11 June 2016 NZFT War Cry

FAITH IN ACTION | 11 June 2016 | Issue 6644 | $1.50

Stories from Epsom Lodge

Addicted to THE

BLOCK FINDING YOUR PERFECT ‘ONE’ THE SKILL THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE WILL THE CHURCH EVER UNITE? THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF A LOST BIBLE EIGHTY YEARS OF SALVATION ARMY HOTEL MINISTRY

02 WarCry 11 June 2016

Kia ora Welcome home?

WAR CRY

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

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

EDITOR

Major Christina Tyson GRAPHIC DESIGN

Lauren Millington, Amber Wilkinson STAFF WRITERS

Ingrid Barratt, Major Shar Davis, Robin Raymond, Vanessa Singh CONTRIBUTORS

Kris Singh (music reviewer)

PROOF READING

Major Jill Gainsford OFFICE Territorial Headquarters, 204 Cuba Street, PO Box 6015, Marion Square, Wellington 6141 Phone (04) 384 5649 Fax (04) 382 0716 Email warcry@nzf.salvationarmy.org www.salvationarmy.org.nz/warcry SUBSCRIPTIONS Salvationist Resources Department Phone (04) 382 0768 Email mailorder@nzf.salvationarmy.org $75 per year within NZ PRINT MANAGEMENT MakeReady | www.makeready.co.nz

My brother and sister-in-law just spent two weeks in Iran. The first comment both made to me was how friendly and welcoming Iranians are—something I’ve heard a lot from people who’ve visited the country.

Being welcoming is a huge part of cultures across the Middle East, both Persian and Arabic. While visiting my parents in the United Arab Emirates a few years ago we were invited to an Emirati family’s home. I was warned beforehand—keep some food on your plate and drink in your cup, or they will keep filling it. Many cups of coffee and two enormous platters of food later, I understood. It turns out visiting can be dangerous, because of the overload of kindness offered to all, even strangers.

All that stuck in my head while I was working on this edition’s feature article on homelessness and the work of Epsom Lodge.

Homelessness is a big topic of conversation at the moment.

The talk has mostly been about providing enough houses for people. What Epsom Lodge reminded me is, homelessness is rarely as simple as just not having somewhere to live. And there are far deeper issues in our society that we need to talk about.

A regular theme I heard from people at Epsom Lodge was that they had been looking for somewhere to belong. They felt they never fit, and felt worthless, in a society where often the more their problems mounted the more they were looked down on.

In contrast, after three weeks meeting homeless Aucklanders, TV3 journalist Mike Wesley-Smith wrote this about a group living in their cars: ‘If these were the people society forgot, they didn’t forget each other. They cooked together, kept the surrounding park tidy and even cleaned the local toilets each morning.’

Ensuring enough affordable houses for everyone is something governments and councils can and should address. But a roof can’t give you counselling, and hugging a wall won’t cure loneliness.

Feeling like you belong, you’re welcome and have worth is something the whole of society is responsible for.

Robin Raymond

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

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

Publishing for 132 years

ISSN 0043-0242, Issue 6644

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BIBLE VERSE James 2:26 The Living Bible

‘Just as the body is dead when there is no spirit in it, so faith is dead if it is not the kind that results in good deeds.’

Hemi 2:26

‘Ka rite hoki ki te tinana ka mate nei ki te kāhore te manawa ora, waihoki ko te whakapono, ki te kāhore he mahi, he mea mate.’

Please pass on or recycle this magazine

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WISE WORDS Read War Cry online with Issuu www.issuu.com/salvationarmynzftwarcry

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Faith and works should travel side-by-side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking.

First faith, and then works; and then faith again, and then works again—until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other.

William Booth

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Let’s Talk | 03

BY INGRID BARRATT

T

he Block is back, and this time it is playing on the gender divide. Can women reno a house that will stay standing?

Can guys perfectly puff a throw pillow? I hope that this latest TV offering doesn’t rely on the same sexist clichés as other reality shows. (I dare not name the recent reality-datingshow-implosion for fear of prolonging its airtime).

When it comes to all things homey, there is one debate in our house strongly divided along gender lines: How many cushions are too many? My poor, misled husband thinks that one pillow per person is perfectly adequate—you just need something to lay your head on. But I happen to know that you need one for ‘fluffing’, one for your head, and one for delighting your eyeballs (there is no such thing as just decorative).

I admit I am a sucker for homeware. We’ve recently moved into a new house, and I could easily spend the rest of my life trying to make it look Block worthy. But I’ve noticed something disturbing: my house will never live up to Blocktype standards of perfection. For a start, people actually live there. And people tend to make dishes, and stains and a mess.

We have things like cables, and washing on lines.

Like almost everything touched by marketers, the perfect home is a beautiful delusion, manufactured to make us spend. Think about beauty, fashion and electronics—all designed to keep us striving for the next big thing, or the latest ideal.

Now, thanks to bargain-basement pricing, you can deck out your entire house with the latest on-trend décor, and update it every season. We’ve started clothing our homes, the way we clothe ourselves.

Not so long ago, if you bought a clock, you probably kept it until the clock stopped working. Now, large marketplaces like The Warehouse and K-Mart are adding homeware to their seasonal fashions. For $20, you can buy a new clock to go with every new trend. ‘Geometric’ was huge last season, but this season is all about ‘Scandi’. And that will be out of date next season.

Our world has been broken by an excess of spending in wealthy cultures. ‘What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?’ Jesus asks (Mark 8:36). In putting our identity and value into the illusion of perfection, we have lost what feeds our soul.

I will no doubt get addicted to the latest season of The Block. But I’ve decided perfection is overrated in my own home. On-trend cushions might feed consumerism, but a home that offers an old-fashioned welcome, feeds the soul.

The peeling, lime green wallpaper in our house is temporary. But the kind of lives we build as we eat, sleep, talk, pray and even watch TV—I hope—will be eternal.

‘So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal’ (2 Corinthians 4:18).

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Bookshelf Christian Life A Conspiracy of Love Kurt Struckmeyer American theologian Kurt Sruckmeyer considers the popular topic of why the modern western world is increasingly rejecting Christianity. His answer is that Christians need to move from Sunday believers to followers, working outside of church buildings, applying the radical message Jesus called us to follow in our daily lives. A thoroughly researched, but highly readable book, it has a very American perspective and some contentious theology. But, it raises important reminders for Christians today. Will we be people who say we love Jesus, or who live that out?

(Wipf and Stock Publishers)

Playlist

Emotional Health The Gifts of Imperfection Brene Brown Thanks to her now famous TED Talk on shame and vulnerability, Brene Brown is known for her honest, raw and well-researched approach to living a ‘wholehearted life— engaging our lives from a place of worthiness’. This book is a well structured journey that encourages the reader to cultivate some things while letting go of others.

Tackling the dark emotions that get in the way of living a fuller life, Brene demonstrates from her own experiences how these changes can transform your life and inspires us to begin practising courage, compassion and connection in order to cultivate worthiness.

(Hazelden Publishing)

Personality Quiet Power Susan Cain When Susan Cain began writing and talking about being an introvert four years ago, she changed the way millions of adults thought about personality and their place in society. In Quiet Power, Susan turns to helping teens understand being an introvert or extrovert.

At a time when being loud and popular is prized, Susan gives hope that quiet can be a superpower.

A simple style, clever cartoons, bold headlines and engaging stories turns a complex topic into a fun, easy read with an important message for all ages and personalities on making the most of who you are. (Penguin Random House)

Reel News

Alternative Saosin Along The Shadow Saosin’s rocky history with personnel means that Along The Shadow is only their third studio record since forming in 2003.

Reuniting with original lead singer Anthony Green (who also fronts Circa Survive) injects a fresh new energy into the band’s thick riff/ hook driven wall of sound. From opener and lead single ‘The Silver String’, the album’s 11 tracks play with light and shade, combining big heavy power choruses with airy, rhythmic passages to great effect. Green’s vocals are really a highlight, and his powerful delivery is something that is felt as much as heard. This is a dynamic record, and lovers of all things heavy should really check it out.

Rock Thrice To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere After their self-imposed hiatus in 2012, Thrice is back with their latest studio record. To Be Everywhere is a spectacular return to form, showcasing the best of the band’s eclectic back catalogue and talent for pushing into new musical territory. Sitting between the progressive songwriting of Vheissu, the crunchy heaviness of The Alchemy Index: Fire and the modern rock tones of Major/Minor, To Be Everywhere says a lot; its lyrics are introspective and deeply aware while its music punctuates each line with a fierce conviction and furious optimism. Thrice fans will probably already have this, but any rock/ alternative lover should definitely give this one a go.

GIVEAWAY To win a copy of Quiet Power, tell us what you like to do in your quiet moments.

War Cry Giveaway, PO Box 6015, Marion Square, Wgtn 6141 or email warcry@nzf.salvationarmy.org. Entries close 27 June.

So Good They Can’t Ignore You winner is: M Wilkinson

Action/Adventure X-Men: Apocalypse Dir: Bryan Singer / M The latest chapter in the ever increasing X-Men franchise, this film is huge —in scale, cost and villiany. Set in 1983, 10 years after Days of Future Past, the X-men find themselves in an epic battle with the original and most powerful mutant, Apocalypse.

After waking from being entombed for a few millennia, and deeply offended that his kind are no longer treated as gods, he gathers together a band of mutants—including Magneto—to reclaim the earth as his own and destroy humankind. Professor X and Raven have to gather together young mutants to try and stop him and save humankind from certain destruction.

The CGI action is full on, as you’d imagine with the destruction of the world. There are characters galore with a number of younger versions of mutants from the earlier films appearing.

If you are a fan of the X-Men it wouldn’t hurt to watch Days of Future Past to remind yourself where the story left off. However, if you have somehow avoided the franchise to this point, you can still enjoy the film as a stand alone. Although you may miss some of the layers of the story that exist because it is a chapter in a story that has been unfolding over eight previous films (including spin off films Wolverine and Deadpool).

