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JUNE, 2007
IN HONOR OF FATHERS’ DAY
“O ne day an elderly man entered into a
hospital. He was grumpy from being on
medication and the nurses thought him to be
insane, as he yelled for his wife to get the apple
basket. By the time they had checked him into his
room the nurses were exhausted from the fight he
was putting up. ‘Sir, you have to calm down; we
are doing everything we can for you.’ ‘I don’t need
your help,’ the grumpy man would yell. ‘I want my
apple basket.’ He finally slept. The nurses sighed
with relief and discussed among themselves whether
they should call the hospital psychologist about the
old man and his obsession with the apple basket.
As they talked, and laughed, about the situation, the
wife came in carrying the basket of apples. They
looked kind of stunned as she asked if she could see
her husband and deliver his basket. They readily
agreed and they watched her slip into his room.
Curiosity consumed them over the next few weeks
as they tended to the elderly man. He was eaten
with cancer and the doctors had given him no hope
of survival. He turned out to be a very calm, warm,
happy man once he had his basket. His wife, they
noticed, would come in with apples
and go out with apples. Their
curiosity grew even more, until
one nurse could not stand the
suspense any longer. One
night, as he was nearing his
end, the nurse sat down in a
chair by the man. ‘May I ask
why you have that apple basket? I
just don’t understand the significance.’ ‘I am an
apple farmer by trade,’ he sighed. ‘From the time I
was twenty till the day I do die I will have my
apples.’ The nurse nodded, thinking she
understood. He just likes his work, she thought,
assured by now that he was a little crazy. As the
started to leave, the old man asked her to sit down.
‘At age twenty I was saved; I accepted the Lord as
my Savior.’ Oh no, the nurse thought; here comes
the lecture on religion. The old man continued:
‘The day I accepted the Lord I got this basket, and
each time I had a problem or concern that I could
not handle, I put an apple in the basket unshined.’
‘Why?’ the nurse said, shaking her head. ‘Because
it reminded me to give those problems to the Lord
for Him to shine. See my basket now,’ he stated.
‘As my problems disappear, so do the apples. As I
get new problems, ones I cannot handle alone, I put
an apple in.’ The nurse, humbled now, looked into
the basket; only one apple was there. With that, he
took a big breath, took his wife by the hand and
went off to eternal life. The wife paused for a
moment and got up from her place to take from the
basket the last remaining apple. She whispered in
his ear that his reward is truly in heaven. The
nurse stayed still and then asked, with tears in her
eyes, ‘What do you think his riches will be?’ The
wife said that she knew what they were – eternal life
with Jesus Christ. But she could see the concern
and sadness upon the young nurse’s face. So she
smiled, handed her the apple and told her that her
husband’s last concern had been for her, his nurse.
‘Now go and bake an apple pie!’ That was the day
the young nurse found the Lord, and from that day
on she always had a basket by her bed.”
REFLECTION
T hat story is a good lead in to this month’s
Reflection, which has three parts. In May, in
the space of a little over a week, three men in my
life died. One was 57, the other two were 54.
1) Dave Nolan was a long time employee of Silver
Dollar City – as an Entertainment Tech, as a fill-in
musician, as a shepherd in the Live Nativity during
the Christmas Festival, and since about 2001 a
member of the Horsecreek Band. Dave was at
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home; his fiancé, Missy Hooper, was
there. He began feeling sick and
he suddenly died of a heart
attack. At his memorial
service, which included
about twenty musicians on
stage at one point playing
Gospel songs, a member of another
musical group that Dave was a
member of said that several weeks
before his death, Dave was focusing on some Gospel
CDs. The man asked him about his spiritual life,
and Dave replied that he was OK with the Lord.
2) Bob Oaks, the other 54 year old man, had been
an SDC employee for more than ten years. He was
an Attractions Manager, and he and I became good
friends. Bob left to go into full time ministry with
his wife as members of the Billye Brimm Ministry.
