by Claude Nikondeha –
It is that time of the year again…when the territory gears up for Commissioning. This year’s events will be held on June 19, 2004 in Pasadena, Calif., at the First Church of the Nazarene.
As part of the territory’s renewed commitment to the Hispanic ministries, we will be having our second territorial Latino Rally with General John Larsson as the guest speaker on Sunday evening, June 20, 6:00 p.m. at the Tustin Ranch Corps.
General John Larsson was born in Sweden in 1938 of officer parents and spent his early years in Sweden, Denmark, Chile and Argentina. The General is Swedish by nationality, but multi-cultural by heart.
In 1980, Larsson and his wife, (now) Commissioner Freda Larsson, were appointed to the South America West Territory, as chief secretary and territorial home league secretary, respectively. There, they learned the Spanish language and the South American culture.
The General is the author of Doctrine Without Tears, The Man Perfectly Filled with the Spirit, Spiritual Breakthrough and How Your Corps Can Grow. He is a composer of music and, together with General John Gowans (Ret.), has co-authored 10 full-length musicals.
The General and Commissioner Freda Larsson have two sons. Karl, married to Sarita, is the Lotus Domino Web Manager at Inter-national Headquarters and Kevin, married to Jacqui, is the divisional music director at the Southern California Divisional Headquarters in Los Angeles.
This year’s Latino Rally will be a special time for us and it will be a great place for our Latino soldiers and friends to celebrate with the newly commissioned cadets and hear a dynamic message (in Spanish) from our International leaders, General John Larsson and Commissioner Freda Larsson.