10a

War Cry THE

salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry

Est 1879

Ex-movie actor Michael Williamson talks about faith

No 7085

FIGHTING FOR HEARTS AND SOULS

Page 8

6 October 2012 20p/25c

WHITNEY’S LAST GOODBYE TROUBLED STAR NEVER LOST FAITH writes RENÉE DAVIS

AUDIENCES can expect to be dazzled by the musical movie, Sparkle, which debuted in UK cinemas yesterday (Friday 5 October).

The film – which turned out to be Whitney Houston’s last – is set in 1960s’ Detroit and follows the life of 19-yearold Sparkle (Jordin Sparks), a young woman with big dreams to make it as a music star.

Her two sisters, Tammy and Delores, also have dreams. Tammy is convinced she deserves a bigger and better life. She has good looks and a singing voice to match, and isn’t afraid to use that to her advantage.

Turn to page 3

Whitney Houston stars in ‘Sparkle’ TriStar Pictures

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The War Cry 6 October 2012

News

SAMARITAN’S PURSE OPENS FOR SHOEBOX GIFTS

Christmas box bonanza

Falconer to speak on assisted dying LORD Falconer, chair of the Commission on Assisted Dying, will be putting the case for assisted dying at a public debate, co-sponsored by King’s College London and the Christian Evidence Society.

The ‘At the End of the Day’ debate will be held in the Franklin-Wilkins

HELENA QUITS DRUGS AND FINDS FAITH

Building of King’s College London on Thursday 11 October, commencing at 6.45 pm.

Professor Nigel Biggar, Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology, University of Oxford, will argue for the law to be unchanged.

Former Bishop of Oxford, Lord Harries of Pentregarth will chair the debate, which will include opportunities for audience participation.

For more information visit christianevidence.org

ALASTAIR CALLUTT

Hope thanks Her Majesty

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INSIDE

PRAYERLINK

CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE SOCIETY DEBATE

SAMARITAN’S Purse president Franklin Graham (pictured) helped London schoolchildren wrap and pack shoeboxes as part of the organisation’s Operation Christmas Child’s 100 Million Shoebox campaign.

For the past 22 years, Samaritan’s Purse has delivered 94 million shoeboxes of gifts to needy children across the world. This year, the organisation is hoping to reach its one hundred millionth shoebox.

The children YOUR prayers are requested from Christ Church for Joy, who is struggling to Primary School come to terms with her past in Spitalfields and feels lonely. presented Mr The War Cry invites Graham with a giftfilled shoebox and readers to send in requests asked him to give for prayer, including the it to a child in need names of individuals and at Christmas. Mr details of their Graham replied: ‘I circumstances. know [each child] Send your will be so blessed requests to by not only this PRAYERLINK, box but the prayer The War Cry, you’ve sent with 101 Newington this. We have Causeway, thousands of others London SE1 around the world 6BN. Mark who’ll be personally your envelope delivering more ‘Confidential’. than eight million shoeboxes this year.’

COMMENT

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GARDENING

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PUZZLES

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INNER LIFE

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

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WHAT’S COOKING?

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A BIG Jubilee thank-you letter co-ordinated by the Church of England and Christian organisation Hope was delivered to Buckingham Palace to thank the Queen for her 60 years of service.

The letter contained thousands of signatures from people attending churches and cathedrals throughout the year. It also marked the launch of a season of thankfulness within the church, as many congregations held Harvest festivals.

The picture shows Chief Clerk of Buckingham Palace Christopher Sandamas (left) receiving the letters from the executive director of Hope, Roy Crowne.

6 October 2012 The War Cry

From page 1 Delores is the ambitious brain box.

She is focused on becoming a doctor.

Although she likes to sing, the limelight isn’t really her thing.

The three sisters decide to form a group on the newly popular Motown scene, and it isn’t long before they’re noticed.

But their strong mother Emma (Whitney Houston) isn’t too keen. She raised the girls in a religious home and doesn’t want modern music to influence them. She, too, was a singer and knows all the ins and outs of the industry.

As the girls get more attention, the strain on the family and group begins to show. Tammy lets success go to her head, while Delores remains outspoken and weary.

Sparkle, meanwhile, stays caught in the middle of her sisters’ bickering.

She tries to remain stable and keep the peace. She loves her mother and her sisters but something is missing for her. Music is all she can think about, but with the family under strain can she spread her wings and take flight?

Among all the ups and downs, Emma loves her daughters enough to let them grow – but she still does her best to keep the family together. She asks the girls a telling question: ‘Was my life not enough of a cautionary tale to you?’

Off-screen Whitney had the same motherly nature towards her co-stars.

In an interview with MTV News, they commented on what it was like to work with the experienced singer.

