SHERIDAN AND ANITA STANTON  |  MARCH 2011

Mailing Address:

Sheridan and Anita Stanton  |  Apartado Postal 140  |  Huanuco, Perú  SA

Vonage phone: 859-514-0929

sestantonperu@hotmail.com – Sheridan |  arstantonperu@hotmail.com – Anita

March 9, 2011

Dear friends and family,

We’ve had a lot of rain in the mountains recently, but today, the sun is shining in Huánuco!   Anita has been fighting a case of the flu that has given her a terrible cough, but she seems to be on the mend, for which we are thankful.  We love and appreciate all of you and thank you for your continual prayers and support of our part in the Lord’s work here in Peru.

Please continue to pray for our son, Capt. Joshua Stanton USAF, as he proudly serves our country as an Air Force pilot in Afghanistan.  He has a wife and two small, precious, little girls waiting for him back home.  We also ask you to remember my father, Ralph Stanton, in your prayers; he is battling with prostate cancer and not doing very well.

I baptized five young people into the fellowship of the Calvary Baptist Mission-Church a few weeks ago.  They ranged from twelve to twenty.  Two of them were a young couple just recently married.  Our attendance at this mission continues to grow and we literally filled our rented place to capacity twice during February.  The folks are getting anxious about moving to the new property we hope to buy in the next few weeks.  We have been trying to buy this piece of ground for months, but the owner has had to comply with numerous legal requirements in order to get the property legally up to date.  It looks like we will be able to make the purchase around the last week of March.  After we obtain the property we have an urgent need to build.  The folks here are poor, but I have seen them give sacrificially many times.   We could really use some help toward this project; it’s the Lord’s work and HE will provide, but maybe HE will lead some of you to be HIS means of provision.  We are also hoping that we could have a few churches send some mission teams down late this summer or early fall and help us with some of the construction.

My Monday night pastor’s class continues to be a blessing.  These men study the Word during the week and bring me some very challenging questions each Monday night.  Their questions keep me on my knees in prayer and compel me to dig ever deeper into God’s Word for the answers.  It is a privilege and honor to work with them.

Roosevelt Hermitaño, one of our national missionaries needs help with funds to buy the property for the Cayumba Grande Baptist Mission near Tingo Maria.  The owner wants to sell the place so they either have to buy or vacate by the end of April.  They have already raised over half of the cost but still need $1500.00 in order to have enough.  Please pray and give as the Lord leads.

In HIM by HIS grace,  Sheridan and Anita Stanton

JOHN AND ALTA HATCHER | MARCH 2011

John & Alta Hatcher | Caixa Postal 112 | Urai, PR – Brazil 86280-000

E-mail: jhatcher@uol.com.br

March 1.2011

Dear Friends, We praise the Lord and thank Him for each of you who have been our faithful fellow laborers in the many years we have been in Brazil. The number of our days here on earth are coming to the end, but the work of the Lord continues to grow.

The territory of Brazil is larger than the 48 continental States of the United States. It is wonderful to know that God has used BFM missionaries to plant churches in over one half of the States in Brazil. That is an area larger than the US from the Mississippi River to the east coast.

There is a price to be paid but nothing in comparison to the price Jesus paid on the cross to save sinners like us. BFM missionaries have suffered strange sicknesses, buried their children, buried their wives and been separated by long distances from their loved ones. To see men, women, and children trust Jesus as Savior is worth the price paid and we rejoice in the sufferings for the Glory of the Father.

NEW CHURCH IN FOZ DE IGUACO [ee-gua-soo]

The first week of March a new church was founded in the city of Iguaco. This city is in the western part of the State of Parana. This State is the fourth from the southern tip of Brazil. The history of the work and its workers is the story of God’s Grace. The pastor and wife who started the work and labored for several years are Edson and Maria Jose. They are parents of three children.

Edson was saved in Duartina. This church is forty miles from Garca. Maria Jose was saved in another city fifteen miles from Garca. They met at the Seminary in Garca. Edson was called to preach at about age twelve. At that time, Maria, our adopted daughter, was working in the church at Duartina where Edson had been saved. He felt called to preach at about twelve years of age. Maria began te3aching him how to study the Bible, and at fourteen, he began preaching. Edson is Maria’s son in the faith. The new church in Iquaco has another mission point.

WORK IN URAI AND AREA

Marcio is doing a good work as pastor of the Urai church. He preaches at the church in Rancho Alegre. Young people care for the work in Sussumo Mission, and they have services in a village called Duzentos. There are seven young people who are working in Congregations and growing in grace.

WORK IN THE CORNELIO PROCOPIO AREA

The Seminary is going well, and the church has Congregations in Terezinha and Congoninhos. God has raised up a group of faithful men here in this part of Brazil. Their wives and children are godly and faithful. They are some of the most wonderful Christians we have ever known.

Fellow laborers, you can be proud and thankful to have a part in His work here.

We sincerely thank you for your prayers and support.

John and Alta Hatcher

MIKE AND BEV CREIGLOW  |  MARCH 2011

Michael D. Creiglow | Caixa Postal 24     69980 | Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre   Brazil

March 5, 2011
Dear Brethren,
Beverly has not been too happy with me this month. It seems that I have been traveling most of the time. One time I came in from a trip, spent one day at home and left again. I keep telling her that she should just go with me. The part about all the insects, mud, sleeping in a tent doesn’t help my sales pitch much though.
The main visits this month were to Rodrigues Alves, Foz do Breu, Tipisca (Peru) and São Salvador.
The river is finally up nice and high. The long trip to Peru was really easy this time. I even took my bigger boat all the way to Tipisca. Hudson finally got over a bad bout with malaria and was able to go with me.
The congregation at Foz do Breu (The Breu River is the border between Brazil and Peru. The village of is right at the mouth of the Breu) is now meeting in the new building, which is still under construction. They are having about 100 in attendance on Sundays. Even on Wednesday night we had over 70 people. On Sunday they have over 25% of the local population. That isn’t bad at all. While there I laid out the last jobs on the construction. We plan to have the dedication in about 6 weeks. Also, I had 3 meetings with our 2 missionaries. José Maia works in the Breu with the Caxinauá indians. Vando works with the locals at Foz do Breu.
José Maia went with us on our trip into Peru. On the way up river we were used to save the lives of an indian family. As we came around a bend we saw flailing in the most turbulent part of the river. A whole family had been in a tiny, rotten canoe and gone down just as we were coming along. The story is too long to tell here, but I must mention that God’s timing is SO precise. A minute earlier and we would have been past them. A minute later would have been too late. They would have been gone. As it was, I pushed my boat as hard as possible to get to them. When I reached out to grab the young mother’s hand, her head was just about to go under and I never saw such a look of despair in my life. She was still clutching her baby and trying to keep its head above water. She is probably 7 or 8 months pregnant. We also managed to get her 2 little boys out safely. None of us speaks their language, but she was able to thank us in Spanish. By the way, we turned around and took them downstream to their village before continuing our trip upstream.
The visit to Tipisca to visit Tito and the work was pretty routine. They are in their brand new building. We now are working on getting them some pews built. They only have 2 pews and 4 benches! Things are a little slow there, but not bad.
The trip to São Salvador was great, too. For this trip I took my smaller boat. The river up there is much smaller and crooked. The church there held their first preachers meeting ever. There was a pretty good bunch considering the difficult access. There were about 40 preachers. The new brick builiding, which seats over 200, was packed for the 3 evening services and on Sunday morning there were 208 present. I preached on Saturday night. There were 4 who came forward during the invitation that Pastor Moisés gave. My message was about missions, but you just never know what the Lord might do with a doctrinal sermon. The church insisted that I perform the baptism on Sunday morning. I baptized 15.
Well I see that this letter is already too long. Besides that, I am leaving on another trip in a couple of hours. Bev is going with me! Yeah! The rest of the news will have to wait until later. Maybe I can share a little more, in a more personal way during our furlough, which is just 2 short months away! Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ, Mike Creiglow

NATHAN AND CARRIE RADFORD  | MARCH 2011

March 3, 2011

Dear praying friends,

Another month has come and passed so quickly, and we are so excited to write this update and give you some exciting news concerning our family. This update will share current prayer requests, a family update, and how to pray for us in the days ahead.

