ‘14 Hours Homeless’.

On 12 November, Events, Hoyts and Reading Cinemas will host the 21st annual festival, where people donate a can of food to The Salvation Army to watch a movie. In the past 20 years Kiwis and Watties have donated more than 1.1 million cans for film tickets, helping 30,000 families a year.

This year, there will be five films screening on 135 screens at 48 cinemas. The Boxtrolls, Guardians of the Galaxy, Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles, Planes: Fire and Rescue, are screening, while sci-fi action movie The Giver will be available at most locations for older children.

Tickets go on sale at participating cinemas on 5 November in exchange for a can of food. Watties will match every can donated for tickets at the festival. Countdown supermarkets also collecting donated cans for the festival during the week of October 13-20.

Jenny Maxwell is food bank coordinator for The Salvation Army’s largest food bank, the South Auckland branch. After 16 years at the food bank, going from volunteer to manager, she said the festival was a boost for struggling families. The food bank gives out around 140-165 food parcels a week, sometimes up to 50 a day, she said. The cans made a huge difference to struggling families over Christmas and on through the year, with the supply lasting for up to nine months.

A basic food parcel from the centre included flour, sugar, rice, cereal, baked beans and spaghetti, and just one extra can could make all the difference, she said. Food parcels helped free up money to pay bills and provided a long-term benefit, especially for children. Having breakfast and lunch helped them function well at school.

Jenny loves the feeling of giving a struggling family a hand-up.

‘There’s nothing like it. To be able to go home and know that all those children you served are going home to eat—the impact of that is great.’ Her own experiences struggling to make ends meet helped her understand the huge value in a small amount of food. ‘To feed a child at least once a day is a big job for some parents. If you’re able to feed them twice a day you’re fortunate. I don’t struggle as much as our clients do, but I have been there before. It’s humbling to serve others, it really is.’

‘We’re really proud to celebrate the 21st year of giving back to Kiwi families. Wattie’s has been working closely with The Salvation Army for more than two decades,’ says Mike Pretty, Managing Director, Heinz Wattie’s NZ.

Tonga Welcomes Committed and Dedicated Soldiers Major Allan Bateman (Corps Officer, Auckland City Corps) said the purpose of the weekend was to help the community of Mount Wellington (where the two corps recently relocated) see that The Salvation Army was a safe and fun place where people loved Jesus. ‘Mission well and truly accomplished!’ he said.

Cadet Sarah-Ann Grove, team coordinator for the cadets, said, ‘We felt incredibly blessed to have been part of this Mission Weekend. We are thankful to the amazing team in Auckland that hosted us; the BCM team felt cared for and appreciated from the moment we arrived.

We are thankful for the amazing helpers from within Auckland City Corps who continually served throughout the weekend.

Together with Auckland City Korean Corps, we all served God and the community—God surpassed all our expectations and indeed was encountered and glorified!’

The weekend of 6–7 September saw the Tonga Region undergo its annual review, with the territorial leaders visiting from New Zealand for the occasion.

During their visit, Salvationists took the opportunity to come together on Sunday afternoon for a combined regional meeting.

The meeting began with songs of praise and worship led by the Nuku’alofa worship team, followed by an item from the children of the region.

Commissioner Janine Donaldson dedicated a child from Nuku’alofa Corps, before Commissioner Robert Donaldson enrolled 12 soldiers.

Eleven of the soldiers were from Fua’amotu Corps and one from Talasiu Corps. Among the new soldiers was a grandmother, mother, son and daughter-inlaw, young married couples and young people—evidence of the Army’s strong appeal across all generations.

The Territorial Commander reminded the new soldiers—and all of Tonga’s Salvationists—that for The Salvation Army to be an effective Army that wins souls, it must recruit committed, dedicated and strong soldiers in the Lord. Following his Bible message, many responded by moving forward to pray and reaffirm their faith in God. Captain Adrian Marika Serevi (Nuku’alofa Corps)

16 WarCry 01 November 2014

Salvation Army Steps Up Ebola Response The Salvation Army is continuing to respond to the Ebola epidemic in west Africa, with particular focus on Sierra Leone and Liberia. At least 2220 people have died from Ebola in Liberia, with a further 890 deaths recorded in Sierra Leone.