‘I was surprised at how willing she was to go into her own personal experiences, with specific anecdotes and stories that might help me be authentic in bringing out my character’s darker moments … she’d been there and done it,’ explained Carmen Ejogo, who plays Tammy.

Immediately after Whitney died,

Sparkle (centre) with her sisters

Was my life not enough of a cautionary tale?

much of the world spent time talking about her lifestyle. It was clear that she had made wrong choices and struggled as a result of them. But those closest to Whitney remembered her for who she really was.

Tika Sumpter, who plays Delores, said: ‘She had a strong sense of family and love.’

In an interview with ABC News, Whitney spoke about how much she was loved: ‘I know I’m a child of God, and I know he loves me. Jesus loves me, this I know.’

Whitney was gifted but she wasn’t perfect. None of us is. But she knew that with God in her life she could overcome her problems.

The same is true for us. Whether we have bad habits, bad attitudes or a bad lifestyle, if we invite Jesus into our lives, he will forgive us our wrongdoing and help us to forgive ourselves.

And if we ever get scared of failing, we can take comfort from the fact that ‘nothing can separate us from his love’ (Romans 8:38 Good News Bible).

As Whitney might have sung: He will always love us.

Sparkle (Jordin Sparks) and Emma (Whitney Houston) TriStar Pictures

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4

Interview

‘I

M O D E E R F

WAS 15 years old when I had my first fix of heroin,’ remembers Helena. ‘It killed my emotional pain.

I remember thinking: This is the answer.

HELENA EVANS speaks to Renée Davis about life after more than 20 years of drugs and prostitution

‘My childhood was unsettled.

My father had a drink problem.

He would argue with my mother and hit me and my siblings. On one occasion, he got hold of my hair and banged my head up against the wall. It was awful.’

To avoid being hit, Helena ran away a lot. She got into trouble for committing petty crimes.

She was sent to an approved school, but she ran away numerous times. She was just 12 years old.

On her travels, Helena fell in with the wrong crowd and was exposed to drugs. She tried heroin for the first time and became addicted.

Helena began selling sex on the West End streets to feed her habit.

‘I had previously been sexually abused and didn’t think I had the right to say no. So when somebody offered me money for sex I thought: Wow! ‘At first, you see the “benefits” of the lifestyle. You can buy nice clothes and have a nice house, but you don’t really consider the emotional damage it does to you. Selling sex just added to the feeling that I was nothing. I found myself wanting to take more and more drugs.’

Helena funded her expensive lifestyle by forging cheques.

‘On one occasion, I was arrested for forging methadone prescriptions.

My five-year-old daughter was sent to a children’s home and then put into foster care. I was sent to prison.

‘While I was there, I had a nervous breakdown and slit my wrists.

I was put on a mental health wing. I couldn’t cope with the pain

I felt. I knew my daughter thought I had rejected her.’

While in prison, Helena learnt that her sister died from a drugs overdose.

‘Instead of learning from what happened to my sister, I continued using drugs to suppress my emotional pain,’ says Helena. ‘When I was released, I also went back to prostitution.

‘On the streets, I put on a front and acted as though I didn’t care what people thought. But really I did,’ Helena says. ‘I knew that what I was doing was absolutely disgusting. I hated myself.’

Helena and her husband – also a drug addict – then had twin daughters. Once again, Helena was sent to prison for forging prescriptions. Her twins, who were just four weeks old, were put into care.

It was in her darkest time that Helena looked to what she had learnt about Jesus as a child.

‘I was suicidal and cried my heart out,’ she confesses. ‘I said: “God, if you are really there and the Bible is true, I need your help.”

‘I had a vision of Jesus on the cross. He looked straight into my eyes. He didn’t say a word. I knew at that moment he was feeling my

Helena and her husband, Mark

sin. It was an amazing experience. I cried for hours.’

Helena gave her life over to God. She met with other Christians in the prison. After being released, she went to a Christian rehab. She got her daughters back and was given a house. But just as life was looking positive, Helena fell back into prostitution and drugs. This time the effects of her lifestyle became more physical.

6 October 2012 The War Cry

SHAME

‘By 2003, my heroin abuse became so bad that all the veins in my arms, legs and feet collapsed.

My femoral vein also collapsed. I began injecting in my legs instead.

I contracted hepatitis C and liver failure. I had to use a wheelchair. I was given nine months to live, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to die.’

At this desperate point, Helena began to have visions of Jesus again.

This time they were much stronger.

‘I talked to him about everything.

What struck me the most was that he never once condemned me for my lifestyle. I was always waiting for him to get angry but he never was.

‘A few months later, I saw Jesus in a different way,’ Helena remembers. ‘I recognised him as the Son of God. He had so much power.

I felt his holiness, purity, righteousness, love and grace, all in one. I fell to the floor and was overcome with intense grief. I knew that I had hurt him.’

