Humanly Unsurmountable Challenges in 2016; Victories Given by the Lord
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
January 5, 2017
Dear Friends,
When I look back at what the Lord did during the last year, 2016, it almost overwhelms me! Although some of our challenges were humanly unsurmountable, the Lord blessed in such a way as to leave us with our mouths hanging open in wonder and amazement. We have been strengthened in our faith and trust in the Lord through the victories and accomplishments He gave.
Projeto Vida was blessed by obtaining our first passenger van and utility trailer that has replaced one of our old “tired out” motor homes. We are excited about how much more efficiently we will be able to get to the more remote areas to share the Gospel. They will be able to save time and expenses and increase the number of locations that can be reached during the new year.
We want to start the year out with a clear focus on missions and evangelism—and what better way than to hold a Missions Workshop in the first month of 2017? Our experienced pastors and missionaries will be teaching for two weeks in formal theological studies followed by two weeks of practical evangelism and outreach in public arenas. Some of the students who come from several different states of Brazil and the USA will become long-term members of Projeto Vida after this training. Some of our volunteers will be returning to work in their local churches, so there will be a type of “volunteer exchange”. This works well for both personal growth and kingdom growth.
Charlene, my daughter, Jessie, and I will be going to Brazil in March to assist the youth group from Bell Shoals Baptist Church. We always have the privilege of seeing many individuals come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ during these events and we expect that again this year. We trust that God will bless these youth and their leaders and translators.
I am grateful to you who have prayed and faithfully contributed so that we can continue to make God’s Word available to those who would not hear otherwise.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Furlough 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
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Looking Back on 2016; Prayer Request for Children
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, 2017
Dear praying friends,
It is now the beginning of the year 2017 and we wish you all the blessings of the Lord’s wisdom, guidance, and protection for this upcoming year. What a privilege it is to serve the Lord. Colossians 3:23 says “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” He does not need us for anything, but we need Him for everything. We hope this update finds each of you doing well and we thank the Lord for you.
As I (Nathan) look back on this past year, there were definitely many challenges that we faced. Many of you know about our unrest situation at our compound in Kitale and how the Lord watched over and protected us. The safest place to be is within the will of God, wherever that is. Although this unrest was unusual for Kitale, we thank the Lord that for the time being, things have gone back to normal and it seems it has subsided.
This past year was also difficult with health issues for our children. Please pray for our children and their health. A fever in Africa can mean so many different things, from malaria, to typhoid, amoeba, etc. Although our children struggled with health issues for several months, we praise the Lord that we finally got to the right doctors and received good care. Please pray in advance for this next term, that the Lord would help us all to stay healthier.
One of our most current major needs is for playmates for our children. Missions is difficult on children and they really do need friends and playmates. This is a struggle that many missionaries face. Sometimes missionary children and their needs can be easily overlooked. We do not want to do that. We continue to trust the Lord to bring playmates for our daughters in His timing and plan. The Lord has tested our faith in this area and it has become easy to get discouraged, as they just have not had playmates and friends for most of their time in Kitale. We continue to pray, believing that God knows our need and we trust in His plan. It has been difficult to wait on the Lord in this area, but we know the Lord has a plan. Psalm 33:20-21 says, “Our soul waiteth for the Lord: He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.” Would you please pray earnestly with us that God would provide families with children for our daughters? We would greatly appreciate this. Just one or two families with children their age that would commit to stay long term on the mission field would make such a big difference.
I (Nathan) am in the process of scheduling churches for furlough. If you would be interested in a meeting, you can reach me at: naterad@yahoo.com God bless you for your interest in missions.
We continue to pray over all these things mentioned in this prayer letter, knowing that God is sovereign, and He has a purpose for all that He permits in our lives. He is on the throne and in complete control. What a privilege to bring all these things before Him in prayer.
God bless you all and have a wonderful 2017.
Nathan and Carrie Radford
Furlough Address:
56 Lobo Lane
Culloden, WV 25510
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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Encouraging Services, Ministry to Shut-Ins
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
January 2, 2017
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today is a typical gray winter day in Tournefeuille, but beyond the clouds I know the sun is shining. That is often the way it is in our daily lives. We may be surrounded by circumstances that may be dark, but “the Sun of righteousness” has arisen “with healing in His wings” and He is above all.
I have been particularly encouraged by the services of our church the past two Sundays. Since these Sundays were on holidays we decided to have the service at 4pm followed by a time of snacking and fellowship. In our informal time of sharing, the spiritual growth of some was evident. Two of the Sunday services during the month of December were led by men in the church besides Philip and me. Our goal is to make disciples and to commit God’s word to “faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”
On Christmas Day part of the worship time was a musical presentation by our children and young people. It was thrilling to watch and to have unsaved visitors here to hear the gospel because their grandchildren were singing. The young people were repeating for us a special program they had done earlier in the month for senior citizens at a meeting sponsored by the city of L’Union.
