Faith & Friends April 2019 by The Salvation Army

A Home at the Army

FINDING PEACE P.5

Surviving Depression

ON A KNIFE EDGE P.22

New Easter Movie

BREAKTHROUGH P.26

Faith&Friends I N S P I R AT I O N F O R L I V I N G

faithandfriends.ca

APRIL 2019

Out of

Egypt

THARWAT ESKANDER FOUND A LIGHT OF HOPE IN THE DARKNESS OF A MILITARY PRISON CELL. P.16

“ God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” —Romans 5:8 In the Christian calendar, there are two predominant religious holidays: Christmas and Easter. For most of us, Christmas is the bigger and greater festival of the year, often engaging our attention and anticipation for weeks beforehand. It’s the time when we gather with family and friends, celebrate and exchange presents. And apart from Valentine’s, Christmas is the time when we communicate love more than on any other occasion. Every gift is an expression of love—and none represented more than the birth of Jesus Himself.

Some people view Easter as a secondrate holiday, but if Easter had not happened, Christmas would have no meaning. If Easter had not happened, Christmas would be nothing more than a story, a tale of an obscure baby born in an out-of-the-way town in a forgotten land more than 2,000 years ago. It is the significance of Easter that gives Christmas its true meaning. So let’s remember the ultimate love demonstrated on Good Friday and affirmed on Easter Sunday. To learn more about the ultimate love demonstrated at Easter, email us at faithandfriends@can.salvationarmy. org or visit your local Salvation Army church.

Beverly A. Ivany, Words of Life May-August 2018, London, England

Love

April 2019

VOLUME 22 NUMBER 4

GOD IN MY LIFE 5 Moving Toward Peace

Tanya Michaud wasn’t looking for God, but He found her anyway. HOT TOPICS 8 A Life-Saving Moment

Becoming an organ donor isn’t a job—it’s a choice.

SACRED SPACE 10 Where Hope Floats

There is a quiet garden spot in Jerusalem where hope can be found.

FEATURES

COVER STORY

A CommuKNITy Cares

A Salvation Army church in Calgary is embracing its community.

Out of Egypt

Unjustly imprisoned, Tharwat Eskander despaired of ever being free. But in his darkness, he realized he was not alone.

On a Knife Edge

Having suffered from mental health problems in her teens, Valentina McKay is determined to help others like her. FAITH BUILDERS 26 Breakthrough

Cover photo: Timothy Cheng

This Easter, a new movie proves that God is still in the miracle business. LITE STUFF 28 Eating Healthy With Erin

Sudoku, Quick Quiz, Word Search. NIFTY THRIFTY

31 Flights of Fancy

This bird feeder will have you “raven.”

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Faith&Friends

FROM THE EDITOR

Donating Life

he statistics are chilling. In 2016, more than 4,500 Canadians were waiting for an organ transplant. And while 2,835 organs were transplanted, 260 people died waiting for an operation. That’s 260 people too many. The truth is, only a fraction of Canadians are registered organ donors but, as our population ages, the need for organ and tissue donations will only increase. Ninety per cent of Canadians support organ and tissue donation but only 20 per cent have actually made plans to donate. While most Canadians consent to donate after death, it’s also possible to donate organs while one is still alive, as Diane Stark explains to her son in the article on page 8. Living donors can donate: • A kidney • Part of a liver • A lobe of a lung Diane’s article is timely as April is organ donor month. As she explains, “Becoming an organ donor isn’t a job—it’s a choice.” You can make that choice. One donor can benefit more than 75 people and save up to eight lives. That’s something to think about. Elsewhere in this issue of Faith & Friends, you’ll find out how Phil Callaway’s visit to the Holy Land made him fully appreciate Jesus’ Easter sacrifice, you’ll read about Tharwat Eskander, who used his unjust imprisonment in an Egyptian military prison as an opportunity to come closer to God, and you’ll see how Tanya Michaud and her family found a spiritual home at a Salvation Army church in Ottawa. Ken Ramstead 4 • APRIL 2019 I faithandfriends.ca

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 Susan McMillan TERRITORIAL COMMANDER

Lt-Colonel John P. Murray SECRETARY FOR COMMUNICATIONS Geoff Moulton, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ken Ramstead, EDITOR

Brandon Laird DESIGN AND MEDIA SPECIALIST

Timothy Cheng SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER 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@can.salvationarmy.org Subscription for one year: Canada $17 (includes GST/HST); U.S. $22; foreign $24 P. (416) 422-6119 circulation@can.salvationarmy.org All articles are copyright The Salvation Army Canada & Bermuda and cannot be reproduced without permission. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064794 ISSN 1702-0131

Faith&Friends

GOD IN MY LIFE

Moving Toward Peace A lonely and broken Tanya Michaud wasn’t looking for God, but He found her anyway. by Diane Stark

Letting Go of the Past “God did a lot of healing work in my life,” says Tanya Michaud, here with her husband, Mike

anya Michaud entered the church, sitting in the back where she hoped no one would notice her. She listened to the music and felt something come over her. “In that moment, I just broke down,” she says. “I realized that there was a God, and He’d been there all along.” Now, she and her family are active members of The Salvation Army’s Ottawa Citadel. But it wasn’t an easy road to get there.

