Page 8

a box number. Thanksl

TIDBITS:

MISSION MESSAGES from the Fowlers

Please use our Paseo, Alfa 2081, Levittotoi address instead of

The place of prayer and fasting in the Christian walk of victoiy is becoming more important to us. George and Felix

Paseo Alfa 2081

Levittown, PUERTO RICO 00632

March 1975
MEET YOUR NEW BROTHER.. .Richard

(Associate Ministers in the prison) are spending all morn

ing in prayer before attempting any ministry the rest of the day. Report on "Check-it-out Joe" Acre, whose testimony was featured in our last letter: As well as helping me in the prison ministry, he has now started some Christian clubs in the High Schools here. Teams of tumed-on-for-Christ kids are evangelizing on their campuses. How about doing that
on yours.

This month we^re featuring the testimony of another of the prisoners at the penitentiary; Richard Houser. A few weeks ago, Richard wanted only to get out of prison and hide from society in the hills of South America to get into Eastern meditation and occult and to trip out on drugs. But since Jesus filled Richard's life and plans with the

Holy Spirit he plans to go to South America (or wherever

Faith God sends him) as a missionary-evangelist, and is making plans now for Bible College training. The prison has recently transfered Richard from the mairi penitentiary to a minimum-security "halfway house" so he can start attend ing classes in preparation for the ministry.
He writes:

I*m getting real excited about the concept of faith being in the present# To say "I have faith that i t HELL HAPPEN"

is not faith, but hope, even if you have no doubts

knows it has ALREADY happened.

Claim it now (as Abraham did

6od*s promise for an heir), thank HIM for it, and experience
its fulfillment in the flesh in God*s perfect time.

'' J EVERY Christian has a fulfilling (to himself) ministry, if

heill Just trust God and step into it. In these last days before Jesus comes for His Church, the Holy Spirit is direct ing His people in new exciting opportunities. Are you en

"All DQT life I've been swaying back and forth between
God and.no God, I think the main reason that I had such a

joying yours yet? Talk to Director of Opportunities Un

limited (God) about it. *
Jesus' love to you, Bruce & Judy Fowler, & the four C*s

hard time accepting God was I couldn't understand how I could become reconciled to God who is perfect# I went to . Sunday School as a child, ibut I was taught about the God of the Hebrews and Jesus without ever really;..un(ter;S,tanding

the Good News. I thought that if I accepted Qhrist . ..

(Continued on page 6
}{****** -M- ***** * 5* * * * * ^
^ CATHERINE SUE FOWLER

******

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH

1801 COLLEGE BOULEVARD

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION. U. S. POSTAGE PAID

BOISE, IDAHO

83706

PERMIT NO. 29

. . . . 8 Iba, lU oz, joined the fainily February 8th, kfter'

a harrowing.ride to the hospital e.mergency w^d.. The

BOISE, IDAHO

ADDRESS CORRECTI(^ REQUESTED

hour-long rdde took ten minutes (through heavy Sail Ju^

traffic yetl) because she was determined to be bom in" the car. She wasn't, and now everyone is our family feels fine, happy, complete, and grateful to Jesus.
* * *
* * *

W,

E. McGILVEY 2600 ROCKFORD LN.

KOKOMO,

IND. 46901

/\ pf)

Page

...Page 7

TWO INMATES BEGIN FULL-TIi\iIE MINISTRY INSIDE PEN

George Bell Po\md, whose testimony you read in October,

and another new convert, Felix Perez, have officiklly

begun full-time ministry as inmate-missionaries, enangelizing within the prison walls, and taking over more of the ministry in my office. I feel that one ministry to which
- God has called me here is to train leaders who can teach

miracles, He honored my requests and so caused'me: to be lieve truely. When doubts assailed me and I took them to Him in prayer He reassured me, as He did with His apostles, by showing me yet more miracles.
He soon made me see that belief is of man, and that I. needed faith in order to fight spiritual battles5 .so I went to Him in prayer and asked Him to 'take my belief and to

their own people without, an "outsider" having to bridge the culture gap. Currently, there are FIVE of the new converts who have decided to go into full-time evangelism ministries: Richard Houser, Felix Perez, Wilfredo Avellez

give me His faith, which He did. He .showed, me that I needed to continue to grow in my new-faith laecause it was
much bigger than I.
I asked the Lord to use me in His work ^d He showed me

