May 25, 2013

Who am I in Christ?  I am….
healed by his wounds
(1 Peter 2:24)

He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross,
so that we might die to sins
and live for righteousness;
by his wounds you have been healed.

May 24, 2013

Who am I in Christ?  I …. (Ephesians 5:1)

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children

Here’s where the Disciples are heading this summer:

Cadet Sarah Braye – Meadowlands – Hamilton, ON

Cadets Indira Albert & Juan Chirinos (Allison & Samuel) – Cedarbrae – Scarborough, ON

Cadet Shawna Goulding – Gander, NL

Cadets Aejin Jeong & Dae-Gun Kim – Cariboo Hill Temple – Burnaby, BC

Cadet Ryan MacDonald – Wiseman Centre, St. John’s West, New Hope Centre – St. John’s, NL

Cadets Crystal & Norm Porter – Comox Community Church – Courtenay, BC

Cadets Laurie & Devin Reid (Chelsey & Erika) – Glenmore Temple – Calgary, AB

Cadets Bhreagh & Daniel Rowe – Cologne, Germany and Chatham-Kent, ON

Cadets Cathy & Randy Shears – Fort McMurray, AB

Cadets Kim & Darryl Burry (Cole, Sydney, Kenya & Peyton) – Comox Valley Community Church, Courtenay, BC – Corps Officers

Cadets Colleen & Justin Gleadall (Malakai & Payton) – Rainbow County Church, Parry Sound, ON – Corps Officers and Community Ministries Officer

Cadets Ruth & Peter Hickman (Levi & Vivian) – High Point Community Church, Victoria, BC – Corps Officers

Cadets Laura & David Hickman – Suncoast Citadel, Goderich, ON – Corps Officers

Cadets Anne & Randy Holden – New-Wes Valley, Wesleyville, NL – Corps Officers

Cadets Tina & Joshua Howard (Abigail & Julian) – Rideau Heights Community Church, Kingston, ON – Corps Officers

Cadets Laurie & Dusty Sauder (Elaina & Ayrton) – Drumheller Community Church, Drumheller, AB – Corps Officers and Community Ministries Officer

Cadets Ricaurte Velasquez & Vilma Ramos (Bryan & Cristian) – Associate Corps Officers – Spanish Ministries – Montreal Citadel and Community Ministries Officers – Montreal – South Shore

Cadets Peck-Ee Wong & Leonard Heng (Philemon & Phoebe) – Assistant Corps Officers – Agincourt Community Church – ON

Congratulations to the Cadets (soon to be Lieutenants) and to the Corps and communities that will be blessed to be working with them!

Cadets Colleen & Justin Gleadall (Proclaimers of the Resurrection session) were assigned to Saskatoon, SK for their Winter Assignment. They share their experience with us.

Little did we know when being told by the Field Department at CFOT that we would be spending our winter assignment in Saskatoon that we would have such an adventure waiting for us.  An adventure that began with what we are told was a “typical prairie” drive in the winter from Winnipeg to Regina that in reality was like driving in a snow globe.  After a night in Regina we finally made our way to Saskatoon where we were instantly thrown into ministry within the city.  Travelling around to try to take in all that The Salvation Army in Saskatoon had going on from corps programming, to hamper packing, to a high school breakfast program and everything in between.  We were blessed to have been under the leadership of Majors Don Law, Dorothy Munday, Nancy Virtue, and Malba & David Holliday.  A group of officers with a variety of backgrounds, skill sets and positions within the city who taught us the ins and outs of running a corps, major centre and even the power of art in our lives.  An experience that was one of a kind, with much learning done in practical and experiential levels.  However when thinking back what sticks out most to us is the lessons learned on the importance of balance.  Balance in ministry; never taking too much on ourselves, empowering those who God has called to share ministry with us. Helping others to see the skills they possess and finding opportunities where those skills can be maximized for the advancement of God’s kingdom.  Just as importantly we were reminded of the need to find balance in our lives.  Making sure to look after ourselves in order to be most effective in the ministry that God has called us to.   Leaving work at work as much as possible, finding those pockets of time to be with God, and in taking time for family.  Realizing that the calling we have is not only as officers in The Salvation Army but as parents and spouses.  All of these lessons seemed to become more real as we were faced with the reality of being hours away with a very ill child, our youngest son Payton, at home.  We needed to choose between the roles of cadet and parent.  It was in making the decision that we thought was best, to come home early, that we saw the amazing spirit, support and compassion of the people of Saskatoon (as well as the staff of CFOT).  Putting the words that had been shared with us throughout our training at CFOT and in the field into practice in supporting us in this decision and even teaching us one final lesson.  That in ministry, as in life, unexpected things occur so it is good to plan ahead because you never know what might happen from Sunday to Sunday.  We were blessed to have gone to Saskatoon because while it was only for a few days they were days that will continue to shape our ministry for years to come.

