2 October 2021 NZFTS War Cry

FAITH IN ACTION 02 OCTOBER 2021 | Issue 6777 | $1.50

‘He will have the victory’: faith and disordered eating Creating Contemporary Christian Puzzles Prayer in Retirement

Kids Biz Drive-Thru in Taupō International Interview with Chief of the Staff

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WAR CRY The Salvation Army

New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa Territory TERRITORIAL LEADERS Commissioners Julie & Mark Campbell | GENERAL Brian Peddle | FOUNDERS Catherine

& William Booth

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 Vivienne Hill | GRAPHIC DESIGN Sam Coates, Nicole Gesmundo, Lauren Millington | STAFF WRITERS Holly Morton, Louise Parry, Bethany Slaughter | PROOF READING

Major Colleen Marshall OFFICE Territorial Headquarters, 204 Cuba Street,

PO Box 6015, Marion Square, Wellington 6141, Phone (04) 384 5649, Email warcry@salvationarmy.org.nz, salvationarmy.org.nz/warcry SUBSCRIPTIONS Salvationist Resources Department, Phone

(04) 382 0768, Email mailorder@salvationarmy.org.nz, $75 per year within NZ PRINT MANAGEMENT makeready.nz | PAPER Sumo Offset

is an environmentally responsible paper produced using Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) FSC® certified Mixed Source pulp from responsible sources and manufactured under the strict ISO14001 Environmental Management System.

Member of the Australasian Religious Press Association.

Supporting our young people The full toll that the various stages of lockdown have had and are having on our young people—across our four nations—will not be apparent for several months or even years. Early indications are that the suicide rate has increased for youth. Another disturbing statistic is the decreasing age at which children are attempting and committing suicide.

The pandemic is not solely to blame, New Zealand already had the highest youth suicide rate in the OECD, but the point is the mental health wellbeing of our young people must be a priority focus for our nations.

This week was Mental Health Awareness Week, and, in this edition, we feature the battle one of our young people fought during the first round of lockdowns as a result of anorexia. With the loving support of her family and her corps (church), she now testifies to the hope and support she received during this time and her journey back to health.

Underlying these grim statistics is a society that is losing hope. The pressures our young people are facing are increasing and the messaging is becoming more fatalistic, but let us not underestimate the part we can each play in the process of ministering to and supporting our children’s and young people’s mental and spiritual wellbeing. Please pray for them, send them encouraging messages and bring them the good news of the gospel and the hope that we have as believers in Jesus Christ.

Vivienne Hill Editor

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.

Publishing for 138 years | Issue 6777 ISSN 0043-0242 (print), ISSN 2537-7442 (online) Please pass on or recycle this magazine Read online issuu.com/salvationarmynzftwarcry

salvationarmy.org.nz SalvationArmyNZFTS @SalvationArmyNZ salvationarmynzfts

2 WarCry 02 OCTOBER 2021

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The Church is an organism that grows best in an alien society.

C. Stacey Woods

Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Ngā Heiperu 9:28 Waihoki ko te Karaiti, kotahi tonu tōna tāpaenga atu hei pīkau i ngā hara o te tini, ā tēnei ake ko te rua o ōna whakakitenga mai, kāhore anō he hara, hei whakaora i te hunga e tatari ana ki a ia.

Run For Your Life

W

hen I was at school, I remember signing up for various electives. These electives ran alongside the curriculum and were things like baking, woodwork and crafts. I was not particularly interested in most of the electives offered, but I noticed a word I was unfamiliar with, it was ‘harriers’. I had no idea what harriers was, but it sounded interesting, so I signed up.

In due course a note arrived from the ‘harrier club’ requesting we meet on the school field with our gym gear (this was my first ‘oh dear’ moment).

I turned up on the appointed day and was handed a map. The map had a route marked out down streets and roads around the school. It looked like a long way. My heart sank when the teacher informed us that we were to run the route from A to B! I had finally found out what harriers meant or, should I say, cross-country running.

I am the quiet-stroll-along-the-beach-type athlete, always have been, so for me cross-country running was akin to a dentist appointment.

Nevertheless, I stuck it out and completed the course. All was not wasted, I did learn a few things from my harrier foray, including: always use a dictionary, and don’t eat the crab apples off the trees along the street, they will give you a stomach ache. I also learnt that when you run it is not the start of the race that hurts, nor is it the long stretches that hurt. It is when you are near the end and you have expended all your energy and resources, and you get to that point where you now have to draw on reserves you never knew you had

that it hurts, and this hurt turns to pain.

In the Bible, Paul uses the imagery of athletes competing in a marathon, with the Christian life.

It says in Hebrews 12:1b ‘…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.’

Jesus has marked out our individual race, or marathon. He alone knows our end point, so Paul says we should be ‘fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith’ (Hebrews 12:2a).

Fixing your eyes means becoming single-minded, focused on the goal ahead.

If the race is harder at the end than the beginning, then it is important to develop the habits of a winner early in your Christian life: eat the right food (the Bible), discipline your body (reject sin) and practise daily (prayer).

Jesus stands on the finish line of your life.

He gazes longingly down the road, waiting for a glimpse of you as you turn the corner for the home stretch. If you endure, if you keep the faith, if you let nothing come between you and that finish line, then you will be able to say: ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing’ (2 Timothy 4:7–8).

BY VIVIENNE HILL 02 OCTOBER 2021 WarCry 3

Tuna Sushi-style Sandwiches 4 slices wholegrain bread, crusts removed 50g spreadable cream cheese 95g tuna in springwater, flaked and drained ½ Lebanese cucumber, deseeded and cut into matchsticks

Using a rolling pin, flatten bread slices. Spread cream cheese over bread. Place tuna, cucumber and carrot in rows next to each other on the bread, leaving 1cm border along one edge.

Roll bread from opposite edge to enclose filling. Cut each roll into 3 rounds and pack tightly into an airtight container or lunch box so they don’t unravel.

Tip: Use a toothpick to hold roll in place, if necessary.

¼ medium carrot, cut into matchsticks Source: countdown.co.nz

Kids and family, adventure PAW Patrol: the Movie (G) Directed by Cal Brunker Your favourite PAW Patrol pups have hit the big screen—just in time for kindy holidays. Ryder and his team of pups head to Adventure City to save its citizens from the chaos unleashed by their new Mayor—Humdinger! While one pup faces their painful past in the city, the team finds help from a new friend— a peppy long-haired dachshund pup named Liberty. The diverse characters are a plus, as is the upbeat music. While the plot is predictable, who can argue with friendship, courage and a bad guy who keeps losing his hat? While no job is too big, and no pup is too small, at a run time of 88 minutes this movie is too long. Unlike some other kids’ films, this one has little to offer adults other than keeping their children happy. But is PAW Patrol still on a roll? The resounding cry from preschoolers is ‘Yes!’ (Reviewed by Lauren Millington)

WARCRY INHISTORY As we move into the thick of springtime, let’s enjoy this gorgeous cover illustration from the 3 September 1927 edition of War Cry. Source: The Heritage Centre & Archives at the Plowman Resource Centre, Booth College of Mission.

TOPFIVE

Because it’s Fijian Language Week AND Mental Health Awareness Week, here are five different emotions, in Fijian: 1. Marau—happy 2. Rere—afraid 3. Wawale—weary

Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping them up.

Jesse Jackson

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4. Cudru—angry 5. Mamadua—shy

Weird of the Week: German chocolate cake is named after a man named Sam German, not the country.