Despite receiving very mixed reviews, the film reached the number one spot in 71 countries on its opening weekend. The film does contain some violence and offensive language. If you stay till the end of the credits you’ll see a couple of extra scenes that, of course, suggest this is not the last we will see from the X-Men. War Cry does not endorse or condone all the content in the films, albums and books we review. Our reviewers endeavour to inform readers of helpful and harmful components of the items under review.

Feature | 05

Former Epsom Lodge Manager Captain Doug Newman

ay can’t remember how he got to Epsom Lodge. He knows he weighed 40kg and was very sick from years of homelessness and addictions.

His transformation to healthy business owner and dad has been so radical, a staff member at Epsom Lodge doesn’t recognise him when we meet.

Jay started smoking aged eight, was an alcoholic at 16 and a drug addict by 18, after a childhood of sexual abuse and trauma.

He became an angry, violent man. ‘I was mixed up with all sorts—gangs and that really bad side of life. I destroyed everything around me. My family wouldn’t talk to me—they were terrified of me.’

Soon he was homeless, moving from addict’s house to addict’s house across Auckland, living on couches, making sporadic attempts to change, till he finally ended up sleeping rough and begging.

When his son was born, Jay wasn’t allowed to see him. That and the years of pain and illness spurred him to try to change his life again.

‘I was sick and I was tired. I was living over in Grey Lynn Park and I was looking at going to jail. I thought, “My son’s going to grow up thinking his dad’s always in jail.” I don’t remember how, but I ended up here.’

For more than 100 years The Salvation Army has been helping homeless people in Auckland through the Epsom Lodge Supportive Accommodation Unit, giving thousands of people more than just a roof over their heads.

Where Jay ended up was one of The Salvation Army’s longest running services in New Zealand.

Epsom Lodge was founded in 1897 and moved to its current site in upmarket Epsom in 1898. The lodge has been through many changes since. When it began, the law said anyone leaving prison must have somewhere to go. If a man didn’t have somewhere, they were sent in a horse and cart up to Epsom Lodge, Captain Doug Newman says. Doug and wife Captain Janet Newman have just left Epsom Lodge after managing it for four years.

They still pick some clients up from the prison gates, but today they take homeless men and women from the streets, cars and homes they’re forced to leave. They have services for youth and pregnant women. They’ve done long-term care and short-term care. The lodge even burnt down in 1927 and has been through several rebuilds, but the clients haven’t changed, Doug says.

‘It’s the dynamics of humanity. We deal with the collateral damage of government policy and social progress. The system doesn’t catch everybody. There’s always someone who slips through the cracks and we’re the crack slipper catchers,’ he says with a grin.

Bernadette Collins agrees. She’s worked at Epsom Lodge for 24 years, starting part-time on reception and now oversees accounts and working with Work and Income helping clients

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get benefits. She also plays piano at the lodge’s weekday chapel services and does pretty much anything else needed, Janet says.

Bernadette’s seen nine managers, a rebuild and thousands of clients. The faces change, but the reasons people are homeless stay the same, she says.

Those reasons, Janet says, can be hugely complex; a combination of factors including financial issues, relationship breakdowns, violence, addiction, mental health and more.

Before a person moves into Epsom Lodge they’re assessed by a staff member to work out their needs and if the lodge can take them. The lodge has 96 beds, but even if there is space, sadly not everyone is suitable. Safety has to be considered, along with the person’s motivation, Janet says.

A Fresh Start When clients arrive they’re seen by the nurse, and then usually spend their first few days relaxing and getting their head straight from all they’ve been through, Janet says. Then they make a plan with a caseworker to get them ready to live in their own place again. Plans can involve counselling, mental health support, addiction treatment, courses including budgeting, ready to work and tikanga Māori and further study. Clients who go to addiction treatment usually stay five to six weeks at Epsom Lodge first, and some come back after.

Clients can come and go as they please during the day, and when they’re ready, some clients use the lodge’s nearby transitional house where they can live independently, but with regular support.

Help can continue when a client moves out, through things like providing frozen meals for a few days, or furniture from a Family Store for unfurnished flats, Janet says.

Still Human Clients come from all areas of society, but they share many things in common, Doug says. ‘They’re people who are bursting with skills and passion. There are writers and singers and artists, but it’s like life’s circumstances have just crushed them into a block, where

… a privilege of the job is seeing someone’s true personality and abilities coming out. society treats them all the same and gives them the same value.

It can take a while, but a privilege of the job is seeing someone’s true personality and abilities coming out. Something Bernadette says has led to some of her favourite memories. Much of Epsom Lodge’s work can be to give or restore a person’s sense of worth, although that’s not always easy for people who have been ground down by life, she says.

‘When we did our last upgrade, some of the clients, when they saw the new room, new bed, new sheets and everything came and said, “I have to leave, because I don’t deserve this.” They were people who had never ever had new anything in their lives and it was quite difficult to convince some of them that this was for them.’

Those who’ve been on the streets for a long time find it hardest to adjust, Janet says. ‘We’ve had a number of streeties who will take their blankets and sleep outside because they’re not comfortable in four walls. They like to see the stars.’

Every client and staff member talks about people looking for and finding a sense of belonging through Epsom Lodge. Sometimes those at Epsom Lodge become the family or community a person needs. But for some even just the basic routines, like three meals a day and a bed can make an incredible difference, Jay says. ‘It taught me stability. It taught me things I never really knew—how to sleep normally, how to eat breakfast, eat lunch, eat tea. I hadn’t eaten breakfast my whole life.’

After a month at Epsom Lodge, Jay moved to Auckland Bridge for addiction treatment. From there he worked for six months, before he had a relapse and went back to the Bridge for help. ‘I woke up in the Bridge and realised—I don’t have any qualifications, I’m 32 and I’m not capable of passing any of these job interviews.’

He stopped drinking and decided to use his situation to turn his life around, taking every course he could. ‘I went to the drug rehab programme. They said, “There’s 10 of you here, we expect one of you to stay clean” and I thought, “Right, that’s going to be me”.’

When he got out, Tangi was bailed to Epsom Lodge. He arrived determined to use their help to get back on his feet and Epsom Lodge provided him the perfect base, with space and support, he says. In a few months he was back studying and working at the top of his field. Today, his five year plan is to start a business and to use his skills helping the poor. He still comes back to Epsom Lodge every day he can to volunteer. He gets to use the gym, and works in the kitchen and helps out wherever needed.

GIVING JOY Tangi’s a big man with a big smile and ready laugh. He’s also a man on a mission—working at one of Auckland’s most exclusive restaurants and studying law and commerce at university. Less than three years ago though things were very different.

Originally from Tonga, Tangi moved to New Zealand when he was 22 and got work as a bartender. Sadly he also got hooked on alcohol and drugs, finally ending up in prison for three and a half years.

Prison was the wakeup call he needed, he says.

‘This place will always have a part in my heart. I love to come in here.

This is my break, it’s time out and I always come in and make sure they crack up laughing and try to give them some joy.’

His work, Tangi says, is the ultimate contrast to Epsom Lodge —customers regularly arrive in helicopters or expensive sports cars—but he loves spending time with the people at Epsom Lodge.

‘The people here that no one talks to, they’re the ones I like to talk to—they remind you that at the end of the day, we’re all humans’

Feature | 07

A sad reality of the work Epsom Lodge does is that for many, things don’t work out the first time. It’s the nature of the people and the demons they battle, Doug says. A few come back repeatedly, which could be frustrating, but Doug and Janet see it differently.

‘They never go back to the same place as when they came in —they always take something good from here,’ Janet says.

Doug tells the story of a man who disappeared and returned a few months later.

‘He was in a bad place and he was quite ashamed. He looked up at me with his head down and he said, “I’m sorry, I’ve disappointed you.” And I said, “I think this is wonderful.” He said, “Why’s that?”

And I said, “Because with all the stuff you’re going through, you thought to come back here.”’

They never go back to the same place as when they came in—they always take something good from here.

Celebrating Success The complex issues clients live with and living close to others can make things tough at times—but Bernadette says it helps to remember what they’re going through. When clients blow off steam, she says, it ‘doesn’t bother me in the slightest’ and they almost always apologise later.

It does take a certain character to work at Epsom Lodge, though, she says. She laughs remembering her job interview when two senior staff members took her for a tour, including through a courtyard where the men would congregate during the day. ‘There were a few with colourful language. It was a test, I think, to see how I would cope.’

You have to laugh, she says. And even the sad times can have funny moments. Like the time, in her early days, when the police came to help move a sick client to a mental health institution.

‘He took off and it was a bit of keystone cops with people running about the place as he knew where to go and they didn’t.’

Another key is to celebrate every victory, and staff share success stories during weekly staff meetings. Success for a client can be as small as getting out of bed, or washing, Bernadette says. Or it could be someone spending their first week off alcohol, Janet says, and every victory is a huge and often hard-won step by the client.

It can sound overwhelming, but Bernadette says serving such vulnerable people is a huge privilege. ‘At the end of the day you go home and you feel like you’ve helped someone, it’s as simple as that.’

And then there are the big successes, like Jay, who took his chance and battled on. It was a long road, working as a gardener,

(l–r) Captain Doug Newman with an Epsom Lodge client; Clients from the early 1900s learn paper baling in a workshop at the lodge.

but through determination and people’s kindness he saved enough to start his tree care and landscaping business. It was all from people giving him a chance, he says. These days he’s proud of his life and his business, where he tries to provide that chance and support to others like him.

‘I look at where I came from; now I provide eight jobs for people, I support my son and I’m a good person, and I’m thankful to God. And [Epsom Lodge] was a stepping stone. This was my chance.’

FINDING HOME John* is a quietly spoken 28-year-old with a shy smile, who ended up homeless from trying to do the right thing.