Finding God Tanya was born in Montreal, but she and her family moved around during her childhood. “It was hard to make friends,” she says, “because I was always the new kid.” It didn’t help that Tanya’s family wasn’t close-knit. “My dad was always working and my mother was emotionally distant,” she says. Tanya did not attend church as a

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Faith&Friends

GOD IN MY LIFE

Happy Family Tanya and Mike, here with their children, Sarah and Sammy

child. “I wasn’t exposed to religion,” she says. “My parents weren’t Christians and neither were my friends. It was a spiritually barren childhood.” After graduating from university, Tanya moved to Chicago for work. “It was a good opportunity, but I was completely alone,” she says. “It was such a dark time. I had no real friends and I felt disconnected from my family.” A few times, Tanya considered going to church. “I immediately discarded these thoughts because they didn’t make sense to me,” she says. “I didn’t even know what I would find in there. I was that disconnected from God.” A few weeks later, on a Saturday night, Tanya felt so lonely that she decided to attend church the following morning. “I had nothing to do and I felt like I would go crazy if I didn’t

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go out,” she says, “so I decided to try church. It was just something to do. I didn’t go there to find God.” Something There But God found her. “Just a few minutes into the service, I had this image in my mind of a miniature me, standing in the palm of a giant hand,” she says. “I realized that I had been in God’s hand my whole life. He’d been calling me, and all I’d done was fight Him.” Tanya joined a class at the church that explained the basics of Christianity. “After attending that class for a few weeks, I heard the Bible message and became a Christian,” she says. “After I made that decision, I felt peaceful.” Tanya started meeting with a Christian counsellor to work through some of the hurts she had experi-

“Before finding God, I was emotionally broken. Now, I have peace and purpose.” TANYA MICHAUD enced. “I was able to let go of the past,” she says. “God did a lot of healing work in my life.” A few years later, Tanya met a man named Mike at a mutual friend’s house. “I was back in Montreal now and he lived in Ottawa, so I didn’t think there was a future,” Tanya says. “But when he returned to Montreal to see our friends, we realized there was something there and we knew it was from God.” A Life Complete The couple married in 2004 and had two daughters, Sarah and Sammy. In 2010, Mike rejoined the navy, and over the next seven years, the family lived in three different places. By 2016, though, Tanya and Mike were living in Kingston, Ont. “I joined a Bible study at a Salvation Army church, and I enjoyed it,” she says. “Then my daughter, Sarah, started playing the cornet and I wanted her to be able to play with a band, so I started dropping her off for practices there.” One Sunday, they decided to attend the church to watch Sarah play in the band. “Mike loves music and he decided he wanted to join the sen-

ior band,” Tanya says. “We weren’t plugged in at the church we’d been attending, so we were looking to make a change.” Surprisingly, Mike and Tanya didn’t know The Salvation Army was a church. “We had known them as the group that helps people with the kettles and the food drives,” she explains. “We love what they do for the community, so going to church there was a good fit for us.” When the family moved to Ottawa a year later, attending the Army’s Ottawa Citadel church was an easy decision. Today, Tanya is busy homeschooling her daughters. She also works part time helping an elderly woman who lives in her apartment building. “The Lord provided me with this great job,” she says. “I don’t have to commute, and the woman is a Christian, too, and I enjoy her company.” Tanya loves her life now. “Before finding God, I was emotionally broken, I had no hope and no purpose,” she says. “Now I’m part of something. I have healthy relationships and I feel whole. I even have energy to help others. Now, I have peace and purpose.”

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Faith&Friends

HOT TOPICS

A Life-Saving Moment A humorous remark from my son gave me the opportunity to explain what organ donation is all about. by Diane Stark

Of Dinos and Donations Diane Stark and her son, Nathan, paleontologistin-training

“

o you still want to be an organ donor?” the clerk asked as I was renewing my driver’s licence. I nodded. “I want to be a paleontologist,” my nine-year-old son, Nathan, chimed in. The clerk and I looked at one another and smiled.

