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by Marvella Uriostegui –
The Pascoe Temple Corps, under the leadership of Captains Andres and Magda Espinoza, recently enrolled twenty-eight senior soldiers and eight junior soldiers.
The enrollment ceremony was kicked off by the Sunbeams who performed a tambourine routine under the leadership of Gabriela Espinoza. The tambourines’ ribbons flew in the air with every clap and tap. Next, the corps’ brass band performed a favorite worship song, “Give Thanks.” The boys had been practicing this song for less than two weeks under the instruction of Enrique Duran, who also motivated the boys to learn how to play the trumpet.
Lt. Colonel Terry Griffin, Northwest divisional commander, conducted the ceremony in which he awarded the soldiers a framed certificate of honor. Promises were recited beforehand and many lessons were given to the junior soldiers to prepare them for this day—but nothing compared to the effort the junior soldiers made to learn all 11 Salvation Army doctrines.
Griffin gave the devotional, based in 1 Chronicles 26:1,6,13. The message was clear: gatekeepers used to stand at the doors of the temple and would not let people worship if their lives were not right with God. Today, there isn’t a gatekeeper at the door of our temple, stopping us from worshiping God.
The gatekeepers did their job for God, not for the praise of men—there was no pay, they weren’t liked, but none of this mattered to them. This was a call for all of us that if we do something at our church—for example, clean the floors or sweep the stairs of the entrance—we should do our best for God, even if no one is watching and you receive no compliments for the job you did.
The evening ended with an audience eager to serve God and their corps; the devotional motivated us to get back on our feet and stand strong, just like the gatekeepers.
