31 May 2014 NZFT War Cry

FAITH IN ACTION |  MAY  | Issue  | $.

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

HARNESSING THE WIND

A RICH HISTORY OF BAD PARENTING ADVICE

BOUNDLESS: THE WHOLE WORLD PRAYING

GENERAL ENCOURAGES ZIMBABWE SALVATIONISTS

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Kia ora What are you watching?

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, Vanessa Singh CONTRIBUTORS

Kris Singh (music reviewer)

PROOF READING

Major Jill Gainsford COVER PHOTO

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I can be an annoying person to watch a movie with. I frequently argue with the plot, criticise the casting and complain about the script. If it’s a mystery, I like to predict the ending. If it’s a romance, I like to point out to my children the unrealistic nature of the scenario that’s being played out. For instance, that ‘you can’t marry a man you just met’ (thank you, Frozen for finally making that point!). My husband prefers it when we go out to the movies, because then I bite back my criticism ... plus he gets to buy popcorn.

In this edition, Ingrid Barratt investigates some Christian attitudes to the movies, recognising that bringing our faith to bear on our movie choices is not as simple as saying, ‘I’ll only watch a G-rated movie.’

So, what criteria do we employ when going to the movies? For me, I want to watch a movie that gets me thinking, and I do often find myself having conversations with Jesus about what I’ve seen.

Recently, I watched a horror movie with my son. The suspense was terrifying (and brilliantly executed). At the end, the message was given that there is good in the world and there is evil—and we need to choose which side we're on. That was a great takeaway and led to some really interesting conversations.

The older I get, the more discerning I am about what I watch.

I choose not to watch movies with lots of sex, for instance. I don’t watch the TV series Games of Thrones, but I’ve been interested to note the increasingly widespread criticism of the nudity and sex scenes in that show. I’m certainly not alone in arguing that ‘less is more’ when it comes to seeing sex on screen.

I don’t believe we are passive sponges mindlessly soaking up all the messages of the movies we see, but neither is it good for our souls to unquestioningly watch anything and everything. As 1 Corinthians 10:23 says, ‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say —but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’ —but not everything is constructive. Let’s not leave our faith at home just because we’re heading to the movies.

Christina Tyson Editor

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

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BIBLE VERSE

‘Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’

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WISE WORDS

Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.

Corrie ten Boom Clippings from My Notebook

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Let’s Talk | 03

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t’s the United Nation’s ‘Global Day of Parents’ on 1 June.

Looking back at attitudes to raising children, one thing becomes obvious: we have a rich history of bad parenting advice.

When Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham and formidable matriarch of Downton Abbey, describes herself as an ‘involved mother’, her nemesis Isobel Crawley seems surprised: ‘I’d imagined [your children] surrounded by nannies and governesses, being starched and ironed to spend an hour with you after tea.’

‘Yes, but it was an hour every day,’ responds Violet indignantly.

The sturdy wisdom of the time was that too much affection would ‘spoil’ the child. John B. Watson, in his 1928 manual Psychological Care of Infant and Child, advised: ‘Never hug and kiss them, never let them sit in your lap. If you must, kiss them once on the forehead when they say good night.’

Mothers who gave in to their natural instincts to kiss and cuddle their baby were considered feeble-minded by the medical fraternity. As late as 1962, Walter W. Sackett Jnr, in his book Bringing Up Babies, implied that parents who responded to their baby’s cries were in danger of turning them into communists: ‘If we teach our offspring to expect everything to be provided on demand, we must admit the possibility that we are sowing the seeds of socialism,’ he warned. Sackett also recommended giving babies black coffee from six months old, to get them used to ‘the normal eating habits of the family’!

But by then, Dr Benjamin Spock was making waves with his controversial book, Baby and Child Care, which held to the novel idea that mothers should listen to their instincts. He encouraged parents to pick up and hold their children when they cried. Critics labelled this approach as ‘permissive’. But Dr Spock has arguably become the most influential figure of the century in changing our attitudes toward parenting.

Today, building attachment with children is widely recognised as one of the most important factors in their ability to form positive relationships, as well as succeed in education and the workplace.

Attachment is built when parents are responsive to a child’s needs for love, nurture, food, shelter, warmth and the other basics of life. The concept of attachment has given parents back the right to cuddle our child and listen to our natural, loving response to their cries.

Later in his life, Dr Spock ruefully reflected on his influence: ‘Many parents have stopped me on the street or in airports to thank me for helping them to raise fine children …

On the other hand I’ve also received letters from conservative mothers saying, in effect, “Thank God I’ve never used your horrible book. That’s why my children take baths, wear clean clothes and get good grades in school.” ’ This perhaps sums up the unique competitiveness of parenting. As humans, we have an amazing capacity to create rules and regulations that make us feel in control, and therefore, better than our neighbour. There is always someone judging us.

But we may not realise that we are judging others, too.

Perhaps the advice that was given 2000 years ago is still the best: ‘In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you,’ said Jesus (Matthew 7:12).

Jesus boiled all the rules down to only two important factors for human relationships: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself’ (Matthew 22:36-40).

Being a good parent simply means meeting your child’s basic needs and giving them all the love and encouragement they need—just as God does to us. The rest is a playground we all get to play in. INGRID BARRATT

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Bookshelf Autobiography In the Eye of the Storm Sir John Houghton Sir John Houghton is a pioneering scientist who recognised that our changing climate threatened the planet’s future. From its opening, when John describes being the ‘weather man’ during one of Britain’s worst storms, it’s a genuine page turner. As early as the ’60s, John and other scientists were asking questions about global warming, but he had a battle on his hands to get the truth into the public arena. This story is deepened

by John’s Christian faith and conviction that ‘God has granted us stewardship over this planet’. Who would have thought that talking about the weather would be so fascinating? (Lion Hudson)

Playlist

Life & Guidance Restored Lives Erik Castenskiold Another great resource from Holy Trinity Brompton, who also created the Alpha and Marriage courses.

An honest and compassionate book about recovery from divorce and separation, based on the Restored Lives course. ‘It’s a sad truth that most people feel incredibly isolated and lonely as they go on this journey,’ says author Eric Castenskiold. He takes readers through the crisis of separation through to letting go, rebuilding your life and the life of your family, working with your former partner and, finally, moving on. This books provides hope and companionship on the journey. (Monarch Books)

Spiritual Growth Falling Upward Richard Rohr Even the Christian market is saturated with advice on being a ‘success’, so this is a refreshing book that embraces a much less talked about topic: and then what?

Father Richard Rohr talks about the two halves of life, saying we are a ‘first half culture’, concentrating on establishing our identities and building ‘successful lives’. But what if we haven’t measured up? What if we have regrets about how we have lived? Rohr focuses on the second half of our lives, where we find the ‘task within the task’ of becoming more pure and honest with ourselves and our place in the world. (Jossey-Bass)

Reel News

Alternative Rock Ghost Stories Coldplay Coldplay are well known for their introspective and deeply sentimental style of music, and it’s this ethos that drives their latest work Ghost Stories. Powerfully poignant and reflecting shades of 2002’s A Rush of Blood, this is an excellent addition to the band’s catalogue. As a concept album, Ghost Stories is a reflection on the past’s ability to impact on the ability to love again. It’s the band’s most subtle collection of songs yet, simmering rather than sizzling, but still retaining the weighty and powerfully emotive tone of their bigger arena hits.

Superbly produced, and unafraid of giving listeners space to breathe, contemplate and consider.

Worship Sovereign Michael W. Smith Ever since the early ’80s, worship heavyweight Michael W. Smith has been churning out music by the bucket load. Because his music is so reflective of the times, it’s easy to see the influences on his latest effort, Sovereign. Smith’s 14th album is a solid, yet slightly predictable contemporary Christian release. Many of the songs on this record weren’t written solely by Smith. Writers like Jason Ingram, Jennie Lee Riddle, and All Sons and Daughters all contribute.

For the songs that Smith does write, he plants firmly within the constraints of the genre, eschewing the experimental and instead focusing on a solid and consistent experience. Great for a casual listen.

GIVEAWAY To win a copy of In the Eye of the Storm, tell us why we need to look after the planet.

War Cry Giveaway, PO Box 6015, Marion Square, Wgtn 6141 or email warcry@nzf.salvationarmy.org. Entries close 16 June.

Family/Adventure The Lego Movie Phil Lord & Chris Miller / PG (low level violence) Everybody’s favourite plastic brick toy is now a major blockbuster movie —and it doesn’t disappoint!

The Lego Movie follows the adventures of an ordinary Lego minifigure, Emmet, who considers himself a perfectly average, rule-following citizen. Emmet’s life is changed forever when he is mistaken as the most extraordinary and interesting person in the Lego world and is the key to saving the world. Along the way, he must join forces with the Master Builders to stop President Business’s evil plan and keep his world from being destroyed.

It’s an awesome film and a feast for the eyes, being set in a fully computer animated world that truly explores the possibilities and limitations of a world made entirely out of Lego. The storyline is great and totally appeals to children and adults alike, stuffed full of good morals like everyone having a key part to play in a community, fighting for what’s right, ordinary people doing extraordinary things, and working together as a team to get something done.

There are also plenty of Lego and pop culture references along the way to keep long-term Lego fans happy, and even a small shout-out to New Zealand and our attachment to The Lord of the Rings (all in jest!). These clever references, along with the storyline and characters (and big-name actors like Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson and Will Ferrell doing some stellar voice acting work), make for some hilarious moments and take the film from a simple kids’ story to a well-rounded nostalgia trip for those slightly older.

