The Story of Bread On The Waters (BOW)

written by Kraig Josiah Rice

          Here is the story of Bread On The Waters. I know more about this ministry because I am the founder of it. We have not launched any missionary bottles since 1982, but by the end of that year we had launched a total of 72,000. To God be the glory! Many bottle finders were blessed, and Graton Assembly of God Church (now named: Country Assembly) in Northern California was blessed as testimony letters were read to the congregation around that time. A barrel or two was set up in the rear of the church sanctuary so church folks could bring clothes and place them there. Then the clothes was boxed and shipped via sea mail to overseas poor believers. We also shipped Bibles and New Testaments, and other things. I believe everyone who helped in these activities felt good as they took an active personal part in missionary work.

          This information on Bread On The Waters finishes the international record for the six major missionary bottle evangelism ministries of the 20th Century.

          Corporate Information: We were first incorporated as a Calif. non-profit corporation under the name Maranatha Gospel Bottle Crusade in 1984. Then we changed our name to Maranatha Evangelism Ministries. Then we changed our name to Current Evangelism Ministries. Then we changed our name again to Bread On The Waters (BOW) and this is the name that we currently have. Incorporation allows us to give a tax deductible receipt to anyone who donates to our ministry.

Cast your

Bread On The Waters

For you will find it
After many days

Ecclesiastes 11:1

 

WARNING NOTE: the following document contains descriptions of violence and death from the harvest field that may not be suitable for some small children.

THE REASONS WHY I STARTED THIS MINISTRY

I wanted to reach out and win lost souls to Christ as an evangelist. There are several billion people alive right now who have never once heard of Jesus Christ. I wanted to make a difference. Is there really a need? To answer that question I quote from a tract titled,

"Good Enough for Them" by Oswald J. Smith

          "Heathenism is characterized by cruelty. Fear grips their hearts. They are in constant dread of evil spirits, spirits that must somehow be appeased."

          "I am thinking now of my visit to Africa, where I heard the following incident. It was at midnight. Suddenly there was a death wail in the village; a little baby had died. Immediately the witch doctor was called. The villagers were aroused. Before very long he had pointed out a woman whom he accused of having caused the death of the little one. She immediately protested, insisting that she was innocent, but she had to be tried. They hurried her away to the tree that stood in the center of the village. She was told to climb it and then hurl herself from the topmost bough. She began to climb. Presently she sat on one of the branches and again protested her innocence. Everyone knew she was telling the truth. She was one of the finest women in the village, highly respected by all, but the witch doctor had pointed her out as the one guilty, hence she had to prove her innocence. Then she commenced climbing again, until she had reached the very highest limb of the tree. There she sat, again maintaining her innocence. Then, before the horrified gaze of the missionary, she threw herself down to the hard ground and was instantly killed, most of the bones of her body being broken. She was thereby judged guilty. Had she been innocent she would have been unharmed."

          "I am thinking of my visit to the aborigines of Australia. Away back in the heart of that continent there is an immense desert where it gets very hot, and there the aborigines live. Almost naked- often sleeping on the sand. A mother gives birth to a baby. Someone in the village dies. A victim must be found."

          "Before long the witch doctor makes his way toward the newborn babe. The mother clutches it frantically to her breast, but without a moment's hesitation the witch doctor tears it from her arms, and amid her shrieks and cries, lays it on its back on the sand, forces open its mouth, takes handfuls of sand and pours it into the open mouth and down the throat, until its mouth is filled with sand, and the little thing strangles to death. Why? Because their religion demands it. There must be human sacrifice. Evil spirits have to be appeased."

          "I am thinking, too, of my visit to the South Sea Islands. John Geddes was one of the first missionaries to go to the South Sea islands from Canada. That was many years ago. As he stepped ashore he saw a group of people, and on the ground the body of a man. Under a tree he saw a young woman. She was the widow of the man who had died. Suddenly the natives approached her. She was unresisting. Full well she knew what would happen. They placed a cord around her neck, and then commenced to strangle her to death. John Geddes rushed toward her, in an effort to rescue her, but he was rudely pushed away and told to mind his own business and, that if he didn't he, too, would lose his life. And there, before his horrified eyes he saw that beautiful young woman slowly strangled to death, and her body placed beside that of her husband. Why? Because their religion demanded that when a husband died his widow must be strangled to death to accompany him on his journey. And if the oldest son is old enough, he is the one who must strangle his mother. Moreover, all the children, if they are too young to support themselves, must likewise be put to death. That is religion, heathen religion."

          "Never will I forget my visit to India. Many a time, as I walked by the side of the river, I thought of what had been told me about the day when the body of the husband was placed on a pile of wood, and then the widow, still alive and well, was placed beside him, and the two bodies, one dead and the other alive, were bound together, and then the whole was set on fire. There, amid the shrieks and screams of the dying widow, as she slowly burned to death, the natives gathered around, believing that the evil spirits were being pacified, and that now the husband would have his wife in the other life."

          I think that now you can understand why I started Bread On The Waters and why I have thrust my sicle into the Lord's vast harvest field to help reap some of the unreached for Christ. And it is not just my responsibility but your responsibility as well if you are a born again Christian because the Lord's Great Commission is for all of His children to share His word with others. God put in my heart a burden for missions and an evangelist's zeal so I continue on for Him within the ranks of Bread On The Waters- a missions outreach as well as an evangelistic outreach.

Written by Kraig Rice, April 2000

          Bread On The Waters (BOW) is the online Bible teaching ministry of Kraig J. Rice (mainline Christianity doctrine). BOW is also a literature evangelism ministry.

Our First Missionary Bottles

          The Bible study aboard the aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Randolph, proved to be quite successful. A total of six sailors in Supply Division were saved, including myself. The short cruise in February ended but there were many more cruises in the spring of 1967. On one such cruise we launched missionary bottles for the first time. Three out of the six sailors saved on the February cruise became exceptionally close to Chief Richards. There was Don, Steve, and myself. We where hungry to learn what he had to teach us about spiritual matters and to put into practice what we had learned. We were doers, not just listeners. One thing he taught us to do was missionary bottle evangelism. I had never heard of it before but I soon found out that it was fun and rewarding.

          But Satan wanted me to know he would resist me and destroy me if he could. Two days after I was saved I climbed into bed having just come from one of the evening Bible studies. Another sailor had been saved that night during the Bible study- he was the sixth one. As I lay in bed attempting to go to sleep my thoughts completely vanished from my mind like someone took a spiritual chalk board eraser and used it there. A second after my mind became absolutely clear, a laugh echoed across my mind- a horrible, hideous laugh I can only describe as coming from the pits of hell. I knew this was Satan tormenting me. After laughing at me, he left.