On February 21, 2011, Camille Sophia Radford was born. She weighed 9 pounds and 13 ounces. As far as we can tell, she is progressing well and getting good reports from the doctors, for which we thank the Lord. Thanks so much to each one who prayed for my wife as she was pregnant, throughout the pregnancy, and also for the birth of our daughter Camille. What a blessing she already is to our family, and we thank the Lord for her. What an honor it is to be a parent, and what a responsibility to bring them up in the ways of the Lord. Proverbs 22:6 states “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” What a tremendous promise this is from the Word of God, and an encouragement. I have also attached a picture of Camille to this prayer letter so you can see her. Please pray for us as a family during this time of adjustments, and also for our daughter McKenna as well.

I am in the process of contacting churches to come and share the ministries in Kenya, so if you would be interested in this, you can email me at: naterad@yahoo.com <mailto:naterad@yahoo.com>  or call me at: 814-688-4703. We also have a DVD of the ministries, so if you would be interested, please contact me and I will send you one free of charge.

For prayer requests, please pray for the ministries in Kenya in our absence, that they would continue on well. Please pray also that the people would look to the Lord to provide for them and help them with their needs, and to rely on Him. Psalm 62:8 states “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.” Please pray for all the ministries, as we are now home for furlough.

Personally, for our family, please pray for our health, that we would stay healthy at this time of the year. Please also pray for our safety as we travel, and for our vehicle to do well with the many miles that it needs to go for this furlough. Let’s also remember to faithfully pray for our nation as well. May we have time for the Lord we need to have, and spend quality time in prayer. A quote I read recently that challenged me is “If you are to busy to pray, you are too busy.” How true this is, and may we be people who pray faithfully.

God bless you all and thanks again so much for your love, support, encouragement, and care. It means more to us than you will ever know. We will keep you updated.

In Him, Nathan and Carrie Radford

Mailing Address:  315 College Street  |  Youngsville, PA 16371

For ministry donations:  Pastor George Sledd  |  Treasurer of BFM

P.O. Box 471280  |  Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280

BOBBY AND CHARLENE WACASER  | MARCH 2011

Rua Manoel Valdomiro de Macedo, 2281
81170-150 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Ph: (813) 436-9980

E-mail: robertmw@brturbo.com.br <mailto:robertmw@brturbo.com.br>

March 10, 2011
Dear Friends,
We began construction on the new church building two months ago last week. A good friend of ours is a contractor and he is co-coordinating the project. My ministry team and I, (consisting of two young married couples, one young single man, my wife Charlene and my 13 year old son, Brennen) are doing all the labor on a voluntary basis. We have had a few members from our former church drop by to help too, but it has been mostly the 8 of us digging all the footers, mixing and pouring the concrete, bending and tying the rebar, and the ladies have done their share of the heavy stuff and also prepared all the meals. I am super proud of the whole team and thank God for their attitudes and effort.

Our first family to attend the new work even dropped by one afternoon and spent 3 hours digging footers with us. Kiddingly he said that the spot where he was digging was going to be his seating place in the new building. I hated to inform him that where he was working was going to be the handicap bathroom, but at least his sense of belonging was evident. He is yet unsaved, but we are praying for him and his family and loving on them as we have opportunity.
Projeto Vida was back on the road evangelizing this past month. In the month of February we hold a two week long missions seminar where volunteers come in from the surrounding states for classroom instruction and follow-up with two more weeks of traveling with the teams on their motorhome/busses to minister in the public schools and squares where they put into practice what they learn in the classroom. In this seminar we had over 20 volunteers participating. Some of these participants will stay on for 3 to 6 months more during the year as trainees. If they feel led of the Lord and our leaders approve them, then they may also become short-term missionaries with our teams. This is the strategy that we use to build our mission teams and God has blessed us many times through it.
Well, I need to get back out to the construction site. Pray for us.
Thank you for your love and support.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser

JOHN AND JUDY HATCHER  |  MARCH 2011

John and Judy Hatcher

March 10, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
It is good to be back home in France after a month in Chicago.  We had a wonderful visit with our daughter Lydia and her husband Adam and their two girls, Anastasia and Margaret.  Margaret was just two days old when we arrived.  We thank God for the birth of our 8th grandchild.  Unfortunately, as we were leaving France I came down with a severe chest cold that made the flight and first part of the visit a bit miserable.  It is tough to be in quarantine when you have new granddaughter and only a few days to visit!  But, God gave us wonderful bodies that still function marvelously well despite the “fall”.  After 3 weeks and hundreds of coughing fits I was able to hold Margaret and help out by washing dishes.

We are thankful beyond our ability of expression for the relationships that our children and their families have with the Lord.  This joy contrasts sharply with the people who surround us here.  They have no hope.  Most people in France have a comfortable physical existence but no spiritual life.

Here are some blessings that have caused us to rejoice recently:

1. Since I wrote my last letter, Marc has been back to the Sunday meetings.
2. Nicole, an elderly French lady with whom I have corresponded at length about spiritual matters has recently re-contacted us.  She is in her 80s.  She is a friend of a friend.  Initially her friend asked us to contact her as she had many questions about God, eternity and spiritual matters. She writes letters that are usually about a dozen pages long and filled with questions.   She lives in the Paris area and we have never met her face to face.  You can pray with us for God to open her understanding and enable her to trust Him.
3. Renewed interest by some children who came with their mother when they were younger them stopped coming.  They have returned with seemingly greater interest.
4. God has given Judy and I, Philip and Amanda, and Wendy a number of new contacts and opportunities to share the Gospel.
5. Evidence of increased maturity in several of the believers in our group.
6. Philippe, a man who has come for several years has recently seemed to be seeking God’s answers.
7. Rosana has professed faith in Christ and asked to be baptized.  We have Bible study with her over internet.  She was our neighbor but now lives with her family in Spain.

Our goal is to make disciples who will do the same.  Our Lord, who gave us this mandate, enables us to do so.  To Him be all the Glory.
Thanks for your faithfulness in giving and praying.
With grateful hearts in France,  John and Judy

ROGER AND JULIE TATE  |  MARCH 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings from Dayton, OH.  The last number of weeks have seen us traveling to various churches and presenting our work.  It has truly been a pleasure to revisit the churches we have been to so far.  Since I last wrote we have visited Union Baptist in Union, OH;  Rosedale Baptist in Rosedale, WV;  Buffalo Baptist in Buffalo, WV;  Cornerstone Baptist in Cincinnati, OH;  Covenant Baptist in Dayton, OH;  Emmanuel Baptist in Salyersville, KY;  and Storms Creek Baptist in Ironton, OH.  We have been so well received and loved in each of these churches.  What a joy it is to see and meet God’s people in various states of our great country.  I love to experience the love that exudes from all God’s people in these various places.  If you are thinking that you and your church are the only ones left that are serving Christ and worshiping the Lord, don’t despair.  There are many others, brothers and sisters in Christ and sister churches that are holding strong just like you!  Thank you to all the churches we have visited so far.  Thank you for allowing us to share with you our ministry, our burden and our struggles.  It is a privilege to me to be able to minister in this way.

