JULY, 2008
REFLECTION
F or this Reflection I am going to share an
amazing true story, one which I hope will
give us encouragement as we continue to pray
for spiritual transformation in our regions and
our nation. The Sentinel Group is a ministry on
the West Coast that produces videos on actual
demonstrations of movements of God across the
world. I used their video on the Innuit in
Northeastern Canada (Baffin Island area) when
I taught the Power of Prayer Workshops in
churches. George Otis, Jr. heads up this
wonderful ministry. There is a new move of
God, this time in Brazil. Please prayerfully read
the following and passionately seek a total move
of God here: “The story began in the Valentina
Baptist Church located in the coastal city of Joao
Pessoa, Brazil. The congregation there was
small and very poor, but this did not prevent
them from being preoccupied with a broad
range of religious activities. Most of the
congregants were also quite conservative –
neither believing in nor experiencing anything
supernatural. God, however, began to deal with
this busy, self-absorbed congregation. A deep
conviction set in and the people repented of their
sin and small-mindedness. Many cried out for a
fresh move of god -–and as they did so, the Holy
Spirit broke their hearts and inclined them to
His purposes. One member of the church choir,
a woman, began to have dreams about a town or
encampment called Algodao de Jandaira.
Although she had never even heard of the place,
the dreams were so vivid – revealing local
terrain, troubled faces, and other considerable
detail – that the entire congregation received the
dreams as a divine revelation. The problem was
that no one had the slightest idea where this
community might be. The place was not
identified on any map. One day, however, a
church member mentioned this story in passing
to an acquaintance. The man confirmed that
indeed there was such a place, and that it in fact
was not far away. The reason it did not show up
on any map was because it was in a desert area
with no proper roads. Excited by this news, the
poor Baptist congregants took up a collection
that was just enough to purchase one tank of
gas. This allowed a small team to head out on an
investigatory trip to Algodao de Jandaira. The
trip took nearly an entire day owing to the fact
that much of the driving was in dry riverbeds.
When the team arrived at the outskirts of the
community, they were shocked by what they
saw. Not only were the 2,200 inhabitants poorer
than the Baptists themselves, they looked like
they were starving. There were no visible crops,
the animals looked emaciated, and the people
were dressed in rags. Everything, including a
young girl walking around in red shorts and a
blue shirt, was exactly as had been described in
the dream. The people had attempted to put in a
community well, but each time they drilled, the
hole was dry. It had not rained in the area for
24 years, and there was no water table. As a
consequence, water had to be trucked in from
the outside. The main dietary item was cactus,
but the people had no money to buy
salt for flavoring. Faced with this
trauma, the community had
turned even more sharply to
spiritism. All manner of
rituals and sacrifices were
linked to the spirits of nature. As the
team approached the town, they were
viewed with great suspicion. The people of
Algodao de Jandaira felt vulnerable, and they
were not used to outsiders. Unfortunately, the
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day was waning and the team needed a place to
stay. Not knowing what else to do, they
approached a small home and knocked on the
door. A woman answered and the team
explained the purpose of their visit and asked if
she knew of a place where they could bed down
for the night. Immediately the woman called the
other family members to the door, where they
welcomed the team inside. Without realizing it,
the team had approached the only evangelical
home in the community! It was an answer to
prayer for both parties. When the investigation
team returned home and reported what they had
seen to their fellow congregants, the people made
a vow. They would return to the troubled
community once a month with whatever supplies
they could muster. These follow-up trips
continued through 2003, with each successive
visit serving to further break down the initial
suspicion and hostility. At the end of each visit,
after they had delivered their meager supplies of
food, salt and clothing, the team would walk up
to a rock outcropping above the village to pray.
Overwhelmed by their inadequacy, they asked
God why He didn’t give the mission to a larger
church that, presumably, could do much more
for these needy people. They also began to pray
that God would speak to government leaders
about helping the people of
Algodao de Jandaira. God
responded by saying the
Christians’ prayers were off
target. It was not His
intention to use either rich
churches or the
government. Rather, He
wanted to work through
weak vessels in order to
demonstrate His power.