          To me, his laughing at me wasn't just for torment- it was the same as throwing down a challenge to me- a challenge for me to dare to live for and serve God in the face of the opposition and temptations he would throw at me. I accepted the challenge. I decided I would fight that dirty blackard with whatever weapons God gave me as long as I lived on this earth.

          On the other cruises of the Randolph that spring of 1967, Chief Richards started leading fellowship studies nearly every night while at sea. Never again were there souls saved like in February, but there were times of learning and fellowship. These studies consisted of prayer time, Bible reading, fellowship, and sharing testimonies. I enjoyed these group activities because they helped me grow in spiritual maturity and in the knowledge of the Lord.

          About one week after I was converted to Christ several of us from the Bible study group were discussing a shocking incident. We had just read about it in the newspaper. The article stated that a night club owner had just allowed some women to dance naked before a live audience in his establishment. I made the remark to the rest of the group,
"Someone ought to write him a letter of protest."
No sooner had the words left my mouth when God spoke to my mind by placing a thought there which I did not think. God said to me,
"Write a letter."
It was the first time God had ever spoken to me and I knew He was testing my obedience, so I wrote a letter of protest to the owner of the night club, had everyone in the Bible study group sign it, and mailed it off. I never received any response in return and do not know if the letter ever accomplished any good or not.

          One night after fellowship studies were over those of us closest to Chief Richards remained to visit with him. At the time the Randolph was at sea in the Atlantic Ocean. Sometimes, there were as many as ten people at these studies. He taught us additional truths and that one night he was teaching us the importance of prayer. During the topic of this conversation he kept glancing at a large stack of salvation tracts he had on top of his desk. It was as if God was speaking to him while he was talking. Finally, he interrupted himself, and said,
"I have an idea. Let's take these salvation tracts, place them in bottles, and toss them overboard here in the Atlantic Ocean, far from shore, and see where they go. Someone will find them and maybe get saved. At least they will receive the salvation message."

"Why do you think someone will get saved by reading a tract found in a bottle?", I asked him. He opened his Bible and showed me a passage in Isaiah 55:11,
"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

          "You see, Kraig, God always works through His Word. God's Word always accomplishes something, no matter if it is printed on a tract or in a gospel booklet or in a Sunday School quarterly, because it is God the Holy Spirit's job to apply the Word of God to a person's heart. As the Holy Spirit brings a person under conviction for his sins, that person can repent and Jesus can come into that person's heart and be saved," he answered, then continued, "God's Word is not limited as God is not limited. A bottle is just a means of transporting the Word of God to a person. Then it is up to God the Holy Spirit to do His work in that person's heart after the Word of God has been read."

          "Okay, let's do it, I am willing to give it a try," I responded. Steve asked, "How are we going to know who finds them and where they went?" The Chief showed us the back of one of the salvation tracts and answered, "See, each tract is stamped with the address of my church in Norfolk, Virginia, and whoever finds the bottle can write to us and give us the information."

          "Yeah! I know where I can get some bottles!", Don piped up. "How many bottles do we need?", I asked. "I have one hundred tracts here and if we put in one per bottle we will need one hundred bottles," the Chief answered and smiled.

          Everyone there agreed to help find bottles and bring them the next night. The next night there was an unusual assortment of bottles of all shapes and sizes. There were short and wide olive jars, one gallon mayonnaise jugs, an after shave lotion bottle, some ketchup bottles, and some coffee creamer jars. This project was the talk of the fellowship study that night. Everyone was excited and anticipated a lot of fun. After short devotions the bottles were taken to the deep sinks to be washed, then turned upside down to dry on top of the compartment's heater grill. Once dry each bottle was quickly "stuffed" with a tract. It was very deeply fulfilling work to me to be doing this kind of ministry. We had 35 missionary bottles ready to launch, so we loaded them into paper bags and cardboard boxes. The Chief suggested we pray over them before launching them. He lead in prayer, "Our Heavenly Father, we now commit these bottles into your care and ask for your direction upon each one of them. You said your word would not return unto you void so I ask you now to save souls by this method. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen."

          In they went that night, bottle after bottle. We threw them from the deck of the aircraft carrier into the water approximately seventy feet below. The bottles floated away as the carrier sped through the water. Each looked so beautiful in the moonlight as it floated on a calm ocean beginning its voyage. It was exciting to think of an American warship being used for spiritual warfare purposes and it was so exciting to imagine where those bottles could land. There would be no "iron, bamboo, or Islamic curtain" to stop them. The Word of God in a bottle guided by God's hands could penetrate through the defenses of the strongest and most heavily fortified enemy country in the world to bring the message of deliverance from sin to an enslaved people. Such "attack containers," as missionary bottles are, have the power and capacity with God's help to destroy more of the stronghold of Satan than rockets and bombs. Rockets and bombs kill the body but it takes the Spirit of God working through His Word to kill the root of sin in the human heart and change a person's philosophy of life and turn his thinking around. Christ is the Word and He gives power over sin. Someone once said that if the United States spent the amount of money it uses for military purposes to send missionaries abroad, our people would never have to fight another war.

          Chief Richards had remained below decks while Steve, Don, and myself had launched the missionary bottles. We reported to him that everything had gone fine and the fact that we had fun doing it. Manufacturing and launching the few missionary bottles only whetted our appetite to make and launch more. By the time the cruise was over a hundred missionary bottles had been launched in international waters in the Atlantic Ocean. We decided the next time the Randolph went to sea we would launch more.

          The problem had been getting the bottles. On an aircraft carrier at sea, bottles are not that plenteous. But we had an advantage being supply personnel because we could save the empty bottles that contained food items. I came up with an idea and received permission from my boss, Chief Richards, to implement it. Once a week I had coffee issue where I gave to every division on the ship its allotment of coffee, sugar, and powdered coffee creamer. The coffee creamer jars were brown in color with white plastic lids, so I assumed any tracts placed within would be shielded from the hot harmful rays of the sun that might tend to fade them and the plastic lids would be impervious to salt water corrosion in case the bottle floated for an extended period of time. Every division always wanted more powdered coffee creamer, so I decided to take advantage of this situation. I communicated with each person responsible for drawing each division's coffee allotment. I told that person I would give one extra full jar of powdered coffee creamer for every five empty jars returned to me. It took several weeks for this to "catch on" but soon, empty bottles were being brought back to me by the boxfuls. These bottles didn't require washing and they were easily stored in my warehouse. Plenty of salvation tracts were taken along when the Randolph went to sea that could be placed in the bottles I had in storage. Hundreds of missionary bottles were made and launched in the period of several months.