("Africa"), George Bell Pound, and Paul Dolce. Several . < others are thinking and-praying about it. Will ^u suppoi^ .
them and their decisions in prayer?

that in order to be suitable if would be .necessary for

AND MURDERS IN PRISON

As the Holy Spirit moves in this place (called "SatanVs
and fear. Nearly every weeic or so a prisoner is stabbed and killed by another, usually over homosexual jealousies or ,

ffiim/to break this He said do. this work Holy Spirit,

my soul and make it supple and usable. For that I needed the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to from within, I asked for the Baptism of the in order to be changed as qmckly as,possible

I Synagogue" by the inmates) the Enemy responds with terror

disputes over drugs which are dangeroiisly abundant here. . j This week there were three murders ^d several other attempts,
ajicluding attacks on guards. The, Christians claim protection in the name of Jesus and put on the "whole armor of God i

to do the Lord's work. Not only did He ^ive me the gift of!
the Holy-Spirit as He promised, but He blessed me and f honored me by using me for His work even as He* s making me
usable. HallelujhU

(Eph. 6), and so far not one of them has been touched in

Once I.had the Holy Spirit He really began to teach me. He showed me that to have faith isn't enough in God*s work but that I had to leam how to use it.. He tau^t me- that"

if .1 but step out in faith and claim victory that He will

never let-me fall. He showed me that my prayers are

spite of open threats on their lives. 'We have received a

teaching from Genesis ^0:20-21. "As for (Satan), (he) meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. So do not fear5 I will provide for you..." In spite of Satan s intention, much good has come from these attacks: ;(l) The body of Christ has been forced to put on the whole, armor as a matter of life or death j (2) We have had several testimonies of God's mighty protection; (3) As a protective measure the prison officials have decided to transfer all prisoners except the dangerous hard-core criminals to other prisons, minimum-security camps and half-

necessary'in His work and that knowledge of God's Word is my sword with which to fi^t His battles.
The Lord has made me feel as though I am a special child
of God because He listens to all that is in heart and

takes me by the hand and teaches me with patience and loving kindness. He has made me strong in my weaknesses,
wise in His ways, and pure in God's eyes. He is ray salvation, my strength, and my hope for life everlasting. ...Richard Houser... (You may write to Richard through my address. B.F.)

...Page 6

TESTIMONY OF RICHARD HOUSER (Coat, from Page 1)

So by the

...Page 3

as DQT Savior and had my sins washed away then sinned after

that I would again fall into disfavor with God.

time I reached my teens I decided I had better wait to ask

for salvation until I learned how to live without sinning. Little did I know that the Good News and the Holy Spirit
were the very things that I needed in order to leam how to live without sinning. As I grew older I forgot about trying to live without

way houses around the island. We expect all the Christians here to be moved out in a few weeks. They will be going as missionaries to spread the Gospel all over the island, just

as in Acts 8:l,Ii.. Praise to Almi^ty Jehovahl As Watch man Nee reminds us (in his book, "Sit-Walk-Stand") "We
do not fight FOR victoryj we fight FROM victory." Jesus

has already defeated Satan at the cross.

CLAIM m MINISTRY OUTSIDE THE PRISON

Overcomers are

sining but I more or less decided to try and live right eously according to my own standards. I gave God little thought until I was in ngr twenties and had some experience of the world behind me. Many of my generation seemed to be searching for Truth and that search eventually led to God. But this search for me was in vain for a long time because
I wouldn't consider the God of the Hebrews due to His violence

those who rest in the victory already given to them by God.

Friday evenings we gather in a friend's home for worship, praise, Bible teaching, and ministry. So many have come,

(People are hungry for the Gospel) that we had to divide the
group; we didn't all fit into one house. And it looks like we'll have to divide again. In the last few weeks

and wrath.