Helena’s life slowly began to change. Her passion for God grew.

She was healed of her liver failure and hepatitis C. Wanting to take her faith further, Helena visited the International House of Prayer in Kansas.

‘During a service, God began to heal people from their self-hatred and shame. During my eight days there, I was totally set free from these feelings. I told my story on stage and that was when I was asked to feature in a film.’

Nefarious is a documentary about sex slavery and human trafficking.

Helena recalls how playing a part in the film affected so many people.

‘The greatest thing for me was seeing so many women become free from shame,’ Helena says. ‘Many women had never spoken about their abuse before.’

Helena, who now lives in Bournemouth, says that since visiting Kansas, her priorities have

Library picture posed by model

from

You don’t really consider the emotional damage it does to you.

Selling sex just added to the feeling that I was nothing completely changed.

‘I have more value for or prayer and don’t see it as an afterthought. thought. I receive a strategy from God od for my life and act on it.’

Helena has also used sed her newfound hope to help others in her community. She works rks at a women’s outreach and ex-drug users project. Here she met her second husband, Mark – another ex-user.

‘I invited Mark to church. h. He said yes. We started dating, ing, then he became a Christian. an.

We married last December. er.

I am really happy. The Lordd has done a lot of work inn my heart and in Mark’s.’

RENÉE DAVIS

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The War Cry 6 October 2012

Comment

Spokes person HE loves to ride his bicycle. He loves to ride his bike. But when Andrew Mitchell found his way out of Downing Street blocked by the police, he became the first cyclist this year to get more column inches than Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins.

Amid reports and allegations that the Conservative chief whip used inappropriate language in putting his view across to one of the Met’s finest, his subsequent apology, his denial that he used the words ascribed to him, and police notebook assertions to the contrary, The Guardian ran an opinion poll. Who does the public trust more – politicians or the police?

The survey said that the public is twice as likely to trust the police than the Government. Nearly 80 per cent of respondents said they trusted the police ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ strongly. This was more than double the 37 per cent who said the same about the UK Government.

Mary M represents redemption, says Mel C SINGER Melanie Chisholm told The Daily Telegraph that she is enjoying playing Mary Magdalene in the Jesus Christ Superstar nationwide arena tour because the character represents ‘the ultimate … redemption’.

According to the paper, the former Spice Girl said: ‘The make-up, dreadlocks and leather jacket Mary wears are all part of the armour she’s developed to protect herself. But we see her gradually shed some of that as Jesus makes her feel more comfortable in her skin.’

Speaking about her own faith, Melanie said that she isn’t ‘a religious person’, but she does have ‘a lot of respect for people who hold strong beliefs’.

The paper also offered a review of Lord Lloyd-Webber’s latest production, describing it as ‘a work of conceptual genius’.

Rispek expected for Jamaican Bible THE Bible’s New Testament translated into Jamaican patois is to be published after completion of a 20-year academic project by Bible Society, reported Telegraph.co.uk.

The online article revealed passages of the religious text in its new language. When the Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she is pregnant, he tells her that he has ‘nyuuz [which will] mek yu wel api’. And when the Wise Men visit the baby ‘Jiizas’, they tell King Herod that they want to give him ‘rispek’.

According to the paper, the Bible Society project involved translators from the linguistics department at the University of the West Indies and theologians.

Dr Bernard Lamb of the Queen’s English Society said: ‘I think it sounds quite fun. I’ve got no objection to it at all if it helps spread the word of the Bible to people who cannot understand other versions.’

BBC/EMILIE SANDY

Reputation There are times when neither police nor politicians are seen in a good light.

On some occasions – as in the Gulf War for supporting MPs or the Hillsborough tragedy for South Yorkshire Police – damage to reputation and public trust is self-inflicted.

Whatever passed at the Downing Street gates is not as important as the question of public trust. In a democracy, lawmakers and law-enforcers need the willing co-operation, respect and trust of those they serve. Otherwise, it starts to cease being a democracy.

Trust is the most precious of commodities – in politics, policing, banking, business, in all relationships.

The days when a person’s word was their bond are, sadly, disappearing.

Society is increasingly sceptical and cynical – but that’s self-inflicted, too.

That’s because despite saying ‘I take full responsibility’, in reality people don’t. They mealy-mouth. They spin.

They scapegoat.

Trust comes by being as good as one’s word. Not by peddling in untruths.

Media

DIANE LOUISE Q JORDAN reflects on World Mental Health Day during Radio 2’s Sunday Half Hour tomorrow (7 October 8.30 pm).

Music comes from the choir of Bradford Cathedral and hymns include ‘Dear Lord and Father of Mankind’ and ‘Thine be the Glory’.