QUIKQUIZ

1 What does an ammeter measure?

2 The speech beginning ‘All the world’s a stage’ is in which Shakespeare play?

3 Who was Henry VIII’s sixth wife?

4 What is the name for a baby rabbit?

5 In the Bible, what doting mother made her absentee son a new coat each year?

Answers on page 22

SALLIEOF THEWEEK

Ollie Wardle (Ōamaru Corps) At the end of 2020, Ōamaru Corps celebrated and honoured Ollie Wardle (pictured below) for his faithfulness to the band ministry for 80 years. What amazing dedication and service to this ministry. He was greatly surprised to have many family members show up for this occasion. Ollie has always been an active soldier of the corps. He has served as songster leader, bandmaster and as corps sergeant major for 37 years. He’s always willing to lend a helping hand.

Ollie collected for Red Shield in May and received the award at our corps for the ‘Biggest Bucket Total’.

He continues to be an inspiration to us all as he outworks his faith in love for God and love for others.

(By Captain Rachel Montgomery)

Taupō Kids Biz Drive Thru Our vision statement at Taupō Salvation Army is: ‘We exist to share God’s love with all people and help them connect with him’.

The restrictions at Level 2 meant we could not easily run our Friday after school Kids Biz programme, but we decided we would still like to do something to make connections and build relationships with the families in our community.

Thinking outside of the box, we thought we could bless our community by running a ‘drive thru’—if KFC can do a drive thru, then why can’t we?

We set out to have a moment of fun on a Friday afternoon. We put together a menu and thought about what it would take to create a great experience for families, while keeping everyone safe. We wanted to treat the parents and, hopefully, give them a minute to rest, so we also created preschool packs which we had made for our playground kids.

On the day of the drive thru, we gave out a menu to families in cars as they pulled up, took orders, hand sanitised between cars and wore masks. We had specials like ‘Tell a Dad Joke’, ‘Stickers’ or ‘Dance Party’. The ‘In-car Lolly Scramble’ was the favourite with the kids and it added to the fun.

In the Kids Biz packs, there was colouring and activities, a story to read—John 6:1–15—and a seed to plant.

We had a blast, showering cars with party poppers, music playing and dance parties and have had great feedback from the parents and kids. It was an honour to share Jesus with people in this way.

BY ZOANNA LAMOND 02 OCTOBER 2021 WarCry 5

‘HE WILL HAVE THE VICTORY’ FAITH AND DISORDERED EATING

Taylor Adlam, along with her mother, Trudi, recently gave their testimonies at New Plymouth Corps about Taylor’s lockdown struggle with anorexia in 2020. They share their story with War Cry in the hope that it will encourage conversations around mental health and disordered eating.

BY HOLLY MORTON

D

uring New Zealand’s first national lockdown last year, with so much spare time, Taylor felt motivated to start exercising more and eating healthier. It began safely, with changing her diet slightly and exercising more, but Taylor’s mum, Trudi, noticed it didn’t take long before it started becoming unhealthy.

‘She became a lot more restrictive with the food she would eat at home.

She started intermittent fasting, which means that there was only a few hours of the day when she would eat. Gradually that eating window changed from between 12pm and 8pm to no eating before 3pm, then 5pm and then almost 7pm before she’d eat anything, but she didn’t extend out that window.’

Eventually Taylor was consuming one tiny meal a day while still trying to do the same amount of exercise. Her weight quickly fell off.

‘We could see the change, but she thought she was doing really well, she couldn’t see how unwell she actually was becoming,’ says Trudi.

Friends and family raise concerns The Salvation Army in New Plymouth run a Boxfit class twice a week. Before attending one session, Taylor only had three strawberries to eat that day and she still undertook an extreme workout. ‘There were physical symptoms that showed her body wasn’t happy: her hair was thinning out, she was getting chest pains and starting to bruise really easily and she was always cold. But it was the chest pains that started concerning me,’ said Trudi.

Although her family were worried about the way things were progressing, and even people from her church were starting to comment that she was looking too thin, Taylor wasn’t able to hear the genuine concern.

‘Initially when I started losing weight, people would comment “you’re looking really good”. So then even when it changed, you take people saying you look too thin as praise. When you are sick, you think people noticing the change is proof that you are doing well.’ She also felt that her mum was overreacting when she said they should see a doctor.

‘I knew that I needed some help,’ said Trudi, ‘we could see that Taylor wasn’t right, so I made a doctor’s appointment. She wouldn’t come with me, because in her mind there was nothing wrong, I was just overreacting and being dramatic.’

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God steps in Trudi went to the doctor and asked for help, but felt let down when the doctor said that if Taylor didn’t want help, she couldn’t do anything. However, in what Trudi described as ‘God stepping in’, she received a call from the doctor to apologise and to say that after discussion with her colleagues she was referring Taylor to their Eating Disorder Liaison nurse. ‘We were so fortunate, because it’s really hard to get into the mental health system at the moment, it’s so stretched,’ says Trudi.

Taylor attended the appointment believing that it was a waste of time, but wanted to prove this to her mother. She thought they would confirm her view that nothing was wrong.

The nurse asked her questions relating to eating disorders and symptoms. After assessing Taylor, the nurse stated that she was concerned and she would refer her for further tests for the chest pains. While the normal procedure is to go through a GP, the nurse organised for Taylor to go the next morning to the emergency department at the hospital.

‘WE COULD SEE THE CHANGE, BUT SHE THOUGHT SHE WAS DOING REALLY WELL, SHE COULDN’T SEE HOW UNWELL SHE ACTUALLY WAS BECOMING.’ Hospital for Christmas Taylor was tested on December 16 and, as a result, was immediately admitted to hospital. She was put on a nasogastric feeding tube and remained in the hospital for three weeks on complete bed rest. Trudi was with her daughter for the first week and, in the following weeks, Taylor was monitored constantly, unable to get up for anything aside from using the bathroom.

‘We found out when I was diagnosed that if I had carried on the way I was there was a high chance I would’ve had a heart attack,’ says Taylor.

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She spent Christmas in hospital. ‘It wasn’t much of a celebration,’ Trudi said, ‘she ate five grapes and a small nosugar muffin that she’d made.’

Looking back on it, Taylor reflects that, ‘anorexia had become my whole life. Getting out of bed was nearly impossible, I just didn’t have any energy. I’d lost my personality; I wasn’t Taylor anymore. I had isolated myself from everyone and everything.’

The time in hospital was difficult for Taylor and her family.

She had begun to realise that maybe she wasn’t as healthy as she thought she was and she did need some help. However, the goal for the medical staff was for her to put some weight back on, which for Taylor was devastating. She was weighed every second morning to track her progress, and once the feeding tube was out after the first week, she was meant to start eating meals.

Uplifted in prayer During this time—aside from Trudi, her dad Kelvin and her brother Caleb—the only people Taylor let into the ward were Captain Christine Foreman and her daughter Tiana. But their church was continuing to pray for the Adlam family. There were texts sent and messages passed on to them; Trudi really felt that they were being held by their community.

At the same time, Taylor was struggling more and more with her relationship with God. ‘It really made me question my faith, I was so confused … At sixteen or seventeen I should’ve been hanging out with friends, getting my driver licence, being able to live life like a normal teenager. But instead, all my thoughts and energy were based around how many calories were in all foods and counting them all—even in stupid things like an apple—weighing myself multiple times every day, hating the way I looked. I had gotten to the point where I hardly got out of bed because I had no energy and I didn’t want to see anyone. I thought God was doing it to me, I thought, “Why doesn’t he love me?” That really pushed me away from the church, which just made everything 10 times harder because those are the people who have been the most supportive.’

Despite Taylor’s growing uncertainty around her faith and her anorexia, once she had returned home from hospital, she joined her family at the house church held at Captains Karl and Christine’s home. A few of the people going to the house church are recovering from different addictions, and Trudi found that these were the people most able to speak into Taylor’s journey.

