The Angel Adjutant of "Twice Born Men"Carpenter, Minnie Lindsay Rowell
Religion
The Angel Adjutant of "Twice Born Men"
Carpenter, Minnie Lindsay Rowell
Lee, Kate; Salvation Army
The Army is by no means 'a happy hunting ground' for faddists or
sentimentalists who think religious service consists in 'sailing round'
singing songs, and whispering sweet nothings or shouting declarations. It
is an Army out to fight another army; to wrestle; to conquer; to take
prisoners, and to establish and govern territories. The Salvation fight
demands the best a man and woman can give of heart and mind, of sacrifice
and service. But, as one exuberant Salvationist has expressed, 'There's
stacks of fun in The Army!' There are excitement, adventure, tragedy, and
comedy, joy and sorrow, the like of which is found in few, if any other
callings. Men and women who have gone out of its ranks or its commands,
weary of the endless sacrifice and strain its service entails, and who
are to-day well placed and full of the good things of this life, still
sigh at the remembrance of the days of their warfare, and declare that
the joy of a Salvation Army officer's life is without compare in
spiritual work.
The spirit of comradeship which exists between superior and junior
officers is a real and beautiful thing. While Kate Lee as a girl captain
was wrestling with the problems of her first corps in the villages of
England, the writer of her memoir, then also a girl captain, was leading
a village corps in her native Australian mountains. Since Kate cannot
tell of the kindness of her Divisional Commanders, I may, for the sake of
illustration, be permitted to mention my own experience in this relation,
incidentally also showing The Army spirit in operation at the other end
of the world from The Army hub.
At that time I was stationed at a mining township eighty miles from a
railway. The distances between towns in that part of Australia being so
great, my Divisional Commander, Major Jonah Evans, now retired, was able
to visit my corps only once during my term of nine months there, but he
kept in constant touch with his young officers by correspondence. Next to
my mother's weekly letter, I looked forward to one from my Divisional
Commander. In my weekly dispatch I gave him a full account of everything
that concerned my corps, which he was patient enough to read and to reply
to carefully, giving such advice as he thought would help me in my work.
Also, occasionally, a letter would arrive from his late sweet wife, who,
as Captain Helen Morrell, had seen remarkable revivals amongst the Welsh
miners. Passing on to city corps, where conditions were entirely
different and responsibilities pressed heavily, Major William Hunter, now
in Heaven, was my true friend as well as an able leader. The help and
direction which such experienced officers are able to give to young men
and women who are full of earnestness and desire to reach and bless the
souls of the people, minimize the weight of responsibility sometimes
thrown upon young shoulders.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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