Category Archives: Inspirational Thoughts

The Wedding Album

08 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by in Inspirational Thoughts, Life in Africa, Marriage, Trials to Triumph

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ImageIn June 17, 1997 a fire destroyed our house and all of our personal effects gathered over 10 years of working in Botswana. There are many amazing things to share about what all came out of that but for now, one special story I would like to relate is about our wedding photos. I started looking for the man who took the photos when I was in Houston but was told that he and his wife had moved to the Texas Hill country upon retirement. Donna was one of my spiritual mom’s during the early days of my Christian walk and I attended all the Women’s Aglow meeting I could get to in between school. Fred McCreary was active in ministry in addition to his job at NASA. I attended faithfully as a teen getting all I could from the wave of the move of God in the 70’s.

It was 1997 and I was attending an International Aglow conference in New Orleans. While I was going up a 2 story escalator, with my 2 year old, Mason, I heard the Lord in my heart say to me, “turn around”. So when I reached the top, I did, and I saw the back of a lady’s head in the middle of the huge crowd of thousands of women who had come from all over the world. , Then I heard, “That’s Donna McCreary!” I bolted down the escalator with baby in tow and made my way through the crowd until I reached her. I tapped her on the shoulder and sure enough, it was her! I spent many hours in her home as a teen with her kids and she recognized me right away. We hugged, had a time of reunion and then I told her about the fire and all we had been through. I told her I had tried to reach them to see if perhaps they had kept the negatives of our wedding because we had lost all in the fire. She informed me that they had gotten rid of all of that when they moved and was so sorry. 

She invited our family to visit them in their new home on the river in the Texas hill country. Our trip got really full and when she phoned me to see if we were coming, she told me,” We really want you all to come. I really think it will be worth your while.” So we made the drive out on our way through the vast state of Texas. People ask me what country I am from sometimes in Africa and I till them- From Texas! Botswana is roughly the same size as Texas.

We all disembarked from the packed out mini-van we were driving and managed to get to the front door with the all 3 boys. We were warmly greeted and asked to sit down and have a cup of coffee before unpacking the car for the night. As we sipped our coffee, Fred sat down and said how sorry he was that they had not kept the negatives for our wedding. They just did not have space in the move for all those things. He worked for NASA for years and did photography on the side. He was very good at it. That was just another thing the Lord did for us on our wedding- was to use Fred and Donna to bless us with quality photos. He said, “But though we didn’t have space for the negatives, I did keep one thing”…and he pulled out an album and placed it before us on the glass table. It was worn and looked just like the one we lost. I was confused for a moment, and when I opened the page, I was even more confused. Jerry sat beside me in utter amazement and surprise. He said, “Jana, these are our wedding pictures!” Fred went on to tell us that because our wedding was so unique and the pictures turned out so well, he made a copy for himself as a demo to show his work! He said, It’s yours if you want it!! Of course we said, “yes”! His album had even MORE pictures in it than our own album had.

That album is tucked away in my oak hope chest in Houston, Texas for safe keeping! What a wonderful God we have to remember even the smallest detail of our lives. That was a very special reminder from the Father on that day! To view it you can friend me on facebook to see it.

Aside

Cancer Storm

06 Sunday May 2012

Posted by in Inspirational Thoughts, Life in Africa, Our Family, Trials to Triumph

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I had just returned to Africa from the states in May 2008.  I had taken our middle son, Jordan to join his brother as a student at Christ For The Nations Institute in Dallas, Texas. He was joining our oldest son, Remick and had lived their whole lives in Botswana, Africa where we have lived since 1987. 

Returning to Botswana, the land of my heart, I was full of excitement for what was ahead. Two weeks prior I had a very unique experience when a friend treated me to a 5 day getaway to connect with God on a Ranch in the Texas Hill country. http://fellowshipofthesword.com/ It was a transformational experience! Little did I know what lay ahead for us a week later. I arrived in Botswana on Saturday May 24. I was so excited to get back into our busy lives there and particularly eager to see our long awaited rescue center for babies-the Lorato House Rescue Center, up and running. It had been a long, 6 year battle for licensing and we were getting close to opening our doors.

Sitting down to a good cup of Earl Gray tea, Jerry shared the recent report he had been given from the Doctor but kept to himself, awaiting my return. A week before my home coming he had learned in the Capital city, Gaborone, that he had stage 4 Cancer. As he shared this unbelievable report of their findings, Squamous Carcinoma. The left side of his neck was full of cancer. In all the years we have been serving in Africa, our Father had never let us down. Just a year prior, friends had given us catastrophic health insurance. Little did we know what we would be facing.

The leaders from our church wept with us, encouraged us, then took arms to pray for us. I repacked my bags to travel back to the states with Jerry the next week to MD Anderson Cancer Research Center in Houston, TX. 