Shelly, Bob’s wife, is Billye’s daughter. They
traveled around the United States and in other
countries, including Israel, and they were also
deeply involved in a subsidiary ministry, Prayer
Mountain of the Ozarks, on the shores of Bull
Shoals Lake. Bob was on a ministry trip to
Wyoming, and he died of a stroke. At the service
celebrating his going home, I heard “the rest of the
story.” One of my favorite Scriptures has always
been that mysterious passage in the second Chapter
of Ephesians, verse 6: “God raised us up with Christ
Jesus and seated us with him in the heavenly realms
in Christ Jesus.” If we take this literally, as I
believe we should, the awesome reality is that even
now on this earth we are spiritually united with
Jesus not just on earth but right now in heaven as
well. Well, I have a new appreciation for this verse
now and will never read or hear it again without
thinking of Bob Oaks. Bob was
leading a Bible study in a
living room. He said
this, referring to
Ephesians 2: “It is
one thing to know
Jesus Christ; it is
entirely another
thing to know that we
are seated with Him
even now in the heavenly
realm.” After he said that, Bob closed
his eyes, leaned back against the couch – and he
died. When he “opened his eyes” he was seeing in
full color and glory what he had just been talking
about in faith.
3) Phil Rogers was a co-founder and co-owner of
Auto Go in Branson West (and now also in
Branson). His wife Susan continues in that role.
They were only married for eight years, but they
were deeply in love and were inseparable. Phil
became ill in January, was diagnosed with
advanced pancreatic cancer in February, and he
died three months to the day from the diagnosis.
Phil was 57. I got to know them as a customer of
Auto Go and grew to love them as brother and
sister. At Phil’s celebration service, one of his
church friends stood up and said this to the people
gathered together: “For those of you who know the
Lord, life on this earth is the closest you will ever
come to hell; for those of you who do not know the
Lord, life on this earth is the closest you will ever
come to heaven.” But what is most amazing about
the Phil Roger’s story is a document that he wrote,
and that Susan distributed to people at the
gathering. I offer it here for your prayerful
consideration and for your rejoicing. It is a
combination of Susan providing some information
and Phil telling his story: Susan: “At the time of
diagnosis, the cancer had spread into his liver and a
tumor was obstructing his bile duct. An active and
productive life was quickly curtailed by growing
tumors and loss of energy, and he was soon
bedridden. Phil didn’t realize how many friends he
had until he got sick. Caring and sincere offers of
help came pouring in from all directions. He was
humbled by the love offered to him by people he
thought barely knew of his existence. Philip had
always believed in Jesus, but had not seen the
product of a truly believing body of Christ until he
was at this point in his life. This letter is dedicated
to those wonderful people who witnessed to Philip
and to those whom he was not able to tell his story
personally.” Phil: “I especially wish that my
daughter Josie will be able to read this and find
hope for her life. May 9, 2007: A few weeks ago I
got a phone call from Larry Sidenstricker who
wanted to bring some gentlemen over to pray for
me because Larry heard I had been ill when he
talked to my wife Susan. I said yes, I would
appreciate it because I already knew that several
groups at church were all praying for me
anonymously even though they did not know who I
was. He brought several deacons from the church
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on Tuesday night, April 10. I can’t remember all
their names, but I can remember that they came in
here. I knew the preacher, Randy Johnson, and I
knew Larry Sifford and Phil Erwin, but I didn’t
know any of the rest except for Larry Sidenstricker,
of course. My in-laws were visiting and I asked my
father-in-law to join this group. Larry Herndon
came in and he grabbed hold of me and he almost
lifted me out of the chair and said, “We are here to
pray for you.” They all got down and
touched me and started in with
Randy praying for me and I felt
a little bit of light and it went
around the circle and Larry
preached over me and I felt
him spark me. Larry
Sidenstricker sent a chill up
my back and a spark. They
were here about twenty
minutes and when they left I
felt uplifted. It wasn’t a
grand moment, but it was inspiring to
think these gentlemen would take time out to talk to
a stranger and pray for him. A week passed and I
started getting an awakening feeling. I needed to go
to church. I didn’t know why, but I had to go on a
certain Sunday to the First Baptist Church in
Kimberling City, and it had to be the eight o’clock
service with my mother who didn’t like eight
o’clock services. That Sunday, April 29, finally
arrived and I was still feeling pretty chipper and we
went to church. Mom and I were first to go in. We
picked a pew and sat down. Larry Herndon sat
across from us, but he didn’t recognize me as the
one he was praying for at my house. We went
through the praying and the sermon, which was
about not picking on people who were handicapped
or different, but reaching down and giving them a
hand up. I said to myself this was not going to get
to me. At that point I started to weep a little bit.
