Essence
EMERGENCY SERVICES
The Salvation Army in Malawi
Responds to Devastating Floods
T
he Salvation Army is responding after severe
floods caused devastation in Malawi. More
than 300 people are reported to be dead or
missing, and Colonel Moses Wandulu (Territo-
rial Commander, Malawi) reports that houses,
livestock, food and crops have been swept away, leaving
survivors with nothing. More than 100,000 people were
left homeless, with an estimated 300,000 affected.
The Salvation Army is re-
sponding to the needs of vulnera-
ble families in five communities,
working in coordination with the
government and other agencies
to ensure that the most urgent
needs are met and that any re-
sponse is carried out in the most
efficient way possible. Distribu-
tions are being planned to deliver
items such as maize, peas and
beans to help support the families'
requirements for food, along with
mosquito nets to protect against
the threat of malaria, and blankets
to help people cope with the cold.
The Salvation Army's Canada
and Bermuda Territory has al-
ready provided almost $20,000 to
provide food, bedding and mos-
quito nets to 240 people in Chik-
wawa, but more funds are ur-
gently needed.
Colonel Wandulu says that
The Salvation Army in Malawi has
been badly affected by the flood-
ing, with some halls and quarters
left unusable. Captains Amos and
Alice Zikatiwindu and their family
at Osiyana Corps (church) only
survived by taking refuge up a
tree for three days and nights.
Colonel Wandulu and the emer-
gency team have visited the
captains, provided food and
clothing and supported the
family in prayer.
-- IHQ, Jan. 29, 2015
The War Cry | MARCH 2015
34
O
ver a hundred million Bibles are sold or given
away every year. Yet few people actually read
the Bible. In fact, only one in five Americans say
they read it on a regular basis.
Major Ed Forster was a Salva-
tion Army corps officer in York,
Pennsylvania, when he and his
family attended the Army's an-
nual camp meeting. During the re-
ligious service, the Reverend Billy
Graham revealed that he read five
Psalms and one chapter of the
Book of Proverbs every day! For-
ster thought to himself, if it's good
to read five Psalms and one chap-
ter of Proverbs each day, how
much better might it be for me
to write out five Psalms and one
chapter of the Proverbs each day?
By the time he finished writing
out the Psalms and Proverbs, he
had already decided to continue
until he completed the entire
Bible, all sixty-six books, one
chapter at a time. So he turned to
the beginning and started at Gen-
esis 1. He kept his finished pages
in large binders. The eventual four
volumes (three binders of the Old
Testament and one of the New
Testament) comprise more than a
foot and a half in width.
The project began in York and
concluded in Pittsburgh; it took
three and a half years to com-
plete. According to Forster,
"There was never, ever a day over
the course of the nearly four-year
project when I didn't want to
write out the Scriptures. I was
hungry to do it each day, and I
never skipped a day. As a passage
surprised me, I would place an as-
terisk next to that verse. As a re-
sult, the whole document is pep-
pered with marks that have
provided me with a lifetime of fur-
ther Scriptural food for thought."
Forster says it changed his
perspective on the Bible and that
he now views the Bible as an
integrated whole. His lengthy
endeavor not only produced a
unique copy of the Bible in his
own handwriting, but also wrote
much of it on "the tablet of [his]
heart" (Proverbs 7:3).
-- Bob Hostetler
THE SPIRIT ALIVE
The Man Who Wrote the Bible
Copyright �2015 by Guideposts.org, reproduced with permission. Photo by Tim Yee.