Many people who have recovered from Ebola are returning home to find their possessions removed in case of infection, and large areas are now without working populations because quarantines and the fear of Ebola are making normal life grind to a halt.

In Liberia, The Salvation Army is working alongside the government and NGOs. An initial project is supporting 5000 people with food parcels. Consideration is being given to using teachers from The Salvation Army’s 12 schools in Liberia to provide Ebola education to the wider community. In Sierra Leone, plans are in place

to provide food support and disinfection materials. Salvationists are also investigating reports of orphaned and uncared for children.

The emergency response comes at a high personal cost to some of the personnel involved. One Salvation Army officer in Liberia has lost four family members to the disease, and prayers are urgently sought for the situation.

Commissioner Joash Malabi, The Salvation Army’s International Secretary for Africa, said, ‘This is a challenging time for our officers and colleagues in Liberia, and many thousands of lives have been deeply affected by this deadly disease. We encourage Salvationists and friends worldwide to pray for physical and emotional healing, and to pray for the health of all who seek to bring medical care to those who are suffering.’

On We March … To Boundless 2015

The international ‘Boundless volunteers’, who are providing behind-the-scenes support, visit the O2 arena. Cameron Millar of Napier is among the group, which also includes people from the Netherlands and the USA. With just eight months until The Salvation Army’s International Congress, more information has been released about what delegates can expect when they visit London from 1–5 July next year.

The congress theme Boundless: The Whole World Redeeming is from the song ‘O Boundless Salvation!’ by founder William Booth. Its lyrics speak of the Christian experience, with sins washed away in a ‘soulcleansing sea’ of ‘boundless salvation’. Delegates will be encouraged to experience this redemption for themselves and renew their passion to share salvation with others.

Ephesians 3:8 is the congress’s central Bible verse. It calls for God’s people to preach to the nations the boundless riches of Christ. This call is central to the identity of The Salvation Army and its purpose.

The congress mission statement is Commemorating the Past, Celebrating the Present, and Innovating for the Future, a powerful reminder of the Army’s God-honouring heritage, the importance of praising God for his goodness, and the necessity of staying relevant in a changing world.

• The past will be commemorated as delegates meet from 1-5 July in East London under the ‘tent’ structure of The O2 arena, reflecting the meetings William and Catherine Booth and the first Salvationists held in a tent on some East London wasteland 150 years before.

• The present will be celebrated by offering thanks to God for the blessing of the Army’s ministry in over 126 countries.

• Innovating for the future will see delegates look to General André Cox’s vision for The Salvation Army. The General has shared his vision in seven ‘I Dream’ statements of a joyful, unified, serving, caring, multicultural and youthful army of integrity. Each of these statements will serve as the theme for one of seven main sessions in The O2 arena. These themes will also be highlighted through the various social media platforms associated with the Boundless congress, giving delegates a glimpse into what lies ahead.

Mind the Gap A ‘Mind the Gap’ campaign has been established so that wealthier territories and individuals can help those from developing countries join in this wonderful international celebration. It costs approximately $NZD 4000 to bring one delegate to congress. This covers travel, passport and visa, accommodation and meals, tickets and travel during the event, and local ‘Boundless Buddies’ to support each delegate, many of whom will never have travelled outside their own countries before. The aim is to sponsor 1500 delegates.

Mind the Gap sponsorship packs have now been released to support this fundraising effort. The pack includes an invitation letter from the General, a promotional flyer, a profile on a sponsored territory and delegate, and an invitation to make a gift in memory or in honour of a faithful Salvationist. (This information can be downloaded from the Boundless website.) Donations can also be made online at sar.my/givemtg, with those donating over $NZD500 acknowledged on the online Congress Wall of Sponsors.

