Life Finds A Way

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For this special Congress edition of War Cry, we asked every corps officer in the territory to send a photo that sums up a highlight of corps life over the past year. The diversity of photos tells a joyful story. Whether it’s picking up rubbish on the beach, celebrating junior soldiers or sharing a community meal, our local corps are teeming with life, innovation and spirit every day.

‘Life always finds a way’, observed a fire fighter in a documentary about 9/11, who was part of the massive clean-up effort after the New York terror attacks. One day, among the acres of rubble, the workers spotted what looked like a sapling, it was growing through the rubble, out of a street tree that had been decimated by the falling towers. The upper branches had snapped off, the tree burnt and its roots broken. But, incredibly, it had started sprouting new leaves. The tree was taken away and replanted. New roots took hold and its branches grew back—some visible scarring the only sign of its traumatic past. In 2010, the tree was replanted in the 9/11 Memorial Plaza. It has become known as the ‘survivor tree’.

Isn’t creation amazing? Our Creator is the renewer of all life. That is why we call ourselves Te Ope Whakaora, the Army that Brings Life. The work of salvation heals scars and nurtures new growth. May this year’s Congress give you life, abundance and water for your soul—so you can go back to your corps and continue to do what you do everyday: bring new life to others.

Ingrid Barratt
Editor

Bible Verse

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

2 Koriniti 5:17
Nā ki te mea kei roto i a te Karaiti tētahi, he mahinga hou ia: kua pahemo ngā mea tawhito, nā kua hou ngā mea katoa!