          In regard to immediate results with respect to the first launches, two replies came in from missionary bottle finders. One finder wrote us from the Island of Bermuda in the Caribbean Sea informing us he had found our bottle. The other reply came from a finder on the east coast of Florida. These letters did not contain salvation testimonies nor give us enough information to draw conclusions about the currents but they did give us encouragement. These letters were addressed to Glad Tidings Assembly of God Church in Norfolk, Virginia, the address stamped on the back of the gospel tracts placed inside the bottles. We knew for sure the missionary bottles were being found.

          As the fellowship study group continued with this type of outreach God was rooting this new type of ministry in my heart and mind. I was convinced that this type of ministry in a large way could be effective and that thousands of people around the world, some in isolated, remote coastal places, could receive the gospel witness this way. I was also convinced that once a contact had been made by mail from a bottle finder in a foreign land, a flow of Bibles and gospel material could be sent to that person for free distribution to the people in his locality. Many people in one area could be evangelized that way through the influence of one missionary bottle.

          God owns the harvest field and He directs his laborers to the part of the field where He wants them to work. He also tells His laborers what methods they are to use in reaping the fields. In my case God was leading me to use the missionary bottle evangelism way to reach island and coastland peoples for Him. He loves them, He died for them, He wants them to have His gospel, and He wants to make them part of his family.

MY EARLY MINISTRY BEGINNINGS

          I separated from the Navy that July, 1967, with an honorable discharge and National Defense Service Medal, returned to California from Virginia, and attended Bethany Bible College (now called Bethany University) (Assemblies of God) in September. I attended there for 3 1/2 years and earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Bible and a minor in Social Science in 1972. At this time I was still floating missionary bottles but not in large quantities nor with any significant results. I decided to make a living in the secular field rather than in the conventional ministry field.

          In Cloverdale, Calif. I went to church regularly but the pastor did not like my missionary bottle evangelism work and told me that I was wasting my time and that it would not work; it was not conventional. Needless to say I felt I had a closed door there and I left.

          Shortly thereafter, I happened to be in the Graton, Calif. area and decided to pay Rev. Lenard Griffis a social call. He was presently pastoring the Graton Assembly of God Church (presently named Country Assembly of God Church). I had met him through his daughter, Minnie, who I went to Bible College with. We had a pleasant visit and during our conversation I happened to mention to him the latest happenings and needs in regards to my ministry. One need I had was to stamp a church address on the literature that went inside the missionary bottles because I did not have a permanent address. He looked at me and then volunteered the use of his church address for the literature and also volunteered the use of his church's rubber stamp to stamp the literature with. I was surprised that God was opening doors in this church and answering my prayers very quickly. I was delighted. Pastor Griffis, in this instance, told me that he believed that God was controlling all circumstances. He also told me that his congregation had been praying for helpers and so I started attending there on a regular basis.

          At that time I desperately needed three things from God if my ministry was to survive to bring forth fruit. My ministry was like a tiny little baby tree (seedling) that had just been transplanted and it needed a lot of spiritual care, love, and nurturing until the roots could get deep so it could survive on its own with a minimum of care. I looked to God for the three miracles my ministry needed: (1) I needed a supportive pastor who had a burden for souls and a large missionary vision who could encourage me and "boost" my ministry, (2) I needed an involved church congregation who loved missionary bottle evangelism work and one that would help me, and (3) I needed someone with a large boat to take out the missionary bottles far to sea for launching.

          In the fall of 1977, I first started attending Graton Assembly of God Church, (presently named Country Assembly of God Church). Rev. Griffis was a tremendous person with a lot of love and a man with a tremendous missionary vision. He was supportive to my ministry, encouraged me, and "boosted" my ministry as much as he could. He was a "God-send." I attended there five years and helped out in many ways.

          One time I asked Pastor Griffis why he liked the concept of using missionary bottles while other religious leaders were more indifferent to the idea. He replied, "One time I attended a meeting where there was a large delegation of ministers. It was at this time that God gave me a vision. In my vision there was a river that flowed for quite some distance before it dropped over a waterfall into a deep canyon below. In the river were people, lots of people. But these people were in trouble and they knew it because they were crying out for help. Most were in the process of drowning and all those in the river knew they would be swept over the waterfall and then plunge to destruction unless someone helped them. On both banks of the river were ministers, evangelists, pastors, and religious leaders who had the power and the means available to them to help the people get out of the river and pull them to safety. But they did nothing but argue with each other over what method was best suited to save the doomed people in the river. One argued they ought to use a rope, another a raft, and another a long pole. All the while they argued, people crying out for help were plunging to destruction over the waterfall into the abyss below. So, you see, Kraig, it does not matter what method one uses to get people saved as long as he just does something to save them. That is what the Lord was telling me through the vision. The missionary bottle method is one way to get people saved, and I will help you as much as I can."

          In a five year period of time 42,000 missionary bottles floated with that church address. Each carried the name of Current Evangelism Ministries, our incorporated ministry name at that time.

          Pastor Griffis used to go to the Pacific Ocean with his fish net and bring back buckets full of surf fish, clean and cook them, and serve them with love to his church congregation whenever he decided to have a "fish fry." These were great times of fellowship. Everyone loved them. My wife and children and myself drove 40 miles each Sunday south from Cloverdale to worship with the folks in that congregation.


          One Sunday Pastor Griffis said to me, 'There is a lady in my congregation I want you to meet. Her husband has a commercial fishing boat and maybe he would be willing to take some of your missionary bottles out to sea in the ocean." Then he introduced me to Marie Cowdrey, a very attractive silver haired lady. "Come to our house this afternoon, have some dinner with us, and meet my husband, Charles" she suggested.

          I drove over to the Cowdrey residence after church and Marie introduced her husband to me. His name was Charles "Buster" Cowdrey. In age he was in his late 60's and he had a crippled arm he later had amputated, but he was of a stout build and would get red in the face quite easily. "Sit down and have some vittles with us. Ain't nothing fancy, then we will talk about what is on your mind," he said. The lunch was delicious and the hospitality was friendly. I told him about missionary bottle evangelism and the need for a boat. It made me happy when he volunteered the use of his boat but I was concerned as he agonized and told me that he was not right with the Lord. I was friendly to him, not judgmental, and he was also very cordial back to me. Actually, we got along quite well.

          I put him in a real dilemma with my proposal because in order to take out on his boat God's missionary bottles he was faced with the intense conflict of how to work for God if he was not right with God. He agonized for some time with the Lord dealing with him. Then he repented of his sins at home and then telephoned Rev. Griffis to come to his house. The pastor prayed for him as he claimed his salvation and Buster started attending church with his wife. We became good friends and Buster decided to take the first large boat load of missionary bottles out to sea and gave me one year's advance notice to make many thousands for the launch.


