Researching the Free Prayer Sign Testimony

For days now, I have been pouring through several Bethel Church (Bill Johnson) sermons (recorded on CD) trying to figure out where I heard that testimony about the lady in the bar with the sign that read, "Free Prayer". I listen to them in the background on my headset while I'm working. It's been great.

The main reason I'm doing this is several people have asked me how I came up with the idea to have the Free Prayer booth at last weekend's Dogwood Festival. I'm actually not sure but I'm pretty sure I heard about someone else doing something similar first but now I can't seem to track it down. This has happened to me before. Maybe it's not important. Maybe I have a difficult time letting that go.

Ok, the Free Prayer story is also not in the Faith for Reformation sermon...
or the Favor Like Jesus sermon...
Now I'm listening to Being Summoned by God... wasn't that one...
How about the Bill Lance interview? Needle in a haystack... Ok, doesn't look like it was in the interview.
Let's see for 200 I'll take "A Renewed Mind"... I'm losing this game.

At least I'm getting a mega dose of good teaching. In case I lost you already, I'm refering to Bill Johnson sermons. I think I listened to my first of his sermons oh, maybe just a couple of months ago. I'm sure they seem very "different" to many Christians but I would encourage you in how you weigh them. I have found them very inspiring and I think they have encouraged my faith. That's a good thing, folks. Remember? I think we used to call that fruit. Ok, back to my search...

I'll try alphabetical order this time, "A Throne Room Experience". Nope, not that one either. How about, "Back to Our Roots"? Nope
Now I'm in Blessing or Offense - 1st Service...
How about 2nd service... wasn't 2nd service. Does God want me to listen to all these all over again?
Well, I like Don't Eat the Bones anyway. I've listened to all these twice before this last pass. Now it will be three times each. Some of them more than that I think. That's homework (for my upcoming trip to this church). Wasn't Don't Eat the Bones.
Feeding Alligators was popular. But it wasn't that one. I'm running out of options here.
He Tore the Heavens Open... Nope.
He's the Healer (The Roadrunner)...

- Wade Baker

The Unity Set

I've been circling around this one a bit and it's time to land on it.

If Sunday mornings are the axle in the flywheel of my weekly schedule then Wednesday's 7-9 PM at the House of Prayer - Siloam are the apexes.

It was the second half of last year (2008) when the Lord was really working with me on a vision for the 52 churches of Siloam Springs. I’ve had a number of people ask me how this idea came about and I will try to spend some time soon trying to unpack this more and more. For now, just keep in mind that as I saw 2009 approaching and as I studied the local church and the number of congregations I quickly figured out that in the 52 weeks of 2009 I (and we) could pray for one church each week of the year. There are some more additional interesting details to share later but that’s good for now.

I knew the Lord was speaking to me on this and I shared this vision with a handful of individuals I knew walked in wise counsel. I had varying responses, naturally. Some didn’t surprise me, some did. But one of the responses that pleasantly surprised me the most was that the Unity Set team I was working with on Wednesday nights. They quickly and wholly welcomed the idea of praying for the 52 churches, one each week. Think of it this way, each week someone was going to hand me a 50-lb bag of coal and the Unity Set team said, “You can use our furnace”. Without it, I’d be sparking a whole lot of little fires everywhere.

I am grateful that they have continued to embrace it. I believe the Lord has called them as much as He has called me to this, each playing our own different parts, and skillfully well at that.For example, I have plans to attend Eastgate Freewill Baptist Church this Sunday. My calendar indicates their service begins at 10:30 AM. That entry was made months ago so one of the first things I’ll need to do is confirm that. It looks like I will need to do a "drive-by", probably some time today.

I’ll keep you posted.

- Wade Baker

"The Pool of Siloam Will Be Filled"

If you haven't already read "The Man in the Water" post you might want to familiarize yourself with that one first. The rest of this post is going to read assuming you've read the one mentioned above. I don't want to lose anyone. I feel this is too important for that.

I will start off by saying I have personally seen the historic Spring of Siloam in the downtown park of Siloam Springs be filled with water 5 times in less than a year. When I say filled I mean that there is water completely covering the bottom of the pool from the steps on one side clear across to the steps on the other side. The 5 different times represent varying depths, anywhere from mid-shin to knee to upper thigh (and I'm 5' 11").

There are a number of things that make this unusual. The first thing I'll mention is that it's rarely seen (witnessed) and even less rarely documented. Personally, I didn't even know about the spring a year ago much less that it can occasionally fill with water. You should know or keep in mind this thing sits day after day usually bone dry. There are two old small troughs in the corner that usually contain about an inch of water year round but not enough to get the stone paved floor even damp.

A couple of other things. This cistern like structure was never built with the intent to hold water. In fact it drains quite well. On the rare occasion when it is full you can watch the water flowing out of it. Also, the pool does not fill with rain water directly (like a discarded plastic pool). The pool fills from the bottom up. It's groundwater coming from the spring, naturally, as a result of a large amount of rain in a short period of time. It's quite clean, clear and beautiful... and then it returns to the ground and it's gone again and soon bone dry again.