I was concerned about finding a God of love and

But God

I coxildQ't understand how one God could be both.

vras with me through all of this and He knew that iny heart was

^sincere in seeking the Truth. Praise the Lord.

stand myself.

many people have been saved in these fellowships (thi'ee of . them have been Jews\)j bealed of many diseases and op
pressions, and have been delivered of demonic influences

Slowly but surely the Lord brought me to Him, but not due to
any of my efforts. First he showed me -who I was because He knew that before I could understand Him I must first under

through Jesus' word. Mark l6;l5-17 is right; Usually several evenings a week (when I'm not at the prison) there
are special ministry sessions in homes of those who visited our fellowship, believe that God is just as powerful today as He was in the book of Acts, and open their hearts to His love and deliverance. Please pray for this ministiy; especially (1) that we can continue lifting up Jesus and

I learned that I couldn't stand alone and find

happiness and He showed me that I couldn't expect to find

another person who would live up to my expectations either. So after going aroimd and around in the world searching for

Truth and happiness and coming up empty-handed, the Lord

His terms, he accepted me just as I was and began to teach me about Himself in the only way that it is possible to know Him: through a personal relationship with Jesus as my personal
Savior, Teacher, and Priend.

bought me naked to Him; and when I was ready to accept Him on

not ourselves,

(2)

that we would center on the Basic

Gospel and not get distracted by secondary issues5 what He

would have come out of this ministry. Many are praying that a regular congregation would g3?ow from the fellowship.

Judy and I are starting a Bible study in our home for the
new Christians who found Jesus in the prayer group. If you'll pray for God's direction of iiiat venture, we'll claim it and praise Him for it I

"When I first went to the Lord in prayer in order to get to know Him, I had ho real belief, (although I sincerely wanted to believe) and I didn*t dare to hope lest my hopes be

in vain. But the Lord tvas patient and loving and kind with me;.
* * * * *

When I asked the Lo3?d to show me He was real with signs and
* * * * *

The Fowler Family:

Paul Dolce (from Haiti)

being baptized in pond behind the prison.On
left is associate Joe Arce

Curtis

Bruce

Judy

Chrjsty

Craig

Cathy.

'

These three new Christians

(Below) are prisoners

whose testimonies will be

printed in irQr next letters.

it

Willie Ortiz who has a life

Gregory Baptiste (from

Trinidad) in front of scripture-poster made
by prisoners

sentence was once bound by demonic spiritism# Now he

is free in Jesus Christa

Anthony Lewis (from Jamaica) relaxing in

office after a

Bible study session

MISSION MESSAGES from the Fowlers

JUi

Paseo Alfa 20819 Levlttown, PUERTO RICO 00632

June - July 1975

MEET YOUR NEW BROTHER.

. Gregory

(Gregory Baptiste is one of the prisoners with whom I have worked regularly for nearly three years He is sentenced to

All it takes to get God's grace is to have faith in Him, knowing He can do all

things.

He did for me, and anything

8-12 years on a drug charge.

He writes;)

He did for me. He will also do for you. Praise the Lord! I am so eager to share

I am writing this testimony so that all of my brothers and sisters who read it could share with me the joy and peace that my Heavenly Father has be'eh giving to me, and will give to each one of you if you will ask Him. God our Father is
alive and full with love, caresses, joy,

with all of you what I call God's truth

and Satan's lies. Now that I am writing what God wants me to say, I can see why I have had such a hard time writing it;
because Satan was trying to prevent me

from sharing this main fact with you all-sBecause it is Satan's stronghold

and peace, all to give to us, His childr^ He also takes away sin, sickness, guilty
fears. My name is Gregory Baptiste ann I am from Trinidad. I am going to shai with all of you what the Devil had done
to me and what God the Father has done for me. Praise God^^ When I was about

C^esn't want to be exposed and

thing.

tow h

This thing and fact is

GUILT,

others and sisters, and Satan

area to prevent us from works^- this _

offered through His Grace,

C^ng the forgiveness that God has

nine years old, back in my homeland of

When I was about fourteen years of age, After a while I began to feel guilty about it, . o and this guilt stayed

I made a commitment to God; and after a Trinidad, my mother used to send me to the home of a woman we called "Mother Gust" period of time, I broke l:he commitment.
who performed witchcraft. Because of the Devilwork through this woman I have lived seventeen years in fear (I am 26 years of age presently). One morning
when I came to her home, I went into her private room where she performed her

with me for years. That was just the opportunity Satan was waiting for. He used that opportunity to make me sink deeper and deeper into my guilt, making
me think that I had blown it with God forever. First, what Satan did was make

wittihdraft. Lying oh the-'table was'l^omething wrapped in a white sheet. Upon opening it, to my shock and surprise I
saw a human skeleton. Just then the woman

me feel guilty of all my sin from which

God had once forgiven me. Second, he

came into the room and put a curse on me,

to anybody about what I saw in that room

made me feel that since I blew my telling me that if I ever should say a word commitment to God, God did not want to To tell