          One problem I faced was where to get the thousands of glass bottles I needed. A friend of mine decided he was going to walk alongside of the highways and pick up aluminum cans to sell. He was also going to do it for medical exercise because he had been hurt working in a lumber mill in Cloverdale. I talked him into picking up glass bottles at the same time and I would pay him one cent each. Then one day he found 7,000 bottles in one spot alongside the highway partially covered with dirt. It seems that a few years before that time that a truck had over turned there carrying a cargo of empty glass 7-up bottles while on it's way to the soda pop factory. These were just perfect for our use. We took them all. What a miracle!
(note: each time we prayed God gave us glass bottles- He gave us soda pop bottles rather than beer bottles. However, it took me awhile to learn this lesson. At the time all of this was experimental to me).

          I also built a large van trailer that took me nine months part time to build at a cost of one thousand dollars. This would house and transport the missionary bottles to Buster's boat, a distance of about 75 miles.

          One year later, church volunteers loaded 12,297 missionary bottles aboard Buster's boat, the Albatross, that was 60 feet long. These were launched 100 miles at sea on October 5, 1978. So, Campaign One as I called it was launched and it would take about 1 1/2 years before we received our first letter of reply.

          I was just so happy to see God working one miracle after another in my ministry.

          As the letters came in to the church from overseas bottles finders- these were read to the congregation. There were testimonies of conversions to Christ and requests for help. Many believers wanted Bibles and some wanted clothes. The people in the congregation had a lot of love, God the Holy Spirit anointed Pastor Griffis a considerable number of times as he was preaching, and many gifts of the Spirit were in operation in the worship services. Many in the congregation took the needs of over seas believers to heart and brought to church Bibles and good, used clothes. These were boxed and mailed and then the thank you letters were read. God was indeed doing a mighty work.

          Then I realized that God had given me the three things I needed for my ministry so it could survive and bring forth fruit. It was on its way now and missionary bottle evangelism was proven to be effective and we had the proof it would work. It took a lot of faith and hard work and inter-cooperation between a lot of people but the fruit was coming forth. God had given me a supportive pastor with a burden for lost souls and a large missionary vision. He had given me an involved church congregation who loved missionary bottle evangelism (who had a large burden for missions anyway), and He had given me someone with a large boat who floated the missionary bottles far at sea. His name be praised!

          The testimonies from this launch of Campaign One are recorded in an article entitled "Current Miracles."

          Then God worked another miracle in relation to missionary bottle evangelism follow-up. One Sunday morning Rev. Joseph Gerhart came as a guest speaker to the church. He was an important person in the Assemblies of God denomination and had been the local district superintendent when I attended Bethany Bible College. But when he spoke at the church he was an enlistment counselor with ICI (International Correspondence Institute). As he spoke I realized the great importance of what these Bible correspondence courses could mean to many overseas believers in the way of follow up in getting them grounded in the word of God. Also, these free to the public courses sent out by Assemblies of God missionaries could be used for evangelism purposes.

          I talked to him after the service and he was delighted to help me. I invented what I call the "ICI Sign Up Campaign" so that thousands of overseas people could receive the Word of God this way. It worked this way: a person would find a missionary bottle and then write me. I would promise to send him a free Bible in exchange for a name and address list of 100 people who lived in his village (or area). I would then send this name and address list to the ICI missionary in the respective country who would then send out the courses to each name on the list and I would then send the bottle finder a free Bible. If the ICI student (potentially each name on the list) took all of the courses offered and had a good academic record then he could eventually become an Assemblies of God national minister. This would be especially valuable on some of the smaller Pacific Islands (or anywhere in the world) where the people had no gospel radio or missionary-in-residence. A God-called person could evangelize all of the people on his island and on the small surrounding islands. I really appreciate God for His help to me in helping me make these connections in His body so others could be blessed with His Word.

          After 1982, I suspended all of the floating of any new missionary bottles due to circumstances. An extended duration trial began to overtake me, my family and I relocated in 1984, and Rev. Griffis retired from the full time ministry in 1984 and moved to Bonanza, Oregon.

What BOW Is Currently Doing For The Lord

 

          What am I doing now for the Lord? I am getting up in age so now I concentrate mostly on the online Bible teachings that I place on my ministry's website. I prayed about getting active again in missionary bottle evangelism work some time back and the good Lord spoke to my mind and said, "stick to your Bible teachings." I have a rare talent for teaching God's Word and God wants me to use it in His service and for His glory.

          And, of course, you know that blessings come to you when you are "other centered" rather than "self centered."
Have you done anything for others recently?

Current Miracles

Note: Current Miracles is the story and testimonies of Bread On The Waters. Originally, this work was a booklet, copyrighted in 1984, and named, Current Miracles. My ministry at that time was named "Current Evangelism Ministries." It was written by me. I now quote it here for the glory of God and for your enjoyment!

          Floating messages in bottles is not a new invention of mine. I suppose people have been doing this for hundreds- perhaps thousands- of years. Many times I have walked along beautiful ocean beaches and wished I could find an ancient bottle containing an old original pirate treasure map or something. There is a certain mystique in finding a message inside of a bottle.

          And many times I have stood on the seashore looking out over the vast expanse of the ocean, the love of Christ beating strong within my heart, having a strong desire to tell others about Jesus. This desire was burning in my inner being. I wanted to reach out to the people living on the other side of the ocean. I could "feel them" within my grasp and I could sense some kind of unusual expectation in this regard pertaining to the will of God for my life.

          I often wondered if there were people "out there somewhere" who needed to be told about Jesus Christ- how He came as God to this earth, how He showed such great love, how He died on the cross to set them free from their sins, and how he resurrected from the tomb and is alive forevermore. I just had to know. Was there a need and hunger for the Word of God among people on continents on the other side of the world? The North Equatorial Current flowed directly to them in the Pacific Ocean from off the coast of North America. If there were people who needed the Word of God I wondered who they were and what their needs were.

          I decided to launch out. I placed the Gospel of John inside bottles and set them adrift in the ocean current. It was all experimental and all the time I was doing it I had a burning curiosity to see what would result. I felt like I was about to "hit something big" but I did not know until later how big it was really going to be. The method was new to me, but the principle remained constant-
give the Word of God to a person,
God the Holy Spirit would convict that person of his sins through the reading of the Word of God,
and then that person would pray and invite Jesus Christ to come and live in his heart and become gloriously converted.

          The physical method theory seemed scientific and plausible: place each bottle in the current, wait for God to pilot it to a person, wait a little while longer for a bottle finder to write us, ascertain the needs, and help that person as much as possible. And it worked just that way.

