Fowler Bruce Judith 1976 PuertoRico

8/13/2019 Fowler Bruce Judith 1976 PuertoRico

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i a l ^ a l o k -Mi:aaAGjj:.S. PROl'l Tilc;. FOk\lLiiii:'P,-G. jdox'500^8,.-i-ei^^lttown .^ ^ ' ,PUJiHTO-llICO 0.0550January - February, 1976 FUHLOUGH SCBEmik: 'i juring the n e x t few months you may ~w r i t e t o us a t J udy* s mo th er *s a d d r e s sC/0 Mrs , Eunice i'ipFarland - 400 Bacon Dr. , Boise, Ida.83702i-iar* l : i''ly from 3an Juan to I'ilaml.liar# 10-16:- In Georgia, w. Va., & Phloi'iar. 18-26: In Indianapol i s , Indiana49th t5t . C h r i s t i a n Church1801 ii . 4 9 t h i ^ tr e et Indianapol is , Indiana 46200-i ' lar. 2 7 - -^^-pril 5* I n I l l i n o i sii-pril 4: cit. iiatthews îjutheran ChurchApril- 11: Bill ings, iiont;âApri l 14-30: In Boise, Idaho

liay 1 - 7 - John lây,. Oregonc / o r a s t e r P h i l , anJohn Day C h r i s t i a n . , Churchliay S-i3* Bastern. Oregon

Hay 16: iîorthwood Chr. Ch.i^pr ingf i e l d ^ Oregon.i>ast p a r t o f Hay t h r u ; J u n e :vJestern Oregon

c / o ii-.H. i^'owler976. T e r r a c e Dr.,..- iâlem, Ore. P7304J u ly .1 -2 0? : i n C a l i f o r n i aJ u l y 20-30 : -iîve t h r u. i l e x i c o , G u a t a m a l a ,

i i o n d u r a s , Bi d a l v a d o r' Aug,^ 16?: .Arrive i n Costa i i i c a. . .Apartado 10240-X-w -Jt*# Jt #-it-ii--Jt-Jt-Jt -ii-*-:t-Jfr Si'-it -Sfrw-it ^ itwit jt iS-4-Jr-Jt-Jt-#-Si-##-ft

MEET XOUH IjEtf BrtOTHBri. . .BD

r- ^ year old American from California. % f i r s t contact withoa In my adult l i fe began l a s t October,. 1975 when I was arrested inoan Juan lor smuggling cocaine. I was totally unprepared for the r .n ,enltentiary where I was taken: the -federal Gallery here is nothingthan a dirty dungeon, but I praise God that Be brought me herebecause i t was here that I met Jesus Christ as i-ord and.iâvior, ^ and angry, after a couple of days I met Brucemissionary who works-with the prisoners here, and^ missionary/inmate who works with Bruce and who metAmprio^ iêre as I did. I talked with them mainly because they too areof the o ther p risoner s speak only, i^^panish. When Bruce

i^;nt kind of turned off , thinking, Oh, noSIM hoon eligious nuti They always seem to single me out to bother*to hp î^îstians in the past, and although X triedI onm-ni 1^ j interest in what they were saying. I t wasn,*t thatw ^ ^ Gr H ^ disbelieved in God, i t was just that I didn*t know if thereI -Richard, who is about my age, intelligent, and en joyaliniT ma K telling me about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and brin;-rpfl-inn- how people like rme had found God. -i^y ma,in reason forribmi-t- o f^^ ^îchard and I would have something in common to talkiiiohn-pfltQ f ^'peak of nothing but Jesus. I was impressed by ^-^-ith- he. Tiras so positive that ôd was real . ^ said that i f Ibv'Ot^î np been reading in ' The Hiracle of i::Seed i-aitti'the -tâise by Berlin Carouthers, and others, tha**evervthinrr ^ ^Si^ to work in my life, ô I began praising the lord forstill 1 praying, inventing my prayers as seeds of.faith, butdn' t feel that God, i f iie was real , would do anything for me.cam to the conclusion that both -lûce and Bichard were sane, andyet they believed in what I 'd always thought of as a myth. I made thesincerely give Jesus: a. try since I was not going anywhere fora wii ie anyway. I must admit t h a t t h i s f i r s t involvement -was more tooccupy my time than to f i l l any spiri tual .hunger, or so I thought, (I^-7? i a s p i r i t u a l vacuum inside me lust waiting to betill-ed with Christ). . I figured, What.have I got to lost? I asked Jesusto come into my l ife and to be my J-ord and Bavior, without realizing thel u l l im p lic at io ns o f what l*d done.