‘ANOREXIA HAD BECOME MY WHOLE LIFE. GETTING OUT OF BED WAS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE, I JUST DIDN’T HAVE ANY ENERGY.’ ‘They have really been able to reach out and relate to Taylor because they understand it’s the whole head battle, the voices in your head. This anorexia really does have a personality of its own; it speaks and it’s so loud and you’re just trying to fight it the whole time. She couldn’t face church and the whole group of people that were there on a Sunday, but we could go to our house church once a week and the support and love from there really helped keep her on track.’

Taylor says that no matter how rough her week had been, she was encouraged and supported and not judged.

‘I remember we were talking about how anorexia got to the point where I would have rather died skinny than be alive. And one of the guys was like, “Yeah, it was the exact same for me when I first got off drugs, I didn’t want to be alive, because I just wanted drugs”. That was me! But not with drugs, with my weight.’

Long road to recovery Even though Taylor was back home with her family, they now faced the difficult journey of helping her learn to eat again.

Eating became a frightening experience. Trudi says there were meals served up for her that ‘we might as well have been dishing up a bowl of tarantulas crawling around because that’s pretty much what she was seeing and having to face’.

It was a difficult time for the family. ‘There were times that she would just be begging us: “Just give up and let me die, I don’t want to do this, I can’t do this, why can’t you just let me die?” And that’s so hard when you’re a parent,’ says Trudi. ‘It’s so heartbreaking to watch your child suffer and struggle.’

In the midst of all this, Trudi could hear God saying that his heart was breaking too. She watched Taylor wrestle with God’s reality and love for her. ‘That was a real battle for her as to who God is, who she is to him … I could see the fight and the strength that he put in her.’

Recovery is never a straight line, there are always successes

and setbacks. Even though Taylor is now medically at a healthy weight, there is still a longer battle with her mind for wholeness.

But with Trudi’s help, Taylor is starting to see how God can take anything and use it for good, and she is hoping that her journey will be an encouragement for others struggling with their mental health and with eating disorders.

Glorifying God ‘As hard as this has been,’ said Trudi, ‘God will get the glory through this and he will have the victory. I know we’ve been hearing a lot more that since Covid-19 there’s been a real increase of mental health issues and eating disorders. If our story could just help reach out to one person or encourage someone to try and get the help that they need, then that’s God having the glory through that.’

Taylor shared her story at the Mother’s Day service at New Plymouth Corps and even though she was scared, she felt that it needed to be shared. ‘After I’d spoken, someone came up to me and told me that their daughter had been through it, and then another guy was like, “my brother went through it” and I was just like, wow!’ It seemed that in sharing her own journey with an eating disorder, Taylor had made space in their church for others to talk about their experiences.

Trudi encourages people in our corps and churches to have these open conversations with an attitude of learning and supporting, not judging. She believes in the importance of reaching out to people who are struggling with addiction issues, and while she acknowledges there is not a lot we can do, we can do practical things, like cooking a meal for the family.

‘When it comes to prayer,’ said Trudi, ‘I think prayer for people’s minds to be transformed and opened to the truth of who they are—especially our children and young people who are under such pressure from peers and social media—to know they are created in the image of God and loved passionately by him.’

Taylor is currently enrolled in an early childhood course that she was originally planning to do last year before her health deteriorated. She is excited about life getting back to normal. ‘I want to get a degree to be a nanny. This year is early childhood, primary school and working with disabled kids, but I want to focus on the nannying part. I’ve been babysitting, finally, because I’m healthy enough. I lost all my freedom, which was so weird, but now it’s coming back and I’m very happy.’

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(Not so) Sweet Dreams We’ve all experienced the horror of a nightmare, woken up sweating with a pounding heartbeat, sometimes in such distress that it’s hard to get back to sleep. For the majority of us, they are not an ongoing concern.

Nightmares are often related to stress. Traumatic events, irregular sleep, sleep deprivation and jet lag can also be causes, and women tend to be more susceptible than men. While they tend to lessen as you grow up, about fifty percent of adults have occasional nightmares—or worse.

For those who suffer from nightmare disorder (also known as a parasomnia), nightmares can be debilitating. Because sleep is a painful experience for them, they may avoid it, which can result in poor function at work, school, university or home. It can also make the nightmares worse—sleep avoidance and deprivation can provoke a REM sleep rebound which results in more intense dreams/nightmares and can worsen symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Typical causes of nightmares are: • Anxiety and stress • Mental health conditions (post-traumatic stress disorder, general anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression) • Upsetting events, like grief • Trauma—nightmares can link into imagery or flashbacks from traumatic incidents • Alcohol consumption (or withdrawal) • Eating too soon before going to bed • Consuming scary films, books or media • Side effects of, withdrawal from or beginning new medication or drugs • Fluctuating sleep schedule, sleep deprivation, jet lag or illness and fever • Family history of parasomnia • Struggling to breathe while sleeping (sleep apnoea) •

Here are some questions to ask yourself about your nightmares: •

Is there any pattern to when they occur? (Keeping a sleep diary to note dates or details can help.)

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Do they happen in the first or second half of the night?

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Do you wake up fully alert? Do you feel intense fear or anxiety afterwards?

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Do you remember the plot and visuals of the dreams? Are your nightmares recurring?

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Have you recently been ill or had a fever?

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What is your drug usage/alcohol intake (if any)?

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Do you take medications, natural supplements or alternative medicinal remedies?

•

Have you experienced any other symptoms which might be linked?

It is worth contacting your health professional if you are suffering from nightmares more than weekly, if they are impacting your ability to function in your day-to-day life or if they began as you were starting new medication. A professional can help to identify the specific problem.

Here are some general tips to reduce the likelihood of nightmares for better sleep: •

Keep a night and morning routine

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Relax, wind down before bedtime—limit exposure to screens

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Don’t sleep in or lay in bed while awake, and wake up with the sun, if possible

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Quit smoking

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Limit caffeine and alcohol

Nightmares: happen in REM sleep stage in the second half of the night, people usually wake up alert with a recollection of the nightmare.

•

Exercise daily

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Sleep in a cooler (but still comfortable) temperature

Sleep terrors: happens in non-REM sleep in the first half of the night, people wake up disoriented with no recollection of the terrors.

•

Write down recurring dreams and rewrite the ending to retrain your brain.

Sleep disorders (narcolepsy, sleep terrors).

Tip: the difference between sleep terrors and nightmares is …

Sources: psychologytoday.com and sleepfoundation.org

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TESTIFY! Rupeni Bogi, from Suva Central Corps, testifies to how God’s power rescued him from his struggles with addiction, to life in Christ.

As a young enthusiastic kid, I attended Sunday school every week. My brother and I used to walk two and a half miles to attend junior soldier classes.

We enjoyed every part, like field trips, recreation and—especially—camps.

When I was eleven, I gave my life to the Lord. At the time, my parents were envoys (and later on, became Salvation Army officers). As I grew up, there was a lot of peer pressure in school and colleges, and I fell into it.

My parents were officers at Ba Corps, and later on moved to Nadi Corps before serving in Suva. I usually attended church, Bible studies and cell group with them, and also youth programmes—I was trying to make my parents proud. But behind all this, I had a dark secret: smoking, alcohol and marijuana had been part of my lifestyle.

One time, I was caught on drugs in school. I put shame on myself, thinking of being known as the so-called ‘officers’ kid’ and people expecting something different. I had two types of peer groups—one that built me up, the other that tore me down.

As time moved on, I married my wife, Elenoa, and we had our first daughter.

I started praying like never before and going back to church, until I found a job.

For almost six years, I was employed as an IT technician. At my workplace, it was normal to drink alcohol every day. I became an alcoholic. I stopped attending church, as I was heavily engaged in drug dealing. If Dad invited me to church, I’d go hungover, and at the end my pickup would be waiting with a few beers.

My wife is a warrior. She was against everything that I was engaged in, but she never lost hope despite what she went through daily.

Rupeni (top right) with his Soldier’s Covenant.