I would go crazy, blind, or die.

the truth, I V7as scared.

see me or hear from me again, and that He would never forgive any of my sins

I was so scared

that that fear has dominated and haunted

again. Oh, my brothers and sisters, maybe Satan has fooled you and put

ne for seventeen years. Finally, two months these same things in your heart that he put in mine. It's all a lie, one of ago I began to trust God's power over the curse and I openly took my fear to God the Satan's biggest lies because GOD FORGIVES
Father, and asked Him to take it away from

me.

It was taken away immediately!

Now I

ALL SINS. My brothers and sisters, if any of you are suffering from GUILT
because of sins you have committed, please
don't let Satan fool you by tel.iing you

am free from that demon! What is s t i l l

surprising to me is, like, God was only

waiting all those years to hear me say

that God will not forgive your sins.

All

"help".

And He was there to help and is

you have to do is to confess your sins and

He will take them all away. (I John 1;9)

still helping.

I'm so glad that God forgives and takes

away-all sins.

Gregory Baptiste

SOME FEELINGS WE'D LIKE TO SHARE;

During these last three years as missionaries in Puerto Rico^ we have

we praise Him each time we receive a check He asked you to send.

been trying (not always successfully) to fully share with you back home our work., AT^...at witnessing again the miracle of our goals, our progress, our frustrations, new spiritual birth. Our greatest
our excitement, and our sense of God's

moments come at seeing the Gospel take

calling and leading. But somehow our itch root in a life plowed soft by tragedy and to really get it across never quite gets failure. scratched because it is so hard to convey intimate depth-feelings in cold "reports- EXHAUSTION...partly from the tropical

of-what*s-going-on".

To answer "how" many climate whose constant humidity drains

little of the work of sustaining the schedule both in the prison and in the converts, teaching them how to walk in the community. (We've found it's literally Spirit, or of preparing ground and true: "The joy of the Lord is our
planting "Seed" of the Gospel. How we long to be able to adequately convey to
you some of the following feelings we*ve
had in our work here;

converts have you had?" gives SOME the body's energy reserve...partly from indication of progress, true, but measures the early morning until late at night

strength!"

Neh. 8:10)

EXCITEMENT...at seeing God do it again...

and again.

Excitement at seeing new doors

for ministry open like the new church we

FRUSTRATION... in our lack of means to

are helping to begin in the riearfcy

community of Dorado. (15 - 40 adults meeing weekly for worship in a hotel
.aiaditpxiian)
PRAISE...a whole new dimension in our

share the little indications of real pro

gress, that to us, mean more than the

'' ya^sticks of success:

tears of

{gratitude on the face of a prisoner's wife. Official parole board reports of a truly changed life of a man formerly hardened by crime, drugs, and sin. A
request from a prisoner in maximum

ministry that's opened up the door to spiritual power we had lacked before.
ANGER...at some aspects of this culture

security for me to come and pray with him after six requests for me to come to listen to him gripe. A letter of commen

that directly opposes the Gospel:

dation from the warden asking all guards

love from several hundred men because

Spiritism, Coinmunism, demon strongholds, idol worship, an unbelievably high

to cooperate with my work because he sees alcoholism rate, intense problems from the difference in the men's lives., ^clii^ overpopulation.

Jesus has loved them through me. Some FULFILMENT...at having a significant will accept Him as Savior, some won't; but ministry to accomplish that is too great all will hear about Him and experience to do on human power.
His love.

ANGUISH...at seeing new Christians leave

prison, fall in with old friends, and
return to sin. So far about one in ten

APPREHENSION...concerning plans that must be made to cope with problems coming up

have been backsliding.

Christians.