Bringing together delegates from every part of the Army world, Boundless 2015 will be a congress unlike any other, a gathering of God’s people that Salvationists will not want to miss. Those involved in the planning of this event sincerely believe that The Salvation Army will never be the same again!

GAZETTE Promotion to Glory Mjr Selina Maraia Dravikula on 11 Oct from Samabula, Fiji. Mjr Dravikula entered officer training from Rawai Corps with husband Uraia in the Servants of Jesus session. She was commissioned on 26 Jan 1992 and, along with Uraia, served in appointments as Corps Officers at Ba, Nadi, Lomaivuna, Suva Central, Labasa, Raiwai and Navua outpost. Joint appointments also included Community and Family Ministries Officers, Suva; Hostel Managers, Raiwai; Court and Prison Officers, Suva; and Assistant Officers, Manukau, New Zealand. Maraia also served as Red Shield House Manager, Family Care Centre Manager, and Court and Diversion Officer (women)—all based in Suva.

Mjr Selina Maraia Dravikula gave almost 23 years of service as a Salvation Army officer. A celebration of her life was held on 15 Oct at

Suva Central Corps, conducted by Divisional Commander Mjr Iliesa Cola. Please uphold Mjr Uraia Dravikula, Miriama (daughter), Thomas (son), grandchildren Noa and baby Thomas, and brother-inlaw Capt Sevanaia Wawa in prayer during this time of grief and loss.

Appointments Addictions, Supportive Accommodation and Reintegration Services, effective 1 Dec: Mjr Keith Tyson, Mission Director to Wellington Addiction Services; Booth College of Mission, effective 8 Jan 2015: Capt Ross Wardle, Director, Archives and Heritage Centre, and Chairperson, Moral and Social Isslues (Ethics) Council.

First-time Grandparents Congratulations to Capts Linda and Moses Chan, after the birth of Madeleine Lily Wildash to Daisy and David on 15 Oct.

Noticeboard | 1

CALENDAR NOVEMBER 2: Combined Corps Meeting (Sydenham) / Southern Division 2: Blaze Youth Event / Central Division 2: Sponsorship Sunday (Fua’amotu) / Tonga Region 3: Marlborough Anniversary 3: Retired Officers Fellowship / Northern Division : Spiritual Day / Booth College of Mission : Community Ministries Managers Forum / Central Division : Women’s Rally / Tonga Region : Youth Kneedrill Event / Northern Division –: Father and Kids Weekend / Blue Mountain Adventure Centre –: Men’s Camp for NZ Officers / Waikanae : Workout with the Word / Northern Division : Sponsorship Sunday (Vaini & Talasiu) / Tonga Region 10–12: The Big Picture (Training for Managers) / Booth College of Mission 12: COs and Family Store Managers Seminar / Nelson 14: Canterbury Anniversary 14: Women’s Night of Prayer / Fiji Division 14–1: Candidates Assessment Weekend / Booth College of Mission 1: Sponsorship Sunday (Nuku’alofa) / Tonga Region 1–1: Officers Fellowship (Tonga & Fiji) / Fiji Division 1: Children and Youth Quality Improvement Working Party / Wellington 1–20: 12 Steps Workshop (Part 2) / Booth College of Mission 20–22: One-year officer review / Fiji Division

OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENTS Commissioners Robert (Territorial Commander) and Janine Donaldson (Territorial President of Women’s Ministries) - November: Men’s Camp for NZ Officers (TC) -14 November: The Philippines (TPWM) 1-20 November: Officer’s Fellowship, Fiji Division 21-24 November: Fiji Division Colonels Willis Howell (Chief Secretary) and Barbara Howell (Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries) 1–3 November: Southern Division Welcome and Orientation – November: Men’s Camp for NZ Officers (CS) 1–1 November: Central Division Welcome and Orientation

