2015 Thanksgiving Offering FAQ
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
1. “WHY DO WE HAVE A THANKSGIVING OFFERING?”
We have a Thanksgiving Offering because WE NEED IT for the coming year to supply the financial commitments we have made to our missionaries for the services and benefits we provide from the General Fund.
2. “WHY IS THE THANKSGIVING OFFERING SO IMPORTANT?”
The Thanksgiving Offering is ESSENTIAL because it is the only source of funds for supplying our missionaries’ needs during the coming year. All of the commitments we make to our missionaries are supplied from the General Fund – and the Thanksgiving Offering funds are the only available resources to provide many of those benefits.
3. “WHAT SERVICES AND BENEFITS DOES THE THANKSGIVING OFFERING PROVIDE?”
The Thanksgiving Offering enables us to provide the services and benefits we have committed to our missionaries “as the Lord provides.” These benefits include:
- reimbursements for missionaries’ Furlough (Home Assignment) airfare/transportation expenses to and from the field
- reimbursements for their hospitalization personal deductibles for the year (their personal deductible is $1000 and we reimburse them $600 of that amount)
- children’s school/education expenses (if funds are available)
- expenses for mailing The Mission Sheets (missionaries’ monthly letters, reports, updates — and detailed report of all offerings given through BFM that month)
- expenses for maintaining Stateside office for communication and daily services – there are a lot of activities that go on Stateside to keep our missionaries functioning on their fields of service
- providing and maintaining a Furlough Home in Lexington for those missionaries who choose to use it
4. “HOW ELSE IS THE GENERAL FUND SUPPLIED?”
The standard supply for the General Fund is from monthly offerings which are given to the General Fund. These offerings are listed monthly in the Mission Sheets under “General Fund”. These monthly General Fund offerings are used to supply the “Essential Maintenance Transactions” [EMT] which we have committed to the missionaries for their standard essential monthly expenses. These include:
- their monthly salary
- their monthly standard housing allowance
- their monthly standard ministry allowance
- their monthly hospitalization premium
- expenses for printing The Mission Sheets – their monthly newsletters, reports, and updates
Note: these monthly “Essential Maintenance Transactions” are not supplied from Thanksgiving Offering funds – but from the monthly offerings given to the General Fund.
Note 2: For detailed explanations of how our missionaries’ ministries are funded, please access our two brochures “Baptist Faith Missions” and “Caring for those who care for the world” on our website (baptistfaithmissions.org), click on FaithWorks Blog and open the thumbnail brochure icons on the right margin.
5. “WHY IS THE THANKSGIVING OFFERING GIVEN AT THE THANKSGIVING SEASON?”
- The BFM Thanksgiving Offering began many years ago in conjunction with the annual Thanksgiving Missionary Conference in the Detroit-area and has continued that way to this day.
- Also, the Thanksgiving season is good reminder of the thanks we owe God for His Indescribable Gift in Jesus Christ – and our Thanksgiving Offering is a good way to express that thanks.
- And, the Thanksgiving season and Offering is a good occasion for us to give missionary offerings so others, also, may hear the blessed Good News of salvation through Christ…and, in this way, MULTIPLY STILL MORE THANKSGIVINGS TO GOD.
6. “HOW CAN I GIVE MY THANKSGIVING OFFERING?”
If your church receives a Thanksgiving Offering for the missionaries supported through BFM, then we encourage you to give your offering through your church. Most of the Thanksgiving Offerings which are given by churches are made up by the voluntary offerings of individual members who give to the Offering. Pastors, we encourage you to give your church the opportunity to contribute to our BFM Thanksgiving Offering.
7. “WHAT IF MY CHURCH DOES NOT RECEIVE A BFM THANKSGIVING OFFERING?”
If your church does not participate in the Thanksgiving Offering, you may send your personal gift to the Treasurer of BFM and designate it “Thanksgiving Offering.” (Baptist Faith Missions / Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer / P.O. Box 471280 / Lake Monroe FL 32747-1280)
You can also give online at baptistfaithmissions.org and click on ‘Donate/Support’ and designate for ‘Thanksgiving Offering.’
8. “CAN I GIVE MY THANKSGIVING OFFERING ONLY AT THANKSGIVING…OR DURING NOVEMBER?”
No. Most churches and individual Friends of BFM give on or around Thanksgiving Sunday (either the Sunday before or after Thanksgiving Day). However, offerings continue to come in to the Treasurer during the month of December, and sometimes on into the next year. You can give your Thanksgiving Offering any time. But, all offerings designated “Thanksgiving Offering” go toward the same collective Offering for that year.
9. “HOW IS THE “EVERY FRIEND A GIVING FRIEND” PERSONAL GIVING MINISTRY PERTINENT TO THE THANKSGIVING OFFERING?”