OUR MISSIONARY WORK

          Our missionary bottles at the time served as points of contact between us and many overseas believers. We mailed Bibles, New Testaments, tracts, and gospel booklets to national ministers overseas (where God had planted them) to use in "Watering their flocks" and winning the lost to Christ. This is how it all came about:

THE INVENTION OF THE MISSIONARY BOTTLE

          I did not know what to place inside every bottle. (At the time I did not know anything about the other missionary bottle evangelists or their ministries). Personal notes were nice but that idea did not satisfy me. Bible study sign up cards was another idea that seemed okay but there seemed to be something lacking with that idea. The Holy Spirit working through His Word for the conversion of the lost was the answer. I knew I had to place the Word of God in every bottle. Gospel portions proved to be the perfect evangelistic tool to use. In addition to a gospel portion inside each bottle, gospel tracts and outdated Sunday School literature was also used.

          Experimentation was made with all types and shapes of bottles, glass and plastic. The majority of Missionary Bottles that have already floated were (16 ounce and under) glass bottles that were tightly corked. These worked very well.

          The idea of the Missionary Bottle is very basic and I am surprised that others to any large extent have not discovered the simple concept involved. Please let me share with you. Draw in your mind two circles. The right circle represents the U.S.A. and the left circle represents many nations on the other side of the world. The right circle has an abundance of gospels and the left one has a shortage of gospels. The right circle has the greatest abundance of all the wealth in the world for a small population and the left circle has the opposite. In other words, if you please, we have the bread and they have the crumbs. The arrow represents the Pacific Ocean's North Equatorial or Japanese Current. The current flows from the U.S.A. to Asia and other continents. Missionary Bottles placed in this current will go where the current goes-to Asia and other continents. Does it matter precisely where the Missionary Bottles go? Not really, because with half the population of the world living in Asia and in nations touched by ocean currents, each Missionary Bottle will find a need and fill it. And people living on remote islands untouched by a missionary or blessed with a church will have an opportunity to receive the Word of God.

          What an opportunity is at hand for dedicated Christians to give the gospel to so many by such simple means. Our first Missionary Bottles floated in 1967. But the active ministry was decreased temporarily while I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Bible from Bethany Bible College (now named Bethany University) (Assemblies of God) in Santa Cruz, California in 1972. Some time after graduation I gathered about me several committed individuals who believed in saving souls and who believed that Missionary Bottle evangelization would work. Each of these individuals helped me tremendously.


This is a photo of Campaign #1 launched in 1978

A MIRACLE BOTTLE

          In the fall of 1978 the first large boat load of over 12,000 Missionary Bottles were launched in the Pacific Ocean. Approximately 18 months later we began receiving replies from individuals who had each found a Missionary Bottle on the other side of the world from us. Over 100 letters from that many individuals wrote us. Replies came from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Canada, and Mexico; also from the Pacific islands of Truk, Nukufeta, and the Solomon Islands. We guessed that many Missionary Bottles landed in Communist nations such as Russia, China, North Korea, and North Vietnam but we received no letters to prove our theory because all mail in most Communist countries as far as we know is censored.

SIGNIfICANT RESULTS

          Two significant letters came from the same minister on Dinagat Island in the southern part of the Philippines. Here is what his first letter contained: "To whom it may concern. Greetings to you in Christ Jesus. I want to give my thanks to our fellow ministers there in the states-for God used you to evangelize the people along the coast. Your ministry gives us more victory here in my place. One fisherman found a bottle of miracles last May 9, 1980. It gives us more encouragement-to work with Him, our Creator. The men gave their testimonies how God saved their lives and their families through this ministry. And the whole town was shaken and feared God. Because of this miraculous happening our church increases daily and the more people worship the Lord and glorify His wonderful Name. So lastly pray for us for more success. Kindly answer us back after you receive this letter to prove to us that your organization is still alive together with Christ. The booklet inside the bottle was the Gospel of Luke, the Light. Thanks. Rev. Julieto E."

          I wrote this minister back and asked him if he needed any Bibles for the new converts in his area. Here is what his second letter contained:
To Rev. Kraig Rice,
President and Founder of Bread On The Waters,
"Greetings to you in Christ Jesus.
          It is truly wonderful and sweet while we are awaiting His coming. I received your letter last July 18, 1980, telling us how wonderful God is. And how big and wide your ministry is through Missionary Bottle evangelism on the ocean. And thanks so much for your helps in literature and Bibles. Our church rejoiced at how God answered.

          For five years we prayed for more Bibles for the people who really needed them. Our island needs hundreds of scriptures because for so many years the people here have been brainwashed with false cult doctrines, but mostly here they worshipped idols, trees, and mountains.

          But, praise the Lord, since the bottle from Bread On The Waters landed on our island, our people began searching for the truth and received the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal saviour. We baptized seventy souls in a ministry lasting two and one half months with testimonies from them of how God sent a miracle bottle here to my island. Night and day services in different places on the island resulted in God performing His power to save the lost in connection with your lovely gift from your ministry to us.

          Our people here are not very well educated. Our island is very farm from the mainland of Mindinao by several hours boat ride. Because of this reason I am requesting to you and your ministry to give us Cebuano dialect Bibles- we need twenty dozen of them.

Praise the Lord!

Lastly, thanks so much for your great concern for our work here."
Rev. Julieto E.

          Bread On the Waters purchased from the American Bible Society 240 Cebuano dialect New Testaments (the complete Bibles were not available in the USA) and sent them by sea mail to Rev. Julieto E. He distributed them to the new converts plus to his own church congregation and then took a group photograph (each person holding their New Testament we sent) and mailed the photograph to us. We were thrilled and so delighted to help them in the Lord.

UNBELIEVABLE NEEDS

          A man with leprosy in the sanitarium on the island of Palawan in the Philippines wrote us and said he needed clothing for his wife and children. He said that since he had leprosy he could no longer work and wanted us to help him and his family. To meet this need we put the call out to all our friends and many of you were so generous to provide the need. We soon had boxes of clothing mailed to his large family and then we sent extra boxes of clothing also to the man in the sanitarium with instructions to him to distribute the extra among the other patients. The man wrote us and said all the boxes of clothing had arrived. He said he had distributed the extra clothing among the patients in the sanitarium and also that his children had jumped up in the air for joy at the arrival of the clothing for them. They were all happy and so appreciative. My wife and I smiled at the thought of so many Filipino men running around the sanitarium dressed in my extra U.S. Navy "skivvy shorts" we had included in the shipment. Some were red, white, and blue!