IT WAS AMAZING HOW GOD WORKS. HE KNEW MY HEART SO WELL. I WAS FORCED TO DRINK AND, FOR THE FIRST TIME, I REFUSED. After some time, she informed me about her interest to be enrolled in a soldiership class. She wanted me to join her. Every time I thought about it, my heart got troubled, due to my lifestyle conflicting with my desire to move on.

I continued with my job, selling drugs and driving taxis at night to get extra dollars, thinking I could start a new life.

officers for their encouragement, support and prayers—and, of course, the Holy Spirit.

I’ve never felt so much love and hope, witnessing my wife and kids live peacefully and my parents being proud of my transformation. The gift of choice is already given to us, and if we choose the Giver, it is the choice above all choices.

I was in The Salvation Army all my life, but I barely reached church (despite my parents being officers). The day I chose to surrender my life to God once again, it was a glorious feeling. Now my heart rests assured in Christ and he is calling me to be an officer of The Salvation Army.

Vinaka Vakalevu, To God be the glory.

One day, I decided to pray, ‘Lord, if I am going to be forced ten times to drink alcohol, I will say no ten times in your mighty name. Amen.’ It was amazing how God worked. He knew my heart so well. I was forced to drink and, for the first time, I refused. Like the winds of Galilee listened to God, so shall any man.

Fast forward to 2020, I decided to leave my work and started volunteering at Suva Central Corps, as a rehabilitation for myself. It was all God’s timing and his calling. Thanks go to our corps 02 OCTOBER 2021 WarCry 11

Applications

BY CAPTAIN MAT BADGER & CLAIRE GARDNER

The LAB (Living and Breathing) programme is a three-year youth work apprenticeship offered by the Territorial Youth Department. The LAB model sees experienced youth workers, called LAB facilitators, guide and support students through study and practical youthwork components. Applications are now open for the 2022 intake.

The facilitators work with the students to enable them to grow in core competencies of youth work over the course of their apprenticeship. The goal is for them to operate naturally within these competencies and graduate with a Salvation Army Certificate of Youth Work Training.

The programme is run out of corps and centres, called LAB Sites, and these are supported by corps officers and centre managers. The Salvation Army endeavours to train and equip youth workers to do life with young people in New Zealand. The youth of Aotearoa need leaders who will meet them where they are and make a positive impact in their lives.

There is education readily available for anyone who desires training and professional development in youth work. A LAB apprenticeship works alongside this education to grow youth workers to be competent and confident to make a long-term impact in Salvation Army corps, centres and communities around Aotearoa.

If you want to come on this exciting life-forming journey and become a LAB student, you can apply for our 2022 intake now. For more information about the LAB programme have a look at our brochure and application forms at www.firezone.co.nz/leaders/ youth-work-training. Read some personal stories from a few current and graduated LAB students.

We asked some LAB grads and facilitators about their experience of LAB. Check out their answers below.

1. Why did you apply to be a LAB student?

2. What does being a LAB student look like?

3. What has been your LAB highlight?

4. How does LAB set you up for the future?

5. What would you say to someone considering a career in youth work?

Jean Gailey

Graduate and LAB facilitator at Waitākere Corps 1. I saw it as a good opportunity to upskill and learn more about how I can be a better youth worker.

2. I go to placement two days a week and am part of a youth team within the wider centre staff team. I attend retreats, youth camps and other Army events. I get supervision once a month and shadow an experienced youth worker and get opportunities to lead programmes.

3. The experience and life-skills gained, also connecting with young people and other youth workers.

4. You’re able to apply theory to the practice at ground level. You learn many things, not only in front of youth, but behind the scenes. You gain more confidence!

5. Know your why! If you have a passion for young people, you will overcome the challenges and persevere. Be openminded, true to yourself and what you have to offer. Be creative! Never stop learning and remember to self-care.

Ray Tuala

Third-year LAB student at Mt Albert Corps 1. I was keen to get into youth work and LAB seemed like a cool way to get serious about journeying with our rangatahi (youth).

2. I was never alone when studying and always had a team to back me up and support me.

3. The opportunities and connections that I’ve been part of because of LAB, and meeting people who share a heart for seeing young people raised up has been awesome!

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Open for LAB 4. It’s given me a strong foundation for my professional youth work journey. The formal study at Praxis (a youth development diploma) and learning opportunities offered through LAB, has constantly challenged me and given me chances to form complex understanding of youth work and also my faith.

5. Think, pray and meditate over it, because it isn’t an easy job, it doesn’t always pay the greatest and is quite tiring.

However, if you want the world to be a better place, if you enjoy connecting with people, if you want to impact the next generation and create space where people can be their complete and authentic selves, then, yeah, go for it!

JD DOUGLAS

LAB graduate from Central Youth Services 1. Initially for the support of the Sallies whilst studying. They provided what I needed to get through, not only financial aid, but also in terms of my own spiritual journey—amazing mentors and peers to build whanaungatanga (relationships).

2. I was a part of something, with a foundation to better conduct myself as a trainee youth worker. Thankfully, I have been a LAB student in three locations, which has given me a greater perspective on my journey.

3. For me it has been the retreats and being able to connect with other like-minded people, who share a passion for building up our rangatahi (youth).

4. I've had a taste of what it is like to work within an organisation with different styles of leadership (not always aligned with my morals and beliefs), but just being able to push through that and seek better outcomes.

5. To do so at your own capacity, ensure that you’ve got a strong support network behind you that can tautoko (support) your mahi (work), as well as taking necessary measures to ensure you’re conducting safe practice.

Also, self-care … hugely important!

Kava Windsor Second-year LAB student at Roskill Rec Centre

1. I enjoy being in spaces with young people and so I applied to be a LAB student. It gave me the opportunity to work alongside rangatahi at a professional level.

2. You have different networks/connections you can link up with, if you want to further your youth work or be a part of The Salvation Army family.

3. The retreat, where we get to connect with other LAB students and organisations linked in with The Salvation Army. It’s so encouraging being part of a group where you share ideas with one another to better your work for the sake of rangatahi (youth).

4. If you have a passion and deep care for young people, then LAB will help set you up for work with young people.

I was able to apply to Praxis to further my studies in youth work. I was also able to begin my youth work experience by working in schools as a youth worker.

5. If you love young people and you want to make a difference in their lives, then LAB is the place to help you get started.

James Adams

LAB graduate and LAB facilitator at Mt Albert Corps 1. I was leaving high school and a mentor asked me to apply. I experienced deeply the value of having someone being intentional with me, and I wanted to stand in the gap for others.

2. You study youth work full time, and a significant part of this is unpacking practical youth work. The key part of LAB is the site and facilitator because the biggest issue for youth workers isn’t youth work, it’s the environment.

LAB gives new youth workers structure and support to focus on what matters.

3. Being part of the Sallies, the culture of caring for others has always been important to me. Also, I developed skills and was trained to understand what is helpful and good practice, this has been massive.

It shifts the impact beyond ‘care and pray’ to include understanding what makes a difference.

4. Often youth workers don’t have the support to journey much longer than two years, or the organisation/leadership/funding shifts around them.

LAB provides some stability and consistency for new youth workers.

5. Youth work is about lifting and enhancing mana in each young person. It’s about decolonising your thinking, recognising the impact you have on the world around you and putting others ahead of yourself. It costs—youth work requires you to give part of yourself. If you’re considering youth work, you should do it for the right reasons.

02 OCTOBER 2021 WarCry 13

J3:16 Gifts—The Perfect Fit

BY BETHANY SLAUGHTER

Allison Beckham has big plans to use a new medium to share the Christian message: jigsaw puzzles. Through J3:16 Gifts, she hopes people can have fun assembling contemporary, faith-inspired designs.

About 18 months ago, Allison Beckham woke up one morning with a God-inspired idea: to re-invent and create contemporary Christian jigsaw puzzles.