However, the re-

arrest rate i s about one in three for non-

this next year: the children will have no adequate place to go to school after next year; our financial situation threatens to reach a crisis point; our car (has 76,000 miles) has major problems and lack of transportation is becoming a significant

GRATITUDE...at receiving financial support threat to the success of the ministry here. from you when there are so many other (Continued on Page 3) places to put your money in these hard
times. God is faithful (Phil. 4:19) and

SOME FEELINGS WE'D LIKE TO SHARE (cont,)

SATISFACTION.., of feeling that we are where God wants us right now,

LONELINESS...for our friends and families in the States.

and Spiritism to meet the hunger for spiritual reality. The time to reach
this island with Jesus' Gospel is now.

LONGING.,,to be several people in several places at once. We just can't do all that we feel God is calling His people to do
here. Yes, take this as a call for someone

5. The overcrowding on this island has caused a vast panorama of social tragedies, P.R. has one of the highest rates (if not THE highest) of hard liquor consum

ption per capita in the world. Alcoholism being far more dominant here than in
the States is another symptom of the restlessness and spiritual hunger here.
The world's current financial crisis has hit even harder here than it has hit the United States because of Puerto
Rico's financial dependency.

to come to P.R. to help us.

to be done.

There's much

DID WE COME TO PUERTO RICO???

...wellj because:

6.
1. God called us here; we may still have yet to find out the whole reason, and we are staying open.to His further direction
and opportrunities here.

The opportunities here call for a

unique combination of ministries which

I believe God has been preparing us for for several years,. and which meet our needs to minister in really satisfying

ways.
2. P.R. has the densest population of any country on earth. There are 875 people per square mile here (more than India

I especially appreciate the chance

for direct evangelism, teaching, and

counseling.

China, etc.).

It makes good sense (good

AN OVERVIEW OF OUR WORK HERE

mission stewardship) to go where you can reach the most people with the Gospel in the shortest time, with the least amount of travel. The Apostle Paul's mission strategy was to go to the population
centers of his known world. Ours is too.

Vthe calling and authority' ofjesus Christ

Himself. During the 4i^..ymr, Bruce

The Fowler family of four (now six) ^am^ to Puerto Rico_in^:^ugust^;^^

3.

This is a crossroads of cultures.

It

taught Bible and Pastoral Counseling in

the International Christian University

is possible to reach into many countries

(mostly island nations and South America) by ministering in Puerto Rico. If you are in the right place, God sends the nations
to you! Some of the most exciting con tacts here have been with people from
Communist Cuba.

(a missionary-training college here in Levittown, Puerto Rico). Using the

Commonwealth Penitentiary and the local

prisons as aJlabiJ.ratory for the students'

counseling ?.itj?ooa-became^ that the p^s^n^ not the collie^/a^s.^he

tiiat God was opening for. .fiur^jninlatry

fieldwork and training in preaching and

4. The changing cultural and social patterns of P.R. and the high mobility rate make Puerto Rico statistically one of the most fertile potentials for the i^lanting of the Gospel. People here are restless and looking for "a new way of Satan is here offering Communism
, if?'
/

Through many months of prayer and con

ferences with government officials, the
Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico called Bruce to work in the prison

system on a voluntary basis (no salary).

He worked in religious counseling, pa-Bible study, and. teactiing. Wbile there has been

some .opposition among Satan's men

in the prison and in some sectors of the government, the support and.

encouragement for this ministry

door to door in Dorado.

The preach-

have been gratifying, as the gospel ing on Sundays has been shared by
has been successfully planted and
much fruit has developed in the lives of prisoners amd their fami lies. From all over .the world, yre

several laymen and mis'sidnaries, in cluding Bruce.

At least tv/ice a* vfe'ek there are

have been hearing of a great move of God's spirit within prisons in

many countries as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S.. We have fonnd a

.kQmg^.-Sibl-6 studleS)--.-one" 0f whi ch has been especiallji productive- a

v^omen's Bible study in^Do^sado in

freedom (and encouragement) to be

age and love of Jesus to these who

vfhich _^JiTd-y-. has-been instrumental. The^children too, have had opportunand have dedicated themselves with

straightforward in taking the mess- ities to evangelize in their school,

need no argument to convince them
they are sinners and stand in need

of repentence. Alllthey want to Imow is "How can I do it?", and of

the rest of the family to being to tally used by God to spread the nev;s of His love and salvation. Will you

continue to l i f t us up in prayer to course, the answer is "Jesus has al- that end? We appreciate you-. ready done i t on the cross. Accept

Him."

