Great Christmas Musical; Progress in Porto Walter
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.
January 10, 2o18
Dear Brethren,
Our Christmas Musical was better than ever, if that is even possible. We had 7 nights this time. The building was full every night, but not always overflowing. The crime wave is keeping folks in their houses at night. We still had big crowds even when the restaurants and streets were empty, so it was all good. We did not have one night of rain, even though we are in the rainy season. Several people were saved and a number of other people asked to become members or requested baptism. Eight of my grandchildren live here. Of these, 6 were involved in important parts of the Musical. Adriel (Crissy’s second) played the main character and sang the conversion song. Alec was Gabriel. Melany and Kayla were angels. Heloisa and Caleb sang in the acapella quartet. We have been blessed with lots of talent in the church and our own family. Our stage was completely rebuilt this year. We wanted to really emphasize the birth of Christ this time, so I made a new manger scene that came down from the rafters during the play on a cable and winch system. In all we had almost 350 of our church people involved. We are thankful.
“Joseph, Mary and Jesus during the Christmas Musical. We always have a fresh batch of babies to portray Jesus every Christmas!”
Although we were not able to break our attendance record at Christmas (the building has its limits), we did break 2 other records. Last year we had 132 motorcycles in the parking garage. This year there were 179. I didn’t think this was possible, but they squeezed them in. That ministry leader got really creative this year. We have a special section in the garage for people to check in their helmets. It is already a challenge to care for some 300 helmets. Marcelo decided to go the extra mile. Any helmet that had a scratched visor got a brand new one with the church’s logo installed while the owner was at the service. Also, I had the guys count the cars parked along the four blocks around the church. For the first time ever, we had more cars than motorcycles.
The building at Porto Walter just before Sunday morning services.
The river has finally started back up. I took out about a week here and there to do all the maintenance on outboard motors and generators. In mid-December I took out a full weekend to visit our work at Porto Walter. We had hoped to formally organize the church at that time, but they are not quite ready. The visit was very good. Huge crowds and a few decisions. They just got the trusses up on the new building. Soon I am to be with them again to help put on the roofing. The new mayor has managed to get investment money and has paved almost all the streets. Looking really good. The congregation has continued to work at Vitória further up river and has started new works at California and another mission point inside the Grajaú River. All three are growing rapidly. Many have been saved over the last year.
The walls and roof are now up on the new building at Gama. Continue to pray with us that God will give us a missionary to move there permanently. Other doors are opening, but we are still short of missionaries and the funds to send them. Please pray with us.
Our mission at Foz do Breu just reported on their last mission trip to Pedra Pintada and Caipora. Attendance at these villages has been in the 50s. There were 4 saved at Caipora.
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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Our Savior Incarnate, Touching Lives for His Glory
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
January 6, 2018
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
May God bless each of you this year. The weather where most of you live and where we are temporarily reminds us that God is in control of the elements. Our physical world displays the power and love of our dear Heavenly Father. But, His love is most displayed in the incarnation of Jesus, God the Son, to identify with us as the Son of Man and bring us back to Himself. Nothing speaks clearer than the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. And what a privilege we have to be bearers of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Just after writing my December letter I was able to go to Florida to celebrate Mom and Dad’s 70 years of marriage. It was a rare and wonderful opportunity to be with all of my living siblings and mom and dad for a few days. At the end of this time we were able to all spend time with Bob and Charlene Wacaser who return to serve in Brazil this coming Monday, January 8.
Just a couple days after I returned to Evansville Philip and his family arrived from France. It had been 15 years since Philip and Amanda had been in the United States at Christmas time. Their co-laboring with us has multiplied the effectiveness of the ministry in southern France. Judy and I are grateful beyond words for the privilege of teaming up with them and their children, Abigail, Nathalie, Camille and Emily.
Our children who live in Chicago, their families and Laura, our oldest daughter, who lives near Cincinnati, all came to Evansville for Christmas. This is the first time that we have ever been with all of our children and grandchildren for Christmas. We thoroughly enjoyed the days that our heavenly Father gave us together.
This morning, while Judy and I were walking for exercise in the Mall, we encountered one of the men who was saved while I was pastor here and rejoiced together in the Lord. Shortly thereafter, we crossed a lady whom we have met in the neighborhood and spent some time listening to her story and telling about what God has done in our lives. This is our calling, our wonderful Savior, incarnate in us touches the lives of others for His Glory.