Allison explains that traditionally Christian puzzles have been quite limited in range and tend to draw on old-fashioned imagery. That morning, when the concept of connecting contemporary imagery and Bible verses was planted in her head, she wrote down her ideas straight away.

She tested out one idea on a friend at Invercargill Corps (church), who is a keen puzzler. ‘She said, “Oh, I’d really like to 14 WarCry 02 OCTOBER 2021

do that puzzle. Where can I buy it?”, and I said, “Well, I haven’t actually made it yet”.

‘It’s one thing to have the idea, it’s another thing to make it all happen, isn’t it?’ she muses.

Big picture idea Then, at the beginning of the year, she began researching and formulating the business idea in order to get J3:16 Gifts off the ground. She provided the concepts, and the designs were put together by Invercargill-based graphic designer Campbell Goodsir.

Opposite page (clockwise from top left): Jigsaw puzzle creator Allison Beckham discusses a sample puzzle with Christian Booksellers Association NZ president The Rev Dr Sandy Haverfield at the association’s annual trade show in Auckland, August, 2021; Church of The Good Shepherd puzzle design; stained-glass puzzle design; Riverton boat puzzle design.

Allison has four jigsaws currently available for pre-order, with another range of four scheduled to follow (ultimately, she has a series of 25 to 30 designs in mind). ‘I’ve got three that have got the Bible verses included in them and one that’s a stainedglass window, which I think is a really super cool puzzle.’

In the future, Allison has plans for a series of puzzles for dementia patients and very elderly people (which are the size of a 1000-piece puzzle with pieces that are twice as large).

Learning the ropes of this new venture has thrown up its unique challenges—however, by utilising the support of those around her, these problems have ultimately been solved.

‘There’s an awful lot to learn about how to make puzzles and how to sell puzzles. I have run a couple of small family businesses in the past, but I’ve never done anything that involves wholesaling or retailing,’ Allison says. ‘I have joked a few times, and said, “God, thank you very much for the idea— but I didn’t know you were going to make it quite as difficult!”’

One such obstacle was gaining permission from Biblica (The International Bible Society) to print the NIV verses. Another was getting approval to use the image of the stained-glass window: as it turned out, she needed permission from not just the photographer, but the church that owns the window, the man who made the window and the family of the designer. ‘That one was quite a mission,’ she remarks.

TO KEEP GOD IN THE CENTRE OF THE PROJECT AND PRAYERFULLY CONSIDER EVERY DECISION HAS BEEN CRUCIAL, ALLISON SAYS. Grand designs The first batch of products are being made in Auckland and due for delivery in October. Covid-19 level changes may yet affect their arrival, but Allison is optimistic that the delays will be small.

She will be selling via her online store, as well as through partners. Before lockdown she secured an Auckland-based distributor, as well as orders from several independent Christian bookstores including Manna Christian Stores.

Ultimately, she hopes to sell in overseas markets as well, with the United States and China both on her radar.

‘I’ve just had a couple of really good, positive responses from US companies—one of which is interested in being a US distributor as well as a US manufacturer,’ she says. ‘Once you get through all the intricacies and complications of selling internationally, it’s not impossible to do; it just requires some time and effort and a few international partners—nothing God and I can’t do, I’m sure.

‘There’s 2.6 billion Christians in the world, only estimated, and so I figure I ought to be able to sell a million jigsaw puzzles.’

Putting the pieces together Allison is thrilled to have created these puzzles with the support and resourcing of so many people around her, who have assisted with everything from business advice to market research.

These people include test audiences who came to morning teas, colleagues who helped Allison get her head around the intricacies of small business and even a couple of her tenants who have been able to provide insights into the Chinese market and help her build early connections.

‘IT’S ONE THING TO HAVE THE IDEA, IT’S ANOTHER THING TO MAKE IT ALL HAPPEN, ISN’T IT?’ Her family has also been important as sounding boards, with both her brother (a computer-aided design technician) and sister (a photographer) providing creative advice. ‘My family are not shy about giving their opinion about anything,’ she says.

‘Everybody’s been incredibly supportive.’

To keep God in the centre of the project and prayerfully consider every decision has been crucial, Allison says. Her hope is that these jigsaws go one step beyond being gifts and have an evangelistic aspect as well.

Already, the process of promoting her products has brought about some great conversations.

‘It’s been quite an interesting exercise just to say what my business is and that it’s got a Christian theme, and that it’s got an evangelism and mission goal as well. It’s been a very positive response, from not just the Christian community but from a very broad range of people,’ she says.

‘I’m really enjoying the chance to talk about what it is that I’m trying to do and mention my faith in there as I go.’

Allison cannot wait to see how the puzzles will be received. ‘I think it’s going to fill a niche in the market,’ she says.

After people enjoy solving their puzzle and ‘get a sense of achievement out of finishing it’, she hopes the jigsaws will make their way to book sales and second-hand shops.

‘I’d love to see them a bit battered around the edges, hopefully with not too many pieces missing, to be sold or given away again and again,’ she says. ‘It would be really fascinating to see who actually gets to do that puzzle, and it might be someone who hasn’t had much to do with the Word of God at all.

‘A perfect outcome, I think, would be to see them shared and enjoyed multiple times.’

MORE INFO | For more information about J3:16 gifts or to order your own jigsaw puzzle, please email Allison at admin@j316.site

02 OCTOBER 2021 WarCry 15

Supporting an International Army Chief of the Staff Commissioner Lyndon Buckingham talks to War Cry (United Kingdom and Ireland Territory) editor Major Andrew Stone about his role and the worldwide work of The Salvation Army.

What does being Chief of the Staff involve?

My primary responsibility is to serve the Office of the General.

I meet regularly with the General to discuss issues that relate to The Salvation Army around the world—direction, policy, mission, challenges, legal issues, personnel issues. Multiple scenarios need to be brought to the General’s attention, and part of my role is to keep him informed—both about the things that we are celebrating and the things that might be described as risks or issues that need to be managed.

This means staying as informed as I can about issues that are going on around our Army world. For that reason part of my role is to meet regularly with international zonal secretaries one-to-one, to get briefings that relate to their zones. These help inform me and also give me the opportunity to advise on how the General might want something handled.

Future planning for Army leadership needs around the world is another part of my role, as is ensuring that IHQ runs smoothly in terms of serving the needs of the General and the Army. I try to ensure our systems and structures facilitate a service mentality to the Army world.

I’m involved in a number of boards that keep a close eye on our activities around the world to ensure we are ministering in line with our policies and Orders and Regulations. Recently we held an online international leaders’ conversation. Out of that have come a number of recommendations and next steps, so part of my role is to help the General ensure that decisions taken there are acted on.

The role is busy and challenging but rewarding. I’m grateful for the opportunity.

How do you cope with that level of responsibility?

I’m quite a robust person, so that helps. But I would say I cope

by God’s grace and personal discipline. That means rest, healthy diet, sleep and intimacy with the Lord. Whoever you are as a follower of Jesus, the maintenance of your intimacy with the Master is primary to your effectiveness in ministry.

I also get a great deal of help from the officers and staff members who serve at IHQ. I am so grateful for the team who provide excellent leadership and service to the international Salvation Army.

How has the pandemic impacted the Army?

It has been incredibly tough in many places, and where we haven’t had the infrastructure to cope it’s been a struggle. I’m so proud of The Salvation Army around the world because, even in the very challenging situations, we have stepped in and stepped up. We have been sensible and managed ourselves with restrictions, and we have found ways to be creative and innovative.

But it has come at a cost: not a week goes by that I am not notified of another officer, member, soldier or care worker who has been promoted to Glory as a result of contracting Covid-19.

16 WarCry 02 OCTOBER 2021

This pandemic is lasting longer than people anticipated. There is a weariness that creeps into our ranks around the world. We need copious amounts of kindness as we give each other the space we need to deal with our own stories and realities around the pandemic.