Show focuses on Nativity movie FILM director Debbie Isitt will be interviewed about her upcoming Christmas movie Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger at the Christian Resources Exhibition North when it opens in Manchester next week.

As well as answering questions, the director will show clips from the film, which stars David Tennant.

‘I hope people enjoy seeing the traditional Nativity story reworked in a modern-day fable and are uplifted by the songs in the final act,’ she said.

Other highlights of the two-day exhibition include a Clergy on the Catwalk show and the launch of a West Indian patois translation of the New Testament.

Around 3,000 visitors are expected to attend the exhibition, which opens on 10 October at Event City.

BBC

THE spiritual revolutions that shook the world between 300BC and AD700 are under exploration in BBC One’s Andrew Marr’s History of the World tomorrow (Sunday 7 October 9 pm).

In this third episode – entitled The Word and The Sword – the presenter examines the rise of Christianity across the Roman Empire. He also discovers that the most potent human force in the world came from the combination of faith and military power.

Q

6 October 2012 The War Cry

7 LEE SENIOR

The great outdoors

A fiery and colourful month approaches OCTOBER can be a striking and fiery month with volatile weather and fantastic autumn colours. It is the month of mists and mellow fruitfulness, and a time to harvest remaining crops. It is usually the middle of the apple-picking season as well.

But this year nature has not run to the usual horticultural timetable.

Excess rain and a lack of sunshine have combined to make it one of the toughest years for a decade. Slugs and snails have been by LEE on the rampage, and tomatoes and warmweather crops have struggled to ripen.

Interestingly, some of the best performing bedding plants in these difficult conditions have

Begonias have thrived

SENIOR

Slugs and snails have been on the rampage

and don’t forget… Perennials Pansies

Winter p violas c ansies and a out this n be planted along w month, it and poly h primroses Polyanth anthus.

F1’ are us ‘Pioneer p hardy a articularly n colder a d ideal for reas.

Any stra herbace ggly-looking should ous perennials b winter, e tidied up for u to keep nless you wish for bird the seed heads s and in sects.

Grasses

been begonias. But the heat-lovovvv ing and drought-tolerant bedding ng pelergoniums (geraniums) strugggled to get established, and only nly Orn towards the end of summer, did comamental grasses e into they give of their best. at this ti their own The best way to learn rn They o me of year. from what has been a and inteffer structure difficult gardening year,, beautifu rest, and look THIS is a great time of year to take stock is to jot our experiences or cover l when frosted ed in de of the vegetable garden. We can assess w on down in a garden diary, a chilly, m techniques of ours which have worked and what as by the time next morning. isty autumn spring is here, the triwe might like to do differently next year! als and tribulations of this his Winter lettuce will grow under cloches or in a year will hopefully be a cold frame, or even a greenhouse or polytunnel. distant memory.

We are Leaves can be picked off and used for a salad in planting the midst of th with spring onions, plus any remaining tomatoes, no parti season. Tulips e bulbc cucumbers and sweet peppers. be plan ular rush, as th are in ted as la ey can The prio There should also be baby beetroots to harvest, te rity now as Decembe r r. e is maining along with the last of the runner and French beans. daffodil to get any h y a , c c in roc Pak choi is also remarkably good at this time of th rockery s planted, alon us and g bulbs, s year for something a little different. uch as s with cilla.

Swedes come into their own at this time of year as a winter win staple. They make delicio a delicious, basic mash with h home-grown potatoes and carrots.

Q

Bulbs

Cyclamen

Pak choi offers a seasonal difference

Hardy c y shady o clamen are gr eat for r semi-s they wil l readily hady areas and they be multiply c suitable ome establish when e eventua conditions. Th d in e ll carpet o y provide a de y will li f pinkypurple b ghtful looms.

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Interview

M

ICHAEL WILLIAMSON knows a thing or two about acting. Not only does his CV reel off dozens of TV commercials and Hollywood films, but he also confesses that he spent most of his youth ‘putting on an act’ as well.

‘I was born in Portland, Oregon,’ says Michael, who today works as a pastor at the London International Christian Church.

‘When I was a small child my mother and stepfather had a rocky relationship. My stepfather had problems with alcohol, so wasn’t always around for me and my three younger brothers.

As a family we lived in a small studio and were very poor.

I’m no longer putting on an

act

‘When I was about ten we moved to a nicer house and life got better. I excelled in school and became the star athlete. At 13, I got a job at McDonald’s and was earning good money. I felt that my life was perfect. But then my mum and everything. I was 14 but felt as though stepdad got divorced. My world came I had to be a dad to my three brothers.’ crashing down around me.’

Then one day, Michael came home To cope with the trauma of a family from school and found that his mother breakdown, Michael distracted himself had gone. He didn’t know where or by focusing on school, work and sport. why.