As I have stated in my last couple of letters, while I am home on furlough I want to explain some of my ministry methods and principles, or, in other words, some of my thinking and my approach to church planting in Kenya.  Two months ago I explained why I CAN’T buy property and build church buildings.  Last month I explained why I CAN’T pay the pastors of any of the churches.  This month I want to briefly explain why I CAN’T transport people back and forth from church services or other ministry events.  Some of you might be thinking, “What?  How can you not do that!?!”  I understand your potential shock.  I would have been shocked if I heard a missionary say this three years ago.  However, my short experience in Kenya has changed my mind.  Yes, I could use my vehicle and spend most of the morning transporting people to the church meeting.  Yes, using this method I could probably fill the house much quicker and easier.  But think about this.  What happens if I start a new church this way?  The people will become dependent immediately and from the very beginning will depend on and expect this ride to the meetings.  Then what happens why I finally say, “OK, church, I’m ready to move on and start a new church in a different area”?  Well, I think you can figure out what happens next.  The church dies!  Why?  Because nobody that was receiving rides to church will come anymore.  Either it is now too far for them to get to the meetings themselves or they get mad because they believe the rides are “owed” to them.  Either way the people stop coming and the church suffers or dies.  The other reason I see why transporting people to church meetings in Kenya is a bad idea is because of one of the main purposes the Lord had in starting His churches in the first place – FOR COMMUNITY AND ONE ANOTHERING.  I believe that a church of Jesus Christ should be a close knit community that loves and serves one another;  that knows one another and minister to one another’s needs;  that share the same community and thus the same problems.  If people are shipped in from distant communities then these things will never happen.  If they are not able to walk to the meeting themselves or get there on their own in some other way, then the church becomes nothing more than something they attend once or twice a week for a service and then they go home.  The rest of the week they are not able to communicate with the rest of the congregation or serve one another in any way whatsoever.  This is not the Lord’s idea of a body working together.  No, for a congregation to function as a community of Jesus Christ they need to be able to meet together on their own without outside transport and all live relatively close together.  In other words they need to walk or ride their bikes.  Don’t worry, though, they are quite used to this mode of transportation already.

Beloved, we just so much want to follow the models, methods and principles that we find in the New Testament.  I am not the master builder.  But I can try and follow the ways of the master builder in my own ministry.  May the Lord bless this work.

Until next month, beloved.

May God’s peace and joy be with you.

For the glory of God in East Africa, Roger & Julie Tate (and Emily, Amy, & Josiah)

AJ AND BARBARA HENSLEY | MARCH 2011

Hi friends and family,
I like to sit on the front porch in the mornings and drink my coffee, read my Bible, pray and anticipate the activities of the day. As I am looking at the road in front of the house this morning I see two branches (creeks), one on each side of the road instead of the river (the road being completely covered with water).  Yes it is raining again. Whatever the plans for the day are it is a must that you include rain as a possibility for the day.

Enough about the weather, this is the day that the Lord has made! Let us be glad in it.

We were in the States for a few weeks with a seriously ill brother.  He had a stroke and was undergoing surgery, and the family was called in because of the seriousness of the situation. Well ,we arrived as soon as we could, but we were late, and we found my brother dismissed from the hospital and at home.  When we as a family (4 brothers and families) arrived at his home, his countenance completely changed. When we entered, he was down in the dumps; but upon seeing us, he became chipper and sat up immediately.  Insisted that we sit down around him with gestures because he could not speak. How AWESOME is our God.  So instead of a final farewell we had a wonderful family reunion. And on top of being able to minister and pray for him we just had and awesome time together.  And that is how it is with problems. Sometimes He takes the bad and turns it into blessings.

Sorry that we were unable to visit with you all this time but this was such a quick trip and was dedicated to family. We are looking forward to coming home and spending time with all of you soon.

Thanks to all of you for your prayer support for the new work. It is growing, and lives are being changed. On our return, we had a baptism and 16 new converts were baptised on Saturday night and were added to the Church roll on Sunday.  Since we started last year, that makes 23 new brothers and sisters added to God’s Kingdom. We still have several more for baptism and are planning another baptism this month. Awesome is it not?!  We are now above 60 members and are averaging in the 80s for our principal service. We feel the Lord’s presence with this new Church start.  We are planning to organise this mission work into a Church in April. Keep on praying for this work and for the organization meeting in April.

Don´t forget to pray for the Vocational School, we are working on the dormitory for the boys and the work is going slow. But we are not discouraged, because we know that God is with this work too. Also continue to pray for the orphanage. The couple that was interviewed before we left has accepted the invite to come and be the parents at the orphanage. They will be coming as soon as they can finish some things that they had committed to do. And the Judge has said that as soon as there are parents there he has children to put in the orphanage.

As we work here we have a few basic needs. With all the expenses for our van and truck, it is becoming a real challenge to keep up financially. These vehicles are being used daily in our ministry and the roads are becoming a true challenge for the vehicles. Some of our roads are asphalt, some dirt, and the rest are holes with a little road around them. So you can see as the rain continues the roads become worse. The repair bills keep mounting —however the ministry goes on. Pray with us for our vehicles and transportation needs. One of the greatest is a bus. Please pray that we would receive offerings sufficient to buy one. As you can imagine with the increase in members we need a bus to bring all of them to Church and have run out of room for Sunday School classes. We are in dire need of building more rooms in which to have Sunday school.  So pray for this need also.

Another AWESOME blessing I´ve been having is on Friday nights  a “Servants Class” for 5 men. I have used all the qualifications and references for deacons as a basis for this class. They, as well as I, are receiving a great blessing from this class. I hope to complete this class this week or next. This will possibly open the door for some of these men to serve as deacons in the future.

Well it seems all I have been doing in this letter is telling of our needs and prayer requests. Permit me to put one more in front of you all;  our son-in-law and daughter are looking at another place to serve the Lord and Savior. Pray for Walmir and Mary as they are considering where the Lord wants them to serve. Also pray for Mary as her due date for our third granddaughter Ashley is at the end of March. I am going to be a grand pa again for the 3rd time. What an AWESOME blessing.

As I close this letter I ask that you keep praying as that is what keeps us going spiritually and keep giving as that is what keeps us going financially.  Also think of coming down as that is what keeps us going emotionally.

Just remember that we can add some water to the beans and throw a few more grains of rice in the pot so a few more people at the table is not a problem. Hope to see you here in Brasil soon.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara

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HAROLD BRATCHER  |  MARCH 2011

Rua Francisco Jose Furtado 2  |  São Francisco, Manaus, Amazonas, 69079-200

Brazil, South America

011-55-92-36112331

harold_bratcher@yahoo.com
March 9, 2011
Dear Brothers of the Blessed and Sisters of the Savior:
Permit me to write about a few days in the future.  On the 24th of this month, I will be 84 years old.  I will be happy and grateful with many others here in Brazil and in the USA.  However, I will be sad because it will be my first birthday without my dear wife of 56 plus years, Hattie Marie Moore Bratcher.  I do not want to be guilty of the sin of ingratitude but I haven’t answered most of the sympathy cards, e-mails and letters yet, but Asa Mark and I will do so soon.  Also, I am sad and happy at the same time today because Stephen will be leaving us tomorrow to return to the States.  Asa Mark and I are so thankful to the Lord that he arrived 5 weeks ago today, and has been such a blessing to us during these difficult times.  He also was a blessing to the nine Baptist Churches where he preached.  He plans to return in June for a two month visit, the Lord permitting.  Also I am happy because Asa Mark has been and will continue to be a great blessing to me.
I praise the Lord that over a thousand people went to the church during the two days that Marie’s body lay in state.  There were over 120 cars in the funeral procession to the cemetery and over 300 attended Marie’s Memorial Service at the Comunhão BC, on Sunday evening, February 13th.  Marie’s body was laid to rest in the St. John the Baptist Cemetery, in the grave of her youngest son, Joel Harold Bratcher, who was buried there 40 years ago.  By the grace of God I am weeping less and praising the Lord more.  I know that she is with the Lord, but I still miss her very much.  May the Lord be with me until we meet again.  She will not return to me but one day I shall go to her in Heaven.  When I arrive in Heaven, I want to see my Savior, first of all. “I shall know Him; I shall know Him, when redeemed by His side I shall stand.  I shall know Him by the prints of the nails in His Hands”.
Also I am thankful that Pastor Dave Parks has been a great blessing to me by words, letters, and offerings.  To all of you who have sent us offerings, Asa Mark and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  “The Lord buried the worker, but the work goes on”.  Thus, “the work must go on till the final battle for Christ is won”.  Permit me to thank my only living brother, Charles Bratcher, and his wife, Reva of Frankfort, Ky. for his many calls, and to Marie’s only sister, Deane Cruise of Richmond, Ky.  Pray for all of those mentioned in this letter.  I thank all who are praying for us.  Praise God that we’ll never have to say good-bye in Heaven.