the books t h a t J-îchard gave me and a l s o the iêwstament from iiatthew to Bomans. 1 began to understand some of theblsio^^f' w^ hesitant and cymical to trust Jesus 'just on the^x-DerlenoP


2/10

QUA FIImAnGIAL Jug-POKT for this past year . * . fo r your information andinves tmen t in our work here in mer t o -tiico. I e pra i se tôd fo r ^ is loveand care over us this past year. , e are also very grateful to you whomjod h a s u s e d s o we a r e a b le t o s e r v e h e r e i nque s t i o n s , p le as e a sk .

VEHY

Offerings -iPlOOÔOi^nt 168.00*^êlephone *Water and e l ec t r i c i t y 80.00*Insurance 20.00Car repair 50.00Gas, o i l , car upkeep- lOO .OOCar payment 100.00.College loan 23*i-\ Q Children's i^chool tuitibn 53.50*t 'oodClo t he sHousehold expenses, misQtitamps, pr in t ing, e tc .Wii^rk in prisonHosp. -medicalûrlou^h expenses ,

250.002 0 . 0 025 .0050 .00

M-

, '-fotal monthly expenses >1039*90YQUii N W -BHoTiiEJi. .ED (Continued)g e t my hopes up J u s t to have themdashed i n d i s appo in tmen t . -i^lowly bu t surely,. , the lôrdbrough t me t o where , wanted me

you have f u r t h e r

lîCQPiE PER i iOlMTri. l l \ 107^;January^êbruaryi 'ârchAp r i l^ yJuneJuly .Augus tSep temberOc t obe ri ^ o v embe ri < f i n emhe r

si '590.58966.75-521 .05811 . 0 0523 .00582 .8852 7-.001256.00

1376.23. 739 -0017^3 -00608 .oa1975 t a l JHil0,244.49

Average monthly income i Hf853* 71{Îndicates expenses which wi l lbe subs t an t i a l l y inc reased uponour re turn to )

telling'Him tha t I would do whateve-i le asked me t o do . -tie t o ld me togive -Pruce some money as an investment in seed f a i t h s ince heneeded money fo r h is fur lough todependent upon Jîm i n s t ead o f oh my- the i^^tates, and isn t paid any

s e l f and o t h e r s , Wy c o u r t ca seseemed more and more hope less ; 1found 1 cou ldn t r a i s e the moneynecessary fo r a good lawyer , and Icouldn t c o n c e n t r a t e onany th l ng : b u tmy case.__ -tiichard kept telliiig metha t i f I would concentrate on ge tt ing to know Jesus , would takecare o f eve ry th ing e l s e , inc ludingthe c ou rt case , 1-was f a s t runningout of a l t e rna t i ves and t im e , so 1took h is suggestion' and began prayin g i n e a r n e s t .

^'Miraculously, th e Jôrd f i l l ed mewi th an amazing ca lmness , and evena f t e r the judge found me gu i l ty ,the peace c on tin ue d a s s t rongly asever.- Ihen another strange thinghappened to me ôd gave me a hun-

sa l a ry except what he t ru s t s theiôrd to provide fo r h is needs .iJntil then I had only praye rs toi nves t , bu t j u s t t h a t week hadTfanplved A lo t of money. jo 1 gavet o i^ u c e , f u l l y expec t i ng tn eiord to .meet me (as ^- ral iiobertssays) a t the point of my need,namely to. ge t ou t of pr i sonbefore Christmas, 1976.i at a pe r f e c t sense of t im ingth e -i-ord ha s i j - i fe is r e a l l ys t a r t i ng to g et e xc it in g noxf t h a t1 Imow ium. J-iow wonderful i sou r J-ordi' 1 know now t h a t ^can be t r u s t e d in eve r y t h i ngeven if i d o n t unde r s t a nd allthe whys and hows. i know tha tevery word in the Jîble i s as