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Nathan looked up me. “What’s so funny?” “We’ll chat about it later,” I told him. Choice or Occupation I finished my business and then Nathan and I headed to the ice cream parlour down the street. After we’d gotten our treat, Nathan asked,

“Why were you and the lady laughing at me?” I smiled. “We weren’t making fun of you. We thought what you said was cute.” “Why?” “Becoming an organ donor isn’t a job, like becoming a paleontologist,” I replied. “It’s a choice that people can make. I’m an organ donor, and that means that if I were to die, the doctors would give my body parts to people who are sick and need a new, healthy body part.”

have one heart, so we can’t donate that unless we die.” “So being an organ donor is giving something you don’t need to someone who does need it?” I nodded. “That’s exactly right.” “I want to be an organ donor, too.” I smiled at my son, even while my heart clenched at the thought of something happening to him. “You’re too young to make that decision, but if something were to happen to you, Daddy and I would make sure that the doctors would use your organs to

“Becoming an organ donor isn’t a job— it’s a choice.” DIANE STARK His mouth dropped open. “They would take your body parts?” I patted his hand. “It’s OK because I would be in heaven. I wouldn’t need my body here on earth anymore, and if a part of it could save someone else’s life, I would want to do that.” “Do you have to die to be an organ donor?” “Most of the time, yes. But there are a few body parts that we can donate while we are still alive. We have two lungs, so we can donate a part of our lung to another person who needs it. We also have two kidneys, so we can give one to a sick person, and live the rest of our lives with just one kidney. But we only

save other kids if they could.” “And I would be in heaven, so it would be good for everyone,” he said. “Not for me. I want you here with me.” “I know, Mom, but if we can’t be together, we should make sure other kids can be with their moms.” “I’m so proud of you, Nathan. Becoming an organ donor is a very grown-up decision. You’ve got a big heart.” A tear slipped down my cheek at his selflessness. “Nathan, I changed my mind,” I said. “We can donate our hearts while we’re still alive.” I patted his cheek across the table. “You’ve definitely got mine.”

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Faith&Friends

SACRED SPACE

Where Hope Floats In a dark world where fear seems to be winning, there is a quiet garden spot in Jerusalem where God can still be found. by Phil Callaway

Holy Sites Phil and Ramona Callaway enjoy the view while on their tour through the Holy Land

y parents sent me to Sunday school during my formative years. There, I learned to play pranks, and a teacher had me stand in the hallway where I wondered, How much hope is there for a kid who gets kicked out of Sunday school? I behaved myself best when our teacher unveiled the coolest

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technology in history: the flannelgraph, a board covered in fuzzy felt resting on an easel. Bible characters came to life when our teacher moved them about the board. I was transfixed by stories of faraway Israel, land of milk and honey and sycamore trees. I wanted to go. But it was impossible. I was a Sunday school vagrant.

Past and Present Fast forward 45 years, and there I was, at the Dead Sea helping lead a group of 150 through the Holy Land. I told them George Burns’ famous joke delivered when he was in his 90s: “When I was a boy, the Dead Sea was only sick.” The hotel issued us bathrobes and we walked across the street in them. How many places on earth can you walk down the street in a bathrobe without getting arrested?

of Galilee? Or enjoying the shade of a 2,000-year-old olive tree in the Garden of Gethsemane? A tree that is still bearing fruit? Hope Shining Through Heading to the Jordan River, I heard my name. It wasn’t God, but it was close. Joel Freeman and I grew up together back in the ’60s. We’ve stayed in touch by phone, but hadn’t seen each other in more than 20 years. Sunday school teachers didn’t

How many places on earth can you walk down a street in a bathrobe without getting arrested? PHIL CALLAWAY I stepped into the water and it was so cool. Not the temperature, but the experience. As a kid, I was so skinny that I went swimming in a lake one summer and a dog came out to fetch me three times. Truth is, I can’t swim to save my life. But here I was, floating without moving a muscle. Surrounded by the Judean Desert, you’re floating at 1,400 feet below sea level. It’s the lowest spot on earth. My wife tried in vain to push me under. “Hope floats,” I said. “You can’t keep a good man down.” How can you read the Bible the same way after watching a storm rise in seconds while sailing the Sea

hold out a whole lot of hope for Joel, either. In the winter of ’71, Joel ran away from home and started hitchhiking around North America. Charged with vagrancy in Portland, Oregon, he did a three-week stint in juvenile hall, then stuck out his thumb and headed south. God finally got a hold of Joel in Maine. “I’m a certifiable Maine-iac,” he says. But he’s also a successful writer, speaker and entrepreneur. We met three times in Israel— once more at the traditional site of Golgotha and again at Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947, showing the

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Faith&Friends

SACRED SPACE

Friends Forever Phil and Joel Freeman

for drinking.” But it is for drinking. And those who drink deeply wherever they live are filled with peace and hope. In a dark world where fear seems to be winning, I think often of that quiet spot in a garden where a revolution of love began. Where hope shone through. In a world where we hurry on with our lives and sometimes forget, He is still to be found, still changing lives. Like Joel’s. Like mine. And like yours.