Now, let me establish. I have always seen the pool fill as a direct result of rain. Again, I will say it the other way. I have never seen the pool full if it hasn't rained for 1-3 days first. So I don't think there's anything unusual about the correlation of rain and a full pool. But you may soon see that there could be an interesting correlation of a different kind.

Let me first share with you the 5 dates I have seen the pool filled.

Sunday 8/10/2008
Wednesday 9/3/2008 - Friday 9/5/2008
Sunday 9/14/2008
Resurrection (Easter) Sunday 4/12/2009
Late Saturday 4/18/2009 - Early Sunday 4/19/2009

Let's look at each of these dates and let me tell you a little bit more about each one.

Sunday 8/10/2008
Derek Loux, associated with the International House of Prayer - Kansas City, brings a ministry team to Siloam Springs and they lead 3 days of worship & teaching at a local church that draws believers from about 5 different fellowships in the area. On the 3rd and final day of their visit the pool is full of water.

Wednesday 9/3/2008 - Friday 9/5/2008
Two months in advance the Lord revealed to me the pool would be filled. About 20 people from about 7 different local congregations gather to witness this unusual baptism in "The Pool of Siloam".

Sunday 9/14/2008
Approximately 7 churches combine for one large church service on the John Brown University campus, one of the largest cross-congregational expressions in Siloam's history. Upon leaving that service it was discovered that the pool was about as full as it's ever been.

Resurrection (Easter) Sunday 4/12/2009
5 churches work together to provide a week of Community Holy Week Noon Services, Monday through Friday. The pool was full from steps to steps the very day these services were leading up to.

Late Saturday 4/18/2009 - Early Sunday 4/19/2009
5 people representing at least 3 different local churches combine resources and deliver more than 174 cases of bottled water and 2 dozen sheets of plywood among other requested supplies and services to tornado-ravished Mena, AR. The pool fills that very same night and goes back down the very next day.

Have you figured it out yet? I have to be honest and tell you I didn't quite "get it" to this level until this morning on my short drive to work. In case you missed it, here's my best shot at it:

Each one of these examples has a strong association with a unique cross-congregational and/or cross-denominational expression of biblical unity from the community of believers in Siloam Springs. These could also be refered to as moments of spiritual breakthrough. Remember: This is in a town with less than 15,000 people that has 52 churches and who has, naturally and understandably, demonstrated a long history of struggling with denominationalism.

I'm going to let you pause on that and consider your own conclusions. Need more documentation or evidence? Just email me. If that's not what it is then what is it? You don't know me? I can appreciate that. I can also provide references. Still have doubt? That's natural. I'd like you to consider, however, that our God is beyond the natural. He is super-natural. I urge you not to too quickly dismiss what I am presenting. If you truly want to see if there is anything of truth to this, truly seek it out. I believe it deserves a fair consideration. The implications could be significant.

We'll continue to discuss this.

- Wade Baker

Kingdom Culture Conference - June 24-26

Many of you know or are learning that I am going to the Kingdom Culture conference this June at Bethel Church in Redding, CA. There's a lot to share about that but, I know I keep saying this but, later. For now I wanted to make sure you know that I'm going.

I've had a number of people ask me if Gina is going. Sadly, she is not. Due to the fact that Gina has been called to teach, and is really good at it, she will be both teaching a college class and taking another college class this summer and is completely booked up.

So this first trip (yes I said first) to Redding I'll be solo, at least as far our our little family is concerned. On the other hand it appears I will be traveling with at least 6 other Siloam Springs believers. That is awesome!

So I'll check it out for the first time this year and see about how to get Gina out there next time. This is how Gina and I have operated for many years. I check it out first, bring back the report and then help Gina decide if it's for her next time. The most vivid lesson of when we learned the value of this approach for us was when I took her on a group trip through a little known cave in western Oklahoma. It was much more difficult than I expected and could have kept Gina from ever going into another cave again. She was a good sport and we agreed from then on I'd check them out first. We've applied that across the board over the years and it seems to work well for us.

I will miss you, honey!

- Wade Baker

Antioch Church

Antioch Church in Siloam Springs played a pivotal role in a dramatic (spiritually positive) change in my life Summer of 2008. That sweet fellowship & teaching continues to be the fertilizer to my spirit as I continue to grow in the greenhouse of the Lord. Continuing that analogy, the Holy Spirit is the water and my brothers and sisters, planted closely together help hold one another up. I am very grateful for each of them, too numerous to mention in this post at this time. I am confident they know who they are.

It was very early this year they started a website, though the church has been around for about 9 years.

Here's their link:

http://www.antiochwelcomehome.org/

We're still working on the site. Stacey Conrad's doing a great job!

- Wade Baker

Another Siloam Blog

This could be one of the most followed blogspots in Siloam Springs. What an amazing testimony! Here's the link:

http://vickidees.blogspot.com/

- Wade Baker

Another Fellow Blogger

I don't know how this has escaped me until now; probably because I never thought to look for it. In addition to my co-worker Holley we have another talented writer blogging with us. You may already know of him and/or his work. It's Roy Lessin. Here's the link to his blog:

http://roy.dayspring.com/

I am confident that you will be richly blessed through his words.