Crossword Answers: Across:  Cannon,  Tropical, 10 Baseball, 11 Eighty, 12 Behind, 13 Cabbages, 1 Reminds, 1 Project, 20 Cheering, 22 Accent, 23 Streak, 2 Outlined, 2 Sentence, 2 Oceans. Down: 1 Japanese, 2 Indefinite, 3 Inland, 4 Italics,  November,  King,  Cattle, 14 Adjectives, 1 Drinking, 1 Condemns, 1 Ignored, 21 Hatred, 22 Action, 24 Eats. Quiz Answers: 1 Coast, 2 Vanilla orchids, 3 Murder, 4 Invercargill,  Job (2:9).

To advertise your event, email: warcry@nzf.salvationarmy.org

Friday 12 December,  pm | Booth College of Mission Graduation Hutt City Salvation Army, Cnr Cornwall St & Kings Cres, Lower Hutt Saturday 1 December, 2:0 pm | Commissioning & Ordination Service Wellington City Salvation Army, 2 Vivian Street, Wellington Sunday 1 December, 10 am | Celebration Worship Wellington City Salvation Army, 2 Vivian Street, Wellington

PRAYER FOCUS Please pray for: Cambridge, Carterton, Christchurch City, Dannevirke and Dunedin City Corps, Salvation Army Emergency Services, The Salvation Army in Southern Africa.

UNASHAMEDLY ALL ABOUT JESUS

SAT 24 JAN 2015 QBE STADIUM AUCKLAND SARAH JAKES ( POTTERS HOUSE, DALLAS) • NEWSBOYS • RED • ANDY MINEO • LEELAND • RAPTURE RU KUS TEDASHII • THE EMBER DAYS • NEW EMPIRE • LOUD HARP • TIGERTOWN • A BOY & HIS KITE DAN BREMNES • SAVING GRA E • STRAHAN • LIFE WORSHIP • GAP 5 • LIFESTYLE OF WORSHIP JULIAGRA E • EQUIPPERS WORSHIP • TE KOOTI BROTHERHOOD • MAGNIFY •FRESH MOVEMENT

LOUDFESTIVAL. O.NZ

18 WarCry 01 November 2014

LEADERSHIP LINKS

A million times thank you!

As this edition of War Cry is published, Janine and I reach one year in our appointments as territorial leaders.

We are so grateful to God for his grace and for the privilege of travelling around the territory and meeting many of you where you serve. Your commitment to the mission of The Salvation Army is appreciated as together we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human needs in his name without discrimination.

Focused by our Territorial Strategic Mission Plan (TSMP), we have a passion for mission in New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga, but we also share in the global mission of The Salvation Army which serves in 126 countries. Over the years, this territory has made a significant contribution to the international mission of The Salvation Army. We have a long and proud history of Salvationists from New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga serving in many countries around the world, of financial support through our Women’s Ministries groups, of sacrificial giving through the Self Denial Appeal and, in more recent years, of increasing support for Salvation Army child sponsorship.

It is thrilling to report that for the first time in the history of the territory, our Self Denial giving has broken through the one million dollar mark. For a territory with around 5300 soldiers and a weekly worship attendance of around 8000, this is a remarkable achievement! Please accept my deepest appreciation for your sacrificial giving. Be assured that every cent given will support the mission of The Salvation Army in other countries. Needs will be met and people will come to know Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

As we celebrate this wonderful achievement, we are also thankful for the other ways that our territory supports international mission. This includes sponsorship of 1208 children, over $19,000 raised by Women’s Ministries for justice and development work with women in Pakistan, over $9000 raised by Booth College of Mission to support cadets in Tanzania, and the recent building and gift of a fale at Kolovai in Tonga.

Our territorial budget also makes a significant financial commitment to international mission. From 2014, all costs associated with the international service of any New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory Salvationist serving overseas is a territorial commitment. Since 2008, all operational deficits and capital projects for work in Fiji and Tonga have been funded from territorial funds. The operational costs associated with our Overseas Development office are also funded through our territorial budget.