The Fowler Family:

Bruce, Judy,. Curtis, Christy, Craig,

The order of priorities generally Cathy (and our-dog, "Hallelujah") has been: (I) ministry to prisoners -
tjjen, neighbors, and others in the

and their families, (2) to business-Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I

outside communities, (3) to govern- thank my God in all my remembrance ment officials and prison authori- of you, always in every pragrer of ties. This is done mostly.through mine for you all making mylprayer small group teaching and Bible stud-with joy, thankful for your partneries evergi day in the office proship in the Gospel from the first vid6d_izL-Jihe-_peni-tentiary-ythraugh^ d^y-unti-X- now ^Jlnd-I - am- sure, that specialized mimistries (such as de- he who began a good work in you willliverance from demons; a real prob- bring it to completion at the day of lem on this island), through preach- Jesus Christ. It is right for me
ing in various churches and civic groups throughout Puerto Rico, and to feel thus about you all, because

through home Bible studies (in our

home and others).

I hold you in my heart, for you ar all partakers with me of grace both in my priopn ministry and in the de
fense and confirmation of the Gospel,

Currently, we are helping to estab- For God is my witness how .1 yearn

lish a ^ i n a nearby for you all with the affection of

whose popula^ion^Ts American businessmen who came as executives of

coramuriity f^5Sm^>about 50% of

that your love may abound mare and

Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer

more with knowledge and all discern-

big American corporations based in

ment, so that you may prove what is

Forty or fifty families who

excellent and may be pure and blame-,

have attended our services at least less, for the day of Christ, filled once have indicated that they are with fruits of righteousness. in need of a church (the community Philippians 1:2-II ^ of several thousand has no Englishspeaking church) and have allov;ed us
bo visit in their homes- to introduce them to Jesus. Atjreaal.: one dav a

.wee^JaasL-Jieen given to.teyangeiism

Fi rst Chri sti an Churc!^'^^^ 1801 College Blvd.
Boise, Idaho 83706

Non fi'ofit Org.

W,. E.
3600

McGILVSY
ROCKFORD LN.

U.S. postage paid

ifdlCOMl),

IND. 4o901

Boi'Mfildaho

Per'i^^.'No.. 29

MISSION MESSAGES from the Fowlers

Paseo Alfa 2081, Levittown, PUERTO RICO 00632 August - September, 1975
MEET YOUR NEW BROTHER... GERALD PERSONAL K-EWS NOTES;' -

It was Monday, and I had

been in jail for one week. That

Bruce waa invited to speak last

week as a prison counselor at the

local Christian Women's Club Lun^-

was the day I v/as to go to court to get my bail reduced, and then be bailed out by my boss. But when
I learned that the bail was not

.clieon.

ten of the 70 v/omen

responded *to the invitation to in

vite Jesus to be Lord of their

lowered enough for him to pay it, the bottom dropped out of my fra
gile world. I felt trapped and caged. What a day to get the mes-* age that my father had just been
rushed to the hospital with a

lives, and several counseling op portunities and speaking invitaf

tioris Y/ere presented.

The Holy Spirit specially blessed

the Ladles Bible study in Dorado

heart' attack^ Although I am very

close v/ith my parents (who live
in the. U.S.) T hadn't notified

.yesterday as Judy led them in a ^ study on prayer. A good way to . teach people to pray is like Jesus
did: lead them in actually doing

them of my arrest, to protect them from worry and adding to their physical, emotional, and financial burdens. To toi) it off, the marshall told me I could get 15 years
for each of the three counts of smuggling for which I was accused.

it, not just talk about doing it,

Bruce has befen spending two days a v.eek counseling through the Sal vation Army program with parolees, alcoholics, drug addicts, and lone ly men v/ho need Jesus. There is a need and opportunity to get much more involved in this particular

There I v/as, accused of be ing invplved in organized drug smuggling (of which I had no linow1edge), unable to raise bail money
all alone in Puerto Rico unable

areal

Pray with us about prior

V/e can't begin to

ities and the problem of many needs

and fev/ hours. are knoc.king.

to speak the language, facing forty-five years in jail, and my

father dying from a heart attack.
Because I had.never been arrested

ansv/er all the opportunities that

before, I was unfamiliar both with- tho legal alteirnat-ivesandthe tactics used to scare accused

--The new Dorado congregation is progressing vjell. At least two

-nevf-ami1 ies -a t teiid e a ch- v/eek . . t-

people into pleading guilty or in-, forming on others. ^^Tliat little hope I had had drained away until I just gave up.