- Wade Baker

Photo Links Not Working

I am currently expereincing issues with editing photos and photo links (and some other editing related issues). This means if you click on a photo it may not enlarge in another screen or at all. I will keep troubleshooting this for a while or until I figure it out. My apologies.

- Wade Baker

A Call to Unity

This blog will highlight the many expressions of biblical unity that are being seen in the greater community of Siloam Springs.

There are currently two of these expressions that are closest to my heart in this season.

The first one is the Unity Set led by Renee Johnson 7-9 PM each Wednesday at the International House of Prayer - Siloam Springs. Brad Batchelor also helps lead worship and Erik Leetch & I help lead prayer. Erik also plays bass and I also help with sound as does my wife, Gina. One of the first cool things about this is that this small team alone represents to different fellowships serving together under a common purpose, to pray for unity. The others that often come also represent this same theme, coming from various church bodies in the area. This is also my first official invitation to you. If the Lord is speaking to you about unity and what you can do to partner in prayer for it this may be the place and time to be. We welcome you and strongly encourage you to consider it. We would love to see you.

Click on the image below to see an enlarged map of where the International House of Prayer - Siloam Springs is.

The second expression of unity, mentioned in another post, is Spring Singing. This small but faithful group meets each Friday at noon at the historic Spring of Siloam downtown. They are usually a time of guitar playing, singing, scripture reading and prayer for community transformation, what some people might also refer to as revival. This is also a cross-congregational group. Sometimes there's just one, one time there were about 20. It's held each Friday until around 1PM rain or shine. Feel free to come and go as you are available and led. Here comes the invite: If you have a heart, a passion and/or a burden to pray for Siloam Springs this could be the thing for you. There have been many amazing things that have happened during these times or related to them. Come see for yourself or wait until I can blog about them someday. You have been invited.

Click on the image below to see an enlarged map of where we meet for Spring Singing each week.

- Wade Baker

Tuesday AM Prayer 4 Hours Away

May the believers of Siloam Springs be encouraged to know that there is a faithful group of people who gather each Tuesday morning, 10:30-11:00 AM, and pray for this community. This group of prayer warriors, intercessors meet in Side Room # 8 of the Global Prayer Room at the International House of Prayer - Kansas City Missions Base.

I had the honor of praying with many of them a few weeks ago. Many of you know Kyle & Heidi and I imagine others know Cherie Blair, Tim Smith & Audra. There were also others there but I didn't get everyone's name.

I'm currently serving as a conduit for prayer requests so if you know of something they can lift up specifically or generally for the community of Siloam Springs feel free to share it with me and I will with them.

In the meantime, is that just awesome? And a little convicting, in a good way. How many of us (including myself) spend 30 minutes a week on our knees praying for our home town? May we be encouraged by what they are doing and may we also be inspired to do more of the same.

- Wade Baker

Hot Topics

Here are some other topics I hope to cover soon.

• Did you know there is a group of men that have been meeting and praying weekly in Siloam Springs for the last 30 years?
• There is another group of men meeting and praying on Wednesday mornings and have been doing so for about 9 years.
• Kind At Heart Ministries is reaching the eldery, widowed and disabled in the greater Siloam Springs community, acting as a long loving arm of the church.
• There is a movement, being led by Dean Kerns, to find prayer warriors to take certain times of the week to pray for Siloam Springs. He's working towards 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is one of two 24-7 movements in this same small city.

- Wade Baker

The Author's Family

You may see references to my parents and grandparents and wonder where they are. My folks live about 1,000 miles east in South Carolina and my last living grandparent (my dad's mom) is in a nursing home more than 1,000 miles away in California. These people are very important to me and you'll hear more about them. I'm just kind of setting the scene for now.

- Wade Baker

Too Busy to Take Pictures

I just realized we got no pictures of last weekend's Free Prayer booth. The good thing is, that is a reflection of how busy we were. Sure there was some downtime but it seems like all I could think about during those times was rest. One more reason to do it again next year, pictures!

- Wade Baker

The Man in the Water

Ok, I'm jumping the gun a little here but my mom asked me a question regarding the photo of me standing in the water and that prompted me to write the following. Another (good) can of worms which I am sure to return to many more times.

The picture of me standing in the water has a lot of meaning and I will be sure to explain it on the blog. In the meantime, a short version (some of this may sound familiar):

On July 5th I was journaling and I heard a small still voice in my heart say, "The Pool of Siloam will be filled on September 5th." I wrote it down not sure what else to do with it. My best understanding at that time was the Lord was going to fill the historic spring downtown with water that day. After about a week I shared it with my pastor and he encouraged me to keep praying about what the Lord would have me do about it.

