April/May 2017

Dear Friends and Praying Partners,Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

It is amazing to see what God has done over the past two months. I have had the privilege to preach 11 times. I thank God for my wife who has been so helpful in making sure my messages are translated correctly before I get up to preach. She has been such an encouragement to me.

Sometimes in the States, we take things for granted. While we were getting moved in, we had a lot of boxes. In the States we would just throw them away, or burn them. Yohana suggested we save them. We decided to give them to the assistant pastor, and family, at the church we are currently working with. They gladly took them. A couple months went by; then, one evening after the service, Ibu Erma, the assistant pastor’s wife, came to Yohana and told her about the cardboard boxes. It was their turn to provide food after the service. Ibu Erma thought she would sell the cardboard we had given her so she could buy some rice for the dinner. When she took the cardboard to sell, it brought double the usual price. Not only was she able to get the rice, but she was also able to purchase some other things to go with her rice. It was so exciting to see how God could use something so simple as cardboard boxes to bring a blessing to someone.

At the end of April, I had the privilege of meeting another pastor and his associate pastor, Pak Siregar and Pak Pance. During our first meeting, Pak Siregar asked if I would preach one session at a retreat they were having in May. He later asked me to speak to the teens; then, again for their family service. (It is common for the churches in this area to dedicate one service a month, usually a mid-week service, for a family emphasis service. They will hold the service at a church member’s home. After the service, the host family provides food. — This was the situation with Ibu Erma when she shared with us about the boxes.)

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Field Address:Jl. Menteng VII Komp. Grand Menteng

Indah (The PEAK), Boulevard 8CMedan, Indonesia

(062) 822 1143 6403(WhatsApp)

Sending Church:Hope Baptist Church

110 Poplar StreetCowan, TN 37318

(931) 962-0754

Mission Agency:Baptist Missions to Forgotten Peoples

P. O. Box 37043Jacksonville, FL 32236

(904) 783-4007

God Is Working!

• Praise the Lord! We were finally able to purchase a vehicle.

• I have had several opportunities to minister over the past two months.

• I had the privilege to meet a couple other pastors and a veteran missionary in Medan.

• Yohana just completed all of her paperwork.

Prayer Requests:

• We are praying for God to provide the last 9% of our support.

• The children and me as we learn Bahasa Indonesia (or Indonesian Language).

• The children to adapt to the heat.

• Pray for souls to be saved.

• Paperwork.

Our Support

Thank you for your faithful support.

THE OWENS UPDATE Missionaries to the Peoples of Indonesia

April/May 2017

Around that same time, I had to go to the immigration office about my paperwork. The ride back home took much longer than expected (more than twice as long). I had opportunity to share the Gospel with the driver, who was a Yemeni born in Indonesia. Though he did not receive Christ as Savior, I did plant the seed. May God bring forth the fruit.

A couple weeks later, we were able to start an English Bible club on Saturday mornings. Just about the whole time we have been in our house, people have been asking us to start an English course of some kind. We prayed about it and the Lord gave us a peace about starting this Bible club. It is also a blessing for our children.

The same day we started the Bible club, we purchased our vehicle. Thank you for all your prayers concerning a vehicle. We have been searching for a vehicle pretty much since we arrived, and more diligently over the past month or so. After looking at several vehicles, the Lord gave us a peace about this vehicle.

In less than a week we were able to use the vehicle for the ministry. This past weekend, we used our vehicle to take our family, Pak Pance, and one other church member to the retreat I mentioned earlier. It was a great time of fellowship with two independent Baptist Churches attending the retreat. I had the privilege of meeting Pak Ire (a Japanese missionary of 40+ years) and Pak Saragih at the retreat. They are pastors of one of the other independent baptist churches in Medan. It was a blessing to be around

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Field Address:Jl. Menteng VII Komp. Grand Menteng

Indah (The PEAK), Boulevard 8CMedan, Indonesia

(062) 822 1143 6403(WhatsApp)

Sending Church:Hope Baptist Church

110 Poplar StreetCowan, TN 37318

(931) 962-0754

Mission Agency:Baptist Missions to Forgotten Peoples

P. O. Box 37043Jacksonville, FL 32236

(904) 783-4007

From the Kids

The children are very excited about our new Bible club because it is in English. They were getting bored in the Sunday School class because they cannot understand what the teacher is saying yet. Their lack of understanding the Indonesian Sunday School coupled with the desire to have some sort of English lesson in our community, sparked the English Bible club in our community.

April/May 2017

Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

Please continue to pray for our paperwork. We are still working on getting my permanent stay visa.

Thank you for your faithfulness and prayer support.

Your missionaries to the Peoples of Indonesia,Samuel and Yohana Owens Samuel and Yohana Owens Family

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Field Address:Jl. Menteng VII Komp. Grand Menteng

Indah (The PEAK), Boulevard 8CMedan, Indonesia

(062) 822 1143 6403(WhatsApp)

Sending Church:Hope Baptist Church

110 Poplar StreetCowan, TN 37318

(931) 962-0754

Mission Agency:Baptist Missions to Forgotten Peoples

P. O. Box 37043Jacksonville, FL 32236

(904) 783-4007