War Cry 28 September 2019: selected articles

BBC/KIERON McCARRON

28 September 2019 • WAR cry • TELEVISION 3 Judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Bruno Tonioli have the final say

What will be the verdict? wonders Sarah Olowofoyeku

F

IVE, six, seven, eight … Strictly is back! Fifteen celebrities are taking steps to win the BBC’s dancing competition. Tomorrow (Sunday 29 September) one couple will become the first to take their final bow.

After the light-hearted launch show, the serious shimmying got under way last weekend. The judges gave their scores to the dancing duos, leaving James Cracknell and Luba Mushtuk in the bottom spot, and Kevin Fletcher and Oti Mabuse top of the leaderboard, though no one had to leave the show.

Tonight the couples hit the floor again, and the public vote for their favourites. Tomorrow the judges will make the first of many, sometimes tough, choices between the bottom two couples.

Among those making the decisions in this 17th series of Strictly Come Dancing is new judge Motsi Mabuse.

The former dance champion, who was No matter who we are, at times also a judge on the German version of it can feel as though other people the show, replaces Darcey Bussell on are watching every move that we the panel. make, assessing where we succeed The newcomer has been the subject or fail. And it can hurt when our flaws of much discussion. One issue nobody are highlighted. is dancing round is that Motsi is Then again, if we’re honest with professional dancer Oti’s sister. Will ourselves, we can sometimes see Motsi be biased when it comes to making decisions involving her younger It can feel as though sibling?

Former head judge Len Goodman others are watching expressed sympathy for Motsi.

Speaking to The Sun, he imagined what every move we make might happen if Oti ended up in the final. ‘Whatever decision she makes,’ he that we are not the people we are said, ‘Motsi will get criticism.’ supposed to be. We can be harsh and And Strictly history shows that, while mean-spirited or happy only when the contestants are the ones there to be things revolve round us. judged, no one is safe from judgment – The reality is that ultimately none deserved or otherwise. In the past, the of us entirely measure up. One Bible professional dancers on the show and writer, Paul, wrote that we all fall short. the studio audience have given their But he added that everything was opinion on the tell-it-like-it-is verdicts turned around by God’s Son, Jesus, of Craig Revel Horwood, while some who, though perfect, stepped into our viewers thought that former ballerina place and, in dying on a cross, took the Darcey Bussell could be too-too lenient. punishment that we deserved.

Professional dancer Oti Mabuse and former ‘Emmerdale’ actor Kelvin Fletcher put their best feet forward And – Paul said – when God raised Jesus from death, it showed that we could all go through to a whole new kind of life that stretches into eternity.

As he summarises: ‘Because of the good thing that Christ has done, God accepts us and gives us the gift of life’ (Romans 5:18 Contemporary English Version).

The verdict is decided – all we have to do is invite Jesus into our lives. When we do, the result will be that we receive forgiveness and will come to know the peace of living without fear of being condemned.

So will we take the next step and follow Jesus?

BBC/RAY BURMISTON

g n i h c n u r c Rumba

8 FEATURE • WAR cry • 28 September 2019 The remains of a Salvation Army school

‘Our house was destroyed.

We needed any income for rebuilding, rather than to buy medicine’ Last September, an earthquake and tsunami brought destruction to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Philip Halcrow hears how The Salvation Army has been helping people in the year since

T

a A doctor assesses the needs of ge villa ote rem a patient in

HE only hospital still functioning in the city of Palu had moved out of its building and was continuing its work on the street. ‘The nurses from our academy came in and were supporting the staff running the hospital under tarpaulin,’ says Kevin Sandford. Kevin, a UK Salvationist working in Indonesia, is describing events that took place a year ago when a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck the island of Sulawesi. ‘Our Salvation Army hospital was being run on the street for the first three days, if not longer,’ he says. would be national news if it happened in As well as caring for people in the city, The Salvation Army was sending the UK – people here hardly blink. We don’t think about it, although we are also aware teams out into a landscape where houses had ‘simply disappeared into that life is fragile.

‘It is thought that more than 4,000 people the ground’.