Yours in the Service of the Savior: Harold and Asa Mark Bratcher

BOBBY CREIGLOW | MISSION REPRESENTATIVE | FEBRUARY 2011

Dear Brethren,
What I consider to be the main event of January 2011, was The Winter Missions Conference, hosted by Park Ridge Baptist Church. Brother Ben Glover is the present pastor of this church, that has had only five pastors since its organization in 1959. I and my family and one other family were used of the Lord to start that church, and therefore it has been a faithful supporter of Baptist Faith Missions for these many years. It was Park Ridge Baptist Church that sent me, and my family to Brazil in 1960. The conference there has been an encouragement to many through out the years, so it would be a good idea for everyone to make plans to get away from the cold weather, that will come next January, get away to attend; you will be glad you did.
The Spring Missions Conference is just around the corner, April 11-13, And Brother David Parks is hard at work making plans for this to be the very best conference ever. David has permitted me to think that my contribution to the planning is being helpful, and I am thankful.
It has been, and still is a joy, to work along the side of David, so we all here at Thompson Road Baptist Church are looking forward to all of you being with us on April 11-13.
It has been a long time that our missionaries have been needing and are worthy of a good raise in pay, but due to the lack of funds, they have had to learn to tighten their belts, and get by with meager fare, and I have heard no complaint from any of them. I remember, many years ago, at one of the conferences, that the President of Baptist Faith Missions, made a promise to the Missionaries saying, “As long as we have, you shall have.” At that time there were several hundred people people in attendance, and we all said, Amen to that, so I ask all of you to help us keep that promise, by giving more and more to the General Fund of BFM.
In His Name,
Bobby D. Creiglow
615 Lane Allen Rd.
Lexington, KY 40504
859-309-2025
bob4bfm@insightbb.com

JOHN AND ALTA HATCHER | FEBRUARY 2011

John & Alta Hatcher | Caixa Postal 112 | Urai, PR – Brazil 86280-000

E-mail: jhatcher@uol.com.br

Feb. 3.2011

Dear Fellow Workers

Greetings in the precious Name of Jesus. Here in Brazil where we live there has been lots of rain and hot weather. Alta and I have been well for two eighty-five year olds. We praise the Lord for His goodncss in His help with the slowness of step and less ability in hearing. Our joy is to be able to tell the old, old story.

“I love to tell the story Of unsecn things above,

Of Jesus and His glory, Of Jesus and His love;

I lovc to tell the story, Because I know ’tis true.

It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.

“I love to tell the story, For those who know it best

Seem hungering and thirsting To hear it like the rest;

And when in scenes of glory I sing the new, new song,

‘Twill be the old, old story That I have loved so long.”

OUR REASONS FOR REJOICING

I. We are still working in our Mission in the city of Assai, forty miles from our home. We go there every Sunday morning. There has not bcen any progress on the new building but the pre-fabbed pieces are supposed to be finished, so we hope we will soon have better news.

2. Every day I walk for my health, but for the chance to meet people whom I can evangelize. This week I was able to witness to three women who are opening a small saloon. These are women of the world and they listened well as I told them how Jesus transformed my life. Make a note to pray for them Two days later I witnessed to three men who work for the city.

3. The Chapada Baptist Church, our first church plant in Brazil, now pastored by David, our son, baptized sixty-four persons last Sunday. The attendance at the service was 2,700 4. Our son, John and grandson, Philip are missionaries in France with extensions in Portugal and Spain.

5. Our son, Paul, pastor of the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Manaus, has led the church to start new works in four States in northeast Brazil.

6. Our daughter, Kathy, married to Odali, who is pastor of a new church they started in Garca have special work with children and needy people.

7. Our granddaughter, Lidia, who with her husband work with a church in Chicago, had a ncw child born on Saturday, January 29. Her name is Margaret Helena.

Well, those are a few of the reasons we are rejoicing in the goodness of our Lord. Space and time would not permit to name all of you dear wonderful friends who have faithfully prayed and supported through our fifty-five years in Brazil.

Thank you in Jesus’ Name

John and Alta Hatcher

MIKE AND BEV CREIGLOW  |  February 2011

Michael D. Creiglow | Caixa Postal 24     69980 | Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre | Brazil

February 7, 2011

Dear Brethren,

The rains have finally begun in Cruzeiro do Sul. All the way to mid January the river has been very low. In the 50 years that I have been here it has never been this hard to travel this late in the rainy season. Hudson and I are back on the rivers again, now that the rains have picked up.

The most important trip this month was down stream. Hudson and Eliésio went down a few days before I was able to get away. They visited several of the regular preaching points on their way down. They had big crowds in all the villages. At Nova Esperança (New Hope, yes, that is the name of the village) the two main patriarchs were saved. At first they had been very opposed to the gospel. The guys were really surprised when, after the services were finished, they came right out and said that they were trusting Christ as their Savior. We will have to wait and see what the Lord will do in this village, but usually when the authority figures in a village get saved, many others come to Christ in the weeks and months that follow.

I finally caught up with Hudson and Eliésio at Ipixuna. Although I am not supposed to travel by myself anymore, this was another of those times when it couldn’t be avoided. The folks I invited were all already traveling elsewhere or too busy. The trip was a breeze though and, needless to say, my Lord was with me and took care of me.

I preached at Ipixuna and the next night we called for a meeting with the local pastors and leadership to talk about missions. There were about 25 present for this meeting. The pastor of the biggest church is from Mâncio Lima (west of Cruzeiro do Sul) and was baptized by me many years ago. Later he left for seminary and ended up being called to pastor at Ipixuna. His name is Elieu. For those who have been around long enough to have followed the work in this region through the Mission Sheets you may recall hearing about the “old Patriarch”. He was saved under Miguel Ibernon’s preaching back in the Late 40’s or early 50’s. Well, Elieu is one of the “old Patriarch’s” great grandsons.

The meeting was very productive. We have been trying for over 2 years to get the churches there to partner with us to do missions along that section of the Juruá River. It looks like they are finally going to come on board with us. In fact, they are excited and have already set dates for us to do our first joint trip. This will happen in April. At that time we will be turning over several of the works that we have started. This will free us up to go even further. The plan right now is for one of the Ipixuna churches to take care of 100Km of river upstream and the other church to take care of 100Km downstream. We already established at least 6 preaching points and have good numbers of solid believers in these 6 villages. If the churches there will continue and expand the mission work in that region it will help us out a lot. Remember that Ipixuna is their base and these villages are close to them. Ipixuna is almost 250 Km down river from where our base is!

This month I would like to send a special thanks to Park Ridge Baptist Church. In January 2007 (exactly 4 years ago) the church gave me a special offering during the winter conference. The offering was $2,000.00 to buy a satellite phone. I put that money in a savings account while I researched and waited for one of the companies to make their service reliable. Eventually I went with Iridium. The offering paid for the phone and the first year service plan. I threw in $150.00 of my own to buy 100 minutes of air time and Baptist Faith missions paid for the shipping. The phone arrived here just a month ago. On my return from Ipixuna I was able to call in from way out in the middle of nowhere to let the family know about when I would arrive back in town. It took me a long time to settle on this purchase, but I wanted to get it right. When you give me an offering for a specific project, it may take some time for the project to come together but, rest assured, the money will go to that project. Thanks Park Ridge for the peace of mind that the new satellite phone brings to our family. By the way, I don’t recommend that you call me on that phone, but just in case, my number is 881622467608 and don’t forget to start with 011. One more little detail: you will be paying for the call to the tune of about $15.00 a minute! You might just want to stick with email.

Our furlough is just 3 months away. Please pray that it will be good for the Kingdom.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.

In Christ, Mike Creiglow

NATHAN AND CARRIE RADFORD  | February 2011

February 8, 2011

Dear praying friends, Another month has come and passed, and we thank the Lord for His blessings and care for us. What a great God we serve, and what a blessing it is to be involved in His work. Although we can face various trials and tests through our lives, what a blessing to know that our Lord is there with us each step of the way, wherever He has called us to serve Him.  Joshua 1:9 states “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” This update will share current prayer requests, as well as a very important time in the life of our family.

