  The wife of John Owen is called Louisa & an excellent wife she is. She had five children. Three of them died & two are still living. O ye Americans,—ye people of N. Carolina—have you, have you, have you, have you among you a family like this family having so much love to God as they? Formerly I, Omar, loved to read the book of the Koran the famous. Gen. Jim Owen & his wife used to read the gospel, & they read it to me very much,—the gospel of God, our Lord, our Creator, our King, He that orders all our circumstances, health & wealth, willingly, not constrainedly, according to his power.—Open thou my heart to the gospel, to the way of uprightness.—Thanks to the Lord of all worlds, thanks in abundance. He is plenteous in mercy & abundant in goodness. For the law was given by Moses but grace & truth were by Jesus the Messiah. When I was a Mohammedan I prayed thus: “Thanks be to God, Lord of all worlds, the merciful the gracious Lord of the day of Judgment, thee we serve, on thee we call for help. Direct us in the right way, the way of those on whom thou hast had mercy, with whom thou has not been angry & who walk not in error. Amen.”—But now I pray “Our Father” &c.. in the words of our Lord Jesus the Messiah. I reside in this our country by reason of great necessity. Wicked men took me by violence & sold me to the Christians. We sailed a month & a half on the great sea to the place called Charleston in the Christian land. I fell into the hand of a small, weak & wicked man, who feared not God at all, nor did he read (the gospel) at all nor pray. I was afraid to remain with a man so depraved & who committed so many crimes & I ran away. After a month our Lord God brought me forward to the hand of a good man, who fears God, & loves to do good, & whose name is Jim Owen & whose brother is called Col. John Owen. These are two excellent men.——I am residing in Bladen county. I continue in the hand of Jim Owen who never beats me, nor scolds me. I neither go hungry |
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