On Tuesday, October 17th, my dear friend and mentor Joanne Petronella passed away peacefully.

Joanne

Joanne founded our lay ministry, Christ In You The Hope of Glory International Ministries. She was Catholic to the core but ministered to Protestants as well. Her ecumenical calling opened many doors to other countries. I am her fruit and because of her teachings and life experience my journey continues. I would like to share some stories about this powerful woman of God.

South Korea

A few weeks ago there was a report of a young army private crossing the Demilitarized Zone into North Korea. As I watched the news unfold, I thought to myself, “I’ve been there!” I remember the turquoise-colored buildings like it was yesterday.

How did I ever end up at the Demilitarized Zone? Well, I can thank  Joanne for that adventure. We were a small group invited to minister in South Korea: Joanne, Gina and me. This trip was in the mid 2000’s. Meetings were scheduled with large groups of pastors throughout our stay. These meetings lingered for hours, but this was when Joanne was at her best. She encouraged these pastors to fulfill their calling in South Korea with many receiving private prayer.

As much as the world was tugging at me to see some sights while in Korea,  it was never to be. We were there on a mission and both Gina and I understood our roles; we were to come alongside Joanne in prayer.

On the one day that we did have downtime, Joanne asked if our host, Pastor Kim, could drive us to the DMZ to pray for peace between these two countries. I remember traveling through some farmlands and through mountains to reach the DMZ,  which was 35 miles from Seoul. At this time of her life Joanne was restricted to a wheelchair, but that never stopped her from ministering.

I was wide-eyed and tried to capture every sight, remembering to register the memory and place it in the porticos of my mind.

Joanne had the gift of prophecy and generously bestowed this gift on every person who came to her for prayer. I remember Gina and I had to write the names of the people who needed prayer. This list was extensive and the people could not get enough of what Joanne had to offer. Sometimes we would not get back to the hotel until midnight. Much fruit was poured out on their behalf.

Yes, this mighty woman of God captured the hearts of many South Koreans, and it was a pleasure being part of this missionary trip.

Nepal/Tibet Border

Have I seen the tallest mountain in the world? Yes, I have. Mount Everest’s peaks can be seen through the meandering roads going up to the Tibet Border.

Before visiting Tibet, we were ministering in Nepal. This is where I met Pastor Brian and his beautiful wife Ruth, who were hosting our visit. This trip was a battery of one meeting after another. Joanne had purchased over 100 red duffel bags to be  filled with medicine to be handed out to the pastors from Nepal and the Tibet Border. Oh, how I remember asking friends and family members to donate medicines for us to take to Nepal and the Tibet Border. Joanne was strict about this, making sure we each had a large suitcase filled with medical supplies.

The President’s Palace

Did we get to meet the president of Nepal? No, not this time.  But we did have a meeting with the Secretary of State at the residence of the President of Nepal. We were traveling in a white passenger van with our team of about eight, plus Brian and Ruth. We received a warm welcome and were ushered into a meeting room upstairs. Though we did have a scheduled meeting with the president of Nepal, he was called to an urgent matter.

Hebrew Teaching and Traditions

As a team we understood many of the Jewish customs. Once a year around Passover we would reenact a traditional Seder Dinner. Everything had to be perfect or else someone was going to receive the wrath of Joanne. I remember the hardboiled-eggs, dipping the bitter herbs into salt water, and the lamb shank bone that represented the Paschal sacrificial offering. The diced apples with raisins dusted with cinnamon, represented the bricks that the Egyptians forced the Israelites to make while in slavery. Joanne went to great lengths to teach us this rich lesson on the Jewish Passover.

Gaza

Not too many Americans  can say that they have been to Gaza. I have been there. We were there to minister to the Missionaries of Charity (Saint Teresa of Calcutta’s organization). Joanne ministered to Palestinian Christians and to Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Missionaries of Charity.

I love to walk, so the following morning Millie, a team member, and I decided to take a stroll down the beach on the Gaza strip. Suddenly a hotel worker came running out and yelling, “Do you want to get shot to death? You can’t walk on the beach here!”  Millie and I quickly made our way back to the hotel.

Bethlehem

Bethlehem is located on the West Bank. In all our  years of traveling to the Holy Land, Bethlehem was always part of the trip.

One year we were scheduled to perform a play in Bethlehem. Even though only 2%  Palestinians are Christians, we were going to share the love of Christ.

