How a surprise appointment turned into a welcome opportunity to minister to others in Jesus' name

I still recall the day in 2003 when I received a telephone call from Commissioner Israel L. Gaither, then Chief of the Staff at IHQ, telling me I was being appointed to the South America West Territory--as chief secretary! What a surprise!

Having served previously in Mexico, Central America and South America East, I already knew something about the Army's work there, as it has an excellent reputation among the other Latin American territories. Not only was I humbled by the responsibility that was being thrust upon me, but I was also enthused about the opportunity to work in this part of the world.

I live in Santiago, Chile, but my responsibilities extend to Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. The Salvation Army here is committed to our mission. Officers and soldiers are ready to do whatever it takes to get people saved and to help those who find themselves in need. Our work is varied--from schools to clinics, children's homes to homes for the aged. The concept of integrated mission is well defined and well understood by both officers and soldiers, to the extent that we have very few appointments that can be classified as either "social" or "corps." Most have aspects of both. And, more importantly, they are involved in the communities in which they serve. Our officers serve on neighbourhood committees, our soldiers visit their neighbours, our young people are concerned about the youth of their communities who are being swept into gangs, drugs and crime.

The greatest impression I have is that people are proud to be Salvationists. They take seriously their commitment as soldiers and officers. And that is as it should be. I can honestly say that I have become prouder of The Salvation Army since coming here, and count it an honour to wear its uniform.

Overcoming Obstacles

There are challenges, of course. We operate in four countries, each with its own distinct culture. In fact, within each country there are differences from region to region. We have every type of climate and geography on the planet within our territorial boundaries.

I have often said we have all of the "mosts" here--the most southerly corps, the highest corps above sea level, a corps in the middle of the driest desert in the world. We have it all! The length of our territory stretches from the equator to the South Pole. As you can imagine, this makes travel around the territory complicated, especially for congresses, camps and conferences. For one territorial women's ministries camp, the delegates from Ecuador spent five days travelling by bus to get there, and another five days to return home.

We also have several language groups throughout the territory. Spanish is our working language, but we also have areas where Quechua, Aymara and Quichua are spoken. Having been a translator myself for many years, it was a new experience for my words to be translated into these other languages. In Quichua, in order to translate, they need to describe the details of what you are saying, so the translation takes twice as long as the original Spanish.

We have challenges related to instability in some of the countries, where governments come and go and policy changes regularly. Our officers are exposed to violence in many sectors, as our corps and centres are located in the most difficult areas of the cities, and rightly so. Others are working in rural settings, where their day's work might include plowing a farmer's field (with a tractor donated by Canada), vaccinating farm animals and giving advice on greenhouse management.

All in a Day's Work

Our territory is situated along the Andes Mountains, so we are familiar with natural disasters. These include floods, earthquakes and sudden cold in the high areas. Our officers and soldiers are very experienced in disaster response. As in other territories, The Salvation Army is usually the first to arrive and the last to leave. This was never more true than in our response to the devastating earthquake that hit Peru last summer. When the quake hit on August 15, the divisional commander and divisional director of women's ministries were out of the country, attending a conference in the United States. The divisional secretary for program had been promoted to Glory and buried only two days before, so any response was left to his widow, the divisional secretary for business administration. She immediately rallied her troops and went to the site of greatest destruction to assess the needs and begin serving the people. There was no thought of her own personal need at the time, only her devotion to duty. God bless Major Betzabe Pereira de Espinoza!

For the most part, my own days are spent dealing with administrative matters at THQ. Our territorial Cabinet members are all competent in their roles, so my work mainly concerns communicating with International Headquarters on a variety of matters. However, I do also visit Army corps and centres around the territory. Each year, every division receives a visit either from the territorial commander or the chief secretary. In 2007, I visited Peru, Southern Chile and Central Chile. This year I will visit the two divisions in Bolivia, as well as Ecuador and Northern Chile. I have made it a point to visit people and programs, rather than tour buildings. During my visits I have been so blessed by the people of this territory. Every time I see the enthusiastic worship, along with their respect for their culture and history and their zeal for evangelism, I am blessed again.

God has given me a wonderful gift in bringing me to South America West. I only pray that I can be faithful in representing him here through the ministry to which he has called me.

Reprinted from Salvationist, February 2008