“Okay, let’s try it again: CAST THE NETS to the right of the boat—not castanets!”

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OH MY WORD!

by John Sanko

remarkable accuracy of the Bible. Not far from Golgotha, we visited the Garden Tomb. A sign on the door reads: “He is not here. He is risen.” Each year, 300,000 people come to see something that isn’t there. Not far from the empty tomb, I smiled and took a picture of two signs. The first had the words of Jesus, “Let anyone who thirsts come to Me and drink.” Less than a foot away, another sign says, “Water not

Faith&Friends

FEATURE

(right) Labour of Love “The true beauty of the morning wasn’t in the colourful display of scarves or the pretty tags hanging from each one. It was in the interactions” (below) Colourful Help Scarves that were not handed out were left on fences for anyone to take as needed

A CommuKNITy Cares BY MAKING HAND-KNIT SCARVES FOR THOSE WITHOUT, A SALVATION ARMY CHURCH IN CALGARY IS EMBRACING ITS COMMUNITY. by Allison Patrick

his past Valentine’s Day, I headed down to our church to join a dedicated group of volunteers who were ready to serve on the streets of Calgary. Since Christmas, CommuKNITy Cares, a ministry operating out of The Salvation Army’s Glenmore Temple church in Calgary, has been busy making hand-knit scarves. That

morning, we set out to give them to people experiencing homelessness in our community and, more importantly, to let them know they are loved and important. Benefiting Others The idea of handing out warm clothes to those in need is not new, nor is the idea of hanging hand-knit scarves on faithandfriends.ca I APRIL 2019

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Faith&Friends

FEATURE

Helping Others “The idea of handing out warm clothes to those in need is not new. It is one worth repeating, though”

Our hope is that this project will not only provide warmth for those who take the scarves but will also open people’s eyes to the needs of others. ALLISON PATRICK fences for anyone who might need one. It is one worth repeating, though. Given the ever-growing needs in our city, the cooler temperatures and that we love to knit and crochet, CommuKNITy saw this as a perfect opportunity for our ministry. Our hope is that this project will not only provide warmth for those who take the scarves but will also open people’s eyes to the needs of others. We want to encourage everyone to use whatever resources or skills they have to do something to benefit others. On the Fence That morning, a Calgary police officer joined us, not because we needed protection but because of the work 14 • APRIL 2019 I faithandfriends.ca

he had already done to establish relationships with so many of our homeless population. The rest of our team was made up of people who brought varied skills and life experiences to the day, all of which proved to be valuable as we served and supported one another. It was an eye-opening morning for us as we discovered just how widespread the need was. Our first stop brought us to a man who wasn’t living in a shelter but a tent he had made from a simple tarp. He had been living in that tent throughout the frigid temperatures. The man welcomed us and told us about his home and how he tries to protect himself from the elements.

He shared with us how he creates some income for himself by stripping wires to collect copper that can be turned in for cash. The freezing temperatures have made that difficult for him as his fingers can’t be exposed to the cold for long. He smiled as we gave him the scarf and shared with us that our gesture had taken him full circle: in his past, he, too, had knitted scarves and handed them out to the less fortunate. Our guide took us to other locations where we encountered more people. We visited a bottle depot, The Salvation Army’s Centre of Hope, the Calgary drop-in centre and other places. At each stop, we engaged people in conversation and learned a little about their circumstances. We handed out close to half of the 144 scarves we had made and then hung the remainder on fences around the city for anyone to take as needed. Unity and Care The true beauty of the morning wasn’t in the colourful display of scarves or the pretty tags hanging from each one. It was in the interactions we had. The homeless are people like you and me. While some are struggling with addictions, some have just hit hard times through circumstances such as job loss, relationship break-up or illness. Our conversations helped to break down barriers, both ones we had set up due to our own prejudices and ones they had built up for their own protection.

“What I love best about Commu-

KNITy Cares is that they offer love

and acceptance to everyone involved,” says Major Denise Walker, Glenmore Temple’s pastor. “There is a real sense of community among the knitters—young and old, experienced or learning—joined in a mission of love. “To see our people head to the streets on one of the coldest days of the year—armed with friendship and warmth for those struggling against the cold—was a colourful expression of unity and care. “That’s what The Salvation Army is all about.”

Knitted Together in Love CommuKNITy Cares is an outreach ministry that shares God’s love for others by making hand-knit mittens, scarves, hats and blankets and giving them to those in need in the community. Fellowship is also shared with members of the community through free knitting classes and groups offered at The Salvation Army Glenmore Temple in Calgary. For more information, visit commuknitycares.com.

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Faith&Friends

COVER STORY

Out of

Egypt

UNJUSTLY IMPRISONED, THARWAT ESKANDER DESPAIRED OF EVER BEING FREE. BUT IN HIS DARKNESS, HE REALIZED HE WAS NOT ALONE.