. t i rs t Chr i s t i an Church1801 College .boulevard.c'oise, Idaho 83706

w. S . Mc rIL.'2Y'h OO ROCKF ;)aO LN.KOKOMO, IND. 4v

ge r fo r th e ^ ib l e . I cou ldn t force t rue as -tie is t'raise the iôrd^myself to read it before; now I i ve given my l i f e to Jesus andfinished the iêw J-estament in days i 'm looking to iiim in ant ic ipa-and eage r ly began the 'xfestanent. t ion o f what -tie has in s t o r e fo rOn the basis of what 1 read in me.. Aiay God bless you a l l .the -Bible, I i nves ted what f a i t h 1 .had and asked fo r th e f i l l i n g of th eHoly Sp i r i t which He gave me Justas -de d id the apos t l e s . ^ begant o c on fi rm i l l s e x i s t e n c e w i t h i n met h r ough s ign s and spe c i f i c - answer sto my . .prayers abou t my case , myl awye r , and othe i needs, . 1 con -i l i rmed my covenan t w ith th e l o r d .

i ou r . toother in Chr i s t ,^ ^chuppe

ivon i r o f i t ^g . -U-. 6 , i-Obl iiCrE rk lDJêrmit ^ o. 29Hoise , Idaho


3/10

MEANWHILE. . .Back in PrigQp in Puerto Rico. . .. . .the work is being carried on bythe prisoners themselvessupervised by my close friend and colleague. Rev. Jim Dye, aSpirit-fUIed missionary. Evangelist/Prisoner, Richard Houser

wri tes :I'm working with several new guys now and I can see theLord working in them. . . .Please pray for: Gg^cge-^^J^a.(American, Catholic, degree in psychology, ex-junkie, justaccepted Jesus as Lord), Jose-UemaildEZ-MoEa (growing inthe Lord, and is hungry for more), and many others such asTony Lewis. Muhammed AM H3ii:y._SaiLtiap, eter_BaEQ^Pedro Acevedo. Pedro Santiago. Angelo Velez.Will you pray for these men, please, as God s Spirit isworking with them? You may communicate with anyof themthrough:

Richard L. Houser MoorePenitenciaria EstatalB ox A .F . S .N . No . C-24Rio Piedras, Puer to R ico 00928

Pray for Richard Houser, too, in his plans for soon release,seminary and on to the mission field.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?We are looking forward to visiting California churches inJuly, starting through Mexico near the last of July. Drivingthrough Central America, we plan to arrive in Costa Ricaaround August 15. After one year of Spanish-language studyjn Costa Rica, we planto return to Puerto Rico to renew andintensify our ministry there, especially in the prisons.Further plans (Puerto Rico) we are praying about includea Christian halfway house for parolees, a community programof training laymen in specialized ministries (counseling, preaching, deliverance, evangelism, etc.) and a Christian CommunityCounseling Center, all based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

jie^QSdSti: < E ccc/ga. -2 t

C/3LUD


4/10

OUR STATESI DE FURLOUGH SO FA R. . . six Fowlers s leep ing in a van .. . . Are we almost the re, yet?. . . Thank you, Jesus. You tliink of everything. . . Wish we could have stayed longerat THAT church. . . Look at that porcupine. Daddy. . . Hmm. What shall we put as our address?. . . Do weknow the way to CostaRica ,Mommy?. . . Wonder who we'll s tay with tonight?. . . What special peopleGodhas led us toGOD'S PERFECT PROVISION: San Juan to Salem

These t hr ee mon th s a nd 10, 000 miles have confirmed howfaithful God isto Hiskids The Raul Arcefamily met us attheMiami airport March I, openedtheir hometo us, introducedusto the man through whom God supplied a van, and prayed uson our way from one coast to the other. God is faithful; Histiming, perfect.In St. Augustine, Fla., we stopped to visit old friends we'dnever met yet,andto buy a new Bible in the Agape Book Storethere. Theownersaid, I've been instructed to give you a Bible.Just choose oneyou like The riches with whichGod suppliesevery need (Phil. 4:19) includes His faithful people. Whatablessing our new Bible has been. Thank you, God, for the