And, tomorrow is my birthday. While we celebrate here with Philip and his family and Peggy, Judy’s sister, it is good to know that the body of believers in Tournefeuille, France will have already met together to worship the Lord and encourage one another. Jean-Luc will be leading the services at our primary location in France (7 hours ahead of us here). Jean-Luc is a faithful developing leader in the assembly there and others will be teaching children and serving in various ways. We anticipate being back with them soon.
Thank you for your prayers for all the ongoing activities in France and for us and Judy’s sister Peggy.
Rejoicing in Christ,
John and Judy
Temporary Address
John and Judy Hatcher
1901 Shepherd Dr.
Evansville, IN 47715
Field Address
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
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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News & Reports – January 2018 [Online Edition]
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Anticipating Exciting Ministry Opportunities in Brazil
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
January 3, 2018
Dear Friends,
We travel back to Brazil next week to “re-begin” our ministry there. To give a brief overview to you who don’t know us, Charlene and I served with Baptist Faith Missions as church-planting missionaries in Brazil since 1985. In March of 2015 my mother passed away here in Florida and we returned from Brazil to assist my family in caring for my aged and ailing father. Besides helping to care for my father, I also accepted the call to pastor a local Baptist congregation in Tampa, Florida. After my father also passed away a couple of years later, the Lord revealed to us that He wanted us back in Brazil to minister. Since August of 2017, we have been setting our affairs in order so that we might return to our field of service there. Pastor Darrell Messer and good people of Emmanuel Baptist Church of Bellbrook, Ohio have accepted us as members there and will be our sending church.
We are anticipating the very exciting ministry opportunities that await us in Brazil. Our evangelistic outreach efforts through Projeto Vida have been enhanced by the addition of a new 18 passenger van, which replaces one of the 35-year-old motor homes we were using. In fact, one week after I arrive, we will be hosting this year’s first missionary training seminar and we’ll be utilizing the van to transport missionary trainees to “on the field” ministry in the interior of the country. During this seminar, we teach the biblical principles of the great commission and then follow up with the practical application of personal evangelism and public preaching and gospel presentations.
It will be a welcome experience for me to go back to teaching and preaching God’s word in Portuguese again after nearly 3 years of preaching in English only. Charlene is also looking forward to offering English as a Second Language classes which open many doors of opportunity to get to know unchurched people and to share the gospel with them.
Along with the opportunities of ministry awaiting us will also come several challenges. One is the emotional battle of leaving our 1 month old first grandchild, Jayce Wacaser. He is so sweet and cuddly, so you can imagine our struggle. Also, we will have to replace our car and nearly all of our furniture and appliances in an expensive economy. We trust God for all these things, so we do not worry or fret, but we know we must work and pray that He’ll provide.
We are looking forward to giving our first update from Brazil next month as “re-commissioned missionaries”.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Stateside Address:
3912 Casaba Loop
Valrico, FL 33596
Field Address:
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
Phone: (813) 481-7007
Cell Phone: (813) 727-6405
Email: bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
Give: Click here to give.
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Getting Back in the Swing of Things in Kenya
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.
January 2, 2018
Dear praying friends,
Happy 2018! Another year has come and gone, and now we have a new year filled with opportunities to serve God and others. It is easy to look at the past year and possibly regret some opportunities we had that we did not use to serve God, but this new year, may we look with anticipation at the areas and chances that God gives us to serve Him. May we truly have the attitude of a servant, realizing that we will be rewarded by Him for our service. Only one life will soon be past, only what is done for Christ will last.
This past month was crazy busy for us as a family as we were in the process of moving. As I shared recently, there were security issues at our last place and we really felt after prayer and seeking the Lord’s will, that we should move to a safer area of Kitale. We packed tons of boxes, got them all loaded on moving trucks, loaded our personal items and moved to a different location. It is always hard to move, but we really felt the Lord’s leading in it. We now praise the Lord that we are in a safer area. Please pray for our family and our adjustments at this time.
Speaking of family, our girls go back to school early this next week, January 9th. This is also a very big transition for them, as they are used to homeschooling, but my wife and I both feel that they need this time of socialization with other children and activities that the school offers. We are both so thankful for this school and many other missionaries have their children enrolled as well. This is a big answer to prayer and we thank the Lord for providing this opportunity for our daughters.
