Soldier Interview - Jeni Parsons
Canada & Bermuda Territory
JAC interviewed soldiers from five territories regarding
battle issues that we all face. We expect that most of you
will learn much on what the problems and solutions are in this
great salvation conflict. We esteem the interviewees as those
fighting hard and committed to glorifying Jesus as they
capture, train, and deploy on very different fronts.
JAC: Quick bio:
JP: I am a 27 year old missionary who lives in the downtown
eastside of Vancouver but I am just one small part of a
greater mission to call people back to Jesus.
I am a daughter of the Most High God, seeking after His
presence, so that His life may be expressed through my own.
JAC: Tell us, about your salvation and sanctification.
JP: I grew up in a non-Christian home but was encouraged to
make my own decisions regarding my spiritual beliefs. My mom
called herself an atheist, so church was very foreign to me.
During high school, I became more and more unsatisfied with my
life. I became aware that there was something very big missing
in my life but I didn't know what it was. I decided that I
believed there was a God but Jesus and religion still eluded
me. I experienced moments of unexplainable peace during times
of crises and I occasionally heard His voice. I would write
letters to "God" with questions about who He was and how I was
to relate to Him.
In April of 1999, I was weary of the confusion about who I was
and the loneliness that plagued me. I cried out to “God,” as I
knew Him, and asked Him what He wanted of me... a still small
voice echoed over the clashing of my soul... it said: “Ask for
My help.” After another few minutes of wrestling, I
surrendered and asked for His help. Immediately, the storm
that was raging in my soul stopped... I had no idea what
happened, so I sought out a friend who I knew to be a
Christian. She invited me to church the next day. It was
Easter Sunday. The pastor preached the gospel and I responded
to the invitation to make Jesus Lord of my life.
At that time, I had no idea what had happened, but I was soon
to discover that my life was never going to be the same from
that point on. I had found the home and rest that I had been
looking for all of my life. The Lord planted me with a group
of people who loved Him and were hungry for Him. I was so open
to the Spirit of the Lord working in my life, that conviction
of sin, surrender and consecration followed within the next
few months. I turned away from the ways that I knew to be
wrong and followed and passionately pursued His presence in my
life.
JAC: What engages your passions and energies these days.
JP: I am working in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. I head
up our 24/7 prayer room – the War Room. I spend a minimum of 6
hours a week praying in our 24/7 prayer room. I am praying
with other prayer and intercessory groups around the city.
With a team of people, I lead knee drill, our community's
weekly prayer and worship meeting. I am also involved with
training The War College students in areas of deliverance,
prophetic and intercession. I have been in a courting
relationship for over a year and we are looking towards
marriage. I am also going to be starting up a job with one of
the shelters downtown in the next few weeks, part time.
JAC: What is your role with The Salvation Army?
JP: Still to be determined... I am called to be a soldier
(which is happening in December) and beyond that, the Lord
will determine.
JAC: What is your mission/calling?
JP: The Lord has called me to live out relationship with Him,
first and foremost and out of the overflow of that, He has
called me to be set apart from the world. I believe there is a
call upon my life to call the church back to her first love...
to be an instrument of healing and reconciliation; to be an
intercessor for the church and her Bridegroom.
JAC: How does The Army support your war-fighting?
JP: There is a promise in scripture that says the Lord puts
the lonely in families. Through 614 and the vision and calling
of the Salvation, I have found a family. The Salvation Army
aligns with the call and vision that the Lord has called me
to. I am surrounded by a family of people who will stick up
for me and encourage me in my gifts and in my passions and
desires. The Army has also provided me with training,
spiritual and practical and the Lord has used them to bring me
revelation of different areas where the church, as a whole,
needs to rise up, especially in the area of justice.
JAC: How do you influence people?
JP: I mainly influence people through prayer. I am teaching a
class at The War College. God is using me, along with others,
to train them up in the areas of the prophetic/intercession
and deliverance through discussion and practical experience.