A few weeks later after 3 days of rain Gina & I went down to the spring to see if it was even possible for it to fill with water. We were surprised to see it was full of clear spring water that had come from the ground and was about knee deep. I didn't even stop and walked right out into the middle of it not caring I was still in my Sunday's best. Gina had her camera with her and she took the picture of me giving praise to God. It wasn't the date I had written down. That was still a month or so away.

It was around this same time that I was seeking baptism for the first time as an adult. These two things quickly started coming together. I asked the pastor how he'd feel about baptizing me in the spring. He agreed, I sent out invitations to about 200 people and we prayed believing that there would be enough water. It started raining that day and rained for the next 3 days. On Friday the rain had quit and about 20 people gathered at the spring and there was enough water.

I personally witnessed the spring fill 3 times last year. I've seen it full twice this year already. And there is more to the story but I promised you the short version for now.

- Wade Baker

Who is Wade Baker?

I will try to answer this question over time throughout this blog. Many of you already know me at least well enough. For the rest of the readers, check out my profile. That should help get you started. I'll keep working on that. And even though this blog is about Siloam Springs you'll soon see how the author just can't seem to keep himself out of the story. So it will become important to know who he is.

I'm tempted to give you the biblical perspective first (a new creation, son of the Most High) but I know you probably know most of that already so we'll come back to that again later.

Other than that, don't expect to be impressed. I'm just a plain old 34 year old guy, working a pretty normal job Monday-Friday 8-5. Been here (DaySpring Cards) for a little more than 5 years. My title is Resource Planner and I help the company manage their product development schedules. I see some of you are already yawning. That's ok. I warned you.

What are my other qualifications? Well, this is a blog. But, this is an important blog to me so at the same time I don't take it too lightly. What is my training? A few years of business school... gone to church most of my life, spent time growing up on the missions field overseas... Still not getting it? I'm trying to tell you. I have none of the things that someone might naturally expect of someone trying to accurate and significantly document a community's journey with God. I have no portfolio, no hidden agenda. I have nothing to sell, no contest I'm trying to win, no platform I'm trying to push. I have no credentials, no certificate.

But I do have something.

I have access to everything God has to offer to a believer. I have faith. I have belief. I have His love. He encounters me. He gives me wisdom. He speaks to me. He reveals things to me. I know about Him in my head, I feel Him in my heart and I experience Him in my life. I trust Him. I love Him. I want to do what He wants me to do even though sometimes I lack all the courage or boldness to do it. He teaches me and He trains me. He is my perfect Father and my perfect Mother. His Son is my Savior, my brother, my friend. I am His father's son and loving servant. He is my Master because I welcome Him. His Holy Spirit guides me and helps me. God's hand touches me when I need healing and also when I need instruction. He opens my eyes and fills me with His presence. He is the source of my joy, the source of all I have. He is my Provider and my Lover. He is everything good to me.

So, two things: one - apparently I am fully qualified to preach the good news that is Jesus. And two - so are you.

He may give you a pulpit, or a classroom, or a sailboat, or a job. He may give you children, or a website, or a business, or a vehicle. He may give you a microphone, or a computer, or a cell phone, or a house. He may give you a camera, or a skill, or a pen, or a city.

Whatever He gives you, you can be sure that He did so because He loves you. And He loves others like you so very much that He wants you to use whatever He's given you to tell others that very truth.

Who is Wade Baker?

One of many unique earthen vessels, yielded to the Potter's hands, baptized by fire, whose purpose is to receive and pour out the goodness of God.

- Wade Baker

Time Stamps

Ok, I don't know what's up with these time stamps yet but they are way off. I didn't go to bed at 8:33 PM yesterday and I also don't post the majority of my entries in the middle of the day yesterday. I guess I made need to reference the time when it's relevant to do so. I probably have more blogging friends than I realize so I'll be picking their brains I'm sure.

Speaking of blogging friends, here's another one I will reference. I have the privilege of working with an award-winning author. Her name is Holley Gerth and here is the link to her popular blog.

http://blog.dayspring.com/

Ok, I think I'm figuring out the time stamp thing; looks like Pacific Time. I should have known better.

- Wade Baker
The Pool of Siloam Springs

It's Past My Bedtime

Well, almost. I'm trying to implement a new personal bedtime policy. Am I getting old? (Rhetorical question) I'm trying to make sure I go to bed at least 8 hours before I need to be up the next morning. Hey! Don't hate me because we don't have kids. This is not going to be easy.

I've just been doing a pretty poor job of taking good care of my physical body especially lately. In a way, if I don't take good care of myself it can become more difficult to help take care of others. I've committed to trying this for the next 6-7 weeks (leading up to my trip to Redding in June).

According to the clock on the stove (the Baker residence "official" time, the equivalent to the national atomic clock) I have about 23 minutes remaining.

Speaking of the Baker residence... this could be a good time to introduce another topic. My wife Gina and I, around the beginning of this year, more officially have opened up our home as a guest house to support our home church and the local house of prayer. This means when we have guest speakers, for example, we ask the event leaders to keep us at the top of the list of people to stay with. We also open our doors to those visiting the church or house of prayer from out of town which often ends up being people we already know. We've also open our door for related ministries like those associated with houses of prayer outside our immediate area such as Kansas City. We've had missionaries stay here before and have plans for more next month. We have a 3-bedroom house the Lord has blessed us with (just the 2 of us and our 30-pound house dog, Ladybug) and we live only 7 doors down from the church.

