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Soldier Interview - Joy Mikles
United States South 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:
JM: Me. Hmmmm. I'm passionate about Jesus. I want to know Him
more as I am known. I have a fantastic husband, Marty, who is
a fantastic model of humility and grace to me. We're expecting
our first child and are excited at what the Lord will bring
about in this new stage of our lives. My heart is a missionary
heart. I want to see the world come to know Him and His glory.
JAC: Tell us, about your salvation and sanctification.
JM: I'm an officer's kid. So, I grew up in the corps. At the
age of six, I gave my heart to Jesus every Sunday for about a
year. By the time I was fourteen I realized that what I had
was a head knowledge and that I needed to understand Jesus as
my friend. So, I began that journey. The first time I felt the
joy of the Lord was when I was seventeen - driving my mom's
mini-van to school one morning. I was simply overwhelmed.
Since then, my walk with the Father has been a process.
Trusting him to lead me and learning what he wants for me are
always an adventure - challenging but worth the step into the
unknown.
JAC: What engages your passions and energies these days.
JM: That's a loaded question. These days my passions and
energies are consumed with the hope for justice. I want as
many people here in the states to know about the evils that
exist around the world such as sex trafficking, labor
trafficking, child soldiers and women who are considered
property, not people so that we can actually make change
happen for them. I'm always amazed at how many average,
everyday Americans simply don't know the evils that exist not
just overseas but in their own cities. I'm also consumed with
the hope of exciting and equipping people for mission. I want
to see young adults, teens and adults become mobilized. I want
to see them become unafraid of what's different or
inconvenient and walk alongside those who don't have water or
electricity. Then I want to see them provide sustainable
living. I may not get to see the end but many times I at least
get to see young adults really grasp the need for missions and
fall in love with it. It's a fantastic place to be.
JAC: What is your role with The Salvation Army?
JM: While my title is long and lengthy my role is quite simple
- I have the honor of sending young adults on mission trips
throughout the year. We have three one-week trips each year
and four six week trips each summer. On top of that I get to
plan and organize the teen venue for our ROOTS event with a
great friend of mine. I get to visit Young Adult Retreats and
Youth Councils. I send out a bimonthly newsletter to young
adults around the Southern Territory. The best part about my
role is the contact and relationships I have built with young
adults around the territory. I now get to be a part of their
lives. It's a pretty great privilege.
JAC: What is your mission/calling?
JM: I'm not sure I have just one mission or calling. I believe
that the Lord will someday give Marty and I the opportunity to
live overseas and work with those who need love and support
and hope. I also believe that the Lord is calling me to be a
mother to the motherless. There are so many children in this
world who don't know the love of a father or a mother and need
it, I can't sit at home and be content to raise my own
children. While those two things may be a few years off, I
also believe the Lord has called Marty and me to Atlanta. He
is asking us to align ourselves with the marginalized. It took
a while for me to realize that where He has placed me He has
called me to mission. There's no excuse for waiting for the
mission to begin - I'm already in it. Get going.
JAC: How does The Army support your war-fighting?
JM: They encourage me in the mission trips I lead. They want
to know how to pray and want updates upon my return. My corps
has allowed me to share my knowledge of injustices at
community fairs and given me the chance to hold a meeting on
the Invisible Children. When I believe the Lord is leading me
to take a mission team to a specific location, the
administration has never told me no, they have always been
more than willing to allow that to happen.
JAC: How do you influence people?
JM: I think I'm best with encouragement. It seems to be what
comes naturally.
JAC: What are your dreams for the next several years?
JM: To raise kids who love Jesus and have an intimate
relationship with him. I want them to know long before I did
what hearing God is like. I'd like to adopt kids too. My other
dream is to be a part of a community of believers that
understands that church isn't a building but the people who
make it up. I'd like to see us grow through small groups and
sharing meals. That's what my soul is hungry for. Other than
that, I'm open to the adventure the Lord has waiting for me.
JAC: What are the keys to successful warfare on your front and
the larger salvation war?
JM: Relationship. To see change in people and places you have
to spend time with them. Education. Justice will have a hard
time becoming real unless more people know about the
injustices happening and choose to fight them. Prayer.
Allowing the Lord to direct your heart to love what He loves
and hate what He hates. Action. Being unafraid to follow
Christ where he leads - even if it is outside of what's safe
and comfortable.
JAC: How are you and your comrades strengthening The Salvation
Army?
JM: By not giving up on her. There's a lot we see wrong with
The Army. There's a lot that perhaps we don't like about The
Army. We've learned that our preferences aren't important. We
continue to dream for The Army - to believe that there is more
for us as The Army. Then, we try and make the dreams happen.
We believe in a new way of doing church which looks less like
a Sunday morning service and more like people living and
breathing and eating together. We keep taking steps to meet
that goal like meeting together as small groups, encouraging
one another, beginning ministries together.
JAC: What are some of the dangers we have to face in the
coming years? (and how?)
JM: Honestly, the dangers are here. I think we have to face
the danger of becoming more of a Social Services Organization
than a movement of God. We now hire people who may or may not
know Jesus to do this work for us which means that we, as a
movement, have become disconnected from the very people who we
were called to in the first place - those in need. I also
think we face the danger of dying. There are many who hold on
to the way we run things over the reason why we do things. As
long as there are those who insist on holding on to methods
that no longer work, we will die. The good news is that I
sense the Lord breathing new life into us. He is raising up
new leaders with new vision who are passionate about our
mission. I believe The Salvation Army will grow and prosper in
the years to come as long as we allow those with the vision to
walk it out.
JAC: What final exhortation have you for this audience?
JM: Keep fighting. Keep dreaming! Dream big for yourself, for
your family, for your friends, and for The Salvation Army. God
can and will do immeasurably more than all we can ask or
imagine. His word promises it.
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