Army s t e p p i n s
1878 1890
A onishing As teen Ast r teen Thirt Thi That Shaped ea s T Year Ye Yea hee Salvation Th Th A Army
g ing, b nin ng, bur nin Burni Bu g,, y burnin ays wa lw alw S irit, stay ly Sp Hooly with me; i l my your wil To y ing, will iiss turn w lI u wil at you hat Wh . be.. o t t nt an wa w
... from General John Larsson*
IN THE HEIGHTS OF ECUADOR AS the 21st century da dawned a Salvation Ar Army medical team wo working in the high A Andes of Ecuador le left a pamphlet a about the Army a and its mission. ‘A Salvation Army corps is just what in m ith Benja soldiers w we need here,’ n a ri o d a u Ec Three new said Benjamin. So he rode to the Quito located the Army and a capital city of Quito, asked the divisional commander to send officers. The DC regretted that he had no officers to send but, with inspired insight, said to Benjamin: ‘Look, you are a Christian. If you are prepared to enrol full-time in a soldiership class for two weeks, I will then enrol you as a soldier and you can
d return to your people and start the Army.’ Benjamin agreed and, after a fortnight, he was made a soldier and returned to the mountains. Soon afterwards the DC received a message asking him to come and enrol the converts Benjamin had made. The corps prospered under his leadership, funds were acquired to build a hall and the soldiers wanted to go into uniform. However, there was an issue. The women of that part of Ecuador traditionally wore large necklaces and a culturally relevant uniform was designed for them that included the wearing of necklaces. But was that acceptable to the Army’s authorities? The issue reached the desk of General John Gowans and, as the Chief of the Staff, I presented the matter to him. In the best spirit of Army adaptability he readily agreed to make an exception but, with his characteristic smile, added: ‘Make sure the authorisation about necklaces applies only to that corps. We don’t want to set a fashion for women soldiers everywhere!’
BRANDED A CHRISTIAN MAJOR Frank Duracher, in his book Now You Know: The Rest of the Army’s Story, tells the story of Paulo, who was a gang member in one of Brazil’s largest cities and found Christ at the Army. Becoming a soldier, he wore two ‘S’s on his white shirt. The next day he said to the captain: ‘My former gang saw me and told me that if they ever saw me wearing my uniform again, they would beat me up. What should I do?’ Breathing a silent prayer, the captain answered: ‘You have three choices. First, you can take the ‘S’s off. Second, you can stand up to them and fight back. Or, third, you can do
what Jesus did – he let his enemies do their worst to him and went on loving them!’ Late that night there was a knock on the captain’s door. There stood Paulo, his uniform torn and his body and face bloodied. ‘I did as Jesus would have done,’ he announced. ‘They beat me up, and I told them I loved them just the same.’ ‘How did you get that slash on your face?’ the captain asked. Paulo replied: ‘One of the gang took a knife and said: “If you’re going to wear those ‘S’s, I’ll cut an ‘S’ on your forehead that you will wear until you die.”’ And that is exactly what happened. Paulo wore his ‘S’ proudly and used it as his testimony.
A LIFE-CHANGING CHOICE IN the early 1890s a group of young Swedish officers were ushered into William Booth’s office at IHQ. They were on their way to New York in response to an appeal made in Sweden for officers to help with the emerging Scandinavian work in the USA. Among them was Lieutenant Mathilda Byden. Wishing them well, William Booth told them about the work that had just started in South America and asked whether any of them would be prepared to head in that direction instead. With delightful spontaneity, Mathilda said: ‘North America or South America, it is all the same to me!’ And so, instead of
New York, she travelled to Buenos Aires, Argentina. There she met English Captain Alfred Benwell and they married in 1897. Among their children born in Buenos Aires was a daughter they named Flora. Flora Benwell became a cadet in London and, after she married Swedish Captain Sture Larsson, she gave birth to a son they named John. Mathilda’s choice of destination was a brave one. Life for the Army pioneers in South America was tough. But I am glad Grandma Mathilda chose as she did, or I would not be writing this note.
*Published *P bli h d with ith th the ki kind d permission i i off C Commissioner i i F Freda d L Larsson ffollowing ll i g th the G General’s l’ promotion ti to t Glory Gl Salvationist 11 June 2022
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