Please pray for me (Nathan) as I seek to get back into ministry in the near future. It has been so crazy busy with moving, waiting out the election, etc. Please pray for God to lead and guide me and give me wisdom as I seek the Lord’s leading in regard to serving others here. We thank the Lord that He recently provided the work permit for my wife, so this is a big blessing. My permit (Nathan) is also up for renewal soon, so please pray if it would be the Lord’s will, that it would be renewed without any problem. We trust God to lead and guide us. Psalm 25:4-5 says “Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.” May this be our prayer as we serve the Lord this upcoming year.
Lastly, we would appreciate your prayers for safety as we drive in Kitale. The traffic here has become so heavy and the roads are narrow in some areas, with many accidents occurring recently. The drivers are impatient and overtake, and there are so many motorcycles, bicycle taxis, regular taxis, etc. We trust the Lord for our safety and would covet your prayers for this. We appreciate each of you so much, your faithful prayer support and sacrificial giving. May the Lord bless you for your mindfulness of missions around the world.
Serving Him,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya, East Africa
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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Pointing Kenyans to Jesus
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is church planting.
December 21, 2017
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I don’t know when you all will receive this newsletter but as I am writing it we are only four days away from Christmas. This may sound absurd, but I miss the snow like crazy. I love the snow – the beauty of it, the cold of it, the way it changes almost everything about your daily lives when you get a lot of it. I want to put on a heavy coat and gloves, trudge through the snow to my car, feel the bite of the cold on my face, scrape the ice off my window, hope my car starts, drive through the snow to a coffee house, see big flakes of snow falling from the sky, watch people tread carefully over a slippery parking lot and drink a hot cup of coffee while the snow piles up outside. This missionary truly misses the change of seasons. Changes of seasons mark the passage of time. Without them one day seems to run into another for me around here.
As you are, we are awaiting Christmas here in Kitale. It doesn’t look or feel much different than the rest of the year, except in one area – going to town gets crazy. It is chaos. I took Amy to town yesterday to help her buy a 5×7 picture frame. There were cars and people everywhere, glue boys and street people accosted us at every turn, I was grabbed and held by at least two different people who “wanted to greet me”, loud speakers blared music and advertisements from every corner and Amy received one marriage proposal. However, we could not find a single 5×7 frame anywhere in town.
Amy and Josiah are home from school for the holidays. As a result, I haven’t had time to do as much ministry tasks this month. We only have them home a total of three months out of the year. After this Christmas Amy only has one more Christmas in Kenya with us. After that she will be gone to the States and who knows when we will spend Christmas with her again. Josiah only has two Christmases left and then he too will follow Emily and Amy to the States. This is a very difficult aspect of missionary life for Julie and me. We see on Facebook the families gathering together for Christmas. We had to abandon that practice when we moved to Kenya ten years ago, but it becomes even more painful when we think that in just a couple of years none of our older children will be able to join us for Christmas. So, I’ve been trying to spend as much time with them as possible while they are home. I’ve played games with Josiah and drank coffee with Amy. Today we will decorate Christmas cookies and wrap presents. The time is short.
Time is short for the lost of this world too. Jesus came into this world two thousand years ago. We celebrate that birth during this season. He came to redeem. He came to save. He came to reconcile sinners to God. He came to offer Himself as the sacrifice for our sins. That is why we are here in Kenya. Not that we can do any of those things that Jesus came here to do. But we can point people to Jesus. We can say “Look at Him”. And that is what we are trying to do, to point more Kenyans to Jesus. May all of Kenya see the glory of Jesus this Christmas season.
May God’s peace and joy be with you.
For the glory of God in East Africa,
Roger & Julie Tate (and Amy, Josiah & Chloe)
rojuta[at]gmail.com
Visit their blog!
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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Serving God in Brazil from Afar
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.
December 12, 2017
Friends and family,
Since the day I discovered that I have cancer I have been in a quandary as to how I can continue effectively serving our Lord and Savior as a missionary. In these times you can get down to a lot of soul searching. I am saying this to let everyone know that when I surrendered to missions and my wife Barbara agreed to the prospect also, our plans were to be missionaries for the rest of our lives. Plans were to serve God in Brasil and be buried there. However; the Lord had other plans for our lives.
Planting churches and working with the wonderful people of Brasil has been one of my most AWESOME experiences. And to think that He (Our Lord) would allow me to do that in retirement. The only thing I can say is AWESOME.
Now we are at another crossroad in our lives. How can I continue to serve him in a meaningful and effective way? For the past three years we have been doing a Seminary to help the national pastors more effectively share the gospel. It started just to be a training tool for the people of our church in Caraguatatuba then grew to helping the local Pastors and church workers around our city.