We introduced the “EVERY FRIEND A GIVING FRIEND” ministry and plan during the 2003 Thanksgiving Conference. “Every Friend a Giving Friend” encourages each of our missionaries’ friends to personally participate in regular giving to the General Fund. This plan is nothing new or unique; it is just another way to express and articulate what the Friends of BFM have been doing since the inception of the Mission.
It is also patterned after the instructions Paul gives us in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9: that is,
- to purpose in your heart to give an offering (9:7)
- to give as generous an offering as God enables you (8:1-3 & 9:6)
- to ask God – and trust Him – to supply you with the funds you will need to give the offering (9:8)
- to plan and begin preparing even a year ahead of time (as Paul instructed the Corinthians and the other churches to do) (8:10-11 & 9:2)
- to give your offerings to the Lord and to the Lord’s missionaries willingly and cheerfully (9:7)
- to express your love and obedience to the Lord (8:8 & 9:13)
- to give as your response to Jesus Christ’s grace and gift of Himself to you (8:9 & 9:15)
We encourage every Friend of BFM to be a Giving Friend and give a personal
Thanksgiving Offering to help supply our missionaries’ needs which are met through the General Fund.
“EVERY FRIEND A GIVING FRIEND” also challenges each Friend of BFM to personally participate in missions by giving monthly offerings over and above the regular tithes and offerings you give to your church to meet the needs of your local church’s ministries. We encourage each Giving Friend to make a personal commitment to either begin giving or increase your giving each month to the General Fund.
10. “WHY DO YOU SET GOALS FOR THE THANKSGIVING OFFERING?”
We set goals because the goal amount is keyed to the projected needs we expect to meet for the coming year of missionary ministry. And, when we increase the commitments, services, and benefits we need to give our missionaries so they can fulfill their ministries, our needs for the necessary funds increase also. And, please remember with us that we cannot approve and commit to increasing the modest support we give our missionaries unless we believe the Lord will supply those funds through your giving.
OUR 2015 THANKSGIVING OFFERING GOAL IS $55,000.00.
Would you please pray and ask the Lord of the Harvest what he would have you give to this year’s Thanksgiving Offering? And then ask Him also to supply you with that gift from his inexhaustible resources of Grace?
Thank You, GIVING FRIENDS!
—–
Giving Options:
You can give your Thanksgiving Offering either through your church’s offering, or by mailing your personal check to our Treasurer, or by giving online through our website www.baptistfaithmissions.org ‘Donate/Support’ tab and typing in Thanksgiving Offering in the memo field.
Click here to make a one-time donation.
Click here to set up a recurring donation.
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Missionary Update: Odali & Kathy Barros in Brazil [October 2015]
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
October 20, 2015
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Time goes by so fast that it is hard to believe that December is just about here. We are so excited about what God is doing here in our ministry. We have been praying for the members of the church I pastor to get more involved. Most of them were just church attenders. No one really ever got involved in any of the activities. But praise God in the last months more and more of them have made great changes. It has been great to see them change, and even ask to help and do things!
We are now working in 6 different locations! One is the mother church and 5 missions. Doors have opened faster than we could imagine. God has worked in marvelous ways. This month we had a special program in the village of Ariau (pictured here). We were given permission to use the city’s gymnasium. We had music, devotion, games and hot dogs. We had 350 people there! It was fantastic. As a result of that, we had 5 youth that came to the youth meeting at our church the next Saturday. That same week, a man from the village a Limao (lemon) who has a mission asked for help. He said they have 30 that come but have no support from any church. So we will be checking that out this week.
The missions in UBIM, MULTIRAO and IRANDUBA are doing well. Please continue to pray for each of these places, that souls will be saved, and people from these places will grow and reach others.
Kathy is still in the States getting our son Tito settled in and documents done. But they are doing well and Kathy has been able to see our other children.
We want to thank all of you that give and pray for our ministry so faithfully. May God richly bless each one of you.
In Christ,
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Caixa Postal 1
Iranduba, Amazonas 69.415.000
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[at]hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley in Brazil [October 2015]
The Hensleys have spent nearly 15 years serving in Brazil. They run a vocational school and orphanage in Caraguatatuba and have also established a church and mission points throughout the city.
October 9, 2015
Dear friends and family,
Well I have a lot to catch you up on about our ministry here in Caraguatatuba, Sao Paulo. To start with, I had to let Mrs. Barb go home to help with her mother. Mrs. Reba fell and broke her hip on the 28th of July and had to be hospitalized for surgery. We could only get tickets for her to arrive two days after the surgery. After the time of recuperating from the surgery, Mrs. Reba was moved to a rehab and for the most part was an uncooperative patient. She was sent back to the hospital because she could not keep food down. During this time she almost passed two times, but she managed to spring back enough to be dismissed from the hospital and was sent to another rehab facility.
