THE WAR CRY/MARCH 17, 2012
15
HOW I MET THE ARMY
Karen L. Walton lives in Hartford, CT.
wanted more; I just couldn't
get enough. Going to Bible
study meant homework, so
now I found myself at home
doing homework instead of
watching television, something
I lived for. On Fridays the
women of New Hope got
together for women's min-
istries, and once again I found
myself wanting to go and be
part of their lives. They opened
their hearts to me without question; they made me
feel welcome. I started feeling good about myself
and found some self�respect. I liked the person I
saw in the mirror everyday. I still have a lot of bar-
riers to overcome and a lot of growing to do, but I
know in my heart today anything is possible when
the Lord is in my corner.
Lieutenant Pat said to get a sponsor to talk to
and trust. At first I thought she must be crazy, no
way am I going to tell someone all the bad things
I had done. Well, I believe the Lord moved me
again because I walked into church one day, went
up to a woman named Denise and asked her to be
my sponsor. She accepted on the spot and relief
washed over me.
Denise and I started working on my spiritual
inventory and to my surprise, it wasn't as bad as it
sounded. But it's work that never gets done
because everyday I must humble myself, and ask
the Lord for forgiveness, something I'm no longer
afraid to do. Today no matter where I go my Bible
is with me and I walk with the Lord in my heart. I
am ever so grateful for The Salvation Army and
the women of New Hope.
Homework
Bible Study Is
I
am a first generation Salvationist and I
live in Hartford, Connecticut. My life has been a
mess from as far back as I can remember, filled with
drugs, sex and everything that is wrong. As many
times as I tried I could not put the drinking and
drugs down. Satan had a hold on me and I thought
this was what life was about. I never had money and I
was always hungry. Someone told me that The Salva-
tion Army served lunch at noon on Sundays. At first
I would show up at exactly noon, then as time passed
I started coming earlier and earlier because a woman
by the name of Lieutenant Pat Wood was talking to a
crowd of people and what she was saying started to
make sense to me. She was talking about me and my
life.
Couldn't Get Enough
I found out they had a recovery celebration on
Wednesday nights, so I started to attend and before I
knew it I was having one sober day after another.
When I felt weak I opened the Bible instead of running
to the drug dealer and to my surprise this worked for
me. After years of drinking and drugging the Lord
was speaking to me and taking these burdens away
from me. Lieutenant Wood held Bible study on Tues-
day nights and of course I couldn't stay away. I
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