Overall, this is an outstanding commitment to international mission! On behalf of every life transformed as a result of this financial commitment, thank you! Thank you for responding to God’s grace and faithfulness with your sacrificial giving. God bless you.

Commissioner Robert Donaldson Territorial Commander

It’s Not Rocket Science How do we make church a welcoming place for people recovering from addictions?

BY ROBIN RAYMOND As an organisation, The Salvation Army is committed to helping people recovering from addictions. But how do we help people move from Recovery Church to a Salvation Army church elsewhere after they’ve finished at one of our Addiction Services programmes. How do we help them move from belonging to believing?

Rawina is one of a group of recovering addicts who have become part of The Salvation Army North Taranaki Corps (church) in New Plymouth. Rawina graduated from The Salvation Army Taranaki Addictions Services Programme in 2012 and has been part of the North Taranaki Corps for two years.

Rawina is part of the worship team, children’s ministry and life-group ministry, and in December 2013, inspired by William Booth’s final sermon, she signed up as a soldier.

Church, along with her faith, was a huge part in helping Rawina change her life. ‘I am not where I want to be in life yet, but I thank God that I am not where I used to be. Without my church family, life would be much harder. I thank God for them daily,’ she said. ‘I’ve learnt God is a God of second chances.

Seventy times seven if need be.’

In New Plymouth, it’s not unusual to see a small group at the back of the church, visitors from The Salvation Army Taranaki Addiction Services centre.

Up to eight people can be involved in the New Plymouth programme, and corps officer Lieutenant Susan Adams said each person decides whether or not they will go to church on a Sunday morning. Some are more receptive than others, she said.

Rawina’s group was always keen to go, and many of them are still involved in the church.

Over the years, Susan said the church has grown used to their ‘back of the room’ visitors, making efforts to chat to them

Mission Matters 19

and help them feel a part of Sunday. Seeing the change in people was a hugely uplifting feeling for members. ‘We’ve seen some real success stories in the corps. They really speak volumes about what God can do in someone’s life,’ she said.

Helping people in recovery was about the simple things.

Making people feel welcome was key, but so too was sticking with them through the tough times—important because recovery is a marathon, not a sprint.

Corps members at New Plymouth include recovering addicts who did not come through The Salvation Army’s Addiction Services programme. These people were also important for helping the clients from Addiction Services feel welcome, she said.

Pastoral care is a big focus for New Plymouth Corps. People are encouraged to be involved in a small group during the week, rather than just coming on Sunday. A pastoral care group within the corps checks who’s around on Sunday, and if a person has not been able to make it, someone contacts them, just saying hi, said Susan.

‘The “belong before you believe” idea is big for us at the moment.

It’s exciting seeing people come from recovery and join the family.

It’s a long journey—it’s up and down. You see them for a while and then you don’t. So it’s about just sending them a text message saying, “We’re thinking of you”, giving them the freedom to do what they need to and welcoming them back when they come.’

Christchurch Salvationist and Hornby Community Ministries manager Aux-Captain Eric Turner said the church needs to take up an attitude of ‘welcome to the family’ when it comes to any new people coming into their congregations. But this is especially relevant when it comes to people on the recovery journey, he said.

This is something he saw happening well at Sydenham Corps, where he served before taking up his new role with The Salvation Army at Hornby this year.

People who have been through recovery programmes are encouraged to be open, honest and vulnerable, and churches should also be a place where openness, honesty and vulnerability are practiced values, said Eric. ‘We need to forgive, accept and love. We don’t want to be a judgmental bunch of do-gooders that look down our noses at others while desperately trying to shove our skeletons back in the closet.’

Encouraging people to join small groups is a good tool for engaging with new people, said Eric. ‘I have seen barriers removed very fast when people see that we are just as weird as they are and that we can all be weird together.’