Boy has it “sprawled out”. We have taken the Seminary to various cities and this year we have had three graduating classes out of Caragua Baptist Seminary.
Just to give you a little background, Caragua Baptist Seminary began from an idea between two pastors. We had a group from Gardenside Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, visiting and the pastor asked what we needed in our work here in Brasil. Having been an educator (teacher), my reply was “a seminary”. And from that conversation was born Caragua Baptist Seminary and with Dr. Coleman’s help we have watched it grow tremendously.
Thanks, Lord, for your guidance. Sometimes we do not even realize that we are being directed to another way to serve Him.
The seminary is blessed to be in its fourth year of operation training Brasilian pastors. We have had 18 classes taught and 184 students, having 35 cities represented and 68 different churches participating. So, the number of people impacted from this seminary training has been 7,346 people. These numbers do not include the present year of 2017. This year we have had two more classes and 3 graduations. What a way to reach Brasilians for Christ. Now for the AWESOME part: from these graduating classes, we have selected 2 pastors that we will help with new church starts. One is in another state and their building does not have electricity. The other has been started in the garage of the pastor, he is having 8 adults and 11 children in attendance.
So God has opened this door for us to continue our missionary work in Brasil though we are living in the States. We will be traveling to Brasil 3 to 4 times per year for the seminary classes and the setting up for the next classes. How AWESOME is the God we serve!!!
The need for us to be in the States is that I am continuing my cancer treatments and there is a need for me to be close to my doctors. I have another consult in February and should have some more answers about my cancer. Continue to pray for God’s will in our lives as we endeavor to serve the Lord in Brasil from afar.
Thanks to all who support BFM and us through them. Our mission work could not happen without your support. Continue to pray for us and for BFM. Also pray for the seminary and the professors as they come from the States to teach the Brasilian pastors.
We would like wish all of you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year.
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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Sharing How God is Working with Churches in Michigan, Ohio, & North Carolina
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
December 11, 2017
Judy and I hope that all of you enjoyed a great Thanksgiving Day. It was a joy to celebrate in Peggy’s home with all of our family except for Philip, Amanda and their daughters. This is a rarity for us. I think that it has happened twice in the last 18 years. We have so much for which to be thankful.
The week previous to Thanksgiving we were blessed by the Thanksgiving Conference at New Hope Baptist Church, Dearborn Heights, MI, co-sponsored with Grace Baptist Church of Wyandotte, MI. It was great to be able to fellowship with many friends of decades. What a delightful surprise upon arriving to be greeted by a longtime friend and supporter, Tammy Gerig, her two younger sons and father-in-law. My brother, Paul, took a plane to Evansville so that we could travel together by car from here to Michigan and back. We had a great visit and enjoyed the precious time with each other.
It is always enjoyable to be with churches which we have not previously visited. That was the case the first Sunday of December when we were guests of the Berea Baptist Church of Hiddenite, North Carolina. We were well received and happy to present our work to the folks there who support us. Adding to the blessing of our time there was spending time with Sheridan and Anita Stanton, both longtime friends of ours. We knew each other before any of us were married which was a while back though it seems like yesterday.
Yesterday, I had the privilege of being with the Grace Baptist Church in Fairborn, Ohio. This was not our first time here, but we did meet some new folks as well as enjoying fellowship with old acquaintances. Grace has supported and prayed for us for many years. There is a special fondness in my heart for this church as it was at a youth conference there in 1970 that God changed my direction from a career in Medicine to being a pastor and missionary. Though I had been with Grace many times I hardly knew Mark Pyles who has now been pastor of Grace for six years. The opportunity to become acquainted and discuss our ministries was priceless. It was also great to chat with the younger folks.
Our purpose in visiting churches is to encourage them in the work of the Lord and share with them how God is working in our corner of France. Thanks to all of you who are praying for Peggy, Judy’s sister. The recent scans and MRI have shown that the present treat is effective.
May the Lord richly bless you and give you great joy as you visit with your family and friends during this Holiday Season. Let us not miss opportunities to share the Love of Christ as we worship Him for His incarnation and redemptive sacrifice to bring us back to the Father.
Joyfully your fellow laborers,
John and Judy
Temporary Address
John and Judy Hatcher
1901 Shepherd Dr.
Evansville, IN 47715
Field Address
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
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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