‘My grace is sufficient for
you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ (2
Corinthians 12:9) ‘But God chose the foolish
things of the world to shame the wise; God chose
the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
He chose the lowly things of this world and the
despised things – and the things that are not – to
nullify the things that are, so that no one may
boast before Him.’ (1 Corinthians 1: 27-29) The
Baptists’ prayers began to take on a real
urgency in late 2003. Despite their efforts, the
situation in Algodao de Jandaira was
deteriorating rapidly. The little water on the site
was brackish, and many animals were starting to
die. After prayer, the congregation decided to
forego their traditional Christmas feast and
family gift-giving in order to help the people of
Algodao de Jandaira. Through this sacrifice, the
people were able to purchase eighty gift baskets
containing food staples like rice, beans and
pasta. After delivering these Christmas baskets,
the team returned home with heavy hearts.
Even this gesture seemed futile in light of the
enormous needs. Algodao de Jandaira’s
inhabitants needed so much more – especially a
relationship with Christ. As Valentina Baptist
Church began to collect funds for their next
visit, the spirit of intercession began to rise
within the congregation. God was not one to
play games, and they were not about to quit. On
January 24, 2004, the team headed out again on
the day-long trek to Algodao de Jandaira. This
time, however, something was different. About
five miles from the community they approached
a riverbed they had crossed dozens of times
before. But not this day. For the first time in a
quarter century, raging waters were coursing
down the channel. Parking their vehicle, the
ecstatic believers hoisted supply sacks onto their
shoulders and waded across the river. As they
walked the final stretch to town, a spirit of
worship overcame them. Reaching the edge of
the village, the team stood in astonishment.
From the rock outcropping that served as their
prayer station, a waterfall was pouring forth
life-giving water upon the community below.
Children were running in the river, splashing
and laughing all around. Men were watering
their horses, while goats drank their fill. It was
almost too good to be true. Upon reaching their
friends, the team heard more of the story.
Shortly after their last visit, they were told, the
heavens over Algodao de Jandaira had
unleashed a deluge. Water had exploded out of
previously dry wells with such force that huge
boulders were tossed into the air like pebbles.
Young people who had never before seen rain or
running water were dumbfounded. Their
longsuffering parents were delighted. After the
‘Flood of Blessings’ – the mayor’s term for the
recent miracle – forty five wells were drilled to
tap what hydrologists now say is a substantial
water table under Algodao de Jandaira. All now
provide potable water. The once arid and
infertile land has been transformed and is now
producing fava beans, papaya, guava, and other
crops. At the same time, bees are generating
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high-quality honey, goats are yielding record
amounts of milk, and the local river is filled with
fish. Not only does this bounty provide for the
immediate dietary needs of the people, but for
the first time ever they are able to sell their
overflow to public schools and outside
distributors. Buoyed by these developments,
Algodao de Jandaira has seen its population rise
to 3,000. The Valentina congregation has
planted a church and social center in the
community and holds joint services every other
month with a local Assembly of God
congregation. Today, a substantial majority of
Algodao de Jandaira’s citizens follow Christ as
their Lord and Savior. When glory is to be
given, it is given to God. The town’s 24-year-old
mayor – recently selected to head a 29-town
mayoral association – is happily serving the
Lord along with his staff and a majority of the
town councilors. Under his leadership, Algodao
de Jandaira has landed multiple federal grants
worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. During
a recent trip to meet with federal officials, the
mayor turned on the TV just in time to hear a
preacher declare: ‘You are to go before
government leaders and fight for your people.’
When he presented his case the following day,
Algodao do Jandaira was the only community in
the State of Paraiba to win a grant. Although
Algodao de Jandaira has a small police force, the
constables have very little to do. It seems that
crime has all but vanished in the aftermath of
the 2004 ‘Flood of Blessings.’ To celebrate this
victory – and their other manifold blessings – the
town plans to erect a monument to the Lord in
the Spring of 2008. In the meantime, local
believers are watching The Sentinel Group’s
Quickening video to better understand the
principles that animate transforming revival.
For while there is no shortage of gratitude for
their recent breakthrough, there is also a
growing sense of responsibility toward
neighboring communities still lost in their sin.”