We live in the remote village of Maun 10 hours away from the Capital City Gaborone.  National church leaders began calling & asked us to fly through the Capital on our way out of country so that they could pray with us before we left.  They showed great love and respect to us for our years of work in their nation and promised to hold us up in prayer and see us on the other side of this battle. Upon arriving in Houston, we were invited to stay with a dear friend, Susie Wolf at her beautiful home less than 5 minutes from M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Center. 

We arrived full of faith and determined to return and resume our assignment in Botswana. We were greeted by a wonderful Christian Oncologist Dr. Anne Tsao who told us we would need to be willing to give her 6 months of our lives for treatment, Jerry as the patient and me as the caregiver. Consulting with our spiritual Mom Dodie Osteen who had been healed of Cancer many years ago & Dr Paul Osteen, they encouraged us to walk the healing path the Lord had put us on.  

Chemo Therapy started right away. The cancer was aggressive and had spread so they had to give the strongest dosages humanly possible since Jerry was healthy in every other way. Three Months were scheduled and after the first round- miraculously, no cancer was identified in the first PET scan!

We were so excited and thought we might be able to go back to Botswana and get back to work! Dr. Tsao reminded us that we had committed ourselves six months to her care which meant  3 months of chemo and 3 months radiation. Jerry had one request, really a demand if he was going to follow through with further treatment. He would do the treatment as outlined if he could fly back to Botswana where our 10 branch churches join the main church, All Nations Village Church for our annual leadership conference in between the Chemo and Radiation treatments.

The doctors and I would ‘wink’ at each other and say yes, of course we can try. By the time to leave for the conference, Jerry had lost weight and all his hair but was counting the days before his awaited departure date. He was on injections of blood thinners twice a day and 3 heavy doses of Chemo had taken its toll on him

I went to Sudan for a few days to speak at a conference beforehand and meet Jerry in Johannesburg and go on to Botswana. Jerry made his way with our good friend, Doug Stringer, who accompanied him to the conference who was one of the speakers. He used his air miles to get Jerry in Business Class to be more comfortable.

Jerry was there at all the sessions and in between he rested up for the next service. The church was electric with excitement and all rejoiced at their Pastor’s presence there in the midst of the storm! It was a crucial time of encouragement for the ministry team in Maun. We had a great team around us and Jerry and I have always believed that the ministry has never been built around a man, but around THE man, Jesus Christ. 

We returned to Houston for the last 3 months of treatment and stepped off the plane to go straight to MD Anderson for the first round of Radiation treatment.  Throughout our journey we were encouraged by a picture the Jerry bravely kept before him. It was a very real picture of he and I in a sail boat out on the sea of Life. The dark clouds were looming overhead the wind was blowing harshly against the sail, the waves were lapping against our boat trying to sink our dreams and future!  But in the midst of the dark clouds and raging waters, Jesus was there and told him to look to the other side and focus his eyes on the shore line. As we did this this, we could see something beautiful & bright awaiting us there. This filled us with courage and joy!  Every day Jerry got up, no matter how he felt, showered, dressed and had a purpose in each day, if even to do a simple task. We ministered to others around us at MD Anderson, preached in churches on weekends, we gave our best to others and it filled us with strength.

At a time when America and the rest of the world were feeling the economic  struggles of the year 2008 we came out on the other side of this enemy called Cancer. We reached the shoreline and the months that followed were nothing short of supernatural! Six months later we headed back to Botswana with a clean bill of health and a mandate to get regular checkups as prescribed by the Oncologist.  Four years later, Jerry continues to remain Cancer free! The enemy is taking some serious blows for this attempt on Jerry’s life and we are walking safely on the shoreline with Jesus!

Prejudice and Pride – How Africa Has Changed Me

05 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by in Inspirational Thoughts, Life in Africa, My Journey

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ImagePhoto by Remick Lackey

In 1987 we had watched the newly released “Out of Africa” with Meryl Steep and Robert Redford. We had a dream that was about to become a reality. A culmination of many years of prayer and longing to “go”. We had said to God, like Isaiah, “Here am I Lord, send me.” Our ideas were so romantic. In fact, I was Meryl and Jerry was Robert and together, we set off for Africa!

We came to Africa to really make a difference, “to shake a nation.” Like the great Evangelist, Reinhard Bonke says, shaking his fist in the air with resolute declaration, “Africa shall be saved!”

But after living in Africa for almost 25 years now, most of my adult life, so far, we have experienced the richness of a culture and of it’s people. We now know that we really have not changed anything much. But one thing we do know, Africa has changed us! We are different people now from when we came! Africa and its people have taught us and shown us more about being people of honor and respect, which are the foundation and fabric of this culture. People come first. Period. My fast-paced, introspective, American life-style, my small minded-ness, my lack of a world view all had limited me as a life long learner on the field. Can you believe, I even thought God was American! Not literally, but certainly in my perception of how I thought He thought!

