Praise the Lord!

Guess what?! That's right my computer is back in commission! Yeah! I am so excited. Praise the Lord; now it is better than ever. What an answer to prayer!

Dear Lord, please, bless my computer!

I know that this sounds strange, but it's true.  My computer is a blessing grom God- it was give to me as a gift when my other computer went kaput just a week before I left for Sudan.  So, I vowed I would use my computer for good and not for evil and to take extra special care of it(which, I have).  Monday, my computer became very ill :(.  Turns out my operating system crashed and we thought it was a the hard drive, but instead it is a mystery peice of fault hardware.  We have now clue what peice.  The saddest part is not eve that my computer is sick, but that all of my files are corrupted.  All of my curriculum work and pictures for the last 2 months are gone.  I usually save weekly to two other devices, but have failed to do that in the last 2 months.  Product of that mistake= OUCH!  Please, pray that my computer will get a huge dose of Vitamin C and jump back into action for the next month and 1/2.  It would be very useful for all of the I work that I have to get done!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my Dad's 50th birthday! If you see him say, "Way to go, Kev!" He is along on his birthday- he need help celebrating this big milestone. My mom is in Greece and to be quite honest I don't have a clue about my brothers. 
Happy Birthday, old man! I hope you have a great day! I love you and miss you!
Love,
Dani

Psalm 62 and 63

I am not going to type the whole 2 chapters, but I will pick a couple. The whole 2 chapters have been a driving force for me for the last couple of days.
Psalm 62
vs 1-2
For God alone my soul waits in silence from him comes my salvtation He only is my rock and my salvation my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
vs 7-8
ON GOd rests my slavation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.  Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him God is a refuge for us.
vs 11-12
Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.  FOr you will render to aman according to his work.
Psalm 63
vs 1
O GOd, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my lfesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where therei s not water.
vs3- 4 Becuse your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.  So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.

Unexpected House Guest

Last Tuesday I received a house guest. My friend, Rachel, came to visit me from Kampala. I am so happy she has come, considering, it is her first time to come to Sudan. I was so excited that she came, but apparently I was not the only one. I had planned for one house guest, instead I received two. The day after Rachel arrived I received another guest; let’s call him… Herbert.  Herbert is a little, grey, beady eyed field mouse. Now, don’t get me wrong I am pro- God’s creatures, but this thing is DISGUSTING and ANNOYING! I have had mice before, but this one acted like it weighed 250 lbs rather than 1 lb. Rachel and I had about 5 sleepless nights because little Herbert had decided he was in Disney Land and my house was his magic kingdom.  Herbert, for your information, you are nothing like Mickey Mouse.  He popped the lid off of my medicine tub and then jumped into the trash can and made a ruckus.  He climbed in my school bag, which was hanging by my head. He even climbed up Rachel’s leg.  We searched for the little bugger, but could never find it. Then, yesterday, Rachel was looking for headphones in one of my cloth boxes and there it was sleeping in the little bag with the cords. I heard Rachel scream and finally had had enough. We put towels under all of the doors, removed everything from the walls, and gathered our weapons (a mop and a broom). We were ready for war!   Herbert began running from corner one against the wall to corner two. He past corner three, sprinted to corner four and again to corner one. Herbert was running a marathon and he is one fast mouse. You could almost hear…Vroom, Vroom, Vroom, Vroom. Once he ran a couple of times I realized that we would have to be the ones to smash him and as much as I wanted him gone I didn’t not want to be the perpetrator in that scenario. So I ran outside and called one of the men to come in and help. But… Herbert had disappeared. We were positive he was only in the one room, but could not find him. We searched high and low. We started picking up thing and putting them away so we could find him more easily next time. He was gone. Than… Rachel was moving a green, metal box and there he was. We accidentally squished him when we were searching for him. There was NO WAY I was picking up that thing so I called our rescuer back in one more time. He picked little Herbert up by the tale and as he carried him away to the field mouse graveyard his little feet were still running in mid air. Sorry, little Herbert, now you get to be in field mouse heaven, which is probably the real magic kingdom!  Say hi to Mickey!   Rest in peace, Herbert, I know Rachel and I did last night!