Since this story comes from The Sentinel Group,
you can believe it 100%. Following are some
added notes from this organization:
“Transformation His Way: Program orientation
is marked by impatience – and pride. Not only
do we offend God when we insist on charting our
own course, we actually limit His ability to lead
us – and our community – into full-blown
revival. The longer we try to organize our way
to success, the longer it will be before we taste
actual victory. Only God is capable of
performing the heavy lifting required to change
an entire community. If we want to get there –
to transformation – He must first come here.
When the Lord speaks to us, we’ve got to seize
the moment – if we don’t, His voice will
inevitably fade into the background static of life.
The time has come to life the bar of expectations,
to enter into the Firestorm of God’s grace.
(George Otis, Jr., from “The Quickening”)
More Sentinel notes: “Pray that you may be
granted ‘…the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,
so that you may know him better. I pray also
that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in
order that you may know the hope to which he
has called you, the riches of his glorious
inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably
great power for us who believe. That power is
like the working of his mighty strength.’
(Ephesians 1: 17-19) Consider this: Our works
are impotent if at the end of the day we have
merely made men more comfortable on the road
to hell. We must not only couple our good works
with faith, but also go in the resurrection power
of Christ. The goodness of God paves the way to
persuade men to repentance (Romans 2:4), while
the message of the Gospel alone holds the keys to
eternity. Join a growing international network
of transformation-hungry believers today. Help
support the inspiring and critical work of The
Sentinel Group by becoming an Explorer
Member (or support in other ways). Receive
timely and relevant reports of transformation
from around the globe, product discounts and
connect with this network of hope! For
questions or information please contact April
Otis McCallum at: explorer@sentinelgroup.org.
The website is www.sentinelgroup.org. Folks, the
Silver Dollar City Foundation has most of The
Sentinel Group Transformational videos,
including “The Quickening,” and their most
recent release. Because one small group of
Christians was obedient to God, a marvelous
physical and spiritual transformation took place.
It can happen here. This is why I so firmly
believe that the UP Team is part of God’s plan
for our regions and our nation. We are a small
group of people, praying faithfully and
passionately, and trusting in a mighty move of
the Holy Spirit. Do not lose heart!!
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
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“I n the year 2008, the Lord came unto Noah,
who was now living in our country, and said,
‘Once again the earth has become wicked and I see
the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and
save 2 of every living thing along with a few good
humans. He gave Noah the blueprints, saying, ‘You
have 6 months to build the Ark before I will start the
unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights.’ 6 months
later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in
his yard – but no Ark! ‘Noah,’ He roared, ‘I’m about
to start the rain! Where is the Ark?’ ‘Forgive me,
Lord,’ begged Noah, ‘but things have changed. I
needed a building permit. I’ve been arguing with the
inspector about the need for a sprinkler system. My
neighbors claim that I’ve violated the neighborhood
zoning laws by trying to build the Ark in my yard.
We had to go to the local planning board for a
decision. Then the Electric Company demanded a
bond be posted for the future costs of moving power
lines and other overhead obstructions, to clear the
passage for the Ark’s move to the sea. I told them the
sea would be coming to us, but they would hear
nothing of it. Getting the wood was another problem.
There’s a ban on cutting local trees in order to save
the spotted owl. I tried to convince the
environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the
owls – but no go! When I started gathering the
animals, an animal rights group sued me. They
insisted that I was confining wild animals against
their will. They argued that the proposed
accommodations were too restrictive and that it
would be cruel and inhumane to put so many animals
in a confined space. Then the EPA ruled that I
couldn’t build the Ark until they’d conducted an
environmental impact study on your proposed Flood.
I’m still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human
Rights Commission on how many minorities I’m
supposed to hire for my building crew. Immigration
and Naturalization is checking on the visa status of
the workers. The trades unions say I can’t use my
sons. They insist I have to hire only union workers
with Ark-building experience. To make matters
worse, the IRS seized all of my assets, claiming that
I’m trying to leave the country illegally with
endangered species. So, forgive me,
Lord, but it will take at least 10 years
for me to finish this Ark. Suddenly
the skies cleared, the sun began to
shine, and a rainbow stretched
across the sky. Noah looked up in
wonder and asked, ‘Does this mean
that you are not going to destroy the world?’ ‘No,’
said the Lord. ‘The Government has already beat me
to it!’”
