Welcome meeting for the new cadets in Riga

Sunday, January 15, the welcome meeting for the new Latvian cadets was held in Riga. Here are some pictures from the event.

 The two new cadets in the center of the platform

 The Training School worship group was leading the congregation in worship

 The second year cadets follow was is happening with interest

 Vineta´s testimony

 Artur´s testimony

 Riga Staff Songsters were singing

 

And of course flowers after the meeting

Here you can see more pictures from the meeting

Words of William Booth 1

God´s promises are sure if you will only believe

"A few days before his promotion to Glory, the Founder was helped
from his bed to a chair. His speech was failing. Bramwell, daughter
Lucy and a nurse were giving close attention, ready to meet his every
need.
‘Bramwell – the promises,’ he whispered. ‘The promises.’ Then
someone prompted him by adding ‘of God’. That was the thought in
the old man’s mind; and slowly, with great effort, he went on: ‘The
promises – of God – are sure – are sure – if you will only believe.’
Almost every word was punctuated with a movement of the hand.
That immortal truth wasWilliam Booth’s last statement to the
world. He had always depended on God. He had proved that His
promises never failed. And he knew that God expected him to remain
true to all his promises.
The General had demanded much of his followers. The promises
his officers had made to him often alarmed more mercenary-minded
Christians, but he had never asked for more than he would give
himself."

Early Sunday morning in Riga, January 15

Sunday morning again! I am slowly getting used to write 2012 instead of 2011. Yesterday the first snow came to Riga. Almost two months late.

This week has been very much about the School for Officers Training (SFOT).
- Monday the second year cadets started their studies in the new facilities in Agenskalns, Riga.
- Wednesday was the internal welcome meeting for the new first year cadets.
- Friday we had the teaching for the first second year cadets while the Becketts were drilling the two first year cadets for the welcome meeting on Sunday.

And today is Sunday and the welcome meeting. Everything is prepared. The printed programs with our greeting to the new cadets and the prayer cards so everybody remember to pray for the two new cadets (See right).

Here is our greeting to the cadets:
"Dear Cadets
We welcome you as cadets in the Salvation Army in Latvia.
We are thankful to God for calling you and thankful to you for being obedient to His calling.
Above the entrance to the Hall where we are celebrating your entering training there is a big flag with the text “Latvia for Christ”. That is our mission. Our mission is to tell people in Latvia they need Christ. Your name is “Proclaimers of the Resurrection” and you are called to tell people about the possibility to experience  resurrection in their lives.
That is what happens when a person receive Christ. A new life starts. What was dead is made alive.
So many people in Latvia do not know about resurrection life. They do not know that there is forgiveness and a new hope. They do not know about the love of Jesus or the power of the Holy Spirit.
That is why God is calling “Proclaimers of the Resurrection” today. We pray that your name will be what you are.
We can assure you that our prayers will follow you during your training and in your ministry.
“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to give them” (Josh 1:6)
Rut and Peter Baronowsky, Regional Commanders Latvia"

Directly after the welcome meeting Ruth is leaving for Prag for a meeting with the group preparing the European Congress in Prague in October. I think that will be the first European Congress ever. Are you coming?

But before that I wish you a blessed coming week
Peter Baronowsky

Always the whole truth

From Marie Willermark´s blog. The Swedish TC explaining the new Comminication platform:

It is exciting when a new ad campaign launch garners the desired attention. Indifference is the worst that can possibly happen when there’s something truly important to say. When the Salvation Army in Sweden today launched its new profile targeting the general public I received many and differing reactions.

In addition to a revamped and more attractive SA red shield, which has been our most visible symbol since the late1980s, we also added the slogan "Faith is only half the story."

When such an expression suddenly lands in front of our eyes we might easily think about it as being, either, or? "What, the Salvation Army deals with half-truths?"

When we have something to say it is not the only message that matters, but to whom we say it. This slogan is not an attempt to describe why God has raised up The Salvation Army and to define our complete identity. We have indomitable pride in God's whole truth about His perfect salvation from sin and His holy will to keep us holy.

An effective slogan ought not be lengthy or seek to provide a full explanation. For us its purpose is to quickly reach people who have little or no knowledge of the Salvation Army. It serves as an appetizer, a teaser. Precisely, as has already happened, it will raise questions about the larger picture. People whom we reach through our advertising campaigns and fundraising letters often assume that social work is ‘all there is’. We want to garner reflections that allow us to clarify that faith is the substance; the whole of our reality. But we do not attempt to say everything at once.

When one uses a short expression,eg., “Faith is only half the story”, it's just an expression, an entrance leading to something larger. It has never been our intent or contention that there must be a literal expression of our theology.

When we formulate ourselves in this way, I feel a strong association with Jesus' way of communicating. He says for instance that ‘if the eye or hand offend us we'll pull it out, cut it off’.(Matthew 5:29-30) - but we don’t take the words literally!

When Jesus spoke in parables and images, it was often with exaggeration and unexpected twists to gain attention and attract questions that led to seeking the deeper truth.