But it was clear that his mother was ‘At first, I thought: Surely, Mum struggling. hasn’t left us; she is going to come ‘She changed overnight,’ he says. back. But in the end she was gone for ‘She stopped being the mum that my three months on a drug binge. It was friends envied and instead became an very sad.’ alcoholic and drug addict. I wasn’t used Single-handedly, Michael tried to to seeing her drunk. I wondered why support his brothers. It wasn’t easy. she was behaving like that and was He covered up his mother’s absence angry with her. by telling inquiring neighbours that she ‘I had to use my wages to pay for was at work.

Michael worked as an actor and model

MICHAEL WILLIAMSON tells Claire Brine about scenes from his life ‘I didn’t want Mum to get into trouble because I knew the authorities would put my brothers and me into a care home. I didn’t want that. I was smart enough to know what to say to people to cover up the situation.

‘While Mum was gone, I carried on working hard at school and McDonald’s. I also got a weekend job at a golf course. I was the man of the house.’

But despite putting on a tough exterior, Michael was crumbling inside.

He cried during the night times. It was a constant struggle to keep on top of his school studies and work.

‘I’d go to school at 7 am, have my classes and then leave at 1.30 pm. Then I’d have basketball practice till 4 pm.

At 4.30 I’d go to work and then not get home till 9 pm. During that time my

At 14 I had to use my wages to pay for everything. I felt as though I had to be a dad to my brothers

6 October 2012 The War Cry

9

I got kicked out of the family home.

Suddenly, I found myself homeless brothers and I ended up eating many chicken nugget dinners.

‘Then one day, I was at home and all the lights went out. The water supply stopped. We had nothing. We got our water by filling up jugs from the building next door. We boiled it up to wash and we also lit candles to be able to see.

I would try to make it a fun experience for my brothers but then I would cry at the end of the night. They had no idea how bad things were.’

While she was away, Michael had no contact with his mum. She eventually returned home and took his brothers to live with her.

‘The next time I saw my mum she was with a new guy and he was a drug dealer. They drove up to me and I saw that my brothers were in the back of the car, looking dirty. Mum was off her head on drugs. She asked me if I was going to come and live with her, but I said no. Coincidentally, this happened on the same day that I got kicked out of the family home. Suddenly, I found myself homeless.

‘F

or weeks on end, I stayed on friends’ sofas. Being a straight-A student meant their parents didn’t mind – at first. But eventually they would ask me about my own parents’ whereabouts. Then I knew it was time to leave. I spent a year sleeping on sofas.’

By 16, Michael had moved into his own apartment. When he wasn’t at school, he worked. Eventually his brothers moved in with him. Then his girlfriend moved in. Michael says she became like a mother to his brothers, as their own mother had been arrested for petty crimes and went to prison.

Michael hoped his mum would take the opportunity to get clean.

After finishing high school, Michael studied business administration at Portland State University. When he left, he became a successful sales manager for Toyota. At 20 years old he was earning $80,000 a year.

Alongside his day job, Michael

BOON RODGIGUEZE and SCOTT BARBOUR

Turn to page 10

10

Interview

From page 9

worked as a model and actor, after he was spotted by an agent in a shopping centre. He advertised brands such as Nike, Adidas and Hollywood Video.

He also broke into TV and film. He had small roles in the films Men of Honor with Robert De Niro and The Hunted, among many others.

‘But what does a 20-year-old with pots of money do? He goes out and buys a new car, and then another one, and then another one,’ says Michael.

‘Just like that, I bought three new cars.

I got a nice apartment with lots of cool furniture. I was like a kid.

‘I also embraced the party lifestyle.

I was in a new relationship every weekend. I never committed to girlfriends because I felt I couldn’t. This kind of behaviour went on for about six years.

My pace of life was so busy. It was wild.’

Just like that, I bought three new cars. I got a nice apartment. I was like a kid

A

s time went on, Michael landed more acting roles.

He says he started to make ‘commercial after commercial after commercial’. He considered moving to Los Angeles to further his career. But making a decision wasn’t that easy. By that point he had a young daughter to consider.

Michael modelled for many brands, including Nike He explains: ‘When I was at high school, my girlfriend got pregnant.

She told me the child wasn’t mine, so I thought no more of it. Then a year later, I learnt I was the father. Suddenly, I knew I couldn’t move to LA any more. I couldn’t leave my daughter, just as I had been left as a child. I tried to be a good dad.’

It was around this time that Michael

started bumping into Christians. They made an impression on him. And they started inviting him to church.

Eventually, he went.

‘Although my mum used to pray when I was a child, she never taught me about what it means to be saved

by Jesus,’ he says. ‘And even though I had always felt that God would help me though my problems, I didn’t really

6 October 2012 The War Cry

know what being a Christian meant.

