An Update on Andrew Creiglow
Thank you to all those who have prayed for Mike Creiglow’s son, Andrew, who had surgery in Manaus on December 6. Below is an update on him from Bro. Mike.
Saturday afternoon, 12/14/19
After 11 days in Manaus, I finally made it back to Cruzeiro do Sul on Thursday afternoon [12/12], after two weather delays on two flights.
Andrew’s surgery was a complete success! Andrew had to fight through his illness, and fight the insurance company, hospitals, and some of the doctors for months to get this done, but it was worth it.
First and foremost, Andrew is recovering quickly. He has had almost no pain and nausea. There have been a few fitful nights, sleep-wise. We think that may be due to the 4+ hours of general anesthesia. His blood work is still not ideal, but that may take time as well. After all, he has been ill for a very long time, and his liver may need some time to heal. His skin is clearing up much faster than expected. His skin was yellow and itched, and his eyes were yellow, too. It usually takes about 15 days for these to start clearing up. His were almost normal after just 4 days!
With the “Spyglass” equipment and surgery procedure [for example: https://www.aurorahealthcare.org/services/gastroenterology-colorectal-surgery/spyglass], the doctor was able to do not just what we had hoped and prayed for, but two other things that we doubted would be possible. I won’t bore you with all the details about that. Here is a short list of what they were able to solve: get into the original bile duct, remove a pile-up of stones and sludge, break up and remove all the stones in his liver, inspect the derivative surgery (2015), snip the valve that releases bile and insulin, and install two stents. The 2015 surgery was well done and was what was keeping him alive (just barely). The bile duct was not ‘narrowed’ as the MRI and other tests had indicated. There was “just” a buildup of stones and sludge that could not be handled by the conventional surgery of 2015.
After the surgery we found out that this was the first procedure of its kind in all of north Brazil. We also learned that there were 20 doctors and medical companies present in the operating room besides the team that actually performed the surgery! This was a much bigger deal than what we realized. The doctor said that this will open the door for other patients who before had little hope. Andrew has already been back to the doctor on Thursday. His next and hopefully last visit will be on Monday. He found out that this second visit will have the press (TV and magazines) there to interview him. The medical journals will have articles published, too.
Well, hope this sort fills in the many gaps in my sparse communication. If you see fit, you can relay this to some other pastors and folks who might be interested.
We are thanking the Lord non-stop. I usually wake at some time after 4:00AM to start my daily prayer life. Over the past few days I have awakened during the nights and can’t help just repeating “Thank you, Lord” over and over again. Thanks for all of your prayers and care for us.
In Christ,
MikeC
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Holidays that Underscore the Love of God
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
December 9, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Thank you for praying for Jean-Luc Veuillet, who was in the hospital being treated for a torn carotid artery. He is out of the hospital and was well enough to have Thanksgiving Dinner with Philip, Amanda and their family. A young lady who is muslim was also with them for the meal. She is a High School friend of Abigail’s who has attended youth meetings for years and sometimes comes to church meetings. Amanda and Judy have a good relationship with her and she often seeks counsel from them. We are praying for her salvation.
The Holidays are an excellent time to live out the light that we are in Christ. There are a number of reasons that this is true. Studies show that people are often depressed at this time of the year. This may result because the loss of family members and friends is evident as we get together for seasonal gatherings. On the positive side, the reality that Christmas as well as Thanksgiving clearly underscore the love of God for humanity makes it a good time to more easily direct conversations toward the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving in France
In addition, people are just a bit more open at this time because of the commonality that we share in these special events. Visitors and immigrants to America or people who have no connection with Christianity are often curious about the basis for the Holiday. So, let’s pray for God to give us opportunities to be light to those who walk in darkness.
Today as Judy and I were doing some Christmas shopping she mentioned to me that during our present time in the US she has noticed that there seems to be a greater disconnect between believers and the world at large. I agree with her and think that it is a trend that began decades ago. Should we ask ourselves if we are obeying Jesus? “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Though we are not presently in France, we are still missionaries. Missions is a worldwide responsibility. We want to “walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time.” If you would like for us to share the passion God has given us with your church, please contact us at jmhatcher@aol.com. Our primary desire is to encourage God’s children.
May God bless each of you.
Serving with you,
John and Judy
John Mark & Judy Hatcher
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online
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Day Camp with Great Fellowship, Special Guest Speaker
Jud and Raquel Hatcher serve the Lord in São Paulo, Brazil. They are part of the “SeedFactory” church planting initiative, which is a movement to plant churches in all 26 Brazilian capitals. Since 2006, 43 churches have been started in 5 states.
December 6, 2019
Dear friends,
May the Lord bless you in 2020. We pray for you to have an incredible time during this Christmas season as we celebrate the birth of Christ with family and friends.
Melissa’s Birthday
This last month we celebrated Melissa’s 8th birthday. We are blessed to celebrate Melissa’s life in our family. She is so creative, funny, full of life and brings so much joy into our daily lives. She loves to read, to be read to, and to listen to bedtime stories. Something unique about Melissa is that she can dribble two basketballs simultaneously – one in each hand (since she was 6 ½ years old).
