LT. RICHARD Mahida, USA Eastern Territory

I was born and raised in Mumbai, India. My first encounter with The Salvation Army was as a tiny baby, carried into the Salvation Army building in the arms of my loving parents. I am a third-generation soldier, and upon commissioning, I will be a third-generation officer. 

For years, I struggled to find my life’s purpose. I wanted to know if I had been called to serve God as an officer. I repeatedly sought answers, prayed and pleaded with God to understand His plan for my life. 

As I prepared for bed one night in May 2020, I received a notification on the Bible app that read: “Are you going to bed tonight seeking answers from God about the purpose of your life? The Lord wants to talk to you.” I understood that God was speaking directly to me, asking me to follow Him and dedicate the rest of my life to His service. I was crying, had goosebumps and had a heart on fire. It felt as though the years of heaviness that had burdened my heart had melted into profound peace and purpose.

My journey hasn’t been easy. But God opened many doors for me and placed many people in my life. 

Our God is a living God. He gives more than we can ever ask, think or imagine. Proverbs 16:3 beautifully reminds us to “commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans” (NIV). In response, I humbly said to God, “I am ready; please use me.” Here I stand, a new officer, a living testament to the fulfillment of God’s promises and hope. 

Reflecting on my journey, this wouldn’t have been possible without the prayers of my parents, several officers and friends. I say this in confidence: God will complete the work He has started in your life. No matter what, the challenges hold on to Him. Just as I did. I called and He answered. I prayed, and He answered. Amen.

Lieutenant Emily Reed, USA Western Territory

I was blessed to grow up in The Salvation Army in Altus, Oklahoma. Though I was active in my corps, I wasn’t always a follower of Christ. It wasn’t until I was a senior in high school that I fully surrendered my life to God. Even then, I still found myself struggling and in unhealthy relationships. I knew that I was called to help people, but I struggled with this because I felt that I couldn’t help myself. That is when God’s prevenient grace became clear to me.

Eventually, I found myself on the path to healing and restoration. I acknowledged my calling to be an officer while I was in Belize on a short-term mission trip. I heard God say, “This is how you will help people,” when we were in the tiny house of a homebound corps member.

However, my journey to officership wasn’t an easy one. I met and married the love of my life, Brian, who was in the Air Force. Shortly after we were married, he received active orders to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, so we uprooted ourselves and moved to Tacoma, Washington. We immersed ourselves in the corps in Tacoma, and they became like family to us. But, with the pandemic and our first child on the way, we entered a time of uncertainty. Amidst the uncertainty, we packed up our things and our five-week-old baby, and moved back to Oklahoma.

We went into deep prayer about our calling, and God made the timeline and call to justice clear to us. We moved back to Tacoma and started positions with The Salvation Army. I was able to love and support families experiencing homelessness in our community by overseeing the family shelter and implementing Pathway of Hope.

I have had the opportunity to serve in many places through The Salvation Army and to meet many different population groups. I never would have seen myself sitting in a tiny home in Belize, giving out snack bags to women working in the red-light district in Greece, or praying for market owners in Kenya. 

No matter where I am, I want to serve and be a good representation of Jesus. The verse that I hold onto today is Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (NIV).