Lord willing, my wife will give birth to our second child later this month. She is due February 12th, and the time is quickly approaching, so we would appreciate your prayers so much for her, the baby, and the upcoming delivery, that all would go well. We got it confirmed recently that we will be having a daughter, and we are so thrilled with this. We plan to name her Camille Sophia Radford, and we are so looking forward to having her as a part of our family soon, Lord willing. What a blessing children are, and we thank the Lord for the great medical care that Carrie has received thus far and for the health of our baby. Psalm 127:3 states “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” We plan to send pictures of Camille soon, so you can see her. Please continue to pray that all would go well in the upcoming days.

Please also continue to pray for the ministries in our absence. Please pray for the ministry in Rafiki, the prison ministry, and also the hospital ministry, as we are away from the ministries at this time. Although it is hard to be away from Kenya and the ministries there, it is also a good time for us to be able to report on the ministries, as well as spend time with friends and family. I am still in the process of contacting churches, so if you would be interested in contacting us, we can be reached at: naterad@yahoo.com <mailto:naterad@yahoo.com> or my phone number, which is 814-688-4703. Please pray for us as we travel, that we would be safe, and also for the vehicle to be dependable as we travel. We appreciate your prayers so much, as prayer is such a vital part of the ministry. Adrian Rogers said “Prayer is the greatest Christian privilege.” What a privilege indeed it is to be able to talk to the Lord, and to trust Him as we pray.

May God bless each of you for your prayers, support, love, and encouragement. It means more to us than you will ever know. We will keep you updated.
In Him, Nathan and Carrie Radford

Mailing Address:

315 College Street  |  Youngsville, PA 16371
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd  |  Treasurer of BFM

P.O. Box 471280  |  Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280

BOBBY AND CHARLENE WACASER  | February 2011

February 10, 2011
Rua Manoel Valdomiro de Macedo, 2281
81170-150 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Ph: (813) 436-9980
E-mail: robertmw@brturbo.com.br <mailto:robertmw@brturbo.com.br>
Dear Friends,
As I was growing up in the rural south I sometimes heard the phrase used, “hurry up and wait.” At first, I thought the speaker was confused, but later I came to understand not only what it meant, but also that I would experience the reality of that expression many times in my life. It happened again these past few days.
Our leadership team wanted to begin to hold services at the site of our new church plant, even before we built our structure. Because of much recent rain, we discovered that the lot was a little low and that the type of soil there retained water. We needed to haul in some fill dirt to raise the property and have a tractor spread and level the fill dirt. We wanted to get this work done before our meeting scheduled for the second weekend of January. The big problem was that, with daily rains, the trucks with the dirt and the tractor could not drive in the wet lot without getting stuck. Each day we were trying to hurry and get the property prepared to hold services, but we had to wait for the rain to slack off and the land to dry out. Then, when the rains quit, I had to hurry and schedule the trucks to bring in the dirt and have a tractor leveling it as it was dumped because the tractor work is charged by the hour. Now, after rushing to get the leveling done, we are waiting for the architect to get our building permit ready. Again it is, “hurry up and wait.”
We are not sitting idle, though, as we wait. We have been having our meetings on the open lot next to our property. At our first service we had 18 persons present. Visitors from our first meeting invited another family to our second meeting. Presently, we are still meeting in the open air, but we hope to begin construction very soon and be able to move indoors before our cool weather arrives in April.
Though none of our team members are builders by profession, they all enjoyed working together to drain off excess water and fencing the lot to keep out thieves. We want the thieves to come, but we prefer they come when we’re there so we can share the gospel with them.
Our school year begins this month and so Project Life, our traveling evangelistic teams will be heading out to the public schools all over the country again. The four teams which travel and live in busses converted into motor-homes are excited to be back in action in the public schools. Each team has the privilege to share the gospel to as many as 3000 students and faculty per week. God has used and blessed this ministry in an amazing way in the past and we are expecting great things again this year.
Thank you for praying for us and for your faithful support.
In Christ’s love, Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser

JOHN AND JUDY HATCHER  |  February 2011

February 8, 2011
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am writing this letter from Chicago.  On arriving here last week we were greeted by a record breaking blizzard.  We are here so that Judy can help Lydia after the birth of our 8th grandchild, Margaret Elena Reece.  By the time you read this we will be back in France, the Lord willing. Children are a heritage from the Lord that we have the privilege of holding and molding for a short time leading them to a relation with our Heavenly Father and all that entails.  What a joy to us to observe our children walking in the truth.
Speaking of families and children, leads me to the topic of our Sunday meetings in Tournefeuille at the present.  At the end of 2010 we concluded a study through the Gospel according to Mark.  Yoann and his wife have been attending regularly for several months although he has not a profession of faith.  As they were leaving on the day that we concluded Mark, he asked me, “How you determine what to teach on next?”  I asked if he was interested about something in particular to which he answered, “What does the Bible teach about rearing children?”.  Praying and discussing with others in leadership we decided this would be a good series.  The response has been very encouraging.  Yoann and his wife Annaelle, have a three month old child.  Their interest in spiritual matters is a cause for thanksgiving.  They accept the Bible as God’s Word, a rarity among French.
Marc, one of our unsaved neighbors was also back in January.  We have prayed for him for years.  Last summer, after the death of his father he began coming regularly and seemed very interested.  After a few months he stopped coming.  During the Holiday Season, his mother died.  The next Sunday he was back.  As he left, he remarked to me, “I will probably see you next Sunday.  Well…I guess next Sunday never came for him!  How many show interest for a while and then drop out both in France and around the world.  We do hope that Marc will recognize his eternal need of Christ.
Our hearts go out to the Bratcher Family.   We know that the recent weeks have been difficult as they watched Marie Bratcher suffer so much.  She is now in the presence of the Lord and has rested from her earthly labors and suffering.  Nevertheless, those who love her will certainly miss her. I have many fond memories of Marie.  When I was six years old, we returned to Manaus, Brazil as my parents began their second term there.  The Bratchers, Harold, Marie and Asa traveled along with us to Manaus and stayed with us for a few days as they began their ministry in Brazil.  For Mrs. Bratcher, everything was so strange and difficult; she shed many tears.  However, she stuck is out and over the years it was wonderful to see her love for the people and work with the ladies.  Many will miss her.
May the Lord bless and keep you and cause His face to shine upon you.
In France for Christ,

John and Judy

ROGER AND JULIE TATE  |  February 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Things in the States are going well.  We have rented a house in Dayton, Ohio where our home church is located.  The kids are settled into home school.  Most things are back to normal now.  I have finished with my pre-traveling tasks:  My prayer cards are printed, my DVD is prepared and most of my supporting churches are scheduled on the calendar for us to visit.  All of this having been completed I was able to present our work and preach at our home church, Emmanuel Baptist in Bellbrook, OH this past Sunday.  What a joy is was to stand in front of my own people again and share our struggles and work of the past three years.  There is no greater church in all the world than my home church.  Oh, and being able to preach and teach in English was a joy as well.  I thought I might have forgotten how to do that but once I got started it was hard to stop.  I look forward to being with many of you all in the coming months.  I start next Sunday with a church that is dear to my heart:  Union Baptist Church in Union, OH.

