CMA HeartBeat January 2026 | Page 12

TESTIMONIES
By BOB Lowell
12
January HeartBeat
Bob Lowell, Oregon Area Rep and a good friend of ours, has been a CMA member since 1994. The following story shows how God can use even your name in a magazine to start a conversation that leads someone to Christ.
Doug South
Doug and Terri South oversee the West Region as National Evangelist.
How God and CMA Interact: My Journey Background and Early Life I want to share my story about how God and the Christian Motorcyclists Association( CMA) have intertwined in my life. To begin, I’ ll provide some background about myself. During high school, I had a close group of friends with whom I spent a lot of time before joining the military. I was married before I enlisted, and later became a combat veteran, serving two tours in Vietnam. After my discharge, I returned home to my family.
Struggles and Wrong Choices After coming home, I started engaging in dangerous and reckless behavior, making several poor decisionsβ€” often with my friend
Dennis. Our families were inseparable, participating in activities such as water skiing, hunting, vacations, golfing, and frequent partying. Dennis and I found ourselves involved in things that could have easily resulted in arrest. Over time, I realized the destructive path I was on, one that nearly cost me my family and even led to an attempted suicide.
Turning Point: Finding Faith This is where things took an unexpected turn. At 34, I came to the Lord and wholeheartedly gave my life to Jesus Christ. Since then, I have never looked back. Dennis, however, did not make the same choice. Years passed, and my family and I searched for Dennis, trying to find out how he was doing. We looked all over the Northwest, searching towns where we thought he might be. Eventually, we gave up after years of looking.
Reconnection Through CMA The Christian Motorcyclists Association( CMA) played a pivotal role in reconnecting us. One day, while waiting in my truck at the Fred Meyer parking lot in Bend, Oregon, my phone rang. I answered,β€œ This is Bob. Who is this?” The reply was,β€œ This is Dennis.” I almost fell out of my truck with the windows closed. My first response was,β€œ Are you kidding me? I have looked for you for years. Where are you now?” Dennis told me he lived in Madras, while I was living in LaPine, Oregon, only about an hour apart. I was stunned. I wanted to see him immediately.
When my wife and I visited him, he told us he was suffering from cancer. I asked how he had found us. Dennis explained that his neighbor was a CMA member who had given him a copy of the HeartBeat magazine. As he was reading it, he was surprised to find my name listed in the back.
God’ s Purpose Revealed Initially, I did not understand why God had brought us back together. I asked Dennis about his faith and whether he knew Jesus Christ. He responded that he did not want to discuss it and that he didn’ t believe. For a year and a half, my wife, Deb, and I regularly visited Dennis and his girlfriend, Tracey. About four weeks ago, Dennis called to let me know he needed to go in for an operation. A couple of weeks later, he was moved to a hospice facility, where we visited him daily. On our first visit with Dennis in hospice, I spoke with him about Jesus and His love for him. I asked if he would like to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and Dennis said yes!
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