How this came about is in itself a blessing. Paulette, the oldest member of our congregation lives in the city of L’Union. About a year ago she decided to become a volunteer for the city government and a non-profit organization whose goals are to contact older people who are shut in. Though Paulette’s health itself is not the best, she has been faithful in this new endeavor and as a result has had the opportunity to talk about her faith to the shut ins. She has also had many opportunities to talk about Christ with other volunteers with whom she makes the visits. She organized this special Christmas party where testimony for Christ could be given.
Thank you for your prayers and support. May God bless each of you as you begin this New Calendar year and let us all remember to use our time on earth to invest into eternity.
In France,
John and Judy
John and Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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Praying for New Meeting Places in Ubim & Iranduba
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
December 30, 2016
Hope all of you have had wonderful holiday season. We have had a great and busy time.
At the main church, Pedras Vivas, things are doing great. We have been working with members of the church that have been there for a long time, to get them involved in ministries and to reach out to the lost. The church has a bus which has started running in the community where we live and in two new communities past the church. These communities are actually big enough to have a mission. We are limited with workers so for now we will continue to bring them on the bus. Our church has built an addition on to the church building for classes fellowship and also put in air conditioning.
The ministry in the community of Ubim is doing really wonderful. It has grown and the area we work in has reached its limit. We use a patio that a family lets us use, but we have so many small children coming that we need room to work with them so we can better work with the older people. We are asking God to provide a new place. Many teens are coming and need to be worked with to reach them. There is not much in this community for them to do, but there are a lot of bad things as an option. Pray with us that God would show us a place.
At the Iranduba mission we did a special emphasis in reaching out to the youth. The city has so many young people. Prostitution and drugs are very strong there. We hope that this coming year they will continue to reach out to friends. We also are looking for another building there. The building is rented, does not offer options, and is small.
The mission at Multirao community is doing great. We have a team that is working there. They are having four services a week. They are doing well—they have meetings and are making new plans for next year. They are making plans to build a wall around the building. There was a banana tree in the back and someone stole it—can you believe that? Well that wasn’t all…they stole the toilets out of the bathrooms. They didn’t get into the church because there are iron bars on the door and windows. Pray for this team that God will bless them.
We want to thank each of you who have prayed for us and our ministry and have given so faithfully. We appreciate and love each of you. God bless you tremendously.
Odali & Kathy Barros
Caixa Postal 1
Iranduba, Amazonas 69.415.000
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[at]hotmail.com
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Desires for the New Year
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
December 29, 2016
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Happy New Year! I wish to briefly look ahead to the coming new year and express what I would like to see happening here in Kitale, the place where we are ministering. These are not New Year’s resolutions. It is simply my desire and my prayer for the year 2017. At this point next year I would like to look back and see that these things did indeed occur.
· I would like to pray more. Prayer on the mission field is vital. But prayer in a Christian’s personal life is vital as well. Anemic prayer life leads to anemic Christian life and anemic ministry.
· I would like to know God more. I want to know His ways more, I want to know His mind more. I want my mind to be like His mind. I want to grow in my relationship with Him.
· I would like to do more of what Jesus says to do. There is so much that He said and did and taught us to do that I neglect or avoid or ignore. In 2017 I want to focus on Jesus and do all that he wants me to do.
Those are the top things I would like to see in 2017. Note that they are much more personal than they are ministry related. Here are some things I would like to see in regards to ministry:
· I would like to see more Kenyan people trusting in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. That means the people I come into contact with on a day-by-day basis. It means the people I evangelize with the gospel. It means lost friends that I show the love of Christ to every day. It means the Pokot people living out in the bush.
· I would like to see more Kenyan people truly growing in their relationship with Jesus. I don’t want them to follow Jesus because of what material things they think they will get from Him. I don’t want them to follow Jesus because they want Him to heal them. I don’t want them to follow Jesus for a good luck charm. These are all typical reasons for following Jesus. I want them to follow Jesus, to love Him, to learn from Him, to submit to Him, to live for Him. In essence, I want them to be true disciples of Jesus and not fair weather disciples.
· I would like to see new Baptist churches started: Churches that are on fire for Jesus, churches fulfilling the great commission, churches loving each other, churches worshiping God in Spirit and truth, churches that are functioning as the body of Christ on earth.
Again, these are not resolutions. They are not “goals”. They are my desires. They are my prayers for the next year. They are how I would like to see God glorified in my life and in my ministry. Grant it, oh Lord.