          The Philippines and most countries where the Missionary Bottles have landed have no public assistance program. If individuals do not receive help then they do without and if the deprivation is severe enough it could be terminal. God help each of us to always have compassion on the poor. Christ did. The letters that arrived from other parts of the world indicated there were many needs to be met. We were able to determine that the majority of born again Christians in foreign countries of the world cannot afford to buy a Bible or New Testament. In many Asian nations Bibles cost three times more than they do in the U.S.A. Many born again Christians do not have enough to eat, proper nutrition, medical care, or decent clothes to wear. One eighty-year-old Christian gentleman living in the Philippines found a Missionary Bottle and wrote to us. He said he had never been able to buy a Bible in his entire lifetime due to a shortage of finances and was very thrilled when we mailed him one in large print. Soon after he went to be with the Lord.

DEEP SATISFACTION

          My burning curiosity was satisfied. We had discovered unbelievable needs of people who live on continents on the other side of the world linked to us by ocean currents. We were greatly pleased that many souls were saved and that we had good results. Now we had the evidence to prove this new method of evangelism was successful. We discovered that approximately three billion people live where our Missionary Bottles are landing who have never heard once about Jesus Christ or the gospel message. We knew God was going to use us in still more significant ways as His instruments to bring forth fruit. We give the glory to God for these accomplishments. So this ministry was born. At first we named it Maranatha Gospel Bottle Crusade. Missionary Bottles floated containing that name along with a return address and date of launch but later we changed the name to Bread On The Waters. Our ministry name is found in the Bible in Ecc. 11:1, "Cast your BREAD ON THE WATERS..."

BEHIND COMMUNIST DOORS

          Several ideas came to us in relation to our Missionary Bottles. A Missionary Bottle can go where many of us cannot go and do what many of us cannot do. The Word of God in a bottle can continue to exist until long after many of us are gone. It has the capability to keep preaching long after many of us have become silent. The Missionary Bottle can transport the Word of God to nearly anyone at anytime who lives on any island or along any coast land in the world. It can transport the Word of God behind communist doors and go under the iron, bamboo, and Moslem "curtains." It can take the precious Word of God to any beach (where the missionary bottle can be discovered) in Russia, China, North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, and more.

TIME CAPSULES

          A Missionary Bottle can become a time capsule keeping the Word of God safe and secure on the ocean waves in case a godless world government should be instituted, outlaw the Word of God, burn all the Bibles and persecute the saints. The Bible indicates all this will happen after the rapture of the Church. In those days in the future the Word of God will be worth its weight in gold anywhere in the world. And every Missionary Bottle is in the hands of God to be piloted to anyone anywhere at any time. A Missionary Bottle has a maximum floating length of approximately one hundred years so when one is discovered in those days, it can be taken to an underground printer who can then make and distribute more copies of it. Revival can break out anywhere at any time. God has always beaten Satan to the punch.

THE WORD OF GOD IS VALUABLE TODAY

          The gospel literature inside each Missionary Bottle is written in the English language. English is nearly the universal secondary language of the world. It is taught to school age children in nearly every nation of the world including Red China. I was told that a Bible is worth a year's wages in Russia (in the year 1980) so a gospel booklet is considered very valuable after it is found inside a missionary bottle on a Russian beach. We believe God will always send along someone to help translate the gospel booklet into the local dialect. Some translators need to be saved also! Soon after each Missionary Bottle is set adrift it becomes covered with barnacles which protect it when it drifts ashore on the other side of the world.

MORE CONVERSIONS TO CHRIST

          Another two letters, dated September 24,1981, came in to us from the Oriental Missionary Crusade. One letter to us was from Rev. Ernest A. Reb, the President of that ministry. The other letter was one addressed to Rev. Reb from his missionary in the Philippines. Here is what Rev. Reb had to say to us:
"Dear Friends: Here is something that will no doubt greatly bless your hearts. Our Filipino tribal missionary, brother Salvador L., in the Polillo Islands (East of Luzon) sent this story in to our Manila office. It was written in the Tagalog dialect and translated by my secretary in Manila. (We are also putting you folk on our mailing list so that you can keep up with our work in the Philippines, and pray for brother L. and the work among that Dumagat tribe) These are Dumagat tribe's people who came to Jesus through this fantastic bottle that landed in the coral reefs of Polillo. About the time the bottle was sent out on the tides, we planted brother L. there for the express purpose of the evangelization of those Dumagats! Cast your Bread On The Waters for thou shalt find it after many days. Yours for missions, Ernie Reb."

          This is a copy of that letter that Brother Salvador L. sent to Rev. Ernest Reb:
"Dear Rev. Ernest A. Reb, Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and loving savior. I am writing this letter to report our work here in Burdeos. Our weekly services in the chapel in Burdeos continues, as we minister to the tribes and to the non-tribes. Every second Sunday we have our services in Barrio Caniwan, and this is a regular outstation work.

          We are praising the Lord for working some miracles among the tribespeople. A tribeswoman, by the name of Lilla Armada, gave birth to twins, one boy and one girl. The boy was born first and alive, but the girl was dead when she came out. For 15 minutes she was dead, but after we prayed for her in the name of Jesus, she became alive! Oh, praise the Lord! The tribespeople are a witness to the miracle working power of a living God!

          The second miracle happened on March 15, 1981, after our church service. We were visiting in the house of a brother and praying for a sick child. After our prayer, a man approached me and showed me a little book, which turned out to be the Gospel of John. This man came from a far place in the western part of the island of Polillo. He walked about 35 kilometers in the mountains just to see me and show me this book that he said he found on the beach while he was there with his wife and a child of three years old. When I opened the book, I saw two pieces of literature (tracts) which the man said were wrapped around the book when he found it. He told me he found the book on the beach by the Pacific Ocean. He said the book was inside a thick bottle that was tightly corked and which was almost covered with barnacles. It was dated August 11, 1978, so that means the book had been in the seas for almost three years. The address from the bottle revealed that the book came from California. After giving me the book, the man asked me what it was all about, and I willingly explained it out to him. He was weeping with joy as he accepted the Lord after listening to my explanation, together with his family who accepted Christ. Oh, praise the Lord for opportunities and times like these. God, perhaps, had been beckoning these people to come to Him. This man absolutely knew nothing about Christ because he did not know what the book was all about. He had never heard the gospel where he lived. There was no Christian worker in his place so they walked several kilometers just to see me. In fact, he did not even know me, or he was not even sure if he could find me, but he came anyway, so I am sure, Brother Reb, that it was God who called them and brought them to me. He is Lorenzo Aquino, married and with one child. Brother Reb, I want you to take special notice of this man because throughout the years of my ministry this is my first time to witness this kind of calling from God to get this man saved. I also suggest that you contact the sender of the literature that Lorenzo Aquino found, who had been instrumental for his salvation and that of his whole family. Praise God! Until here, Respectfully Yours in Christ, S.L."