Good-bye my friend coffee I will miss you in the morning, I always look forward to our times together, but alas I must remember what it means to deny myself. Good-bye my friend chocolate we have shared some wonderful times together, especially you Lindor, sometimes you help me get through the day, but alas I must sacrifice something or I may grow complacent in my solidarity with those who have never tasted chocolate, and with my LORD and Saviour who sacrificed so very much for me. Don’t cry for me my dear friends coffee and chocolate for we shall be together once again on the other side of Easter, but for now we must part ways, please do not take this personally it is nothing that you said or did; I just must continue to develop my character and not become to attached to the pleasures of this world. I’m sorry to say but my denying you are a means to an end for now, as the $5.00 I spend on each of you a week will go towards Partners In Mission. Till we meet again happy roasting and Hershey’s kisses.

What will you deny yourself?

Have you given Lent any thought?

Take up thy cross and follow me,

I hear the blessed Saviour call;

How can I make a lesser sacrifice

When Jesus gave his all?

(SASB 978 Chorus)

Cadets Daniel & Bhreagh Rowe (Disciples of the Cross session) were assigned to Comox, BC for their Winter Assignment. They share their experience with us.

Finding out where we were going for our Winter Assignment was both joyful and terrifying at the same time. I remember looking at Bhreagh and saying, “Did they say that correctly?” Yes, I did hear it correctly. After finishing our first semester at the College for Officer Training, Bhreagh and myself had the amazing opportunity to go to the Comox Valley Community Church and Ministries for our Winter Assignment. After living in Victoria, British Columbia for two years, I had no idea what to expect. We were very excited when we arrived to a smiling fellow Cadet, Darryl Burry who would be, with his wife Kim, our Field Supervisors.

We experienced opportunities to minister to seniors through the Community Care Ministries, visiting and getting a glimpse into Comox’s three Salvation Army Thrift Stores, getting the “low down” on Christmas Kettles, and helping people through the Christmas Hamper Program. Both of us also shared the Word of the Lord the two Sundays we were there. However, we did miss Winnipeg, but a part of Winnipeg came with us because we had snow in Comox the whole time we were there! It really did look like Christmas.

We would like to say a special thank you to Cadets Darryl and Kim Burry for being amazing and supportive Field Supervisors and a big thank you to the staff and volunteers of the Comox Valley Ministries. Our prayer is that you will continue to serve the Lord in the ways you have been doing, share our mission by living it out in the community and proclaim the Lord`s favour to every last human being by granting them the dignity that comes from Jesus Christ.

Meanwhile there was a lovely couple who was unable to have any more children and were waiting for many years to adopt a child. With only seven months away from  being over the age to adopt, they received a phone call that a baby boy was awaiting their care in Deer Lake. They quickly rushed to the town to pick up their new son.

That premature baby named Justin soon became Norman John Chesley Porter, the one and same person tell this story!  I was in God’s hands from the day when I was born; God knew his plans for my life, God knew where I belonged. As I look back at my childhood, I remember a mom and dad who loved me unconditionally, a grandmother who inspired me, and a family who embraced me. It was all that a child could dream of and ask for. This is when I came to the realization of how powerful God really is! As I grew up I heard many stories of not-so-fortunate adoptions, from children remaining in foster care all their lives, to children being adopted on to experience abuse and to be unloved. I thank God each day for my family. They are the ones who wiped my tears, mended my wounds and showed me God’s love.