As I have stated in my last couple of letters, while I am home on furlough I want to explain some of my ministry methods and principles, or, in other words, some of my thinking and my approach to church planting in Kenya.  Last month I explained why I CAN’T buy property and build buildings for new churches.  I speak about this issue in my DVD as well.  This month I want to briefly explain why I CAN’T pay the pastors of any of the churches.  To some people it may seem logical that I NOT pay pastors of churches a salary each month.  To other people, the logical decision might seem to pay them.  These peoples thinking might go something like this:  You have to pay the pastors because they otherwise would have to get income from outside sources (jobs) and this would distract them and prevent them from spending the time that is needed for them to pastor and shepherd their flocks.  There obviously is some wisdom and truth in this line of thinking.  However, let me explain why I cannot do this in Kenya.  The main reasons, randomly stated, are these.  First, paying pastors a salary builds dependency into the pastors and the churches from the very beginning.  By starting to pay pastors in the first place it makes it extremely difficult to ever stop paying them any time in the future.  They will always think they need that western money or they will not be able to continue to minister.  Second, I want men who are willing to work for the Lord because they love the Lord and want to see His kingdom spread, not because they are getting paid or getting a salary.  If I pay pastors a salary, it would be impossible to determine the difference between the two.  Many men would be willing to become a “pastor” simply because they want a job, an income, a salary.  Third, the congregation itself will never see or feel the responsibility of taking care of their pastor themselves because there is no need for them to do so.  Their thinking from the beginning would be “I guess that’s the missionary’s responsibility”.  Fourth, the whole concept of paying pastors is not reproducible.  If a church were to try and evangelize its neighboring village and start a church there, what would they want and expect to do?  They would want and expect the new pastor to be paid.  And since they wouldn’t have the means to do that they would either 1)  Look to the missionary to pay the new pastor as well or 2)  They would give up trying to start a new church in their neighboring village because they know they cannot pay the new pastor.  Paying pastors is not reproducible.  Fifth, paying pastors makes them puppets on strings.  This is a true statement.  If they are receiving salaries from the missionary they will always be trying simply to please the missionary out of fear of losing their salary and source of income.  This gives too much power to the missionary and takes power away from the Holy Spirit, the pastor and the local church.  Don’t take this analogy too far but it builds a master/slave relationship between the missionary and pastor.  It removes freedom and liberty from the pastor.  It breeds nepotism and paternalism.  This is obviously a huge problem.  The sixth and last thing I will mention is this:  Paying pastors ties me indefinitely to those pastors and churches.  What if I wanted to leave those areas and start other churches.  It would make it very difficult for me to leave because I would be tied to paying those salaries indefinitely.  The missionary is no longer as free as he would like to pick up and move to another area.

I hope you can see the many problems inherent in paying Kenyan pastors.  It is not because I don’t love them or because they are not worthy.  It’s just one of those things that prevents the spread of the gospel, the spread of the kingdom of Christ, and the spread of churches across the land.  And may God do all three of these things in the land of Kenya.

Until next month, beloved. May God’s peace and joy be with you.

For the glory of God in East Africa,

Roger & Julie Tate (and Emily, Amy, & Josiah)

NATHAN AND CARRIE RADFORD  | January 2011

December 1, 2010

Dear praying friends,
Another month has come and passed, and we thank the Lord for the opportunities He gives us to serve Him, and also for His faithfulness and provisions. What a blessing it is to be able to serve the Lord, and may we ever be mindful of and available for the opportunities that we have to serve. This update will share ministries as well as family news.
It is hard to believe that we are now at the end of 2010 and in the Christmas season. We trust that each of you had a great Thanksgiving holiday with your friends and families. May we never forget the reason for the season, the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. One of my favorite verses concerning Christmastime is Matthew 1:21, which states “And she shall bring forth a son,  and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” We wish each of you a great Christmas with your friends and families.
In family news, we thank the Lord for the good development of Carrie’s pregnancy. She is due in February, and we ask you to please continue to pray for her and the development of our child. Please pray that all continues to go well without any complications, and that the baby would be born healthy. We are trusting the Lord for all of this, and thank you so much for your prayers. Also, please continue to pray for us as a whole family, and also for McKenna, who is growing and developing so quickly. We are so proud of her. I have attached a recent family photo of us to this prayer letter.
I have been busy lately, making a missions dvd of our ministry, contacting churches, doing correspondence, and attending a missions conference in Michigan. We thank the Lord for the conference, our mission board of directors, and also for the hospitality and love that we felt when we attended. A big thank you to Pastor Adkins and New Hope Baptist Church, as well as all who worked hard to prepare meals, work with the children, and serve in other ways. We greatly appreciated it.
Lord willing, we will be receiving our current missions dvd soon, so if you would like one, please let us know and we will send you one free of charge. Also, if your church would be interested in having us come, we can be contacted at the following phone number: 814-688-4703 or by email at: naterad@yahoo.com We would love to speak with you and we appreciate your interest in missions across the world.
Please also keep the ministries in Kenya in your prayers in our absence, the Rafiki ministry, annex prison, and hospital ministry. We would appreciate your prayers for each work and ministry, and we miss the people there. Please continue to pray for these works as they continue while we are home on furlough. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, the Bible says “Pray without ceasing.” What a challenge this is, as so many times in our busy schedules we find it hard to find a time to pray and talk with the Lord. Charles Spurgeon said “Whether we like it or not, asking is the rule of the Kingdom.  If you may have everything by asking in His Name, and nothing without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital prayer is.” What a great statement and challenge for us to pray.

We wish each of you a great holiday season and we appreciate each of you for your interest in missions. Each one of you who prays for us, comes to visit the ministries, or sacrificially supports the ministries, are a great blessing to us.  Thank you for being mindful of missions across the world in Kenya, and may God bless each of you, as we could not do the work without you.                                                                                                                                 In Kenya,

Nathan and Carrie Radford  |  315 College Street  |  Youngsville, PA 16371                          For ministry donations:                                                                                                               Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM | P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280

HAROLD AND MARIE BRATCHER  |  January 2011

Rua Francisco Jose Furtado 2, São Francisco, Manaus, Amazonas, 69079-200
Brazil, South America.  011-55-92-36112331; harold_bratcher@yahoo.com
January 10, 2011
Dear Brothers of the Blessed and Sisters of the Savior:

Once again we greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ from the land of eternal summer.  By God’s grace we are able to once again greet you.  The city of Manaus and the whole state of the Amazonas are hot but wet!  We are now in the rainy season and almost every day it pours!  This MS month began December 5th and ends today, January 10th.  During this period, I preached 6 sermons and heard 4.  Sunday morning, the 26th of December, we were at the Comunhão Baptist Church, Dr. Asa Mark Bratcher, pastor, to celebrate our 56th Wedding anniversary, along with 20 other couples.
Since Sunday night the 26th of December, Marie has been suffering, weak with the flu, and then pneumonia. I of course, have been sad and lonely but amazed by God’s faithfulness with friends, or more friends than we realized we had.  That night, Bro. Raimundo Braz, that drives us to church in his taxicab, after the evening service when I preached, took us to 28th of August hospital.  There, Marie was admitted to the emergency room.  She received emergency care, but was released at 4:30am, Monday. Asa Mark took her home, bought her medication, and an inhalation machine.  She has not been alone since.  On Thursday, we took her, (Asa Mark, Francisco Chagas, and I) to the Prontocord Hospital, where she was given a check up by one doctor, and I by another.  Both doctors prescribed many exams, which we did there, at a cost of over $1,000.  Marie temporarily improved but then started to get worse.  So we took her to the 28th of August Hospital where she was admitted as a patient and is still there.  Asa Mark took me this afternoon to visit her, and she seemed a bit improved, but still a long way from total recovery. At this time, there is no word on when she will be released.  I hope by Thursday, but still believe in Romans 8:28.
Once again, we ask you to pray for Harold and Marie Bratcher.  We thank each of you who sent us Christmas cards and are praying for us. Marie’s sickness has caused us to get behind in our letter writing, but Asa Mark is constantly sending you updates by e-mail.
“Now concerning the collection”, we encourage you, readers of the MS to not forget the regular funds, the car fund, and last but not least, the Harold Bratcher funds.  We thank all of you who have contributed to the regular fund and to our designated funds.  Continue to do so.  I’m so thankful that due to the generosity of the pastors and churches here in Manaus, we are not suffering financially, for which we Praise the Lord!

Yours in the Service of the Savior, Harold Bratcher.

SHERIDAN AND ANITA STANTON  | January 2011

Mailing Address: Sheridan and Anita Stanton | Apartado Postal 140 | Huanuco, Perú | S A

Vonage phone: 859-514-0929

sestantonperu@hotmail.com – Sheridan

arstantonperu@hotmail.com – Anita

January 10, 2011

Dear friends and family,

Update on our health – ANITA continues to be more stable on her feet with each passing day since her last operation.  The swelling continues to be less and less each week.  This means she is also getting faster on her feet, but for the time being, I can still out run her!  ME – I’ve had NO more mini-strokes and the medications I take have my arrhythmia under control.  The doctors are still experimenting with the right dosage for my blood pressure; it was too low last week.  We thank all of you for your prayers on our behalf.  God has always been and continues to be so very gracious to HIS servants here in Peru.