We enjoy celebrating our children’s birthdays for multiple reasons. 1. I love to see my children grow physically and spiritually. It is a special moment to celebrate the life that the Lord has given and keeps on giving them. 2. It gives us a reason to invite unsaved friends and family to our home and lead them one step closer to the Savior.
Day Camp
A few weeks ago, we had a one-day camp with our church folks. It was a great time of sharing laughter, meals and great conversations in the Lord. We spent over 12 hours together. I have attached a few pictures.
Special Guest
This last weekend we had Pastor Carlos Chaves as our special guest speaker. He is the senior pastor at the first church my grandfather John Hatcher started in the state of São Paulo in the early 1970’s (Center of Garça Baptist Church). It was a tremendous blessing to have Carlos and his wife (Linda) at our home for the weekend. They drove 6 hours to be with us and minister to our people. We had a couples meeting on Saturday evening and he preached on Sunday at Igreja Batista Maria Virginia.
Baptisms
Just this last week we had two ladies request for baptism. Hopefully, we will begin the New Year with several baptisms.
Thanks for your prayers and support. Continue to pray for the churches – Imagine, Hope and Maria Virginia. Continue to pray for our health and new ministry opportunities.
Grateful always,
Judson Hatcher
Judson & Raquel Hatcher
(859) 544-9040
judsonhatcher@gmail.com
Website | Twitter | Facebook
Click here to give now.
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Two Teens Turn from Hopelessness to Christ
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
December 2, 2019
Dear Friends,
At our English as a Second Language classes I got a wonderful opportunity to share my testimony with the students. One of them asked what brought us to Brazil and that question opened the door for me to share with the class how God had called us to come to Brazil to share the gospel of Jesus Christ which had transformed our lives. The students were emotionally moved by my testimony and I pray that the Lord will use it to bring them to salvation.
Our last couples’ meeting of the year exceeded our expectations quite a bit. We had about 20% more people turn out than we had been having at previous meetings. I just love this kind of a surprise. I brought a message from God’s word that I pray He will use to help the married Christian couples grow in their love and respect for one another. It is also our intended purpose through these couples’ events to attract families that don’t know the Lord so that they can hear of God’s love for them and be saved. At all four meetings this year we had several unchurched couples present and we saw most of them return to church to our regularly scheduled services.
Last month I reported how that our traveling evangelistic team met with strong resistance from the administrators in the public schools in Rio de Janeiro. The exact opposite was the case this month in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The team was given total liberty to share whatever message God had for the people. There were over 5000 people they were able to share the gospel with, between students and staff. More than 300 indicated that they were surrendering their lives to Christ. At the end of the hour-long presentation, the audience was invited to come and speak personally with our volunteer evangelists. One teenager had come to school that day with a pocket knife in his backpack and was planning to end his life at school because he felt that he was unloved and unlovable. After hearing of God’s love for him and how Jesus had given his life to save him, that young man gave the guidance counselor his pocket knife and said that he wouldn’t be needing it anymore because he knows he is loved by God and has trusted in Jesus. A different teen had been cutting himself and several of his friends told our team about him and how worried they were that he would take his life soon. His friends led a volunteer to talk to him about Christ’s love and forgiveness. The young man was so touched by how God showed His love to him through his friends, and even a stranger, that he believed on the Lord and handed them the razor that he was carrying to cut himself. He confessed that that very day, he intended to cut an artery and bleed to death because of how hopeless he felt.
I am so thrilled that the Lord has provided us with this amazing strategy for sharing the gospel where so many unreached people are starving for the lack of God’s word.
Our next major evangelistic thrust will be during our annual Christmas presentation. We have a team who has been planning and practicing a drama presentation for a couple of months already. We will be doing a two-day presentation at our church building the weekend before Christmas. Last year at our presentation we had the largest attendance to date in our building and this year we expect even more. There were also 15 professions of faith at the conclusion of that event and we pray and hope for even more this year. Pray with us that God will use us and our efforts to make His gospel clear and persuasive to the lost who will be in attendance at these presentations.
Charlene and I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a blessed New Year of 2020.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
bobbymichael_1[at]hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online
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Discipling Men in Wiyeta
Nathan and Carrie Radford serve the Lord in Kitale, Kenya. Their main ministries include indigenous church planting, a prison ministry, and a hospital ministry for mothers with premature babies.
December 2, 2019
Dear praying friends,
Another month has come and gone, and we are now in the final month of 2019. May we commit the upcoming year to God and serving Him. The days seem to pass by faster and faster, and may we serve while there is still time and opportunity. This update will share current ministry progress as well as prayer requests.
I (Nathan) am continuing to disciple/train men in the Wiyeta area of Kitale. Wiyeta is a big area about 20 minutes from Kitale and is in need of many men to teach the Word of God there. My goal is to ground the men in their faith, and then to pray that they will go out and teach others, with the ultimate goal of establishing churches. I have received good feedback from our current teachings, for which I am thankful.
