Safely Led to Serve

One of Ian’s objectives during those three years from 1964–67 was to find a suitable wife to share the missionary officer work with him. As mentioned in the previous chapter, furloughing or returned missionaries who visited Fairfield, or spoke personally to him, continued to reinforce the benefits of going on missionary service married. The frustration experienced earlier continued to point that he had almost reconciled to the fact that he would have to enter Training College single—and then be delayed from missionary service. Yet visitors to the Inter-School Christian Fellowship at Northcote High School and Army leaders continually reiterated the importance of trusting God’s timing. In preparing to teach his corps cadet class in March 1966, Ian came across these words that he included in the ‘Answers to Prayer’ section of his prayer list: ‘God, who chooses his man (or woman), also chooses his hour. Never too soon, he is never too late.’ In addition, Brigadier Iris Walters, then the Assistant Territorial Women’s Social Services Secretary gave a Bible address Ian heard on one occasion that year entitled ‘God’s clocks keep good time’. Could he trust that this would be the case? Ian’s interest in music was developing and he tried to compose a short tune for the competition held in conjunction with the 1966 Musicians’ Councils to be held in August or September. The words had been penned by Brigadiers Arthur and Merle Linnett. Vast are the treasures of his boundless grace, Mirrored completely in our Master’s face; Rich the resources by which I may live, Blessings unnumbered he loveth to give. In the event, Ian was awarded equal third in the competition for his tune. The piano theory and practical lessons had not been wasted. Sonja van Kralingen had commenced attending the Fairfield Corps some months before. As mentioned in Chapter 1, her sister, Joan Stolk with her husband George, who had been attending the corps for some time, suggested that Sonja come and perhaps get to know the band’s second trombone player. Sonja also attended the musician's councils at which Ian was recognised and seemed most appreciative of his success. Ian certainly had become aware of Sonja and commenced to pay attention to this attractive, blue-eyed blonde. He discovered that she was a daughter of Dutch missionaries, Brigadier Ryer and Mrs Brigadier Johanna van Kralingen. He learned that Sonja had been born in Indonesia. She was a medical nursing sister with certificates in general, midwifery and infant welfare nursing. Sonja had recently completed a postgraduate course specialising in eye, ear, nose, and throat (EENT) medical and post-surgical care. On completion of this qualification she remained in the Eye and Ear Hospital and worked in the eye theatre. She had already served in the Northern Territory as a nurse. As a child she had been interned as a prisoner of war with her parents. Sadly, however, like so many of the fine and talented young women that Ian had considered as possible marriage partners, she was not a candidate to become a Salvation Army officer. Sonja certainly had a heart for cross-cultural ministry as demonstrated by her willingness to work in the Northern Territory for a year—but apparently not for officership. How little Ian knew! Sonja was battling God’s calling to officership that went back many years to her time in Indonesia, as outlined earlier. Part of the reason she had gone to the Northern Territory was to try to avoid the officership calling by serving as a nurse! The reason she recently studied EENT surgery was to be equipped to serve in Third World situations. Some more of that story outlined in Chapter 1 became clear to him as they went for a drive around the Dandenong Ranges on Saturday 15 October 1966 for the purpose of getting to know each other. Sonja, however, was not yet ready to become an officer. Obviously this became a matter of intense prayer for them both. They prayed together at the end of every ‘date’ which occurred frequently in the days following. On Sunday afternoon 23 October, Ian received a phone call from Sonja to say that she had said ‘yes’ to God’s call to officership during the morning meeting at Box Hill Corps. Her corps officer, Mrs Major Gwen Collins, had immediately given her a preliminary application form for training as an officer. Ian drove to the Eye and Ear Hospital where Sonja was going back on duty and asked her to marry him. She said ‘yes’ to another ‘calling’ and we had our first kiss before further prayer together. We agreed to be unofficially engaged with official engagement confirmed once she was officially accepted as a candidate. According to Salvation Army rules within the Territory at that time—when the minimum age for College entry was 18—couples had to be married for at least six months before entering training together as cadets. Furthermore, couples engaged before or during session had to wait one year after commissioning before marrying. However, Sonja had just turned 27 and Ian was in his 25th year. We both had professional qualifications that the Army could use. Another obvious complication in our case was that Ian was an accepted candidate for the next session and Sonja was not yet—although she quickly submitted her full set of application forms. Ian had already resigned his position at Northcote High School in preparation for entering the Training College in March 1967. He also believed that God had called him to serve as a missionary teacher in Africa as soon as possible. Then we discovered that Ian’s friend, Accepted Candidate Ian Smith B.Com., a 26-year-old banker from Malvern Corps, and Accepted Candidate Nancy John, a trained medical laboratory technician also 26, and daughter of missionaries Colonels Edward and Joyce John, had been given permission to marry in January 1967 and enter College in March. So exceptions could be made. However, the Candidates Secretary and Training Principal, Brigadier Howard Orsborn, stated quite categorically that no rooms would be available the following March for married couples without children in the Training College then housed at 68 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne. At the prompting of Major Milford McPherson, a former missionary in India and the current Education Officer at the Training College who visited Fairfield, we wrote a joint letter to the Territorial Commander, Commissioner Hubert Scotney, outlining the situation. We asked for some special consideration so our entry to the Training College was not delayed for a year. Sonja delivered the letter personally to the commissioner’s secretary. Having received the letter, he instructed Brigadier Orsborn to contact us and let us know that as soon as possible he would look into the matter. Commissioner Scotney knew us both and had seen us in action separately earlier: Sonja at a Salvation Army Student Fellowship weekend; and Ian at a conference about the future of the Army in Australia. The commissioner’s message indicated he had a high regard for us both. We believe he instructed Brigadier Orsborn to ‘knock out another wall if needed’ between two single rooms to create one suitable for a couple. Meanwhile Cadets Peter and Sandra Callander, who were almost completing their first year of training in the ‘Witnesses to the Faith’ session, told their leaders they were expecting a baby. As a result, they would need to move to the accommodation for married cadet-couples with children in Nicholson Street. Their present room on the main college building would be available—without needing to knock out a wall between two single rooms. God’s clocks were certainly keeping good time!