‘I suffer from meth addiction, and I was living with people who use. I decided I no longer wanted to use, but I didn’t have a safe place to go.’

Trying to change became a lonely, isolating experience. He describes going through the contacts on his phone and finding everyone he knew used, or lived with people who used. He ended up unable to find a place to stay away from the drugs.

‘When I left I was on the streets for a couple of weeks. I ended up going into a Salvation Army church in New Lynn and they helped me out here.’

He spent six months at Epsom Lodge and was five and half months clean from drugs when he left. When he had a relapse he decided he needed to go back to the lodge. It was hard decision, but he knew the staff would welcome him back.

‘I knew they’re all supportive without any strings, which is new to me. One of the key things being here is being surrounded by supportive people, getting back that sense of self-worth, identity and all that stuff.’

He’s been back at the lodge for three months when we speak.

This time he’s found a passion for cooking and is getting ready to start a chef’s course at polytech. During his stays John has taken a ‘ready to work’ course and been on a camp with the youth clients.

‘Also Recovery Church has been a big help for me, and chapel.

I’m walking down a spiritual path, which previously I haven’t been open to. It gives you balance which is good.’

This time he’s planning to stay a few months after starting his course to make sure he’s ready to move on. *Name changed

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LIFESTYLE

HEALTH

This Will Change Your Life

Floating Away The salt float is the latest health sensation—and a curious Shar Davis decided to give it a go.

As an extrovert who struggles with silence, the latest trend of ‘salt float tanks’ might seem like a strange life choice.

The ‘tank’ contains 500 kg of epsom salt dissolved in 1000 litres of water, to create a buoyant environment that allows you to float effortlessly on top of the water and feel weightless.

A ground-breaking study has found that one factor in childhood has huge consequences in adult life—and it is not what you would expect.

If you haven’t come across the documentary series Why Am I?, it’s a fascinating look into the ‘Dunedin Study’ began studying all the children born in Dunedin in 1972, and continued studying them them into adulthood.

One of the most fascinating discoveries is that there is one factor in early childhood that accurately predicts how ‘healthy and wealthy’ you will be as an adult. That factor is self-control. Researchers found that the levels of self-control displayed by three-year-olds was an accurate indicator of their health, finances and social well-being in adulthood.

But the good news is that children who were able to learn self-control as they grew up, also improved all their life outcomes.

The Bible lists self-control as one of the ‘fruits of the Spirit’—it is a characteristic of living like Jesus. So how can you learn self-control?

First of all, hand your life over to Jesus. While we may not feel in control, he is always in control.

The following daily exercises will help: 1. Identify in what areas of your life you are lacking in self-control—this may be certain behaviours or emotions.

2. Identify the thoughts and beliefs that push you to behave in an uncontrolled manner.

It’s also known as a ‘sensory deprivation tank’—which doesn’t sound as friendly as a ‘float’—but I wanted the full experience so opted for the lid closed and lights off. Music played for the first 10 minutes, before silence.

Then I waited.

As I floated I wondered if this is what it feels like to be a mermaid. I swished around in the tank breaking the now deafening silence with my splishing and splashing. I tried to push my body to the bottom of the tank, but the buoyancy they boast of is true. In other words, I was fidgeting.

I loved the thought of taking time to stop and simply ‘be’. I thought about what a gift ‘just being’ is in our lives—that’s until the darkness and silence became a little overwhelming. I decided to open the lid, figuring my time must almost be up. I was only 35mins in. This relaxing thing was hard work!

Fearing someone might walk in, I closed the lid again but turned on the mood lighting to see if that helped—it did—but I found myself still fighting the ‘nothingness’.

The music comes back on five minutes before your time is up, in case you have fallen asleep. But I didn’t quite manage the full hour, and got out after 45 minutes. Yet I did get enough to know that the salt float experience is worth persevering with. As someone who is often too busy being busy, learning the art of stillness and rest is a challenge, but also an invitation ... Be still and know that I am God. Be still and know that I am. Be still and know. Be still. Be.

3. Several times a day, especially when you need to display self-control, repeat for a minute or two some truths that help you. It could be ‘I have the power to choose my reactions/emotions/thoughts.’ Or, ‘I am Christlike when I show self-control’ 4. Visualise yourself acting with self-control. Think of a situation where you usually lack control, and visualise yourself acting calmly.

5. Continue to do this exercise daily—until your thinking and behaviour comes into line with Christ.

30-Minute Bolognese While this version may not be close to the Italian, it is very good with a fresh flavour | Serves 6 400g lean minced beef 1 medium onion, diced 2 cloves garlic 1 medium large carrot, finely diced 1 large stick celery ½ tsp dried basil ½ tsp dried marjoram 1 400g can chopped tomatoes 1 300g can tomato puree ½ tsp salt black pepper to taste 400g long pasta (spaghetti, fettuccine, etc) grated Parmesan for serving

Heat large frying pan. Add minced beef and stir, breaking it up as it browns. Add diced onion and cooked garlic. Keep stirring over high heat until onion is transparent. Add diced carrot and sliced celery, stir, then cook for a minute longer. Add dried herbs, canned tomatoes and tomato puree. Stir and allow mixture to come to boil.

Reduce heat to gentle simmer and cover with lid. Allow sauce to simmer gently for about 15 mins, stirring occasionally, then add salt and pepper.

While sauce simmers, cook pasta in large pot. When tender, drain and arrange on individual plates or platter.

Spoon over sauce and serve topped with grated parmesan.

Accompany with a green salad.

From Easy Everyday Recipes for the Whole Family by Simon and Alison Holst www.holst.co.nz

Lifestyle | 09

Q&A Estranged from family

I fell out with my sister and we haven’t spoken in over a decade.

I would love to get back in touch, but how do I go about it?

Being estranged from your family is a devastating loss, and it happens more often than you might think. But reconciliation is the heart of God, and he will lead you on this journey.

Before you take the leap, it is really important to do some careful selfexamination. Do you remember why you fell out in the first place? If so, ask yourself if you are able to let go of this matter. After a long separation, it is never helpful to rehash old wounds—if you choose to get back in touch, you have to choose to let those old grievances go.

You may also need forgiveness yourself. What grievances might she have against you? Approach your sister with a spirit of humility and gentleness.

Sometimes estrangement comes because of abuse. If you separated because of seriously unhealthy patterns in your family, carefully consider the boundaries you will put in place. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get in touch, just that you should not allow old patterns to resurface.

Choosing to take the first step to reconciliation is a brave move—you may feel anxious that you might be rejected and hurt all over again.

Prepare to accept your sister’s reaction—whatever it will be. And congratulate yourself on being brave enough to reach out, no matter the outcome.

Start with baby steps and take it slow. It is probably best to contact her by telephone. Simply say you’ve been wanting to get in touch for a long time. She will probably be in shock, so just ask about her and her family, and share something of yourself. Take it slowly—don’t expect to be in each other’s lives straight away. It will take time for both of you to build up trust.

If you don’t have her contact details, and don’t know where to start, The Salvation Army’s Family Tracing Service may be able to help you.

www salvationarmy.org.nz/

familytracing

Testify Raj Mani tells the incredible story about how a Bible that led her to the Lord, got lost and found by just the right person.

I grew up in Fiji, in a home where my father was a Hindu priest, following in the rituals of his ancestors, performing fire walking and offering sacrifices.

I didn’t understand why my father, held so high by society, treated my mother so badly. I had many challenges in both my home life and my own personal life.

I was very broken. A concerned workmate started talking to me about Jesus and God. He took me along to meet some Christian people who were working in Fiji as missionaries. They gave me a Bible with a red cover.

In secret, I started reading the Bible. I eagerly highlighted chapters that stood out for me. I secretly started going to church. On 18 November 1982, I accepted Jesus as my saviour.

The problems in my family and personal life became worse.

I continued going to church but took along my niece and nephew.

Soon after my brother Sam Sami also started going to church.

He moved to New Zealand and eventually trained as a Salvation Army officer. Mum started going to church followed by my sister and her family.

This, of course, impacted my father and his standing in the community, and unfortunately he took his anger out on my mother.

For this reason, and other family reasons which ensued, my mother,

Who knew that when I prayed someone would be blessed by my red Bible and that it would be my niece, 18 years later! brother, niece and nephew left our family home.

In 1989, my son Kris who was six months at the time, my mum, and I left for New Zealand. Of course the much loved, precious red Bible came along with us. In Wellington, we started going to The Salvation Army, where I became a soldier. Kris was about four when he started going to Junior Soldiers.

He wanted to take a Bible —under his arm, just like the adults do!

One day he took my red Bible, but unfortunately it never came home.

My comment to him was, ‘Son that was my first Bible and was very precious to me.’ I also made the comment, which I clearly remember, ‘God bless the person who finds it and uses it.’

Almost 20 years later, my niece—who lives in Auckland and did not have a relationship with Jesus—was assisting her brother at a stall in the Papatoetoe night markets.

A stall-holder had some free books to give away and being a bookworm, she went over and picked up a red Bible thinking it was a Reader’s Digest book. That Bible sat on her bookshelf for about 18 months, untouched.

My niece started going through

some difficult domestic challenges.

Feeling very aggrieved one night at about 1 am, she called out to God— but which god, she did not know.

Thinking that maybe reading something would put her mind at ease, she picked up the red Bible.

To her astonishment, when she opened it, she found my name inside.

Early next morning, she called me to tell me about this red Bible.

She did not know that we had lost this Bible in Wellington. I found opportunity to talk to her about my encounter with Jesus.

Since then my niece has accepted Jesus as her Saviour.

Let’s Talk

Helping you find lost or separated family members

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

salvationarmy.org.nz/family-tracing

NAME: ADDRESS:

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

10 | WarCry 11 June 2016

SUDOKU

3 2 6 5 9 3

Difficulty Easy

6 1 8

7 6 5 1 4 7 6 3 8 4 9 8 5 8 3 7 9 2 5 6 3 2 7 2 8 6 4

BY INGRID BARRATT

Can the Church Unite?