MORE ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
F rom the best of Milton Berle, under the subject
of Religion: “The Baptist revival is under way.
All the new members have been dipped, but along
comes Joe Hardy, the rowdiest man in town. Joe
says, ‘I’d like for you to dip me.’ The preacher says,
‘If you are really sincere about becoming a Baptist, a
dipping won’t do it. We’ll have to anchor you out
here overnight.’”…”An archeologist is digging in the
Dead Sea area and comes up with an exciting find.
He rushes back to the university and tells his
colleagues, ‘I just found the skeleton of a man four
thousand years old who died of a heart attack.’ ‘How
do you know he died of a heart attack?’ a colleague
asked. ‘He had a paper in his hand that said, ‘a
hundred shekels on Goliath.’”…”In the repository
where the Mint keeps old bills, two of the bills were
talking. A twenty said, ‘I’ve had some life – the best
restaurants, the finest shops. How about you?’ A
one-dollar bill said, ‘All I ever did was go to church,
go to church, go to church.’”…”A minister called out
to the congregation, ‘What must we do before we can
expect forgiveness of sin?’ A voice from the back
yelled, ‘Sin!’”…”A bishop was approached one
morning by a priest. ‘Sir,’ the priest said, ‘there’s a
young lad outside who claims to be seeing a vision of
our Savior in the chapel. What should I do?’ The
bishop said, ‘Look busy.’”…”Some people are very
liberal in their religion. They believe in the Ten
Commandments, but they insist you can pick
five.”…”I used to be an atheist. But I gave it up – no
holidays.”…”A tourist touring South American
jungles was a bit nervous when he returned his rental
car. ‘Do you have any black cats three feet long?’
‘Sure,’ the clerk said. ‘Do you have any black cats
four feet long?’ ‘Yeah, I think so.’ ‘What about
black cats six feet long?’ ‘Could be, I’m not really
sure,’ the clerk answered. From the backseat of the
car the clerk could hear the man’s wife say, ‘I’m
telling you for the last time, you’ve run over a
priest!’”…
PRAYING THE VOTE
H ere are some more of the Scriptures and
prayers from the Presidential Prayer Team on
the subject of “Praying the Vote:” “’Be diligent in
these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that
everyone may see your progress.’ (1 Timothy 4:15)
Awesome God, all things are Yours, and your mercy
and goodness characterize the works of Your hands.
Your love for all persons and peoples has been shown
from the beginning of time when You poured out
blessings on Your people. You are the Lord of
history and time. All truth is found in You, Mighty
God. I ask that the citizens of our great country will
remain keenly interested in the election process from
this day forward to Election Day. Let us long and
hunger for the news of what You are doing in the
campaigns and candidates’ lives. Lord, I pray that
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we will take time and effort required to stay engaged
in the election process so that we may faithfully do
Your will. Thank You for the gift and blessing of
citizenship. May every American exercise freedom
and stay informed and engaged until Election Day.
Amen…’To man belong the plans of the heart, but
from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue. All a
man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are
weighed by the Lord.’ (Proverbs 16: 1-2) Mighty Lord
God, You know all things, and nothing is hidden from
You – even the deepest intentions of hearts. Your
knowledge and authority rule over all the affairs of
humankind, and Your ways govern over all our ways.
I praise You today for the way You understand and
weigh our words, thoughts and motives. As
candidates continue to seek our votes, speaking with
us about their plans, may they freely share their
intentions with candor so that we may discern with
wisdom who best deserves our vote. Grant that the
deepest desires of the candidates’ hearts will be seen
and known, and give to us Your discernment as we
listen and observe. Amen…’I will instruct you and
teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you
and watch over you.’ (Psalm 32:8) Loving God, Your
kindness extends to all You have made. You show
Your awesome love day to day as You reveal Yourself
in manifold ways. Thank You for Your many
promises to lead and guide us when we consult with
You in humility and love. As we move toward this
year’s elections, God, I pray for leaders who will turn
to You as they lead. Give to us those persons who
desire to do Your will and who will consult with You
in every decision. Thank You for Your love and
guidance. Amen.”
