Preface to the Second Edition:

Ten years have passed since this “diary” was first published, and it has been a decade of great change. The world has changed, Canada has changed, and most importantly- Jamaica and my family have changed. It is the two latter changes that have motivated me to update Changing Worlds.

My first aim is to present biographical consistency between Changing Worlds and my subsequent writing. Pseudonyms were used for close family members in the 2004 Changing Worlds account. In the ensuing decade, my children have matured and granted permission for their real names to be used in my writing, acknowledging and giving God the glory for everything He has done in our lives. The substitution of their real names is (one) feature of this second edition. That has also allowed for the use of my husband’s first name, Michael, to replace “Spencer” which is actually his middle name.

The other important feature … has to do with Jamaica. When Changing Worlds first chronicled our 1999 migration from Jamaica to Canada, it was already 2004. At that time the (then) Jamaican High Commissioner to Canada said my writing had alluded too negatively to conditions in Jamaica. I disagreed, but resolved to honestly correct any unpatriotic impression that may have been created, at the earliest opportunity.

The factual memories of Jamaica, land of our birth, which I committed to the journal in 1999 were absolutely true then. Furthermore, relating them was necessary to explain some of the culture shock and what I termed “deprivation therapy” that I first experienced in Canada. However, some positive changes have taken place in Jamaica over the years, so I have looked forward to updating Changing Worlds to reflect that, and to encourage the anticipation of more answered prayers for Jamaica…

As a backdrop to other visible changes, it should be noted how foreign currency exchange rates have cumulatively affected Jamaica over the period. Simply put, in 1999 it cost $25 Jamaican to buy $1 Canadian. In September 2014 it cost $101 Jamaican to buy the same $1 Canadian. Given the far-reaching effects of this devaluation of Jamaican currency, it’s a miracle that so many good developments have nevertheless taken place. It is also an undeniable credit to the spirit of patriotic, law-abiding, morally upright Jamaicans that so many of them have remained at home to persevere, under God, with their nation-building and national transformation efforts.

In Chapter 19 under the subheading “Finally…” some positive changes were mentioned as having already taken place in Jamaica between 1999 and 2004. These were the improved telephone services, public transportation, roads, and increased media representation of the distinctly Christian voice. These trends have continued, with communication technology and highway infrastructure following hard after North American patterns, and with the Church becoming more united and vocal in Christian activism on matters of national importance.

In Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5 and 18, I have added footnotes to highlight areas in which improvements have taken place in Jamaica. Notably, there is better customer service offered by many organizations, better policing and law enforcement in some locations, and more effective security at buildings such as banks. The educational system has also been improved, especially by equal access to different secondary education options, and the increased use of computer technology in classrooms and school administration.

The government and various non-governmental organizations have increased their efforts to mobilize the Jamaican Diaspora in developed countries to assist with nation-building in various ways. Rather than simply providing materially for their relatives in Jamaica, Diaspora members have been encouraged to combine and increase their efforts for the national good. Certain government agencies have been newly tasked with facilitating this, liaising with Diaspora representatives through international conferences and other means, and courting investment in Jamaica from Diaspora-related sources. This movement of “Jamaicans-helping-Jamaica” supplements in a welcome way the international aid that remains available.

At the same time, Jamaican athletes and other performers have achieved increasing prominence in international competition. Many have also upheld high ethical and patriotic standards in the limelight. This has positively impacted Jamaica’s national self-image and, if psychological theories hold true, should auger well for the redirection of Jamaican youth who needed good role models to emulate.

Just before this manuscript update was submitted in October 2014, Jamaican media reported on an address by the Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Min Zhu, to community college students in the tourist hub of Montego Bay. Min Zhu reportedly said that Jamaica’s achievements under the Extended Fund Facility Agreement could only be described as miraculous, and that the local economy is turning around due to the financial “miracle” that the Government has performed.

While the 1999 perspectives shared in Changing Worlds: Diary of a Jamaican-Canadian Experience still offer interesting historical commentary, the updates shared in this 2014 edition will attest to the tireless work of such organizations as the Jamaica House of Prayer and Operation Save Jamaica. Yet this new edition also acknowledges that God has not yet finished answering the prayer of our National Anthem: “Eternal Father, bless our land; guide us with thy mighty hand, keep us free from evil powers, be our light through countless hours. To our leaders, Great Defender, grant true wisdom from above. Justice, truth be ours forever – Jamaica, land we love!

While mortal intercessors are sleeping, God is watching over all His people. Our divine, high-priestly Intercessor Yeshua (Jesus) does not sleep. He is incessantly interceding for members of His Body on earth, those whom the Father gave to Him – those whom He promised never to “lose”. (Hebrews 7:25, John 6:39, John 10:28, John 18:9)

However, sometimes He decides it’s time for a human intercessor to be awakened to pray or follow His lead in some other way. So yesterday at 3:30 AM the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Yeshua) woke me up abruptly by showing me in a dream that if the devil had his way my eldest grandson would die in short order. I got out of bed, went into the living room, got two knee cushions and knelt down to join Yeshua in intercession. Because this grandson’s life has been under threat for years, and we have therefore been interceding for him for years, I felt at a loss for new words to use or new directions to take in prayer. I didn’t know how exactly to pray, so I just began to pray for him in tongues. After praying in tongues for a while, the Holy Spirit led me to just pray, declare and decree in Yeshua’s Name that God’s will would prevail “TODAY” in the lives of him and his mother (my eldest daughter). So I concluded with that simple prayer – essentially “Thy will be done, this day, in their lives!” Before going to work, I contacted my daughter, told her of the prayer prompt, and asked if all was well. She said it was.

