ACTIVITY IN UGANDA...

 

Heading out from Omaha through England to Uganda.

 Dave and I did a lot in Uganda, even from the very beginning portion.  He taught one special boy how to build something for the orphanage situation.  Dave really loved Elijah, and he died just about a few months later for something in his lungs.  Dave has thought of him often, and hopes to see Elijah when Dave is in Heaven.

Dave had me preaching at a variety of places there, and he always told them that I was "it".  As a man he was always drawn to the preaching situation and he always turned it to me immediately.  Can't say I did perfectly, but did what I could.  He also had me teaching the kids in a variety of places and I did a good job on that.  He was taking the pictures and doing a video piece very often.  He was an amazing man then... and he truly is now.   Anyhow, I'll show what he did for me in Uganda in early '91.

 

 

 

Hope you'll smile.  OH, and the place where the roof stuff was so bad is a bit different than we would ever understand.  The church people were there on Sunday, but it was a school place during the week.  Pretty awful to think of what kids were going through.  We'd never agree with that in our nation.

 

CURTAINS OF HEAVEN IN UGANDA!

MANY YEARS AGO, BEGINNING IN JANUARY, 1991,

 IN UGANDA, AND SAW THE CLOUDS

 AND THE SUN BY THEM

EARLY IN THE MORNING USUALLY.

DIDN'T USUALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE 

OF WHERE WE WERE STAYING IN THAT NATION.

 THIS GRABBED MY HEART THEN,

AND, RECENTLY, WHEN LOOKING THROUGH 

THOUSANDS OF PHOTOS WE'VE TAKEN 

AROUND AND ABOUT

IN MY HOUSE, OUR CITY, THE STATES, AND THE NATIONS, AND INCLUDING CLOUDS, SUN, MOON, TREES, BIRDS,

AND MANY, MANY OTHER THINGS,

I REJOICE WHEN I SEE WHAT GRABS

MY HEART AGAIN.

WE LOVED BEING IN UGANDA THOSE SEVERAL TIMES 

WHEN GOD SENT US THERE,

AND DAVE AND I WENT ASAP.

AND WOULD LOVE TO BE THERE AGAIN.

OH, AND WHEN I'M IN HEAVEN I HOPE I CAN SEE IT 

EXACTLY THE WAY IT IS AGAIN!!

YIPPEE!!

THE LORD DEFINITELY PUT US THERE,

SO I TRUST HIM FOR THE SIGNIFICANT FOREVERNESS

FROM OUR HEAVENLY FATHER.

"ANNIE" GRABBED AGAIN.... FOR FUN!

These photos were a suggestion by Susan Jones, because she thought it would be good to have the "older" Annie stand there holding the book, and that  "old" Annie could look similar to "young" Annie.  Well, she didn't think at all that it would be nice to see "Annie" looking mad, but I did it first.  A Tough Cookie.  THEN I gave a less fussy look and it came out better, over all.  So, I've showed you a couple of them.   

AND most of you know the book, "The Annie Project", is the one I wrote and has been published about 3 months ago.  So it truly is a "me" fixing time.  Thanks for putting up with me.  Couldn't not share this, hoping people would be laughing.

MY HABIT ... FIRST RESPONDERS

I have several habits.  One is what the Lord laid on me about 3 months ago.  EVERY DAY post a photo on my blog with His Word on it.  And spread it onto FB.  Every morning when I wake up, that's the first God-job I do.  

Another habit.  Fill in whenever the Lord lays someone, someplace on me ... Bhutanese to a hospital, family/friend to see when they are in spiritual or physical or emotional need.  I'm a knee-jerk Christian.  Go forward and do.  Period.

Travel to and fro, whenever and wherever I am to be in our nation.

But this is one of the most important, and was attended recently when a 19-yr old boy, Julius, who had left the gangs, coming to the Lord, was murdered.  Can't not go if I'm in town.  Yes, it's a "habit".  

[The chocolate one is in my life too, and ice cream... but they aren't the important ones.]

