From Witnessing a Massacre at Three Years Old to Leading The Salvation Army
A life filled with devastation and pain turned into glory for a Savior in the words of Major Nesan Kistan, Divisional Commander of The Salvation Army Intermountain Division.
"Every person has a story, and that story sometimes is not what people expect. I was born in Apartheid South Africa. In 1976, there was a riot on the streets of Soweto, where children were being mowed down by South African police because they protested against an oppressive regime that mandated that every child speak Afrikaans. More than 400 young children on the streets of Soweto, South Africa, lost their lives that day. I was only three years of age.
My father said, 'If a nation will kill its own children, what future does it have?' He was an activist. He was strong-minded and believed that every child should have a future. So, we migrated to Australia. We got to Sydney, Australia in '81. A global recession hits the world. My father can't find employment and struggles just to make ends meet by washing cars. We're standing on the street corner, and a lady walked past and says, The Salvation Army can help you.
My father and mother had not heard about The Salvation Army. We walked to our local Salvation Army, and the captain of The Salvation Army was so incredibly helpful. My father said, 'There's Christianity with the sleeves rolled up.'
Then time goes on and before long, you forget about what it did and how important it was, and you get on with life. Once again, another tragedy hits. In a small rural community in Port Arthur, Tasmania, on April the 28, 1996, 35 people are gunned down by a mentally impacted young man named Martin Bright. My father could hear what seemed and sounded like gunfire. He looked up, he saw Martin Bright entering the Broad Arrow Cafe on that Sunday, April 28th. He rushed and he threw my mother out of the cafe. My father reentered the cafe and made a beeline to disarm Martin Bright that day.
In his attempt, he was fatally shot.
Our hearts were broken. Our spirits were crushed. My father was like the pillar of our family. He was the foundation stone. He was the one that gave us confidence. He gave us courage. He was the one that brought us from Apartheid South Africa to Australia for a new life, a new beginning, and a new hope.
As a young man, I'm facing a different challenge, life without the pillar of our family. That was a hard day. That was a tough day.
But on that day, once again, The Salvation Army was there. They embraced us. They loved us. They ministered to us when we were broken and had nothing. The Salvation Army helped us move forward from that day. I suppose all of those things had factored in to why I wear the uniform I do today and why I'm motivated and committed to serving people in every community that God places me in, because everyone matters."
If The Salvation Army can roll up its sleeves and show that type of Christianity, well, that's the Christianity I want to show to my community, to those in need today."
There's a "why" behind everything, and we're thankful God turned Major Nesan's why into all that he's doing to help those in need. What has God done in you that motivates you to love others?