December, 2007, Prayer Letter

Dear Fellow Helpers in the Lord,

The Christmas time of the year has always been a very special time for me. Growing up in a family of 14 children, we did not always have a lot of gifts given to us. But Christmas was special. My mother always made sure that all of us had a gift. Even when I became an adult and left home, Mama still gave out gifts to each of her children and their families.

On January 25th of this year, my mother went home to be with the Lord. I was there when my mother got saved. I had gotten saved and joined the Baptist church in our community where I was raised as a boy. A month after I joined Success Baptist Church we had a Revival and my mother got saved with five of my brothers and sisters. Seven of my family, plus four others, got baptized in Tuxachanie Creek on July 4, 1965.

Mama wrote on the inside cover that she wanted me to have her Bible. She wrote notes all through her Bible. Her Bible is truly a treasure to me.

For years I prayed for my daddy to get saved. After eight years, one Sunday morning my daddy came to hear me preach. I shall never forget watching him walk down the isle, getting on his knees, and asking Jesus Christ to come into his life and save his soul. He came back that night and I had the privilege of baptizing my daddy.

When daddy got home that Sunday after he got saved, he went to the refrigerator, got out his beer and poured it down the kitchen sink. Daddy had been bad to drink. But the day he got saved, all that changed. My mother came into the kitchen and asked my daddy what he was doing. He said, “I am pouring out all this beer. This morning I got saved, and on the way home, the Lord spoke to my heart and told me that I had to quit my drinking.” Amen! What an answer to prayer.

Salvation is the greatest gift that God has given to man. The Bible says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I believe that the next greatest gift that God has given man is the Word of God.

When I got saved, I had a deep hunger to know about God. I went to a book store and purchased a Bible. Like a sponge soaking up water, I began to read the Bible and soak up its truths. For the first time in my life I could understand the Bible. Before I got saved, I would pick up a Bible, look at it, then lay it down. I would look at those begat chapters or see those hard words in the Old Testament and just wonder, what does all that mean.

But, when I got saved, the Bible became an exciting journey for me. I couldn’t get enough of it. I took it with me everywhere I went, and every spare moment I had, I read the Bible. I would stay up just about all night and read my Bible.

When I was asked to consider the BEAMS Bible ministry, my mind went back to that day when I got saved and how hungry I was to know more about God. I am so glad I was able to get a Bible.

But what about people on the foreign fields? The days after a person is saved is the most important time in their life. They are so hungry to know the truth. The Bible says they are “babes in Christ”. But, if they do not have a Bible and are not taught the fundamentals of the faith, they can easily be led astray by false prophets and false teachings.

That is why it is so important for our missionaries on the foreign fields to have complete hardcover Bibles to give to people who get saved.

At this time of year, during the Christmas season, I would like to thank each church, each pastor, and each individual, who has given for Bibles this year through the BEAMS Bible ministry. Your contributions and monthly support has allowed us to supply over 107,000 Bibles to missionaries in 117 countries. If one Bible affects at least ten people, then, the BEAMS Bible ministry has influenced over one million people this year. Thanks be to God. Amen!

As a suggestion, may I ask those of you who read this letter to consider giving a special gift to Jesus for Bibles. I believe it is good to exchange gifts with those we love, but let us also include our Lord in our giving. What better way to give than to give a copy of God’s Word to others.

From the staff, missionaries, representatives, and the Freret family, we pray that you and your family will have a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year. May God pour his blessings out upon you and your family.