Millers

WHAT SHOULD WE DO IN GEORGIA, GOD?God direc ted us to a town in Georgia where we were totalstrangers. Having talten our commission from Mt. 20:28 ( Icame no t to be served, but t o serve ) we fi gured God had aministry for us in the Methodist Church to which He directedus, although we had no engagement nor any previous contactwith any person there . We fel lowshipped that evening withthem, wondering what minist ry we had been sent there to do.That night , as we went out to the church parking lot to climbinto bed in our van,we found a note on our car : Wehavepaidfor some mo te l rooms for your fami ly to s leep ton ight andbreakfast is paid for at the restaurant next door. In addition

there wasan envelope fullof money. Noonecouldhaveknownthat we werecompletely broke and could not havegoneon thenext morning without God's provision through these specialpeople at Newnan, Ga. It turned out that the ministry forwhich Hesent us the re was to usnot to them ATo good thingwill God withhold from His children (Ps. 84:11)

SNOW, SNOW, SNOWFor six warm-blooded Puerto Ricans, Ohios March blizzards seemed bitterly cold, but we were sure warmed bythe loveand hospitality of the samts in Cleveland. Several speakingengagements to various groups in our few days there seemed tobeespecially productive, thanks to God's direction through the GaryCanfield family.

NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE. . .When we went to buycar insurance in Indianapolis, the manwouldn't take our money. Someone just phoned to say hewasgoing to pay the premium for you, he said For whoever paidit, I thank God Who is able todo.. .beyond allthat we askorthink. Traveling through Illinois and the midwest, we foundGod's abundant love pouring out to us through His people inLutheran, Non-denominational and Christian Churches.Minnesota in April found Curtis sleeping outinhis hammockin a state park. Craig and Christy tried it too, but before the

frosty ni^t was over they moved their hammocks into the van.Visits with special friends in Montana and Wisconsin were refreshingand spiritually productive.

THE FOWLERS FINALLY FELLOWSHIP WITH FAMILY.. .- . . in a very busy threeweeksinBoise, Idaho. Whenthe Lordgives you something to say, you better believe He'll give youplenty of chances to sayi t : in a speaking engagement neariyevery day and addressing up to seven different groups in twodays. Presbyterian, Disciples, Church of God of Prophecy,Missionary Alliance, school assemblies, and many others includinghome groups really kept us blessed and busy.B ut w ha t does. . .

A MISSIONARY SENT FROM PUERTO RICO TO THE U.S. . .. . .do while traveling throughthe States? Well, for starters:feed apples to wild deer in Joseph, Oregon; nail on roofing inNew Market Indiana; mow lawns in Salem, Oregon; andministerdemonic deliverance in several major cities inthe U.S.; and everywhere preach about the Mighty Power of God among His faithful saintsin these last days.A week's teaching every evening on Ministry of the Saintsin John Day, Oregon, andaMini-Mission Conference inOakridge,Oregon, gaveus a good excuse to minister on a more int imatelevel during the week than just from the pulpit

WE THANK GOD FOR YOU ALL (I Thess. 1:2)One day in May wewere thinkingabout buyinga smallcooking stove. Theverynext daysomefriendsgave us a big3-bumerstovebigenough tocooka Thanksgiving day dinner. (That's whatwe'vebeencooking onit sincethen: thanksgiving dinners ) Anotherfriendloanedus their camper for aweek. You see, it's t rue: God is able toprovide you with every blessing in abundance... (IICor. 9:8) We especially appreciate some help from God's saints in keeping our van tuned up and running smoothly. That's a ministry of high importanceaccording to I Cor. 12:8. Orasthe Apostle John put it, Beloved it is a loyal thing you dowhen you render any service to the brethren^especially to strangers who have testified toyour love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey as befits God's

service. (III Jn. 5) We thank God for you:---Tbe_Sgints_atJ j>illlvyQQdjQhdti3nX hurb_irL_SpjjiigfifiliJ^QnesQD. through whom we received a prophetic word of encouragement andedific tion . .- IhfiJVlissiPJQ iJroJlu3lefi.AtJLJfltb_SL_Gblisliao.tlurc L-lnsJi3napiJlis, for stimulating us to think through some important questions...---ThfLPLesbylerifln]lurcii.in_B2is.e for expanding our vision of what God's power is doing within the Church today. Bible Temple in Portland, Oregon, with whomwe experienced a powerful fellowshipin praise...1st Christian Church,Boise. Idaho,for steadfastandcontinual faithfulsupport fromthe verybeginning ofour ministry...Illf j^ aiarenfi ajntSLiP_Bs iid,_QregQil, with whom we instantly felt such a close kinshin-~Iw


5/10

MISSIONfrom the Towlers

Ongoing witness to the work ofGod in Puer to Rico

CUc.