It is also important that Christians love each other, which needs

to be evident to the onlooker, he added, pointing to John 13:35, where Jesus says, ‘… by this will all men know you are my disciples, that you have love for each other’. Along with our obligation to love our parents, our neighbours and even our enemy, John refers to a special love that is evident to the observer. This would encourage people to think, ‘Wow, I want to be part of this!’, and the next response of the church was to let them, said Eric.

It’s exciting seeing people come from recovery and join the family.

‘It’s just loving people because God loved them—and whether it’s people in recovery or whatever, our job is to show God’s love.’

Wellington South Corps Sergeant Major John Griffiths attends Recovery Church meetings at the corps every Thursday, operating the sound desk. He has been attending Recovery Church for over five years and began going as a way to support the people there and help them connect with the local corps.

John tries to attend every week. He said going regularly was important for making and keeping relationships, but recommended that people struggling to find the time or who were nervous about going commit to attending for a month or every second week to start with.

Building relationships at Recovery Church helped those that ‘want to go deeper’ by coming along to a Sunday service. About half a dozen people in recovery now come to Sunday morning services at Wellington South, he said.

‘That’s what we’re here for, to try and help people along their journey­—and it’s a journey for these guys just like for you and me.

The way I see it, we’re planting seeds, and you don’t know what impact it has six months, 12 months down the line,’ said John.

Having the Recovery Church service at the Wellington South corps building helped people feel like they were in a familiar place when they did come on a Sunday, he added.

Ultimately though, John agreed that welcoming people into Salvation Army churches is all about building relationships: trying to talk to people on Sunday morning and making sure they had someone to sit with, or inviting them to a small group such as the weekly men’s breakfast at Wellington South Corps.

‘Everyone wants to know that they belong, and I think it’s hard for people that haven’t been in church before—they can see something’s different, but if they don’t have connections it doesn’t stick.’

EVENTS

Many thanks to the awesome music team from Napier and stage crew from Tauranga for creating such great atmosphere for Friday night.

Check out what happened at this year’s youth councils in the Midland, Central and Southern divisions!

MIDLAND YOUTH COUNCILS MIDLAND YOUTH TEAM

Random shoes, bubble soccer, fingerprints, spots, pegs, smoke machines, face painting, princess crowns and a whole lotta coffee: Midland Youth Councils this year had a little bit of everything, including a visit from our new Chief Secretary Colonel Willis Howell and his wife, Colonel Barbara Howell.

On Friday evening, 29 September, about 140 under-30s (and their leaders, whose ages will not be disclosed!) piled into Keswick Park, Rotorua, following the call to seek their ‘Identity in Christ’.

If you ask anyone about Saturday afternoon at #YCID2014, they may tell you that they learnt something about team work, problem solving, or what it’s like to be a sheep or shoot an arrow, thanks to the crew from Bigfoot Adventures. However, what you will most likely hear about is Bubble Soccer. Imagine a zorb, but with your legs sticking out the bottom, and you run full tack at someone else to knock them down, steal the soccer ball and score a goal. Although after watching for a while it’s clear that actually scoring goals is secondary and not quite as fun as just nailing people over!

On Saturday evening, MCs Dan and Chase interviewed the Howells, and Lieut Sarah Healey spoke (very softly as she had no voice), about how messed up our way of thinking about ourselves really is. She encouraged everyone to stop thinking so individually, to recognise the influence and significance of the relationships they have, and to put their life story into the hands of a scriptwriter who has the best plan for them.

Recognise the influence and

The gathering began with a mihi whakatau by the Midland Division significance of relationships …

Youth Team, before cranking into put your life story into the hands challenges and music, ahead of of a scriptwriter who has the best a message from guest speaker plan for you.