WHEN THARWAT ESKANDER is asked what his favourite Bible story is, he immediately identifies Joseph in the Book of Genesis, and his unjust imprisonment in Egypt. “Unjustly imprisoned myself, Joseph’s faith in God was an inspiration to me in my dark time,” he says. Divided Heart Tharwat was born in Egypt but immigrated to the United States in 1997, where he was joined by the rest of his family. Soon after his arrival, the teen 16 • APRIL 2019 I faithandfriends.ca

attended a church conference in Toronto and became a Christian. One year later, he secured a position with Delta Airlines as a flight attendant. It was a dream job—“Great pay, I travelled the world and stayed at nice hotels”—but it left Tharwat feeling empty. “I started to party and tumble into different relationships,” he says. “Then I’d return home, attend church and sing songs of praise. My heart was divided. Many times, I would wake up in the morning and

Photo: Timothy Cheng

by Ken Ramstead

Hard Time “I believe I was under God’s protection,” Tharwat Eskander says of his time in prison

Faith&Friends

COVER STORY

Snapshots of a Life Clockwise from top left, Tharwat’s military ID; flight attendant Tharwat poses inside a Delta Airlines cockpit; Tharwat visits the pyramids in Egypt two years ago. “I want to live the rest of my life serving God,” he says

start sobbing. “I was drifting away from God.” Behind Bars In August 2001, Tharwat’s flight made a routine landing in Cairo, 18 • APRIL 2019 I faithandfriends.ca

Egypt. But inexplicably, he was singled out, detained and told he could not leave Egypt without a travel permit. When a flustered Tharwat and a Delta representative travelled to the

“ Why would God allow this to happen to me? Is all that I believe false? Maybe there isn’t even a God!” THARWAT ESKANDER government office to obtain the permit, the official took one look at the request and called for two security officers, who placed Tharwat in a holding cell without any contact with the outside world. “I felt as if I was in a nightmare,” says Tharwat. “This can’t be happening to me, I thought. It’s all a mistake.” After days of questioning, he was sent to a military court, which sentenced him to one year in prison for evading mandatory military service in Egypt. “I Felt Like Joseph” While his family at home in the United States frantically tried to obtain assistance, Tharwat had to adjust to a new reality. “I realized I was going to be there for a while,” he recalls. “The first few weeks, I doubted everything, especially God. I was angry at Him! Why would He allow this to happen to me? Is all that I believe false? Maybe there isn’t even a God!” But soon, he began to notice

something. “Torture and beatings were part of everyday life, but no one ever laid a finger on me,” he says. “God was telling me, ‘I’m by your side.’ ” As well, even though Tharwat was the only Christian in the prison, he was allowed his Bible, and he decided to devote himself to reconnecting with God through reflection and prayer. And as he did, he noticed other things. “People started approaching me with questions about my religion, my beliefs and Jesus. I was shown favour by prison officials and fellow prisoners. I would even be asked to interpret their dreams and visions. I felt like Joseph!” From Islam to Christianity Tharwat was assigned to the administrative wing of the prison, where he worked with a man named Islam, who had been charged with terrorism. In Egyptian military prisons, those incarcerated were held indefinfaithandfriends.ca I APRIL 2019

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Faith&Friends

COVER STORY

Welcome Verse While Tharwat was at a holding facility before his incarceration, a friend smuggled a Bible to him under a tray of food. Reading through the Book of Psalms, this passage from Psalm 64:10 stayed with him: “The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him; all the upright in heart will glory in Him!” “I asked a fellow prisoner who writes verses on papyrus to make one for me,” Tharwat says (see right). “The ‘refuge’ part was huge to me, and I kept asking God, how can someone rejoice in the midst of such a trial? I felt in my heart that those for whom God is their refuge can face anything with joy.”

itely with little hope of freedom. Their first encounter was not auspicious. “You’re a Christian and I don’t like you,” Islam told Tharwat. “Stay away from me.” A chastened Tharwat did exactly that, and kept to his corner of the office, where he had his Bible and some books on Christianity. One day, however, Tharwat noticed 20 • APRIL 2019 I faithandfriends.ca

Islam with his face in his hands. Tharwat tentatively approached, put his hand on Islam’s shoulder and gently asked, “What’s wrong?” Islam opened up to Tharwat, telling him that he was about to become a father but despaired of ever seeing his daughter. “I tried to comfort him as best I could,” says Tharwat. “I told him she’d grow up with him, and he and his wife would raise their daughter together.” After a while, Islam looked at Tharwat and said, “You know, I hate Christians—but I like you.” That broke the ice. Soon, they became friends.

