June 2008

Dear Co-Laborers;

       I suppose as one gets older the time of reminiscing comes about more frequently.  I realize that we cannot, and possibly should not, live in the past.  However, there are times when remembering the blessings and even the difficult times of the past can bring rejoicing and praise to our Lord for His divine direction and goodness. In spite of my many mistakes and failures in the past forty-eight years of serving in God's vineyard I have seen His merciful, forgiving, and generous will at work. I have also felt His loving but corrective hand when I strayed from that Divine Will.  From the Rolling Hills Baptist Church, Lancaster, Texas, to the Central Baptist Church of Pasadena, Texas, to the Gideon Baptist Church of Warren, Michigan, and then thirty-five years as missionaries in Ecuador, we have seen, been blessed, and rejoiced in God's blessings on the teaching and preaching of His Holy Word. Words cannot adequately express our thankfulness and joy for the hundreds of souls saved, the lives transformed, and churches established.  Juanita and I thank the Lord for the many, many dear brethren and friends that we have in the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, and Ecuador. What a joy it is to see the blessings of God on the work that He has called us to do among the Spanish-speaking people here in the United States. Yet, in consensus all these blessings have come about because God led folks such as you to faithfully support the Bowens prayerfully and financially.

       We thank you for giving us this opportunity and joy and our prayer is that our Lord will abundantly bless you as souls continue to be saved, men called to preach, and churches established.  Thank you for the beautiful and precious memories in God's work!

In His Name,

Charles and Juanita Bowen