U.S. Troops Receive a Powerful Weapon for Frontline Battle
U.S. troops preparing for war in Kuwait
Twenty thousand troops of the 101st Airborne Division moved quickly and efficiently from one checkpoint to the next. They would soon be in the air, flying to a Kuwaiti desert in preparation for war.
After receiving weapons, briefings, shots, and medical supplies, their chaplains handed them a book titled The Power of Crying Out.
The men eagerly received the books and carefully read them during times of waiting. The soldiers learned that their ultimate protection would not come from their guns or equipment, but from God.
Chaplain Mike Shellman played a key role in getting thousands of books distributed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The books were made available by IBLP and Multnomah Publishers as a gift to the soldiers. (Picture courtesy of Fort Campbell chaplains)
Outside the staging area, thousands of wives, children, parents, and grandparents anxiously waited to give parting hugs and kisses to their soldiers. When they were offered a book, they received it with joy.
An officer’s wife asked for 400 copies for the wives of other officers. Before she could give them out, others asked her for them, so she returned with a request for 2,000 more.
The next day, a high-ranking officer told Dr. John Stancil, the project coordinator, “Yesterday my wife got The Power of Crying Out. We stayed up most of the night reading it. It is a powerful message, and I want my men in Kuwait to get a copy.” He then asked for 2,000 copies and had them placed in his container and loaded on the airplane.
A senior chaplain, Colonel McLeroy, stated, “The book about the power of crying out came at the right time and has been well received.” He notified other United States Army bases, and additional requests for books are being received. Fort Polk asked for 5,000 books; Fort Bragg ordered an initial quantity of 600; and the chaplains at Fort Riley in Kansas ordered 900 books.
Multnomah Publishers
has prepared a special military edition for distribution to the hundreds of
thousands of soldiers already in Kuwait and surrounding areas.
The most important cry explained in the book is for salvation and then for God’s protection during times of danger and uncertainty. Let us continue to cry out to God for our President, our nation, and for our military.
April 2003