A seriously entertaining film that’ll make you smile the entire time … if you can handle that awfully catchy song.

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Earlier this month the latest ‘Christian’ movie from Hollywood was released in New Zealand, called Son of God. But what makes a film truly Christian? War Cry talks to Christians working and playing in the film industry, about faith and the modern-day folklore that is the movies.

BY INGRID BARRATT

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grew up as the child of missionaries in a country where going to the movies was considered ‘unChristian’. I remember vividly the thrill of my first ever film—The Muppets Take Manhattan in Leicester Square, London—when my parents were on holiday.

Indeed, for many of us, our first trip to the movies is a seminal childhood experience.

The best stories reflect, in some way, the beauty of God’s love and salvation for a broken and needy world. And even more intimately, his love for the unlovable. These stories are a reflection of God’s story for us—if only a smudgy mirror image.

But as Christians, we are often uncomfortable with portrayals of sinful people. And indeed, there is wisdom in keeping our minds innocent of evil. But is a Christian film simply something that is ‘family friendly’? Or is it a story that resonates with the themes of redemption, among a broken humanity?

There are people working in every corner of the film industry who call themselves Christians, so I went looking for their opinions on the question: is God at the movies?

What should we watch Tom Wardle is a sixth-generation Salvationist who is forging a career as a professional actor and a teacher of speech and drama. In Salvation Army circles he is probably best known as ‘Levi the Lion’ in Zoo Boogie.

Tom says, ‘One of the questions I get asked the most is, “Would you portray an evil character, or someone morally ambiguous?” Well, that’s not who I am; I’m not the character. It always comes down to the context and the message of the story.’

He recalls that the most controversial character he has played was based on a true story, of a high school student who shot 12 people dead at his school. ‘I didn’t have a problem portraying him because it wasn’t condoning the behaviour,’ Tom explains, ‘it was exploring what happens to people when there is emotional, mental and community breakdown.’

So, would he do a sex scene? Ironically, says Tom, the most sexually provocative work he has done was when he worked for three years as part of a Shakespearian company—but because it’s Shakespeare, people don’t question it. ‘As Christians, we shouldn’t shy away from reality,’ he says, although he emphasises that he always questions how his work as an actor will affect his wider life and faith.

Andrew Cochrane has worked in film production for over 20 years. He has won acclaim for a short film he produced called I’m Going to Mum’s, which has been shown at more than 30 film festivals and has won several international awards.

‘As far as the content we watch goes, everyone has different triggers—and that decision lies with the viewer, not the filmmaker,’ says Andrew. ‘If I am susceptible to a porn addiction, then I may not be inclined to watch a film with sexual content. If I have anger issues, then I may choose not to watch a violent film.’

He says that the most conflicted he has ever been about making a film was when he was asked to work for a Mormon film production.

Although it was ‘family friendly’, Andrew felt uncomfortable about the false theology of Mormonism. ‘I spent a lot of time with God and came to a sense of peace about doing that film, and I saw that as an opportunity to be a Christian in that environment.’

He observes, ‘The films I really like and remember are the ones that changed my mind about something, and there have been ones that have changed the direction of my life.’

Why we watch Perhaps the best movies are not just the ones that are inoffensive and comfortable. Really good stories are the ones that challenge us and help us understand something about ourselves and others.

Richard Goodwin has a Masters in Theology and Arts from the renowned Fuller Institute in Los Angeles, where he specialised in film. He has written three feature film scripts. ‘What do you learn from a story that you couldn’t learn from a lecture? I think the major thing is emotion,’ says Richard.

He uses a movie metaphor to explain further: ‘We’ve valued the rational—it’s like the tension between Captain Kirk, the hothead, and Spock, who can make better decisions because he is completely rational. But scientists are finding that emotions are important to our rational thinking, and actually promote good judgement.

‘Intellectually, you can agree with a lecture, but if something moves you it changes your life, and that’s real belief. True belief is how you live, not just what you say.’

In our culture, to walk out of a movie with a sense that life has meaning, is invaluable. It’s a rebuke to unbelief.

On beauty ‘Perhaps most significantly, art and stories give us an encounter with beauty,’ explains Richard. He is referring to the classic philosophical trio of ‘truth, beauty and goodness’. ‘Truth and goodness have been valued in Christianity, while beauty has been seen as a bit worldly or suspect. But an experience of beauty can take you to the heart of reality. It can make you understand something at a level that is deeper than words.’

The renowned philosopher C.S. Lewis described this encounter with beauty as ‘an experience of joy’, something people yearned after. This yearning was also a sign that there was something more to life. This realisation led to his belief in God, and ultimately, Jesus.

Beauty is not the same thing as ‘pretty’, though. Sometimes you need to see what’s ugly to appreciate the beauty. Richard explains that traditional ‘Christian art’ has sometimes focused on things that are pretty or nice to look at. ‘But you can’t have the emotional highs without the lows, otherwise it becomes sentimentality and we sense that it’s not genuine.’

This echoes the remarkable words of the apostle Paul: ‘I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings’ (Philippians 3:10). The profound mystery of Christ is that suffering and glory co-exist, helping us fellowship with

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Christ and with others.

‘The heart of Christianity to me seems to be empathy,’ agrees Tom. ‘The Christian story is about reconciliation with others and with God. At the centre of our faith is redemption, so stories should lead us towards empathy with others.’

Movies and the mission Richard adds that from a missional perspective, movies are a big part of how stories are told in our culture, so for that reason alone Christians should engage with the movies and filmmaking.

In fact, some commentators believe Hollywood has kept alive Christian values that would have otherwise been lost to our culture —such as the concept of the ‘hero’ who sacrifices his own desires for a greater good; a direct reflection of Christ’s sacrifice to offer redemption.

Says Richard, ‘As part of my training I went to Sundance [the preeminent American independent film festival], and the headline in the Los Angeles Times that year was “Spirituality the Hot Topic at Sundance”. That was certainly my experience—people have got past their anger at the Church and are now saying, “But there’s still something, life is still beautiful and meaningful.” ’ In a society where there are so many ‘alternative accounts of the truth’, movies can be an entry point to God and spirituality. ‘In our culture, to walk out of a movie with a sense that life has meaning, is invaluable,’ says Richard. ‘It’s a rebuke to unbelief.’

Jim Downey, director of Creative Ministries for The Salvation Army New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory, says the Army has always been creative in spreading the message of Christ. ‘The Salvation Army has always used creative expression to attract people to church. When the Army was new it was brass bands, and now there are numerous expressions of creativity, from church production to musical forms, to film clips in worship.

Creative Ministries has filmmakers on staff, and Jim says this medium is becoming increasingly important. ‘Territorially, The Salvation Army recognises the value of movies for getting information out and inspiring people—telling our story to others, and telling our story to our own people,’ he says.

The X-rated stuff All the Christians I spoke to had their own personal boundaries around the kind of films they choose to watch. Tom doesn’t watch films that are about the ‘glorification of violence and revenge’. He adds that as a leader in children’s ministries, he always considers how an acting role will be perceived by others—especially children.

Richard agrees that ‘what glories in sin is distasteful, and I don’t enjoy watching it’. Although he doesn’t consciously think about how ‘Christian’ a film is, he still sees ethics as important, explaining, ‘When you’re younger, especially, having black and white rules can be good; being given standards is good. But at some point you have to grow up and make your own standards.’ So the question is: do your standards reflect Christ?

He adds that there is ‘no grand conspiracy’ against Christianity in the movies. Nor is Hollywood suddenly pro-Christian. ‘Hollywood

is driven by what sells, and they have discovered that religion sells, so that’s why you’re seeing more “religious movies” coming out.’

Andrew recalls that his journey with God has been intertwined with his career: ‘For the first part of my career, my faith was not part of my work. But that wasn’t because I was working in the film industry; I was away from God because that was my deliberate choice.

But as I make God the centre of my life, that is changing who I am as a person—I have greater empathy, I’m better able to cope with stress, I’m more trustworthy. As the characteristics of God enfold my life I’m a better business person, manager and colleague.’

Andrew says that throughout his career working within the film industry, he has never met anyone who has not been prepared to engage in a conversation about faith. And as Christians we must do the same: engage in the conversation our culture is having.

As Richard says, ‘Movies have the potential to proclaim the gospel in words and ideas that make sense in this place and time.

Films have a real potential for good.’

Movies That Moved Me • There Will be Blood: ‘This stars Daniel Day Lewis as an oil tycoon. It’s a brutal story, but just amazing acting, writing, and cinematography. There’s a beautiful moment where the tycoon’s adopted son forgives him for being so awful, and walks away while the father is still yelling at him. It speaks of the wages of sin, and the wages of his life is loneliness.’

—Tom Wardle, actor.

• Drive: ‘I was at a point where I was looking for inspiration, and felt that I had lost my way creatively. I saw this film and knew this was the kind of story I wanted to tell. It’s very violent, but it was the relationship between the characters—the filmmakers created very deep, intimate relationships without using words.’—Andrew Cochrane, producer.

• The Lego Movie: ‘It’s about a guy who is part of a construction gang and discovers he’s the “chosen one” but he doesn’t think he’s worthy of being chosen—and that really resonates with the Christian message, of God choosing us to represent him in the world.’—Jim Downey, Creative Ministries, The Salvation Army, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga.

• Magnolia: ‘The movie that kickstarted my own personal obsession with God and movies. It follows several looselyassociated characters whose lives are unravelling until they’re hit with a cataclysmic event seemingly lifted straight from the pages of the Old Testament. You can write it off as a freak occurrence, but the fact that it becomes an odd moment of grace for most of the characters makes it clear that it’s really divine intervention.’—Richard Goodwin, theologian and scriptwriter.