Seriously though, it has taken years for me to really understand that the things that were ingrained in me from my culture as an American up to the age of 27 when I came to Africa, were not necessarily the “right” way at all. Its all I knew. Here, in Botswana, to greet someone is fundamental to any encounter and conversation. If I greet you, I respect you. If I forgo that formality, simply because I am in a hurry (guilty-I am almost always in a hurry!), then I may as well turn around and leave, because I wont’ get very far.

We are sometimes embarrassed by our younger days here, and our ex-patriot counterparts who come over with the idea that we are better than someone because they can’t speak English, don’t dress as nice, or live in a hut. Don’t let that fool you! You never know who you will find in that hut, or in the yard. PHD’s, Ministers of Parliament, Diplomats, enjoying retirement. An elderly person who is looking after and providing for up to 12 children because their parents have passed away. A woman who lives with abuse. A smelly child who happens to come from a child led home because there is no one to look after them? Judgments and prejudices are in our lives and the back of our minds as ugly reminders of our inability to embrace, unconditionally those we encounter every day of our lives. You cannot judge a book by its cover for sure! You really never can.

What are some ways that you could see yourself letting down your guard to love the lovely, and the seemingly un-lovely? What makes a person worthy of your attention-or not? We all came from the dust and will return to it. Compassion is the essence of life-Christian or not. It is when Christ is the ruler of our hearts, He gives us the ability to see the person, to really SEE the person, as he sees them. That’s what it means to be his hands and his feet.

I wouldn’t trade a day I have lived in Africa for all the highways in Houston! Slow down, take it all in, the people around you, the task you thought you had to do at that moment, and savor the sweetness of another person, because they deserve as much dignity and respect as you do.

Dirty boys, Drought and Desparate Measures!

08 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by in Inspirational Thoughts, Life in Africa, Our Family, The Early Days

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Image1996-97 was a terrible season of drought in Northern Botswana. We lived on the Boteti River and the very last pool of water from the Okavango Delta was in front of our house. In that pool lived 32 Hippos who were hanging on to their last days of life. They were literally starving to death. Their home-the Boteti River was dwindling in the Kalahari sun by the day. The smell of death was all around and nothing could be done about it.

Water was hauled in the back of a Hilux Toyota pickup. Water rations were just a part of life. By this time I was pregnant with our 3rd son and we had 2 very active boys who loved to play in the dirt! “a dirty kid is a happy kid” one mama of kids raised in the Botswana bush taught me. So true. There was an old generator that we turned on in the evening for some lights and Video taped shows.

Bath time was especially eventful. We would fill the tub with about 6 inches of water that the whole family had to share. The cleanest person got to go first, which given the family dynamics, that person was usually me! By the time we got to the last bath, that water was black! We then dumped the water down the toilet. We used the “if its yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down” method, to stretch the water we did have. Any other water was used to water what little green there was around the house.

The grand finale of this season was a mysterious fire that destroyed the house and all its contents, leaving us with a new baby boy and 2 sons-homeless. We wrapped up business and travelled to the USA to my mama’s place in Texas. We arrived exhausted from the journey. When I went in to take a shower I just stood under the water and cried. It had been a tough couple of years. It didn’t feel right to let the water flow like that. I felt guilty. But wonderful at the same time.

Eventually the rains came to our village and gave moisture and life to the dry land. Sometimes our lives are like that. We get dry-dirty-thirsty. We need the rain to come. God desires to pour out his love on us like that shower in my mama’s Texas home. So glorious, so, almost sacred, is that water. Refreshing and restoring my soul from a very difficult season.

The bible says, Revelation 22:17 (ESV)

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

We have all heard the phrase “water is life”. I can tell you I know it is true. But there is a river of water that never will run dry. And that is God’s love to his kids. Jump in, enjoy, let it wash you clean and be refreshed.

Malachite Kingfisher

05 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in Inspirational Thoughts, Life in Africa

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Malachite Kingfisher

God cares!

On Saturday I  heard a loud “bang” on the window. It was a familiar sound as birds often mistake it for open air. Later on, I was outside and I saw a beautiful, but stunned, Malachite Kingfisher frozen in position. I gently picked him and left him on a limb high from the ground to get over the shock. Several hours later, he was still there. Me and the 7 children who were guests at my house over the weekend made a little nest in a big glass lantern box and got him settled in. The magnificent little creature was alive, but not eating or drinking. Another day passed. This morning, I placed the glass box on a pole near a tree. As I looked on, his eyes locked in with mine. I could see he wanted to live, to fly, but maybe he was damaged beyond repair.

I decided to pray a simple, child- like prayer. I reminded my creator, that he created the birds of the air and that bible says that even of a sparrow that falls to the ground-you see and care about it. He was likening it to how much more he cares about us as people!

A few hours passed and I glanced out the window to check on my new found friend. He was gone! I ran out to see and sure enough, he found the strength to make flight! I am reminded of how very much God listens to our prayers. There is no prayer too small for Him. Its so easy, as we get older and “wiser” to make it so complicated. God Cares. God listens. He really does.