COVID-19 has been devastating and will continue to be so for some time, but there are many lessons we can learn because of this experience. Lessons about living in community and turning a terrible situation into new opportunities. Lessons that teach us we truly are one Army with one mission.

I’ve heard people say that this crisis makes us all equal. It does not. We are not. Yes, the virus is indiscriminate and yes, we are all facing the same storms, but this does not equate to a newfound global equality. We are not all in the same boat.

“The Salvation Army showed me patience and diversity,” says Kate. “That message pushed me closer to recovery, and I am okay now.”

When Salvation Army officer Major Gary Venables posted a video playing the pocket cornet he received as a Christmas gift, little did he know that it would become his Monday morning ministry.

Salvation Army officer Major Howard Webber examines the phrase attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, “Preach the gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words.” But there is no evidence that he ever said or wrote such a thing.

Due to COVID-19, camps are not able to operate this season. Because this is God’s work and not ours, and God’s time and not ours, we are believing for even greater things, and are trusting that this summer will be more impactful than those before it, even though we cannot do things the way we have done them in the past.

As a 2020 graduate, both my senior year and prom day looked much different than I had anticipated.

“Our lives have never been the same since we became Salvation Army officers,” smiles Captain Keesom Phanthaamath of the decision he and his wife, Captain Tina Phanthaamath, made.

These are extraordinary days we are living in. Days filled with great fear and uncertainty but, at the same time, great possibility. Not that we should ever deny the severity of COVID-19 or its global effect, but can we be challenged to see how God is working in these days?

The Army heritage of officership is woven throughout our families ... We are grateful for their legacy.