(Please note: the movies listed above do contain content that could be considered offensive.)

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BUDGET

ENVIRONMENT

Do-It-Yourself Facial

World Environment Day The focus for World Environment Day stays close to home this year, as it celebrates our world’s small islands—including our Pacific neighbours.

The UN General Assembly declared 2014 as the International Year of Small Island Developing States. Okay, they’re not going for snazzy with this title.

But, as World Environment Day (WED) says, ‘small islands are home to vibrant and distinct cultures and heritage as well as to rich ecosystems, biodiversity and dazzling landscapes’.

The Pacific Islands have richly contributed to New Zealand’s culture and are very much considered part of the Kiwi family, but as WED highlights, many face some of the most foreboding issues of climate change.

Facials are all about feeling pampered, relaxed, and having strange, sticky stuff smeared all over your face. Enjoy this step-by-step facial with ingredients you’ve already got at home.

You can take an hour out for yourself, or get your friendsies together and share the love.

1. Relax: Let’s be honest, getting a facial is all about the lying down, so prepare a quiet spot. Pre-warm some towels, flannels and a dressing gown, and wrap yourself up warm. Aren’t you feeling better already?

2. Cleanse: Oil is a wonder ingredient—it can be used for both cleansing and moisturising. For real luxury, add some lavender essential oil so you can breathe in those relaxing vapours. Start by dabbing oil—such as almond, avocado, coconut or olive oil—on soft cotton wool, and use to gently remove makeup from your face.

3. Tone: Brew a cup of chamomile or green tea and allow to cool. Soak a couple of cotton balls in the brew, squeeze out excess and rub over your face. Place another couple of cotton balls over your eyes. Lie down again and relax for 10 minutes.

4. Moisturise: Now moisturise with your oil. Rub some more on your hands and hold up to your face, breathing the scent in several times, counting four breathes in, and four out.

5. Face Mask: There are loads of recipes for homemade masks, but a lovely moisturising combination is fennel and oatmeal. Grind up 1 Tbsp of oats in a blender. Add 1 Tbsp fennel seeds to ½ cup boiling water and steep for 10 minutes, then strain the seeds so only the tea is left. Let it cool to room temperature. Combine with the oatmeal and 1 Tbsp honey. Apply to face and neck. Put on some relaxing music, turn the lights off and lie down for 20 heavenly minutes. Rinse off the mask, apply more oil if you wish, and enjoy the new blissful you (at least until the kids get home).

Global warming is causing ocean levels to rise at an increased rate, and the International Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) has projected an even greater increase this century: ‘When global temperature warms, seawater expands and occupies more space. Sea levels rise when ice melts as well. Coastal communities in every country are then threatened with floods and storm surges, to which these small islands are the most exposed. Many of these islands’ inhabited areas and cultural sites are potentially in danger of being lost to sea-level rise.’

As we are already seeing, the Islands are more vulnerable to extreme weather and the devastation that follows. But many are making stunning changes. Tokelau recently began producing 100 per cent of its energy from solar sources. In Fiji, lacking the resources to make new drainage systems and seawalls after floods, local residents are restoring mangroves and coral reefs to help prevent flooding and erosion.

Show your support for our Pasifika neighbours by joining WED’s challenges.

By going to its website, you can pledge to: • reduce your fossil fuels • reduce your ‘food print’ • go greener as a community • purge plastics.

None of these are big changes for us to make as individuals, but together, they could literally save our planet.

For 200 years we’ve been conquering Nature.

Now we’re beating it to death. Tom McMillan

Slow-cooked Sausage Cassoulet Not particularly authentic, but delicious nonetheless. | Serves 4 1 Tbsp oil 1 medium onion, sliced about 150g chorizo or other smoked sausages, sliced 400g can tomatoes in juice 2 x 400g cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained 2 Tbsp tomato paste ½ tsp dried sage ½ tsp dried marjoram 500g pork sausages ½—1 tsp salt pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large pan. Add onion and sliced chorizo and cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 mins or until onion is soft.

Coat slow cooker bowl with non-stick spray, then tip in the tomatoes (breaking up whole tomatoes if using).

Add beans, tomato paste and herbs, and stir gently until evenly mixed.

Prick each pork sausage with a fork in several places, then nestle them into the bean mixture. Turn cooker on to LOW, cover and cook for 8–9 hours.

Shortly before serving, lift sausages from the beans and cut into 1–2 cm thick slices. Stir the sliced chorizo back into the bowl, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve in bowls, with chunks of crusty French bread and a salad on the side.

From Marvellous Mince & Sensational Sausages by Simon & Alison Holst. www.holst.co.nz

Lifestyle | 09

Q&A Movie/game classifications?

Movies and (restricted) games must be labelled with New Zealand film labels before being distributed.

The colour and symbol on the label and any content warning will help you decide if a movie or game is suitable for your family.

Movie/game labels are colour coded, much the same as traffic lights: • Green: anyone can view.

• Yellow: anyone can view, but the movie/game may contain material, such as violence or sexual themes that may offend or upset some people. Parental guidance is advised for children.

• Red: legally restricted and can only be viewed/played by people over the age on the label.

There are no exceptions to this restriction.

Unrestricted labels: Anyone of any age can view an unrestricted movie/ game, although some are made to appeal to older or adult audiences: • G: anyone can be shown or sold this. However, always consider whether the content is suitable for a family audience.

• PG: anyone can be shown or sold this, but younger children may need parental support.

• M: anyone can be shown or sold this, but it is more suitable for mature viewers. Read the label for any content warnings.

Restricted labels: If you see a red label, it shows there is a legal restriction in place that limits who can be supplied with the movie/ game. Red labels will often have a content warning as well. The following restrictions are common: • R(age): If something has one of these labels, it can only be supplied to people of and over the age shown.

Testify!

‘I was a mess,’ Michael Tomu told fellow graduates of the Alcohol and Drug Awareness Centre in Tonga when he graduated on 24 April.

I was always in trouble with the law and at home because of my desire to drink and smoke. I would make up stories just to get money out of people to buy alcohol, cigarettes and party with friends. If I couldn’t get funds, I would steal from my mum.

When I turned 21, I got married, but because of the constant drinking we would argue a lot. This resulted in us going our separate ways. I mixed with the wrong crowd and couldn’t hold a job for long because of my drinking. I would be too drunk to get up for work.

Eventually, I moved out of home. At the time I thought it was right thing to do, but I ended up getting arrested for drunk driving and for drinking in public. My wife would bail me out—this happened more than five times. My friends deserted me, none of them were around to help me out and none ever bailed me out.

My wife and I reconciled and we moved in with her family. I got a job and things were looking up, but I was still drinking. I got arrested again. My wife didn’t know, she found out from the Police. And she bailed me out again.

My wife’s family didn’t want me around anymore, so I left and my wife followed. We got our own place and had a child together, but the drinking continued.

I occasionally attended church,

but was not fully committed. It was just a thing to do on Sunday.

It was then that my sisterin-law informed me of The Salvation Army’s Alcohol and Drug Awareness Centre (ADAC) programme, so I signed up to attend the 10-week course. It was there that I learnt about control.

How to control my anger, my drinking, my smoking and my drug intake. I learnt about the 12 Step recovery programme. I learnt to value myself and my life. As a result, I am more confident about myself.

I have since joined ‘Fili Tonu’ (‘Right Choice’), which is run by the Tonga Family Health Association, where we perform drama and dance that teach about the dangers of drinking, domestic violence, drugs and other harmful choices.

I now feel I need to share what I have learnt in the ADAC programme with the youth and everyone in my community.

Employment Plus has a new name and look

Schools and other groups are not exempted from the classification system. It is an offence to show a restricted movie to anyone underage—with or without parents’ permission—unless an exemption has been granted in advance of the screening.

Source: Office of Film and Literature Classification (www.classificationoffice.govt.nz)

The aim of The Salvation Army Alcohol and Drug Awareness Centre in Tonga is to limit the growing problem of substance abuse. From the centre, which is based in Nukua’alofa, The Salvation Army team reaches out to surrounding villages.

The centre will have been operating for 16 years this July. It is the only alcohol and drug service in the Kingdom of Tonga, and has the support of its nation, the government, churches and the wider community.

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

• RP(age): can only be watched/ played by those under the age on the label if they are with a parent or guardian (an adult over 18).

• R: there is a special restriction.

Refer to the words on the right of the label for the full conditions.

My family has seen a change in me and I have a newfound drive to go to work every day. I am so grateful to The Salvation Army for their help in my life.

Delivering education that helps young people achieve qualifications, and matching people of any age to jobs

Follow us on Facebook facebook.com/SalvationArmyEE www.salvationarmy.org.nz/e&e

NAME: ADDRESS:

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

10 | WarCry©31 May 2014

SUDOKU

Difficulty Easy

8

3 9

2 6 5

6

Sunday 8 June is this year's date for the Festival of Pentecost, acknowledged by many as the forgotten festival of the Christian Church calendar, writes Commissioner David Bringans.

5

1 9

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

ANSWERS BELOW 3 7 5 9 4 2 1 8 6

9 1 8 3 5 6 7 2 4

6 3 9 5 7 4 8 1 2

2 4 7 8 3 1 6 9 5

5 8 1 6 2 9 4 3 7

Answers: 1 Emerald, 2 Smell, 3 Karaoke, 4 4.5 million, 5 His wife Rebekah (Genesis 26:6–11).