How has IHQ coordinated a worldwide Covid-19 response?

The generosity of Salvationists around the world and careful planning and preparation at IHQ mean we have been able to support and assist multiple groups of people in multiple ways.

A lot of that is monetary resource to keep facilities open and pay hospital staff in places like India. Beyond that, educational material and basic personal protective equipment have enabled students to return to schools in a safe way, and operational grants have helped headquarters carry on supporting frontline services.

I think the Army is doing a fantastic job responding to the pandemic in ways that are meaningful and practical, and I call on people to join me in praying for the safety and wellbeing of our teams around the world.

Each situation needs a different kind of response, and territories know how best to respond in their context. So it’s not a case of us telling them what they should do – it’s more us asking them how we can help. One of the things I’ve been incredibly grateful for is that territories where vaccinations are more easily

accessed, and where they are emerging from their own issues, are asking how they can help others – what’s needed and where to direct resources. They are enabling us to direct resources and support where it’s most needed. We will continue to do that as long as they are willing to support.

I also want to say that what you are seeing in this crisis is what the Movement does around the world anyway. I want to celebrate that. Officers, members, soldiers, staff and volunteers are being salt and light in the world on a daily basis – meeting challenges, meeting need, working with people and sharing the gospel. What happens in a crisis, a pandemic or some other natural disaster is that we just take it up a gear, and it’s recognised more. But in the 132 countries where we operate, faithful mission and ministry is happening all the time. It is often uncelebrated and unsung, but I thank God for that truth.

How can individuals support the Army’s international work?

My initial response would be that they should commit to praying. Prayer is the powerhouse of the Church, and we shouldn’t underestimate it. Also, check with your corps, division or even THQ about what initiatives are in place and how you might support financially, if that is the contribution you want to make. And there may be programmes the Army is involved in that you might be able to sign up for. So it’s about asking the questions to find out how you can influence the care of The Salvation Army somewhere else in the world, but there are definitely tremendous opportunities.

What is the biggest challenge facing The Salvation Army?

We face all sorts of challenges currently, so to identify the most important is difficult. There are so many agendas, issues and challenges that we have to consider what our focus should be and where we should be investing ourselves. These are things we must wrestle with because there are so many good things we could be doing.

One challenge is to remain confident in our belief in the transforming, redemptive power of Jesus. The Army was born out of a desire for people to be reconciled to God through faith in Christ. We’ve found all sorts of practical ways to demonstrate the values of the Kingdom, to engage with issues of justice and to meet need in his name—and I wouldn’t want us not to be engaged in any of that—but I also wouldn’t want us to lose our confidence in the power of the message and person of Jesus.

I am praying and looking for every opportunity to remind ourselves that we are Jesus people, that we are disciples of Jesus, that we know what it means to be loved and embraced

by God through faith in Christ. There’s a challenge for our Movement to be creative and intentional about that message of transformation influencing all our activity. There is a whole range of opportunities to do that, and it’s limited only by our creativity, innovation and courage.

The big idea of the Movement has been articulated in so many different ways by so many different people over the years and it’s captured in our mission statement. It is that we want to make God’s redemptive plan known. We want people to know that God, who is powerful and magnificent and hard to describe, has made himself known as a God of love and grace through the person of Jesus Christ. We’ve experienced it and we want people to know about it.

I just hope that we will be recaptivated by a sense of excitement about being a proclaiming Army, an Army that wants to tell people about God and his love. We don’t want to just be people who talk about it, but to be a sleeves-rolled-up, practical Army demonstrating what happens when you have this encounter, in terms of a desire to reach out to people in practical ways with love and grace and mercy.

We also recognise that we have had this beautiful privilege of being adopted into God’s family. We’re citizens of the Kingdom inhabiting planet Earth, so we want to be salt and light in the world. We want to live lives that are pure, free, full of joy and empowered by the Holy Spirit—so that, even before we speak and act, there’s something about us that captures the imagination of people.

What else would you want to do on the planet than be a part of that big idea? A beautiful people of God, who are clean in word and thought and deed and desire, living out the truth of God’s love in Jesus, proclaiming it in word and living it out in action.

Let the mission continue!

Reprinted with permission from Salvationist (United Kingdom and Ireland Territory), 07 August 2021.

Snapshot of The International Salvation Army Number of corps, outposts, new plants and recovery churches: 14,588 | Number of officers: 27,177 | Number of employees: 107,245 | Soldiers: 1,231,838 | Adherents: 174,815 | Junior soldiers: 394,990 | Senior band musicians: 27,427 | Songsters: 132,553 | Sunday school members: 756,487 | Homeless accommodation: 3220 (capacity: 44,401) | Residential addiction dependency programmes: 235 (capacity: 14,598) | Disaster rehabilitation schemes: 105 (serving 81,004 people) | Prisoners visited: 140,711 | General hospitals: 29 | Maternity hospitals: 392 Sourced from The Salvation Army Year Book 2021

What are your hopes and prayers for The Salvation Army in the coming years?

I’m praying that our imagination would be captured again by the big idea of the Movement—that we would be enamoured with that big idea and feel a freedom to explore it and see how it plays out in our context, in our day.

02 OCTOBER 2021 WarCry 17

GAZETTE Bereavement: Major June Allwright, of her father Duncan Snell, in New Plymouth on Tuesday 14 September 2021. We ask you to uphold in prayer Majors June and Mike Allwright, Duncan’s wife Maureen, along with other family members, at this time of grief and loss.

Resignation of officership: Lieutenant Miriam Choi, effective Saturday 4 September 2021. Miriam entered training as a cadet of the Messengers of Compassion session in February 2017. Following her commissioning on 7 December 2019 Miriam was appointed as assistant corps officer, Palmerston North Corps. We thank Lieutenant Miriam Choi for her ministry and service and pray God’s blessing on her in the days ahead.

ANNUAL GENERAL CHANGE Territorial Headquarters THQ, Executive Office: Major Elisabeth Gainsford, Territorial Secretary for Spiritual Life Development.

THQ, Personnel Section: Major Pamela Waugh, Personnel Referral Coordinator (appointment in retirement).

THQ, Mission Section: Major Ian Gainsford, Territorial Secretary for Mission; Major Alison Moody, Territorial Women’s Ministries Coordinator; Major David Moody, Keeping Children Safe Secretary (full-time appointment); To Be Advised, Executive Officer, National Youth Band.

Booth College of Mission Centre For Leadership Development, Upper Hutt Envoy Malcolm Irwin, Director (continuing his appointment as Project Manager, Missional Development); Captain Kathy Crombie, Project Manager, Workforce Development (appointment in retirement).

Addictions, Supportive Housing and Reintegration Services (ASARS) Lieutenant Lynda Pitcher, Mission Director, Bridge Christchurch; Major Gavin Baxter, Chaplain, Bridge Greymouth (additional appointment); Major Myles Plummer, Mission Officer, Hawke’s Bay— Transitional Housing (appointment in retirement).

Salvation Army Social Housing (SASH) Major Bronwyn Aldersley, SASH Officer Support (additional appointment); Major Robert Cope, Mission Support Facilitator.

Northern Division Captain David Daly, Divisional Commander; Captain Denise Daly, Divisional Director of Women’s Ministries and Divisional Secretary for Personnel; Cadet Alana LePine, Divisional Youth Secretary (Cadet in appointment); To Be Advised, Divisional Candidates Secretary; To Be Advised, Hēkeretari-ā-Wehenga Raki Manatū Māori (Divisional Secretary for Northern Division Māori Ministry); Major Julie Cope, Divisional Mission Support Facilitator; Major Robert Cope, Divisional Spiritual Life Development and Prayer Coordinator (additional appointment); Captain Stephen Molen, Divisional Coordinator for Emergency Services (additional appointment); Neil Henderson and Tiana Henderson, Corps Officers, East City Corps (Neil and Tiana Henderson will take up their appointments with the rank of Auxiliary Captain); Captain Nathan Holt and Captain Naomi Holt, Corps Mission Team Leader, Whangārei Corps; Trevor McLean, Corps Mission Leader, Whangārei Corps and Director, Whangārei Community Ministries (Trevor McLean will take up his appointment with the rank of Territorial Envoy).

