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PITTSBURG —
Pete and Patti Peters, Pittsburg, have put on uniforms of faith and plan to devote their lives to spreading the Christian message of salvation.
They were enrolled Sunday as soldiers of the Salvation Army during services at the Pittsburg post.
“You are the newest soldiers in the world in the wonderful 125 countries we serve,” said Maj. Andy Miller, who was a guest for the occasion, along with his wife, Maj. Cheryl Miller.
As part of their enrollment, Mr. and Mrs. Peters signed a covenant pledging themselves to the core beliefs of the Salvation Army and agreeing to refrain from all enslaving substances such as alcohol and drugs.
“It is very important that you enter this freely,” Maj. Miller said. “This is a sacred time that we do not do lightly. We know the devil is not very happy today and is going to fight back hard, but we know we serve a God who is stronger than the devil.”
Following the enrollment, the new soldiers gave their personal testimonies.
“The first time I signed a covenant was at our wedding, and I fainted,” Mrs. Peters said.
Her husband said that he became a Christian at 15, about 60 years ago.
“I’m a slow mover, but now I’ve taken a step and stuck a toe in the water,” he said. “I became a Christian as a result of funeral. A little girl I went to school with fell off a horse and it kicked her in the head. I’ve been an off-and-on Christian for years.”
He said that he served 27 years in the U.S. Air Force, serving several years as an aircraft mechanic, but primarily as a firefighter.
“I spent a lot of time in Okinawa,” he said. “I taught firefighting to the Japanese and to the Chinese on Taiwan. I had a well-varied tour of duty and I enjoyed it, but I just got tired of it. I’d seen too many plane crashes.”
He met his future wife in Kansas City.
She had lived in Pittsburg, but had also seen something of the world, teaching English and mathematics in Japan for 6 1/2 years.
“A friend introduced us,” Mrs. Peters said. “The friend said, ‘I think he’d be a good person for you, but he’s blind,’ and I said that I’d read for a blind Pittsburg State University student named Gail Louise Hamilton, a beautiful lyric soprano. Then the friend said that he had a dog, and that was all right, too, because Gail had a dog.”
Her husband now navigates with a cane and his wife’s assistance.
Pete and Patti Peters, Pittsburg, have put on uniforms of faith and plan to devote their lives to spreading the Christian message of salvation.
They were enrolled Sunday as soldiers of the Salvation Army during services at the Pittsburg post.
“You are the newest soldiers in the world in the wonderful 125 countries we serve,” said Maj. Andy Miller, who was a guest for the occasion, along with his wife, Maj. Cheryl Miller.
As part of their enrollment, Mr. and Mrs. Peters signed a covenant pledging themselves to the core beliefs of the Salvation Army and agreeing to refrain from all enslaving substances such as alcohol and drugs.
“It is very important that you enter this freely,” Maj. Miller said. “This is a sacred time that we do not do lightly. We know the devil is not very happy today and is going to fight back hard, but we know we serve a God who is stronger than the devil.”
Following the enrollment, the new soldiers gave their personal testimonies.
“The first time I signed a covenant was at our wedding, and I fainted,” Mrs. Peters said.
Her husband said that he became a Christian at 15, about 60 years ago.
“I’m a slow mover, but now I’ve taken a step and stuck a toe in the water,” he said. “I became a Christian as a result of funeral. A little girl I went to school with fell off a horse and it kicked her in the head. I’ve been an off-and-on Christian for years.”
He said that he served 27 years in the U.S. Air Force, serving several years as an aircraft mechanic, but primarily as a firefighter.
“I spent a lot of time in Okinawa,” he said. “I taught firefighting to the Japanese and to the Chinese on Taiwan. I had a well-varied tour of duty and I enjoyed it, but I just got tired of it. I’d seen too many plane crashes.”
He met his future wife in Kansas City.
She had lived in Pittsburg, but had also seen something of the world, teaching English and mathematics in Japan for 6 1/2 years.
“A friend introduced us,” Mrs. Peters said. “The friend said, ‘I think he’d be a good person for you, but he’s blind,’ and I said that I’d read for a blind Pittsburg State University student named Gail Louise Hamilton, a beautiful lyric soprano. Then the friend said that he had a dog, and that was all right, too, because Gail had a dog.”
Her husband now navigates with a cane and his wife’s assistance.
“We were introduced and married nine days later,” Peters said. “Why wait around?”
But there was one area of difference between the newlyweds.
“Pete kept asking me, ‘Are you saved?’ and I said yes, but I knew I had no faith in Jesus Christ,” she said.
That changed when she knelt on her living room floor and prayed to Jesus. Mrs. Peters became so filled with faith and joy that she had to share it with others.
“I called a Jewish friend and lost a friend,” she said. “I called people I knew in Japan.”
Mrs. Peters even asked store clerks if they knew how to be saved and get into heaven.
“My enthusiastic Christianity was not well received,” she said. “Since coming to the Salvation Army in the last year, it was like waking up.”
Her husband said that, as soldiers, they will assist officers, such as Capts. Gary and Deborah Gugala of the Pittsburg Salvation Army.
“Our main job will be to get out and talk to people,” Peters said.
“By wearing a uniform, we say that we are willing to help,” his wife added.
Peters noted the many services the organization provides, some of which he saw during his military service, as well as disaster relief and help locally for those in need.
“The Salvation Army helps the down-and-out people,” he said. “We intend to place our best foot forward.”
The services Sunday also included the enrollment of Daniel Hudson as an adherent of the Salvation Army, and the rededication of Laura Proctor and Debra Blackburn.