I'd like to share more with you about this sometime but that at least gives you an idea. Though up until recently we've been calling it the Maxwell House (on Maxwell St) we've, even more recently, renamed it The Peace Inn according to a very specific dream I had. It's kind of a play on words in reference to the youthful expression, "Peace Out". I'm sure there are some other levels of meaning we'll continue to enjoy exploring.

- Wade Baker

What's the Blog Idea?

In case I haven't communicated this enough elsewhere in this blog, the purpose of this collection of posts is to document and communicate the wonderful, interesting and otherwise incredible things I and others are seeing God do in our community. Is that to say we're special? Yes, but no more special than any other gathering of believers. Is that to say God isn't "moving" in other communities in this nation or around the world? No, absolutely not. All I'm (sometimes I'll use we) trying to do is "own" what's in my backyard. Own in the sense of reporting. I'll also explain my often liberal use of the word "we". Sometimes it's just a bad habit but I can honestly say that oftentimes I am accurately and fairly representing many of my brothers and sisters here in Siloam Springs. I can say this because many of us stay in regular honest dialogue and healthy debate. (I love you, brother Erik.)

I'm sure I will draw criticism as I will delve into controversial subjects. I'm okay with that. Not because I don't care but because I do care. In fact, I invite your feedback especially when it's intended to be helpful and caring. In no way am I trying to cram my own personal opinions down your proverbial throats. I am laying out a banqueting table and I am sure to offend tastes. I sincerely apologize in advance because that is only a nasty by-product and not my intention. But let us move through offense. Let us rejoice in the things we agree on and let us continue to discuss and debate the rest. Let us agree to remain open to the things that may be of the Lord and the things that move us into a closer relationship with Him.

The International House of Prayer - Siloam Springs

What better way to introduce this topic than to be at IHOP-SS during one of my favorite sets (if I'm allowed to have one). I might as well come clean now. This is the 2-hour devotional set led by fellow blogger Christy Fast. I asked myself earlier today why I single this one out as my favorite. I'm checking the notes in my journal for the answer. "For the music. I think in many ways and many times I prefer the devotional style. And the intersection of quality (skill) & schedule is just right for me." Well, there you go I just copied and pasted some of my private journal onto the Internet, for the first, but maybe not the last, time ever.

(I was telling my mom (her name is Sherry) earlier this evening that I don't intend this to be my diary but some of that stuff could sneak in at times. I still fully intend to keep maintaining my private old-school spiral bound journal. I'm sure you understand.)

Enough aside for now... The International House of Prayer - Siloam Springs has played a key role in my relationship with the Lord. It has become an integral part of my testimony today. I'll go ahead and give you their link now.

http://www.ihopss.com/

The biggest chunk of the story occurred last summer (2008), sometime around June. There was a slow & steady build up to that season though. That story goes back at least 10 years if not 17. But this isn't time for all of that yet.

IHOP-SS has about 25 hours of live praise and prayer the last time I checked. It's growing that quickly. The goal is 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Sound impossible? The House of Prayer in Kansas City has been doing it for nearly 10 years. Yeah, but they're a big city you say? I'm sorry for chuckling but... Wouldn't you agree if the Lord wants to build it He can? "What about common sense?" You might ask. Then I will ask, "What about an uncommon sense?" Was it common sense that one man (and his small family) built the ark? And, without getting too weird on you, houses of prayer are alot like Noah's ark. Don't get your feathers ruffled just yet. There will be plenty of time for that later.

Who am I arguing with, by the way? Just as much myself as anyone else. These are some of the real doubts my heart has had to face. All this to say that this is the impossible and something the Lord is well acquainted with and never impressed with.

This being said, the House of Prayer (Siloam specifically) is quite and has been quite potent well before it even reached its current 25 hours a week. A couple of services totally "undid" me last year (in a good way, for the Lord). The Lord used those times to unlock or release some things for me that apparently I needed very badly. The only things we need badly are the things of God. I'm not saying the the HOP is THE secret weapon. I believe God has a varied arsenal. I was moved to tears today just listening to a couple of songs by artists I'd classify as secular who may not know the Lord. My buddy, Mike, has some even greater stories along those lines. He's right!

So back to the HOP-SS. If you live in this area and need a boost (mostly spiritually speaking) please give it serious consideration. If you are unsure and want to talk to someone about it first or go with someone I'd be honored if you would contact me. If not me, ask around. Go with a friend like I did. I will ever be thankful to God for my friend. And I'm going to name him, Ted. Brother, I give thanks for you.