Lieut Steve Molen of Tokoroa Corps. Using a children’s story by Max Lucado, Steve urged people to seek their Lieut Shane Healey continued this theme on identity not through the eyes of each other, but Sunday morning, talking about how we must from the God who created and loves them. ‘work the kink out of our think.’ Alongside his

MIDLAND

Lieut Faye Molen shared on Saturday morning about how joined everyone’s stories are, and that we all find some common ground. She told part of her own story, and encouraged others to share their own—using the 90/10 principle: that ten per cent of life is made up of what happens to you; 90 per cent of life is decided by how you react.

own experience, he spoke about the story of Paul in the New Testament, to show that even the wonkiest of thinking can be put right when we seek our identity through Christ. The weekend ended with a poroporoaki in which attendees shared highlights and thanks, and an enormous hongi line before the long trip home.

01 NOVEMBER 2014 | 21

FIREZONE.CO.NZ

CENTRAL YOUTH CONFERENCE DANIEL BUTTAR

I look forward to Central Youth Conference (CYC) every year because I know that God is always going to be there in powerful and wonderful ways.

This year’s conference was at Johnsonville Corps from 19-20 September. Lieutenant Robert Adams was our guest speaker, which was exciting news. The Friday night (God sees more than we do; we have to session was about ‘encountering the Holy trust him). Lastly, the seed of power is about Spirit.’ Robert was very bold and to the declaring and praying over someone’s life and point about the fact that over all the camps believing that the power of God is going to and conferences he’d been to, he couldn’t work and do amazing things for them. I learnt remember many of the sermons he’d heard, through this message that no matter how but he did remember when he had a full-on many seeds we seem to plant without getting encounter with the Holy Spirit. This really any results, we just have to trust God that he got through to me and obviously to a lot of is working. other people too, because by the end of his sermon there was a decent chunk of I came to realise that joy comes people up the front wanting another when you decide to follow the encounter with the Holy Spirit.

Lord The second session was on Saturday, and it was about stepping out in your faith. As we were going out to witness to our community as part of conference, this was a key and challenging message to hear about how we can witness in our communities wherever we are. Robert scattered seeds over us as he talked about how we can use three different seeds when we are witnessing: the seeds of truth, love and power.

The seed of truth is about using our testimony and knowing the Bible so that we can show the truth of God in our life. The seed of love is about loving others even if we think that nothing we are doing is making a difference

CENTRAL

MIDLAND

with all that is within you

The last session was about living in joy, which was a huge one for me because it was what I was struggling with at the time. Even though I knew the Holy Spirit lived in me and was working in me, I couldn’t seem to find the joy that’s talked about in the fruit of the Spirit. I came to realise that joy comes when you decide to follow the Lord with all that is within you.

Across the weekend we also participated in some fun games and ice breakers, went to some workshops and mission in our communities. It was all cool. But most importantly, I really feel that God moved in powerful ways, not just in my heart but in everyone’s hearts, one way or another.

FIREZONE.CO.NZ

EVENTS | 22

SOUTHERN YOUTH COUNCILS SOUTHERN YOUTH TEAM

Southern Division Youth Councils 2014 was held at Living Springs near Lyttelton in Christchurch from 3–5 October. A hail storm greeted us as we arrived, but we were okay with that. After all, this is a venue with amazing views and well away from anyone so the neighbours don’t get disturbed—just as well with 125 young people and leaders gathered together from all over the Southern Division!

This year the theme was simply: MORE, which was explored over four sessions during the weekend, focusing on: MIXING: Us mixing with God and the world we live in; that we are God’s masterpiece.

OPPORTUNITIES: How and when can we make a difference for God in how he has made us.

RELATIONSHIP: The importance of a growing relationship with God, to bring him into life’s occasions.

EXPECTATION: That surely there is more of God to be had, lived in and given away.

The sessions were backed up with antics from our MC L.A.B. students (youth work apprentices), old-school party games that are now new again, and an amazing Saturday outdoor activity that got everyone involved, barely hurt and only lightly frozen in the cold weather.

Leaders: Widening the Circle …

It was awesome to have so many leaders at Youth Councils to journey alongside their young people, especially during those really significant moments. Similarly intentioned adults overlapping into young people’s lives with their own influence helps grow young disciples, who benefit from having consistency around them during the formative teen years.