4 5

4 2 6 1 8 7 9 5 3

3

1 5 2 7 6 8 3 4 9

2

What is the birthstone for the month of May? Which sense deteriorates first with age: smell, sight, hearing or taste?

Which Japanese word means ‘empty orchestra’?

What is the population of New Zealand?

Who posed as Isaac’s sister?

7 9 3 4 1 5 2 6 8

1

8 6 4 2 9 3 5 7 1

LET’S GET QUIZZICAL

Pentecost Sunday

Go to salvationarmy.org.nz/MASIC for resources to help you engage with the MORAL, SOCIAL and ETHICAL ISSUES facing our world today.

Pentecost is an Old Testament festival celebrated on the 50th day after the beginning of Passover.

In the Christian calendar, it falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter. Known as the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), it was originally an agricultural festival giving thanks for the ‘first fruits’ of the early spring harvest (see Leviticus 23, Exodus 23 and 34). But by the early New Testament period, this festival had lost its connection with agriculture and became associated with the celebration of God’s creation of his people and their religious history. By the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, the festival focused exclusively on God’s gracious gift of Torah (the Law) on Mount Sinai. It continues to be celebrated in this manner in modern Judaism.

The New Testament writers associated Pentecost with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the early Christian believers in the upper room (see Acts 2), and relate it to the prophecies of Joel 2 and the promise of Jesus: ‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses … to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8). The emphasis is on empowerment through the Holy Spirit to enable the people of God to witness to Jesus Christ.

The Salvation Army has always believed and preached the Pentecostal message of the indwelling presence and lifechanging power of the Holy Spirit. Our 10th doctrine states: ‘We believe it is the privilege of all believers to be wholly sanctified, and that their whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ A holy life is the joyful privilege of all believers. Whatever else people

might ascribe to the Holy Spirit’s work, the greatest evidence is not outward manifestations, but inner transformation that enable us to live a holy life through the Holy Spirit’s presence and power.

Samuel Logan Brengle has been the most prolific writer and preacher in the Army on the subject of holiness. In The Holiness Standard of The Salvation Army, he writes: It is this holiness—the doctrines, the experience, the action—that we Salvationists must maintain, else we shall betray our trust; we shall lose our birthright; we shall cease to be a spiritual power on earth; we shall have a name to live by and yet be dead; our glory will depart; and we, like Samson shorn of his locks, shall become as other men.

Brengle gives us a warning of what will happen if we collectively or individually forget this festival and ignore the call to live a holy life.

Salvation Army founder William Booth writes in one of his most loved songs: Thou Christ of burning, cleansing flame / Send the fire! / Thy blood-bought gift today we claim / Send the fire! / Look down and see this waiting host / Give us the promised Holy Ghost / We want another Pentecost / Send the Fire!

General Frederick Coutts succinctly defined the life we are called to live when he said, ‘Holiness is a relationship with Christ that increasingly expresses itself in Christ-like living.’

As you celebrate Pentecost this year, allow the Holy Spirit to confirm and develop your relationship with Christ so you progressively become more like him. As General John Gowans said: To be like Jesus, this hope possesses me / In every thought and deed, this is my aim, my creed / To be like Jesus, this hope possesses me / His Spirit helping me, like him I’ll be!

Close Up | 11

Living Porn-free Whether we want to admit it or not, pornography is a problem in the church. Author Tim Chester offers a way out for those tired of fighting a losing battle against porn.

BY BRIAN HARVEY Porn is a sad reality in a broken world. I have chosen the adjectives carefully in that first sentence, and while you may or may not agree with them, I stand by them. Pornography is a symptom of a broken world, and its reality can be described in a number of ways, but ‘sad’ seems a simple one.

I have heard it said that most boys have seen pornography by the time they are 13 and that it is closer to 100 per cent by the time they are 17, with a large number being exposed to it unexpectedly while searching for something else on the internet. And while most teenage boys might just enjoy what they are seeing and the feelings that come with it, it will only be in the future that the toxic reality of what they are doing now will become apparent. Too many men know exactly what I mean here.

Sadly, Christian men are not immune to this temptation. But unlike their non-Christian friends, they carry an added burden of fear; fear that they will be discovered and kicked out of their church.

This probably wouldn’t happen, but the fear is there nonetheless.

A number of books and resources offer ideas to help people dealing with this. Recently, I’ve been reading Tim Chester’s book Captured by a Better Vision. Chester’s aim is not just to provide some tools that will help people get off the sinking ship of pornography, but also to help them see beyond it to something different—a better vision.

Chester emphasises that ‘porn will teach you nothing about good sex’. He says, ‘Think about a meal. You feel hungry, you consume the meal and then you feel satisfied. Twenty minutes later, you feel full and you don’t want to eat anymore. Think about porn. You feel a desire, you consume porn, but you don’t feel satisfied. Porn doesn’t deliver.

Twenty minutes later, you still feel empty and you still want more.’

Chester says human sexuality is supposed to be like the Niagara Falls. The rock constrains the water, forcing it into a powerful surging rush. But porn makes sexuality more like the Mississippi delta in the U.S. ‘The water there is not constrained by anything. It’s spread out wide and thin and muddy,’ he says.

Statements like these make porn seem like a poor alternative to the real thing—and it is—but people still find it attractive. Even when we know it is fake or forced, like the sirens of Greek mythology, men can find the desire too strong to turn away from.

Why is this? What lies behind the urge to use pornography? Luke Gilkerson (writing on www.churchleaders.com) summarises Chester’s thoughts:

•

Respect: When our craving for respect becomes an idol, porn offers us a fantasy world where we are worshipped and adored.

• Relationship: When our craving for intimacy becomes an idol, porn offers the illusion of relationship without the risks of rejection or vulnerability.

• Refuge: When life gets tough and our craving for escape becomes an idol, porn gives us a fantasy world where we are never a failure, where there are no expectations.

• Reward: When our desire for reward becomes a sinful sense of entitlement, porn gives us a fantasy world where our underappreciated egos can ‘get what we deserve’.

• Revenge: When our anger at life or God or our spouse gets out of control, porn can become our tantrum at a world that isn’t catering to our desires.

• Redemption: When self-pity becomes a consuming desire, porn offers us a fantasy where we can feel ‘normal’—or even a place where we can punish ourselves.

If you are tired of your own fight against porn, Captured by a Better Vision can help. But don’t read it alone. Find someone to read it with you who will help you put its guidance into action. Chester says you can help others even while you are dealing with this issue yourself. This makes good sense. Indeed, I would suggest that a great way to help yourself is in helping others.

Remember, there is something infinitely better than anything porn offers. To use the meal imagery again, it’s time to stop playing with mud pies when there is a feast being prepared.

The Link to Sex Trafficking I attended a youth ministry conference last year in Australia where Canadian Salvation Army officer Danielle Strickland was speaking. As she talked about sex trafficking, she told us about a young man she’d met who asked her how he could make a difference in the fight against trafficking. Danielle’s answer had left him dumbfounded, ‘Well, you could stop looking at porn.’

The implication was clear: if you are using porn—whether you’re paying for it or using ‘free’ porn online—you are supporting sex traffickers because a lot of pornography features trafficked women and children.

12 | WarCry 31 May 2014

Carla Lindsey examines God’s calls through the prophet Micah to treat people well, use our power wisely, and to live lives of integrity.

Have you ever felt you had nowhere to turn? That everywhere you might have gone would be unsuitable, unhelpful or just unavailable?

It’s not a fun place to be: on your own, needing help, but finding none.

This was the cry of many of the people living in Judah at the time of the prophet Micah. The majority were poor. They were desperate.

They had nothing, and the little they had (as we saw in Micah 2:1-5) was being taken away from them by their own people. The powerful were oppressing the weak. The leaders, who had been entrusted

by God to care for the welfare of the people, had become more concerned about themselves.

It is these leaders whom God addresses in Micah 3. Micah 3 is one of those ‘doom and gloom’ chapters. It contains a stern message of divine justice that is divided into three judgement oracles (or sermons) that work towards a climax in the last verse. The oracles are: 3:1-4, oracle against civil leaders; 3:5-8, oracle against prophets; and 3:9-12, oracle against all leaders in general.

Listen, you civil leaders The chapter begins with the same words that open each of the three main sections in Micah: ‘listen’. Micah, speaking on behalf of God, is calling the leaders and rulers of Israel to give him their attention: Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel.

Should you not embrace justice, you who hate good and love evil; who tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones; who eat my people’s flesh, strip off their skin and break their bones in pieces; who chop them up like meat for the pan, like flesh for the pot?’

Then they will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer them.

At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done. (Micah 3:1-4) This is where it is helpful to remember that the book of Micah is poetry and that poetry isn’t always meant to be taken literally! At no time in Israel’s history do we know of Israel’s leaders being cannibals!

However, Micah is telling us that things are so bad that it’s as if they were cannibalising the people.

Micah could have said, ‘You stole from people, took advantage of people. You destroyed their lives!’, but by painting a grotesque picture of starving wild animals that savagely rip people’s skin off their bones, he evokes an emotional response. We hear Micah’s heart when he conveys that Israel’s leaders were destroying the people in such a horrendous way that it was as if they were being devoured.

Micah calls these victims ‘my people’. In chapter one, we learnt that even Micah’s own town had been destroyed by the enemy, but now his people were being destroyed by their own leaders. For Micah, this was personal. It wasn’t about some people who were different and distant to him. It was about his friends and family.

When Micah says that God would punish the oppressors, he used language that would be used of someone crying out to a judge.