- Wade Baker

Disaster Response

Here's another brick being laid in the foundation of this blog. Another (good) can of worms when talking in the context of this city (Siloam Springs). Where to begin? I will say that I have heard from many sources that they see Siloam Springs as a city of refuge. Initially I saw that as more of a bunker-like situation, meaning people will come to us. Lately that paradigm has been challenged to include responses to other cities from Siloam Springs. I'm moving quickly here, I realize. But let me also say, there does seem to be a high level of activity in this area to better prepare for local disasters and to also be a city of strength and compassion in order to respond to other communities in our region. The most recent example would be the cross-denominational response to tornado ravished Mena, AR.

The more you learn about Siloam Springs the more connections you will see between it and Kansas City. One of those newest connections is with Crisis Response International (technically in Grandview). There is at least one Siloam resident who has already trained with them and 2 residents who plan to train in May. They have a website. Check it out. I think we will see more and more believers preparing for and responding through God's strength and provision to those in crisis. There is a great harvest there.

Sonrisa Means "Smile" in Spanish

Ok, so I'm jumping around a little... or a lot. I'll try to keep it down. But, in the meantime you might have to adjust to it a little.

One of the many highlights of last weekend's Prayer Booth was meeting, visiting, sharing and praying with a young lady by the name of Sonrisa. What a crazy (in a good way) name!

(I'd also like to insert here that I may often refer to others who have not given me any permission to do so whatsoever so I do so with the utmost respect and intentions and will most likely refer to them by first name only as much as possible even though you might be able to figure out who I'm speaking of. If I make a reference to you and you don't like it, please let me know and I'll work to accommodate you. Seriously.)

There's more about Sonrisa's visit than I can share in this entry. In fact, now I'm not even sure why I started this post... failing memory... Anyway, for now, we've established it as a highlight. My prayer partner at the time, Robin, spoke with her most of the time and there's a story there too. Maybe I just wanted to post because I liked Sonrisa's name, what it means and didn't want to forget it.

If any of my posts read like yellow sticky note reminders you might see all over a fridge, well, they kind of are. This documentation is as much for me as it is for anyone else. Maybe you will enjoy the familiarity I take in my tone and be drawn in. I figure if you're reading this you're probably already a friend or soon could be.

Ok, I'm making another pass at this post. I think it started off kind of weak. It was one of my first, still learning how to blog.

When I tell friends about Sonrisa's visit I tell them:

It was Saturday, at the Prayer Booth, a little after noon when I was sitting with Robin when this young lady approached Robin especially and remarked as to the fact they were wearing the same pendant, a beautiful and unusual piece that I probably couldn't do justice. Since there was symbolism behind it there was much for them to talk about, me not hearing most it. (I also don't hear other things well like, "Honey, would you mow the grass?") I could tell it was girl talk so I gave them a little space.

Sonrisa quickly sat down and I could tell they were going to visit for a little while. I did pick up that Sonrisa was from Kansas City and that she was visiting Siloam Springs that weekend and it was her first trip to our city. She was born in Springdale, made a move or few, was living in Kansas City and came down for a visit. The main thing that prompted her trip was the Cherokee Day of Prayer but I don't think she ever got connected with it that weekend. I even made a couple of phone calls for her but nothing panned out.

Sonrisa said she's been to IHOP-KC a number of times and I told her we had a house of prayer in Siloam, up to 25 hours of live worship & prayer. I learned she was staying at a local hotel and invited her to consider The Peace Inn (guest house ministry) the next time she came to visit. Robin & I also invited her to Antioch for Sunday church but she wasn't able to make it that weekend.

She told us about her interesting upbringing and her dear family. We prayed with her for a number of things including healing and direction. Robin & I both agreed freely, on the spot, that the Lord had sent her our way with a purpose. I told Sonrisa about the old spring and how we pray there. I encouraged her to visit it and pray before she left.

I think one of the reasons I struggled when first writing this post, and I still am a little, is that there was something more about her visit with us than can be communicated in words. You know those times or events in your life when you can clearly sense the Lord's hand in something? That fact alone seems to almost make the details of that experience somewhat trivial. "The things of this earth will grow strangely dim..." Sonrisa seemed to "carry" something with her that eclipsed much of the natural things that were around us. There was a presence of the Lord about her. It could also be described as a peace or a joy. I can see where artists came up with halos. It's what you would expect if you could travel 2,000 years into the past and meet the disciples. The new-agers might refer to it as an aura. I don't think they are referring to something that doesn't exist. I think they just renamed something that's persisted through scripture. There was a Godly, divine spirit present. What if it was an angel or few? Please forgive my theology or the lack thereof. I'm trying to describe it as thoroughly and accurately as possible as far as I can align it with what I understand from scripture.

It seemed so soon that we all had been visiting maybe close to an hour and it came time to part ways. We wish we didn't need to say goodbye so soon. I would describe this time at the Prayer Booth as one of the most memorable (truly glorious) and yet most difficult to articulate experiences. It is what I have heard many refer to as a divine appointment. A moment that could remain beyond our understanding.

So, Sonrisa, if you are reading this, may you be encouraged by this. The presence of the Lord is strong upon you and is so real it's tangible. The kingdom of God is near to you. He loves you and gives you, as His beloved believer, access to His incredible goodness and gifts. You have everything at your disposal to carry out the plans He has for you.