In the months since the earthquake died in the disaster last year, although the number is still not clear. Even now bodies and tsunami, Kevin, as director are being found as buildings are cleared or of Salvation Army projects in the reconstruction starts.’ country, has been witnessing the The UN has estimated that 1.5 million lasting effects of that day and has people in Sulawesi were affected. been playing a part in helping ‘Palu is at the mouth of an estuary, and survivors to rebuild their lives. the tsunami that followed the earthquake ‘Indonesia is in the Ring of Fire,’ came well in land,’ says Kevin. ‘The he says. ‘Earthquakes are a daily prominent yellow Ponulele Bridge – which occurrence here. I have an app that linked the city to the region of Donggala – tells me there were more than ten earthquakes in Indonesia yesterday. lay broken in the water. It was an emotive sight.

Most of the time if there’s a 3.5 ‘But out of the city, in Donggala and magnitude earthquake – which

28 September 2019 • WAR cry • FEATURE 9

A Salvationist who lost family members in the disaster looks out over the remains of the Ponulele Bridge; (left) Lieut-Colonel Yusak Tampai speaks with a patient at the Woodward Hospital

the area of Kulawi, there are loads of remote villages, where many people were affected.’

Kevin had left Indonesia for a few days’ holiday on the morning of Friday 28 September 2018. The earthquake struck later that day. But he stayed in contact with colleagues in the country, where Salvation Army personnel were already working to help people.

Within 24 hours, one Salvation Army leader, Lieut-Colonel Yusak Tampai, was able to get on a military plane into Palu

airport, where all commercial flights had been suspended.

He began to co-ordinate the disaster response.

Within a few days an international Salvation Army team had also arrived to give technical support.

The church and charity was well positioned to help because it was already at work in the country.

‘In Sulawesi alone we have a general hospital, clinics, a nursing academy that trains 100 nurses every year, and 60 schools,’ says Kevin.

‘In fact, central Sulawesi is a hub of Salvation Army activity in Indonesia. Some of the villages are almost totally populated

by Salvationists.

‘They went through the same terrible

experiences as everyone else did. Some lost their lives, others lost their homes.

Some 90 Salvation Army buildings were destroyed and others badly damaged.

‘But very quickly – particularly from our Palu 1 church – our social action teams were able to set up five kitchens, which provided food to people in need.’

The authorities organised meetings where NGOs discussed needs and what they could offer.

‘We were a small cog in the wheel, but because we had so many people on the ground, we were able to contribute to relief efforts. We had the Woodward Hospital, and so anyone who had an immediate need for medical treatment could be sent there.’

But everyone knew that the relief work had to go beyond the city, although it was difficult to get out of Palu or even to know what was going on.

‘Communication was a problem,’ says Kevin. ‘All the cellular activity was down, the electricity was down. The

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10 FEATURE • WAR cry • 28 September 2019

From page 9 infrastructure was severely damaged.

‘Through liquefaction – when mud turns into liquid – roads had just disappeared and houses were suddenly no longer there. There had been landslides, and the roads out of Palu were blocked. No one could get from Palu to Kulawi for a week. The military came in and built a temporary road, but further landslides swallowed that.’

The Salvation Army was determined to take help into more remote areas. ‘One immediate need was for food, and we began to move it out as best we could. At

We had the potential to take mobile clinics to remote villages our area headquarters, a lorry would be piled up with rice and other staples and would go off to deliver it. It would often be shared through a village chief, who would ensure that the people with the greatest needs – elderly people or families with young children – would get it first.

‘We also realised that from our hospital we had the potential to take mobile clinics to remote villages.’

Aided by the donation of an ambulance, The Salvation Army held mobile clinics for months after the disaster.

Kevin explains: ‘People in the remote areas would normally have travelled to Palu for medical support, but because their livelihoods had been destroyed and the infrastructure badly impacted, we took a medical team out to them. The doctors and nurses were able to make assessments and, if someone had complications and needed to be seen for specialist treatment as an inpatient, the team would refer them to the hospital and would ensure they got into Palu.

‘In the seven or eight months after the disaster, the mobile clinics visited 93 remote villages and saw 10,109 patients.’

One of the people who was glad to have had access to a mobile clinic was Augustina, whose

everyday life was turned upside down by the disaster.

‘We own a farm and the whole family help to maintain it,’ she says. ‘I have health problems with my liver, so I would go to Palu to get medicine. It was a long journey, but we had money from the farm, so I

A Salvation Army volunteer delivers supplies to a village

Roads had just disappeared and houses were suddenly no longer there

28 September 2019 • WAR cry • FEATURE 11 Kevin Sandford (back row right) with children and staff at a mobile clinic session

could take a car.

‘After the earthquake, the farm was mostly OK, but our house was destroyed.