FOLLOW UP WORK

          We are coordinating with International Correspondence Institute (ICI) so each person living in a free country who finds a Missionary Bottle and writes us will receive a free Bible learning course sent to them free in their own language dialect to strengthen them in the Word of God. We also encourage every finder to send us a list of names and addresses of people who live in their area so they too can receive a free ICI course. We send Bibles free to all new converts who send us lists of names and addresses.

HELPING THE ISLAND PEOPLE RECEIVE THE WORD OF GOD

          There are hundreds of thousands of islands scattered throughout the Pacific Ocean. There are millions of people living on these islands. Multitudes of these have never heard of Jesus Christ, have no missionary or church on their island, and do not receive gospel radio or television. God has been reaching these remote isolated people He loves with the Gospel by piloting a Missionary Bottle directly to them. We have testimonies of God doing this.

FOREIGN LANGUAGES USED

          The Gospels we place in the Missionary Bottles are in the English language. However, we do use salvation literature in the following languages: Vietnamese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Indonesian.

ADDITIONAL REPLIES FROM CAMPAIGN ONE

          Many replies came in from folks living in the Republic of the Philippines:
"Dear Sender, I was very fortunate to find a bottle on my way to the barrio (village) while I was going home for a week's vacation. Inside the bottle was a little book in English with the title, The Water-the Gospel of John. Your address was also inside the bottle. It was in the afternoon on February 20, 1981, when the bottle drifted ashore and it also happened that I was passing on that rocky path when I picked up the bottle. I was very lucky to be like that because many people passed by on the path but nobody was able to see the bottle but me. Very truly yours, Nolasco G."

          "Dear Sir, I'm sure you will be surprised why I send this letter to you. Let me tell you why I'm writing you. It was early in the morning when I went to the sea to gather seashells. I was busy gathering them when I saw something black floating to and fro as it was carried by the waves. Then I put down my basket and picked it up. To my surprise it was a bottle covered with black moss. I became curious, so I opened it. I found something inside. It was a booklet, a Gospel of Saint John. It was floated in 1978. I found the bottle on January 3, 1981. I took it home and showed it to my mother. I enjoyed reading the booklet. I read it several times. My mother is keeping it. Many neighbors tried to borrow it, but my mother did not want to lend it to them. Respectfully Yours, Oscar D."

          "Rev. Kraig Rice, Thank you for answering my letter. I received it last month in July. And here are the names of people who live in our area and I hope that through your free Bible lessons they will be strengthened in their faith. About the literature that you have been asking about- the names and title I do not know because as I said in my first letter I'm not the one who personally found the bottle. It was the fisherman who is now an active member of my church. According to him all the literature was passed to other people until it was lost forever but the daughter of the fisherman had kept a copy of the address. And according to him the bottle was found in 1980. When I visited them to witness to them, they told me about the bottle he had found. I was very inquisitive about these matters so they presented to me the address. Thank God because through your ministry there are many souls brought to Jesus' feet. Praise the Lord, they are now active in serving the Lord even in spite of the hardships of life and in the midst of crisis. That is why, brother, I am sending you a letter just to let you know about the works here in our place. Yours in His Service, Pastor Lito J. L." His letter to me was dated August 28, 1985.

          "Dear Brother and Sister Rice, Happy greetings in Jesus precious name! We are happy to inform you that one of those who found the tracts sealed inside the bottle you sent out was a resident in the barrio where we are ministering the Word of God. Upon knowing that they had found something inside the sealed bottle, we (my wife and myself) at once went to their residence and had a Bible study for the ones concerned were not believers. God had touched their hearts for they understood the Word and received Christ as their Lord and Savior. Brother, we are so thankful that what you did was of great help to lead those who are still in darkness to God's Kingdom. Hallelujah! Your new brother and sister in Christ, Pastor Andrew C." His letter to us was dated April 5, 1981.

          "Dear Rev. Rice, Thank you for answering my letter knowing about this bottle ministry. I would love to work with you in this kind of ministry, as I am located on the bank of the Pacific Ocean. In regards to knowing you my father found a bottle. It was a round bottle with the literature and address inside of it. Before this time he was not yet a Christian. So all this news was kept until he became a born again Christian. So I believe what you said-that God has a purpose for those who find a missionary bottle. Thanks for this kind of ministry. I will be working with you. Yours in Christ's works, (Rev.) Dominador T." His letter to me was dated February 19, 1981.Beloved in Christ, Warmest greetings to you in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am one of your co-workers in the Lord in a far country. However, you may be surprised where I got your address. Last month I met one of the fishermen here and he informed me that he picked up one bottle near his small boat, and he saw inside that there was a small booklet. When he opened it he found out that it was gospel literature. He showed me the Gospel of Luke, and I saw on the back cover that it was floated in 1978. Also this man gave me the address. This bottle floated with the gospel messages from California to the Philippines. Even though the man who found the bottle is a drunkard, I already baptized in water his son and married daughter and his wife last Sunday as they obediently follow the Lord's command. Thank God for the souls who are now coming to Christ. In His Service, Brother Romulo T. M." His letter to me was dated October 30, 1980.

          "Moronge, April 13, 1980. We found one bottle containing one small book: the Gospel of John, entitled the Water. Also one salvation tract (entitled: On A Passage From) the Gospel of John in English by (T. L. Osborn). The bottle was floated in 1978. H. Lokadi found it on 13 April, 1980, Sunday morning at 10:00 local time (Indonesia). We express our thanks to God, for on that day, we also received the message of salvation which was presented by Mr. T. L. Osborn. With much gratitude, M. W. Manupode." This was one of the few replies I received from Indonesia which is primarily a Moslem nation.

          "Sir/Madam, Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:2).Well, it is very amazing on my part of having the opportunity to know you. Let me explain the story. Three years ago I was befriended by a friend residing near the seashore. We are intimate friends and I got your address from him. According to him he used to go to the sea catching fish. One day he happened to trap a bottle. Your name and address was written inside. I was surprised about this matter. I said to myself there are so many ways and means by which God uses his people to be a blessing to others. I kept on inquiring about the aim and objectives of this matter. It so happened that one minister of God explained it to me and it is here where my heartfelt interest was opened and motivated to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. Now I have fully surrendered my life to God, which was previously full of sins, iniquities, and vices. I have found a new life. My life has been regenerated by the power of God. I have found real joy and peace with the Lord. I thank God for the miracle he has done to save my life because of you. That bottle crusade as they say motivated me so in accepting the Lord Jesus as my personal Saviour and Redeemer. Now I love and keep that salvation. It did not even end here but I love to serve Him. Yes-indeed! After finishing my degree, God gave my a burden to rescue the perishing souls and I pushed myself to study in Bible School in preparation as a good and successful servant. You have been always a part of my prayers since the moment I have known your name. I owe much to you for my salvation. It is my enthusiastic prayer that God will continuously pour out on you his hundred fold blessings forever. Your brother in Christ, Reynaldo C.C." His letter to me was dated July 29, 1986. It was from the Philippines.