Bless you. We look forward to seeing you again.

- Wade Baker

Spiritual Mapping

Spiritual mapping was a new term to me just last year. I have since come to understand it as research (historical, geographical, ancestral) for the purposes of understanding what God is doing in the context of a region a culture or a time. I bring this up now because I may come back and reference this and wanted us to be on the same page.

I have a number of friends who consider themselves to be mappers. Some people might consider this weird but it's not too different from that grandfather, grandmother or father in your family that seems to have a keen interest in the family tree. We have to remember though, that as Christians, our primary heritage is through the Kingdom of God. So it's applying these same natural tendencies to the more significant spiritual side of things. Turning natural tendencies into super-natural Godly tendencies, if you will. Just like with us, a natural body and a spiritual soul there are other things that exist in both realms or worlds (or whatever you call it) simultaneously. I guess I'm really talking about what we refer to as spiritual warfare. "For our weapons are not carnal", "the armor of God", etc.

This blog will likely delve into things such as the spiritual history of the Siloam Springs area, geographical and civic points of interest, the connections it shares with surrounding communities and statistical information such as the number of churches, population and ratios.

- Wade Baker

Siloam Means

I heard a new understanding of what the name Siloam means. I haven't been able to verify it yet so at this time I'm simply documenting what someone said. Her name is Sharon and she was a vendor at last weekend's Dogwood Festival. She seemed to have an open knowledge of the Lord.

She asked me if I knew what Siloam meant. I told her the bible says Siloam is translated "sent". She agreed and said, "sent together as in brothers". She went on to say that the original springs in Siloam were kind of scattered and a couple of brothers dug them out ("trenches" was her word, I remember now) until they converged into a single source (or place).

I'd never heard this before and it seems nice. It may be difficult to verify this through other reliable means, however, such as scripture or local historians. I won't discount it though or dismiss it. I document it here for your consideration and will try to keep you posted on this latest development.

- Wade Baker

Prayer Booth - 2010

I will tell you that at this time I am planning to coordinate the Prayer Booth again next year at the 36th annual Dogwood Festival. I am praying that if the Lord doesn't want me to do it that He make that clear to me, otherwise I'll assume it's a go. I continue to receive encouragement from fellow believers and so personally I believe it has the Lord's blessing. I'll share the dates soon. (It's the weekend of the last Sunday in April.)

- Wade Baker

Spring Singing

To go ahead and get this laid down, and, once again, I'll come back to this...

Each Friday believers gather at the historic Spring of Siloam downtown between noon and 1PM. There is usually guitar playing, singing, reading of God's word and paryer. There have been anywhere from 1 person to approximately 20 people there at a time. It's rain or shine and during the summer we'll switch to early mornings to avoid the heat. I'll give a heads up when that happens. Last week was incredible and there will be many stories to tell about this. If you need more info just email me.

After I submitted this initial post my friend, Erik, shared something with me. I won't have space to share the whole story but he came upon a verse that has a lot to do with this.

"The Lord said to Moses, 'Gather the people together, and I will give them water.' Then Israel sang this song: 'Spring up, O well! All of you sing to it --" - Num 21:16-17

That is crazy (in a God is great kind of way)! We've been singing at the springs spanning two years now and I don't think I've ever heard of that verse! Thank you my brother, Erik!

- Wade Baker

Siloam's Connections with Redding

I just want to throw this in there for now and come back to it later. Siloam Springs is blessed to share many connections with several other communities that are seeing "moves of God". By this I simply mean encouraging moments that seem to be of God. One of those cities is Redding, CA. I personally know of about a dozen Siloam residents that have been there to visit Bethel Church. Bill Johnson is the senior pastor there. His sermons are valuable, recorded and easy to obtain copies of. I'm listening to one right now as I type. In fact it's titled Crazy Courage. It includes the inspiring testimony of a new song called "Christ The Healer". I'm trying to track down the story of the lady and the Free Prayer sign but it must not have been this sermon.

There are at least 7 Siloam residents going out to Redding this June. I am so excited and encouraged!

- Wade Baker

National Day of Prayer - May 7th!

Hi Ann! Thanks for following this blog, especially in its infancy. I look forward to linking with other friends' blogs.

I'm going to interrupt my Prayer Booth story for this special announcement/reminder. I just found out this morning that Thursday May 7th is the National Day of Prayer. That's like 10 days from now. I'll have more information coming about that soon but I thought I'd better help get the word out for now as it snuck up on me.

If you live in or near Siloam Springs here is what I have found out so far. The following is copied and pasted from another source.

· Siloam Springs Noon Prayer: At noon across from City Hall in frontof the First Presbyterian Church on Broadway Street. For moreinformation, call Tricia Estes at 524-4823 or e-mail triciafaye@earthlink.net

· Siloam Springs Evening Prayer: From 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the JohnBrown University Cathedral, 2000 W. University. For more information,call Tricia Estes at 524-4823 or e-mail triciafaye@earthlink.net

I'm planning on trying to attend both of these. I've also since learned that I have other friends planning on this as well as the church at large I attend.

