Bob Myers III, is better known in his family as “Bobby.” Bobby was just a teen when he climbed into a Salvation Army canteen and tagged along with his father, Bob Myers Jr. Together they would answer calls for help when natural and man–made disasters struck the community. “I was always around the canteen,” Bobby says. “It was part of our family’s life. It was something I always had a passion for.”
For the first 17 years of Gloria Carney’s life, her father’s sobriety remained a distant dream. She literally described him as a “raging alcoholic.” “He was sometimes a very functioning drunk, but toward the end, he was a very broken down drunk, and he couldn’t get sober to save his life,” Gloria says.
When LaTanya Carter ran away from her Hillside, N.J., home at age 13, she had no idea how rocky the road ahead would be. As a juvenile runaway, she was in and out of youth houses 11 times. At 16, she embarked on a 16–year run as an exotic dancer in New Jersey.
Most young men first learn about woodworking in their high school wood shop class, but Captain Darell Houseton, a pastor in The Salvation Army, discovered a different path. “My high school didn’t offer anything close to wood shop,” says Houseton, who went to Irvington High School in Irvington, N.J., before his days as an officer.
What makes the Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation (ARC) program so successful? If you ask Don Coombs, director of program development for the Salvation Army’s ARC Command that question, he says the answer is rooted in Scripture.
COVID-19 has done a number on the small community of Barre, Vt. Lieutenant Christopher West said that before COVID-19 struck, the corps helped 200 to 225 people a week. That number is now more than 1,500 a week. “The need has gone through the roof and the community has definitely come together and helped us collect food,” West said.
The way Joe Bedard tells it, he was in the woods several years ago when a vision of Jesus appeared in his mind. “What am I to do?” Bedard asked. “The answer came back, ‘Help children,’” Bedard said. “But how?” he asked. “’People will come into your life,’” said the voice to Bedard. Bedard soon got involved in book drives, a commitment that continued to grow.
Amanda Strandburg knows what it’s like to see Christmas approaching, but have nothing under the tree. You might say “The Ghost of Christmas Past” visited her every holiday season. Today, as the 4th runner–up in the Mrs. Pennsylvania International Pageant earlier this year, Strandburg is determined to redefine her present and future.
COVID-19 has delayed the public’s enjoyment of the newly renovated gym at the Allentown, Pa., Citadel Corps. Nonetheless, it looks great, thanks to a $75,000 state grant. Major Ismael Correa, the corps officer in Allentown, said the gym will be used right now to sort and pack Christmas gifts to be distributed in December. However, he has high hopes for the future as the gym can provide a safe space for the area’s impoverished youth.
Mayor Andrew Hosmer has put together a task force to deal with homelessness in Laconia, N.H. He’s also found Major Mike Davis, the local Salvation Army corps officer, who is uniquely qualified to serve on that force.
The Salvation Army Mission Statement
The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.
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