Midland Division Captain Jenny Ratana-Koia and Captain Peter Koia, Corps Officers, Gisborne Corps and Directors, Gisborne Community Ministries; Under Divisional Oversight, Grandview Corps; Captain Corryn Vemoa, Assistant Officer, Hamilton City Corps; Lieutenant Michal Baken, Assistant Officer, Napier Corps and Community Engagement Team Leader, Napier Community Ministries; Captain Hana Seddon, Corps Officer, Rotorua Corps and Director, Rotorua Community Ministries; Major Timothy Malton and Major Zelma Malton, Associate Officers, Taranaki Region with Responsibility for Central Taranaki Corps; Captain Robert Gardiner, Coach/Mentor Taranaki Cluster (appointment in retirement); Captain Kylie Overbye and Captain Ralph

18 WarCry 02 OCTOBER 2021

Overbye, Corps Officers, Tauranga Corps and Directors, Tauranga Community Ministries; Cadet Ben Willis and Cadet Jesse Willis, Corps Officers, Thames Corps (Cadets Ben and Jesse Willis will take up their appointments with the rank of Lieutenant following their commissioning as part of the Messengers of Reconciliation—Ngā Karere o te Maungārongo Session); Under Divisional Oversight, Tokoroa Corps and Tokoroa Community Ministries; Cadet Alanah Moody and Cadet Chris Moody, Corps Officers, Waihi Corps (Cadets Alanah and Chris Moody will take up their appointments with the rank of Lieutenant following their commissioning as part of the Messengers of Reconciliation—Ngā Karere o te Maungārongo Session).

Central Division Major Alison Moody, Divisional Secretary for Women’s Ministries (additional appointment); To Be Advised, Divisional Candidates Secretary; Captain Karen Baker, Divisional Secretary for Community Ministries; Major Bruce Tong and Major Valerie Tong, Corps Officers, Dannevirke Corps; Major Janette Waugh and Captain Kevin Waugh, Corps Officers, Feilding Corps; Lieutenant Cameron Millar, Assistant Officer, Hutt City Corps; Lieutenant Raewyn Evans, Corps Officer, Upper Hutt Corps and Director, Upper Hutt Community Ministries; Captain Josevata Serevi, Mission Officer Street Ministry, Inner City Ministries Wellington (additional appointment); Captain Adam Grove and Captain Sarah-Ann Grove, Corps Officers, Woodville Corps (additional appointment).

Southern Division Lt-Colonel Gordon Daly and Lt-Colonel Susan Daly, Divisional Leaders, pro tem (effective 1 November 2021); Captain Amanda Kennedy, Divisional Secretary for Business Administration; To Be Advised, Divisional Youth Secretary; To Be Advised, Divisional Children’s Secretary; To Be Advised, Divisional Candidates Secretary; Major Joanne Wardle and Captain Ross Wardle, Corps Officers, Linwood Corps and Team Leaders, Christchurch East and Directors, Christchurch East Community Ministries; Lieutenant Grant Pitcher, Corps Officer, Christchurch North Corps; Major Glenys Fairhurst, Corps Officer, Gore Corps (continuing her appointment as 12 Steps Facilitator); Major Gavin Baxter, Corps Officer, Greymouth Corps; Major Murray Sanson and Major Wendy Sanson, Corps Officers, Invercargill Corps and Directors, Invercargill Community Ministries; Captain Fiona Stuart and Captain Rance Stuart, Corps Officers, Westport Corps.

Fiji Division Captain Sevanaia Wawa and Captain Vakatoto Wawa, Corps Officers, Labasa Corps; Captain Vakatoto Wawa, Chaplain, Labasa Family Care Centre (continuing her additional appointment as Divisional Spiritual Life Development and Prayer Coordinator); Major Amelia Naviko and Major Jeremaia Naviko, Corps Officers, Savusavu Corps.

Tonga Region Captain ‘Asena Sifa, Assistant Community Ministries Officer (additional appointment).

Samoa Region Major Afolau Toluono, Mission Support Officer.

Officers Awaiting International Appointments Major Graham Medland and Major Lynne Medland.

Australia Territory Appointments Major Christine Ivers and Major Earle Ivers, Corps Officers, Gold Coast Temple, Queensland Division (effective 12 January 2022).

Officers Concluding Appointments in Retirement at General Change Major David Bennett and Major Judith Bennett; Major Denise Crump and Major Stephen Crump; Captain John Carpenter and Captain Lydia Carpenter; Envoy Marilyn McRae; Major Stephen Wallis (concluding on 10 March 2022).

Officers Retiring Colonel Heather Rodwell; Major Beverley Baxter; Major Mark Ennever; Major Pamela Waugh; Captain Kathy Crombie; Envoy Peter McRae. We pray that God will bless and prepare all of these leaders in the days ahead.

I am a late-adopter when it comes to things technological. This doesn’t necessarily mean I lack intelligence, it’s just that I lack the ‘know-how’.

But Chromecast and Spotify have become the means by which I now access a diverse range of watching and listening options. In doing so, I am discovering songs that I would never have found and viewing options that would have been unlikely to be on my radar. You see, somewhere out there in cyberspace, ‘someone’ (excuse my simple understanding) now offers me other things I may enjoy based on my previous viewing and listening.

Shuffle Play enables me to listen to an eclectic mix of tracks without the predictability of order that previous listening habits trained me to expect.

The result is that I hear in a fresh way things that had become so familiar that I’d stopped truly hearing. When songs become simply background music and we fail to stop long enough to truly hear them, we enjoy their familiarity, but the intensity of the rhythm and lyrics may pass us by. This is a sad diminishing of the performer’s gift.

The repetitive nature of prayer can also fall victim to this same familiarity. If your prayers have become a series of words and phrases patched together but no longer requiring much thought or attention, can I encourage you to try ‘shuffle play’? Delve into other resources of prayer—perhaps from centuries past, or the Bible or from the pen of current writers. Go on a Google adventure!

In the discovery of some of these prayers, we are provoked into new adventures in prayer. We are required to slow down, venture out and be drawn into the ageless invitation to commune with God as we allow other people’s words to become ours. In this year of prayer, let’s expand our adventures in prayer.

BY COLONEL HEATHER RODWELL

ALL OF US TOGETHER.

I don’t really like wearing a facemask but, like everyone else over the past months, I have learnt to adapt and to never leave home without one. I do this not just for myself and my own safety but for the safety of others. Covid-19 has taught me how to be more adaptable, to do things differently. It has shone a light on the importance of a collective response.

Of course, it’s much easier to focus on ourselves and our own individual needs and wants at this uncertain time, but if we want life to return to some kind of normality, we are being asked to ‘unite to beat Covid-19’. We are dependent on each other to do what’s needed. As we unite, we can achieve great things. Sound familiar? It should, He Waka Eke Noa—One Waka, All of Us Together. As followers of Christ, we are called to work together as the Body of Christ.

As I look across our territory, I see wonderful examples of how we are working together to care for people. There are inspiring stories of people reaching out, connecting with others and sharing the love of Jesus in very practical ways. We are also sharing karakia (prayer) together creatively and finding ways to worship online, supporting people in their faith journey. There is much to be grateful for.

I am also aware that many are growing tired and feeling anxious about when and how this will end. I acknowledge that people are struggling under increased financial strain and other stresses that are exacerbated by Covid-19. But, let’s not give up. Galatians 6:9–10 encourages us, ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.’