With only a few hours of rehearsal, none of us knew our lines, let alone when to get on stage. As a group we went up to Joanne and asked if she could give us better direction. She yelled, “At the last minute you want help! Sorry, too late!” We looked at each other and laughed. Even though we did not know our lines, the show must go on! So we did our best to perform a play in English to an Arabic- speaking group.

Croatia

We were invited by Christofori, a powerful group of Catholics in Croatia. I will never forget the beautiful welcome we received from our Croatian family. They are deep-rooted in the Doctrine of the Catholic Church whereas we  love our Catholic roots. These days were filled with traveling to different cities in Croatia as Joanne ministered to them. We, as a team, prayed for so many individuals. I will return to this country soon!

Paris, France

Joanne transferred the responsibility of planning a Marian journey to me. We were to visit the sights in Europe where Our Blessed Mother Mary had appeared. Although I thought I was an experienced world traveler, on the second day of the trip I was the victim of a pickpocket on the metro train in Paris. My wallet with all my Euros, American money and credit cards were gone!

Joanne had given us a stern warning not to travel by that means. I was the ring leader of that rebellion and a group of us, including Father Leonard decided to save a lot of money by using the metro. At dinner I had to come clean.  Joanne raked me over the coals for not heeding her godly advice. This rebuke lasted until dessert. Yet the worse part of this terrible situation was that I had to phone home to tell my husband Mike about the incident.

Saying Goodbye

I praise God that He allowed me to visit Joanne while she was in her frail state. I reminded her of some of these stories and she laughed and asked me to tell her more. Sometimes we don’t always get along with those we love, and Joanne and I had some of those days. In spite of this I can share that she showed me the world through the eyes of Jesus. I will miss her sarcastic sense of  humor and her beautiful, loud laughter. but mostly her kind, motherly advice.

On one of my last visits she said, “Lynda, I love you very much and I want you to know that I lived a very happy and fulfilled life.”

My Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for all that Joanne has accomplished in her lifetime. All the souls that she redirected, all the leaders that she brought from the ashes. Every one of us who sat under her teachings is richer in the love of Christ. May my precious friend rest in Your loving arms. Amen.

After viewing several prophecies from well known seers, I wanted to stay home and crawl back into bed. One of the videos that I saw on YouTube was “Garabandal Warning, Our Ladys Message and Prophecies” along with “October Warning” by Mark Mallet.

From: St. Joseph’s Publications

The Warning
(The first of the Great Events prophesied at Garabandal)

The main visionary Conchita has declared:

• The Warning is a thing that comes directly from God and will be visible throughout the entire world in whatever place anyone might be.
• The Warning will be like a revelation of our sins and it will be seen and experienced equally by believers and non-believers and people of any religion whatsoever.
• The Warning is like a purification for the Miracle.
• And it is a sort of a catastrophe. It will make us think of the dead, that is, we would prefer to be dead rather than to experience the Warning.
• The Warning is something supernatural and will not be explained by science.
• It will be seen and felt.
• The Warning will be a correction of the conscience of the world.
• For those who do not know Christ, they will believe it is a Warning from God.
• The most important thing about that day is that everyone in the whole world will see a sign, a grace, or a punishment within themselves, in other words, a Warning.
• They will find themselves all alone in the world no matter where they are at the time, alone with their conscience right before God.
• They will then see all their sins and what their sins have caused.
• We will all feel it differently because it will depend on our conscience. The Warning will be very personal, therefore, we will all react differently to it.
• The most important thing will be to recognize our own sins and the bad consequences of them.
• Your experience of the Warning will be different from mine because your sins are different from mine.
• This will be a Warning to see what you have done with your sins.
• It will be like a purification before the Miracle to see if with the Warning and Miracle we will be converted.
• The Virgin told me that before the Miracle, God will be sending us a Warning so as to purify us or prepare us to see the Miracle and in this way we may draw enough grace to change our lives toward God.
• It is a phenomenon which will be seen and felt in all the world and everywhere; I have always given as an example that of two stars that collide.
• This phenomenon will not cause physical damage, but it will horrify us because at that very moment we will see our souls and the harm we have done.
• It will be as though we were in agony but we will not die by its effects but perhaps we will die of fright or shock to see ourselves.
• No one will have doubts of it being from God, and of its not being human.
• I who know what it is, am very much afraid of that day.
• The Virgin told us that the Warning and Miracle will be the last warnings or public manifestations that God will give us. This is why I believe that after them we will be near the end of time.