Each Sudoku number puzzle has a unique solution that can be worked out logically (not mathematically). The numbers 1 to 9 appear once in every row, column and 3x3 square.

QUICK QUIZ 1 2 3 4 5 6

Who left an NFL career to try and play for Fiji at the Olympics?

Who voices the lead character in the upcoming film Finding Dory?

What is the name of the largest known stone circle in the world?

What is the collective noun for butchers?

What is the term for a wave that is hollow as it is breaking?

What prime time cooking show involves contestants visiting each others homes for dinner?

7 What is the latest Roald Dahl book to be turned into a movie?

8 Harakeke and Wharariki and two types of what species?

9 What was the only tree for 400 kilometres in the Sahara Desert called?

10 What group of converts burned their books of magic?

3 6 9 8 7 4 1 5 2

2 5 4 3 1 9 8 6 7

7 8 1 6 5 2 4 3 9

4 1 8 9 6 7 3 2 5

6 9 2 5 3 1 7 4 8

5 7 3 2 4 8 9 1 6

9 4 7 1 2 5 6 8 3

8 2 6 4 9 3 5 7 1

1 3 5 7 8 6 2 9 4

Find more Cartoons by McKerrow on www.facebook.com/cartoonsbymckerrow

Is it possible to gain unity within the worldwide Church, or will Jesus’ prayer forever go unanswered?

A new initiative believes it is possible, and is seeking to strengthen the unity of the Church. The Salvation Army embraces this call to unity and has provided its own unique perspective on what it means to be part of the Church.

Imagine a world where the thousands of Christian communities joined together for one purpose: to proclaim Jesus Christ to the earth. Imagine the unstoppable force for good that such a united Church could be.

Imagine how different humanity might look if the worldwide Church really, truly, came together to expand God’s Kingdom on earth.

Perhaps it sounds like a dream that is so outrageous, it could never possibly be realised. Yet, there was one who dared to dream it. The night before he was put to death, Jesus prayed these remarkable words: I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you … Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me (John 17:20–23).

Yet, Jesus’ prayer is still to be answered. Is it even possible to unite the entire Church?

The World Council of Churches (WCC) believes it is, indeed, possible. It recently published a document called The Church —Towards a Common Vision, which aims to set out common ground within the diversity of the Church.

‘While not formally affiliated with the WCC, The Salvation Army places itself firmly within the broader worldwide Church,’ says Colonel Willis Howell, chief secretary for The Salvation Army, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory. ‘This document is a timely reminder that as one Church we should focus more on what unites us as opposed to differences that divide us.’

The Salvation Army has made a response to The Church paper, approved by the General, through the International Theological Council. It describes the initiative as a ‘movement towards unity which acknowledges diversity’.

The Salvation Army describes the worldwide Church as ‘all

Quick quiz answers: 1 Jarryd Haynes, 2 Ellen Degeneres, 3 Avebury Stone Circle, Wiltshire, England, 4 A goring, 5 Barrel/Tube, 6 My Kitchen Rules, 7 The BFG (2016), release date in NZ is 7th July, 8 Flax, 9 The Tenere Tree (now in the Niger National Museum after a drunk driver felled it), 10 The Ephesians (Acts 19:19)

Close Up | 11

What we believe Main points from The Salvation Army’s response to ‘The Church’—a document aiming to bring closer unity to the worldwide Church.

• The universal church includes all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, confess him as saviour and live that commitment through service.

• Unity acknowledges diversity, and sees it as a gift from God. • The heart of the Army is missional, with an obligation to ‘offer hope and healing to a wounded and divided world.’ The imperative to proclaim the Good News of Jesus to all people is central to the Army.

• The Army believes that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and that they only constitute the Divine rule of faith and practice.

The imperative to offer hope and healing to a wounded and divided world is a fundamental motivation, from daily activities of the smallest local corps (churches), to the strategic planning of International Headquarters. who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, confessing him as Saviour and Lord, and witnessing to that sacred commitment through loving mutual submission and sacrificial service.’

In this way, the core belief of the universal Church is also the heartbeat of The Salvation Army.

‘We are the salvation army, and the conviction that transformation is at the heart of the Gospel message is fundamental to our faith,’ says The Salvation Army response. ‘The imperative to offer hope and healing to a wounded and divided world is a fundamental motivation, from daily activities of the smallest local corps (churches), to the strategic planning of International Headquarters.’

The Army welcomes the statement that ‘legitimate diversity in the life of communion is a gift from the Lord’. However, it questions what would be constituted as ‘legitimate’—pointing out that the Army’s lack of formal sacraments may not be considered acceptable by some churches.

‘The conviction that sacramental living and the possibility of a holy life do not require the institution of formal sacraments may be seen by some to be divisive, or disqualifying. The question of who decides upon the legitimacy of diversity is significant.

‘We are a sacramental community because our life, our work, and our celebrations centre on Christ, the one true Sacrament. Our life together is sacramental because we live by faith in him and our everyday lives reveal and offer unexpected grace, his undeserved gift, again and again.

We also recognise that God uses human beings to bring grace to each other. In a similar way to the prophets and apostles, all believers are called to speak on behalf of God by their words and through their lifestyle. The call to holiness of life is a call to sacramental living —demonstrating the grace of God in the ordinary.

We believe that our calling into sanctity without sacraments is not a contradiction of the ways of other churches, but is something beautiful for Christ, to be held in creative tension with the equally beautiful but very different practices of other denominations. In the overall economy of God there is no inherent contradiction, but there are creative paradoxes.’

• Service belongs to the very being of the Church—central to evangelism is caring for the marginalised and being a ‘voice for the voiceless’.

• Hierarchy within The Salvation Army is structural, rather than theological. We believe that ‘all people are called to ministry, exercised according to each individual’s particular calling, gifts and graces.’

• When working with secular authorities the Army must ensure it continues to speak out against injustice. ‘Collusion’ at the cost of justice may be part of ‘the brokenness of the church in the present age’.

• The Salvation Army can learn from other churches, and sees benefit from understanding the implications of corporate sin, corporate holiness and collective responsibility.

• The Army may be able to add to unity by mediating between churches effectively, as it is often seen as ‘different’.

• The Army places itself firmly within the universal church and embraces the opportunity for closer unity with other parts of Christ’s body.

The Salvation Army affirms the central importance of proclaiming ‘to all people the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ’. Where The Salvation Army may take its particular place in the body of Christ is in its proclamation of the gospel in both word and deed.

‘The responsibility of the Church to proclaim words of hope and comfort stands alongside an obligation to offer practical assistance, and to become a voice for the voiceless, to stand in solidarity with those who suffer, and to care for the marginalised. All of these find resonance in Salvation Army history, current practice, and in a Salvationist understanding of what it means to be the people of God in, and for, the world.’

When churches collaborate to meet human and spiritual need, we begin to demonstrate the unity that we are seeking.

‘The final destiny of the Church is to be caught up in the communion of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, to be part of the new creation, praising and rejoicing in God forever. Until that time, it is called, in unity, to share in the mission of God to bring reconciliation and transformation to the world,’ sums up the Army response.

But it concludes with a final challenge: ‘Unity will only become a reality when each of the churches learn to recognise our own brokenness and, through the Holy Spirit, open our hearts and minds to a new and creative way forward with the whole people of God.’

A radio station recently had a competition to find the ‘most average guy with the hottest wife’. It seems like it’s a big status symbol for guys to be punching above their weight when it comes to scoring the girl of their dreams.

THE PERFECT GIRL Okay, I’m not a guy—but I do have three brothers, and have spent too much time hanging out with their mates. And whenever we were at camp or having D&Ms late at night, one question was sure to come up: What’s your ideal girl? It was usually something like ‘athletic, loves the Lord, easy-going, fun, smart … ’ Or as writer Joshua Rogers—who is a guy —says: ‘I was like a lot of single, Christian guys.

I just wanted to follow God’s will in finding a wife—that’s all—oh yeah, and I also wanted a modest version of a Cosmo girl. And, well, I didn’t want her to be too needy. Oh, and she also needed to be smart—really smart—but not, like, so smart that she made me feel stupid. And, of course, she needed to be spiritually mature (you know, like me). And one more thing: I wanted her to have a cool and fun personality (whatever that means).’

As a girl, it often feels like you’re meant to be a Bond girl, but not intimidating. You’re meant to have full, fluttery eyelashes—but not be high maintenance, like, wearing makeup or anything. And you’re meant to eat like a guy, but never put on weight.

WHERE’S MY PERFECT GUY? Okay, back up the truck. I can imagine all the guys reading this are, like, ‘But the girls are just as bad!’. Yep, the girls can be just as bad …

In my experience, girls are not quite as focused on looks—although I reckon that’s changing.

I see more and more girls expecting guys to live up to that unrealistic muscly-athletic body type the media is obsessed with … that most guys can’t live up to. And shouldn’t need to live up to.

But one thing I have heard over and over again from Christian girls is, ‘I want a guy to be more spiritually mature than me’. That’s the worst example of deferring responsibility. Your spirituality is your own. You’ll grow spiritually by spending time getting to know Jesus better.

You can’t expect any guy to turn you into a spiritual superstar.

“We’re looking for the perfect guy or girl, but we’re not perfect ourselves.”

It’s an example of something deeper. We somehow want guys to save us—we’re actually buying into the pretty sexist attitude that guys should be superior.

I used to have a similar view to lots of girls —I wanted a guy that has been responsible with his money (cos I spent all my money on clothes), I wanted a guy who was smarter than me (so I didn’t feel like I was intimidating), someone funnier than me. And good looking —but not so good looking that I felt insecure about myself.