June Newsletter

June 1, 2010

Dear Friends,

With every thought, every word, and wherever I go I want to love you all of my days for you are my God and I surrender all… There are three primary age girls standing outside my house right now practicing this song. Powerful words, easy to say, harder to do. 

This month is a big month in my family. On June 7, my parents will celebrate their 30^th wedding anniversary and on June 16, my dad will celebrate his 50^th birthday. What an amazing milestone month that gives credit and is a true product and testament of God’s grace. I am so thankful for my parents and their Godly example of marriage. I am also so grateful that we, as a family, were gifted to have my father for 50 years(not possible without God’s grace, healing hands, miraculous strength and plan for my dad’s life; if you don’t know what I am talking about ask me about it sometime). So if you see my parents give them a pat on the back or high five! I am pretty sad I am missing these milestone events. You know and next month is my mom’s 50^th birthday! Wow, they are really getting oldJ!

I can’t believe it is June! The month that mangoes are ending and rain is coming every day. Ok, so what is happening this month? What happened last month? Let me give you the 4-1-1. Today is great day! Today we got internet back. You really do not know how much you rely on something until it’s not there. I just wanted to let you all know I haven’t been dead just un- connected. Last month I came back to Goli and to rain. Rain is such a blessing for farmers, but a pain for the road.  We do a lot of praying driving back and forth from town. Last weekend all of the teachers went to Yei for time together and time away from our compound.  It was such a fun time. We all did our shopping and then went to the Green Mango for lunch and games. It is so much to let down your guard and just have fun with the people you spend every day with away from our normal lives.

This month started off with a visitor. My friend, Rachel (another short termer who is in Kampala) came to visit me for just over a week. I love getting visitors and just letting them see what life is like here and meet the amazing people I live with. I am so happy she is here and she brought me chocolate. Yum! This month we will get a mid-term break and all of my secondary students are going to Murchison Falls. They are so excited for this trip. I might even go with them! We will see.

Things are going great here; we have parents weekend next week so our kids are gearing up with projects, songs, and skits.  Like usual, my house is swarming with children around.  They have decided that my house is the new art studio, so they have been coming to me everyday asking for paper and markers.  They sit on my porch and color. My house has turned into a gallery and I have no more room for drawings, but they keep on insisting that I take their drawings. I am also running out of paper, but they will pretty much use anything.

So, as all of you are starting your summer breaks remember me. I am still in school, granted I had my summer break in December, learning about World War 1, Vikings, waterfalls, tourism, urbanization, and monopolies.

Praises!

1)   God’s constant provision and strength!

2)   My friend Rachel has come. It’s nice to have visitors!

3)   Our area is still safe and peaceful!

4)   Our term has gone smoothly so far

5)   I have not been sick for two weeks, now!

Prayer Requests:

1)   God’s provision in a teacher to take my spot soon, so we can smoothly transition before I leave and so I can spend some needed time on curriculum before I go.

2)   God’s wisdom in my next step

3)   ECA students and teachers that we can continue to work hard and well together

4)   My parents that have a much deserved great anniversary! My dad has a fantastic ½ century birthday!

Only Because of God’s Amazing Grace,

Danielle Olson

daniolson84@gmail.com

www.daniellesafricandiscoveries.blogspot.com

May Newsletter

May 7, 2010

Dear Friends,

249 days, 36 weeks, and 8 months; only four more newsletters to go. Wow! Time has really flown by and now to begin one of those last four newsletters. Yesterday, I stepped foot back onto Sudanese soil. After being away for almost exactly a month I was ready to be back in Sudan. Elections were peaceful and all is calm in the great Southern Sudan so AIM allowed us to return to this great land.  As the rest of my team embarked on the mission to return I stayed behind for an extra week. I have not been feeling well over the last month, so I went to the doctor in Kampala and was given medicine to take care of my bacterial infection. I am getting stronger every day and will soon be fully functioning.