‘Then I met these Christians. They were vulnerable. They shared their life stories with me and their weaknesses. I started studying the Bible and my faith grew. I became a Christian.’

Michael’s newfound faith led to some dramatic changes in his life.

He stopped doing certain things and focused instead on acquiring qualities which would make him a better person.

‘I stopped looking at internet pornography. I stopped lying. I stopped basing my relationships on race and colour.

I stopped stealing. I stopped pretending I had the perfect life,’ he says.

‘I started to see the world differently.

I realised that people needed God. So many people in the world were lost – as I had been – but didn’t even know it.

I also forgave my mum for abandoning me.’

It was difficult, but Michael let go of the bitter, angry feelings he had towards his mother. He tried to encourage her to stop taking drugs.

‘She cleaned up her life a lot, but I know that she continued to take drugs, off and on, until the day she died.’

E

pisodes of his life may have resembled a soap opera, but Michael coped with each new day by taking comfort from his Christian faith and good friends. He read about people in the Bible who had endured family problems – just as he had – yet were changed by God. As his faith grew, Michael became a leader at his church. It was there that he met his wife, Michelle.

‘At first, I didn’t think we would get married, as I was used to Barbie-doll types who were focused on money, materialism and fame. I had never built my relationships with women on friendship. But when Michelle and I became friends, the scales fell from my eyes. I saw how beautiful she was. Not only was she smarter than me, but she was also in love with God. We got married.’

I started to see the world differently.

I forgave my mum for abandoning me

In 2008, the couple moved from Portland to Hollywood. They became church pastors, focusing their attention on people in showbusiness and sport.

After Michael and Michelle had been working in Hollywood for two years, they were approached by people from their church and asked to consider planting a new church in London.

They said yes, moving to England in 2010.

Today, life for Michael is good. He is happily married. He gets on well with his 19-year-old daughter, who lives in

11

the States and hopes to go to medical school. He enjoys ministering at the London International Christian Church in Chalk Farm.

So far, the church has some 80 members – but Michael is hoping to attract people in their thousands. He is hoping his willingness to share his story will draw others to Jesus.

‘Jesus means everything to me,’ he says. ‘He gives me so much peace and joy. I will go anywhere for Jesus and do whatever he asks of me – because of all that he has done in my life.’

The War Cry 6 October 2012

SUDOKU

12

Puzzlebreak

Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9 Solution on page 15

B U WORDSEARCH T E Look up, down, forwards, backwards O and diagonally on T the grid to find these D words from Whitney S Houston’s version of E ‘I Will Always Love T You’ from the film L ‘The Bodyguard’ S ABOVE U ALL T ALWAYS W AND A BITTERSWEET BOTH BUT CRY

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Mature (5) 5. Drying cloth (5) 8. Snake (5) 9. Make holy (5) 10. Monastery head (5) 11. Lash of whip (5) 12. Electric wire (4) 15. Stick (6) 17. Pool of money (5) 18. Fount (6) 20. Destiny (4) 25. Seat (5) 26. Dense (5) 27. Combine (5) 28. Deputy doctor (5) 29. Mould (5) 30. Mix (5)

ANSWERS

V B U A P L E A S E T T E D D H

S O R T K L W O D E M A E R D L

Y T A C T I V W B W I E H F N S

DARLING DON’T DREAMED EVERY GOODBYE HAPPINESS HAVE HOPE I’LL

Y H A P P I N E S S N R H T I N

W E O Y R C V G T R W T O D K L

W S O G O O D B Y E L N A M O S

H J L O B L L Q T T A R O V E O

JOY KIND KNOW LIFE LOVE MEMORIES NEED NOT ONLY

O L L A U W U N H T L S E V I M

H L I O N B O B I I W V E W A R

A W W N H D H N N B A R O T C U

R I A L E O S G K M Y D D O U O

PLEASE SHOULD STAY STEP TAKING THAT THE THINK THIS

A O B Y P H E I A T S I W N S Y

H A V E Y D T I I T T A V I W T

J A K W D H T I E U D O H L S D

A A U A E A B P W I N T T S Y H

TREATS WAY WHAT WILL WISH WITH WOULD YOU YOUR

HONEYCOMB Each solution starts on the coloured cell and reads clockwise round the number

QUICK QUIZ

DOWN 1. Snub (6) 2. Penetrate (6) 3. Repulsive (5) 4. Farewell (5) 5. Calamity (7) 6. Waver (6) 7. Small (6) 13. Circuit (3) 14. Lively dance (3) 15. Consumed (3) 16. Rodent (3) 17. Finger joint (7) 18. Rank (6) 19. Network of optic nerves (6) 21. Busy (6) 22. Stretch (6) 23. Humorous play (5) 24. Fragment of bread (5)

1. Building used for public Christian worship 2. Band of fibrous tissue producing movement 3. Restore to life 4. Thin covering of wood 5. Relating to a dog 6. Lively, high-kicking dance originating in Paris

1. In the film Miss Congeniality who plays FBI agent Gracie Hart?

2. According to the nursery rhyme, what did Peter Piper pick?

3. What do you call a female rabbit?

4. Solid carbon dioxide is known by what name?

5. A sesquicentenary celebrates how many years?

6. In photography, what does SLR stand for?

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1 Ripen. 5 Towel. 8 Adder. 9 Bless.

