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An unexpected dream
An unexpected dream led Faleata Leha to The Salvation Army. Last December he was commissioned as a Salvation Army officer.
I am the youngest of seven brothers, raised in the friendly islands of Tonga. Our family mostly relied on farming, and Jesus was always at the centre of everything.
From a young age I loved to serve Jesus. I guess this was in my DNA—my grandfather was President of the Free Church of Tonga for seven years. My father passed away, but my 94-year-old mother remains a prayer warrior and prays for me and my family all the time.
While working in Tonga’s Treasury Department, God answered my prayers to study at the Fiji College of Theology and Evangelism. This trip, in 1988, changed my life forever. Not only did I graduate, I also met my beautiful wife, Raechal.
We returned to Tonga and served in the Free Wesleyan Church. It was my family’s prayer that I would one day become a minister in this church. But God had his own plan for me.
Between 1997 and 1999 I translated material for The Salvation Army in Tonga at the request of leaders Majors Ian and Caroline Frazer. I also preached at two Salvation Army corps (churches) and led Bible studies. Raechal and I were involved with other Christian ministries, so I was not expecting to do more with The Salvation Army.
God has put a lot of U-turns in my life. In 2004, I had a Green Card to move to America to live with my family. But God changed this plan. In 2007, I was passed over to become a minister in the Free Wesleyan Church. God did not allow this to happen. In 2010, I had the offer to pastor a Tongan church in Auckland. But God did not allow this to happen either.
Did I complain to God? Yes! But did I leave God and follow my own plans? No! I continued to believe God had the best plan.
And then, in June 2012, I had a dream that brought me back to the Army. In my dream I saw two Salvation Army officers and then heard a voice saying, ‘Go and help The Salvation Army.’ That same week I attended a morning service at Nuku’alofa Corps, telling them God had called me to serve him in The Salvation Army.
You can read 'War Cry' at your nearest Salvation Army church or centre, or subscribe through Salvationist Resources.
Since entering training to become a Salvation Army officer in 2014, I have fallen in love with the name ‘Salvation Army’—the Army that brings life. I really like what its founder, William Booth, said: ‘When The Salvation Army ceases to be a militant body of red-hot men and women whose supreme business is the saving of souls, I hope it will vanish utterly.’
I have two things to say to The Salvation Army. Firstly, we need soldiers now more than ever. We are on the battle field! We are at war! And we need more soldiers to engage and fight for Christ.
Secondly, there is too much ‘friendly fire’ in The Salvation Army. This is when you mistakenly shoot your own soldiers. I saw it in Tonga and I have seen it in New Zealand. This is not friendly fire by mistake, but knowingly. If we want to be effective, we must stop shooting our own and focus on winning souls for Christ.
by Faleata Leha (c) 'War Cry' magazine, 23 January 2016, pp 9.
You can read 'War Cry' at your nearest Salvation Army church or centre, or subscribe through Salvationist Resources.