When the Army came to town
When the Army came to town
16 July 2018
The Salvation Army Mobile Mission band attracted many onlookers in a street performance during the NSW Central West visit earlier this month.
“Salvation Army Band brings joy to Gilgandra Hymnfest”, read the headline in the Central West NSW town's weekly newspaper, a day after Salvo musicians and supporters departed for Dubbo to continue their 10-day regional visit.
The generous media coverage continued when a television camera captured the action during the Mobile Mission's program at Dubbo's main street rotunda, the tour continuing an 18-year tradition of Salvo musicians taking the Gospel message in word, music and song to many parts of Australia.
Salvation Army Rural Chaplains Rusty and Di Lawson receive drought relief donations from mobile mission team members.
At Gilgandra, close to 300 people turned out for the mission-led Sunday morning praise and worship service. This number was boosted when the local churches opted to forgo their own meetings for a combined gathering in the shire hall.
This was an answer to prayer shared by one local identity who confided having prayed for many months that the Holy Spirit would bring about unity among Gilgandra's churches.
“The Holy Spirit moved in a very real way at this service,” was how Wayne Koivu, one member of the mission leadership team put it. “Major Ray Proud delivered a challenging address and the response that followed his address certainly made all of our efforts worthwhile.”
Another mission member reported meeting a local resident and sharing prayer for issues involving each of their families. Other instances of blessings given and received were shared as the result of visits to rest homes, street and indoor performances and Sunday afternoon hymnfests.
At one of the hymnfests one lady (not a regular church-goer), confided that something made her attend after receiving a flyer about the event. She shed tears as well known and popular church hymns were sung.
The Salvation Army Mobile Mission songsters participated in a program during the NSW Central West tour.
With the state's Central West in the grip of drought, prayer was offered during the visit and action was also taken when the mission handed a sizeable donation to The Salvation Army's Dubbo-based Rural Chaplains Majors Rusty and Di Lawson to be spent on drought relief.
Struggling farming families in town paused to listen and watch band and timbrel recitals, some voicing their appreciation for the brief time they could take their minds off home issues.
Local artists joined with mission groups at some of the performances, including Gilgandra's Coo-ee Choir, named in recognition of the town's coo-ee call when locals marched on a recruitment drive to Sydney for World War One.
While gathered around a caravan park campfire at the start of the campaign, the Mobile Mission leadership urged the team members to follow the example of Jesus by offering encouragement to the locals who are experiencing much personal hardship brought on by many months of no rain.
Feedback during and after the campaign indicated a successful sowing of seed for the Lord to water in his time. Despite the busy program, and some members feeling exhausted at the end, there was a unanimous feeling that God had used the mission trip to positively touch and bless centres visited as well as each other.
Kevin Elsley is a soldier of the Lismore Corps in Northern NSW, and a member of the Mobile Mission team.
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