SNAP BACK TO REALITY We’re looking for the perfect guy or girl, but we’re not perfect ourselves. As one of my single friends said, ‘In church, it’s like there’s a whole lot of girls who are an “eight”, and you’ve got a whole lot of guys who are a “six”, but they don’t think the “eights” are good enough for them.’

On the other hands, girls think they’re an eight—and are expecting a ten!

‘Don’t think you are better than you really are.

Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us,’ warns Paul in Romans 12:3 (CEV).

A big part of what Paul is saying is that everything we have or we are comes from God, so we have no right to measure ourselves against others and judge them.

Joshua says that when he learnt to take a more humble view of himself, it completely changed his attitude to relationships: ‘Unlike before, I didn’t think “I’ll consider taking that girl out”.

I thought, “I wonder if she would go out with me” … I found myself focusing on her qualities, rather than mentally trying to ferret out her deficiencies.’

11 June 2016 WarCry | 13

And he has some straight talk for other guys: ‘Maybe you insist that you’re not going to settle for a woman who’s not everything you’re hoping for in a wife. Settle? … Believe me, she will be the one who settles for you and all your deficits. And until you realise this, maybe you should take a break from dating for a while and spend some time asking God to make you man enough to love a real woman.’

RETRAIN YOUR BRAIN I discovered that when I started asking God what I should be looking for in a guy, my priorities changed completely. I found out that if you ask God, he’ll tell you that physical attraction is a rubbish priority when it comes to finding the right person for you. The things that matter are things like how they treat other people, what their values are.

Do they value integrity and holy living? How do they treat their mum? These aren’t the kind of things you’ll find girls talking about on The Bachelor.

That doesn’t mean that physical attraction doesn’t matter. But as I started looking at guys through God’s lens, the things I was attracted to changed. I found that when I saw a guy’s true qualities, attraction could grow out of that.

When you tune out to our culture’s values, and tune into God, you’ll find that you can actually retrain your brain to find the things of God attractive. That doesn’t mean there will always

“… when I started asking God what I should be looking for in a guy, my priorities changed completely.” be a spark, but at least you’ll be looking in the right places for that connection.

And don’t think that tuning into God means you’re going to have to choose a guy or girl you’re not attracted to—God is the master of chemistry.

The problem is not that we want a spark, says Joshua. The problem is that we don’t see the sparks of beauty all around us. ‘[There’s an] endless exhibition of females that young men have at their fingertips today.

They’re bombarded with thousands of pretty faces in Facebook profile pictures, Instagram selfies, dating apps, and advertisements.

There’s no shortage of women who will pose for them in exchange for a few seconds of being noticed. And eventually, all the faces run together—even the ones in the real world, where the habit of indiscriminate viewing continues.

Pretty face, but big arms. No spark. Nice body,

but plain face. No spark. Sweet girl, but too short. No spark.’

FIND THE SPARK You know that old saying ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’. Beauty is not the responsibility of the other person. It’s our job to find—to behold—the beauty in the other person.

There is beauty all around us. There are guys with amazing qualities of godliness and integrity. They are funny and intelligent. Maybe they’re not that great around girls—and they’re a bit goofy around you. Don’t write them off because they’re not Ryan Gosling.

Give them time, show them grace. And as you get to know them, their inner hotness will start to shine through. Spark.

‘All the women in your life are living, active masterpieces. Each one is wonderfully crafted in ways we could never grasp,’ says Joshua.

‘Will you give yourself the time to see it? Will you do more than look at a single woman and assess her desirability? Will you take time to study her interests, the corner of her smile, the softness of her voice, the way she positions her hands when she’s nervous? Will you simply behold the living masterpiece God has sovereignly placed before you?’

Yep, when you take the time to look, you’ll realise you’re already punching above your weight. Spark.

INGRID BARRATT

ANZAC day dawned fine for this year’s TaupŌ 7s sport tournament. Thirty one teams and their supporters representing 22 corps from across the three divisions in the North Island gathered for an afternoon of great fellowship, good natured (for the most part) sporting competitiveness and great fun.

As usual, four sports were being played in the competition; touch rugby, soccer (football for the purists), volleyball and ‘batty ball’. We found out four days prior to the event that the netball courts were being resealed and wouldn’t be available so we had to come up with an easy to organise alternative —so batty ball was birthed!

Batty ball (or ‘not netball’) is played on a tennis court with seven players each side. Each player has a bat and uses a tennis ball, playing the same rules as volleyball … volleyball/batty ball—see what we did there? It took teams a few minutes to get used to the new sport, but people soon got into the spirit of the event and everyone had a new, shared experience to take away.

After a long day in the beautiful weather, a team from Kilbirnie took out the competitive grade cup, Roskill South the social, and Mount Albert the recreational. The wooden spoon award went to the hard working crew from Gisborne.

The road trip is always a great part of TaupŌ 7s for many groups, with some making an overnighter of the event staying at the local corps, a marae, or camping ground on the previous night in order to be fresh for the day and add value to the weekend.

A big shout out has to go to the leaders who organised their teams and got them there and home safely; our territorial leaders for taking the time to be part of the day, and not least of all the incredible team of volunteers who made the day as enjoyable as it was.

Unfortunately, this year’s Southern 7s had to be cancelled last minute due to some lame weather! Lots of corps still got into the fun and had their own local events. We like to consider it an opportunity to train for longer before battling it out again next year… Bring on 2017!

Our Community | 15

Lasting Legacy in Rebuild It was the end of classes last month, but not the end of the impact from a Salvation Army Education and Employment programme that left a physical mark on Canterbury.

The final five trainees from ‘UBuild 4 the Rebuild’ graduated at the end of May, marking the end of a four year project training people to work in the post-earthquake rebuild of Canterbury.

UBuild started in 2012, based at Aranui Corps and helped 425 people. Initially they trained people in infrastructure work including water, roading and sewer repairs. Then later in building and painting courses, as the needs for work changed during the rebuild. They also took on a driver mentoring project helping young people who are struggling to get their restricted driver’s licence.

Project Manager Robyn Laurenson said the final graduation was an emotional moment after four years of hard work and dedication from a great team, including tutors Peter Hughes, Lynda Brocherie and Hamish Muir, and Community Drive Mentoring Programme Coordinator Keran Tsering.

However, it was a natural time to end what she had initially imagined would be a two year project, in line with expectations of how long the rebuild would last, Robyn said. It had been a privilege to work for UBuild and the work of their trainees could be seen all over the city.

‘When we think of Christchurch post-earthquake we will feel really proud of the contribution we made to the rebuild, but more importantly to the trainees we have the privilege to meet.’

Their students often faced big challenges and included mothers looking to get back into the workforce, people with criminal backgrounds, long-term unemployed, and some with few or no qualifications. Seeing the impact on trainees’ lives, helping them get work and break a cycle of poverty or unemployment was powerful and it was a buzz spotting trainees at work or hearing about people making a career in the industry or getting more qualifications, Robyn said.

‘We had someone come to see us the other day who’d run into one of our ex-trainees and said she’d gone on to further training as a health and safety officer. When she first came on our course she talked about wanting to do that. She was a woman who was in her mid-40s, had a prison history and a heck of a lot going on in her life. But she launched that dream on the course.’

The project also had a significant impact on its tutors, building self-confidence, experience and qualifications, Robyn said. Lynda was a solo mum getting back into the workforce when she joined UBuild part-time, and ended up working full-time and getting further qualifications. While UBuild had helped Peter get full-time work that saw him move to Christchurch permanently.

They also received lots of support from the community, all parts of the industry and the wider Salvation Army. The Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT), which is overseeing the infrastructure rebuild, had been a key backer—along with groups

(from top) Start to finish: The first UBuild class from 2012 with their tutors, and the final class from this year. including the Building and Construction Training Organisation, Christchurch Polytechnic and the Aranui and Linwood Corps.

For the building course, UBuild also worked with Habitat for Humanity, helping it build or refurbish 20 houses. ‘Their building and construction manager came to our last graduation and he said, “I don’t think we could have done it without you”.’

Although they have finished the building teaching, they will leave behind a legacy through the driver mentoring project. The project, which is a collaboration with NZTA, AA, Chevron (Caltex) and the NZ Police, will carry on for at least the next 12 months.

Musicians-in-Training at ‘Create’ Music Conference In the current church climate a music team can make up to threequarters of a church service, and yet often receive the least amount of training and support, according to a group of Salvationist musicians from West Auckland. So they set about to change that.

Hosted by Glen Eden corps, approximately 45 people gathered together in April to participate in the first ‘Create’—a one day conference for musicians. Birthed out of the desire from local corps music teams for training, a collaborative approach was taken by the planning team headed by Lt Jordan Westrupp (Glen Eden), Lt Daniel Buckingham (Westgate) and Ano Lo Tam (Waitakere).

Giving the keynote message, Daniel spoke about authentic worship and the current state of music in The Salvation Army—from where we are to where we want to be. His message set the day up for a real sense of freedom and a space in which people could be honest about where they were at and how they were feeling.

Workshops were held covering worship leading, vocals and guitar.

The presenters included Andy Thomas—touring and studio guitarist from Edge Kingsland, and Rhiannon Peters—worship pastor from Life Church.

An impromptu jam session was a highlight, and exemplified the feel of the day—you cannot meet with a group of creative people and not have room to go-with-the-flow.

The purpose of the day was to show music teams their value, share ideas and also invite outside experts from other churches for training.

‘This it is an area where The Salvation Army could see considerable growth and improvement if we learnt more from the knowledge of others,’ said Lt Missy Ditchburn.

While there are no firm plans for another conference those who organised it would be happy to hold another one if the demand is there.

We’d love to hear your news Send 400–600 words with one or two clear and captioned photos.

Promotion to Glory tributes are usually around 300 words. Please send large, high-quality digital images in .jpg format. Email news reports to warcry@nzf.salvationarmy.org

16 | WarCry 11 June 2016

Monday’s Coming—Orange Conference in Atlanta This year a group of 20 Salvation Army youth and children’s leaders joined over 8000 people at the 10th annual Orange Conference, held in April in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. We were partially funded to attend the conference through a Salvation Army Missional Leader Development scholarship.