Ofte baptism so far: Mr. Jack rSLchuler, v/ho is asking your prayers about the possibility of his going
into fulltime missionary evange

Monday night, discouraged and helpless, I decided to take my life. I cut my wrist twice in or der to locate an artery. Then I
saw it protrude from my vrrist.
last cut was all I needed, I

lism through Campus Crusade or some other missionary organization. Pray for him now while you are
thinking of it.

One *

^^Craig will be tv;o years old in

November and is talking up a storm,

remember starting on it, but

I never finished. Nov; I Imow

Mixing Spanish and English into a "Fov/lereze-Spanglish". V/e built

a 'five-foot fence to keep him out of the street and the ocean, but he's learned to climb i t alreadyi Seven month-old Cathy is crawling and hardly looks like a sophisti cated young lady when she tries to feed herself. They send their greet

a Power greater than myself stopped

me from committing suicide. The next thing I remember is being taken by a guard to the room

used 'here as a hospital, then Iselng

put in solitary confinement. As a child and even as an adult,I alv/ays slept with ray door open; so when the door of the solitary cell clanged shut, I wondered if I

ingsI thijk.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS;

could endure yet another punish^

ment. I slept all day Tuesday, \yhen V/ednesday came, I pleaded
with the guard to take me out of solitary back to the dormi

v. .The t)ossibility of our ^243^

coming back to the States for a furlough and speaking tour. We
feel the Lord is directing us to

tory of sixty men. It was dirty, noisy, crowded, and smelly, but I
felt I could put up with that easier than being alone with my fear and depression. VAien they

begin preparations for this, but wanted you to pray with us speci fically about WHEN, MERE, and HOW

did return me, I was given the name of the person v/ho, I was told might be able to help me recover from my unsuccessful flight for
freedom.

Bruce Fowler was tho naiae I

was given. Although I had heard (continued on next page)

(fage ^ )

' MEFT YOUR BROTHER! Gerald

(Continued from frontpage)

his name mentioned by the other prisoners, I was still reluctant Iigl'
seeking his, help.- I didn't have to approach him, because before very long," he" approached me. Thankful il was. He offered .me help I needed

as he did everyone else.

Just talking to him made ^ii^e feel better.

Af-

"ter he left, I started reading the Bible. Opening the book for the first time, I turned to Job. After reading about his suffering and his

f^demption, I felt relieved.

I then went, on to read other scriptures

Bruce gave, me, and other books and testimonies of Christians who en dured suffering. One vs^ritten by Mile Warlike \i(ho found love through Christ gave me strength and hope. Because of my troubles, I had a hard

timeL^slee-ping^^l-VK)uI' iiave-nightmares' every , night ..

a talk in his office. We conversed a few h6tirs about myself, things that had happened to all of iis, and things that could happen if we had faith. They
to him, I felt at peace with myself. Since then, the nightmares seem

demons live in prison.

One day, Bruce asked me to join him and his friends for

too many

all 'prayed for me, and me for them, and then I asked Christ to; forgive so me for the sins I had committed. After I submitted: myself and.wy life to have disai^peared. I aiu continuing to read the Bible and prarlisg, aad am v/aiting for my bail to be posted. The next day after praying in Briice's office, my lawyer told me that my .boss somehow got., the money together that was needed to get me out. Perhaps they will release me today, or maybe tomorrow. As for my last note:
Yes, ?ill have sinnid; all fall short of God*s

'

glorious ideal. Yet, now God declares us 'not ^ilty' of offending him if v;e trust in Jesus
Christ who in his kindness freely takes av/ay
our sins."

Romans 3:23 ("The Way")

. Gerald Vlasak v

AND NOV/ A W'ORD FROM THE CHILD!BEN...

First, Christy;

I'm

Puerto Rico, called "Puerto Rico Christian School",

10 years old and go to a school that teaches in English here in Most of.the schools

hie re are in Spanish and are

crowded and dirty.