10 Abbot. 11 Thong. 12 Flex. 15 Adhere. 17 Kitty.

18 Spring. 20 Fate. 25 Chair. 26 Thick. 27 Unite.

28 Locum. 29 Shape. 30 Blend.

DOWN: 1 Rebuff. 2 Pierce. 3 Nasty. 4 Adios.

5 Tragedy. 6 Wobble. 7 Little. 13 Lap. 14 Jig. 15 Ate. 16 Rat. 17 Knuckle. 18 Status. 19 Retina.

21 Active. 22 Extend. 23 Farce. 24 Crumb.

QUICK QUIZ 1 Sandra Bullock. 2 A peck of pickled peppers.

3 A doe. 4 Dry ice. 5 150. 6 Single lens reflex.

HONEYCOMB 1 Church. 2 Muscle. 3 Revive. 4 Veneer.

5 Canine. 6 Cancan.

Inner life

6 October 2012 The War Cry

ALL IN THE FAMILY

‘I WANT it now!’

Do these words sound familiar? The cry dreaded by generations of parents echoes through the millennia in this short story told by Jesus.

The Prodigal Son is a deceptively simple tale of a father and his two sons.

The younger son demands his share of the family inheritance. He sees it as his passport out of drudgery and hard work – and he doesn’t intend to hang around until his dad is dead to get it.

So with the money burning a hole in his pocket, off he goes to party his life away in a distant land. Like many others, then and now, he discovers that there are always friends to be had when you have money to splash around. But when it runs out – as it inevitably does – they disappear like snow in the sunshine.

Destitute and demoralised, the son is forced to work slopping out pigs on a farm, the lowliest job of all in biblical times.

He is so hungry he even eats from the pig trough. It is then that he realises what a mess he has made of his life.

13

ROSEMARY DAWSON looks at what the Bible has to say about everyday issues

WEEK 1

A wayward son Luke 15:11–32

As the Bible tells it: ‘That brought him to his senses. He said, “All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I’m going back to my father. I’ll say to him, Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand” (Luke 15:17–19 The Message).

Reaching the depths of despair is often the point where we are ready to accept help.

Like that young man, perhaps our lifestyle needs to change. It might require a complete turnaround of behaviour, recognising a dependency on alcohol or drugs, or accepting the consequences of a failed relationship.

Whatever the circumstances – however long they take to develop – just like the father in the story, God never gives up on us. He keeps on believing in us, longing for the LOOKING FOR HELP? moment when Just complete this coupon and send it to we realise our The War Cry, 101 Newington need of him and Causeway, London SE1 6BN ask for his help.

Reaching the depths of despair is often the point where we are ready to accept help

O Next week: The resentful brother

Please send me Basic reading about Christianity Information about The Salvation Army Contact details of a Salvationist minister Name Address

Library picture posed by model

The War Cry 6 October 2012

How to change the world is a puzzle

Even though sometimes we cannot stop global tragedy from happening, we should never give up fighting it. When things go wrong we can pray. We can provide practical help.

If we want to change the world we live in, then we don’t need to be the Prime Minister (or even God).

We can be ourselves – but perhaps with a few changes.

We need to learn how to forgive. To be helpers instead of criticisers. To practise patience and mercy.

In the Bible, Jesus doesn’t give an answer as to why bad things happen. But he does point out some of the things we can do to make

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the world a better place.

He told one young man: ‘You know the commandments. “Do not murder. Be faithful in marriage. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others.

Do not cheat. Respect your father and mother” (Mark 10:19 Contemporary English Version).

If we concentrate on doing these things in our own lives, it wouldn’t be long before the whole world would reap the benefits. Then, when bad or sad things come along, people would cope – because there would be kindness surrounding them.

Sharing. Peace.

It’s not going to be easy to change the whole world, but with God’s help, we can start by changing our own.

MY

Perhaps some of us feel that we could do a better job than our politicians, but the decisions we made wouldn’t necessarily be popular with everyone. In tackling one problem, we may risk neglecting another. Maybe it’s not such a desirable job after all.

And what if we were to consider an even bigger responsibility than PM? Have you ever thought about what you might change if you were God? Maybe we would stop famine, drought or other kinds of suffering. After all, it is hard to understand why these things happen. We will probably never understand this side of eternity.

by JIM BURNS

R

IF you were Prime Minister what would you change? Would you try to improve healthcare or the economy? Or would you focus on something completely different?

