“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.” (Romans 1:8)
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)
As we start 2021, our only goal is that the whole world would hear about the faith we have in Christ. It renews my vision to place a copy of the Word of God in the hands of every creature.
I would like to report to you that we started the New Year off right. Bro. Curtis Hall and company loaded and shipped our 29th and 30th containers of Scriptures on January 4 from Missouri. That’s nearly a half a million Scriptures on the way to Thailand.
On January 8, a container that was loaded and shipped in November of last year arrived at our Distribution Center in Rangsit, Thailand. I’m so thankful to Tan for coordinating the delivery. He was also able to rent more space to accommodate the Scriptures that will be arriving in March. Tan does a wonderful job of organizing and distributing the Scriptures all over Southeast Asia.
On January 16, one of the greatest disciplers of men I have known, Dr. Ed Tutton, went Home to Heaven after succumbing to lung cancer. He was truly the man behind the Teaching All Nations material. Many national pastors are indebted to Dr. Tutton and his love for teaching the next generation of believers the true doctrines of the Bible. I praise the Lord that I was able to go to his Homegoing service in Milton, Florida. Dr. Tutton was just recently preceded in death by two of his adult daughters. Please pray for Mrs. Tutton as she carries on the work of her husband.
I have had the honor of filling the pulpit on several occasions for a Baptist church in the area in need of a pastor. My wife and I were able to help collate Thai John & Romans for Bro. Sam Martin of World Missions Bearing Precious Seed. He has been a blessing to converts in Southeast Asia.
In December 2020, we had John & Romans printed for a closed country in Southeast Asia where the Gospel is not permitted. The Scriptures were printed in Thailand and then stored in a Baptist church. The next major project was to get them into the hands of pastors in the closed nation. One national pastor committed to coming to Thailand to receive the Scriptures and distributing them in his country. The only problem was money to finance such a dangerous endeavor. The Lord laid this burden on the heart of a good friend of mine who supplied the funds. We were able to wire the funds so the much-needed Scriptures could be smuggled in and distributed. What a blessing it was to be able to meet the needs of those national believers! Many
times we may never hear of a great need, but God knows and cares. God can speak to hearts on the other side of the world.
Please pray that this shutdown of the world will end soon. There are some missionaries unable to return to their fields due to travel bans.
We had 12 inches of snow and sleet and -5°F weather in Texas the third week of February. Everything was shut down! There are still folks suffering from the effects of losing power and broken water lines. Lives were even lost due to the freezing temperatures.
Through all that bad weather, I turned another year older! I spent the first couple of hours of my birthday in the hospital. Because of the road conditions, I was unable to get to a physician for treatment of an infection. After four days, my condition worsened, and my wife called for an ambulance to come after me. My first-ever trip in an ambulance—and it was on my birthday! I’m fine now, by the way. My, how time flies when you’re having fun!
Please continue to pray for funds for shipping more materials from America. We are also needing to print more whole Thai Bibles in Thailand because our supply is nearly depleted. What would you do if you didn’t have a Bible?
Thank you for your prayers and your support. Without your funds for printing, shipping, and distributing Scripture, there are people in Southeast Asia and around the world who will never see a copy of God’s Word.
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.”
(I Corinthians 16:23-24)
We love you and appreciate you!
Into all the world,
Bob Bowen
Philippians 4:13