The only woman in this year's cadet ring is Maria Sandberg, born in 1964 and raised in Sköndal outside Stockholm. Mary is the mother of two grown sons who live and work in Stockholm.
“I have worked extensively with children and adolescents”, says Maria, who experienced her encounter with God when she was a student at TSA Dalaro Folkhögskola, (College) in 1994. Following her time at the college she worked as a youth instructor in the Salvation Army and also began her officer school training, which at that time was located on Skeppargatan in Östermalm, a stone's throw from the Salvation Army headquarters.
The period of time was not easy for Maria and she dropped out after just one semester, and instead began studies at a teacher training college where she remained for three years while she ran a country store with organic focus on the island of Mörkö along with her sister.
“I went into the wall”, says Mary, “but after sick leave and work in a kindergarten, I ran the café in the Vasa Corps in Stockholm.
The next step was to take charge of the matron job at the Salvation Army Temple Corps in Stockholm, where Mary, together with others developed a popular caf’e which serves lunch several days a week.
The call to become an officer returned during her time at the Temple corps, which is now where Mary does her field training. When I asked Maria what her burning desire is fulfilling the call to be an officer, she says that she lives in the Stockholm suburb Rågsved. “There is a spiritual darkness”, says Maria, “And I would love to tell the young and the elderly living in the area of the advantage of being a disciple of Jesus. But if I get orders to go to Kiruna” (in Sweden’s northern most tundra), I’ll pack my bags” , says Mary.
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