FOR OUR MILITARY
T he daughter of one of the SDC employees is a
civilian who is on her second tour of duty in
Iraq. I wrote to her and suggested she share prayer
needs; what I received was a powerful e-mail. Her
name is Shannon. Portions of it follow here: “Thank
you, Bob. I am great. I love it here. Of course,
things are going well (no blatant threat to my life yet)
so that’s easy to say AND I’ve only been here two
weeks. It was nice to see faces I know and I have
some history with. And I am quick to make friends,
so people are never a stranger for long around me. I
won’t allow it. Literally. You walk by my desk too
many times without acknowledging me, and I will
stop you and introduce myself. It’s fun and surprises
people. Here are my prayer requests: 1) Pray for the
mental health of soldiers, whether they go outside the
wire on patrol daily or have to read reports and see in
photos the grim reality of what goes on out there. It
takes a toll on the soul. 2) Pray for families to
understand and support the soldiers who need
healing/peace. If a soldier comes home and says
he/she needs space and doesn’t elaborate by talking
about having seen horrendous things and experienced
great loss and is trying to figure out how to deal with
it, the only way is to have space and time alone, or to
be near others in similar situations. Without
additional explanations, families don’t understand
and soldiers don’t realize they need to elaborate
some. 3) Pray for the husbands/wives who are
thinking about divorcing their soldier because they
are tired of the deployments, the distance and being
married to someone who has nothing left to share
long distance during a deployment. 4) Pray for the
civilians over here supporting the effort; there are
thousands. Americans and Filipinos are
predominant; and there are Iraqis who want to help
as well. 5) Pray for the Iraqi people. Where to start?
Safety, basic provisions, peace, not giving in to
unhealthy influences that would have them become
martyrs, for each Iraqi to have someone cross his/her
path who is a positive influence, safety for the
Assyrian Christian population here. This is spiritual
warfare and Satan is winning on this battlefield -–or
he thinks he is, for now. Let’s take him out at the
knees by praying for these people, releasing the
power and giving Satan fewer results towards his
cause. 6) Pray that God reaches through me to
others (He is the hand, I am the glove). He sends me
out to here with a purpose each time. It’s neat to see
it unfold. I just want to always be available/not too
tired, but willing to sacrifice when an opportunity
arises and God tweaks my heart to do even the
smallest of things to reach out to others (it’s easy to
be tired and selfish out here). One last thing: When I
got home, I wanted to be alone. Others didn’t quite
understand (some friends)…I really just wanted to be
alone and get some privacy and personal space back,
because I was within ten feet of another person or
many people, 24/7 for four months. It’s the last thing
I expected to feel. It surprised me. My other issue
was that I came back to the States with a low
tolerance for the petty stupidity that people dish out
stateside. The messed up priorities and the silly
things people do. I recall after twenty hours of
traveling I was delayed at O’Hare in Chicago.
Airports have a habit of changing my gate and not
telling me, so I wanted to check. My flight had
already been delayed another hour and a half. I just
wanted to make sure it would still be at this gate. The
airline person was snippy with me and basically
refused to help me. I stood there a moment and was
seeing red. I was so mad. I’ve only seen red a
handful of times in my life. When I get that mad, the
tears of anger come. I did not respond, but turned
around and calmed my nerves. Why did I get so
mad? There are a variety of reasons. The point is
that I found myself feeling low tolerance for people at
work and their stupidity/messed up priorities, etc.
When you come from a place where you are facing
your mortality at any time and it’s really about
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 survival and there are serious, time-sensitive things
going on that require urgency and attention, to go
back to a society that has no focus, is lackadaisical, is
ungrateful for how good they have it and take for
granted the luxuries they have – it’s difficult to come
from a sacrificing environment/lifestyle back to one
where people who are pampered turn around and
blow you off. 120 days in a row, with fourteen hours a
day? How You hear someone throwing a fit in a
grocery store line or making comments under their
breath, it is
sooooooo
tempting to tell
them they need
to chill out and
get their
priorities
straight. There
are worse things
to have issues
over. Oh, you
got a flat tire?
