The month of March found me traveling all over the southern states in eight different churches, telling of the need of the Word of God in Southeast Asia. I first met with Dr. Curtis Hall and Pastor Claude Slate for a planning session for our upcoming Second Annual B.E.S.T. Missions Conference. The conference will again be held at Colonial Baptist Church in Rogers, Arkansas, over the Labor Day holiday, September 2-3, 2019. I hope you will make plans to be with us. Our first conference was a real blessing! Pastor Slate’s church did a wonderful job as hosts.
I preached a very special meeting for my long-time friend, Pastor Richard Ullo, at Bible Baptist Church in Spanish Fort, Alabama. It was a perfect day for their annual Big Day Tent Meeting! The Lord provided great weather, great music, great fellowship, and several souls saved and baptized. It was exciting to be under such a big tent filled with folks from all over. The members of Bible Baptist Church did a wonderful job in preparation for this big event.
I attended a church revival meeting in Kilgore, Texas, at Faith Baptist Church. It was a great meeting, and the Lord met with us every evening. Every preacher needs a revival every now and then! Evangelist Harrell Noble was greatly used of the Lord to help God’s people. We’re thankful to Pastor Scott Thomas for this refreshing time.
I am so thankful to the many who have given to help B.E.S.T. Missions provide the Word of God to those who have never owned a Bible in their own language. May God bless you for your gifts!
The month of April is always a very special time of the year for me personally. On April 17, 1966, I received the Lord as my Saviour. It was in the home of my pastor at Philadelphia Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Missouri, on a Sunday evening after church. I was an 18-year-old senior in high school, lost and on my way to Hell. How I thank God for the influence of the young lady I was dating for setting the right example by being in church and listening to a man of God preach the Gospel. I married that young lady, and we have been in the Lord’s service going on 53 years. What a blessing it has been! Amen!
On April 18, the good men at BEAMS Warehouse in Gulfport, Mississippi, loaded a sea container with over 150,000 John & Romans in 3 languages and nearly 3,000 whole Bibles in 2 languages to ship to Thailand. This is the 25th container sent by B.E.S.T. Missions. There are presently 2 more containers of material, donated by Bearing Precious Seed, stored in the warehouse at Gulfport and ready to be shipped, hopefully, in the next 90 days at the cost of $9,000. This would not be possible without your monthly support and gifts.
Our warehouse in Bangkok is nearly empty. The John & Romans will only last a few days. To keep up with the demand, nearly 100,000 John & Romans are needed every month just for one program, “Every Door for Christ Thailand.” The Bibles being sent are already spoken for. The need for Scripture grows greater every month.
Dr. Curtis Hall will be in Thailand to receive the container and to oversee the distribution of Scripture. He will be preaching in several different churches, and he will be hosting a new missionary couple who will be working in Southern Thailand.
ACTSO, the printing company in Northern Thailand that we use, has completed printing the material for all 3 of our new projects, and it is ready for distribution. I am excited about the 500 soul-winning booklets we had printed that are now available in 7 languages! They are a great tool in training believers in personal soul winning. The Thai pastors will be able to double their efforts in training their members.
We also printed 200 sets of discipleship lessons in the Thai language. This 20-lesson series is another great tool for national pastors to train their people in good, sound Baptist doctrine. The key to reaching a nation for Christ is “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”
Thank you for giving and for praying for B.E.S.T. Missions. Without your help, all of this would be impossible. Please pray that we will be able to send the remaining materials in a timely manner.
If I can ever be of service to you in any way, please feel free to contact me at bob.bowen@fbmi.org or 219-718-7772. You can also contact Dr. Curtis Hall at curtishall11@gmail.com.
Into all the world,
Bob Bowen
Philippians 4:13