faithandfriends.ca I OCTOBER 2021

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Coffee Conversations #OVERCOMER P.12

Roadside Assistance ARMY HELPS P.26

Conquering Addiction RYAN’S BRIGHT FUTURE P.22

Faith&Friends

INSPIRATION FOR LIVING

faithandfriends.ca

OCTOBER 2021 Desert Ordeal

IN DUNE, A YOUNG MAN HOLDS THE FATE OF THE GALAXY IN HIS HANDS. P.16

COVER STORY

BEYOND BORDERS

5 The Battle Against Hunger

The Salvation Army is helping to bring food security to those without.

COMMON GROUND

10 Getting to Know You

God surprised Jeanette Levellie with a compliment from an unlikely source.

FAITH BUILDERS

11 The Power of Love

It changes everything. Even little red puppies.

FEATURES 12 Coffee Conversations

Sharing hope and encouragement, one doubledouble at a time.

16 Desert Ordeal

In Dune, a young man holds the fate of the galaxy in his hands.

22 From Rock Bottom to Full Circle

Thanks to The Salvation Army, Ryan kicked his addictions.

26

SOMEONE CARES

26 Roadside Assistance

Salvation Army serves meals to hundreds of people stranded at provincial border.

LITE STUFF

28 Eating Healthy With Erin

Sudoku, Quick Quiz, Word Search

NIFTY THRIFTY

31 One Handy Caddy

An easy upcycling project with big fall gatherings in mind.

Ryan’s Full Circle

Communications specialist Maria Silva was thrilled when Ryan’s story came across her desk.

“I wanted to tell a story of someone who had gone through one of our Salvation Army programs and now gives back their time as a volunteer,” she says. “A feel-good, full-circlemoment type of story. What surprised me the most about our phone interview was how young Ryan was and all the hardship he had already gone through in such a short time.”

When Maria finally met Ryan in person for a photo shoot to illustrate the Faith & Friends story, she was surprised at how close he was with Salvation Army staff and residents, including Chaplain Doug Schultz and recreational therapist Sarah Bartkus.

“I knew Ryan volunteered and worked alongside these individuals through his recovery,” Maria says. “Still, his comfort level and friendliness toward everyone else in the Addictions and Residential Centre showed me that he spends a lot of time with the people who helped him through that recovery. It was nice to see how comfortable he was, and how much he is cared for by everyone.

“Stories such as Ryan’s show how The Salvation Army helps those who are struggling and how they, in turn, continue to help even after the recovery stage,” Maria concludes. “These are the stories I enjoy writing.” Ryan’s inspiring story is on page 22.

Ken Ramstead

Mission Statement To show Christ at work in the lives of real people, and to provide spiritual resources for those who are new to the Christian faith.

Faith & Friends is published monthly by: The Salvation Army 2 Overlea Blvd, Toronto Ontario, M4H 1P4 International Headquarters 101 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4P 4EP, England William and Catherine Booth FOUNDERS Brian Peddle, GENERAL Commissioner Floyd Tidd TERRITORIAL COMMANDER Lt-Colonel John P. Murray SECRETARY FOR COMMUNICATIONS Geoff Moulton, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ken Ramstead, EDITOR Brandon Laird SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Rivonny Luchas DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST Pamela Richardson, COPY EDITOR, PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR Ada Leung CIRCULATION CO-ORDINATOR Kristin Ostensen STAFF WRITER, PROOFREADER Giselle Randall STAFF WRITER Scripture Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are taken from New International Version Contact Us P. (416) 467-3188, F. (416) 422-6217 Websites faithandfriends.ca, salvationist.ca, salvationarmy.ca Email faithandfriends@salvationarmy.ca Subscription for one year: Canada $17 (includes GST/HST); U.S. $22; foreign $24 P. (416) 422-6119 circulation@salvationarmy.ca All articles are copyright The Salvation Army Canada & Bermuda and cannot be reproduced without permission. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064794 ISSN 1702-0131

The Battle Against Hunger

The Salvation Army is helping to bring food security to those without.

by Heather Matondo

Yum! A young girl from the Evangeline Booth Girls Home in Bolivia enjoys a nutritious meal

In 2014, I sat in Toronto’s Pearson Airport ready to embark on a journey. At the time, I was enrolled in a master of theological studies program in urban and international development and was completing my practical hours at The Salvation Army’s territorial headquarters (THQ) world missions department (now international development). As part of my required hours, I had the opportunity to join a food study tour to Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso with Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

During my 10 days in western Africa, my eyes were opened to the very real, everyday battle of hunger. Day after day, I would sit with individuals and community leaders listening to their stories and their struggles. Much of our time was spent with farmers who relied solely upon the land and the crops they grew to not only provide daily food for their family but also a small income that might allow their children to attend school. For many of those individuals, the story was the same—there was never enough food.