They also have

I can

problems like drugs and fighting and the teachers not coming to class,

so I'm "thankful that God has a better schojl for me to go to,

speak some Spanish and I like being here in Puerto Rico.

I like living right next to the ocean. , Some tines our family v/alks

along the beach at night, and v/e watch the big ships coming into the S^n Juan harbor near oui: house. . The ships come from all over the v/orld, but mostly they have tourists from the United .'States.

I guesc my favorite scripture is John 3:16 because I like to ioiow that. .God loves me enough to die for my sins. God loVes each of you too.
He has a plan for.^cttrlives just like He does minebut I really don't

Wov; what God has planned for my life yet, "Has He showed you yet v/hat
He wants you to do? , _ ; ,

When, my parents told me that we were going to move to Puerto Rico

I v/as really happy because I- had never lived in another country.

no; idea v/hat it would-be like to be a missionary.

I had

Well, really, it is

not different than beforeJ

^
gives

My Lord is a great Lord because He answers prayers

us things when we need them. Like food and money and making our car ,y/ork. If you have things that your family needs, why don't you pray and ask Him like we'do. He is faithful and promises to take care of you. He sure does with us. In Spanish we say," Glorea a Diosi " (Praise
God")
Here's Curtis:

I'm 11 years old. Our family has lived in Puerto Rico for three years, Puerto Rico is an island between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea near Cuba, in case you didn't know v;here it is. It's Just 100 miles long which isn't very big, I live in a town called Levittov/n where all the houses are si^uare like boxes and made of cement#

(Page 3)

SQiietimes I liV,e living, in Puerto Rico and sometimes I don't.

It

is crov/ded and polluted and noisy. I like to by by myself sci::etimes, away from people, ane that's pretty hard to do here. There are three million people here. But I like it because v/e are close to the beach and r;e go sv/iiniaing a lot. And I like the weather; ' it rains a lot.

Christians, and they don't really Icnow Jesus as a friencu.. or even that he's a roal person. But there are other /people here v/ho arc

to church all the tine.

Many "ooople here think they are good enough just because tney go

But they don't teally act ^liko ^tlisy are

United 3tatod being excited about Hira,

don't reallv knov; about the adults.
Chrifitians and t'le ones who are not.

really excited about the Lordmore than I reaieiabered anybody in the

I mainly mean the kids; I
Some of us in school talk

about Jesus" some of the time, and you can just tell the ones who are

Some of t'le pe.^ple here have stran^^e ideas about v/ho Goo is and
vrhat He "does. I v/as morn.ns a~la\ni fur-a
' -th^ '' clsj/-,

and

I asked her if she wanted me to cut dovai a bunch oi ATeeds thai, \fcis in

people

her yard. She said, "Oh, no] Those weeds protect me irom the evil s'oirits. They helped me to get well when I v/as sickj " A lot of
have asked God for if.

their neck (voodoo), and having statues of saints in their yards and in their c.ir (Spiritism), If that lady r/anted to be healed sho should
\7e tscrr.e to Puerto Rico:

here believe in things like that, like charms around

Only Jesus can do that,

or give us the love oi God.

V/eeds and charms and statues can't protect us

they don't need all their superstitions ans silly charms and things,
I'd like to be an archeologist when I grow up...or a
I like to discover nor; things, Sonio of the things I discover are

to tell the people here about Jesus and that

historian.

I guesL> bhat^s

are as old as God's love, but I'm discovering them brand new in ray life,
Curtis
f

really old, but they are nev; too: like the truths Oi the Bible, They

We love you, and pray for you individually, as you each come to mind: V/o miss you and hope to se:. you soon. Thank you for supporting us and
do that which

for sharing in our"ministry in many v/ays.

} n

boldly in the power of His :ioly Spirit to claim the victory that Jesus
has already Paid for.
First Christian Church

filing vou to do, and may you st^ep out

Hay God grant you strength to

The Fov/lers Bruce, Judy, Curtis, Christy, Craig, and Cathy

Non-Profit Org.
U. S. POSTAGE PAID

1801 College Boulevard Boise, Idaho 83706

Permit No.

29

oc^-

Boise, Idaho

EcGILVSY
-^00 Rocxr-rr^^

KOKOMO,

IND.

40-^01