MY CONVERSION AND CALL (88)    

by B. E. Owen (Canada)

MY CHILDHOOD

In 1933, under the preaching of the late Sam McEwen, as a young couple, dad and mom were reached and saved. Before salvation, they lived for the world and its pleasures. Mom loved the dance floor. Dad was known as ‘the second Al Capone “ in his neighbourhood. I was born on November 1943. Like so many who read these lines, I had the wonderful privilege of being raised in a Christian home. I of course knew nothing of my parent’s former years. From my earliest memories I can recall living in a home with loving caring parents who sought to bring us up in the fear and the admonition of the Lord. Going to meetings, was the accepted norm in our lives. As time went on I soon realised that my dad was very active in the preaching of the gospel, not only from the pulpit, but also in his place of employment. Wherever we went on  vacation, going to all the meetings was part of the agenda. From my earliest childhood memories, the LORD had first place in our home.

MY CONVERSION

It was November 22nd, 1950, winter in Canada. After school my mother had arranged to have a birthday party for me. A few of my friends were invited. After the games, meal, cake and ice cream and of course ‘presents’, when every one had gone to their respective homes, it was finally bedtime. As usual my mother came in and prayed with me and tucked me in for the night. Lights out! Time to sleep. However, I did not go to sleep right away. I lay there thinking about the activities of the day.

To the following I have to give credit to the Holy Spirit of God. We can safely say, “Except the Spirit of God call a man he is none of His.” To my knowledge, before this date, I cannot recall ever having an anxious thought about getting saved.

As I lay in my bed thinking about the events of the evening, particularly my birthday party, my thoughts began to centre on the birthday of Another. At that moment, everything that I had ever been taught about the Son of God, His birth, His Life, and His Death on the cross passed through my mind in an orderly fashion. I thank God for Christian parents, faithful Sunday School teachers and for preachers of the gospel who had laid the foundation for November 22, 1950 and for all eternity.

“And when they came to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him.” I lay on my bed, my thoughts centred on the Cross and on the One who was nailed there. I think for the very first time in my life, I stopped and questioned “Why?” Why did God allow wicked men to crucify His Son? Why? I began to weigh up the evidence as I knew it. Jesus was the Son of God. He never committed a sin. He could not commit a sin. Then why was He on the cross?

It was then that my thoughts turned inward. I knew that I was a sinner. The Bible says so! Having been raised by loving parents who believed that “if you spare the rod you spoil the child,”  I could remember times when they practised what they preached. They were never cruel, but in love for my soul, they administered what had to be done whenever needful. Every time I received chastening, it was a reminder that I was a sinner.

Like a window opening in my soul, the answer to “Why?” dawned upon me. I realised that JESUS DIED FOR ME! I was the guilty sinner, but Jesus died for me! Oh the joy and peace that flooded my soul that night. I remember speaking out loud in the darkness of my bedroom, “Thank you Lord.”  I often look back to the night of November 22nd, 1950 and thank God for his marvellous love and grace for saving me.

MY CALL

From early in my youth the Lord put it in my heart to be a missionary.  My parents and Sunday School teacher made sure that I got good reading material, much of which gave excellent accounts of missionary endeavours in many different regions of the world. As a youth the school was my mission field. Later on, wherever I was employed, I sought to win others to Christ. In my very late teens, while still living in my parent’s home, I can remember a time of deep soul searching and waiting on God. For about a week I had no desire for food. One day on my knees, with my Bible open before me, I was reading from Romans chapter one.  In view of what I had been reading and meditating on, these three Scriptures impressed themselves upon my mind.

v.14, “I am a debtor”;
v.15, “I am ready to preach the gospel”;
v.16, “I am not ashamed”.

It was while meditating on these portions that the Lord spoke to me in a real way. I totally surrendered my will to His Will. I knew that He had a purpose for my life, and I was willing to follow wherever He would lead.  The burden was lifted. The tears flowed. My appetite for food returned. To me, this memory is just as real as the night that He reached and saved me. Unknown to me, around that same time, about five hundred miles away, the Lord was dealing with my wife-to-be in a similar manner when Carolyn too, yielded her will and future to the Lord’s Will.

We were married in September 1964.  Whenever missionaries visited the city of Toronto we made it our business to get out to hear them if possible. We did not know where the Lord was leading, but our minds and hearts were open. The late William Bell of Trinidad gave a report at our assembly, which made an impression on us. The following year Daniel Ussher or Trinidad gave a report. On two occasions we invited Danny and Audrey over for a visit to ask a lot of questions about the work in Trinidad. In 1968 we spent the month of February in Trinidad. We returned home, but left our hearts there. On route home from Trinidad to Toronto we had a stopover in Antigua. There we met Les and Annie Crossly. It was a very short visit at the airport. Once we were airborne again I looked down on the little island of Antigua, which looked like a bowl of dust in the blue Caribbean and said to Carolyn, “They will never get us to Antigua.” I am sure that the Lord heard me expressing my will, not His.

About five years passed. A lot of water passed under the bridge. The Lord had to deal with me. Finally I got to the place where I told the Lord, I would go wherever He would lead. I carried a map of Trinidad in my Bible Bag waiting to talk with my elder brethren,

I recall late one evening driving along the Queen Elizabeth Highway, en route to Grimsby. As we drove over the Burlington Skyway, Carolyn and I were again discussing our exercise. We made the decision that we would approach our brethren and ask for their prayers in this matter. On our arrival home we found two letters waiting for us. One was from a missionary in the West Indies, inviting us to join him in the work. The second was from a Christian business man. He asked if we intended to remain in secular employment or go out full-time. If we planned to remain in secular employment, he had a very attractive position to offer us.  Humanly speaking, his offer would have been very tempting. Realising this I immediately wrote to the business man and thanked him for his kind consideration, but declined his offer, knowing that the Lord had a better plan for us. The brethren agreed to have a meeting with us, but it never happened for a long time.  Waiting is hard on the emotions. We had given up an attractive position.  About a year passed.

Visitors were expected for the weekend.  As our friends came in the door, the first thing they said was, “Did you know that Les Crossly of Antigua has had a stroke?”  Carolyn and I just looked at each other. We knew. Within a very short time we were on our way to Antigua, and the rest is history. We were three years in Antigua and seven years in St. Lucia.  From 1984 I spent time seeking to be a help to little assemblies throughout the islands of the Eastern Caribbean. We spent eighteen months in Grenada and visit other islands like St. Lucia, as He guides. We thank God for what He has done in the islands and for what He continues to do, and look to Him for the future.

As we look back over our experience, we are thankful to the LORD for His so great Salvation, and then for the privilege and honour of serving Him, the best of masters. We do not know what the future holds, but we do know the One who holds the future.