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Viewpoint from Lieutenant Rob Symonds for 19th July 2013
Viewpoint by Lieutenant Rob Symons
Commanding Officer
Great Yarmouth Salvation Army
August 2009, Georgina and I and our daughter Naomi set out on an adventure that saw us make our home here in the town, take up our positions as leaders of The Salvation Army and create a lifetime of memories. Now, as we prepare to leave for our new home in Farcet, Peterborough, we are leaving with two more children; Daniel and Benjamin and a whole host of special friends.
It has been a sincere pleasure to be part of this wonderful community and an honour to serve in this place and we will never forget the countless people we have worked with over the past 4 years to help make a difference. You see, from the moment we arrived, we felt accepted, valued, cared for and loved. We have been encouraged and lifted up by so many and have felt from day one we were adopted into the ‘family’ of Great Yarmouth. This is something we never took for granted although; we become accustomed to being made to feel welcome, to being treated with the utmost respect and to be given a voice and an to share and contribute to the life of the Borough. You might say; Kingdom values being embodied here on earth.
It is with this in mind, that I am reminded of the words found in 1 John 3:1 which say; ‘See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we s hould be called children of God! And that is what we are!’
We don’t know what the future holds, and what God has in store however, we have a complete faith and assurance that we are going where God wants us to be. Even though our hearts will always be here, we believe God has a work for us to do elsewhere. However, we also believe that we have a great company of believers who will ensure the work of the Kingdom is carried out in this place and the town continues to grow from strength to strength.
I don’t know what impression we have left behind and what we will be remembered for and I won’t attempt to write our own legacy. I would rather the memories of the people we have met speak for themselves however, I hope the impression we have left is of a family that love God with all our hearts, our souls and our minds and humbly tried to be the hands and feet of Jesus to all that we met. Often we met strangers, who became acquaintances and then friends and I am pleased to say people who became brothers and sisters in Christ; and together we journeyed along life’s pathway with Jesus as our Guide. I hope that is your experience, and if not, the invitation is there to join in the walk and as it says in John 1:12-13; ‘yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
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