One day toward the end of Tharwat’s sentence, he was passing the visitors’ area when Islam called him over. With him were his mother and wife. Islam’s mother told Tharwat how much he had helped make her son’s time in prison bearable by giving him hope and encouragement, and thanked him. “I met an embittered man and left him reading the Bible,” Tharwat says. “I have no doubt that this man became a Christian.” Serving Him After nine months, Tharwat’s sentence was reduced for good behaviour. He was sent to serve out the rest of his enlistment but when the authorities found out that Tharwat’s parents and he himself were American citizens, he was again taken for questioning. “How did you enlist with a green card?” they demanded. “You enlisted me!” Tharwat told them. His file was sent to military intel-

ligence, and he was taken for further questioning. There, he was told his prison term had been a “mistake” because he had emigrated legally. “All it took was a little paperwork to terminate the end of my time with the Egyptian military,” Tharwat notes. Though it seemed to him like an eternity, after less than a year, Tharwat found himself back home with his family. The experience made him realize how much God loved and cared for him—“He can reach us in the dark places no one else can”—and it had a profound impact on his faith. “It was a time when no one could help me, when I lived with criminals who wouldn’t think twice about slitting my throat for the slightest reason,” he says. “But no one lifted a finger to touch me.” Why? “I believe I was under God’s protection throughout the entire time I was in prison,” Tharwat answers simply. “So I made a decision that I would not live for anyone but God. And I want to live the rest of my life serving Him.”

(left) Tharwat Eskander is The Salvation Army’s stewardship consultant in Toronto. faithandfriends.ca I APRIL 2019

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Faith&Friends

FEATURE

On a Knife Edge

HAVING SUFFERED FROM MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS IN HER TEENS, VALENTINA McKAY IS DETERMINED TO HELP OTHERS LIKE HER. by Ken Ramstead

alentina McKay sat on the floor of her family’s kitchen, a carving knife pressed into her wrist so hard that even the slightest movement would cut flesh. This is it, she thought. I’m going to take one last look around at my home, and it’s going to be done. “But then God saved me,” she says. 22 • APRIL 2019 I faithandfriends.ca

Descent Into Depression Valentina hails from the northern Manitoba town of Grand Rapids Misipawistik Cree Nation, where her father is a commercial fisherman and her mother is a family enhancement worker with the province’s Child and Family Services. With an older sister, a younger

Photo: © IngImage.com

ing hurt immensely,” she says. “I couldn’t grieve properly. I learned that what I was feeling and experiencing wasn’t healthy, so I dealt with my grief. But the depression stayed and it started to feed off my 13-yearold self’s insecurities and lack of self-esteem. “I knew that if I didn’t get better, I wasn’t going to exist anymore.” Unfortunately, Valentina had no idea how to deal with her depression. “I handled it in horrendous ways,” she says now. That’s how she found herself on the floor of her family’s kitchen, a knife pressed against her wrist. Her parents and siblings had left for the day and she was home alone. brother and two loving parents, “I grew up in the best small town ever with a wonderful, loving family,” she says. But from the age of 13 to 17, Valentina fell into deep grief and depression after the death of her grandfather. “I took it really hard and his pass-

“It’s OK” As Valentina sat on the floor, she looked up. “There, kneeling before me, was an angel,” she says. “He was staring at me and looked so incredibly sad. The angel—for that is what I instinctively knew he was—placed his hand on my knee. I looked at faithandfriends.ca I APRIL 2019

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FEATURE

“ I knew that if I didn’t get better, I wasn’t going to exist anymore.” VALENTINA M KAY c

that hand on my knee but I couldn’t understand why I didn’t feel anything there. And then he faded away.” Valentina sat on the floor for a long time before finally, slowly,

removing the knife from her wrist. “God saved me,” she replies now when asked about the incident. “I was raised as a Christian, but during the years when I was depressed, I would ask, ‘Why, God?

Photo: Tim Plett

Giving Back Once she graduates from Booth University College next year, Valentina McKay hopes to help Indigenous youth with intergenerational trauma

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Why are You doing this to me? Why are You allowing me to feel such pain? Is it because You don’t love me?’ “Of course He did,” she goes on and smiles through her tears. “How could He not?” Valentina is convinced that at the moment when God sent His angel to her, He was telling her, “It’s OK. This is real. Life is real.” “God had been with me through each and every day I had suffered,” she says, “but I hadn’t allowed Him to help me when I was going through my pain, and I should have let Him in.” A Life Past Graduation For a while, Valentina tried to deny that morning but the next day on her way home from school, the memories hit her full force and she accepted that what had happened to her had been real. By the time she returned home, she threw herself into her shocked mother’s arms and sobbed uncontrollably. “We’re going to get through this,” her mother told Valentina. “You, me, your family, friends, community and God. We’re going to get better together.” It took much healing but a restored Valentina graduated from high school. “I never thought I would because I never thought I would live that long,” she says simply.