Imagine having
one in a war
zone…Did your
nice clothes get
dirty changing that tire? At least you have nice
clothes and you weren’t fearful of a sniper picking
you off…Can’t decide what to have for dinner? We
have maybe twenty food items to choose from, of
which only four change out per meal. In all, I like
maybe three-four of those things. It gets old. Most
people are here twelve-fifteen months. Imagine three
meals a day for a year or more with those options…
Are you feeling tired? Have you ever worked about
not just being tired, but also carrying the burden of
seeing horrendous things?…Taking your house for
granted? I measured today; I walked 520 feet to the
latrine from my trailer where I sleep. My trailer is so
thin, I can hear people walking by on the gravel
outside and helicopters fly overhead and shaking the
building. Imagine if I were in a tent or at a location
hat had incoming/outgoing fire on a regular basis? It
takes a toll…Car now what you want, wish you had
something better? I walk a half mile to work, a half
mile to the chow hall (and two times to the chow hall
in 110 degree heat), and of course there is the
latrine…Didn’t sleep well? At least you can regulate
your schedule where you COULD get enough sleep if
you were disciplined enough. Out here most of us go
to sleep and wake up and it’s still the same day.
That’s just NOT satisfying. On the flip side, two days
pass during each shift – ha, ha. I never know what
day it is. It’s greatly confusing, takes me months to
get on track when I get home…The moon and stars
are more beautiful here than back home. But then
maybe I pay more attention to them here. Sometimes
all you have to do is look up. I am sitting in the
middle of soooooo many thousands of years of
history. Just remember, we all look at the same stars,
just different times of day. I read My Utmost for His
Highest daily and as I’ve gotten others to do so as
well, that’s something we share – just at different
times of day, in different parts of the world. God is
all-knowing and all-seeing and no issue is too large
for Him and nothing takes Him by surprise. Nothing.
He has a plan worked out for all. Remember, the
world is a small place full of human beings who all
have the same needs, they just speak different
languages and have different skin colors. Take care
of yourself and have a nice humid summer.”
PRAYER MOBILIZATION
P lease pray for: Shannon and the military and
their families…Businessmen’s Fellowship
International and as they move on after the passing of
Jack Urbec…Jan Urbec and Hillary…Christian
Businessmen’s Committee…M. Leonard, health…
Monna Stafford, loss of father…Jack and Rebecca,
loss of infant daughter…John Swift, job…Mike
Loewe (UP), job…Sr. Paula, accident, and all the
Sisters in her northern MO convent who are praying
for UP…implementation of a nonprofit health clinic
in the area…Barb and Bill…continuous fresh
anointing for the ministry of KLFC radio…Tim
Blacke, brain surgery…Richard (health) and Anne
(caregiver)…Becky Ball (UP), health…Reflection of
Christ ministry to homosexuals, with special prayer
for Ben, Joe P., Rusty, Dale, David S….Sue Head
(UP) and family, after passing of her father-in-law,
the founder of what is now Camp Barnabas…Amy
Burton (daughter-in-law), who has been ordered to
bed rest during the balance of her pregnancy because
of some complications (baby’s name is Livi, which
means peace and life)…Phil Erwin, health…Barbara
Burton, health…Megan (Burton) Klinger, newly
married, and husband Doug…all suffering from
floods here and elsewhere, and other natural
disasters…all torn by war and strife…end of all
terrorism and dictatorship…unity within the Body of
Christ…Backstage ministries…One Passion…all
ministries in the area…all other prayer needs, spoken
and unspoken.
CALLING ALL INSOMNIACS AND NIGHT
WATCHMEN!
We have open UP Team slots in the wee hours of the
morning, the midnight to 3-4 a.m. times on some
days. Please spread the word!!
I am so grateful to all of you for your love and prayer
and faithfulness. I welcome input. Call day or night
at (417) 331-1028. Peace and love.
Bob Burton