If people hang out with me, they will become a part of what I
am doing. I have a passion to see others trained up and
released in the area of the prophetic because it has had such
a powerful effect in my life.
JAC: What are your dreams for the next several years?
JP: Good question. The Lord has put a strong desire in my
heart to be a part of family, live in family and create a
family. T would like to be released to do more art... it is a
big thing in my life that I have yet to explore fully and
would love to have the opportunity and the resources to
explore it. I still have a strong desire in my heart to do
more short-term missions trips to third world countries. I
have had a life-long dream to live in Ireland and to plant a
church there, or at least be a part of a church planting team.
The Lord has given me a home with The Army but I still don't
know how that applies to the other parts of my life... how do
I fit The Army in with the dreams and goals of my life? I am
sure it will all make sense in the long run... but I am
marrying into something and I will be transformed by it and
hopefully, it should be transformed by me... I hope, in the
next few years, to see where I fit within The Army.
JAC: What are the keys to successful warfare on your front and
the larger salvation war?
JP: Prayer. Intimacy. Seeking the face of Jesus. Waiting on
Him for power and strength. If we don't know the heart of God,
His strategy, and aren't changed/directed by His presence and
words, we can not expect to be effective in warfare. One of
the main things that I have learned over the last few years is
the significance of living a disciplined lifestyle of prayer,
fasting and study. The discipline is the shovel that helps to
dig deep wells within us... the daily digging... for more and
deeper knowledge of the love of God to be poured out into my
life and into the life of others.
JAC: How are you and your comrades strengthening The Salvation
Army?
JP: by becoming a part of The Army, I am adding to the
numbers... the 614 community is a prophetic voice to the
greater part of The Salvation Army, calling The Army back to
her roots of Holy Spirit fire, uncompromised incarnational
living, and fighting justice and through this, the prophetic
voice of The Salvation Army is being raised up once again. The
prophetic voice is necessary to knowing the heart of God and
to know where He wants us to go.
JAC: What are some of the dangers we have to face in the
coming years? (and how?)
JP: I am beginning to realize how I am offered to paths in
life, as a Christian. One is the easy road. It is comfortable,
offering me all the comforts we can afford. A good job, nice
place to live, a good church that loves the Lord, cool
clothes, lots of friends, good food, etc, etc. (Though none of
the things offered are bad, in fact they are quite good in and
of themselves). The other road is not so comfortable. It is a
life of self-denial, living without much space and time to
myself, without personal transportation, without regular
income, without regular meals and without regular sleep but
the reward, that is offered is so much more...
And what of the reward? The first offers immediate
gratification. It makes me fat and lazy, asleep to the needs
of a sick and dying world. Awake to my wants and pleasures.
The second offers a life of dependence on God. Alert to His
needs, wants, and desires. Asleep to my wants and desires.
Only the second offers eternal lasting rewards. Only the
second brings joy and peace. More than just me will face this
danger... the only choice and the only way to face it, is
surrender and obedience to the will of the Lord. The Lord
calls us to take up our cross daily. My cross may look
differently than someone else's cross. The Lord may ask of me
different things than He asks of my brother or sister, which
may take me down paths that may look different than my
brother's. Life with Jesus isn't about a set of rules, it is
about intimacy coupled with obedience.
JAC: What final exhortation have you for this audience?
JP: the words that have been resounding in my spirit for the
last three years have been, "Stay awake. Be alert." The enemy
is prowling around like a roaring lion, seeing whom he can
devour... He is masquerading as an angel of light, deceiving
the church, lulling her asleep with all the comforts the world
has to offer.... The deception is subtle. She has fallen
asleep and the Warrior King is calling His Bride to awaken. He
is returning soon. Be ready for his return. Be awake. Stay
alert. Stay close to the heart of your Lover. He has the
discernment, the wisdom, and the power. He has what it takes
to make us ready for His return. He has what it takes to make
us pure and spotless and to prepare us for the battle that
rages around us.
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