My holiday was full of adventures for me and new things. At the very beginning of my R&R we had a Sudan prayer day. This day was a success and thank you to all who prayed for Sudan all around the globe.  I than got the opportunity to go white water rafting on the Nile river with some friends, that flew in from Kenya. What a rush! We had so much fun in a boat of only five girls and two instructors (one of them was training).  I have conquered the Nile! Well, sorta! We did flip quite a bit; there is no fun without flipping. I am ready to do it again! The day after I returned from rafting I was than privileged to go visit an SIL missionary couple and the Ik tribe up in the Northern most corner of North Eastern Uganda. I learned so much from this trip. This was an exploratory trip for AIM to see if this is future spot for ministry. I loved watching how that whole process works and the conversations and learning that has to happen. The Ik defiantly need education, health care, and most of all… the Gospel! Anyone interested?!

I returned from my trip to the Ik and the next day headed to Kibale(eastern Uganda on the border of Rwanda) for a short-term retreat on Lake Buyoni. This place was beautiful and the retreat was an overall success. I unfortunately became ill and spent the whole retreat in bed. I was than presently surprised when the children of Hope Church called me. Thanks kids! That phone call made my day. Diana Fischer and Maggie put me on speaker phone and Maggies’ Sunday school class asked me questions. They had great questions.

Decisions, decisions, decisions… One part of life that I never did like was making decisions. Sadly, that is what we do every day. It is time for me to make the decision of what to do in August. I have so many choices and not really sure what to choose. So I have been praying about the choices I need to make. Please, pray for me and my next step. Pray that will open and close the needed doors to guide me in the right direction.

May 26, 2010- this newsletter was finished on May 7, but we haven’t had internet in Goli and when we do have it it only works on certain computers, so I have had problems posting blogs and sending this email. Sorry about that. Since May 7 I have gotten malaria again and have had a continuing stomach problem. I am beginning to get frustrated with these health problems and continuous fatigue.

Praises:

-      The encouragement and prayers I get from all of you! Thank you!

-      Elections went well and all is safe in our area of Southern Sudan

-      We have a successful three weeks of the term

-      God’s constant provision and abundance of strength

Prayer Requests:

-      Continued peace through- out Southern Sudan

-      God’s provision in a teacher to take my spot soon, so we can smoothly transition before I leave and so I can spend some needed time on curriculum before I go.

-      My health; that God will give me the needed strength to do my best in all that I do.

-      God’s wisdom in my next step.

Only Because of God’s Amazing Grace,

Danielle Olson

daniolson84@gmail.com

www.daniellesafricandiscoveries.blogspot.com

I absolutely detest White Ants!

May 24, 2010

I know God created all living things even gross little insects that my neighbors enjoy eating.  But… they are absolutely disgusting not to mention annoying. Don’t get me wrong I will taste one when my neighbor fries it for me(apparently they are really good), but in my house that is a different story. These things are EVERYWHERE!!!! Last night I was sitting in my house try to enjoy a nice cup of tea and I had five white ants fly into my tea… 5. Ok, so those of you that don’t know what these are. Picture little ant looking worm type larva with large dragon fly wings. They crawl under the doors and get everywhere. They attach onto your clothing. I was so fed up with them dive bombing me and ending up in my tea that I climbed into my mosquito net at 7:45pm. That is way too early to be climbing into bed when I am not sick. Go away white ants!

All of My April Posts!

April 10, 2010

Psalm 31:23-24

Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.  Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!