I'm going to throw this out for Ann:

· Lowell Morning Prayer: From 7 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. at the City Administration Building's Council Chambers, 216 N. Lincoln St. For more information, call Cheri Mead at 601-5121 or e-mail cherimead@cox.net

My point is, find the local events in your area and try to attend. Benton County has a bunch. If you can't find one, let me know. I will help.

One other plug I'd like to make is, please pray for the church of Siloam Springs. A community of less than 14,000 has 52 churches that call Siloam Springs home by address. You will soon learn how close this is to my heart, praying for the greater church of Siloam Springs. Here's a little tidbit I'd like to throw out just to give you a picture. Try googling "the church of siloam springs" or "greater church of siloam springs". Make sure you use the quotes so you search for the phrase. I'd be interested in hearing what you find.

And returning to the original topic, here's a great and helpful link.

http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/72945/

And while we're on that topic, the Global Day of Prayer is May 31st this year. Here's a link more more info.

http://www.globaldayofprayer.com/

- Wade Baker

Free Prayer Booth - Birth of the Idea

It was the Free Prayer booth at this weekend's Dogwood Festival that prompted me to start this blog. Let me tell you a little about it. I will start as far back as I recall.

About a month ago a dear friend of mine, I'll go ahead and name him, Phil, gave me a generous handful of CD's to listen to. They are chock full of recorded sermons from Bethel Church in Redding, CA. I'm still not really sure which one it was but several weeks ago I was listening to one of the sermons and Bill Johnson told a story (testimony) of an older lady believer who entered a bar, sat down and ordered a Sprite and put up a sign that read, "Free Prayer". I believe a young man went with her and sat off a ways. Pretty soon people started responding and eventually the young man felt compelled to join in and help. One man was so moved by the ministry that he offered to buy the young man a drink. The young man replied that he didn't drink so the bar customer asked him what he was doing there. The young man said, "I came here to pray for you." You can imagine what impact this would have had. (I think there may be a similar story in one of Johnson's books.)

So last Sunday, about 8 days ago I'm down in the park with my wife, Gina Baker. We were walking along and I looked down. I saw spray painted lines and markings on the green grass. I asked Gina what it was for and she said, "the Dogwood Festival". I asked her when it was going to be and she said the following weekend.

In that instant I had a mental picture of me sitting at a booth at the Dogwood Festival with a sign on a table that had two words on it, the first over the second, "Free Prayer". It was a very vivid picture. I could see the size of the sign, the color of the letters, the color of the background, a white tent. I could see the white plastic tables and what was on them. I could even see roughly where it was and it's orientation. I could see that the tent had white sides and also see that I was sitting alone in that moment.

According to the Siloam Springs Chamber of Commerce's website, "The Dogwood Festival attracts an estimated 30,000 people each year to the city's two adjacent downtown parks." That's more than twice the city's population in an area that can't be much larger than a square mile, a few small city blocks.

More to come...

- Wade Baker

This 1st post is a test/introduction

Ok, so this is really a test. I'm entering the world of blog for the first time and just want to see what this is like.

Ok, I see what that looks like. I apologize in advance if my entries come across as tentative. I'm sure you'll understand, for now.

I'd better introduce myself, at least a little, for now. My name is Wade Baker and I live in Siloam Springs, AR. I chose the name Pool of Siloam, a reference from the bible, to set the tone for the things on my heart for the community I live in.

And I might as well get one thing straight. I'm going to type like I talk, okay? Please forgive, excuse typos, bad (poor) grammar and the commas, slashes and parenthesis. I'll try and run an occasional spell check when I remember. My point is, I'm trying to best convey my conversational style and not so worried about winning the spelling bee.

Ok, enough disclaimer/preface for now. Ah, that's so freeing. And yes, I'll jump around a bit; just following my brain.

So, let's get some other stuff out of the way. I've lived in Siloam Springs a little more than 10 years now. I've been married to my young bride for that same length of time. She imported me here from Orlando, FL. That story will come someday soon. I'm setting this blog up to primarily tell you about the incredible things happening in this community but my life is so intertwined with it that I don't think I should try to separate them. So is this about me or Siloam Springs? Yes. I'll try not to bore you with the "me" parts. Just know there is some related reason for sharing so You may have to figure it out if it's not obvious.

I won't have much time today to kick this off but I'll try and fill you in over the next few days. There are many stories to catch you up on. I will tell you the freshest thing on my mind is the Free Prayer booth we had at this weekend's Dogwood Festival. There were an estimated 30,000 people there this weekend. What an opportunity! I've had a bunch of people asking me about it so I figure I better start doing a better job of getting the word out. Let's just say for now, it was incredible! There will be much decompressing and many more realizations to come. In the menatime, ask me about the pregnant lady Tiffany I had the blessing to pray with. Then I'll know you read this post. :) Later! - Wade Baker