Malaria, Moving, URBC Attendees Migrate to New Location
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is church planting.
October 26, 2019
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
I don’t know exactly how long this newsletter will be this month. It may be short because as I write this update, I am sick as a dog with malaria. I felt it coming on this morning after I woke up and within an hour all the symptoms were raging. No fun, this malaria.
So, a few quick updates. First, by the time some of you read this I will turning 50 years old. Half a century may not sound like a lot to some of you, but it sounds like a lot to me. The hair is graying, the beard is graying, and the body is aching (most of that today, however, is from the malaria). I hope I have gained some wisdom and experience in these 50 years, though. Honestly, I think most of any wisdom I may have gained has come in the last 12 years of being on the mission field. Believe me, being in a foreign country and a foreign culture for that long will definitely change a person. Maybe some for better and maybe some for the worse. But either way I am still in the hands of God and covered in the blood of Jesus. Thank you, God, for your sovereignty, wisdom and goodness.
Second, we have moved into a new house this past month. In the past 12 years prices in Kenya have gone way, way up and we decided we could no longer afford to live in our previous house and compound. We have moved to a shared compound and a smaller house. In case “shared compound” is an unfamiliar term to you, it means a yard enclosed by hedges with multiple residences on it. We hope the smaller place and the shared expenses will help our finances.
Third, Upper Room Baptist Chapel is doing well since we moved to the new venue. All of the regular attenders for our worship services have migrated to the new location with us and we have lost no one. Our main room where we now worship is considerably smaller than our old location and I’ve mentioned to our group that if we grow much more, we will have to go to two services. They all laugh at me and remind me that this is Kenya. They say we could easily fit two to three times more people in the room. That may be a stretch but I guess this being Kenya we probably could cram a lot more people into the room before it becomes too uncomfortable. One blessing of the new location is that it makes it a lot easier for Julie and Chloe to attend each week. Chloe did not do well in the other venue for various reasons. She does much better in the new location, for which Julie and I are very thankful.
I am currently preaching through the book of Galatians on Sunday mornings at the Chapel. What a wonderful and foundational book for Christianity and Christians today. My works and righteousness cannot add anything to the work of Jesus on my behalf. Faith in our beloved Savior is the only thing that can save me. Our people here in Kenya need to hear this age-old Biblical teaching and to learn to live by faith and in the Spirit.
Blessings to you all,
Roger, Julie, Amy, Josiah & Chloe
rojuta[at]gmail.com
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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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News & Reports – November 2019 Issue [Online Edition]
The Online Edition of November 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.
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Seminary Classes in São Paulo
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
October 27, 2019
Dear friends and family,
This month has been fast and furious. Barbara left on the 1st of the month and I and Pastor Russell Zik from Durbin Memorial Baptist Church left on the 10th. We went to Caragua to visit the grand kids and Pastor Zik preached at Caragua Baptist Church.
We left Caragua Monday morning, driving to Garça, São Paulo. We got there around 6:00 and the first class started at 7:30. We were expecting 5 to 8 students and God sent 20. There are so many times that we sorely underestimate the Lord. The class that was taught was Pastoral Ministries. Out of the 20 students there were 8 pastors. The rest were church workers. This class was to be the last class taught in Garça but God had other plans for this area. We now have 21 students interested in continuing the seminary there in Garça. Again, we underestimated the Lord. During this week, one of the students called us to ask if we could come to his work to present the gospel. We found out that he works at a prison and the warden wanted us to preach to the prisoners. We did not hesitate nor think twice. Pastor Russell brought a salvation message and there were 12 inmates that made commitments. These inmates were getting ready to be released so God’s Word will be going home with these 12 people. There are many ways to spread the Word and we do not think of not even half of them. We serve an AWESOME God!
Pastor Zik and Barbara came back to the States and I met Pastor Greg Waltermire and Pastor Derek Coleman at the airport. And with this, we begin another week. Pastor Coleman of Gardenside Baptist Church is headed to Campins where he will be teaching Survey of the New Testament. And Pastor Waltermire of Heritage Baptist Church will stay in São Paulo to teach History of Christianity.
There were 29 students in the São Paulo class. One of the students got to class late on Monday and he told us that he had left home at 4:00 in the morning and only got to São Paulo after 7:30 that night. How many of us would travel that far to study God’s Word? He is staying with local pastors for the week. Another of the students is the Doctor that was in the class last year. The students hosted a birthday party for her 83rd birthday. In this class there are 7 different denominations represented. Each of them will be taught Baptist doctrine this week and if they stay for next week’s classes, they will also hear the same Baptist doctrine. Again, God works in wondrous ways His miracles to perform.