April 10, 2010

Just sitting here…

I have been sitting here contemplating the “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel” thing.  Presently, I am sitting on a 4^th floor flat veranda overlooking the majority of Kampala.  Up here I can see for miles.  I see house upon house, cars driving, women washing, men working on a roof, children playing, shop owners conducting business and people walking.  It’s somewhat quiet up here, but I can still hear the dimmed sounds of the bustling city, laughter of children, hum of a drill, conversation of nearby pedestrians.  It is like I am down there with them… I am still part of their world, I am in their world, but right now I am still just an onlooker.  Yes, I am still part of this world, because I live it, but am I experiencing it.  I think sometimes this is exactly what we do, as Christians, with Christ’s commandment to go into all of the world.  Let’s face it we are all ‘in the world” is doesn’t matter if we are living in Africa, Haiti, or St. Louis.  I really do not think Christ meant that by going “into all the world” meant moving to another country and living amongst another country.  Yes, that is still going into all the world.  And… God calls some of us to do that, but I really think that Christ meant to “go into” the world.  Don’t just observe from a veranda and smile to a passerby.  Don’t just be another person who live in a place, but be part of that place.  Because, yes it might be nice and neat and somewhat peaceful up here on the 4^th floor.  But isn’t beauty found in the people?  Isn’t beauty more apparent whey you are standing face to face with someone experiencing joy and heartache with someone?  Isn’t more peaceful to stand around and chat with the shop owner, wash with women, work with the roofers and laugh with the children.  Because, I strongly believe that that is where God’s grace is and what Christ meant by going into all the world.  I think He meant get down and dirty with others, experience life with them (the up and the downs) and (here is the key) allow them to do the same with you. Don’t just be an onlooker who occasionally helps others, but let them into your world too.  Allow them to experience your ups and downs as well.  When that happens that when you see beauty at the extreme and that is where it is truly peaceful. Amongst the chaos and broken pieces of life we can find peace we can find Christ.  When we are living personally with others and intentionally living like Christ (no matter what continent, country, or city) that is when we are “going into all of the world”.  Well, I have to go- into all of the world.

April 11, 2010

ELECTIONS!!!

This is an email I sent over a week ago. I just wanted to bring it up again, as today is elections. Please, join my team today as we pray for wisdom, safety, and God’s guidance in Sudan. Today is an important day for the nation of Southern Sudan. Please, pray with us.

Hello all of my prayer warriors!

Today is April 1st, some know it as April Fools day, some know it as thirteen days until tax day, but there is another group of people that those two things do not even resonate with this date. Southern Sudanese look at April 1st as ten days before elections. As in any country elections can cause a lot of drama and a lot of he said she said. I want to urge you to diligently and fervently pray for the country of Sudan for the next eleven days. Despite what you might hear in the news, this country is crying out for freedom and independence.  They just want to live their lives; they are tired.  Please, pray that God will rise up leaders that seek after His heart and can lead in faith. Please, pray that God will squash LRA threats, other rebel activity, tribal fighting, corruption of the Southern government, power struggles and tribalism within the Southern government, and the determined spirit of Northern Sudan to infiltrate the South with Islam(by any means). There are many different reports about the elections and not all positive. Please, join the church of Sudan in crying out to God for this country. Pray that God's protection will be upon them and sustain the spirit of hope. This morning I was reading in Exodus 17:8-16 and I came across the story of where Joshua goes to battle with Amalek and whenever Moses holds up his arms Joshua wins, but whenever his arms get tired and he lowers them Joshua loses. Moses asks Aaron and Hurr to hold up his arms when he is too tired to hold them up with his own strength, so that God will prevail and Joshua (through God's mighty strength) will win the battle. I believe that this is what God wants us to do. The Sudanese are tired and sometimes their strength is limited, but as a Christian I firmly believe that God calls us to hold up each other’s arms when we are tired and exhausted in the midst of battle.  Brothers and Sisters! My Sudanese brothers and sisters are fervently praying for God's peace to come over this nation and they are getting weary(as they have been praying for a long time) and exhausted and are in the midst of a serious battle! Please, hold up their arms, as they are fighting on the frontlines of this Spiritual battle in Sudan! Hold up their arms in prayer, so that God can use their willing hearts to overcome the enemy and prevail(He can do it without them, but pray with, please)! Hold up their arms!