We have been studying on prayer for the past few weeks and recently we got to that which will hinder our prayers. Of course, sin hinders our prayers. Psalm 66:18 says ” If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Also, Isaiah 59:2, which says “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” We looked at other things that will hinder prayer (1 Peter 3:7, Mark 11:25-26, James 5:9). The men responded well to the teachings and I pray that they will have that desire to go and teach others what they have learned. Please continue to pray that God will raise up the right men in His time and plan. I am trusting Him for this.
I also have been continuing to teach at the Annex prison. We recently studied about the 10 commandments and the men received it positively. Please be praying for the prisoners, as this is a difficult time of year for them, as they are separated from loved ones. I thank the Lord for this opportunity to serve there as well.
Our daughters are currently on break from school. They were tired from their exams, but they did well on them and are getting a much-needed rest. Please be in prayer for the school, for the administration, and that even more new students would be able to join.
We are thankful to have my wife’s sister here with us for the past few weeks. She has been a blessing and a help at this difficult time of year. Being across the world at this holiday time is not easy, as we miss our friends and family, but God gives grace and peace. We are thankful for the missionary community here in Kitale that has many activities during this time. God is good. We wish each of you a great upcoming Christmas and happy 2020. I will close with Matthew 1:21, which says “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
Blessings to each of you.
In Kitale,
Nathan & Carrie Radford
Nathan and Carrie Radford
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya
East Africa 30200
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
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BFM Winter Missions Conference 2020
BFM Winter Missions Conference
JANUARY 20 – 22, 2020
PARK RIDGE BAPTIST CHURCH
3629 Crystal Street | Gotha, FL 34734
Ben Glover, Pastor | 407-719-9861 | bentonglover@aol.com
Conference Theme: “The Riches of His Grace” Ephesians 2:7
“That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His
kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”
There are various prices and discounts for hotels within the area. The hotels with
better rates are by the Universal Studios, which is only about 10-15 minutes away.
Once available, a full schedule can also be found on the EVENTS tab on our website.
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News & Reports – December 2019 Issue [Online Edition]
The Online Edition of December 2019 BFM News & Reports is available at the link below. Read how God is working through the lives of our faithful missionaries and continue to pray for them.
Note: You can click on any headline to view the story on our blog.
Click here to read the December 2019 BFM News & Reports!
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Thanksgiving Offering Update & Appeal
As of 11/22, our THANKSGIVING OFFERINGS total received was: $15,059.08
The total reflected in the Monthly Contribution Report printed in the next issue of our newsletter may be more … in fact, we are praying it will be exceedingly richly more! – but, we are preparing this update for publication before the close of the month…
WE NEED TO REACH FOR OUR $50,000.00 THANKSGIVING OFFERING GOAL!
(…please read below…)
Have you given your personal offering toward the 2019 THANKSGIVING OFFERING?
All the offerings given to the Thanksgiving Offering go directly toward the support of our missionaries by funding the commitments, benefits, and services we give them over the course of the next year.
Consider these truths:
- All the commitments, benefits, and services we give our missionaries are funded through offerings and contributions given to the Missionary Support Fund
- The only contribution streams that supply the Missionary Support Fund are the monthly offerings given to the Missionary Support Fund and the THANKSGIVING OFFERING
- The monthly Missionary Support Fund contributions do not sustain all the accrued annual disbursements for the commitments, benefits, and services we give our missionaries
- Therefore, we need and depend upon the THANKSGIVING OFFERINGS to make up for the monthly deficits we will incur in providing the commitments, benefits, and services we give our missionaries over the upcoming year
- This year’s THANKSGIVING OFFERING will supply next year’s monthly deficits in Missionary Support Fund contributions and disbursements
- IF WE DO NOT RECEIVE SUFFICIENT THANKSGIVING OFFERING FUNDS NOW IN ADVANCE OF NEXT YEAR’S DISBURSEMENTS, THEN WE WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO REDUCE THE COMMITMENTS, BENEFITS, AND SERVICES WE GIVE TO OUR MISSIONARIES
- we have no other reserves, subsidies, or endowments to draw from or fall back on
- we cannot borrow money to operate
- So, it is essential that we all give as generously as possible so our missionaries’ needs will be supplied
- Will you give a generous personal THANKSGIVING OFFERING right now?
- and, at the same time, may we encourage you to commit to making monthly offerings to the Missionary Support Fund!
- Your missionaries’ needs will be met – and thanksgivings to God will abound and increase and continue!
Giving Options:
You can give your Thanksgiving Offering either through your church’s offering, or by mailing your personal check to our Treasurer, or by giving online through our website www.baptistfaithmissions.org ‘Donate/Support’ tab and typing in Thanksgiving Offering in the memo field.
Click here to make a one-time donation.
Click here to set up a recurring donation.
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