By: Brad Rowland

In late October, representatives from each of the 11 territories in The Salvation Army’s Americas and Caribbean Zone came together for a week for the Zonal College for Soldiers in Paraguay for lessons instructional and motivational.

Luciano Goicochea, Spanish program manager for the Soundcast radio ministry, attended on behalf of the Southern Territory.

“I didn’t fully know what to expect but, once I was there, the message was clear,” Goicochea said. “Soldiers were told how important membership and leadership in the corps is and can be, and we were given great information on what we should do to help build the Army back in our corps.”

Goicochea, who has been a soldier of the Lawrenceville, Georgia, Corps for more than a decade, helps with audio-visual work, particularly in the corps’ Hispanic service. After his attendance at the Zonal College, he was inspired to more, bringing the message of outreach to life.

“It’s important for us in the corps to have interaction with the community,” Goicochea said. “Get to know the community. Find out what they need and how we can help, instead of just waiting for them to come.”

“When you become a soldier, you don’t just go and sit, and the conference reminded me of that. You get trained and you go to battle. You don’t just sit down and watch. You have to be active and pour yourself into the work. This college was a reminder of that.”