May 1, 2010

My time out…

I just wanted to let you know what I did on my time out. My homebase was Kampala, but I was on the move most of the time. My first adventure was going white water rafting with some friends from Kenya, on the Nile in Uganda. I came back and a day later left for Karamoja in North Eastern Uganda to go visit a SIL Missionary couple and a tribe called the Ik. That was amazing experience for me. I got to see the process that Central Region AIM uses to decide on new ministry opportunities.  I also had time to get to know the Wolcotts(Central Region Director), Bylers(my unit leaders), and Tianne(a fellow Sudan missionary) better. It was a great experience. I came back about 8pm and left the next morning at 8am to go to Western Uganda to Lake Buyoni on a Short term retreat. Sadly I really didn’t get to experience the short-term retreat, because I was sick and stuck in bed most of the time. But, it is a beautiful place! When I came back from Lake Buyoni than I privileged to stay with my friends’ the Lewis’(well in their flat) and recover for a week and ½ before I went back into Sudan. Other than being sick, I really had a great time out. I got to spend time with old friends, make new friends, and learn a lot from seasoned missionaries. Although, Sudan’s safety was always in the forefront of my mind and on my heart, my time out was a blessing. Thank you for your prayers!

It’s over…

Praise the Lord! Votes are in and Southern Sudan is safe. There were no large problems and safety is high in the land of Southern Sudan. Even though there were some delays, elections went well. Please, continue to pray for this country and the people. I can’t wait to go see my Sudanese family!

Catching up on posts!

I’m sorry I am so behind on my blogs. I have been writing them, just not posting them. Enjoy!

March 21, 2010

Example of God’s provision and power:

Today I woke up tired in body, mind, and spirit.  All I wanted to do was lie in bed all day and be depressed, but God in His wisdom and mercy brought me out of my house and began to work.  Ps 95 was read in church this morning and I was reminded of why the great God, our Maker, should be praised with all that we have.  As the praise team began joyously singing in Arabic, clapping their hands and dancing I was encouraged by their jubilation in praising our Great God.  I was immediately refocused on who my day is to be centered around. Thank you Lord for humbling me.

March 22, 2010

Little Hands That Pray!

Prayer- communication with God.  Or, is it more than that? Is it about trusting no matter how bad things may look or how impossible they may be that God is our ultimate provider and has all things under His control.  It’s faith in His sovereignty; faith in His grace.  As an adult I find myself praying without the faith and the trust in God and His provision and plan.  Jesus wasn’t kidding when He said, “Be like a little child”.  Malaria has hit our compound with full force- everyone is getting it.  We have one family that it really hit hard- all four kids a week at a time had malaria.  All of them for the first time, so it was really bad, Nandain, the youngest child, was very sick with a very high fever.  The father and our clinical staff was very nervous.  Our children (that live on our compound) decided they need to pray over Nandain.  So, a group of children marched up to the clinic, ask all of the adults to leave, because they were going to pray for Nandain.  They shut the door and they prayed and prayed.  You see they know that God is in control and all we have to do is trust Him and give up our control.  What a valuable lesson to learn from a group of children under the age of eleven. 

March 29, 2010

Lay out the palms- the King is coming

Today I was walking with my friend Gira and we passed a Catholic church that had palm branches strewn all around.  Gira and I just remembered that yesterday was Palm Sunday.  I can’t remember that I forgot.  Palm Sunday- the Sunday Jesus entered into Jerusalem the people shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”  A week later He was crucified by maybe even some of those same people. (Matt 21:1-11_ Do you we do that too?  One minute we are praising Him for the great things He has done and the next minute we betray Him by disregarding Him, because things do not go our ways.  Yet, Christ still died for us and then He conquered death!

March 31, 2010

My Kawaja!

Some children have teddy bears, some dolls, some puppies, some even goats, and some, some have Kawajas! Kawaja means, white person. I have been adopted as a child’s own personal Kawaja.  I have a little friend, named Grace, she is eight years old.   See Grace is always around me. She is always peeking through my windows, knocking on my door, searching high and low for me.  If, I am not at home(even if I am and I am just hiding) she will camp outside my door and wait. There has been a couple of times this week when I woke up in the morning or I was taking a nap and opened the door and there was Grace sitting Indian style facing my door.  She had a big smile on face and said “My Miss Olson, I am here for you!”.  Grace has so affectionaly called me “My kawaja” and when I told her that she shouldn’t call me that, because she knows my name and I am teacher and calling me “My kawaja” is disrespectful she started calling me, “My Miss Olson”.