For us Kiwis it was all go with a pre-conference; YouLead, a day of breakouts and then two full-on days of conference sessions and further breakouts.

There were leaders from preschool, children’s, youth, family ministry, corps leadership and divisional headquarters positions. There were late nights and early mornings, traffic and eating out everywhere!

The conference is called ‘Orange’ because of an illustration using red, depicting the love of the family, coming together in partnership with yellow, the light of the Church.

An ‘orange’ church seeks to bring about a greater influence than just the red of family and yellow of church alone.

The Orange Conference emphasis is to partner with churches to stress; • having intentional pathways of connection between the age groups of church life • surrounding our young people with a similar yet distinct circle of voices • developing a small group culture for spiritual formation, significant presence and development • applicable curriculae and multi-platform resources to strengthen the partnership between the church and the family.

It aims to partner with Christian churches of just about any kind to help them think.

Or, to help them rethink, often by asking the question: What if? (More about ‘What if?’ a little later.)

This year the conference theme was ‘Monday’s Coming’.

It focused on helping the church grasp what it is to look beyond Sunday.

You may have seen the memes about; ‘thank God it’s Friday’, ‘time for the weekend’ and all that! And even Christians have the phrase at Easter time; ‘Sunday’s coming!’

For years there has been a well-placed emphasis on Sunday services and ministries being ‘excellent’—aiming to give those

who come to ‘us’ the best hour of their week; an encounter, something powerful. Now the emphasis on our gatherings is about authenticity. Less show and more reality.

While all of this is good, it still highlights an important point for the Church, including The Salvation Army, to consider—for all the emphasis we put onto Sunday, Monday’s coming. The leisurely part of the weekend (if people weren’t working or running kids to sports, parties and the like) is already over. Sunday is the preMonday awareness that after the church event, life heads back towards reality. Not the ‘what would Jesus do’ version but the; • bills I have to pay Monday • cranky teacher Monday • full email inbox Monday • share kids with the ex Monday • difficult people that show up on Monday. Every Monday.

For a long time the Church has concerned itself with preparing Sundays so well, you shouldn’t really be coming down until Tuesday afternoon at least, maybe floating through to mid-week Bible study if it was good enough. It’s not that excellence, quality and intentional preparation should be thrown out or even moved aside, believe me we could even do with more of it; it’s just that the preparation, the quality and the excellence isn’t just to help

people get through a Sunday morning and afternoon.

So what if the Church decided it was going to approach Sundays differently?

What if all of the energy, intention and excellence went into partnering with church singles, couples and families in making Mondays more faceable?

The conference talked about churches partnering with families helping them navigate through the week they are facing.

The aim of thinking Orange is to try and build a stronger, more connected next generation that is less likely to fall away, drift away, or walk away from their faith community at about the time they finish their high school years.

Over the next few weeks there will no doubt be reflection on notes taken, moments that will come back to the mind or a phrase that keeps resonating in the spirit, all prompting the individual to wrestle in their worship community with the question; What if?

• What if we prioritised the next generation?

• What if we partnered across the ministry ages and spaces?

• What if we taught less and experienced more?

• What if we used Sundays to help people get ready for their Mondays?

The conference may only be

one event and it may be a long way away for us Kiwis to get to, but it left a legacy within each of us who attended that will live well into the next generation!

By Major David Moody (Southern Division Children’s Secretary)

GAZETTE Bereaved Captain Malia Siufanga of her mother, Seletute Mu’asika, from her home at Lapaha, Tongatapu on Thursday May 26, aged 84. Please uphold Captains Malia and Sila Siufanga and their family with your love and prayers at this time of loss and grief.

Major Bruce Vyle of his mother, Mrs Bertha Vyle, from Hamilton on Friday 27 May 2016, aged 100 years. Please remember Majors Bruce and Elaine Vyle and family in your prayers at this time of grief and loss.

Major Faye Herring of her brother, Leigh Fletcher of Palmerston North on Wednesday 26 May, aged 80 years. Please remember Majors Faye and Roger Herring in your prayers at this time.

Appointments Effective 20 May: Major Debbie Clark, Assistant Territorial Women’s Ministries Secretary, Territorial Women’s Ministries Department. This is in addition to Debbie’s appointment as Territorial Silver Star Secretary (effective 14 Jan 2016). Please pray for Major Debbie Clark as she joins the Women’s Ministries team.

Our Community | 17

Salvation Army Wins Webby Award

A Salvation Army domestic violence awareness campaign has received a prestigious international award for capturing public imagination around the world.

The advertisement, made as part of The Salvation Army’s Southern Africa Territory campaign by Johannesburg-based advertising agency Ireland/Davenport, won the 2016 Webby Awards: People’s Voice Award for Best Social Media Campaign. The award was voted on by two million people.

The campaign drew on worldwide interest in an optical illusion caused by a dress that some people saw as white and gold and others as black and blue. Originally posted by one Scottish woman to friends on the website Tumblr the optical illusion spread across the internet to a massive global audience, due in part to its catchy hashtag #TheDress.

In conjunction with The Salvation Army’s Southern Africa Territory public relations team, Ireland/Davenport designed the online

campaign using a bruised model wearing a similar outfit, with the question: ‘Why is it so hard to see black and blue?’ and highlighting the startling statistic that—in South Africa—one in six women is a victim of abuse. The work of The Salvation Army’s Carehaven residential centre for abused women was also featured in the campaign.

Launched on 6 March 2015, within 24 hours the campaign had been seen by 30.6 million Twitter users and additional media coverage achieved a reach of 640 million people. Data suggests that the total potential audience was 5.3 billion people in 179 countries, making #TheDress the most successful and most-shared public service campaign in South African history.

The Webby Awards—often referred to as the ‘Oscars of the Internet’—received 13,000 entries from agencies in 65 countries in 2016.

Life Changing Programme Going Nationwide A Salvation Army-backed scheme providing life changing loans and helping families stay out of debt is going nationwide.

The Community Finance microfinance scheme, which is a partnership programme between The Salvation Army, Good Shepherd, BNZ Bank and the Ministry of Social Development, is planning to expand to about six new locations around the country. The expansion comes after a successful two year pilot run through The Salvation Army Community Ministries in Manukau and Waitakere. The expansion was confirmed during the budget last week, when the Government announced it would provide an extra $1 million a year for four years to fund the expansion.

Territorial Secretary for Community Ministries Major Pam Waugh said the partners were extremely pleased to be able to roll out the programme to more people in need. The new locations would also be Salvation Army centres and the final number and location of the new centres would be confirmed in the next two weeks. Manukau Community Finance worker Jodi Hoare will be the new national coordinator for the scheme.

The microfinance scheme provides small low and no-interest loans to people that banks don’t normally lend to, both beneficiaries and people on low incomes. The programme is split into two parts with a No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) providing people with loans of up to $1000 and StepUP loans of up to $5000 at interest of 6.99 per cent.

The loan money is provided by BNZ, which has guaranteed an additional $60 million to be used for loans, on top of the $10 million it provided for the pilot.

The loans help clients buy essential items without needing to resort to high interest finance companies, risking becoming trapped in unsustainable debt. Loans are provided for people to buy a specific

essential item, with funds paid direct to the seller, and clients are assessed to ensure they can pay back the loan and won’t get into debt through the scheme.

‘It’s a very proactive programme and it’s preventative. We want to help people stay out of high end debt from third tier lenders, make good financial decisions and provide them assistance to get free from the poverty trap,’ Pam said.

The pilot run in Manukau and Waitakere has given loans to 219 people. The Manukau programme has also expanded, with a mobile Community Finance Worker travelling to different centres in South Auckland.

Having access to finance could be life changing for clients. Some used their loan to buy a car, which had helped them get a job. Others had used the money for essential school supplies to help their children’s education or to cover medical bills. ‘It’s given these people an opportunity to achieve some security,’ Pam said.

Along with providing finance, the programme aims to help clients improve their financial literacy and they were already seeing clients changing their spending and saving patterns, Pam said. Paying back a loan also improves a client’s credit rating and the first round of loans provided through the pilot have already been repaid.

As part of the expansion there will be a trial, using budget advisors to deliver the no interest loans. The idea is to connect Salvation Army budgeting clients loans and assessing whether the loan system is a good option for those clients.

Anyone interested in providing the service through their corps or centre is encouraged to contact their Divisional Community Ministries Secretary, Pam said.

For more info visit www salvationarmy.org.nz/loans

18 | WarCry 11 June 2016

LEADERSHIP LINKS

There is a place for all of us in the family.

Taking up a new role on 1 April (April Fool’s Day) was full of irony. A number of THQ staff have commented on this! The role of Secretary for Business Administration coordinates all the business aspects of The Salvation Army’s work in the territory —including oversight of commercial activities, communications, finance, information systems group, internal audit, Jeff farm, property and public relations. I am grateful to my predecessor, Lt-Col Lynette Hutson, for her able leadership of this team over the past three-plus years.

I have been blessed with a family of my own. My wife Margaret and I have four adult children. Some still live at home, some have now left home—but we see one another regularly and support each other as we are able. Like all families, we all have personality and other quirks that the other members of the family know of. Some of these quirks are good, some are not so good—but I appreciate the way that we support one another through the various parts of life’s journey.

Territorial Headquarters has been likened to a large family.

This is evidenced by the support we observe being offered to one another—both personally and corporately. I have been grateful to be a recipient of this support as I have come into this new role. I would hope you find similar support is available wherever you serve.

Families are an important part of the fabric of society that we do need to protect. They are a key part of the support network God provides for us. Sadly, the breakdown of the family unit is a serious concern in society today and, for many, the family unit is not the support that it was intended to be.