Food for thought

B LO

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LVATION

What’s cooking?

6 October 2012 The War Cry

15

I’M Michael Darracott; I have been an executive chef in several large establishments in charge of cooking for 200-plus people. I have also written a number of books. It gives me great pleasure to offer my recipes in The War Cry. I invite readers to send in recipe ideas, to be considered for publication here. I would also like to offer help with any cooking-related problems you have. So send in your question and, if it is selected, an answer will be published on this page.

Email your recipes and questions to chefmike56@chefmikedarracott.com

Cook with chef MICHAEL DARRACOTT chefmikedarracott.com

MONDAY (8 October) is the start of National Chocolate Week.

So why not indulge yourself by trying these recipes

Ingredients: 2 x 385g cans readymade custard 3tsp orange essence 12 satsumas 6tbsp cocoa powder or drinking chocolate 800g cherries, stones removed and halved 500ml whipped cream 2 fan shaped wafers

Wendy asks:

Cherries and oranges in chocolate sauce Method: Pour the custard into a bowl, then add the orange essence. Add the juice and zest from 6 of the satsumas. Add the cocoa powder, then mix until smooth. Set aside.

Peel the remaining satsumas and cut into segments.

Set aside 2 cherry halves and 12 satsuma segments for garnishing later.

Layer a dessert glass with satsuma segments, then cherries, followed by the chocolate sauce. Repeat these layers until you reach the top of the glass.

To decorate the top, arrange the 6 reserved satsuma segments, place the reserved cherry half in the centre, then pipe the whipped cream into the gaps. Garnish each dessert with a fan wafer.

Serves 2

What salad dressing should I use?

I’m making a pear, blue cheese and walnut salad as a starter. Please can you suggest an appropriate dressing – one which is not too oily or overpowering?

I always enjoy dijon mustard, but you could also try sour cream or a honey and lemon dressing.

SUDOKU SOLUTION

Chocolate almond slices Ingredients: 180g digestive biscuits, crushed 120g butter, melted 3 drops of almond essence 60g caster sugar 1tsp cornflour, mixed in with a little water to make a paste 40g ground almonds 260ml condensed milk 1 small egg, beaten 270g milk chocolate chips 80g flaked almonds Method: Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Mix the biscuits, butter, almond essence and caster sugar in a bowl, then spoon into a greased oven proof dish, making a base.

Leave to cool.

Place the cornflour, ground almonds and condensed milk in a bowl, then add the egg, chocolate chips and flaked almonds. Mix together well and pour over the biscuit base.

Garnish the top with a few extra flaked almonds.

Bake in the oven for 20–40 minutes.

Serve hot or cold.

Makes 8 slices

GAGA PERFUME MAKES SENSE

SHE’S not poker-faced. In fact, she’s all smiles. Lady Gaga is due in the West End tomorrow (Sunday 7 October) to promote her debut fragrance, Fame. The claim to Fame is that it is the first-ever black eau de parfum. Launched last month in New York’s Guggenheim Museum, the perfume was an instant hit. The singer tweeted her followers that ‘6 million bottles in 1 week makes it the 2nd fastest selling fragrance after Coco Chanel’.

writes NIGEL BOVEY

YOUR LOCAL SALVATION ARMY CENTRE

PA

PA photo

Whether Fame will linger as long as the historic French eau remains to be seen, but Lady Gaga is the latest in a long line of celebrities to have their own brand of scent.

Britney, Celine, Kylie, David and Victoria (for him; for her) are just some of those whose aromas are something to savour.

While detractors may argue that celebrity scents are just another way of keeping the cents rolling in, maybe the idea is nothing to sniff at.

The sense of smell is closely associated with memory. Smells can re-awaken long-forgotten memories. We also associate smells – the distinctive notes of a signature perfume – with a particular wearer, and when we get a whiff, the memory of them comes alive.

Perhaps part of the fragrance fashion is that celebrities want to be remembered – even after they have gone.

If so, they are not alone. Many people want to make the most of life, and to be remembered for doing so.

But do we want people to remember everything about us? The times when we were mean, rude, deceitful and hurtful, we want people to forget – even if they can’t forgive.

But God offers to forgive everyone everything, if they call his name and genuinely seek a relationship with him: ‘I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more’ (Jeremiah 31:34 New International Version).

Fame doesn’t mean that we will live for ever. If we want to do that we need to ask God to wipe our slate clean. He will remember our name.

They want to be remembered – even after they’ve gone The Salvation Army (United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland) on behalf of the General of The Salvation Army.

Printed by Wyndeham Grange, Southwick. © Linda Bond, General of The Salvation Army, 2012