The Panola Watchman (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 141, No. 89, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 6, 2013 Page: 4 of 12
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4A The Panola Watchman, Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Relig 10 N
Powell takes fifth trip to share the Gospel in China
BY ELIZABETH POWELL
Louis Powell, longtime resi-
dent of Carthage, has just re-
turned from his fifth trip to
China and Hong Kong where
he has been teaching the Word
of God to many different
groups of Christians. In 2010
he went with his church on
their first mission trip. It was
to Ghana, Africa. It changed
his life. Years before, he and
his wife, Beth, took a vacation
to China with a tour company
where they saw the many
monuments and historical
places of China. It was then
that he began to feel the call to
do more, to do something, to
help the Word of God reach the
unreached in China.
After returning from
Ghana, he began his mission
organization, Unless They
Hear Outreach. The vision of
this ministry is to reach people
groups worldwide through au-
dio Bible devices. In the begin-
ning, he traveled on several
mission trips sponsored by
Baptist Medical Missions In-
ternational with his church.
He also began to travel alone
to join missionaries who asked
for his help and with other
groups including LifeWord
Media Ministries, a group spe-
cializing in radio broadcasting
to reach people for Christ.
Each trip he carried as many
MP3 players as he could pack
and not exceed the now very
restrictive weight limits for an
airplane luggage carry-on.
Powell said, “I wouldn’t let the
others carry the MP3 players
because if someone got
stopped at customs, I wanted it
to be me.”
Since Ghana, he has trav-
eled to Cambodia, China,
Hong Kong, Guatemala, Do-
minican Republic, Nicaragua,
El Salvador, Venezuela, Pana-
ma and Ukraine, and spent
one unexpected night in Viet-
nam. Powell said, “At times,
crossing the borders through
customs carrying audio
Bibles, especially when they
are in the shape of a cross, has
been exciting, to say the least.
The night I crossed through
Vietnam on my way to Cambo-
dia, I was escorted alone into a
small room where a gun was
laying on the table, the door
was shut behind me, and I was
questioned. I was allowed to
keep the cross players since I
was leaving the next day en
route to Cambodia, but I was
sternly warned to not let this
happen again. I assured the
agent that it would not ever
happen again.”
The MP3 audio players are
built in China. They are then
loaded with the Bible, both Old
and New Testaments, if there
is a translation available.
Many people groups still have
no written Word and even
more have no Old Testament
in their language. Powell also
loads Bible commentary and
Bible stories on the players. He
has partnered with many or-
ganizations that specialize in
languages of the world to pre-
pare his MP3 players.
Powell explained, “At first, I
only delivered or sent the
cross shaped devices, but now
we have several shapes and
sizes. Some are loud enough to
sit on a table and a group of 30
or more can hear the Bible be-
ing read and hear teaching on
the scriptures. Others are
small enough to put in your
pocket and listen to with ear-
buds as though you are just lis-
tening to music. This has been
a great way to get the Word in-
to countries that prevent any
type of public evangelism.”
He has visited the factories
in mainland China where the
devices are made and has had
them modified to suit his pur-
pose. An interesting fact is
that more Bibles are produced
in China than in any other
country including the United
States. His first look at China
was after the mission trip to
Cambodia when he left the
medical mission group and
continued on to China alone.
He visited the first factory
where the cross players were
made and also met with one of
the missionaries of his home
church. With the missionary,
Louis visited a university and
apart inside. For the first time
in my life, I was experiencing a
small piece of the persecution
that I had heard of all my life. It
made the word ‘freedom’ have
a much bigger meaning than
was truly in
also attended a small group
Bible study. Powell remem-
bers, “On that trip, I met a
young Chinese Christian man
who wants to bring others to
Christ. He is a member of the
Communist Party. He is my ever before. I
friend. I was invited to and did God’s hands.”
judge an English competition “It ended well and, that day,
at the university. This was one no one was arrested. The lead-
of the more comical highlights er of the group told me earlier
of all my trips.” Louis began to that if the police come, they al-
make many contacts in China, ways arrest someone. I was in-
He has witnessed to the sales troduced to a man who would
persons whose companies take my place as the teacher of
make the devices for him. He the group if such a thing really
has taught in two churches in
Hong Kong. It is not against
the law to preach and have a
regular church in Hong Kong.
These two churches are main-
ly made up of Pilipino Chris-
happened. This man willingly
agreed and chose to be the one
who would take my place. Be-
fore the meeting, I had been
told how it would work if the
police came and was shown
tians. These young people, the hiding place. When this sit-
mostly women, reside in Hong
Kong because of their work.
Powell said, “It’s like the many
Mexicans who work here to
provide better lives for their
families back in Mexico. Most
of them speak English so it is
much easier to communi-
cate.”
uation actually happened, out
of the corner of my eye, I saw
that man, who had only met
me 3 days earlier and could not
even speak a word of English,
step up in front of the group
where I had been standing. He
was willing to give himself up
and be taken, interrogated,
CHOOSE YOUR
TERM
On a trip to mainland China possibly beaten, and detained
earlier this year, he taught in until the police chose to let
home small group “under- him go, for something he did
ground” churches. The leader not do. The analogy here is
of these church groups found strong and I know you, as a
out about Powell’s ministry, Christian, know what I mean,
and contacted him. The man, A little while after the police
whose name is purposely left left, I was smuggled into a ve-
out of this writing, begged
Louis to come. So, after much
talk with his wife, Louis made
the decision to go. On the last
day of that trip, the police
came to the house where the
group was meeting while
Louis was speaking. Before
the police arrived at the door,
Louis was calmly led to a “hid-
ing place” in the house and
told to get in it. He was hidden
there for 45 minutes. Powell
spoke of that time, “It was like
being folded into a box barely
big enough for a man my size,
in total darkness, only hearing
muted Chinese talk going on
outside. Words cannot convey
my emotional level of that ex-
perience. The group of about
thirty remained calm the
whole time, but I was falling
Powell speaks in China
hide and told to lie down on
the floor in the back seat and
the driver took me, out, safely
back to my Metro stop. I rode
the Metro with, it seemed like,
a million Chinese people. As I
looked before me and after me
in the train car I could barely
hold my tears as my emotions
overcame me.”
“Later, after I was safe in
my hotel room, I thought, ‘I
know why I am I am here. I am
here to tell someone about Je-
sus.’ These people need, and
so many of them want, Jesus,
but how can they hear with-
out a preacher?”
“I came home a different
person. I couldn’t get my
mind off of it. I didn’t tell my
See POWELL, Page 5A
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The Panola Watchman (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 141, No. 89, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 6, 2013, newspaper, November 6, 2013; Carthage, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth805935/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sammy Brown Library.