“It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23) We truly serve a God of miracles! June 2014 proved to be a time that God showed His strength and love specifically to us.
The last week of May, we traveled to Texas for scheduled meetings with several of our supporting churches. Between meetings we stayed at our daughter’s house in Kilgore and were excited to spend some time with our new great-grandson, who was just two weeks old. On Wednesday, May 28, I drove to San Antonio to preach for Pastor Keith Bell.
Before leaving for San Antonio, my wife had told me that she was not feeling well. She’d had stomach pains for over a year, and her doctor had prescribed Pepcid (an antacid). She took it regularly, and it seemed to help. After the service Wednesday evening, my son-in-law called and said that they had taken Jackie to the ER in Kilgore, because she was having terrible stomach and back pains. A CAT scan revealed a large mass in her stomach, and the doctor said she needed to see a surgeon right away. I drove all night to get back to Kilgore to be with her.
On Thursday we determined that Jackie was not able to make the long drive back home, so we began the search for a surgeon in Longview, Texas. Her images from the ER were made available to all the surgeons in the Good Shepard Hospital network. Dr. Melvin Holcomb agreed to see her the following day. After examining her, he immediately admitted her to the hospital. Several tests were administered by three different doctors. Dr. Holcomb said it was a probable carcinoid tumor and used that dreaded word cancer. He scheduled her for surgery on Monday, June 2. After a two-hour surgery, Dr. Holcomb said that he had successfully removed the tumor and about three feet of her small intestine and that all of the cancer had been removed. He said it was only the second time in 30 years he had seen that type of cancer that did not require radiation or more treatment. Then he said, “God did that for you!” Praise the Lord!
We are so thankful for what the Lord did for Jackie! We literally had people from around the world praying for her. To God be the glory! Some of her family drove down from Illinois to see her in the hospital, and many friends came by to visit and encourage her. She was blessed to have all of her children and most of her grandchildren there as well. We stayed in Kilgore, Texas, until she was released by the doctor on June 16 to travel back home. She is doing very well. Praise God for a speedy recovery!
I am again traveling to churches and rescheduling meetings that were canceled during those three weeks. We are in the process of putting together a container of Bibles to be shipped to Northeast India in September. I traveled to North Carolina the last weekend of June to preach for Pastor Gary Berry and for his Spanish pastor, Terry Hunter, at Liberty Baptist Church. My schedule is full for July and August.
Currently BEAMS has received $24,000 for Bibles for Southeast Asia. What a joy it is to give new believers a copy of the Word of God for the first time. Please pray that we can continue to raise the needed funds to print, ship, and distribute Bibles to some of the neediest parts of the world. Thank you so much for your prayers and support!
Thank you for loving the souls of Southeast Asia.
Brother Bowen
Philippians 4:13
