LOOKING FORWARD TO HEAVEN!

THE TRUTHFULNESS OF ALL OF AND FOR ALL OF US.

OUR LORD IS ALL WE CAN EVER TRULY 

LOOK FORWARD TO AND VISITING AND

DANCING AND SINGING

IN HEAVEN.

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AND BEING IN KABUJAGERA, UGANDA, FOR A COUPLE DAYS IN

 NOVEMBER, 2003, AND BEING A PREACHING AND A TEACHING

LADY, WAS A REAL TREAT FOR ME.  THEY PUT UP WITH ME

 RE: THE SPIRITUAL WARFARE ISSUE I WAS TAKEN TO BE THERE.

 SURE WOULD LOVE TO SEE THEM AGAIN!

  

 AND MOST OF THESE MEMBERS WERE PASTORS FROM SMALL

PLACES, MILES AND MILES AND MILES OUTSIDE OF

THIS SMALL TOWN.  THEY HAD VERY LITTLE MONEY

AND THEY GOT ON BIKES OR HOPPED ONTO A 

TRUCK WITH PILES OF PEOPLE AND THINGS.

THEY TRULY WANTED TO KNOW MORE AND MORE

RE: THE SPIRITUAL WARFARE.  

MY FRIEND, TIM, HAS BEEN A VERY IMPORTANT

PASTORAL PERSON IN UGANDA AND HE'S IN

TULSA, OK, AND GOES OVER SOMETIMES AND 

CONTINUES TO PREACH AND TEACH AND ENCOURAGE

RE: AS I ALREADY SAID, SPIRITUAL WARFARE.  

AND THE PASTOR IN THE MIDDLE WITH TIM

WAS BOTH THE LOCAL PASTOR AND

THE PASTOR WHO WENT OUT TO MANY

OF THE VILLAGES, BECAUSE ALL THOSE

CHURCHES WERE ALSO SPIRITUALLY HIS.

A BLESSING TO BE WITH MY DEAR FRIENDS!
 ======================
 AND MY OTHER MAIN MOMENT WHEN

THEY HAD ME HOLD A BRAND NEW 

LITTLE GIRL  AND NAME HER!

 LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING SO MANY I'VE MET 

IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS 

MOSTLY IN THE NORTHWEST,

 AND OTHER PARTS OF OUR NATION, 

AND OTHER NATIONS DAVE AND/OR I HAVE BEEN AT.

LOVE SO MANY!  MISS SO MANY!  

REJOICING FOR MY HEAVENLY FATHER!

I DID THEN.  I DO NOW!!

REJOICING IN AND FOR MY HEAVENLY FATHER

IS ALL THAT COUNTS FOREVER AND EVER.

LOVED AND LOVE UGANDA,

LOVE FAMILY AND FRIENDS

HERE OR AROUND AND ABOUT THE WORLD.

EVERYTHING FOR CHRIST, IF AT ALL POSSIBLE

DID I LOOK GORGEOUS?  

NO!!

BUT DID I TEACH SPIRITUAL MAPPING AND WARFARE TO PEOPLE WHO TRULY UNDERSTOOD AND

 ACCEPTED THE NEEDS?

ABSOLUTELY, YES!

LOVED TEACHING IT THEN, MISS DOING IT NOW.

DARKNESS AND LIGHT

WHEN I WAS TEACHING, PREACHING, AND SHARING WITH THESE PASTORS ABOUT SPIRITUAL WARFARE,

 I ALSO SHARED OCCASIONALLY ABOUT 

MY DARK BACKGROUND AND

 HOW THE LORD BROKE INTO MY LIFE 

AND TRULY BROUGHT ME TO HIS LIGHT.

I REJOICE DAY BY DAY FOR HIS KINDNESS

WHEN HE REACHED OUT TO "CATCH" ME

WHEN I WAS FLYING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. 

KABUJOGERA, UGANDA -- FINAL STORY

After the delight of dedicating and naming Hannah,

we had a few more hours at the church on our plate.
 
So, on our first "plate", we ate breakfast at P. Robert’s house. While there, P. Israel said one of the conference pastors had asked them a question. This man rents his home -- I assumed it was similar to a mud hut, which is almost all I was seeing in the area.  He said he had discovered a skull which would indicate that the owner had dedicated the house to an idol.  His questions were: can this affect him, and, what should he do about it?  I presented some options and believe, overall, it was good advice, but again I was struck at the matter-of-fact way these men and women approached this whole topic and how eager they were to receive anything that could help them.

We went into the church for the Tuesday teaching, which was done by Tim.  He actually was just giving a quick introduction to spiritual warfare, because we were leaving in early afternoon.  