Joshua – Our son, Joshua, is a pilot holding the rank of Captain in the USAF.  Today, Monday, 10^th of January he heads to Afghanistan for a four month tour of duty.  Like most military personnel, he has served “all over”, Columbia, Iraq and several bases in the States.  Josh is a wonderful husband, and father of two precious little girls; he is a man of high intelligence and integrity that loves and serves his country with honor.  Anita and I are naturally very proud of him and we ask you all to please remember him and his family, in your prayers.  The constant uncertainty of military life is uniquely stressful on all military families; they need our prayers.

Calvary Mission – Among the many ministry projects that Anita and I are involved in, church planting is always a priority.  A very special blessing and joy come from helping a new work grow in maturity and grow toward independence as an organized church.  Calvary Baptist Mission is our latest endeavor in this area of ministry.  We never get tired of teaching the basic truths of God’s Word and the application of those truths to everyday living.  A young couple trusted in Christ as their Savior last night and I begin discipleship classes with them this week.  Several are awaiting their baptism and another young couple will be married this week.  God is adding many hard-working young families to this work; there is a bright future.

We are still waiting to buy a piece of property for this mission; we have the funds, just waiting for the owner to get her papers in order.  After the land purchase, we plan to build and hopefully within a few more years be able to organize this mission-church into an independent church, and then we hope to begin another one. This is our life, what we know God has called us to do, what we genuinely love doing, and what we plan to continue doing until God shows us otherwise.  We love and thank all of you for your prayers and support that allows us to follow our calling from God.

Other ministries – With the funds we receive each month, Anita and I help fourteen other National Baptist Peruvian Missionaries on a monthly basis.  This monthly help is for their personal expenses and we help out on a prioritized, case by case basis with their ministry expenses.  We would like to be able to help on a monthly basis three more Peruvian missionaries with the works the Lord has called them into.  God is working in Peru in a truly awesome way, and we thank HIM for the privilege of being a small part of HIS work.

Many of you have asked about our next furlough; looks like it will be next year, 2012.  We hope to be there in the Spring through the fall.  I could write more, but this letter is getting too long.  Thank you again for your prayers and your support.  Until next month.

In HIM by HIS grace,

Sheridan and Anita Stanton

BOBBY AND CHARLENE WACASER  | January 2011

Manoel Valdomiro de Macedo, 2281
81170-150 Curitiba, PR  Brasil
Ph: (813) 436-9980
E-mail: robertmw@brturbo.com.br
Dear Friends,

We have launched the New Baptist Church of Curitiba. The initial team is made up of three couples, one single young man and our thirteen year old son, Brennen. Around the end of last month, Charlene and our ladies prepared small gift wrapped packages of homemade cookies and walked from door to door in the neighborhood distributing them and announcing the beginning of the new church.
The men, including Brennen and I, went to a local sports complex and engaged the local “fellers” in some friendly games of soccer and croquet. The game of croquet is virtually unknown here so it served as an attention getter and drew a small crowd in a hurry. We stopped playing long enough to make the acquaintance of the spectators and took the opportunity to announce the upcoming launch of the new church. We will be holding our first public meeting on the property where we will begin construction soon. In the meantime we will be meeting beneath a couple of portable beach gazebos sitting on plastic stools. We don´t want too much comfort at this stage because we want our own team and the new converts to think in terms of larger facilities for more people to come hear the gospel and become followers of Christ and part of his church.
I spent last week, together with our brother Carlos Chaves from Manaus, running around the city looking for the best prices on building materials. We have compared various types of construction methods and have found that a metal building will be our best option. With the experience that Carlos brings to the table, we were able to locate most of our material in scrap yards well under the price of new metal, yet still in excellent shape for construction. We have enough funds on hand to erect our structure and enclose it, so we´ll begin with that. We will have to be patient, work, save and teach our new converts to give in order to do the finish work as we come to it. If you also would like to have a part in helping us complete this project we would be very grateful. We are so excited to be beginning this new church and are expecting the Lord to do great things through it.
In Christ´s love,

Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser

AJ AND BARBARA HENSLEY  | January 2011

Dear friends and family,

Happy New Year to all! Hope this letter finds everyone well and looking forward to an AWESOME new year. From what I hear a lot of you are suffering from freezing weather with snow. This may be a good time to leave your cold place and come on down to the heat of the tropics.A mission trip at this time of the year would get you out of that cold weather and put you into a warm climate where you can suffer for the Lord. Here we are suffering from the heat. But God is giving us some respite as almost every afternoon we get lots of rain. Today we will have to take everything out of the Church because yesterday it came a “chicken drowner” (probably about 5 inches of rain in about 5 hours) and it entered the Church. So we will have to do some extensive cleaning. As we sat on the front porch yesterday our street looked like a river. As we look at the changes in the weather–maybe God is telling us something.
The new work is going very well. We have had several services with over 100 people. The Lord is really blessing. We had a special Christmas program with and for the children and it was a success. Many visitors came and now we have the opportunity to visit them and take the gospel to their homes. Also our New Year service was attended by over 40 families that are members and several visitors. We praised the Lord and sang the new year in and then eat to our hearts content.
We are looking at many projects here on the Church property and also on the Vocational property. We are just waiting for the visitors to come and help us. What are your plans for vacation this upcoming year? Could you come on down and help us?
As usual our vehicles are undergoing weekly trips to the mechanic. Our roads are one big hole after the other and this does bad things to the vehicles. Our bigger expense right now is the insurance for these vehicles. We will have 4 to 6 months of payments to pay for the insurance. It is not like there in the States, you cannot make payments over the year. Here you have to either pay in one payment or they give you 4 or 6 months to pay. We have thought about letting it drop but here because we transport church people we have to have insurance. So between the holes in the roads and the insurance it is almost cost prohibitive to have a vehicle. I now understand why most Brasilians ride a bike or walk.
Barbara and I would like to thank each and every one of you who have brought or sent clothes to us here in Brasil. We do several things with the clothes, here is the process, we call each of the members to the house and open the boxes and say “clothe your family”. Then when everyone has been clothed we are having a sale of the clothes for the neighborhood. In November we sold enough clothes to buy a new stove for the kitchen at the church. And this month we had another sale and we have enough money to pay half of the price for a new refrigerator. It is such a blessing to first see the church members leaving the house with sacks of clothes knowing that they would not have been able to have bought these clothes but they are receiving them for free. It is such a joy to see someone else using clothing that did not fit you anymore knowing that they are being put to good use. Come down and see if you can recognize something that you have left here in Brasil or have sent by someone else. Again thanks for your generosity.
I have been preparing for a series of classes with the men at Church. In these classes I am going to be teaching service, getting the men ready to serve. Our men have begun to meet monthly and the group is growing wonderfully. Yesterday´s group had 14 men present. In the classes that I will be teaching I am including a wide range of subjects and the men are becoming excited about the class. Included will be evangelism, discipleship and deacon training. Please pray for us as we prepare for and start these classes.
Construction right now is at a standstill because we are out of money to do construction. But we are using the time in another area. We are having more time to make visits and other training of the church members.
The house Church is going very well. We average 20-25 on Tuesday nights. We also have a children’s club there on the last Saturday of the month. This is good as you reach the parents through the children. From this neighborhood I have been working with 3 boys At the Vocational School. They are showing much progress. The other young man that is doing his training at the key shop is coming along real well. The owner who is training him says that he is a good student.
It seems like every month we have not accomplished nothing but when we begin to write it down we see that God is accomplishing many things through us. Continue to pray for us here in Brasil as we pray for you there in the States.
And Barbara ands I would like to say again how grateful we are that people like you send people like us to tell the world about Jesus. Come down and see what your help is doing here in Brasil. The beans are on the stove and the table is set.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara

MIKE AND BEV CREIGLOW  |  January 2011

Michael D. Creiglow  |  Caixa Postal 24  69980  |  Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre  Brazil
January 10, 2011
Dear Brethren,
Have you ever heard a preacher or politician say, “I will be brief.”? I’ll try, but don’t know how successful I will be.
Early December I visited the church at Assis Brasil. They just celebrated their 48th birthday. There was an overflow crowd. The pastor there is Eliésio, who you have heard me mention before. He is the one pastor in the region who is really committed to missions. Our churches have a very good and close relationship. Dad organized this church, by a nearby lake, under light of a kerosene lamp with just a handful of folks. That was 1962 and was there then, too.
Also in December I visited 2 of our chapels here in town. One was to Várzea, where Marinho, the paraplegic, is pastor. The other visit was to Cruzeirinho. That night when I stepped out of the car, I was met by a man who had been excluded years ago. He had punched his pregnant wife in the stomach, then beat her black and blue. After that he went to his in-laws and beat up on all of them, too. The police had to come and throw him in jail. Well I called for his exclusion and he still holds it against me. I don’t know why he was there, but he went into this tirade against me, which ended with, “You shameless old man, who is what is holding back the kingdom and the gospel.”   Then I had to get up and preach. A young mother was saved that night. So much for holding up the kingdom! The chapel there is doing fine though. They were celebrating 10 years that we started the work. By the way, that same weekend there were 8 more saved at First Baptist after my evening message. I’m just going to have to stop all this “hindering of the kingdom.”! Do pray though, because this guy has threatened to kill me more than once over the years.
We have been having overflow crowds in many services. Our afternoon services have been growing. You should have heard the singing in yesterday’s afternoon service. We had one more saved and another request for baptism, too. Over the past few weeks we have had almos 20 professions of faith. We had almost 70 first time visitors in one regular evening service.
Our Christmas program was presented 4 times and we had to put up a screen and projector out in the street for the overflow crowd to be able to attend. Our New Year’s Eve service was packed the same way. That night Pastor Dauro and I baptized 38 more new members. The church is really united and moving forward. Last year we went through some really hard trials. I was personally under attack much of 2010. It was not easy, but we kept moving toward our goals as a church, stayed focused on the Word and the Mission. We lost a tiny handful of very cranky (and talented!) members, but the Holy Spirit weeded them out. Now we are back to growing at a faster pace. Thank God with us, will you?
Believe it or not, it has now been 4 years since our last furlough. Bev and I are praying and planning to visit you later this year. Pastors and friends, please keep that in mind. There are many exciting things to share with you. Hope to see you soon.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.

In Christ, Mike Creiglow

JOHN AND JUDY HATCHER  |  January 2011

January 11, 2011
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
It doesn’t seem possible that we are getting used to writing 2011.  Some of you have been doing this for a lot longer than I.  We are so thankful for your faithfulness to support us.  Without your support we could not be here proclaiming the Good News.
During the holidays we were blessed by the visit of David and Dulce, Mateus and Natan, one of our four children and his family.  What a joy it is for us to have four children who are serving the Lord.  About the time you read this, the Lord willing, our 8th grandchild we be born.  We plan to be with Lydia and her husband, Adam, in Chicago during the month of February to help them with the birth of their 2nd child.
This past year has been one of many blessings in the work here in southern France.  God is at work all the time, but this year we have seen much evidence of what God is and has been doing.  It encourages us to keep on working at the job.  We now have a steady group of about 35 on Sundays.  A number of those who come are not saved, but show a good interest. Others, have publicly professed their faith and are growing.  People often stay for an hour or more after Sunday services and these are good informal times of witnessing and communicating the gospel.
We also began having special meetings for young people this past year.  These have been well attended.  The young folks seem anxious to bring their friends and those who come enjoy the meetings.
The children’s Bible study in the city of L’Union is going well .It has also opened doors  with adults in this town.  The weekly Bible study in this town is growing in participants.  We hope to one day see a church of the Lord Jesus Christ in this city.
The weekly Bible studies in the city of Mazere, about 45 miles from here, are also going well and is slowly enlarging in number.  One lady, in her early 70s, drives about one half of and hour to come.  It seems that perhaps she has truly trusted the Lord.  She was brought the first time by a sister who was visiting from a distant city.  We did not think that she would come back, and she didn’t for over a year.  But, God was at work, and now she doesn’t miss a week.
There are discouraging matters.  Though six years ago we were legally qualified to have long term residence status here,  we still are working toward this goal. This requires paper work and several visits to public offices yearly. But, this is nothing compared to persecution that others endure and have endured for the sake of the Gospel.  Many doors of opportunity are open and we rejoice in each of these.
Thanks again for your faithful support and prayers.  May God give us all much fruitfulness this year in His service.

In France for Christ,

John and Judy

ROGER AND JULIE TATE  |  January 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I have been in the United States for just over a month now and have enjoyed time with family, friends and church family.  Many friends and loved ones have been around to lift me up and refresh my spirit.  Yes, things have changed since I’ve been gone but I think I’m coming to the conclusion that I am the one that has changed more than anything else.  I’m still feeling a bit like a fish out of water but, again, this has to be my own fault as those around me have done nothing but show me love and support.  But everything still seems strange in a way that is difficult to explain.

So, this month I begin in earnest to prepare for traveling and reporting to churches.  I have to prepare a DVD summarizing the work of the past three years and the future goals of the ministry.  I need to prepare and print prayer cards, put together my table display, and collect the equipment I will use in presenting the ministry (DVD player, projector, screen, etc).  On top of preparing messages and other teaching material, I will be spending a lot of time on the phone scheduling churches and arranging my itinerary for the next few months.  I also look forward to being at the BFM Spring Conference in Lexington in April, and at my own church’s mission conference in March.  God is good and I pray everything will begin to fall into place by the end of this month.

In a newsletter a couple of months ago (my last one written while still in Kenya) I listed some of the lessons I have learned over the past three years, promising to return to explain some of the items in more detail once I returned to the States.  Thus, the first I would like to discuss is:  I CAN’T buy property and build buildings for new churches.  This looks opposite to the way you’ve always thought a missionary should act, doesn’t it?  I agree, because it looks completely the opposite of what I thought before I ever went to Kenya.  But it’s true.  I CAN’T buy property and build buildings for any new churches.  Here are some of the major reasons why.  First, if I buy property and build a new building for a church, the local people will never learn to take the responsibility or the initiative of starting or maintaining their own ministries.  They will forever and for always look to me for these things.  You may object and say, “But Roger, these people are too poor to build their own building”.  I accept that objection and even agree with it.  However, if they really need a building in the first place (which, they don’t) and they have the proper initiative and have accepted the responsibility, they could erect a decent sized mud hut to meet in.  There is no reason for their meeting place to be 1,000 times more expensive than the houses they live in.  Second, if I buy property and build their buildings they will forever and for always think of the building and the ministry as foreign and western.  Therefore, they will think of it as a foreign and western initiative that should be supported with foreign and western funds; they will always think of it as belonging to the foreign missionary, and they will always think of the structure as part of a foreign religion.  Third, and this is probably the most important reason, if I buy property and build a building for a new church, it is something they cannot reproduce.  Why is this important?  Because it stunts evangelism, missions, the growth of the Kingdom of God, and the spread of His churches.  It stunts these things in many ways.  Most, if not all of the church’s resources would be tied up with their own building leaving nothing for outreach.  But more drastic than this is the fact that since it is something they could never reproduce on their own, they will never attempt to take the gospel to the next village and start a church elsewhere.  Their thinking will be, “we can’t build a church building there” or “we need the missionaries money to start a church building there” or “it would take us forever to build a building there”.  So what does this do?  It prevents from the very beginning the local people taking the gospel message to the next village and starting a church in that village on their own.  As with all people they will only do what they have been taught to do.  If I build them a building they will automatically think that is the only way they will be able to start a new church and so they will never attempt it.  If they can’t reproduce it, they will never do it.  And I should never start what they cannot reproduce.  Please don’t think I’m getting on my high horse here.  I’m just stating my observations over the past three years and how those observations (strained through the filter of Biblical instruction and guidance) will shape my future ministry.  So, how does that impact my future ministry?  It means that churches that are started will meet in homes of converts.  When those churches grow beyond the size of that house they will have to reproduce themselves by starting another New Testament church in the house of another convert.  And so on and so on until God reaches the entire country, if that is His will.  And may the Love of Christ cause the spreading of His churches throughout the whole country of Kenya!

Until next month, beloved.

May God’s peace and joy be with you.

For the glory of God in East Africa,

Roger & Julie Tate (and Emily, Amy, & Josiah)