However, he says that just as they hadn’t heard the voices of those they were meant to care for, God would not hear them. They were supposed to ‘embrace justice’, but instead they loved evil. And because of that, God would punish them by hiding his face from them. This was a dreaded thing, especially for a Jew. After all, God Himself lived in the temple in Jerusalem and the Jews lived in his presence.

Listen, you prophets And so, in the second oracle God himself speaks to the prophets.

This is what the Lord says: ‘As for the prophets who lead my people astray, they proclaim “peace” if they have something to eat, but prepare to wage war against anyone who refuses to feed them.

Therefore night will come over you, without visions, and darkness, without divination.

The sun will set for the prophets, and the day will go dark for them.

The seers will be ashamed and the diviners disgraced.

They will all cover their faces because there is no answer from God.’ But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin. (Micah 3:5-8) God accuses the prophets of becoming materialistic. While it was legal to pay a prophet, it seems those who paid the prophets more, got more favourable prophecies, and those who couldn’t pay only got bad news. The prophet’s concern was not to faithfully deliver God’s message, but to get all they could for themselves. God would not just sit by. Because of this injustice, the prophets would lose their ability to hear from him at all. The picture of their punishment is one of night and darkness, shame and disgrace. Like the leaders, God would answer the prophets with silence.

To conclude this oracle, Micah contrasts himself, a true prophet, with these false prophets. One might wonder if Micah was showing

T J U S IC E

POW E R

‘Justice without power is powerless, power without justice is tyrannical … therefore justice and power must be connected.’

Pascal

Soul Food | 13

Leaders were more concerned about themselves than the welfare of God’s people. off! I don’t think he was. Micah might well have needed to justify his calling and message. In Micah 2:6-7 we read that the prophets didn’t appreciate his message and wanted him to be quiet. So Micah needed to reassure his audience that his message was not his own. It was God’s Spirit that compelled him to deliver a message of justice. Micah spoke for God, not for cash.

Listen, all you leaders We reach the climax of chapter three in the third oracle: Hear this, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right; who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness.

Her leader’s judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money, yet they look for the Lord’s support and say, ‘Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.’

Therefore because of you, Zion will be ploughed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets. (Micah 3:9-12) Again, the leaders are called to listen as God declares his charges against them. Note how the lines run parallel to each other. ‘Who despise justice’ is simply stated again in the next line, but with different words that help give an even clearer picture of what the crime is: ‘distort all that is right’. We read that they ‘build Zion with bloodshed’, which is echoed in the next line where ‘Zion’ is now ‘Jerusalem,’ and ‘bloodshed’, ‘wickedness’.

The reference to building Zion might be a part of this poem that we should take literally. Archaeology shows that there were enormous construction projects underway in Micah’s day. Two that are found in the Bible are Hezekiah’s wall and Hezekiah’s tunnel (2 Chronicles 32:3-5 and 27-30.) These projects would have required thousands of people to be involved in cutting and moving the massive rocks that were required.

Given that the Assyrian army was threatening to invade Jerusalem there would have been pressure to get these buildings done quickly. The Assyrians were on their doorstep. The wall had to get finished and time was of the essence. Maybe in their hurry to protect themselves, the leaders trampled others on the way.

Three types of leaders are brought together in verse 11: the judges, the priests and the prophets. Biblical scholar Leslie Allen says, ‘If you had a legal problem you would take it to a judge. If you had a religious problem you would take it to a priest. If you had a personal problem you would take it to a prophet’. But all of them were corrupt.

This meant ordinary people had nowhere to go, no-one who would

look out for their interests and rights.

The leaders were pretty smug about it. They thought they were God’s people, who lived in God’s city, in God’s presence. God had given them the land they were in and no ‘disaster would befall them’.

Well, yes, God had given them the land and yes, he did dwell with them, but these leaders were only remembering half of the story.

They had a part to play too. To stay in the land they needed to be obedient to God, and they weren’t. Because of that, God declared that Jerusalem would be destroyed. Those great buildings—and even the great temple—would be levelled.

Turn back to God In the strongest terms possible, Micah was saying God would not tolerate this injustice!

But here’s the interesting thing. Jeremiah 26:17-19 tells us the leaders heard the message that Micah gave Hezekiah. They listened.

They repented. They changed their behaviour and God didn’t destroy Jerusalem. At least not at that time. Jerusalem was destroyed some 150 years later, but by Babylon, not Assyria. The prophecy was fulfilled, but it also allowed for people to turn back to God. In Micah’s day, people listened and changed their behaviour.

Allen says, ‘Micah’s words deserve to be taken to heart by each generation of God’s people. They challenge every attempt to misuse the service of God for one’s own glory and profit. They are a dire warning against the complacency that can take God’s love and reject His lordship. They are a passionate plea for consistency between creed and conduct’.

Micah 3 is a very challenging message to us today—especially to leaders—to treat people well, to use our power wisely, and to live lives of integrity.

Ponder This Many of the awful crimes committed in the world today can feel as if they happen ‘over there’, far away and to people who look and live differently to us. Micah saw the victims in Micah 3 as ‘his people’. He was connected to them, he identified with them—and he got involved. Perhaps, if we saw all people as ‘our people’ we would get more involved in helping them?

Are there practical steps you could take towards identifying with people who are different to you?

In Micah 3, the Israelite leaders had a false sense of security. They thought they would never fall, but they were wrong. People today can have the same sense of smugness about their Christian faith.

‘I’ve asked Jesus into my heart’, ‘I go to church’, ‘I wear Salvation Army uniform’. We can forget that we are also called to lives of obedience.

Where does your security lie?

14 WarCry©31 May 2014

On Their Knees in Otahuhu From the first alert on 22 October 2013, the Otahuhu Corps leadership team began praying fervently for the Northern Division’s youth kneedrill (prayer meetings) for 2014.

Because we had only just started our own 7 am Saturday prayer group in September, we wanted to see what the Lord would do through our prayer requests. Of course, we realised straight away that kneedrill is an opportunity to see the Lord’s power. Without alacrity, we offered to host the first youth kneedrill of 2014, remembering Jesus’ words that ‘it is written my house shall be a house of prayer’ (Matthew 21:13).

When the day arrived, our prayer group found ourselves in the company of others praying that the Lord would call not just his own but also the needy, sick, anxious and fearful to kneedrill, and that all the young people would be safe as they travelled from various corps to pray.

The evening was blessed with the presence of our new Divisional Youth Secretaries Captains Nicola and Ralph Hargest. By 7:30 pm on Friday evening, the first guests arrived as the Glenfield Corps van rolled up. Out came the youthful passengers, cheerful and loaded with anticipation. The Whangarei Corps arrived next and disgorged its youth contingent, smiling and pleased to stretch their legs. Then the Manukau contingent, followed by everyone else. Right on 7:45 pm we had over 60 guests—all seated in the citadel. Nine prayer stations were set up with worship spaces to create variety. At each one there were tips and guidelines about what to do.

With 60 guests, small groups of up to seven were formed and at the sound of a bell, each group had to wind up what they were doing and move to the next station. At one of the stations, guests would listen prayerfully to worship music. Another station prompted guests to pray for healing. Finally, at 9 pm, the closing bell sounded. Then it was time for a cell-phone prayer walk, in the dark, through the park across the road. Everyone turned their cell phone lights on and walked behind the ringing bell through the park and all the way back to the youth hall where supper was served.

At 7 am the next morning, (Saturday) we were back for our prayer meeting to give thanks to God for the kneedrill, for the Lord’s provision and for the safe return home of every guest.

Majors Kesoni and Merewalesi Qoriniasi (Corps Officers)

New Leaders Heading to NZ, Fiji & Tonga

From 1 September—and following the retirement of Colonels Graeme and Wynne Reddish—Lieut-Colonels Willis and Barbara Howell of the USA Southern Territory will serve as Chief Secretary and Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries for The Salvation Army New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory, with the rank of colonel.

Willis Howell was born in Meriden, Connecticut, to Salvationist parents. As his father was a career Navy man, Willis grew up living in a number of locations in the United States, from New England to California, as well as in Morocco, Africa. Willis majored in Music Education at Nyack College, New York, and joined the United States Navy in 1975 as a professional musician. He was a member of the Navy’s premier travelling Show Band based in Norfolk, Virginia, the Navy Band in Great Lakes, Illinois, and the U.S. Naval Academy Band in Annapolis, Maryland.

Fifty Years of Musical Service

Phil Robertson of Whangarei Corps received a certificate of appreciation from Commissioner Robert Donaldson over the Easter weekend. Philip has been serving as bandmaster at Whangarei Corps for 50 years.

Our Community | 15

As a Salvation Army musician, Willis played bass trombone for 20 years in the USA Southern Territorial Band, and was a founding member and bass trombone soloist for the Salvation Army’s jazz trombone ensemble ‘Spiritual to the Bone’. Since 1991, Willis has also served as the host of The Salvation Army’s ‘Wonderful Words of Life’ radio programme, which is heard around the world.

Willis completed Arrow Leadership’s Executive Level Training (Vancouver, Canada) in 2008, attended The Salvation Army’s International College for Officers in 2010, and is currently working on his Master’s Degree in Christian Leadership from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Barbara Willis (nee Leidy) is a fifth generation Salvationist who was born to Salvation Army officer parents in Youngstown, Ohio. Her parents’ appointments would take her to various places throughout the Northeast United States, as well as a four-year appointment in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Barbara received a degree in Respiratory Therapy from the University of Pennsylvania.