Never Alone Valentina is now in her fourth year at Booth University College in Winnipeg, pursuing a degree in applied psychology. “One of the reasons I want to become a psychologist is to help people like me,” she says. At home, Valentina advocates for more resources and funding for mental-health workers and for more awareness of depression in her community. “I know what it’s like to suffer but I was wrong to isolate myself,” she states. “No one need get through depression alone.” “I Can Do That” Not everyone knows what they are going to be when they grow up, but Valentina McKay has been certain since she was eight years old. She was mediating an argument that her older sister and her boyfriend were having when her mother told Valentina, “You should be a psychologist.” “What’s that?” she asked. “They help people with their problems, like you’re doing right now,” her mother told her. “OK! Cool! That’s what I’ll be. I can do that,” Valentina replied. “And it went from there,” she laughs. “That’s how I got to Booth University College’s applied psychology program.”

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Faith&Friends

FAITH BUILDERS

A Mother’s Faith This Easter, a new movie proves that God is still in the miracle business. Photo: © Courtesy of Franklin Entertainment

by Barbara Ashley

Every Parent’s Nightmare Joyce Smith (Chrissy Metz) prays at her son’s bedside

reakthrough, which releases April 12, tells the true story of John Smith, a teenaged boy who died and was resurrected. In January 2015, Joyce Smith (Chrissy Metz, This Is Us) got the call every parent dreads. Her 14-year-old son, John (Marcel Ruiz, Snowfall), was walking on a frozen Missouri lake and fell through the ice. He was trapped under the frigid water for 15 minutes before a rescue

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worker found him and pulled him out. Rushed to the hospital, he had no heartbeat and next to no hope. By the time Joyce and her husband, Brian (Josh Lucas, Sweet Home Alabama), arrived at the hospital, John had been clinically dead for more than 60 minutes. “We’ve done everything medically possible,” the doctor told her. “There’s nothing else we can do.” But Joyce wasn’t ready to let her

Tommy heard God’s voice, even though he didn’t believe in God. son go. She put her hands on his body and shouted, “Please, God, send your Holy Spirit to save my son.” Immediately, the machine monitoring John’s heart started beeping. John had a pulse. And that wasn’t the only miracle that had happened that day. The rescue workers rushed to the lake, expecting to recover a body, not rescue a boy. But when a firefighter named Tommy (Mike Colter, The Good Wife) was in the water searching, God spoke to him, telling him to go back, guiding him to John’s body. Tommy heard God’s voice, even though he didn’t believe in God. Despite that divine intervention, John faced an enormous number of challenges. He had a heartbeat, but nothing else. “I don’t believe he will survive the night,” doctors said. But Joyce wouldn’t hear of it. “You don’t know my son,” she told the medical personnel. “He is a fighter. Be the best you can for John, and let God do the rest.” Then she asked her entire community to pray for her son. In the face of overwhelming odds, Joyce Smith’s faith never wavered. But would one mother’s faith be enough to save her son?

Sharing the Miracle This Easter, we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. More than 2,000 years ago, He came to earth as a baby, lived a perfect life, and then on Good Friday, He was crucified. Three days later, God raised Him from the dead, conquering sin and death, and setting His children free. During His 33 years on earth, Jesus performed many miracles. He changed lives by healing people of their physical ailments. Through His death and Resurrection, He healed us of our spiritual ailments. Jesus saved us because we couldn’t save ourselves. God is capable of anything, even bringing a young boy back to life. Joyce Smith asked God to perform a miracle and He answered that prayer according to His will. God gave Joyce her son back, and He also gave her a story to tell. Miracles are bigger than just the people involved, and God can use their stories to impact countless other lives. When God gives us a miracle, He wants us to tell others what He did. Because when we share our miracles with others, it points them to the best miracle that ever was, the miracle that gives us eternal life: the death and Resurrection of Jesus.

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Faith&Friends

LITE STUFF

Eating Healthy With Erin BAKED FALAFEL TIME 35 min MAKES 4 servings SERVE WITH side salad with vinaigrette dressing

1. Drain, rinse and pat dry chickpeas. 2. Preheat oven to 190 C (375 F). Lightly grease baking sheet with olive oil. 3. In food processor, add chickpeas, onion, garlic, parsley, dill, cumin, 15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper, and blend slowly until mixture remains a little chunky. Chickpeas should not be fully blended to add texture. Add baking soda, then blend slowly with flour until mixture holds together. 4. Scoop out mixture and form into 12 small patties. Place on baking sheet. 5. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip and cook another 15 minutes. 6. Add to pitas with your favourite hummus, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and olives. Season with a pinch of dried oregano if desired.