Year-Round Struggle In 2001, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization defined food security as “a situation that exists

Happy Day Students from Chaanga Secondary School in Zambia pose during a goat distribution ceremony

when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” This definition is in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 2, which states that by 2030, we will “end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.”

However, it is important to remember that just because someone may have food to eat every day, it is not always sufficient, safe or nutritious. Food security goes beyond simply having something to eat. As I witnessed on my trip to Africa, too many individuals and families struggle with food insecurity year round.

Focus on Food Being hungry affects us in many ways. Imagine a child who must walk long distances to and from school every day, sit in class for hours on end, and all on an empty stomach. Imagine a farmer who spends hours every day in the hot sun, battling a failing crop due to lack of rain, worrying how he will provide for his family.

Seven years after that trip to Sierra Leone, I have completed my master’s degree, written a thesis on food security in Sierra Leone and currently have an appointment at THQ in the international development department.

Our department is involved in many projects around the world, and bringing food security to individuals and families is a focus for many of them: • In Zimbabwe, we are currently supporting students at two different schools. At both, there is a food program incorporated into the project to ensure the students are not attending school hungry.

For some children, the meal they

receive at school may be the only one they have all day. • In Zambia, we started a goat program. The goats provide milk for the family and are also a source of extra income. • In the Caribbean, we are supporting The Salvation Army

Cave Valley Public School, where

Santina Bembridge’s daughter,

Ganeilia, attends. Santina says the school is a blessing for the community because sometimes life is hard and she cannot find lunch money. But she doesn’t have to worry because she knows that when her daughter goes to the school, they will provide a nutritious meal for her.

Worthy Goal In many parts of the world, the vast majority of the poor (approximately 75 percent) living in developing regions are mainly located in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.

The international development department is actively involved in several agricultural projects. In partnership with Canadian Foodgrains Bank, it has been supporting a threeyear conservation agriculture and food security project in Mangochi District, Malawi. There, farmers are struggling to produce enough food due to several consecutive years of drought and flood, with declining crop yields and household income as a result. Through this project, more than 400 vulnerable farmers have been receiving training and support on conservation agriculture practices. As a result, many farmers were able to double and triple their harvests. The project’s sustainable agriculture practices will support the farmers, not only to plant and harvest enough food for their families but also to invest in future crops, children’s education, health and family well-being.

October 16 has been designated by the UN as World Food Day. This comes just days after Thanksgiving, when many of us will sit with family and enjoy a large meal together. Maybe this year we will not only give thanks for what we have but also reflect on the millions of people around the world who have far less than we do and challenge ourselves to help work toward the UN’s 2030 goal of ending hunger.

(left) Major Heather Matondo is the sponsorship co-ordinator for The Salvation Army’s international development department at territorial headquarters in Toronto.

Faith&Friends COVER STORY

Finding Ezra

WHEN I PRAYED FOR “HELP” THAT MY SON AND HIS WIFE WOULD FIND A BABY TO ADOPT, I HAD NO IDEA THAT GOD WOULD TAKE ME SO LITERALLY. by Phil Callaway

“ARE YOU CATHOLIC OR

Mormon?” people sometimes ask when they discover my wife, Ramona, and I have been blessed with 13 grandkids in five years. “Neither. We’re exhausted,” I reply. “And very, very happy.” Of course, no one is more spent than parents who wander about the house saying things like, “Why is it that the people who want to go to bed have to put the people to bed who don’t want to go to bed?” They do this with a sluggish smile, remembering in their better moments that these kids arrived with God’s fingerprints all over them, and that each has a story, some more intriguing than others.

(left) Holding On Ezra on a “walk” with his parents (right) Where’s Ezra? Ramona and Phil Callaway with 12 of their 13 grandchildren

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faithandfriends.ca I JUNE 2021

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Our June article regarding Phil Callaway’s son and daughter-in-law adopting a little boy generated interesting reader replies on both sides of the issue:

The Path to Healing

I am deeply disturbed and disappointed at how this article portrays the adoptive mothers, especially the story of the first mom who is living with addiction. Furthermore, highlighting the racial differences in the story perpetuates racist narratives of white families rescuing persons of colour through adoption and the child welfare system. This is unspeakably problematic. We, as The Salvation Army, know better.

The Callaway family does indeed have a story of God’s faithfulness to share, but why must we demonize a woman struggling to survive and living through pain that most of us will never understand?

I am not naive. I have cared for babies withdrawing in the NICU. I have also sat with mothers who want to love and care for their children, but lack support and live with challenges that make responsible parenthood not possible.

Who is responsible for this? The suffering woman who numbs her pain

through addiction? Indeed, she has power and agency to change, but are the systems of child welfare, health care, justice and law, and the church empowering her, giving her strength to fight and heal? I suggest that God tells us we hold the greater responsibility to listen to this woman’s story, to hear her heart, to walk with her on a path to healing and wholeness.