All of a sudden I felt overwhelmed. I just started
crying and couldn’t control it. Larry came over to
me and our good friend, Kathy Clark, came up
behind me. Then Larry said do we need to go to the
front and I said yes I do. We went to the front of
the pews and knelt at the bench before the altar. I
felt a very strong urge and white light hit me and I
was crying so hard I could not stand it. I felt love…
Pure love. I knew it was the church and Jesus’ love.
Jesus brought all these wonderful people to me and
He didn’t have to say anything. They accepted me
as I was and I could feel their love. I had been to
that church six or seven times and I had always
liked their sermons. If I didn’t go out with a tear
each time, I went out with a smile. I hadn’t
accepted organized religion until that time. These
people opened a whole new world to me that there
was more to a God-loving church than four walls
and a preacher. I received Jesus as my Lord and
Savior. These wonderful people from the Baptist
church led me to Jesus. And I became a better man
through Jesus.” Susan: I have to interrupt here to
tell you about something Phil didn’t know about.
When Kathy and Larry returned to their seats after
assisting Phil to the altar, they and several other
people saw yellow and blue lights flash on the
projection screens at the front on the church.
Philip was wearing a jacket of yellow and blue
fabric. It happened as the pastor was calling for
prayer, and they saw it just in a flash, but we know
of 3 people, each sitting in separate pews in the
church, who saw the screens flash one blue, one
yellow, and then both bright white.” Phil: “All the
next week I attempted to contact my father-in-law
by email to tell him of my experience and that I
accepted the Lord as my Savior. Every time I tried,
my new laptop computer would either delete the
story, cancel, or lose it. Each time I tried, I failed.
One evening I fell asleep with my finger on the
backspace key and it deleted all three paragraphs,
so I just called my father-in-law on the phone and
told him my message. We talked and cried and
enjoyed the moment. He could tell I was happier
than I ever had been in my life, and he knew that I
had found Jesus Christ and accepted Him and knew
that Jesus Christ would accept me.
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The following Sunday, May 6, I made arrangements
for Mom and me to go to Sunday School
and Church. Because I couldn’t drive
anymore, Kathy and Gary Clark were going
to come by and pick us up. I had been
sleeping on the sofa in the living room
because it was more comfortable and easier
to get up and down to
the bathroom. I
was in the
bathroom and
my morning
alarm went
off. I tried to
run in to
turn it off so
it wouldn’t
wake up
Susan in the
bedroom, and
suddenly my
breath left me.
I was coughing
for fifteen minutes and trying in
between breaths to wake up Susan, who was
asleep in the bedroom. I finally woke her
and said I couldn’t go to church because I
was wiped out. I passed out in the chair. I
guess she made some phone calls, because
when I woke up, Gary and Kathy’s Sunday
School class surrounded me. Other than
Gary and Kathy, I didn’t know them and
they didn’t know me. They didn’t know
who they had been praying for. They
welcomed me into their hearts and told me
who they were. Some hugged me and some
shook my hand and some kissed me. Then
they all got down on their knees and prayed
for me. They gave me the privilege of
telling my story – a story about a man who
has found both heaven and heaven on earth
through the people he’s associated with…
GOD’s people. I know Jesus is calling me
home. So far I may be a little yellow and
little scrawny and have very little wind.
Jesus is not allowing any pain and for that I
thank Him because they say this is not one
of the nicer cancers. I am on minimum pain
meds but I can feel it growing and I know
it’s there. I know I will get to be with Jesus
soon. I only hope that Susan and all my
friends receive more blessings and when my
spark goes it joins theirs when we all meet
together by His side. My mother has never
ever given up on me, and I know I have
been hard on her from time to time but she
has always led me back to Christ. She’s
always tried to pull me back to the Church.
