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The War Cry | AUGUST 2015
homes for critical personnel coming
back to the city, like teachers,
firefighters and policemen. "By that
time, many of the other community
recovery agencies were shutting
down, but the Army was still build-
ing houses for many families."
Cynthia is now property manager
for the Army's Center of Hope. "I'm
astounded at how the Army has
been consistent and has never
stopped helping people," she says.
"We still shelter people who were af-
fected, providing social services, util-
ity assistance, food, etc. The Army
has been very flexible and consis-
tent with their dedication to the
people and their changing needs."
Tamaka Golden-Ross has been
a caseworker since 2006. Among
the saddest stories of her client
caseload is that of a middle-aged
man who returned home to find
the bodies of his mother, grand-
mother, two aunts and three cous-
ins. "On top of all that trauma, he
couldn't find a job," Tamaka says.
"Ministering to him is indicative of
thousands we've tried to assist."
Tamaka adds that her coworkers
still come across many who are
separated from family that is
still scattered across the nation,
and many are still dealing with
their grief.
The three frontlines where Ka-
trina caused immense destruction
have fared differently in its wake,
but each area's recovery benefited
from countless Salvation Army
officers, soldiers and volunteers. The
Mississippi Gulf Coast is back to
normal, except for pockets here and
there in Gulfport and Biloxi and sev-
eral empty lots on Beach Boulevard.
The Importance of the
Salvation Army Uniform
R
on and Linda Hall are the chaplains for the New Orleans Citadel
Corps. Ron became sold on the Salvation Army's mission and
ministry while working at the New Orleans Adult Rehabilitation
Center (ARC). Already an ordained minister in another denomination,
Ron soon saw that serving in The Salvation Army could be the ideal way
for Linda and him to have a duel ministry. For Linda, one of the things
that helped her realize her calling was seeing Major Lynda Delaney at the
Astrodome in Houston, Texas, just after Hurricane Katrina struck.
Ron explains, "I was responsible for
getting our 85 men from New Orleans to
Houston. Major Dan Delaney was return-
ing from the Southern Bible Conference
in North Carolina with a small delegation
of our men that went there as well."
Somehow, Major Dan found Major Lynda
and together they drove to the Astrodome.
Linda Hall shares what would impress
her for the rest of her life: "I'll never for-
get seeing Major and Mrs. Delaney, both
in full uniform, walking across that giant
parking lot and into the Astrodome,"
Linda says. "She was in tunic, skirt and
dark hose, and the weather was unbear-
ably hot and sticky! I remember thinking
to myself: Why doesn't she wear some-
thing more confortable? And then I real-
ized why." Immediately, Linda says,
people recognized the Salvation Army
uniform and fl ocked to her. The sight was
overwhelming. "Major and Mrs. Delaney
began loving on those people--people who
didn't know who they were but knew The
Salvation Army!" That image is seared into
Linda's mind, and today she and Ron are
uniformed soldiers and serve as chaplains
at the corps.
"Even today," Ron says, "people here
in New Orleans see us in our uniforms
and wave at us or come up to us to thank
us for something we didn't do but some
Salvation Army offi
cer or soldier did in
the name of Christ during these 10 years
after Katrina."
Disaster Response
Tailored to Meet
Varying Need
A +1O
Chaplains Ron and Linda Hall are
the chaplains for the revitalized New
Orleans Citadel Corps.
Emergency responders in Baton
Rouge hope they never again face a
tsunami of evacuees from New Or-
leans like they did in early Septem-
ber 2005, but if they do, they'll have
lessons learned to draw from. As for
New Orleans, 20 percent of its pre-
Katrina population may never re-
turn. Many damaged houses will
never be removed or renovated
until the legal bottleneck eases.
We thank God that the areas
affected by Katrina have survived,
and even thrived, since the hurri-
cane swept through. Salvation
Army personnel can take a mea-
sure of pride knowing that faith in
one another is well deserved.
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