Last night just before 9 PM, she contacted us again because a harrowing event had just occurred. The devil had tried his thing- tried to kill the child and almost succeeded. But, as Jamaicans say, “Nearly nevah kill bird!” So satan’s murder attempt had failed, God’s saving will had prevailed, my grandson’s life was preserved, and my daughter was victorious in her emergency response. All had ended well, only because the Lord, who watches over us, does not sleep.

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Yesterday I offered my definition of prayer – talking to God – and some scriptural encouragement to practice different kinds of prayer. But I had to close the post before mentioning a very important form of prayer – ADORATION. God has blessed me with connection to three groups of intercessors. Orinthia, the leader of a Toronto-based group circulated a prayer yesterday that beautifully exemplified Adoration. She ascended beyond praise (which could be simply saying good things about God), beyond worship (which could simply be positioning ourselves as mortal subjects before a divine sovereign), to lavishly expressing ADORATION directly to our God, with all the intelligible language that she could muster. Language from the heart, enlightened by scriptural revelation of Who God is, inspired by personal experience of all that God has done for us, and sweetened by the personal blessings of intimate relationship with God. When some people overhear adoration, it may sound to them as if we are trying to “butter up” God in order to ask Him for something. But banish that thought. God cannot be bribed, and true intercessors know that. We should spend time adoring Him even when we have nothing but thanksgiving on our hearts, when we desire nothing but to enjoy His presence, and to experience His replies 🙂

Prayer is talking to God FROM A GOD-HONORING HEART. (When people hurl blasphemous utterances toward God I don’t think anyone could define that as prayer, although in a sense they may be talking to God.)  David, the God-honoring king, repentant sinner, psalmist and “man after God’s own heart” talked to God about everything, and especially encouraged God’s people to preface all their prayer with thanksgiving and praise. For our corporate prayer now-a-days, it is useful to recognize that there are other specific kinds of prayer. In the TLV and some other versions, 1 Timothy 2:1-4 lists thanksgiving, supplication, and intercession, as well as general “prayer”. Check out the definitions of those words. Philippians 4:6 adds the word “petition” (requests) which is sometimes used interchangeably with “supplication”. Hebrews 7:25 says that Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Christ) our great eternal High Priest, “always lives to make intercession for them (those who draw near to God through Him)”. Ephesians 6:18 encourages us to use “all kinds of prayers”, and 1 Corinthians 14:14-17 elaborates on this to mention praying “in the Spirit” and praying “with my mind” –  in the corporate context where others can agree and say “Amen”. As if to facilitate necessary prayers even further, Romans 8:26 says, “The Ruach (Holy Spirit) helps in our weakness. For we do not (always) know how to pray as we should, but the Ruach Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.” (Have to stop sharing now. Time to get ready for Shabbat corporate pre-service prayer 🙂  )

In Isaiah 65:24, God promised His “servants” (verses 13-16) that the time will come (verses 12 ff.) when He’ll answer before we even call to Him, and even while we are still voicing our request He will “hear”. The consistency of this will be a hallmark of “a new heavens and a new earth”, where wolves will peacefully lie next to lambs and lions will eat “straw” with herbivores to avoid hurting anything in God’s holy presence. So far we’ve not consistently experienced God’s answering before we call because there are impediments in our present “heavens and earth” that can either prevent His answers from reaching us, or prevent us from perceiving/ receiving His answers. We can see an example of the first kind of impediment in Daniel’s Chapter 10 testimony. Although Daniel went on a 21-day partial fast to seek God for answers, an angel had to explain to him on day 21, “From the first day … your words were heard (and) I have come … However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia resisted me (the angel bringing God’s answer) for 21 days…”

We find an example of the second kind of impediment in 2 Kings 6:15-17, where Elisha’s attendant could not see the awesome “armed forces” God had sent to protect them, until Elisha prayed for his eyes to be opened. Of course, there can be other kinds of impediments to our receiving God’s answers, which have to do with our character. This promise of God answering even before we call was made to God’s servants… not just to anybody, and not to God’s wanna-be bosses. However, although the day has not yet come when His servants will consistently experience, perceive or receive instant answers when we call out to God, He does give us generous tastes of that glorious day.

I have learned that when God said “while they are still speaking I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24), this “hearing” implied not only that He would acknowledge the sound of our voices, but also – as the first part of the verse says – He will already have responded. As well, I’ve been understanding a little of how this works. First of all, God knows (by His omniscience) what we need and when we are going to call out to Him for it, so He prepares His response ahead of time, just waiting for us to call. Secondly, God can prepare the answers to our prayers ahead of our asking because is not constrained to operate within time as we are. He created time and operates freely between past, present and future. He doesn’t even have to “time travel” like science fiction characters, because He’s just simultaneously THERE in the present, past and future (by His omnipresence operating not only in space but also in time).

Yesterday morning, in the car on our way to work, Mike was moved to extend our morning devotions by praying for a certain thing to happen for a certain group of people. It was a prayer we expected to be answered over the medium to long term, just because of the unwieldiness of the situation and the resistance that could be mounted against God’s answer. Once the prayer was voiced and agreed on, our minds were focused on work-day routines for the next nine hours. Then we visited a short evening prayer meeting together. There, behold, came (literally arrived unexpectedly) tangible evidence that the requested change was already in the works, and had been before we prayed 🙂 There was even a specific word Mike had used in his prayer, that was whispered back to our spirits in God’s manifested response. Our earnest petition had moved God to let us into one of His little secrets … to give us a peek at the answer He’d been preparing even before we called!

“I read through your book and I really enjoyed it. What I love about the book is that you are able to hold the reader’s interest because your experiences are so real, down to earth, honest  and unpretentious. You are able to capture the essence of what everyday life is all about without being boring or repetitious. Most of all God’s faithfulness is clear. A big ‘congratulations’ on a well written book.”

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