Willis and Barbara married in 1978 and were commissioned as Salvation Army officers in 1985. During their 14 years as corps officers they had several appointments, including the Atlanta Temple Corps. Other appointments have included assignments as Assistant Territorial Youth Secretary, Divisional Youth Leaders in the Florida Division, General Secretary (Willis), and Divisional Women’s Ministry Secretary (Barbara) in the Texas Division, Divisional Leaders for the Kentucky-Tennessee Division, President/Principal of the Southern Territory’s Evangeline Booth College (Willis), and Assistant Principal for Ministry Development (Barbara) in Atlanta, Georgia. Currently, the Howells serve as Divisional Leaders for the North and South Carolina Division.

Willis and Barbara have three children. Sheri, who with her husband Trey serves as a Salvation Army officer in Alexandria, Virginia. They are parents to Luke (8), Logan (4) and Kadence (8 months). Peter, who lives in Griffin, Georgia, with his wife Nancy, and son Daniel (1). And Jonathan, who with his wife Anita and their two children, Noah (7) and Makalyn (5), is a Salvation Army officer in charge of the Memphis, TN Kroc Center.

Barbara’s hobbies include crafts and decorating, while Willis enjoys music and reading. Together, they like to spend time camping, hiking, white water rafting and skiing.

New Campus For Laidlaw College Laidlaw College’s new campus in the heart of Manukau City at 20 Amersham Way will open its doors in July.

Laidlaw College commenced in 1922 and has a long history of equipping leaders and graduating students of character and courage. It became the Bible College of New Zealand in 1975 and more recently Laidlaw College, a Christian interdenominational College offering a range of NZQA accredited certificates, diplomas and degrees. Laidlaw’s graduates become primary school teachers, counsellors, church leaders, theologians, Bible teachers, youth workers, chaplains and Christian leaders across society.

National Principal Dr Rod Thompson says, ‘We are deeply committed to bicultural and intercultural education with increasing numbers of Maori, Pasifika and Asian students coming to the College.

We seek to equip students of all nations for all nations, to be leaders and influencers for generations to come.’

Laidlaw College already has campuses in Henderson and in Christchurch. Now students can enrol in the Certificate in Christian Studies or the Diploma in Christian Studies, which will be offered at the Manukau campus for both part-time and full-time students.

Classes will be held both during the day and in the evening.

Manukau Campus Developer, Sefa Lafaiali’i, attended evening lectures at Laidlaw’s Henderson campus in 2013, and was hooked.

Sefa says, ‘You are never too young, or in my case too old, to understand how applicable and relevant the gospel is today. I am excited that this campus will provide access to Laidlaw College’s excellent programmes to an ever-increasing population across the Counties Manukau region.’

We’d love to hear your news We’re looking for stories of recent happenings at your corps or centre.

Generally 400–600 words with one or two clear and well-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, or phone (04) 384 5649 to discuss with the editor in advance.

16 WarCry©31 May 2014

General Calls for ‘Credible Witnesses’ during Zimbabwe Visit

General André Cox’s visit to the Zimbabwe Territory in April was especially poignant, as he was born in the southern African country in 1954. The General and Commissioner Silvia Cox (World President of Women’s Ministries) served in Zimbabwe for almost a decade, so this was indeed a coming home! Their 2014 return offered many opportunities to visit established and new expressions of Salvation Army ministry.

On Palm Sunday, the international leaders took part in a joyous celebration with Salvationists and friends in Bulawayo. The General encouraged the crowds to consider what Jesus had given up and to live their lives accordingly. ‘Do not take the sacrifice of Jesus Christ lightly … do not minimise it,’ he urged. His message was complemented by energetic music, singing and dancing from Matebeleland Salvationists.

Later in the week, the international leaders travelled to The Salvation Army’s Howard High School and Hospital in Chiweshe, about 80 km north of the Zimbabwean capital Harare, where the General was pleased to open the new O-level block and two new staff quarters buildings at the school. He praised the partnership of the Army and local government, which has ensured the continuity of education at Howard since he was a young boy walking around its grounds. Surgeon Dr Per-Göte Lindgren briefed the General on progress being made at Howard Hospital. As well as touring a new medical facility due to open later this year, the international leaders took time to visit current in-patients and mothers with newborn babies on the maternity ward. A visit to Bumhudzo Hospital Home concluded this section of the visit, where the international leaders

heard powerful testimonies from residents of The Salvation Army’s home for older people.

On arrival in Gweru for the Zimbabwe Territory’s Easter Congress, the international leaders were conveyed by horse-drawn chariot as a large crowd of well-wishers marched to the civic centre.

The General and Commissioner Cox were formally greeted by the Minister of Provincial Affairs for the Midlands, the Honourable Jason Machaya, and the city’s mayor, Mr Kombayi.

More than 15,000 people gathered over the Easter weekend for a series of meetings, with many camping in an improvised ‘tent city’. Separate men’s, women’s and young people’s rallies were well attended, and enabled the General and Commissioner Silvia Cox to mix, mingle and enjoy fellowship with Salvationists from across the country.

The General counselled the congregation to denounce materialism and to seek eternal things, to have a ‘spiritual backbone’ and not compromise their Christian values. Speaking of the need for credible witnesses, General Cox asked, ‘Do people really see Jesus living in us?’, noting that people should ‘not only hear the gospel being preached but see it lived out in the lives of those who claim to be Christ’s followers’.

In his concluding message, he again pointed towards the lifegiving power of the cross. ‘We are a resurrection people,’ said the General, exhorting his fellow Salvationists to ‘make a difference in this world through prayer and service’.

GAZETTE Bereaved Mjr Ivan Medland and Mjr Sam Medland of their sister, Esther Medland, from Atawhai Lifecare Centre, Napier, on 4 May. Esther was also the aunt of Col Yvonne Westrupp and Mjr Lynne Medland. Mjr Sam Medland conducted a service of remembrance and thanksgiving at Napier Corps on 7 May. Please remember the family in prayer at this time of bereavement.

Retirement Capt Linda Travis enters retirement on 31 May after 23 years of active officer service. Lind became an envoy in 1991 from Porirua Corps and was appointed to the Early Childhood Education Centre in Wellington as manager. She made good use of her Certificate in Community Work while serving in Community and Family Centres in Wellington and the North Shore, Auckland. In 2000, Linda was commissioned as an aux-captain, and then in 2002 she was promoted to captain. Linda has served in aged care in Bethany Village, Christchurch, and with mothers and babies at the Bethany Centre in Auckland. She has also given service as Divisional Secretary for Retired Officers and Silver Star Secretary, Northern. In 2010, Linda was appointed Assistant Officer at Divisional Headquarters, Northern.

In 2012, she was appointed to Community Ministries Otahuhu, from which she retires. Linda’s retirement service will be conducted by Mjrs Tom and Heather Kopu on 1 June at Otahuhu Corps. It is with sincere thanks and appreciation that we acknowledge Linda’s service to God.

Noticeboard | 17

Social Justice for Children: Parenting, Policy and Practice

CALENDAR MAY

Saturday 7th June, 9:30 am to 3 pm at 16 Bakerfield Place, Manukau

30 May–2 June: Brengle Holiness Institute / Booth College of Mission

JUNE

Robin Grille (pictured), international speaker and bestselling author, will speak on how a connected and peaceful childhood can have a transformative impact on our communities. Major Campbell Roberts of The Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit will discuss child poverty in New Zealand: how Kiwi kids are experiencing their world and what needs to change.

1: Women’s Rally (North) / Fiji Division 2: Queen’s Birthday 5–6: Prevent People Trafficking Conference / Porirua Police College 5–6: The Leadership Challenge / Booth College of Mission 6: Children’s Board Retreat / Fiji Division 6: Youth Rally / Tonga Region 7: Safe to Serve Training / Northern Division 7–8: Southland Regional Weekend / Southern Division 11–14: Hamilton Fieldays / Midland Division 12–14: Preaching Workshop / Booth College of Mission 14–15: Top of the South Regional Weekend / Southern Division 15: Regional Leaders Meeting (North) / Fiji Division 16–20: Ten-year Officer Review (NZ) / Booth College of Mission 19: DHQ Team Day / Northern Division 21: Junior Soldier Day / Tonga Region 21: Regional Leaders Meeting (West) / Fiji Division 22: Blaze Youth Event (Tawa) / Central Division 22: Social Service Sunday / Fiji Division 22: Regional Meeting / Tonga Region 22: Senior & Junior Soldier Renewal Sunday / Tonga Region 24: Workout with the Word / Albany Bays Corps 25: Spiritual Day / Booth College of Mission

Cost: $55 including lunch (please get in touch for information about subsidies, particularly for parents and the unwaged). Register online at: https:// socialjusticeforchildren.eventbrite.co.uk. Visit www.sjci.org.nz for more information.

Cambridge Corps: 125th Anniversary 14–15 June

Featuring Spirit Song and guests Majors Patricia and Raylond Pinkerton, with the Cambridge Town Band in the Saturday night programme. For more information, e: cambridge_corps@nzf.salvation army.org, p: (07) 827 4723, or PO Box 691, Cambridge 3450.

International Congress: Group Travel 1–5 July 2015

OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENTS

Are you planning to go to the Boundless International Congress in London in 2015 as The Salvation Army celebrates 150 years since it was founded by William and Catherine Booth?

Commissioners Robert (Territorial Commander) and Janine Donaldson (Territorial President of Women’s Ministries) 15 June: Kelvin Grove Corps 22 June: New Lynn Corps & Northern Division Missionary Fellowship 29 June: Rotorua Corps 30 June to 1 July: Midland Divisional Officers Fellowship 5–6 July: Hutt City Corps Centenary 7–9 July: Appointments Consultation Colonels Graeme (Chief Secretary) and Wynne Reddish (Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries) 22–24 June: Midland Division & Homecare Review 7–9 July: Appointments Consultation

If so, are you also interested in being a part of the New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga group travelling to this occasion? Please contact our congress coordinators, e: nzftboundless2015@nzf.salvationarmy.org to register your interest and receive regular updates on the group travel arrangements. Go to www.boundless2015.org for more information on the International Congress.