She never gave up. I told her my day will
come and she’s held lmy hand and joined
hers and brought me with her. I would not
have had the courage to go to that first
Sunday service if I didn’t have my Mom to
go with me. She has always found the love
in people and the friendships in people. She
knows no stranger. She has had that ability
all her life. God blessed her with that and I
thank you, Jesus, and bless Mom forever
and ever. May she continue on the path she
has chosen and help as many others as she
can. Susan has been everything to me – my
light, my life, my breath. She has helped me
through times when most women would
never help a man. She brought me back
from the brink the first time and has been
there by my side and gave me the strength
to come back all the way. She’s a loving,
caring wife. She’s like Mom in that she
hasn’t met a stranger, just a friend she
hasn’t made yet. She is wonderful. I know
that it’s only a speck in time when I will see
her again in heaven where we can be
together in eternity. We have always been
soul mates and we know it. I am going to
get to sit with Jesus at least for a minute,
kind of like two cowboys would. I think He
will aske me for my opinion even though He
doesn’t need it. I know He has a lot of souls
flying up there everyday, but He doesn’t
have to lay judgment on them, just welcome
them all with open arms. He knows I want
to talk to Him.” Epilogue from Susan:
“Early on Tuesday morning, May 8, Philip
awoke me before dawn. He said that he felt
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that something was left undone, but he
didn’t know what. I sat with him and we
talked it out. I left the room for a minute,
and when I came back he told me that he
figured it out. ‘I need to be baptized,’ he
said. Although Philip knew that he didn’t
need to be baptized to be saved, he felt
strongly that this was what Jesus was calling
him to do. I made a few calls, and by noon
everything was set for the next Sunday. By
this time Philip was in a hospital bed and on
oxygen full time. We would have to take
him in a wheel chair. By Sunday, May 13,
Philip was transported from home to First
Baptist Church in Kimberling City and up
into the Baptistry with all the precision of a
military operation. Larry Herndon
baptized Philip, and when he asked if Philip
had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and
Savior to come into his heart, he cried, ‘He
jumped in!’ The men who assisted Philip
and lowered him from his wheelchair into
the water said that he was totally trusting in
them to get him in and out. They said he
nearly floated. Afterward, Philip was, of
course, exhausted, but we stayed until the
end of the service, then took him home.
That was the last time he was out of his
hospital bed. During the week after his
Baptism, Philip continued to decline, but he
perked up considerably each time a visitor
would come. On Thursday, he was told of a
woman who was also being prayed for and
who had just been saved. She suffers from
depression and agoraphobia. Philip asked
for her phone number and he called this
woman, telling her his story of salvation.
This is just one of the many blessings Philip
has been to those around him. Philip died
on Tuesday afternoon, May 22, exactly 3
months nearly to the hour after he had been
told he had pancreatic cancer. His
condition had worsened markedly since the
previous Saturday, but he was still on
minimal pain medication. Philip’s pain
increased on Tuesday morning, and by
afternoon his breathing had become
labored. His childhood friend, John
Spencer, his mother, Georgia Ransom, my
Dad, Robert Sheets, and I were at his
bedside when he drew his last breath. I had
been outside picking some jasmine blossoms
for him, because during our life together he
had always taken every opportunity to
bring me flowers. I laid the flowers on the
pillow beside his head and took Philip’s
hand. My Dad had read aloud the 23rd
Psalm. Within a few minutes, Philip’s
breathing slowed and I could tell he was
having trouble making the muscles draw
breath in and out. He was looking into my
eyes the hole time, loving me and
comforting me that he was soon to be whole
again. Philip closed his eyes, drew one last
breath, and I knew that he was in the arms
of Jesus. Someone asked me if I felt cheated
that Philip
and I only
had 8 years of
marriage. I
don’t. I feel
blessed that
we had 8
glorious years
of love and
laughter and
trust. We
rejoiced in his
new life. I will miss him, but I am
comforted by a love that will never die. We
are soulmates, and that will not be changed
by such a triviality as death. I hope that this
testament to Philip’s last days as a newborn
Christian will give everyone who reads it a
little hope, a little grace, a little ‘spark’ and
a whole lot of peace. Believe me, if he were
still here, he’d be telling this story to you
himself.”
In the last issue of this Newsletter I shared some
answers to prayer as a way of encouraging UP
Team members and other intercessors to stay the
course. At the end I encouraged others to share
stories, including how individuals have been
touched in our area. Well, it was not long after this
that the Lord made me aware of the deaths of Phil
and Dave and Bob – and how each was on a sure
journey to the presence of the Lord. I believe that
the prayers of many people, including us, were
vessels God used to send His amazing grace.