Even through having all of this I knew there was still something missing in my life, still a question of who my birth parents were and why they decided to release me for adoption.  When I was 21 years old, my wife Crystal and I were heading out to do some shopping in Corner Brook, NL (my birth place). As we walked through Walmart I had an overwhelming feeling of wonder and curiosity. I wondered if any of the people I was passing could possibly be my parents. I wanted to know.  The next day I decided to search the channels available through public registries. The search to locate my birth parents led to having an original birth certificate with my birth name on it. Days later, after several attempts to make contact with my birth mother, my phone rang. With great uncertainty I answered and to my surprise a man with a very nervous tone assured me that I had indeed found my birth mother.  My mom – whose name is Jackie – and I, with many mixed emotions, talked for five hours.  I learned so much about my biological family. Since then I have gained a whole new family to add to the one I have! How blessed I felt.  Since then I have been blessed to have them as a part of life but I have also realized that if I was not adopted I may not have known The Salvation Army or the sense of God’s call on my life to be a Salvation Army Officer.

My story includes an interesting situation that, to me, is a demonstration of how God worked in my adoption process. When I found my biological mom she asked me why my name had gotten changed. The answer was simple. There were people in the life of my adoptive-parents who made the adoption possible. Therefore I was named Norman John Chesley. My birth mother, in tears, told me that her mom had a brother named John Chesley who died at the age of 21, (which was my age when I found them). She shared that her father has a brother named Norman. This was not a coincidence but a God given moment!

This experience of mine brought me to the scripture in Ephesians 1:4-5 (NLT) which provides some meaningful lessons.

^“4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. ⁵ God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”

God takes great pleasure in adopting us, through Christ, to be his children. He wanted to do it. My parents wanted a baby boy and God placed me in their care not by chance but I believe by divine intervention. Life has had its ups and downs for me and I know for everyone, but even in those ups and downs it was still a pleasure to be adopted and it was a pleasure for them to adopt me. No matter what life throws at us God still takes pleasure in our adoption.

Proverbs 3:5-6 sums up my life’s motto, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.”

Cadet Norman Porter, along with his lovely wife Crystal, is a part of the Disciples of the Cross session.  He has brought the sounds of Newfoundland with him to training college, including his accordian! 

Being a part of Christmas in The Salvation Army with Parry Sound’s Rainbow Community Church provided us with the opportunity to witness a community reaching out in love. Although The Salvation Army is the avenue through which many in the community will reach out, it was evident that without the support of the community Christmas for The Salvation Army in Parry Sound would be very different.

With the help of the local radio station an annual radio-thon is hosted in support of The Salvation Army’s Christmas campaign. Not only does this radio-thon raise funds for The Salvation Army in Parry Sound, but it also provides an avenue through which the community becomes aware of all the services that The Army offers.

With the help of the newspaper families are adopted and blessed with toy hampers that have been specially compiled based on that family’s anonymous profile.

With the help of the Rotary Club food hampers are provided to families in need. Although The Salvation Army finds the people who will be the recipients of the food hampers, the Rotary Club takes care of the rest; from packing the hampers to delivering the hampers. A short 30 minutes of packing hampers with the Rotary Club one morning demonstrated how “many hands” really do “make light work.”

Without the support and generosity of the community the shelves of the food bank would be a lot more bare, the toy hampers would have taken a lot longer to pack and organize, and Christmas as it unfolded would have been a completely different picture. It was a rewarding experience to witness how the community came together to truly reach out in love to their neighbours.

In addition to the community reaching out through The Salvation Army, we were also afforded the opportunity to witness The Salvation Army’s street ministry team reach out and give back to the community. Each Friday evening many in the community know they will find The Salvation Army’s motor home parked on one of the main streets; they also know that here they will not only find a hot dog and hot drink but also the friendly faces and love of the ministry team.

Our winter assignment afforded us with a variety of learning opportunities and experiences. Above all else the greatest lesson was the emphasis placed on relationships, networking, and the importance of knowing your community. The Salvation Army does not need to be an island, operating within but separate from its community. Instead what we learned in Parry Sound was the importance of building those bridges within the community so that The Salvation Army can most effectively do the work that God has trusted them to do. It was a privilege to partner with Captains Peter and Lee-Ann van Duinen and the many others in their ministry unit for a short 10 days to learn and experience authentic ministry in Parry Sound. We are confident that we have built many friendships that we will cherish as we move forward in ministry.