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

Today we went arrived at a very busy portion of Omaha -- for info to you who know Omaha, it was at 23rd and Vinton.  While driving in and out of the neighborhood, I remembered being up on the main street nearby a couple years ago when a murder had taken place.  Hard so often when we're looking around and about the town and are passing murder sites.  Makes my heart shudder with sorrow.

Today a number of people connected to Julius arrived.  Family, friends, people who had been encouraging him to leave the gang and grow in the Lord.  They'd helped him prepare for a job,  gave him wisdom.  And a number of us simply connected to First Responders and his family and friends came.

The prayer time was amazing.  Filled with blessings.  Oh, and a few of the police that arrived to keep a safe eye on us, which is their standard now, got out of the cars and came to our circles and prayed with us.  That happens occasionally and is a real blessing.  Partly, because the groups who have lost a member don't trust the police, and after these prayer times it begins to enter their hearts that they can trust the police.

A couple had left already.

At the end, I had a blessing.  I was able to get a couple of the prayer shawls out of my car and one was given to Julius's mother, but she was not with us, but the shawl would be taken to her by one of her family members.  The other shawl was given to

Julius's aunt, and she was with us, and I was asked to  "shawl" her and pray for her.  I handed my camera to a young fellow and just asked him to take a few.  He did.

 

So now you've see a number of photos of the carers, the prayers, the encouragers... and you've seen me.  

And I came home very tired, very cold, very physically/ mentally challenged... but filled with joy, because I know people were filled with the Lord, filled with peace.

PSALM 92:15

This is the verse that the Lord dropped into me

 this morning when I was in the Word.  I was pleased. 

 Means I'm back with my friends again.

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It's been 10 days since I've posted.  WHY?   The Lord had me reorganizing my home office, restructuring hourly portions that would be more and more involved in scanning photos -- thousands -- and writing/editing/rewriting hundreds of pages for stories/teachings/sharings/poems/plays/skits, all either short or long --some go back about 40 years.  Not finished, OF COURSE, with the photos and writings -- just beginning this part -- but am moving forward.  During this stretch of housework, I donated books to my church; gave away house items; sorted, resorted, and shredded hundreds and hundreds of papers (income tax stuff from the past years and years, and lots of  family filing I had done over the past stretch that could be discarded).

And, because of the office re-organization, I had to adjust and re-organize a couple other portions of our house.  [Including, removing the Christmas tree and re-doing the living room at this same time.]  I've been one busy cookie for a week.

 So, NOW, I'm BACK.  Not entirely done -- as I said, the writing and photo scanning are just in the beginning organizing process -- but I'm BACK.   

[Hopefully, in the next 3 months THOSE basics will be in place.  That's my goal.]

HAND-RAISING LIFE

OK.  Here's the story.  Life, obviously, never changes.

When I was 16 years old in Klickitat, Washington, I was walking on the main street of this small town on a Saturday and saw one of my teachers, Mr. Warner.  I have no idea what we were talking about.  I only remember what happened.

While I was talking to him, he suddenly reached over and grabbed my hands and forced my arms to my side and said:  "Now talk."

As a result, I had Big Eyes, staring at him, and my mouth frozen shut.

In all these years similar events have occurred.  I get teased.  For instance, I was interviewed by a news reporter after a local First Responder prayer time when two murders had taken place.  Even though a number of people were pleased by my comments, I also was told that it was so "me" to see the hands and arms winding around.

WELL, I was up in northern MN a couple weeks ago, visiting my "sister" and dear friend, Susie.  First, this is a picture of us.  See what she's holding in her hand?

 When I was talking to a couple guys who were rebuilding her deck and ramp, I had no idea what she was doing.  She has known me since I was 15, so in nearly 52 years she has seen each part of my life that changed -- salvation, for instance-- and what hasn't.  THIS is what hasn't.

 

Sometimes I would like to be a quieter [even with hands and arms], less filled with arm exercise during talks.  Do I remember what we were discussing?  NO!  But Susie obviously enjoyed taking the "Normal Joanne" pics.

[And I'm not upset; just chuckling at how some things never seem to change.  Will I be that way in heaven?  Will my personality still be an overwhelming arm-raiser, swinging and swaying them during worship?  Might not be too annoying there, doncha think?]