In Campinas we were looking for 20 students and there were only 11 students that showed up. But like the preacher who preached his whole sermon when only one person came to church, when he was asked why, he explained it this way: if you went to feed your cows and only one came you would not go home without feeding that one. So, the students received the whole class even though only less than half of the students showed up.
In these two weeks we will have had 5 classes in three cities to 60 students. More than 25 of these of these are pastors, serving 22 churches. It is hard to say how many people will be reached through these men.
I told you last month of my doctor’s appointment. Well I have had that appointment and the report is as follows: the test for the PSA is non-detectable, which means the cancer is not showing up on their test. What an AWESOME God we serve. I will have another checkup in 6 months and I am expecting to hear the same news.
Here are some pix.
In His service,
AJ and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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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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Reaching Out to Nearby Communities
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
October 27, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Thank God for each one of you that are part of this ministry here in the Amazon. The ministry would be impossible without your prayers and support. God bless each one of you and your church. I want to thank for you prayers for my health. I am feeling better. I’m doing a check-up to see if everything is ok. So far all is well. Appreciate your prayers.
We have had several activities this month. There is a school here next to us and we want to reach out to them. This month we had the students to come to the camp and had an all-day activity for them. The principal was very thankful and we had a great time with them. At the mission at Ubim we had a special day and the kids received the T-shirts that were financed by a dear friend through BFM. The kids loved the T-shirts. Please pray for this ministry as Kathy is training a new team. Since that is where Kathy works and she trains the teams, she takes advantage and they work with her until needed in a different place.
With the project reaching out to communities around us we have had two services already. One in the community of Lago do Limao (Lemon Lake) and Caldeirao. This is good for two reasons: one, it gets the church involved, and second, reaching lost souls. There are so many communities and they are scattered everywhere.
Pray that God will direct us in the best way to reach these people. Along with these plans we also are preparing more members to do witnessing, others for the music, and others for visitation. Pray with us that God will work in the hearts of the members to see the need.
The work In Iranduba is coming along well. The pastor that is helping us there has started a Bible Study in a home near the church. This has been good. Also, the work with the kids on Saturday afternoon is growing. We had 15 chairs and today in the mother church we asked who would like to buy a chair. We had donations to buy 15 more chairs. If you would like to donate to buy more chairs the cost $8.00 each. You can make a note: “Chairs for Iranduba”.
Thanks to all of you for your love, prayers and support.
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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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S’more Time to Share the Gospel!
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
October 10, 2019
Dear Co-Laborers in Christ,
We hope that this letter finds you enjoying the Lord’s presence and looking on the fields that are ripe for the harvest. Along the roads in Indiana yesterday I noticed many farmers gathering the harvest. This certainly reminds us of the Lord’s admonition that fields are ready for harvest.
It is cooler in France as well as in the USA, a good time to have one of the young peoples’ favorite activities for youth night…roasting hot dogs and marshmallows for “smores”. I am including a picture Amanda sent me of this part of the youth meeting this past Saturday. The youth meetings have been an excellent means to share the gospel. The believing young people have brought dozens of friends. Some of those who have come in recent years are now off to college. Pray for God to bring spiritual thirst and salvation to those who have not yet trusted Him. Pray also for those who are believers and now in University settings that the Lord would guide them and use them as His light in their new situations.
Roasting smores at a youth meeting in France
Judy and I have been volunteering in an excellent missionary outreach to children in the Evansville Public Schools. Cheryl Simmons, a lady who was a member of Emmanuel Baptist Church when I served as pastor before going to France, is the director of this ministry. Steve, her husband, who came to the Lord during our ministry at Emmanuel moves and sets up trailers near each of the 23 elementary schools in Evansville. One day per week the third and fourth graders in each school who have their parents’ permission are released to go to these trailers to be taught Bible lessons. A number of volunteers serve as teachers and assistants in this great Bible ministry to children. Each year a number of these children trust Christ.
Thank you for your prayers and faithful support.
Your fellow servants,
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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6 Professions of Faith through Projeto IDE, Visiting Gama, Serra do Moa, São Domingos
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
October 10, 2019
Dear Brethren,
We have had a great summer. The weather has been crazy though. Several unseasonable cold fronts and lots of rain. With all the rain I thought I would be on the rivers by now, but the Juruá is super low. The roads are open though, but very muddy.