When we commit ourselves to communicate with the general public we can never with words alone present the whole truth. It occurs only in the encounter between a seeking people and a living God.There is no public relations campaign in the world that can replace the live interaction between people. The whole truth about God's love and goodness is expressedcompletely through social work as well as in our worship services (SA meetings)

Our new way of communicating can neither improve nor diminish the good works of Christian discipleship that is ongoing every day in our (SA) businesses – programmes and projects. What we want to achieve through public relations is to ensure that the Salvation Army does not remain a closely guarded secret for a large proportion of the Swedish population.

Posted on January 11, 2012
Commissioner Marie Willermark

Headlines week 2

Israeli and US troops gear up for major missile defense drill after Iran maneuvers
Washington Post - "The Israeli military is gearing up together with U.S. forces for a major missile defense exercise, the Israeli military announced Thursday, as tension between Iran and the international community escalates.
The drill is called “Austere Challenge 12” and is designed to improve defense systems and cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli forces. It follows a 10-day Iranian naval exercise near the strategic Strait of Hormuz."

Video Looks at Church Planting in Muslim World
Charisma News - "This video is focusing on the Tama people of Chad. Green says, "They're doing church planting there among a people group of about 200,000 people. There is no church and no known believers there."
Chad isn't known for its stability. "Chad is considered one of the most unstable countries in the world, second only to Somalia. There was a civil war several years ago. It's stabilized somewhat, but there is a large number of refugees," says Green.
Pioneers church planters have a huge task ahead of them. "These people are exclusively Muslim," says Green. "That is their identity. It's very closely tied to their ethnic identity. And the possibility of changing religious identity is very foreign to them."

The cost of freedom

Marie Willermark (TC Sweden) - "Ukrainian example of the Freedom Prize; reads Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter (Daily News) noting that Olexander Tymoshenko seeks political asylum in the Czech Republic. He is the husband of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko (famous for her braids). Her circumstances are described as though, "living in a torture cell."

Why does this happen in a free Ukraine? One thing that struck me during the five years I lived there was the standard for right and wrong and also what constituted truth or falsehoods. My reasoning led me to believe that this approach was fostered or that it was an unplanned result of the Soviet state ideology. All goals were measurable and all necessary resources were allocated in order to reach the goals."

Prophetic Word for 2012: Revival Begins With You

Jennifer LeClaire in Prophetic insight - "While I was praying over 2012, I received impressions about many things—some warnings and some promises. But what burned most on my heart to share with the masses wasn’t a list of predictions or a prophetic directive. What burned most on my heart to share are four simple words: Revival begins with you.
We yearn to see signs, wonders and miracles manifest today as they did in the book of Acts, don’t we? But are we willing to pay the price the early church paid? Are we willing to die to self? Are we willing to relinquish control to the Holy Spirit so He can move like He wants to move? Are we willing to repent for the character flaws that hold us back? Are we willing to walk in love and unity with true believers who don’t believe exactly the same as we do? Are we willing to war against the spirit of compromise that is raging against the church in this age? Revival begins with you."

Proclaimers of the resurrection

 

The new cadets, Proclaimers of the Resurrection, started their training Wednesday. Here you can see them together with the second year cadets and the Training School staff.

The official welcome meeting will be on Sunday, January 15, at Riga 1 Corps.

The cost of freedom

From Marie Willermark´s blog: 

Ukrainian example of the Freedom Prize; reads Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter (Daily News) noting that Olexander Tymoshenko seeks political asylum in the Czech Republic. He is the husband of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko (famous for her braids). Her circumstances are described as though, "living in a torture cell."

 

Why does this happen in a free Ukraine? One thing that struck me during the five years I lived there was the standard for right and wrong and also what constituted truth or falsehoods. My reasoning led me to believe that this approach was fostered or that it was an unplanned result of the Soviet state ideology. All goals were measurable and all necessary resources were allocated in order to reach the goals.

 

What was deemed ‘right and true’ were those facts and associated actions that could be authenticated with a officially stamped documents. Even if all concerned were witnesses to a different and more plausible and honest reality, all worked only in accordance with the official version. A double standard that became a common everyday occurrence, and one that all lived their unreflective lives in.

 

When a person who grew up in that community is saved, comes to a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, it means not only a freedom from one’s own sins, but also as a colleague in Moscow told me, she also needed to be saved and freed from the identity as a ‘Soviet person’.

 

Consequently, it is not surprising for Ukrainians that those currently in power determine the legal framework of what constitutes official justice and truth. There are not many who believe that a president with a shady gangster background, credentials from diploma mills has become the country's leader on (his) democratic merits. He who holds the purse also pulls the strings.

 

Can we Swedes simply shake our collective heads and think, "poor them". Comforting that it happens far away in Eastern Europe. How far away is it really? There are more sophisticated means by which to manipulate freedom. If we do not realize and recognize the treasures we hold dear, we will lose them before anyone even notices it.