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
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F ollowing is some “intellectual food for
thought:” Why do we press harder on a
remote control when we know the batteries are
going dead??…Why do banks charge a fee on
‘insufficient funds’, when they know there is not
enough in the account to pay it??… Why does
someone believe you when you say that there are
four billion stars, but check when you say the paint
is wet??…Why doesn’t glue stick to the bottle??…
Why do they use sterilized needles for death by
lethal injection?? (Pray for those on death row)…
Why doesn’t Tarzan have a beard??…Why does
Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks
when you throw a revolver at him??…Why do
kamikaze pilots wear helmets??…Whose idea was it
to put an ‘s’ in the word ‘lisp?’…What is the speed
of darkness??…If you send someone Styrofoam,
how do you pack it??…If the temperature is zero
today and it’s going to be twice as cold tomorrow,
how cold will it be??…If people evolved from apes,
why are there still apes??…If it’s true that we are
here to help others, what are the others doing
here??…Can you cry under water??…What level
of importance must a person have before they are
considered assassinated instead of just murdered?
…Why does a round pizza come in a square box??
…How is it that we put man on the moon before we
figured out that it would be a good idea to put
wheels on suitcases??… Why is it that people say
they “slept like a baby” when babies wake up, like,
every two hours??…Why do people pay to go up
tall buildings and then put money in telescopes to
look at things on the ground??
MORE ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
L
awyers should never ask a southern Grandma
a question if they aren’t prepared for the
answer. In a trial, a southern small-town
prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a
grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He
asked her, “Mrs. Jones, do you know me?” She
responded, “Why, yes, I do know you, Mr.
Williams. I’ve know you since you were a young
boy and, frankly, you’ve been a big disappointment
to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you
manipulate people and talk about them behind
their backs. You think you’re a big shot when you
haven’t the brains to realize you will never amount
to anything
more than a
two-bit paper
pusher. Yes, I know you.” The lawyer was
stunned! Not knowing what else to do, he pointed
across the room and asked, ‘Mrs. Jones, do you
know the defense attorney?” She replied, “Why,
yes, I do. I’ve known Mr. Bradley since he was a
youngster, too. He’s lazy, bigoted, and he has a
drinking problem. He can’t build a normal
relationship with anyone and his law practice is one
of the worst in the entire state. And he has cheated
on his wife with three different women. One of
them was your wife. Yes, I know him.” The
defense attorney, along with the prosecutor, felt like
dying on the spot. The judge then asked both
counselors to approach the bench. He looked at
them intensely, first one, then the other; then he
said, in a quiet and menacing voice, “If either of you
idiots asks her if she knows me, I will throw you
into jail for contempt, not her, and I will seek your
disbarment!!”
PRAYER MOBILIZATION
P lease pray for: Susan Rogers and family
members and Auto Go…Missy Hooper…Kevin
Nolan…Phil’s daughter that she find the Lord…Bill
Lock, cancer…Becky Ball, UP member, full
recovery from an accident…David, health…Baby
Emma, health, and for her family…Family of
Brenda and The River…Bert Miller, health…Bill
Budnick’s Mom, health…Mike Mason, UP
member, as he assumes his new role as
Superintendent of the Reeds Spring School
District…Josh, ministered to by Loy Loftin…Carl,
heart…Wes Neal, health…Oaks family…Jerry
Davis, health…Oneeta Stimson, UP member, who
had open heart surgery…Dwight, health…
Torchbearers and Cameroon…Caleb, in Rwanda…
Joe Fuqua, arm…Debbie Stein, UP member,
health…Jimmy, health, ROAD to Jerusalem, event
to further relationships between Jews and
Christians…Sonya Hoyt, UP member, and
family…Barbara Helmkamp and family…Ralph,
salvation, Skekeyra Sewell.
Thank you for your faithfulness. Please spread the
word about the UP Team, and please contact me
with stories about answered prayer and with prayer
requests. My cell phone, day and night, is (417)
331-1028.
Peace to you and yours.
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Bob Burton