—Lieutenant Jenelle Durdle

Everyone Is Equal

I disagree with Jenelle’s comments. I don’t see in this article an attempt to demonize women who find themselves in difficult situations, but, rather, a family willing to walk alongside these two women for the time they desire that support.

Suggesting that the adopting parents see themselves as saviours because of their race is surprising. I have worked with teen mothers who have gone through periods of parenting, feeling overwhelmed and giving their children up, then maturing and wanting to care for their children again. I have also seen how hard it is on children when they are in and out of the “system,” only to have supports removed when they turn 18.

There is a lot of suffering in the world, but suggesting that a family looking to reduce some of that suffering is “problematic” because they are white (without even knowing the races of the birth mothers) tells us that our culture has a lot of work to do to see everyone as equal in the eyes of

God.—Major Lynda Wakelin

Faith&Friends COVER STORY

Hot Topics With the help of her Context team, Maggie John tackles issues, such as the opioid crisis, medical assistance in dying and race

16 • APRIL 2021 I faithandfriends.ca Anchoring Her Faith

TV HOST MAGGIE JOHN IS PASSIONATE ABOUT FINDING GOD’S STORY IN THE HEADLINES. by Helena Smrcek

Photos: Moussa Faddoul

faithandfriends.ca I APRIL 2021 • 17

Positive Feedback

I just wanted to personally thank you for allowing me to be the Faith & Friends cover story this past April (“Anchoring Her Faith”).

I have received so much feedback— all of it positive!

I’m not sure if you know how much this has meant to not just me but a whole community who are not used to seeing our stories told in this manner.

Thank you for seeing my work, allowing writer Helena Smrcek to pitch the story and making the decision to share it in this fashion.

—Maggie John

Have a comment on any articles you have read? WRITE to us at Faith & Friends, 2 Overlea Blvd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4H 1P4. EMAIL us at faithandfriends@ salvationarmy.ca or POST your comments at faithandfriends.ca.

Getting to Know You

God surprised me with a compliment from an unlikely source.

by Jeanette Levellie

Two decades ago, I’d worked with Robin, a born leader—and very outspoken.

I did something ditzy one day: I called a customer by the wrong name. Robin asked me if I needed a “Stupid” sign to wear around my neck. I was shocked and hurt by what I considered a rude comment. After that, I avoided Robin. Until recently.

Praying for Grace

The church Robin attends had been without a full-time pastor for more than two years. When one of the board members heard I’d become ordained, they invited me to preach.

I was thrilled. But I was also a bit intimidated. And nervous. Would Robin approach me after the worship service and make a hurtful remark?

I decided it was worth that risk. I remembered how Jesus once told His disciples, “If any of you want to be My followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24 Contemporary English Version).

I decided I wanted to follow Jesus more than I wanted to avoid criticism, so I prayed for grace.

Seeing Past the Surface

After the church service, I stood at the back and shook hands with everyone. I braced myself when Robin approached.

“Wow, Jeanette, that was one great message,” she said, gripping my hand and smiling all the way to her blue eyes. “I could listen to you all day!”

My heart swelled with thankfulness. Either Robin had mellowed over the years or I’d stopped taking myself so seriously. Or both.

When Jesus allowed Robin and me to see past the surface in each other, we both discovered hidden treasures. Because of His generous grace, Robin and I are now friends. And when she teases me, I laugh louder than anyone else.

The Power of Love

It changes everything. Even little red puppies.

by Diane Stark

Clifford the Big Red Dog, in theatres now, is a live-action/ CGI family film based on Norman Bridwell’s children’s book series of the same name.

Clifford (David Alan Grier) wasn’t always big. In fact, he was the runt of his litter. When Emily Elizabeth (Darby Camp) adopts him, she asks the magical animal rescuer (John Cleese) how big he will get. The answer? “That depends on how much you love him.”

Seemingly overnight, Emily Elizabeth’s love turns Clifford into a giant red dog who wreaks havoc on the family’s tiny New York City apartment. When a genetics company with a master plan to supersize all animals takes notice of Clifford’s remarkable size, Emily Elizabeth will do anything to protect him from harm.

Will Emily Elizabeth’s love be enough to save Clifford from the greedy company that wants to use him for their own gain?

Forgiven and Whole

In real life, love doesn’t make tiny puppies grow to be 10 feet tall, but it can have an emotional impact that is just as powerful. A hug or a kind word on a rough day can completely change our outlook.

If our love can impact another person in such a profound way, imagine what God’s love can do. His love not only changes lives—it saves them. God’s love offers us the chance to become His sons and daughters and live with Him forever. Nothing is more life-changing than that.

But, sadly, many people don’t understand how much God loves them. They may not attend church or own a Bible, but that’s where we come in. One small act of love can give us an opportunity to tell people about God’s love.

It’s said that love is the most powerful force in the universe. It might not change the runt of the litter into a giant, but it can transform a sinful, broken person into someone who is forgiven and whole.

Love changes us. Love changes everything.