Under Investigation

The Catholic Church does not take these prophecies lightly, so the apparitions of Our Lady of Garabandal are still under investigation.  Please watch the videos and decide for yourself.

Occupy Until He Comes (Luke 19:13)

Some of these events were to take place in mid-October. In spite of this, we kept our plans to visit our granddaughter Maddie in Phoenix, Arizona, this past weekend. Our youngest grandson, Jacob, was leaving for his Outdoor Education trip on October 10th. Our son Mikos and his family were traveling to Las Vegas on the same weekend. So if anything had occurred, we would have been scattered hundreds of miles away from each other.

The Miraculous Medal

I was not about to tell our daughter Sonja to keep Jacob home from his scheduled trip, so I did the next best thing: I pulled Jacob aside and handed him a Miraculous medal, explaining to him that it must be on his person at all times. Jacob safely pinned the medal on a blue band that he had around his wrist. I prayed for the Lord to guard Jacob and his sixth-grade classmates with traveling mercies. I gave Sonja three additional medals for the rest of the family.

I added the Miraculous medal to the cross that I wear around my neck. I gave one to Mike and told him to place it in his wallet. I had already given one to Maddie before she left for college, and when I see Mikos, Jenny and Will, they will be receiving the same medals.

The Promises of the Miraculous Medal

During Our Lady’s visit to Catherine Laboure on November 27,1830, rays of light flowed from rings on her fingers that were made of precious stones; however, some of the stones on the ring did not shine.

Mary explained:

“These rays symbolize the graces I shed upon those who ask for them. The gems from which rays do not fall are the graces for which souls forget to ask.”

Mary then spoke of the medal with these words:

“All who wear it will receive great graces; they should wear it around the neck. Graces will abound for persons who wear it with confidence.”

The medal is simply a visible sign of the inner devotion the wearer has for Mary and  her Son, Jesus.

Global Warning

The Enemy has us so caught up on Global Warming to distract us from what we should really be concerned about. God wants us to live in peace but its inhabitance are at war with one another. We need to be in a state of grace to be able to discern what is expected of us. Stop using the Lord’s name in vain, attend church services, pray for world leaders to open their eyes to truth and to operate in the love of God. Ask the Lord to deliver you of all addictions, fast and pray! If you are Catholic, attend Mass more regularly, pray the Rosary and go to Confession!

Do Not Fear

If we are in a state of fear, we are vulnerable, and the Enemy can easily attack. With that said, remain vigilant and pray for those who do not believe. Ask to be used of God. Know that the Enemy is at our doorstep but he will never prevail.

Those of us who understand the Word of God know that God will always favor Israel. They will have victory.

Regardless of what’s being reported, the world will witness the sloppy overflow of students protesting in favor of the terrorists. Granted this is due to the years of erroneous teaching by their universities’ instructors. The effect on their confused minds has led to the indoctrination of their students.

What about Hollywood? Will the scales finally fall off of their eyes? We shall see.

So much truth will be exposed, and we will see with our own eyes what Mary has been sent to warn us about. Evil will have no recourse with what is taking place because God will intervene.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, We stand in the gap and bombard heaven for this war in Israel to end. We ask Your Holy Hand of favor for our Jewish brothers and sisters. Guide them to victory. I pray also for the innocent victims in Gaza who are caught in the crossfire. Save those who call upon Your Name. Amen.

336 From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession.²⁰² “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.”²⁰³ Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.  Catechism of the Catholic Church

I never paid attention to any close calls as a child, so as an adult I came to the realization that I was protected by my guardian angel. The most recent incident occurred as I was making a left-hand turn on to a busy intersection. For some unusual reason I thought that the car to the right had a stop sign, but it did not.  As I started the left-hand turn, the car to my right was driving straight ahead. In a nanosecond we both made it through without any type of accident, when it should have been a major collision.

No brakes, no crash, just a smooth passage. It was as if something supernatural had occurred. Making eye contact with the driver and his female passenger, we were in a state of shock. No ugly words were exchanged, no nasty hand gestures,  just a look of unbelievable gratitude as we passed by each other. Admittedly if there had been a collision, it would have definitely been my fault. In disbelief I thanked my guardian angel for his protection.