          "Dear Brethren, I praise God for your wonderful ministry. Because of it one soul came to know the Lord Jesus Christ. A brother found the gospel bottle while he was fishing. He read the gospel tracts from the bottle. By then he was being sowed by the Word of God. It so happened we conducted a crusade in their barrio which is along the seashore. This brother came and accepted the Lord Jesus as his personal saviour and Lord. Thank God for the ministry of sowing and reaping. Others sow, water, and reap but God gives the increase. So, I am writing you brethren to inform you that your labor is not in vain. Rejoice and be glad for the fruit of your ministry. Now this brother is actively attending worship services and Bible studies at his very own house which is used as a temporary venue for services. Surely our labor is not in vain in the Lord if we do things for His wonderful Name. God bless you more as you continue doing for His service. Yours in Christ's Name, Ezaldy C., Pastor." His letter to me was dated August 5, 1985 and it was from the Philippines.

          "Greetings! We have news about one of your bottles! My husband and I are both believers and living in Southern California. We just returned from a month long trip to the Palau Islands in Micronesia (300 miles due east of Mindinao in the Philippines). The day we arrived in one of the outermost villages the bottle was found on the beach by Georginia A. -a little Palauan girl. It had the Gospel of John inside and was brought to us because it was in English. It allowed us the opportunity to explain the gospel- Praise God! I lived in this small village as a child while my father taught English for two years. I had since returned to the United States and accepted Christ, married, and desired to return to see if there was any work being done by missionaries, etc. There is on a neighboring island, but they're extremely short handed so there has never been any exposure to evangelical work in this village. They have had much exposure to Catholicism and their own spirit religion. We now have specific things to pray for them about. Thanks for your ministry- it was one more thing which God used to confirm the rightness of our going. Thank you! Kim and Kim M." A note on the outside of the card indicated that the missionary bottle was launched in 1978 and found September 28, 1980. The card to me was dated October 22, 1980.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS THROUGH 1984

we have accomplished so far the following: (and to God be the glory)

Sent 238,246 tracts and booklets

Sent 1000 New Testaments

Sent 269 pounds of clothes to the other side of the world

Sent 313 bibles

Sent 149 pounds of outdated Sunday School literature

Used 25,881 whole corks (these are cut into thirds)

We give God the glory for all these accomplishments. He is using this ministry as his instrument of evangelism.

If you have not yet chosen Jesus Christ as your personal savior then please do so right now. You have everything to gain. God loves you and will deliver you from fear and torment. God wants to deliver you from your sins and set you completely free. This is how to accept Him:

1. Realize you are a sinner. You must admit this.

2. Know that Jesus Christ is the only One who can save you,

3. Be sorry for your sins and turn from them and cast yourself upon His mercy and grace, and

4. Repent of your sins and ask Jesus Christ to come and live in your heart. He will forgive you of your sins, comfort you, come to live in your heart, and give you a new heart.

The Conclusion of Our Missionary Bottles

          Campaign #2 was launched on November 6, 1981, from the boat named the Lorraine W. We left from Bodega Bay, California and launched 20,000 missionary bottles into the Japanese Current approximately 50 miles from shore.

          Campaign #3 was launched on November 2, 1982, containing 7,709 missionary bottles. The loading of the Lorraine W. took place at the Sea K Fish Company in Sausalito, California. These missionary bottles were launched approximately 50 miles at sea. There were no "immediate" testimonies in regard to the missionary bottles launched in Campaigns #2 and #3.

          Here is another testimony sent to us from a girl in the Philippines. One Filipino fisherman, a Mr. Daganio, in Eastern Samar, found a missionary bottle in 1980 that had been launched from Campaign #1. His daughter, Eufrosina, began writing to us. She told us that her father had received the Word of God but refused to repent. Then in another letter she said her father had received a second missionary bottle shortly thereafter but refused to repent again.

          I immediately sent off a letter to her instructing her to tell her father that he must repent immediately or else some terrible calamity would surely befall him since God had gone to all the trouble to make sure he had found two of the bottles. No sooner had I sent the letter to her than I received one from her, "You know when my father found the bottle, the people in our barrio (village) keep on asking why is it that my father is only the one who found the bottle in the sea. But now my father cannot find any more bottles in the sea because on February 5, 1981, my father went to the sea to catch fish because at that time we had no food and that is why he went. On the sea as my father was catching fish, suddenly there was a very big typhoon. My father was four days in the sea. The boat was destroyed. He kept on praying to our Lord Jesus Christ to save his life. Later on, God answered his prayers and saved the life of my father, but the boat was lost." the letter was dated February 16, 1981.

          In another letter dated June 20, 1981, she sent me this good news, "Yes, my father became a Christian �. I tell you that some people in our barrio became Christians because I gave them the gospel booklets in the Waray dialect. Praise God."

          I share these things with you that you might also enjoy the salvation experience and then the experience of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit according to Acts 2:4. As the encounters with the living God happened to me they can also happen to you in a similar manner. It is a privilege and joy in working for Him, serving Him, living for Him, fighting Satan with Him, and telling others the good news that Jesus Christ died for them on the cross (in their place out of His love for them) to forgive them of their sins. I challenge and encourage you if God so lays it upon your heart to begin your own missionary bottle evangelism ministry in order to reach out with the Word of God to the billions of people who have never heard of Jesus Christ one time.

          I challenge each believer in Christ Jesus, who is called by God to launch missionary bottles, to do so. You can have testimonies of your own, just like these, and you can win many souls to Christ if you begin your own missionary bottle evangelism work. I am sure God will help you and bless you as you go about His work and do His will. So, I challenge you to get involved so your can receive testimonies from people hungry for the Lord's Gospel who have accepted Him due to your own missionary bottle evangelism efforts.

          Our family motto is the same as the old Christian addage, "My life as a Christian is the only Bible some people will ever read. God's reputation is at stake in my life. I want to maintain it not stain it!"
Cordially, Mr. Kraig Rice.


Click on the bottle to go to the main missionary bottle ministries index page


since February 12, 2006