Graduation: Welcoming the New …

We welcomed those attending for the first time. Our 13 year olds and Year 9s were given keys as a symbol of Times of spiritual significance, God’s promises and presence as they are now in the more grownup reflection and stepping forward world of youth ministry and high into the MORE of God. school life.

Learning: Growing in Life …

On Saturday morning, we held breakout sessions designed to help those at Youth Councils understand the life and faith journey collectively. Often we try to do life on our own, facing issues as if we’re the only ones going through something. But we can draw on the experience and wisdom of others.

Session topics included: SOCIAL JUSTICE: What is it and how to get involved.

CHOICES 101: Navigating life’s new found freedoms.

STAYING ON FIRE: Keeping the faith journey growing.

PRAYER AND MINISTRY WORKSHOP: The how-to of practical Christianity.

THE PANEL: Relationships, sex and dating.

Always well attended!

Life! Experiencing God’s MORE …

God was with us! Some young people made the choice to follow Jesus for the first time!

The morning kneedrill prayer sessions were very well supported. Music came from a great team from Blenheim Corps, with support from Christchurch City Corps. Majors Ivan Bezzant and David Moody, and Lieut Naomi Holt shared from life and the Bible. This teaching led into times of spiritual significance, reflection and stepping forward into the MORE of God. Further support in the sessions came from personal stories, interviews and multimedia presentations. The Creative Ministries Department at Territorial Headquarters brought their expertise, with training opportunities that helped create an overall environment in which God was readily encountered!

CRACK THE CODE

Fun4Kids | 23

j es us lo o ked at them an d s a i d d, ––––– –––––– –– –––– ––– ––––, ‘ w i th man thi s i s i mp oss i b l e, ‘ –––– ––– –––– –– ––––––––––, b ut w i th g o d all thi n gs ar e ––– –––– ––– ––– –––––– ––– p oss i b l e.’ a= a , b= b , c= c , d= d , e= e , f= f , g= g , h= h , i= i , j= j , k= k, l= l , ––––––––.’ m= m , n= n, o= o, p= p , q= q , r= r , s= s , (Mat thew 19:26)

t= t , u= u , v= v , w= w , x= x, y= y , z= z

CAN YOU SOLVE THE PUZZLE?

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Lego Lego who?

Lego of me and I’ll tell you!

r about the Did you hea crashed? at Lego truck th blocks down It’s just a few ad the ro

EVERYTHING WAS AWESOME! Everything was awesome at the Midland Division Kids Camp, held in Rotorua in August, with the camp based on The Lego Movie.

Ninety-eight campers and 45 leaders learnt all about how to ‘Stick Together, Build Each Other Up, and Be Yourself’, so that together we can build a better world.

Mary Popping (Grandview), Neil Turner (Tauranga) and Bill Harris (Napier) explored these Lego Movie ideas by teaching stories from the Bible about the life of David.

Throughout the weekend the Red, Yellow, Blue and Green teams competed against each other, with everyone completing individual challenges to earn their Master Builder Certificates.

Each day began with dancing, led by Major Bronwyn Malcolm (Territorial Children’s Secretary). Other highlights included a ‘drive-in movie night’ where kids had to make their own cars, along with a ‘yellow disco’, life-sized Lego Man, mini-figure challenge (0 seconds to build as many as you could), decorating Lego cookies, writing letters to Salvation Army kids living in Fiji and Tonga, and ‘minute to win it’ competitions.

Many thanks to the awesome Hastings dance crew, the Hamilton City and Grandview Salvation Army music team, and the awesome leaders and helpers from around this division.

Lieutenant Sarah Healey (Divisional Children’s Secretary, Midland Division)

Top view answers: 1=5, 6=9, 8=3

FIND THE TOP VIEW FOR CONSTRUCTIONS 1, 6 & 8.

1= , 6= , 8= .

Why do Lego m en going to hospitahate l?

Because plastic surg costs a fortune! ery