PRAYER FOCUS

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

Please pray for: Mt Albert, Nadi, Napier, Nasinu and Nelson Tasman Bays Corps, Salvation Army Children’s Mission workers, The Salvation Army Netherlands and Czech Republic Territory.

TERRITORIAL DAY OF PRAYER

SUNDAY 6 JULY New Zealand, Fiji & Tonga Territory prays for 1. The International Salvation Army 2. Our World 3. Local Needs That together you may with united hearts and one voice, praise and glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ROMANS 15:6 AMP

18 WarCry©31 May 2014

LEADERSHIP LINKS

Have you received the Spirit of God into your life?

As I’ve grown older, I’ve become more interested in genealogy and family trees. Because those who have ‘passed on’ are no longer there to talk about some of the fascinating family connections, history and personalities, I realise that I am entirely reliant on what they left behind.

The Bible provides us with a great deal of genealogy that enables us to understand something of our history and lineage from the beginning of time—including that of Jesus, whose death, resurrection and ascension we have recently celebrated.

This Sunday, we celebrate Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit, as recorded in Acts 2. This is a time when we look from the genealogy of Christ to this wonderful account of how God passed on to his followers something greater than just a long genealogy of people. What was passed on to us was the very presence and power of God to empower us, his followers, to be the people God wants us to be. The Holy Spirit isn’t dependent upon lineage, but is in fact the essence and power of God who is always with us.

The Scripture tells us that, ‘On the day of Pentecost all the Lord’s followers were together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak. Many religious Jews from every country in the world were living in Jerusalem. And when they heard this noise, a crowd gathered. But they were surprised, because they were hearing everything in their own languages’ (Acts 2:1-6, CEV).

The events of Pentecost fulfilled Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit to empower his followers, the Church. The coming of the Holy Spirit on that day, the witness and confidence of Jesus’ followers and the ability of those who received the Spirit to communicate the gospel in the languages of those gathered around them made it clear that the gospel of Jesus Christ was meant for everyone, regardless of language or culture.

Something that’s just as true today as it was then.

So, how are we doing? Have you received the Spirit of God into your life? Do you know and experience his power at work in you? Are you actively involved in sharing the good news of the gospel in your everyday life? I pray that that might be so. If, however, it’s been a while since you’ve thought about the events of Pentecost and its impact, this weekend is a good opportunity to reacquaint yourself with this miraculous event!

Colonel Graeme Reddish Chief Secretary

ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE WORD OF GOD Galatians 5:25 New International Version (NIV)

‘Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.’

We live in a global village, all of us constantly aware of things happening to people in places far distant from us. As an international Salvation Army we are called to be a praying people—not only concerned for people and situations known to us within the circle of our daily lives, but to extend our concern in prayer to people and places around the globe.

Next year, The Salvation Army will celebrate 150 years of Salvation Army mission and ministry in 2015, with an international congress in London in July. Ahead of this global celebration, every Salvation Army territory and command has been invited to join in a year of 24/7 Prayer, from 1 July 2014 to 15 July 2015.

The New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory is part of this 365-day global prayer chain, with a week of 24/7 Prayer from 5 to 11 July. What a privilege to lead the way in praise for God’s continued blessing of the Army’s mission and ministry, of which we are a part! And to bring our requests to God for the Army’s ongoing work around the world.

In addition, territorial leaders Commissioners Robert and Janine Donaldson, have set aside Sunday 6 July as a Day of Prayer for the territory. Ideas to make this a focused day of prayer include starting the day with a prayer breakfast, having a stronger focus on prayer in worship services, arranging a full day of prayer coverage in corps prayer room, and going out into communities on prayer walks.

The New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory has a strong history of effective praying, and in times past 24/7 Prayer has been the means of seeing greater mission progress here. Many Salvationists continue to be committed to 24/7 Prayer, taking part in days and weeks of prayer regularly. Some are expressing the desire to re-focus on 24/7 Prayer as an ongoing practice in this territory. This latest call to prayer can be the means by which you can start to see this happening where you are. It’s up to you!

Helpful Resources Go salvationarmy.org/csld/resourcepack for Boundless: The Whole World Praying resources prepared by our International Centre for Spiritual Life Development, including suggested prayer topics, ideas to establish ‘prayer stations’ and a prayer manual.

Salvation Army websites around the world and the Army’s international Facebook page carry regular updates that can be used as topics for prayer and praise.

Daily newspapers also provide a valuable source for prayed inspiration, informing us about local and global situations.

Territorial Secretary for Spiritual Life Development Major Heather Rodwell is available to visit corps or divisions throughout the course of the Boundless: the Whole World Praying year. She would value the opportunity to contribute to strengthening prayer in your corps.

Mission Matters 19

William Kamkwama’s parents on their windmillpowered farm. (Photo: Lucas Oleniuk/Getty Images)

Harnessing the Wind Reflections from The Salvation Army’s International Social Justice Commission.

BY JAMES READ & DON POSTERSKI As the 14-year-old son of a farmer in Malawi, William Kamkwamba harnessed the wind. In 2001, famine had left William’s family eating only one meal a day and without money to send him to school.

Instead, he went to the meagre local library. He found books on science, and used a dictionary to understand the English words that explained the illustrations. One of the pictures that intrigued him was of a windmill. The words said that windmills could create electricity and pump water.

With fortitude and ingenuity, William scrounged materials from the junkyard. He cobbled together a discarded tractor fan, an old bicycle frame, shock absorber, melted plastic pipe and a used dynamo. Eventually, his family extended their days with four small lights powered by the windmill-generator his labours created.

A few years later, he built a second windmill that pulled water from a small well near his home to irrigate his family’s farm. As a result, they began growing two crops of maize a year.

In 2007, William was discovered by some journalists and invited to give a TED Talk in Tanzania, and then another in Oxford. Today, he is studying to be an engineer at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.

The Williams in this world give us reasons to celebrate. They represent the best of life: optimism, creativity, intelligence and the imagination to problem solve.

We also celebrate the social, healthcare, and economic global progress that is being achieved around the world. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the big global player here. They have orchestrated a strategic attack on the afflictions of poverty and used measurement indicators to assess progress. And there is good news on the global poverty front: • In the past 20 years, the mortality rate for children has dropped by 41%. A staggering 7256 young lives are being saved every day.

• In the same time frame, 700 million fewer people who were living on less than $1.25 per day (from 47% to 22%) are being lifted out of extreme back-breaking poverty.

• Eight million people are receiving medical treatment for HIV/ AIDS, and the Global Fund is funding the treatment and prevention of mother to child transmissions of the dreaded disease.

•

•

•

Safer sources of water have been accessed by 2.1 billion people in the past 21 years. The MDG target was reached five years ahead of time.

Remarkable gains have been made in the fight against malaria.

Mosquito nets and other interventions have averted an estimated 1.1 million malaria deaths.

The proportion of undernourished people has decreased from 23% to 15%.

The chasm is too wide. The inequality is immoral, the disparity is still unjust.

The struggle out of inequity into hope is happening for many.

The slow journey to justice is within reach for many more. We shout out ‘thanks be to God!’ for the orchestration being expressed and the resources being raised and allocated.

But still there is enormous life-denying disparity. A recent report from Oxfam finds that the world’s 85 wealthiest people hold as much wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion—or half of the world’s population.

Our world is skewed in favour of the rich.

William Kamkwamba’s first experience in New York City calls us to pursue more fairness, more equity in our world. Standing at a construction site, William lamented, ‘I watched giant cranes lift enormous pieces of steel into the sky, and it made me wonder how America could build these skyscrapers in a year, but in four decades of independence, Malawi can’t even pipe clean water to a village … or keep electricity in our homes. We always seem to be struggling to catch up. Even with so many smart and hardworking people, we are still living and dying like our ancestors.’

The chasm is too wide. The inequality is immoral. Even with the advances, the disparity is still unjust. The distance between the more developed and the less developed dishonours God’s equal love for all humanity. At the International Social Justice Commission, we think about these things, and try to do something about them. What do you think?

The International Social Justice Commission is The Salvation Army’s strategic voice to advocate for human dignity and social justice with the world’s poor and oppressed. salvationarmy.org/isjc

EVENTS

SOUTHERN EASTER CAMP

BY TRACY BOON Sydenham Corps The Easter Camp that wasn’t … or was it?

Down in the Southern Division, we’d been watching the forecast for days, holding our breath and praying for a weekend of sunshine and dry skies. It was not to be. Just hours before camp was due to begin the rain came down and the floods came up. We were literally just down the road from camp when word came that the organisers were recommending the start of Easter camp be postponed until the following morning, surely not!

So we parked up and ventured inside for a look at the site—muddy for sure, but not under water. Do we risk it? Of course we do!

Day one: Wet, muddy, dark, power cuts, strong winds, leaky and collapsed tents, concerned parents. But there was also friendship and worship and Connect Four. And there was God! He seems to like The Salvation Army, our site being one of the few to escape the pools of water that saw other groups evacuated and tents floating like four-poster waterbeds.

Day two: word that Easter camp was cancelled. Nooooooo! Phone calls home, packing wet gear, waiting for the rescue convoy, unsticking the stuck van, wading through water that lapped into gumboots and froze the toes. But there were hot chips, there was working together, there was laughter. And there was God. He was present in those that came to help, in those that comforted, shared their time, their food and their vision for a different kind of Easter experience.

