Roseann and Alan find freedom out of financial hardship
Roseann and Alan Waterman (holding their adherent’s certificates) with West Wyalong Corps Leaders, Doreen and Allan Smith. Photo supplied by West Wyalong Corps.
On the eve of the ACT and South NSW Divisional Soldiership Bootcamp in Leeton, two participants share their “Freedom Story” and explain why they’re passionate about becoming Salvation Army soldiers.
When Roseann and Alan Waterman were having financial trouble two years ago, they went to their local Salvation Army in West Wyalong, in Central West NSW, for help. What they got was much more than they’d bargained for.
“I guess we were searching as well for something that we were missing,” Roseann remembers of that first meeting with then West Wyalong Envoys Ian and Barbara Ross. “And we found it through The Salvation Army.”
Roseann and Alan both found freedom in Jesus. They had both made commitments to the Lord previously, but hard times in their life had led them to abandon their faith. Through that initial welfare help, the couple started attending Salvation Army meetings and it wasn’t long before they rededicated their lives to Jesus.
“We were truly missing having the Lord in our lives,” says Roseann. Her husband of 23 years agrees. “When I really started going to church … it opened my eyes up to what the Lord can do for me,” says Alan. “It [my spiritual journey] has just taken off from there.”
Not long after, Roseann, who is on a disability pension due to arthritis and other conditions, received healing prayer at a Sunday meeting.
“The Salvation Army invited a Christian group called Elam to visit,” she says. A member of the group felt called to pray with Roseann after the service. During that prayer of healing, she began to feel an intense pain moving through her body. “By the time they finished I walked out of that citadel without my walking stick and I’ve been free of my walking stick ever since! It is a true miracle.”
When Roseann and Alan became adherents last year, they wore their badges every week as a visual reminder of their commitment to God. But just two months later, the couple lost everything they owned, including their adherent badges, in a house fire.
“I actually have a huge fear of fire and to have lost my home in this manner was totally devastating,” says Roseann. The Salvation Army was on hand to help the couple, who are both on pensions, to find another place to live and source replacement furniture and household goods.
But it was the emotional support that made all the difference, according to Roseann. “God has put people in place for us – for me in particular – to help me to get past that. It still has the power to affect me and upset me, but not like it did. And if it does get too much then I know that there are people there who I can talk to and I know that God’s there to guide me and be my strength.”
Recently, West Wyalong leaders Allan and Doreen Smith presented Roseann and Alan with new adherent badges and certificates to replace those lost in the fire.
“You could have blown us both over with a feather, we were so excited!” says Roseann. “It is so good to have our certificates and badges back where we can see them and be reminded of our commitment to God.”
The couple’s journey has continued and they have felt a calling to become soldiers of The Salvation Army. This weekend’s Soldiership Bootcamp in Leeton will be the first step on that journey.
“We have been praying about this for more than 12 months now and we truly believe that this is the road that the Lord wants us to travel,” says Roseann.
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