Mr. and Mrs. Bruce K. Fowler QApartado 10240San Jose. Costa Rica

'GO FROM YOUR COUNTRY TO THE LAND THAT1 WILL SHOW YOU. Gen. 12)

What an exciting preaching trip we had through the U.S.and Central America It was hard to leave so many lovedones in each church we visited. But on every one of the15,000 miles, God's provision was abundant, His guidanceclear, and His miracles were daily occurances.Wouldn't you know it...we got all the way to SouthernCalifornia before He gave us the money to drive throughMexico and Central America.I wish we could say that we weren't a little apprehensivewhen our car's carburetor refused to carburet one darii nighton a winding mountain road somewhere in the deserted wildsof Mexico. Maybe you have sung:

My gloryand the lifter of my head,ThoUj 0 Lord, art a shield to me.I cried unto the Lord with my voice,And lie answered me from His holy hill(s).

Psalms 3:3-4

Well, that night it was more than just a pop tune to sing ata prayer meeting. We cried unto the Lord for further instructions, and almost immediately a car carrying the Secretaryto the President of Mexico stopped to help us. Not only werewe able to get our car going again, but we spent severil hourswith that gracious man, opening doors for furtlier sharing ofthe Gospel. (P.S. The car ran faithfully through five morecountries without a problem )

Praise God, our Shield, Glory, and Head-lifter


6/10

WK IS ARRIV NAU six of us Fowlers have dived into school with the vehemence befitting Gringos that have a lot to leam: Curtis ^dChristy in a (rather expensive but top-notch) school in English;Craig and Cathy in aSpanish nursery school, where they willsoon become bUingual illiterates with the characteristic

ease of two and three-year-olds; and Judy and Bruce up toour ankles (headfirst, that is) in Spanish homeworit.We started out able to speak a few words-using awkwardgrammar, faulty pronunciation, and verbs conjugated wrong.Already we have progressed to forming SENTENCES-usii^awkward grammar, faulty pronunciation, and our verbs conjugated wrong. are realizmg what a curse was put on thepeople building the tower of Babel (Gen. 11) and how drastically the confusion of languages effects Jesus Great Commissionto His Church.That curse on Babel also affects our letter-writing. Pleasebe patient with us during tiiese months of language schoolsince neariy every waking moment is required for study. AsSpanish improves, correspondence (in English) suffers. Howwe love to hear from you It may just take a few days longerfor you to get an answer. Remember, it takes a 25^ stamp,and must be marked AIR MAIL.

FljSlDING COSTA RICA:to be a beautiful land of...

...friendly people...much opportunity for evangelism...daily rain (we're getting waterlogged) in this season yw y

. .. co ld showers...high educational standards...no peanut butter (can we survive?)...well spoken Spanish...organized confusion at the open vegetable markets...hunger for spiritual renewal


7/10

A NF.W MISSION TEAM TO PUERTO RICO;FOWLERS. COMBS. AND PRENEVOSTSThis summer in Oregon, a missionary team was bomTwo families, both from Northwood Christian Church inSpringfield, Oregon, responded to God's call to join us in theprison ministry in Puerto Rico.Joe and Diann Prenevost, and Greg and Gail CombsYAHOO What a blessing these two Spirit-filled familieshave been to us and to the ministry already.One evening Joe said YES to God The next day he quithis job, and within a few days had sold his house his car andmany of his worldly possessions in preparation for the missionfield. Joe and his wife, Diann, and their two small childrenare here with us now in Costa Rica, attending the Spanish