There was no longer a car to get to Palu. I felt I needed to stay at the house to rebuild it and take care of the family. Any income from farming was now needed to rebuild, rather than to buy medicine.’

The mobile clinic provided a lifeline.

‘They had the medicine I needed,’ she says. ‘Even though I could not go to the hospital in Palu, the hospital came to me.’

he Salvation Army has also helped T people who were moved into camps ‘because their villages had been totally

destroyed’, says Kevin.

‘One of our early projects was with people who needed to be housed.

Internally displaced persons camps had been set up with tarpaulin and canvas, but the people still needed some of the basics. So we put a project together to provide mosquito nets, jerrycans, water purification tablets, buckets and even safe water education, because we didn’t

want disease to spread.’

Looking to the future, The Salvation Army is considering how it can help those who Schoolchildren show off their new have lost their backpacks livelihood.

‘We’re Army personnel have been trying to help exploring how we can give them the them deal with the trauma of what they education, the training and the tools so experienced. Kevin describes the trauma that they can develop new businesses, support sessions as being ‘fun times whether they are in coffee or some other where the children could get some level of type of agriculture. normality’ with the help of ‘games, songs ‘But that’s not an overnight solution.’ and puppets’. Some 4,500 children have In the meantime, Kevin says, projects benefited. have already been assisting the children A year after the earthquake, Kevin in villages where parents’ livelihoods have reports that some elements of ordinary been lost. life are returning to Palu. ‘But when you ‘We had a project to replace children’s start pushing out from the city, you still see school uniforms, shoes, backpacks and major damage and destruction. books. We have also been helping to ‘We’re still living with the effects of the rebuild our schools. We don’t discriminate disaster every day,’ he says. ‘But we’re – we run projects according to needs.’ supporting communities so that they can As well as addressing concrete become resilient and self-reliant.’ problems confronting children, Salvation

12 INNER LIFE • War Cry • 28 September 2019

Prayerlink YOUR prayers are requested for Megan, who has a kidney infection; and for Gemma, that she will find happiness and hope.

The War Cry invites readers to send in requests for prayer, including the first names of individuals and details of their ­circumstances. Send your requests to Prayerlink, War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, Lon­don SE1 6BN. Mark your envelope ‘Confidential’.

Becoming a Christian There is no set formula to becoming a Christian, but many people have found saying this prayer to be a helpful first step to a relationship with God Lord Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life. Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong.

Thank you that you died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free.

Thank you that you offer me forgiveness and the gift of your Holy Spirit.

Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit to be with me for ever.

Thank you, Lord Jesus.

Amen Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International

Haggai

Nigel Bovey gives chapter and verse on each book in the Scriptures

HE story of Haggai gives insightful T background to the resettlement and rebuilding of Jerusalem towards the end of

Judah’s exile in Babylon.

In 539BC, the Babylonian Empire fell to Persia. Shortly afterwards, Persia’s King Cyrus released 50,000 Jews, under the leadership of Zerubbabel, to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple previously destroyed by the Babylonians (see Ezra 1 and 2).

In 524BC, during the second year of the reign of Persia’s King Darius, God calls Haggai to speak to Zerubbabel, because he has four messages to convey.

The first is simple and practical. Cyrus’s desire to see the Temple rebuilt has been

It is easier for people to be unholy than righteous

Haggai’s second message is that the Temple must be built carefully (2:15). In return, God will ‘fill this house with glory … The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house’ (2:7 and 9). In this new house, God promises he will ‘grant peace’ (2:9).

The third message is that there is a connection between obedience and blessing.

God recognises that it is easier for people to be unholy than righteous (2:10–13). Now that they set their priorities right by rebuilding the Temple, God promises to bless them (2:15–19).

Haggai’s final message is to Zerubbabel personally. God says he will ‘shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms’ (2:22).

When that happens, he says, he will make Zerubbabel ‘like my signet ring, for I have chosen you’ (2:23). In other words, not only has Zerubbabel overseen a new start for the nation, but God will also do a new work through him and his descendants.

frustrated by opposition from Jerusalem’s Samaritan population (Ezra 4). Now, says God, it is time for work to recommence.

God’s argument is pointed: How fair is it that you are living in panelled houses, yet my house is in ruins? (Haggai 1:4).

God also points out that the hardships the returnees are suffering are down to their inactivity on the Temple restoration (1:5–11). ‘“I am with you,” declares the Lord’ sion) The leaders and the returnees (Haggai 1:13 New International Ver recommence work (1:12–15).

Key verse

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