We had a wonderful visit by 5 men from Calvary Church in Missouri. Pastor Randy Sawyer brought four of his men to see the work here. We took them on Projeto IDE to Profeta on a Saturday. Projeto IDE (Ide means GO!) involves doctors, nurses, dentists, haircuts, hygiene, arts, crafts, culinary classes, sewing classes, distribution of clothes, children’s classes and, of course evangelism. We went by road since the river is so low. The village is right on the river and our building is a stone’s throw from the riverbank, but now we also have a road. We had 2 big thunderstorms that afternoon, so the return was “fun”. I won’t bore you with all the numbers, but one must be shared. There were 6 professions of faith, 2 at Treze de Maio and 4 at Profeta. We didn’t get back to town until after 1:00AM because of the poor condition of the road.
On Sunday we made a visit to our new work at Gama. We just sent our missionary couple Anísio and Matilde just last January. We had already started the work and already had a building up, but now that we have a missionary there full time the work has really taken off. The village is on tributary of the Juruá River in the state of Amazonas. There is now a road that cuts north through the jungle to this town of 170 families. They have services around town in homes on Tuesday nights. Thursday is teaching at church. Friday is prayer meeting and then 2 services on Sunday. They have more than 100 in attendance on Sunday night. The guys from Missouri got to try out a short dugout canoe “trip” on the beautiful stream in front of the village. Since then we have started the parsonage. We have the foundation in and Anísio is putting in the fill dirt right now.
We have also started a new church building at Serra do Moa. This work is in a small village 100 miles west of us at the base of a low range of mountains. The Moa River starts on this side of the Peruvian border and actually flows through a canyon flowing east until it flows into the Juruá River right here at Cruzeiro do Sul. This is my favorite river in the whole region. I started preaching at Serra do Moa when I was just 18 years old. We didn’t actually get a permanent congregation planted until the mid 90’s. Our missionaries there are Rivaldo and Leila. This is our third building. The second one is wooden and still in good shape, but they have grown and wanted to put in a new brick/ wood structure this time. We already have the foundation, slab and brick wall up to 2 feet.
I also made a visit to our congregation at São Domingos. This village is right next door to the Poyanawa Indian reservation (where we also have a work). The church at Assis Brasil has been taking care of the congregation at São Domingos. They have just finished new brick building, so I went to do the dedication. The building was packed to beyond capacity. There was one profession of faith.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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News & Reports – October 2019 Issue [Online Edition]
The Online Edition of October 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 October 2019 BFM News & Reports!
Read more
New Discipleship Group 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.
October 4, 2019
Dear praying friends,
Another month has come and gone, and we are now into the month of October. October is a big month for our family as I (Nathan) celebrate a birthday later this month, and my wife and I celebrate our anniversary together. God has blessed me with a wife who truly loves Him, sacrifices daily, and is a great mother to our daughters. I think of Proverbs 31:10, which says “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.” This update will share current ministry progress, as well as prayer requests.
I (Nathan) have recently started a new discipleship group in a village called Wiyeta, which is about 30-40 minutes away. God has blessed and provided around 3-4 men that I meet with regularly. I desire to teach them the Scriptures, so they in turn will go out and teach others. Wiyeta is a big area in need of teachings and eventually churches, so please pray with me that God would continue to work in the hearts of these men as I teach them. So far they have been receptive to the teachings and welcoming. My desire is to put them through the whole course, Lord willing. Please pray the men would be faithful to not only come, but to go out and reach those in their respective areas. I go by public transportation, as the road is narrow and there are many potholes on the road, so I would appreciate prayers for safety as I travel. God is faithful and helps each step of the way.
Please continue to pray for Emmanuel, the younger Kenyan man that I am discipling in Milimani, where we live. He has been a good student and showing progress. He and his wife recently welcomed a baby boy into their family, so please pray for them during this time, and for the days ahead. I will keep you informed of this ministry as well.
The Annex prison is continuing along well. We recently studied about Moses and the burning bush. We saw that although Moses felt he was not adequate, God called and used Him to do His work. Exodus 3:14 says ” And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.” The great “I Am” was with Moses throughout everything. All things were created by Him, and all things are under His control. He is truly greater than all, and how we need to worship and praise Him. Please pray for the prisoners and their continued spiritual growth.
Please pray for the new Christian school in Kitale. My wife volunteers several days a week, teaching classes and helping with administrative duties which keeps her busy. She is very thankful for the opportunities she has to serve. Our daughters also both enjoy the school and the new friends they are making. This has given them the socialization they have needed for so long. Please pray for new students to come as well, so the school can expand and grow over time.
That is all the current news from here. We appreciate each of you so much and thank God for you. We will keep you updated.
In Kitale,
Nathan and 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.
Read more