After Tim spoke, the Pastor Robert asked me to give a word of farewell, which I did – nothing elaborate.  However, then he  said there had been a prayer request sent from another of their churches, because the family knew we were there and they wanted us to pray for them.  Their letter said that they had been married for 15 years and they had an 11 year old girl.  They wanted another child and had been seeking God for a long time and they wanted us to pray for them.  And I was asked to pray.  I felt my faith drop to my feet -- praying about barrenness was something I'd rarely done, and certainly not publicly.  But, I held that letter in my hands and prayed the best I knew how.  Everyone seemed satisfied, but my INSIDE prayer had been “LORD, PLEASE LET THESE PEOPLE HAVE A BABY!  DON’T LET THEM DOWN.” [I've never known the consequences.]

After all this, P. Robert said the people were going to give a love offering.  He said it is part of their culture to show appreciation and that we must receive it. 

Well, the people started coming forward with their gifts: avocados, beans, HUGE cabbages, MORE avocados, a couple of mats, pumpkins, coins, and more avocados.  It was obvious the people were giving their best.  I was so overwhelmed I could hardly breathe.  Then P. Robert asked me to pray the blessing over the offering.  I was so shaken it took me a bit of time to get control of my emotions enough to pray.  

When we were finally ready to leave, Robert came to me with an envelope containing my personal share of the offering, 2,700 shillings or about $1.30 -- all the coins mixed with the other gifts.  I immediately understood how King David must have felt when his men brought him the water from Bethlehem and, instead of drinking it, he poured it out.  I didn’t know then what I would do with this money, but it was too holy to spend in a common way.  I put it in my Bible and would keep it there until a God-door would open. 

[Donated it at my friend Pastor Joseph's Baptist church in Soroti 

on my last Sunday up there, January 18. Two months later, 350 miles away. What a blessing that, not knowing it would occur, the Kabujogera church would  bless the ones suffering from the rebels.  So happy I truly kept those shillings in my Bible, waiting and waiting for the time-share.]  

Then we headed home with our bags, our 9 warm bodies,  piles of gifts in the back and under our feet -- and a chicken.

...AND FACING REALITY

It was a very tight and long four hours, but I was floating on my inside.

==============

I had never felt so honored, appreciated, respected, received and humbled in my life -- and not often since then.  They had asked me to come and teach again, and I truly will in a heartbeat if God ever makes the door open on our side and would love to take Dave with me to meet Pastors Robert and Israel.  Dave would be a blessing, of course. [And Tim and Jill are still dear friends, dear family. We love them.]

Sometimes I felt that I was living in a travelogue.  I've often pinched myself, while traveling in Uganda during those several trips over and around there, to check if it was really real that I was doing what I loved to do and spending time with people I loved to be with.  The pinching pain always felt good.

=============

Thank you, Lord, for sending me there, and, now,

 after all these years, allowing me 

to share with family and friends, 

both locally and abroad.

=====================
 

KABUJOGERA, UGANDA -- DAY 3 -- BABY

 Sometimes we forget, can't follow-through, because so much is on our plates.  But God prods and prods, and taps and taps ... and blesses us.

You see, Sunday evening, during the dinner time at the Volcano Arcade Hotel [always have to write the whole name, because the title makes me grin], Tim, Robert, and Israel were contacted by the local police leader who was in charge of their town, Jackson Ndungo.  He had heard we were there and he came to rededicate his life to the Lord.  He had a very serious limp after a motorcycle accident.   It SO fit right into my teaching on Sunday afternoon about "Everybody Has A Limp!"  When I drifted off to my room, The pastors told him we were going to talk to his wife Monday after the class was out.

Well, we didn't.  I hit the bed right after finishing my spiritual warfare teaching session that covered a fair amount of time that day.  Tim and the other men were taking care of the conference pastors and answering more of their questions.  Then dinner.  We all forgot this plan to go to Jackson's home.

When we realized the forgetfulness, we committed between ourselves, to go on Tuesday morning, before the service would begin.  Pastor Robert and Tim and I went to see Jackson and meet his wife.

You would have to see it to believe it.  Since Jackson was the main police officer of the village, he should have some sort of honor attached, right?  Well, in our city, and many other places, he'd have a house or nice apartment.  There, he lived in an 8 x 10 room in a compound with his wife and new baby.  It had a twin bed, a shelf, a couple of small stools, and a boom/box stereo.  Their clothes were hung on nails.  We all crammed into that little room and Tim talked with Jackson about his commitment to the Lord, answered a few of his questions, and then asked his wife, Beatrace, if she wanted to make a commitment.  Eventually, we found that she had already done so a couple years earlier, but was in a backslidden condition.  She prayed with us and rededicated her life to the Lord.  It went beautifully.