Days two to four: Corps buildings became the new Easter camp venues as youth groups joined together to create a special and memorable weekend for their young people. There was the van rally, Inflatable World, McDonalds, pie day, mafia. And there was God. He was in the night-time whispers, in the promise that he still had a plan, in the unity of different groups joining together.

The Easter camp crew took their ‘show’ on the road, with local churches hosting the three main Easter camp services. We were encouraged to give our disappointments and mistakes into the hands of a God who loves us. We were reminded that we are forgiven to forgive, that Jesus chose the cross for us, and that the Holy Spirit wants to replace our regrets with his fruits. For me personally, I was reminded that God can redeem any situation.

The rain came down and the floods came up. Easter camp was cancelled, but Easter wasn’t.

And I believe that God—in the way that only he can—was able to resurrect something very special for those who chose to receive it. I am proud of the young people who chose to worship, to go the distance, and to choose gratitude and joy over disappointment and loss.

Yes, it’s sad that Easter camp wasn’t quite what we expected it to be, but God still was and is who he has always been: good, faithful, creative, and more than able to make something amazing out of something wet, cold and muddy.

31 MAY 2014 | 21

FIREZONE.CO.NZ

NORTHERN & MIDLAND EASTER CAMP

BY NICKY AND RALPH HARGEST AND SHANE HEALEY Northern and Midland Divisional Youth Secretaries For the fourth year in a row, Midland and Northern Division youth met together at the Baptist Youth Ministries Northern Easter Camp held at Mystery Creek near Hamilton.

The 500 strong Salvation Army contingent (roughly 150 from Midland, 350 from Northern) braved weather conditions that wrecked tents and kept people running for cover. But it was worth it! Some groups had over half of their young people make first-time decisions to follow Jesus (and the intermediate-age Easter Camp saw similar results).

Of course, a lot of these faith decisions could have been attributed to the well-run event and great speakers, but you could also see that a lot of it was due to the ongoing relationships developed by their youth leaders (who showed nothing but leadership, maturity and a determination to see their people meet and commit to Jesus—well done!).

All of this happened in the midst of tents being destroyed by the wind and rain. The sound of gaffer tape being ripped and tent pegs being hammered in could be heard well into the nights of both Thursday and Good Friday. Thanks so much to all of our camp parents and corps leaders for resurrecting those broken tents!

Despite the adverse weather, there always seemed to be a high level of activity and enthusiasm in the Northern and Midland Base Camp over Easter Camp, with big games being played and lots of positive conversations going on. The overall theme of the camp was ‘Love Speaks’, focusing on global social justice/action, and we built on this in our gathering area by providing a military theme (lots of Waiouru green, Army gear and M*A*S*H references). The idea was that real love often involves standing up and fighting for what is right, rather than just sitting around and letting it happen. As the saying goes ‘evil flourishes when good people do nothing’.

We heard from a bunch of great speakers over the weekend. Micah Bournes, an amazing guy from the States, showed us through his poetry and spoken word that ‘young’ people are not the leaders of the future; they are the leaders of today! Just in the same way that ‘older’ people are not the leaders of the past—we are all the leaders of the present.

Matt Renata from Wellington was awesome too. With his knowledge of Kiwi youth and Māori heritage, he was able to captivate and inspire us all closer to Jesus—especially with his haka. Having over 5000 people in one room doing a haka was spine tingling.

Our own Salvation Army girl, Major Danielle Strickland from Canada, gave an interesting analogy between surfing and ministry to encourage us all to keep going. Danielle shared that when it’s hard and not coming together, you have to keep persevering. And eventually, like surfing, you’ll have those moments when it comes together perfectly and the distance between Heaven and Earth feels thin.

Northern and Midland Easter Camp was a win for God’s presence on Earth, as we really saw God’s love speaking through our leaders and young people throughout the event. And the really cool thing is that there will always be people who will say, ‘That’s where I made my decision to follow Jesus, that’s where it all began!’

FIREZONE.CO.NZ

EVENTS | 22

CENTRAL EASTER CAMP

BY TERISE BROODRYK Kelvin Grove Corps Boogying on down to the rhythmic thud of the ‘Tsunami’ dubstep track, Divisional Youth Secretary Captain Brad Carpenter entered each meeting at Silverstream Retreat with great dance moves, bright aerobic pants and, most of all, a powerful message from God. Amid the antics of camp-wide games, including the iPad app Heads Up! projected onto the meeting room screen, the evening fondue and quiz, and the glow-in-the-dark chaotic game ‘The Virus’, the 2014 Central Division Easter Camp provided a platform of prayer, thought-provoking discussion, and challenge in the lives of each camper.

Optional pre-breakfast prayer, held in the beautifully designed Prayer Room, gave campers an early morning start to a day filled with spiritual deepening and connection with Jesus. This connection continued through into the selective workshops. From nifty craft sessions to discussions over the conflict between science and religion, workshops extended each participant to focus on God and his work through each of us.

Carefully woven into these scheduled events was the madness that occurred during free time. An Easter egg hunt throughout camp grounds kept people busy satisfying their sweet tooth, others opting to relax in the rustic atmosphere of the café, while those of us still withholding a decent night’s sleep burnt off those calories by playing a bit of sport on the field. And, of course, nothing beats the infamous Slo Mo Cam of 2014, which consisted of a variety of party items and a GoPro camera, for any camper eager to

strut their stuff in slow motion. This video concept was a hit with the campers and interested YouTube viewers.

But, of course, the sessions powerfully hit us all. The music was awesome and created an atmosphere for us to get pumping and praising, as well as worship and reflect.

Brad, along with Upper Hutt Corps Officer Karl Foreman, brought powerful messages of their personal journeys with God, and encouraged campers to do the same.

The Testimony Room, hosting a cycle of powerful testimonies played on DVD, gave listeners the opportunity to immerse themselves in testimony before speaking out themselves. Messages of Christ’s work in the lives of our Salvation Army youth sprung from one end of the campsite to the other. The importance of sharing our stories with one another was brought to light throughout the weekend, and these tales of triumph allowed room for the Holy Spirit to move within our young people during the night sessions and beyond.

The open mic testimony time during the final minutes of the weekend confirmed the impact God had made on the lives of many speakers up until that point, and the work that was to continue in the lives of each person present.

Throughout the mix of sessions, workshops and Back to the Future madness, the 2014 Central Division Easter Camp was a riveting weekend of endless laughs and spiritual growth that will remain with our young people for the years to come. (Thanks heaps, Brad and Sophie!)

WORD FIND G O L K C R O S S S A F E L Y H U K L L

I B I N A H A E I P I N D I C A T E O D

V S S U R B A N G X E D Y A H Y S B O V

E U T J S T R H N Y V E R S S P E T K I

CAN YOU FIND TEN DIFFERENCES? W C E G B U F K S E D E D W K Y F D O S

A W N E L A T R A F F I C L I G H T S P

Y X L E S M C K X U J U H L I V S P N T

Z I S T C G P O L I C E Y L M M X G W Z

S L O W P A T I E N T W W N U M I E B E

B I K E S X P E D E S T R I A N S T A P

Fun4Kids | 23

Bikes Careful Cars Cross safely Fast Give way Go Indicate Listen Look Obey Patient Pedestrians Police Rules Seatbelts Signs Slow Speed limit Stop Traffic lights

e Why did thd e d n a -h one ss skeleton cro? the road e To get to th d n a -h d n seco shop.

Well done to the winners of our Easter Colouring Competition: Grace Dale (6) of Botany, Auckland, and Isaac Huxtable (11) of Tauranga. Something will be in the mail for you soon!

And super well behalf of her school to staff to have a proper education. done to 10-yearat the Nigerian embassy in What Sophie says is so old Sophie Tanzania after over 200 girls important that even The Gainsford were kidnapped from their Dominion Post in Wellington (pictured), school in Nigeria in April. printed it in their 19 May daughter Sophie told the embassy newspaper to tell people in of Captains staff, ‘I know many people New Zealand about it. Well Ian and Liz will be looking for them and done, Sophie! You are doing Gainsford I ask that you make people what Jesus wants us all to who are serving at and money available to do by speaking up for what The Salvation Army Training do more.’ Sophie says it is is right.

College in Tanzania. Sophie important that all girls get was chosen to speak on

READ IT

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind … Love others as much as you love yourself.

Matthew 22:37–39 LET’S PRAY Dear God, help us to remember to respect and follow your rules for life. Help us to obey other important rules that help us live well with others. Amen.

LET’S TALK In William’s house, they’ve been talking about the importance of House Rules to help everyone get along well. They also had a problem that some days, no one in the house would remember to feed their dog Rusty—and some days EVERYONE in the house would feed Rusty … and he was getting very fat.

Some of the House Rules William’s family came up with are: • Don’t say mean words • Do your jobs when it’s your turn • Share your stuff • Say thank you when someone helps you • William will feed the dog EVERY DAY • Dad will clean up the dog poop EVERY Saturday At The Salvation Army, where William goes to church, he’s been learning about God’s rules. Everyone agreed that life gets really confusing when there are no rules. His junior soldier class tried playing a game with no rules and it was CRAZY! Their teacher said that God has two main rules: to love God AND to love others. William and his friends think those are great rules to live by, because they help people to be kind and helpful to everyone they meet.

Will

IS

PRAYER YOUR STEERING WHEEL OR YOUR SPARE TYRE? CORRIE TEN BOOM