September 30, 2014
2
God refused to give up until I gave in to him
Major Kelly English
I always felt that I would be in ministry from the
age of 7. Mom and Dad would always see fit that we
would find ourselves in a house of worship. I can’t
count the number of times I would walk by Mom and
Dad’s room and see Dad on his knees praying for the
family. Or the times that Mom sat with us just before
bedtime and had my sister and me praying for each
other, whether we liked it or not. Talk about Jesus was
not foreign in the English household. We were always
challenged about our faith to see where we stood.
Fertile holy ground is what I like to call it, and
Mom and Dad were its perfect guardians. The
Salvation Army came into my young reality the day
I heard the booming voice of Captain Marshall Clary
and felt the loving embrace of Captain Barbara Clary.
The beautiful spirits of the Hawley family mixed in
with the overwhelming love of everyone else in the
Roanoke Corps, and we could tell that their love was
as genuine as the day is long. Love always breeds
more love, and that is exactly what happened. We fell
in love with The Salvation Army and, more important,
mycalling
we grew deeper in our own relationship with Jesus.
What I did not see was the fire that God had ignited
in my heart. I felt it sometimes in Sunday school class,
or sometimes when I heard the sermon, or sometimes
when I prayed. The relentless fire that could only be
kindled by God himself grew and grew, and there
was no stopping it. Time and typical teenager years
went by. The calling, however, never did. I wanted to
shake it and do my own thing. I thought that being
obedient would ruin all of life’s fun.
So I made a vain and feeble attempt at running,
even going to another church for a few weeks. But I
remember hearing the voice of God saying to me, “It
is not here that I need you … you know where you are
supposed to be.”
“But God, can’t I do this elsewhere?” I asked. The
answer was silence and knowing.
Finally, I gave in. I sat at the back of the chapel in
defiance. “O.K., God you got me back here, but this
is as far as it goes,” I thought. But as Captain Dean
Hinson began the altar call, the Spirit spoke to me:
“Go now and accept your call.” I stiffened and again
heard the Spirit say, “Go and accept your call.” Still I
refused to move, thinking, “Man, this altar call sure is
taking a long time.”
I asked God to leave me alone but again I heard,
“Go now and accept your call. If you do not, then this
will be the last time I will ask.” Then, things turned
supernatural and I saw myself standing in front of
Jesus in a fantastic place, asking, “So what was it in
your life that was greater than what I had in store for
you?”
I had no answer. Nothing. I knelt, I accepted and
I felt the weight of a thousand years lift from my
shoulders, and I knew that at that moment the prayers
of so many people in my life were being answered.
I felt a familiar hand on my shoulder. Captain
Hinson met me at the altar and asked,“So what is God
saying to you, Kelly?”
My answer: “ I am called.”
honoredretirement
Majors Cape and Brenda Grice
Majors Cape and Brenda Grice
were honored Aug. 23, 2014, for their
combined 72 years of service to God
through The Salvation Army at a
retirement luncheon in Columbia, S.C.
The retirement celebration, presided
over by Lt. Colonel James Seiler,
North-South Carolina divisional
commander, provided friends and
family an opportunity to pay tribute to
Majors Grice for their dedication and
service to God. As part of the retirement
ceremony, conducted by Lt. Colonel
Raymond Wood, the Grices were
acknowledged for being true servants,
with hearts and hands dedicated to
Christ.
Cape and Brenda Grice, both
second-generation Salvationists, were
married on July 31, 1971. Brenda is the
daughter of Majors Jasper and Annie
Harper. Cape came to The Salvation
Army through his mother’s faithful
attendance in Columbia, S.C., and
Fayetteville, S.C. Prior to becoming
officers, Cape was the plant manager
for Eastern Equipment & Chemical
Company and Brenda was a directory
assistance operator for Southern Bell.
In August 1976, they entered officer
training in Atlanta from the Columbia
Corps. Lieutenants Cape and Brenda
Grice were commissioned June 4, 1978.
They have since served in Charleston
and Princeton, W.Va.; Fredericksburg,
Va; Louisville and Frankfort, Ky.;
Majors Cape and Brenda Grice receive their retirement certificate from Lt. Colonel
Raymond Wood.
Raleigh, Kinston, Durham, Wilson an