April 7, 2010 - Jim Owens

April 7, 2010

On February 18, 1973, Loretta and I were headed to Guadalajara, Mexico on our honeymoon. I had paid for a package that included a romantic bungalow, an orange and white jeep, gasoline and a fun-filled week! When we arrived, they were out of jeeps so we got a VW bug and since I was not 25-years-old, the insurance did not cover the car. They warned us that if we had an accident, I would go straight to jail. When we got to our villa, there was no hot water. Neither of us spoke Spanish and we got lost trying to drive to a nearby marketplace. Love made up for all and looking back, we did have a good time. I told Loretta I never wanted to go anywhere where the people did not speak English. I wanted to understand the people and I wanted them to understand me!

For many years I stood by that pledge; I did not even like to go to South Louisiana where people spoke Cajun French! In 2001, our oldest son was getting married in Dallas. The Prayer of Jabez had just come out in bookstores. To stay out of the way, I purchased the book and read it several times over the weekend. In the Jabez prayer it says, “Lord, expand my territory.” Let me warn you—watch out for what you pray for! God has a sense of humor!!

In 2002 I bought a previously owned Harley and found the joy of riding motorcycles. That June, Loretta and I went to ROT Rally (The Republic of Texas) in Austin. While we were there we walked around to the vendors. It was very hot. We found a tent where they were giving away coffee and ice water, tracts, and New Testaments labeled “Hope for the Highway.” The people were very friendly and both of us were impressed and refreshed!

That night we went to a Charlie Daniels concert. He took a moment to thank The Christian Motorcyclist Association for their help with registration. I told Loretta that those were the same people giving away the coffee, water, and New Testaments. Monday morning I called their headquarters and found that there was a chapter right here in Ruston. Through CMA, we started going to rallies giving away free coffee and water. We also did bike blessings. They tell us to always go with someone that has done blessings before until you stretch your comfort zone. This was great; I didn’t have to pray one-on-one!

“GOD DOESN’T CALL THE QUALIFIED, HE QUALIFIES THE CALLED!”

CMA has six evangelists in the USA. Each one takes a mission trip to different parts of the world. If you go on the trip, you pay your own way. There is some type of a physical work project, the evangelist speaks at the services, and pastors are given the bikes paid for though “Run for the Son.”

In 2004, J.B. Chrisman and I decided to go on the trip to Honduras. We went to Houston the first part of November and met our group. A missionary met us at the airport in Honduras and took us to his home where we would be based. That night our evangelists went over the schedule.

We would be going to an orphanage where we would do some fix-up projects, we had three bikes to give to three pastors, and some would be sharing their testimonies. I knew I could do fix-up projects, the evangelists would do the bike presentations, and I did not have a testimony. Besides, there were lots of other people who could speak better than I could, so I would not have to give a testimony! This would be great!

The first night we were going to present a bike to a pastor in a church service. The evangelists started assigning duties: Joe, you will be presenting the bike, Linda, you will present the helmet, J.B., you will present the sticker, Mike, you present the backpack and JIM, YOU WILL GIVE YOUR TEStIMONY! Thoughts raced through my head. What did Curtis just say?!! Jim, you give your testimony?!!! This is not what I thought I would be doing. What do I do? I talked to the evangelists about what to do. “Just tell what God has done in your life; everyone has a testimony.” That night went well; everything was going great when at the end of the service the pastor asked our team to come to the front of the church to pray for anyone who needed prayer. WE would be praying for them. Every person lined up for prayer. Here I am, I don’t like to pray out loud, I do not speak or understand Spanish, how do you pray for someone that doesn’t understand what you are saying?

I realized at that moment, I am not praying to that person, I am praying for them TO God! God hears all languages! The first person I prayed for was an elderly man with arthritis, I can see what he needs and prayed for that. The second person was a young lady; what could a beautiful lady like her need prayer for? The missionary came by and told me she had female problems. I began to pray. She grabbed my hands and put them on her stomach as I prayed. Talk about being out of your comfort zone! She started crying and her tears wet the garment as if someone had poured a bucket of water over her head. THE HOLY SPIRIT had filled me—had used me! When I stopped praying, she had a big smile on her face. God understands no matter what the language. Before the week was over I had presented a bike, given my testimony, and prayed with numerous people. I could go on with story after story of exciting things I have experienced.

I go hoping to be a blessing to others and over and over, I have been the one blessed. I have now been to Honduras, Bolivia, Belize, Paraguay, Philippines, and Panama. For someone who was NOT going anywhere that they could not understand what I was saying or that I could not understand them, God has changed me and I can hardly wait to go again. God has blessed me.

Every step I take in life’s journey, God has made my steps of faith stronger and straighter for Him. I now ask for your prayers. April 2nd I will be traveling with ten other CMA members. We will pick up dual sport bikes in Phoenix, AZ and ride them to Manaqua, Nicaragua, over 4200 miles. We will leave the bikes with missionaries there and fly home on April 25th. God is in the life-changing business. He is and will change your life too! It’s all ab0ut JESUS!

Jim Owens