In 2010 I was blessed to be asked to be a part of an intercessory prayer team for the Global Operations Connection of Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru) that was to meet in Bangkok, Thailand. With great reservations, I agreed to a week long prayer experience, praying for the needs of 120 diversified operations team leaders from all over the world. How could I pray for that extended period of time and why would they want a pew sitting member of a church from Iowa to pray for these Christian "superstars"? I just took a big chance and went to Bangkok!
To be involved in such an adventure provided an opportunity for me that very few Christians will ever experience. I got to be involved with people of all races, cultures, genders, ages, nationalities, etc. united by their involvement with Cru and their commitment to Jesus Christ. That first trip left me a changed
person and in the next decade, evolved into a dozen trips either to Cru Headquarters in Orlando or to seven countries around the world. Because of this unparalleled opportunity I chose to blog, sharing each trip to each of these culturally unique foreign countries.
In those blogs, I simply shared the experience as these Christian leaders worshiped, built relationships with each other, grew in their relationship to God, and planned the direction of their common ministry into the future. I shared this in light of what I saw God doing in their midst and in the amazing things that He revealed to me in the process of prayer on each and every trip.
As I embark on the Atlas journey, limited to the Iowa Great Lakes Area instead of the world, I see it as no less exciting or important than those prayer trips. As the ministry story of Atlas unfolds, I will attempt to "reflect" (carefully consider) God's presence on the journey and share those "reflections" (shining back) demonstrated through His active presence. I invite those who are not present to witness His daily interventions in the lives of those He loves, to experience it reflected in a small way through this blog.
If you would like to get a feel for how God touched my life through the Cru intercessory prayer opportunity, you can access the last blog from the South Africa trip by Googling davebutterworth2019.blogspot.com. There are links to the blogs of my other trips on that South Africa blog.