Their baby was a 3-day old girl. Jackson asked me to hold her -- not a problem, as she was a little doll -- and then Robert, on behalf of the parents, asked me to name her and dedicate her to God.  I was so blown away that it took a couple minutes to get my brain working -- had never done anything like this in my life.  Finally, the name that came to me was Hannah.  And then I prayed over her, focusing on Hannah's faith and her commitment to seek God.  I gathered it was not an easy name to say in this tribal tongue, but Jackson kept practicing and when he said "Anna" he quickly corrected himself and said "Hannah".  I was so overwhelmed by the honor, I could hardly take it in.

Sitting on a bench outside after the dedication.

AND the "official" conference day had not yet begun.  It was Am-A-zing!  When I share that one, you should grin -- and rejoice with the rest of us, too, who were involved.

==========

2006

NOW, about 4 years ago a letter was sent to us from Uganda. The address happened to be our former home, and the owners kept it at the house knowing we'd come by someday.  It was WEEKS later when Dave and I were going past and decided to pop in and see how the Schafers were doing.  They handed the envelope to us, and when I opened it, a letter and photos were there from Jackson.  The family had moved further southwest, and they were attending a Full Gospel church, the letter written in that church office.  

Jackson told about Beatrace and daughter, Hannah, whose name is now Mariam Hannah, a name easier to be spoken by family and friends.  So blessed that they kept the name.  Hope to find them again.

2007

KABUJOGARA, UGANDA - DAY 2

Leaders at the hotel dinner break

With everything that happened on Sunday, I was totally unprepared for the wonders that awaited me on Monday.
 
To begin with: It was the first day of the Believers’ School of Ministry Spiritual Warfare Conference. Pastors and others had come from villages up in the hills and mountain areas, some on bikes, others on the backs of trucks with piles of people or junk or animals – or all three mixed together.   Amazingly, these members had only to pay the equivalent of 75 cents for their week of schooling, and that was for cost of the copy of the materials.  Food and housing were up for them to arrange, most of which was provided by the church families, none of whom had much either.  Without that extremely low cost, very few of them could have come. They came once a month for five days of classes and had to set aside shillings during those weeks at home to afford the materials.  The sacrifices these people made were incredible -- and I expect it's much the same today.

I was the teacher for the day and the main topic was Spiritual Mapping which I had been doing for several years; while there, I taught the basics.   Tim wanted me to give examples and practical guidelines.  I spoke from 11:00 to 1:30 and we broke for lunch.  At 2:45 I began again and went until 4:30. 

In the morning, they didn’t ask questions.  But after lunch, I was asked some good ones about what they should look for in their villages. [They must have talked to each other during lunch-time together while hanging out in the church yard.] With their questions, we talked a lot about dedicating houses and property to idols and how to break those oaths. This was very real to these people, because nearly every structure had been dedicated with the sacrifice of a chicken.  They hadn’t necessarily accepted as a special event, but for generations it was simply done.  Now, while growing in the Lord, they had become uncomfortable with this, truly realizing it was ungodly.  Tim and I and others were able to encourage them to turn away from that generational pattern.  

Pastors, Watchers, Thinkers, Sharers

Another aspect that was discussed at length was what they could expect when the curses are broken off the land and the principalities are exposed.  The example of Almolonga, Guatemala, fit into that question and was happily described to encourage them.  A few more questions were asked about their area of witchcraft and deliverance, but I let the leading pastors handle that.  However, overall, I really had a ball. 

 

Tim took these two photos from the back of the church and, obviously, pushed the button as I seemed to be choking myself when describing something about spiritual warfare.  Who knows what I was thinking, saying, when the photo was taken?  I don't.  But still laugh when I see the "teacher" picture of me.   What a hoot!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I DID tell them, several times, that spiritual mapping is not something to do without authority or cover.  I encouraged these pastors to support and bless their “underground” studiers and provide intercessory support for them.  I also told them all that very few of them are called to be "mappers", because an army needs very few spies, but a wise general in a battle relies on his intelligence reports, and, spiritually, that is what mappers may provide. Somewhere in here we talked about how to determine the character of the tribal idolatry/principality, and not to be satisfied with just a general all-inclusive rebuke.  I used my visual of shotgun prayer vs. laser prayer.  I don’t know just how that got interpreted, but they seemed to understand.  We also discussed corporate repentance, forgiveness, and  remitting sins.  Quite a lot, actually. 

When we finished I was an exhilarated wet rag, if that’s possible.  Around 5, after ending, closing with a worship song or two,  I went back to the hotel for a l..o..n..g nap.

And spent the evening resting and looking over the balcony at the skies ... and feeling BLESSED!!