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 Amy, Josiah & Chloe)
rojuta[at]gmail.com
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God Sends 5 French Bikers to Help with Thanksgiving Leftovers in Brazil
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 14, 2016
Dear friends and family,
We got back to Brazil just before Thanksgiving and Barb got busy getting everything ready for the big meal. We had a wonderful time with family and we had much leftovers. After we had gotten the dishes washed and the food put away, there was a clapping at the door. (For those who have not been to Brazil, that is our doorbell). As we went to see who was coming to visit, we saw a bunch of bicycles at the door. As we approached the front door, we saw that there were 5 bicycles and riders. As we talked to them, we understood that they were looking for a place to camp for the night. We told them of several camp grounds in our area. In further conversation, they told us that they were trying to only spend 8 euros a day.
I decided to invite them to camp in our backyard that is not a yard, but a covered space in front of our laundry room. They were from France and were beginning their trip around the world on bicycles. They accepted our offer of a place to stay and came in and set up their tents, took showers and rested. Then we invited them in to partake with us of the leftovers from Thanksgiving. Is not our God AWESOME!!!! He planned for our visitors before they came. We were able to show God’s love and plant a seed for someone down the road to water, and for God to reap the harvest. Pray for this to happen in these 3 years that they are riding around the world. They are riding from Brazil to the States then through several other continents.
Five Bikers from France who plan to cycle the world over the next three years showed up on Thanksgiving needing a place to camp for the night.
AJ & Barbara invited them to camp in their backyard (a covered space in front of their laundry room)!
For them to do this, they had to sell everything they had. Their plan is to be gone from France for 3 years. So we have an invitation to go to France in 3 years and we have 5 homes to stay in. Pray for these young people—for their safety and their salvation.
This month we have begun the plans for our Pastors Conference for 2017. The date is October 9-12. This year we will face more financial difficulties as the crisis here in Brazil continues. Many of the pastors that attend will be hard pressed to come up with the money to pay for the hotel bill. So we will be working on raising the money to help many of them to come to the conference. This is a great prayer request as many of these pastors need this renewing of their energy spiritual to continue in God’s work. All our speakers are from the States and they pay for their passage to come and teach in the conference. What a blessing for all of us here in Brazil. The last conference we had, there were many pastors that attended and went home with their batteries charged and ready to go. Pray for these pastors and help with the finances if you can. We have started to get the word out about the conference. We went to Garça two weeks ago and spoke to 5 pastors who are anxious to come be a part of this next conference.
Well I still have some health issues to take care of but am looking forward to August 2017 to get the final results from the treatments. Keep this in your prayers.
We want to take this time to wish you and yours a MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
In His service,
Aj and Barb
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Personal Evangelism in Campinas Leads to Changed Lives
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
December 7, 2016
Hello Friends,
One of our outreach teams traveled to take the gospel to the city of Campinas in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Beyond their usual efforts to get into the public schools and city squares with evangelistic skits, testimonies and preaching, one group concentrated on personal evangelism in homes and common everyday encounters with the local residents. They purposefully initiated pleasant conversations with people in grocery lines, bank lines, and in shopping locations while asking the Lord to open a door of opportunity to share the gospel when the individuals showed interest. There were many who, after hearing the gospel, accepted Christ as their personal Savior.
During one such conversation with two teenage boys, one boy whispered something into the ear of the other and then they both laughed a derisive laugh. When the missionary volunteer asked what they were talking about, the first boy responded that the team had arrived too late in their town. They said that it was hopeless there. The older brother of one of the teens had recently committed suicide and they said that many young people in their town had done the same and others were planning to. The missionary proceeded to show them from the Scriptures and from his own past that while we have breath, it is never too late. The gospel was clearly and passionately shared and the two young men surrendered their lives to Christ.
Another of our teams traveled also, but stayed in the home state of Parana. They learned from their visit that the city, Paysandú, is under heavy demonic oppression. There is a large percentage of youth who are addicted to drugs and illicit sex. There are also those who are no longer interested in religion because of all the false religions that have entered there only to take financial advantage of an already poor people. This group had only a handful of residents come to a personal relationship with Christ. We rejoice that God’s grace did reach these, but we also know that, because of their unbelief, many are still living in a state of confusion and hopelessness. Much like our own outreach efforts among family and personal friends, not everyone who hears their message of hope surrenders to the Lord. Please continue to remember Projeto Vida and its volunteers in your prayers.
Thank you,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Furlough 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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New Video from France!
A new video with information about John Mark & Judy Hatcher’s ministry in France is available on our YouTube channel.
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