A few summers ago Mike and I attended  an Angel’s game. Our seats were located on right field. This is the area where many spectators come with baseball gloves to catch foul balls. Mike was a little too apprehensive and kept warning me to pay attention to the game. But instead of paying attention to the game I was looking through my phone and started to delete photos. In spite of Mike’s warning, I continued deleting photos. Anyway, if a ball came my way there were plenty of people around us with gloves to catch it.

I remembered we had two extra tickets. We offered them to Sonja and Russ but they are a party of four. So instead the tickets were given to Russ’ friend and his son.

Well, that which Mike feared most came to pass. A hard-hit foul ball came directly at me. There was no warning, and because I turned away at the last second, it missed my face but I did feel the force of the ball pass through my hair as it rushed past me. For a moment those around me thought for sure I was hit in the face; instead the ball landed near the young son of Russ’ friend.

My guardian angel at Angel Stadium had saved my life again.

About ten years ago, Leslie, a friend of mine, and I were handing out lunches on Skid Row in Los Angeles. As we were putting the lunches into the carts, a couple directly across from us were having a heated argument. I told Leslie to look the other way because you never know how these altercations are going to end. The couple’s fight escalated so they got out of the car.  The man was really upset and threw something that resembled a spear at the woman. I was facing the cart and adjusting the lunches when suddenly the spear passed right in front of Leslie’s face. Needless to say, this shook her up. Leslie’s guardian angel came between her face and the spear.

Living in Southern California, you cannot avoid driving on the freeways. Leslie does not drive on the freeways due to a traumatic experience; fear set in and she feels safer driving on surface  streets.  We were on the 91 Freeway on the way home from Skid Row, when suddenly a car hit the retaining wall and was heading straight toward us. Leslie was preparing her body for an impact, while I prayed. Lifting my hand toward the impending collision I said, “In the Name of Jesus!” As if someone took over the wheel of the driver of the other vehicle, it was instantaneously moved to another direction. Again our guardian angels intervened.

Darren’s Guardian Angel

With each missionary trip I would bring back so many religious souvenirs. I would load up my friends and family with blessed medallions, rosaries and holy cards. I had given my friend a rosary ring to give to her son Darren. Darren’s family had moved from the Los Angeles area, but his roots were in a suburb of Los Angeles. He and a group of friends started a car club there. They were flashy, and rode around in their ostentatious vehicles like they owned the streets. The other car clubs struggled with their arrogance and wanted to show them who was boss in the Los Angeles car clubs.

One evening Darren and his girlfriend Susan stopped for gas. From his rear view mirror, Darren noticed a Lexus filled with big, scary guys from a rival car club. Darren got out of the car to gas up when he noticed the driver pull out a gun. He quickly got back into his vehicle and a car chase ensued.

Darren did not want to scare Susan but he knew they were in trouble. He mistakenly pulled into a dead-end street. With the gangsters slowly creeping behind them, Darren instructed Susan to jump out of the car. Then he remembered the rosary ring in his pocket.  He grabbed it as he and Susan started to run toward a 10-foot chain link fence leading to a riverbed.

He does not remember if he called the police or not. suddenly the police appeared out of nowhere. The Lexus with the gang bangers left the scene. Darren knew that he had indeed been saved by his prayers and his guardian angel. After this incident their car club dismantled. Darren was taught a life lesson on how not to flaunt his blessings.

Torie’s Angels

Our nephew Torie used to suffer from cluster headaches. This type of headache is so severe that they are referred to suicide headaches. He suffered from these headaches a couple of times a year. The frequency of these headaches lasted from three to four days a month. The duration of the pain lasted thirty minutes to an hour. There is no cure for these headaches  and, because they are not life-threatening, the medication offers little relief.

Once Torie was experiencing a cluster headache, he was so sick, vomiting and suffering from any movement. He was on the floor of the bathroom but due to the intensity of the pain, he could not get up.  Then something supernatural occurred. Torie said that he saw seven small angels. He felt his arms lifted as the angels picked him off the floor and helped him to his bed. Torie is 6’2″ and weighs 225 pounds. And he no longer suffers from these cluster headaches.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, nothing is impossible with You. You send angels to protect and guide us. May we be ever aware of our guardian angels and ask for their protection whenever we are in pain or experiencing fear. Thank You for all that You provide for us. May we be eternally grateful. Amen