During the month of August, we traveled 4,796 miles, and the Lord once again protected us. I was able to present our ministry of providing the Word of God in 8 different churches this month.
I drove to Dupree, South Dakota, where Missionary Sam Owens has been laboring on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation for over 15 years. Brother Sam was one of my students in Texas, which seems another lifetime ago. It has been very difficult, but Brother Owens has stayed by the stuff and is still a faithful soul winner among the Indians. He collects change for the printing of Gospel tracts for Southeast Asia, which we appreciate so much.
I was able to spend the day with my good friend, Pastor Mickey Hollar, in Ada, Olkahoma. He is in the process of relocating and building a brand-new faculty. The Lord has continued to bless him and his ministry.
I spent the last week of August in Gulfport at the BEAMS warehouse location. While I was there, I preached at a new church that took up a good offering for Bibles. Pastor Stan Bennett of Ten Mile Baptist Church and his people are concerned about folks not have a Bible in their language. What a blessing they were to this missionary.
I also preached for my good friend, Pastor Steve Crane, at Temple Baptist Church in Gulfport. I was able to preach to the high school chapel on Friday afternoon, and we saw 3 young men saved and 4 called to full-time Christian service. Brother Crane led his folks to take up a good love offering for Bibles on Sunday night.
While I was at BEAMS, Butch Lochart inventoried the warehouse for Bibles that were available and the funds that have been raised through our travels. Dr. Freret does matching funds with me for whole Bibles. Praise the Lord! We found out that 3,600 whole Thai Bibles, 3,456 whole Burmese Bibles, and 500 English KJB were available for shipping. That is 7,556 Bibles that I will be loading in a container October 30 to be delivered to my warehouse in Thailand sometime at the end of this year.
With the 300,000 Thai John & Romans at Bearing Precious Seed at Milford, that means that we will be shipping containers 18 and 19. To God be the glory! We still have to make all the arrangements and, of course, continue to raise the funds for shipping and distribute in Thailand and Burma. The Lord has always met this need. Please pray that there will be no problems with these two very important projects.
I want to give you three very special servants of God to pray for. Pastor Gary Dice in Pittsfield, Illinois, has heart problems. Kelly Moncofshy, a 38-year-old pastor’s wife and mother of five, has bone cancer. Freta Freret, the wife of BEAMS director, has brain cancer. All three of them are in serious condition and need for us to hold them up in prayer.
Thank you so much for all you do for us. Thank God for those who are faithful to make sure the funds are there for those who have never seen a copy of the Word of God. My only desire is to make sure that any person who gets saved in Southeast Asia has a copy of the Word of God so they can grow and become disciples. Making disciples out of saved nationals and establishing New Testament Baptist churches is our goal.
Thank you so much for allowing us to serve with you,
Brother Bowen
Philippians 4:13