As another week approaches, let us look for opportunities to keep doing good, to unite and work together, and be encouraged and inspired as we serve God and each other. Let me finish with this whakatauki (proverb): ‘Ma te kotahitanga e whai kaha ai tātau. In unity, we have strength.’

Captain Pauleen Richards Territorial Secretary for Personnel

02 OCTOBER 2021 WarCry 19

Prayer in Retirement Welcome to retirement, the season of letting go! The years of work were challenging, full of relentless demands and busyness, but the season of retirement has its own daunting challenges as well. As I say wistfully to myself and forcefully to others at times, there’s work to do in every season of life.

Even in the season of after-work.

BY MAJOR BARBARA SAMPSON

I always knew that God would tell me when it was time to finish doing what I loved doing for just on 40 years. And God did—through circumstances. A series of insights into my physical, emotional and mental state told me it was time to step back, let go and regather. Oh, the relief! But oh, also the surprise of being plunged into a no-man’s land of questions and soulsearching. Who am I in this new place?

Who am I without my team around me, my colleagues, my workmates? Who am I away from all that defined me in a role I loved so much?

I once heard a top leader lament that within a day of retiring, he had moved from head rooster to feather duster.

I chuckled at the time, thinking it was funny, poor man. But the sound of a cock-a-doodle-do being strangled has reached my ears as well!

I took myself in hand with the help of a wise friend and faced some tough questions: ‘What is the best thing about this new season of life?’ Larger margins in the day, freedom to make choices, time to rest and read, coffee with friends, a regular bike ride or swim, a movie, a day out. As my list grew, the delight was almost palpable.

20 WarCry 02 OCTOBER 2021

THE DESIRE TO HANG ON COMES FROM A SENSE OF SCARCITY AND FEAR. THE DESIRE TO GIVE MYSELF COMES FROM A SENSE OF ABUNDANCE AND GENEROSITY. ‘So, what is the worst thing about this new season?’ Its shapelessness. Is this really what I am meant to be doing, God? Am I of any use to anyone anymore?

How do I carve out a new identity away from all that shaped me before?

‘And what is the worst of the worst things?’ (My insightful friend was persistent!) The worst of the worst is that I might become a brittle, grumpy old woman, wizened by regrets and the memory of opportunities gone—there, I’ve said it.

The awkwardness of not knowing Author David Whyte says: ‘We have this odd assumption that we will fall in love with ourselves only when we have become totally efficient organised beings, and left all our bumbling ineptness behind. Yet, the opposite is true. It is in our awkwardness of not knowing, of not being in charge ... in our vulnerability that we are open to the world.’

is important to you?’ and ‘What do you value?’ have been key questions for me to hold and consider. So I made a list.

These are the things I value at this time … This is what is important to me …

I spotted these quotes on a wall at a counselling centre: ‘We all need to plant a tree for another to sit under’, and, ‘Each of us leaves music for another to play after our own time’.

I KEEP TELLING MYSELF THAT GETTING OLDER HAS A LOT TO ANSWER FOR.

Traversing the unknown

A friend calls to tell me she has dementia. ‘How do you know? I ask numbly. ‘It’s been diagnosed,’ she says.

The label hangs like a noose around her neck, robbing her of skills that she once excelled at. Another friend is suddenly unwell and tests reveal a serious illness.

‘This is a mountain,’ she says, ‘not just an easy climb up a hill’. I keep telling myself that getting older has a lot to answer for. Another friend agrees. ‘It’s not for sissies,’ she says.

Indian-born surgeon Atul Gawande’s book Being Mortal has been a guiding light to me as I find my way through this strange and gifted season. His questions asked of terminally ill patients, ‘What

Parker Palmer talks about retaining a sense of meaning in our later final years.

‘I no longer ask, what do I want to let go of, and what do I want to hang on to?

Instead I ask, what do I want to let go

There’s that word again—vulnerability, the ability to be wounded. So often we feel we need to avoid it at all costs as a weakness, a stain on the fabric of our being, but those who are wiser insist that vulnerability is a sign of strength and openness. So how do we find peace within when the usual anchors of the soul are no longer in place?

‘WE HAVE THIS ODD ASSUMPTION THAT WE WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH OURSELVES ONLY WHEN WE HAVE BECOME TOTALLY EFFICIENT ORGANISED BEINGS, AND LEFT ALL OUR BUMBLING INEPTNESS BEHIND.’

of, and what do I want to give myself to? The desire to hang on comes from a sense of scarcity and fear. The desire to give myself comes from a sense of abundance and generosity. Those are the kinds of truths I want to wither into.’

Jesus and the fig tree Speaking of withering, Scripture tells the story of Jesus coming across a withered fig tree (Matthew 21:18–22).

Standing in a lone place at the side of the road it looked as if it was laden with fruit. ‘A big fig breakfast,’ Jesus may have thought. But closer examination revealed only leaves, brown and brittle, shaking in the wind.

Interestingly, this cameo of the withered fig tree stands right next to Jesus’ words about embracing the values of the kingdom, and the largeness of effective prayer that happens, flows and grows, as a result. ‘Do this,’ Jesus says that ‘...you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move.

Nothing will be impossible for you’ (Matthew 17:20b).

Two pictures of vitality and growth stand side by side. One disappointingly stunted and withered, the other full of exuberant, excessive, extraordinary growth and life. In this retired season of my life, I know which one I absolutely want to be!

Hear my prayer, Lord.

May the music of my life continue to sound forth.

Help me, even in this letting-go season of retirement to plant and nurture and grow trees that others can sit under and find shelter.

02 OCTOBER 2021 WarCry 21

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Email Address Phone Send to: warcry@salvationarmy.org.nz or War Cry, PO Box 6015, Marion Square, Wellington 6141 Quiz Answers: 1 Electric current, 2 As You Like It, 3 Catherine Parr, 4 Kitten, 5 Hannah.

22 WarCry 02 OCTOBER 2021

Translation match!

‘Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.’

Can you pair up the English and Fijian words for the days of the week?

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

VUKELULU SIGA TABU VAKARAUBUKA TUSITI MONITI

John 5:8–9

Riddle: horse to A man rode his e next Th town on Friday. on Friday. ck day he rode ba ossible? p is th is How

LOTULEVU VAKARAUWAI

Word search!

Did you know that there are more than 300 islands which make up the nation of Fiji? The Salvation Army has 16 corps located across these islands—can you find all of them in this word search? They could be forward, backward, up, down or diagonal.

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BA LABASA LAUTOKA LOMAIVUNA NADI NASINU NAUSORI NAVUA RAIWAI RAKIRAKI SAVUSAVU SAWENI SIGATOKA SUVA CENTRAL TAVEUNI TAVUA

Spot the Difference!

Can you find 10 differences between the two pictures?

There was once a paralysed man who lived at the pools of Bethesda in Jerusalem. There was a tale that during a special point in the day when the waters stirred, the first person to reach the water could be healed. Many desperate people waited, and this man had been there for 38 years.

One day, Jesus was visiting this town and met the man. He asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’

The man replied that every time he tried to get into the water, somebody got there before him.

Jesus was the only way this man could be healed. He said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk’. The man was instantly healed.

The Jewish leaders were angry when they saw him carrying his mat on the Sabbath when people were not allowed to work.

They despised Jesus, both for healing on the Sabbath and claiming to be equal to God. But the man was overjoyed. After a lifetime of desperately waiting for someone to help him, all but losing hope, Jesus miraculously changed his life.

I WONDER...

Was there in a time in your life when you had almost lost hope and then an unexpected solution came out of nowhere?

02 OCTOBER 2021 WarCry 23

Riddle Answer: The horse’s name was Friday.

I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.

He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.

He has put a new song in my mouth— Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.

Psalm 40:1–3 (NKJV)