Over the past month or so, the territory has been engaged in two significant activities where the Army family works together to enable the Army’s mission: the preparation of budgets and our Red Shield Appeal. These are an annual reminder of how incredibly diverse our Army family is as we seek to find and allocate the resources we need to meet a wide range of needs in the community. Thank you for your part in these activities.

We are all brothers and sisters in Christ—part of the body of Christ as Paul illustrates in 1 Corinthians 12. Just as the body is designed to work together, so must we, so we can be as effective as God wants us to be; to fulfil our mission of caring for people, transforming lives and reforming society in his name. There is a place for all of us in the family. Naturally, our support for one another will take many forms—some less obvious than others, but all are required, just like a physical body. Thank you for the part you fulfil in this part of the body of Christ!

Lieut-Colonel David Bateman Territorial Secretary for Business

ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE WORD OF GOD 1 Corinthians 12:5 Contemporary English Version

‘Yet the same God works in all of us and helps us in everything we do.’

BY ROBIN RAYMOND

Eighty Years of Hotel Ministry and Still Going Strong Hotel ministry, visiting pubs, bars, cafés and hotels, is a part of Salvation Army history that is becoming less common in parts of the territory today.

Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Savage and Blenheim Corps soldier Ian Vercoe shared their experience of a combined 80 years of hotel ministry with the War Cry, and why they think the ministry is still an important part of The Salvation Army’s work.

In Booth’s footsteps: Lt-Col Peter Savage 50 years ago this month I first visited a public bar with Major Fred Reeves, Corps Officer at Linwood, Christchurch. The major felt that as a candidate for officership I needed a little introduction to pub life prior to entering The Salvation Army Training College, in March 1967.

He introduced me to it by telling me the story of William Booth, who was walking home from the East End of London with his nine year old son Bramwell, after a full-on day of preaching.

William took the child’s hand, pushed open the door of a public bar and stepping inside said, ‘Bramwell, these are our people; these are the people I want you to live for and bring to Christ.’

It was said that Bramwell never forgot that moment. Neither did I—such was the impact made on me by Major Fred Reeves that day. From that first day I’ve found ministry in the pubs to be my niche.

Even though my only introduction to beer was in the military—I was desperately thirsty while on an extensive exercise, and I hated the stuff!—I’ve felt a kind of affinity with ‘the ordinary bloke’ and whoever else I met.

I well remember the days of the six o’clock swill, coming home and hanging my smoke-saturated uniform out on the clothesline to air!

Over the years I’ve been asked to conduct weddings, funerals, dedications and use the Family Tracing service for pub patrons.

Mission Matters | 19

For some patrons, the salvationists they meet each week in the pub are the only ‘Christian ministers’ they know. Visiting and praying with patrons in hospital or in their homes has always been an extra privilege. To see some attend our Sunday meetings and a few who made a Christian commitment was thrilling.

In the days when the War Cry was published weekly I often ran out of supplies. Nowadays I also use the pop-open cards and have numerous patrons looking forward to their weekly wisdom text and a ‘God bless you’. At times I’ve entered into a range of theological discussions, as is usual in this ministry.

It is a great opportunity for evangelistic witness and a quiet word of encouragement. I’ve taken my share of rebuke over visiting bars and The Salvation Army’s stance on alcohol, and other issues. Often I’m asked, ‘Do you know [so and so salvationist]?’ It’s a thrill to hear commendation of faithful salvationists who have set a great example by their living.

Meeting and relating to the everyday person is what this mission is all about; the financial return is a secondary but significant boost to our growing community service operations. Hotel ministry is a very public facing ministry of The Salvation Army. I know pub visiting is ‘not everyone’s cup of tea,’ but I feel in many places we need to reactivate it.

I’m an alcoholic and I haven’t had a drink in over 30 years, but I still do a pub crawl every Thursday and Friday.

Giving back: Ian Vercoe I first did hotel visiting six months after I came to the Lord. Our corps officer, Major David Clark, said, ‘Would anyone like to come round the hotels with me to hand out Christmas War Crys and calendars,’ and I said I would. I wasn’t in uniform at that stage, I had a white shirt and a pair of black trousers, and someone lent me a tie. After that, I didn’t do it for a year.

Then we had new officers, Majors Graeme and Lorna McMurdo.

One Sunday, Major Graeme asked, ‘Who wants to be a witness for the Lord?’ I and a young lady put up our hands. After church he asked me if I would come round the hotels with him and that’s how I started. Since then, I’ve worked with successive corps officers and on my own, and 30 years later I’m still smiling. As long as I’m physically able and mentally able I’ll keep doing it.

I’m an alcoholic and I haven’t had a drink in over 30 years, but I still do a pub crawl every Thursday and Friday—I can easily relate to the reality of the people in those places and I don’t go in to be critical, that’s their life, I just try and point them to Jesus.

I knew when I started that I was going to meet people that I used to drink with. But thankfully I don’t desire to drink alcohol anymore, and I think most people respect the fact that my life has been turned around by the Lord. When people challenge me on The Salvation Army’s position on alcohol and my being in a place where alcohol is served, I tell them a bit of my story and I say, ‘Hey, we’re here to help anybody no matter their circumstance.’ Most people accept that, if you go quietly and humbly.

I always go in with a quote that I have taken from my diary. One I used recently was, ‘There are always periodic opportunities to give up, but every moment is an opportunity to persevere.’ My favourite is, ‘Everyone has something to offer and everybody has a part to play.’ I want that on my tombstone.

I also like to go in with a joke, because God gave us a sense of humour and he wants us to enjoy life. I invite people to come to church and say, ‘I’d love you to sit with me, because my wife won’t sit with me at church.’ They say ‘What?’ and I say ‘No, she sits with the band and I sit in the pews.’ One or two have come along and a few have stayed.

I give out calendars or other materials and I go to the hospital and visit and give out the War Cry and pray with people. In the hotels I collect donations and there are people who regularly donate to the Army. Sometimes people also give me meat raffles they have won and I pass them on to someone in need.

Quite often when I have a conversation with a person in a hotel they will accept a prayer. When I have prayed with a person I say, ‘Thank you Lord,’ because they have opened themselves up to God and it’s a privilege to be a part of that. It’s not my ministry, it’s God’s ministry and I know God is with me at all times.

If people want to talk I will take them aside so it can be confidential and they don’t have to say things in front of their mates. I will say to them, ‘This isn’t the place to talk at length, but we can meet at The Salvation Army and talk if you want.’ I remember one guy who was a terrible alcoholic, he came and we spoke confidentially at The Salvation Army and he said it really helped him to talk.

Hotel ministry is a wonderful opportunity to go out and be a witness for the Lord. We represent God in the community and we have this opportunity. It’s important that we take advantage of it to witness for the Lord and carry him into those places.

20 | WarCry 11 June 2016

Part 3 of 5 Carla Lindsey discovers that being swallowed by a fish is not the only surprise in Jonah chapter two.

C S Lewis said, ‘God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. [Pain] is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.’

While I’m not sure that God sends pain into our lives solely for the purpose of getting our attention, it does seem to me that often when we are dealing with difficult things in our lives, God gets far more of our attention than he gets when things are fine.

It’s interesting how when life is turning to custard, we can suddenly get a new perspective. Suddenly, we realise, we need God. For Jonah things were moving downhill, quite literally, at a terrifying rate when he made this realisation. He’d been called by God to preach to his enemies in the Assyrian capital Nineveh. But instead, Jonah had jumped on a boat and headed in the opposite direction.

In the previous issue, we noted how the writer describes Jonah’s journey as a descent. Israelites always travelled up to worship God as his temple was on a mountain. So by describing Jonah’s journey as a descent, the writer is letting us know that Jonah is moving away from God, both literally and spiritually. The first of the surprising plot twists comes when Jonah heads in the opposite direction to Nineveh.

The twist in the tale Now we approach the second twist. It happens just after Jonah has been thrown off the boat into the sea. This point might well have been the end of the story. The disobedient prophet drowns.

But the story doesn’t end here. Instead of sinking to his grave on the ocean floor, we read that ‘the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights’ (1:17).

Who would have seen that coming! As we discussed in the first article in this series, the fish itself is not the point. The important thing about the fish, which may have been a whale (as animals weren’t classified back then in the same way we classify fish and mammals today), but whatever it was … God provided it.

The verse could also read that God had ‘appointed’ the fish, or ‘prepared’ the fish, so we get the message. It was God who sent the fish. The fish acts as a symbol of God’s grace to Jonah. Jonah had made his choice to turn away from God, but by sending the fish, we see that God was not finished with Jonah yet.

I don’t think it is any coincidence that the ancient symbol for Nineveh is a fish within a large house or tomb. I also don’t think that there is any co-incidence that according to Sumerian myth, three days and three nights was the length of time it took to get to the underworld.

So here Jonah was. Instead of drowning, he was stuck in the belly of a fish. What did he do while he was there? Jonah chapter two tells us that he prayed … as you would!

This stands in complete contrast to chapter one, where Jonah does

not pray, even when he is asked to. Now he chooses to pray.

We also note that chapter one is in prose. It is an action packed story.

Chapter two, however, is in poetry. In chapter two, the pace slows down and has a reflective tone. Chapter one is narrated, but in chapter two, Jonah speaks personally. We hear his first person point of view.

Born again ‘From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God’ (2:1). This could also be translated as from the ‘belly’ or ‘womb’ of the fish, Jonah prayed. The NIV simply translates it as ‘inside’ the fish, which gives us Jonah’s location—but the idea of being in the ‘womb’ of the fish could have symbolic meaning. Jonah should have been dead, but this fish was going to give him a second chance at life. From within this fish, he would be reborn.

… by sending the fish, we see that God was not finished with Jonah yet.