TROPICAL GREEN SMOOTHIE TIME 5 min MAKES 2 servings SERVE WITH granola and yogurt

125 ml (½ cup) sliced cucumber 5 ml (1 tsp) peeled fresh ginger 250 ml (1 cup) frozen pineapple 15 ml (1 tbsp) fresh lime juice 5 ml (1 tsp) honey 250 ml (1 cup) spinach or kale 125 ml (½ cup) water 5 ice cubes

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1. Add ingredients to blender and blend on high for 20 seconds. Lift lid, stir and blend again for another 10 to 15 seconds until you have a smooth consistency. 2. Serve immediately in 2 large glasses.

Recipe photos: Erin Stanley/veganvirgin.ca

500 g (16 oz) chickpeas 30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil 60 ml (¼ cup) diced onions 2 cloves garlic, diced 60 ml (¼ cup) fresh parsley 15 ml (1 tbsp) dried dill 5 ml (1 tsp) ground cumin 30 ml (2 tbsp) lemon juice 1 ml (¼ tsp) salt 1 ml (¼ tsp) black pepper 2 ml (½ tsp) baking soda 60 ml (¼ cup) flour 4 pitas 60 ml (¼ cup) hummus 60 ml (¼ cup) cucumber 60 ml (¼ cup) cherry tomatoes 2 ml (½ tsp) dried oregano (optional)

A Pachyderm’s Problem

DUMBO MOVIE P.8

Trouble at Work

My Brother’s Keeper

HUGGING IT OUT P.10 JAMES & THE ARMY P.13

Faith&Friends I N S P I R AT I O N F O R L I V I N G

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MARCH 2019

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Sudoku Puzzle

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3 × 3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

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HEAVEN’S LOVE THRIFT SHOP by Kevin Frank

Answers on next page.

QUICK QUIZ 1. What is the longest bone in the human body? 2. Which planet is closest to our sun? 3. The Battle of Gettysburg took place during what war?

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Faith&Friends

LITE STUFF

Word Search On the Road Again Z W P R N R H B M Y Y G L A R E S T E F I V O S A I R F R E S H E N E R W N U N A T N H W E E U P B T T A A T S I W D I E I I H L A D E L O T N K R R G V S N R W G S F L S I L S S O A A A N D H G U S H O F G F G B M C N N I O E N I I B H W A U C N O I R T E W L I T N E T R S A P M I U S F A S W R E G L O L O A R Y T K L S S D D E A L R P E L D J C U K R E I Y T E I A Y E L I B O M O T U A V O F T A N O Z S N F D T B Q X T P A N S Q E M M N E T U V A A D K T L R A R O T A I D A R R D Q M E I Y S D H F A N B E L T Q N E J W R S W C O B S R O R R I M U S P E E D L I M I T J S U N R O O F P J S T E U N E V A K C U R T R R N J T P I C K U P B B AIR FRESHENER AUTOMOBILE AVENUE BOULEVARD CARBURETOR CAR WASH DVD ENGINE FANBELT FILTER GASOLINE HIGHWAY

MATS MINIVAN MIRRORS MUFFLER ONE-WAY STREET PARKING LOT PASSING LANE PICKUP POTHOLE RADIATOR RADIO ROUNDABOUT

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SEATBELT SEATS SPEED LIMIT STEERING WHEEL SUNROOF SUV TIRES TRAILER TRANSMISSION TRUCK WINDOWS WINDSHIELD

Quick Quiz Answers: 1. femur; 2. Mercury; 3. American Civil War. 9

4 6

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Faith&Friends

REFASHIONISTA RULES

Flights of Fancy This bird feeder will have you “raven.” Now that spring has sprung, it’s time to welcome back our feathered friends with a do-it-yourself birdfeeder. Step 1 Visit your local Salvation Army thrift store and pick up a Mason jar and a canvas belt with a double D-ring buckle. You will also need a wooden dowel for a perch, a few elastic bands and a large safety pin.

Step 2 Trim the dowel to a length you’re happy with. The dowel will sit along one corner of the jar, and this will be the bottom of the bird feeder. Step 3 Wrap three elastic bands around the dowel and then around the jar. Evenly space the elastic bands along the jar with one on the bottom, the middle and the top of the jar.

Step 4 Wrap the belt around the middle of the jar, buckle it up and then tighten it. Step 5 To create the hanger, pull the end of the belt through the D-ring, create a loop and secure it with a large safety pin. Hang your bird feeder in the yard and watch the birds come.

(left) Denise Corcoran (a.k.a. Thrifty By Design) is an author, upcycler, community builder and workshop facilitator based in North Vancouver. She shares her enthusiasm for crafting and upcycling by facilitating “Crafternoons” throughout Vancouver. She is also a creative expert for The Salvation Army’s thrift stores. Find a thrift store near you at thriftstore.ca.

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