Language Institute.7 Greg and Gail Combs plan to join us in language study herein Costa Rica in December. All three famUies are eager to bein Puerto Rico within a few months. Greg has had preachingexperience as a successful pastor and Bible teacher, and Gail/ a special education teacher, has already done mission woik inseveral Latin American countries. Both have Bachelor s andMaster s degrees.Did you ever hear about the man who really wanted to follow Jesus and thought hewas doing about as much as hecould?I've obeyed all God's commandments since I was a kid,he boasted. What else is there?Jesus put it to him straight, If you want to be perfect, gosell everything you have...and come follow me. (Mt. 19:21)

B ut h e c oid dn t d o itWhat if he had? Think of the possibilities of an obedientlife completely sold out to Jesus, free from material entanglements, peacefully trusting the Aknighty Creator to provide, to

direct, to empowerJust think of itThat's just what the Greg Combs family and the Joe Prenevost family have done: sold everything to step outin the faith

th at th e worid doesn t understand.And I'm excited about what our Lord is going to do witht h a t kind o f commitment


8/10

MISSION MESSAGESfrom t FowlersSan Jose Costa Rica

1699 Court St . NESalem. OR 97301

2\ GS

Non Profit Org.U.S. PostageP ISalem Oregon

Permit No. 4


9/10

MEET YOUR NEW MISSIONARlES...The Jo e Prenevost FamUy .We commend to you Joe and Diann who are sent out by theelder^ips of both the Lowell Christian Church (Lowell, Oregon)and the Northwood ChristianChurch (Springfleld,Oregon) 0We have been impressed with their powerfully simple trust

in the One Who has called them from home, family, and countryto share Jesus' love with strangers in a strange land. At God'sleading, we have issued an invitation to them and to the Combsto join with us in the prison ministry in Puerto Rico, and inother evangelistic areas as God opens the doors.The Prenevosts have been moved deeply by the thrill ofGod's love in Jesus. And by the hurt that the guys in prisonfe e l-w h o d o n t k n o w t t love. Yet.

Joe writes:

/ count my conversion from 1968 when I was baptized andbegan attending church and even a Bible study now and then. Idid all the things Sunday Christians do. Butsomething wasmissing. It took me eight years to learn that God had muchmore for me than what I was experiencing.Then I got acquainted with His Son.Now I have a new relationship with Jesus, walk with Himevery day, and praise God for Him. He's my Lord. Now Idon't have to let Satan push me around; I can relyon thepowerofJesus to fight my battles for me, and toprovide for my physicalneeds. His Spirit helps me praise ourFather,

My biggest challenge was when God called me to go toPuerto Rico. Now my wife, two children, and I are in CostaRica learning Spanish toprepare for working inP.R. with BruceandJudyin the prison ministries. Praise GodMy prayer is that you, too, will say, 'Yes, God, mready'when He asks you to go. How exciting Life is when it's doneHis way

Love in ChristJoe Prenevost(Sept. 20, 1976)


10/10

wLy _Ypy_R^/^j...for the Combs and Prenevost families as they encounter

the shock of immersion into a new culture. As you continueto pray for them, the Lord will show you some specific needsto be prayed about

...for us to learn Spanish quickly so we can get back to theurgentneed for evangelism in Puerto Rico....for the ongoing prison ministry in Puerto Rico:--for the edification and encouragement of new or recentconverts: David Donovan, Jim Filipelli, Bob Arneel,Ed Schuppe, Georgie Melendez, Terry Hayes,for someone to lead the prison ministry while we arein Costa Rica (Shortly, Jim Dye, Associate Prison Evangelist, will be moving to Dominican Republic and prisoner/evangelists will be leaving on parole.)for Richard Houser (prisoner/evangelist) soon to beparoled to begin study for ministry-for George Bell Pound, recently reFeased, encountermgheavy Satanic attack.-for Steen Olson, Erik Pinnick, and many other prisonerswhom the Lord is calling into relationship with Himselfwrites Richard Houser but so far have not let Him doi t...for God's wisdom in our maintaining proper priorities in

the midst of competing needs.

THANX TO YOU ALLAs wewrite this, we are praying foryouaspartners ingeneralwith us in the ministry, and specifically by name as His Spiritcalls you to mind. How we thanli Him foryou and your faithfiU-

ness to us and to Him. It means more to us than you couldknow

We dearly love you.Because of what Jesus didBruce Judy Fowlern children:Curti Christy, Graig, Cathy

Fowler Bruce Judith 1976 PuertoRico

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