Supporting this idea is the interesting fact that in the hebrew, Jonah 1:17 and 2:10 refer to the fish as male, but in 2:1 the fish is female. What was going on here? A confused fish? A scribal error perhaps? Or was the writer wanting to emphasis the new life Jonah was being given? Verse two hints at this when it uses the word ‘distress,’ which is a word used elsewhere in theOld Testament in association with childbirth. The idea of the fish carrying and delivering Jonah to new life seems to fit.

So from the inside of the fish Jonah expressed his prayerful reflections in a psalm. The psalm follows the typical format of a psalm of thanksgiving—with an introduction (2:2), description of the plight (2:3–6a), description of the rescue (2:6b–7) and finishing with a vow or commitment (2:8–10).

One of the big questions about the book of Jonah is, did Jonah compose the psalm? Was the belly of a fish really a conducive place for song writing? Or, was Jonah quoting something he already knew?

Perhaps—but we don’t know of this psalm’s existence outside of the book of Jonah. Was Jonah creating a mish-mash from other psalms he knew? After all, this psalm has similarities with many from the book of Psalms, (see Psalm 3, 5, 16, 18, 31, 42, 50, 65, 88 and 120).

But maybe the psalm came later. Maybe once Jonah had returned home and done some serious thinking, then he composed these words.

We don’t know. But whichever it was, the placement of the psalm here gives a significant pause in the narration of the story to provide the theology behind the book. It tells us about how Jonah understood God, and his relationship with God.

Jonah’s prayer Jonah’s prayer began like this, ‘In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry’ (2:2).

Soul Food | 21

Verse two functions as the introductory verse which summarises Jonah’s cry for help. Jonah was as good as dead. He wouldn’t call out to God in chapter one, but now face to face with death, he is desperate.

Notice how the opening two lines of Jonah’s prayer run in parallel.

They both say the same thing, but in a different way. They firstly say that Jonah was in a bad place, secondly, that he called out to God and finally, that God heard him.

Then Jonah’s plight is described:

You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me.

I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’

The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.

To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever (2:2–6a).

Here Jonah’s descent continues. First he is hurled into the sea, and is on the surface as the currents swirl around him. But then the waves move over him. The waters begin to engulf him, until the deep surrounds him. Entangled in seaweed we find him sinking down. As this physical journey unfolded, Jonah spiritualised it. He had wanted to run from God’s presence and now he fears he has got what he wanted. He fears that he will never look again to God’s temple, the place where God’s presence was. He fears that he is banished from God’s sight permanently.

But he was wrong. Just when he thought it was all over …

But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit. ’When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple’ (2:6b–7).

‘The pit’ was the lowest possible point. In the Old Testament it refers to the grave or the realm of the dead. So here we see that when things were at their bleakest, God intervened and turned things around. From verse six on things no longer descend or move away from God. The downward trend begins to be reversed. Things begin to move upwards, towards God, beginning with Jonah’s prayer which ‘rose’ up.

God heard Jonah’s prayer and rescued him, and as a result Jonah declared: ‘with shouts of grateful praise, I will sacrifice to you.

What I have vowed I will make good.

I will say, “Salvation comes from the Lord” ’ (2:9).

Because of his dramatic rescue Jonah declared his whole-hearted loyalty to God, the source of his salvation.

… whether [Jonah] would show mercy to others would remain to be seen.

Up, up and away We see clearly in this chapter that Jonah believed that God controlled everything. It was God who rescued him. The waves were under God’s control. It was even God who threw him over board. (Actually it was the sailors, but Jonah understood that God was directing their actions). Jonah believed that God sent the fish to swallow him and that it was God who, at the end of chapter two ‘commanded the fish,’ which ‘vomited Jonah up onto the dry land’ (2:10 NASB)—note the upward journey continued.

But where would this journey go next? Would Jonah continue towards God? Would the reluctant prophet eventually get to Nineveh?

Or was he just glad to be rescued from a nasty death? He hadn’t said he was sorry for his disobedience. He had experienced God’s mercy, but whether he would show mercy to others would remain to be seen.

Jonah’s story should have ended when he was thrown overboard, but there was a twist.

Three days, three nights Perhaps the most famous twist in any story, is the story of Jesus resurrection. Jesus said that ‘as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth’ (Matthew 12:40).

Jesus was in the realm of death. He was in the pit, but like the belly of the fish for Jonah, the realm of death for Jesus was also a place of new life. It was a place of surprises. It was a place of hope that the story wasn’t over yet and that new beginnings were, and still are possible.

Jesus’ story, along with Jonah’s, are powerful reminders that when we are at our lowest, God can breathe new life into us, that wherever we go God is there, and that God gives second chances.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER Is there a situation you need to give over to God’s control?

Is there someone you need to thank for giving you a second chance?

To whom do you need to give a second chance?

How can you, today, express your thanks to God for the mercy he has shown to you?

Among the busyness of your life, do you need to do as Jonah did and pause, reflect and pray?

22 | WarCry 11 June 2016

CALENDAR JUNE 20–23: Ten-year Officer Review / Booth College of Mission

JULY 5–8: Foundations for Chaplaincy / Booth College of Mission 9–15: The Odyssey / Blue Mountain Adventure Centre 24: Self Denial Appeal Launch

AUGUST 2–3: Leadership Essentials / Booth College of Mission 12–14: Missional Leadership Hui / Booth College of Mission 12–14: Southern Division Kids Camp (Timaru and North) / Woodend 19–20: Central Division Youth Conference / Wellington 22-24: Lead to Grow Conference / Brentwood Hotel, Wellington 23–25: Re-reading the Scriptures / Booth College of Mission 30 Aug–1 Sept: Personal Leadership / Booth College of Mission

OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENTS Commissioners Robert (Territorial Commander) and Janine Donaldson (Territorial President of Women’s Ministries) 11–13 June: Southern Division Governance Board Visit 25–27 June: Central Division Governance Board Visit 28 June: Education & Employment Governance Board 1–4 July: Tonga Congress with General & Commissioner Cox 9–11 July: Northern Division Governance Board Visit 12 July: ASARS Governance Board Visit 17 July: Official opening of Rangiora Corps new hall 23 July: Northern Division Youth Councils (Janine) 25–27 July: Appointments Conference, BCM Colonels Willis Howell (Chief Secretary) and Barbara Howell (Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries) 11–13 June: Southern Division Governance Board Visit 25–27 June: Central Division Governance Board Visit 28 June: Education & Employment Governance Board 1–4 July: Tonga Congress with General & Commissioner Cox 10–11 July: Northern Division Governance Board Visit 12 July: ASARS Governance Board Visit

Booth College of Mission Library Located in Upper Hutt, Booth College of Mission Library is a welcoming study space, with comprehensive, engaging books that will help you build your faith and the faith of others.

Membership Officers and Salvation Army staff are welcome to make use of the library and can sign up completely free of charge. Others are encouraged to become members as well, for an annual fee of $50. All library users can have books delivered straight to their doorstep (or office) anywhere in New Zealand by post (charges may apply).

Borrowing Policies The loan period for all books is six weeks and renewals and book requests can be made by phone, by using the online catalogue, or by email. Reference books and assignment books are not available to borrow.

Contact Librarian Alisha Tyson Phone (04) 528 8628 Email library@nzf.salvationarmy.org Go to www.salvationarmy.org.nz/boothcollege INTERESTED IN SOCIAL JUSTICE? For reports, regular newsletters, challenging articles and Salvation Army government submissions.

www salvationarmy.org.nz/socialpolicy

PRAYER FOCUS Please pray for: Albany, Alexandra and Aranui Corps, Youth Mission Dept, and The Salvation Army in Mexico.

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” Isaiah 60:1

1–4 July 2016, Queen Salote Hall, Taufa’ahau Rd, Nuku’alofa with guest leaders General André Cox and Commissioner Silvia Cox

THE ODYESSY

WHEN

9–15 JULY 2016

WHO Anyone aged 14–17 years.

WHAT

Subscribe today!

War Cry … DIRECT to your door Annual subscription (including p&p) $75 (within NZ). To subscribe, contact Salvationist Resources, p: (04) 382 0740, e: mailorder@nzf.salvationarmy.org

The ultimate six-day snow adventure. Whether snowboarding, flying off a waterfall, or deep in a snow cave, challenge your body, mind and spirit to discover your massive God-given potential.

FOR MORE INFO bluemountainadventure.org.nz bmac@nzf.salvationarmy.org

Find SALVATION ARMY JOB OPPORTUNITIES online:

www salvationarmy.org.nz/employment

Fun4Kids | 23

Why are pirates called pirates?

They just arrrrgh.

Why was the pirate ship so cheap?

It was on sail.

Why couldn’t the pirate play cards?

Because he was sitting on the deck.

What is a parrot’s favourite game?

Hide and speak.

oh argh, it’s a crossword! down can you find the pirate’s shadow?

across

read it “Don’t be afraid, Paul! You must stand before the Emperor. And God in his goodness to you has spared the lives of all those who are sailing with you.’’ (Acts 27:24, GNT)

Who doesn’t love to dress up and pretend to be a pirate?! But the life of the type of pirates we read about in books and see on the movies could also be very scary, with dangerous storms. Sometimes there wasn’t enough wind, so the ship would be stuck at sea and food and water supplies would run low.

Ask a grownup to read Acts 27:13–44 with you—it’s the story of Paul, an early missionary of the Christian

church and his adventures at sea.

Lots of people study this story to understand sea voyages in ancient times.

Paul was on the ship as a prisoner.

He told the sailors that he didn’t think it was a good idea for them to travel, but they didn’t listen. Soon they were trapped in a terrible hurricane, with hardly any food left.

But an angel promised Paul he would live because God still had work for him to do. Paul was shipwrecked three times in his life, but God always

kept him safe. When we are afraid or worried, it’s important to remember that God is still in control and that he will help us.

let’s pray Dear Jesus, sometimes I can feel afraid like Paul did. But I know you never leave me and that you will help me. I trust you to take care of me. Amen.