During these two months Barb was also having various tests done. She was having numbness and loss of use in her hand and arm. After numerous tests and a stint in the hospital they think that they have determined the problem. They think that it is a deteriorating cervical disk c4—c7. The treatment is traction two times. During this time she was also scheduled for outpatient surgery and in the surgery room she became very sick and the surgeon wrestled that surgery. She will come home in December and will have the surgery then. So please put her on your prayer list.
Now just go ahead and throw me into the health issues also. My test for prostate problems came back with numbers very high. I was put on medication for one month and after that I will go to a doctor here to have the PSA numbers checked again. If they remain high I will return to the States for the next step in this process. So the three of us have health problems but we know who is in control. Just keep us on your prayer list please.
Now enough about medical problems, let’s talk about ministry issues. How AWESOME is the God we serve!!!!! With the growth, we are experiencing space problems—not enough room for Sunday School and not enough room for our regular church services not enough chairs for the people that are coming. You name it, we are experiencing it.
Do not think that we have a perfect ministry here, no our Church is full of problems. That is because our Church has sinners like you and I in it. But what an AWESOME task-blessing, to be right where you feel God wants you to be and doing what He wants you to do. Thank you Lord for allowing me to be a Missionary here in Brasil and doing that in retirement.
Here is what has been going on in these last two months: lots of remodeling and construction. You see we have purchased an AWESOME building right beside where we are renting. We looked at many areas, buildings and land and God is almost ready right beside where we are congregating. I hope you are following our remodeling progress on Facebook. The roof is now on and construction in front is progressing well. We have built two bathrooms and a new entry for the church. With help of many young people from the States and here we have removed all the columns and partitions inside the building and have made an AWESOME assembly area for the church. Upstairs will be great for Sunday school rooms and with a kitchen (all good Christians have to have a place to cook and eat).
As you can see the ministry is growing and the construction is continuing so these areas also need your prayers. We will be moving into the new building before it gets completed because money will run out before it gets completed. Don’t worry this is not uncommon here. God is in control!! Here is where faith comes in. Also what would you all do next year when you come down if we were able to complete everything?
AWESOME is the God we serve. All this in reality is a miracle which I will go into in our next month’s letter. Stay tuned for building and ministry progress. AWESOME AWESOME!!!!!
Even though we are working a lot that does not mean that we do not have time to turn your bed down if you want to come and participate in what God is doing here in Caraguatatuba.
In His service,
AJ and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Creiglows in Brazil [October 2015]
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
October 7, 2015
Dear Brethren,
Bev and I spent 10 days in southern Brazil on vacation. This was all the time I could get off, but it was enough and it was relaxing. Pastor Pedro and his wife were in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina. He was there finishing up his masters degree, so we met up in Rio Grande do Sul for the short vacation.
We have had a very busy time since then. I have been helping two of our missionaries work through some problems. Bev and I have been meeting regularly with our missionary at Guajará, Amazonas. He and his wife have got out of control with their finances, so we are walking them through the process of getting out of debt and restoring his testimony in the community. The other missionary has been working at Profeta on the upper Jurua River for 5 years. He has been struggling since the beginning of the year with deep spiritual and mental frustrations. The congregation there just sees him as their “hired hand”. They refuse to help with anything. They won’t even help with the spreading of the Gospel. Now some of you pastors are saying, “Well, what else is new?” To me this is NOT normal and I would go crazy, too, if my church did not pull their load with me. So pray for Antônio. We have brought him in from the field for treatment and possibly deploy him to a new field.
A few of the men from church who showed up to do fencing last Saturday.
As some of you may recall, First Baptist Church bought 18 acres of land for expansion in the near future. It is about a mile past where we live. On one of my evening runs I decided to swing in there and check up on things. I discovered that a man had just cleared about 3 acres of land on our neighbor’s ranch and planted some new manioc on his place and in ours, too. The rancher paid the guy some cash to get him out of his hair and not have to take him to court. Since the church doesn’t feel that it would be appropriate to pay the man, we have decided that now is the time to get all of our fences and gates up to par. I have been working out there for several days now. Several of our men have taken time to help out, also. We have been cleaning out brush, did some plowing and fencing. I could tell you more, but let me just say: September and October are our hottest months of the year. This afternoon I decided to sit in the AC of my office and write you. Thank you very much for stopping my machete!
We have been having huge crowds at church for weeks now. We have actually had 48 more in September on average over August in our evening services. The morning services added another 146. We have had 3 people saved in each evening service for the past 5 weeks (all of September and the first Sunday of October). We have had several more requests for baptism. Of course several have moved away, too. Levi and Eliane just retired from Bank of Brazil and moved to Curitiba, Paraná to take care of her elderly mother. Levi was still single when I became pastor. He married a Presbyterian, who I baptized many years ago. Hard to lose such faithful people. He was one of those original 40 members that I had when I became pastor 37 years ago.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: Jud & Raquel Hatcher Stateside from Brazil [October 2015]
Jud and Raquel Hatcher serve the Lord in Manaus, Brazil. They are part of the “SeedFactory” church planting initiative, which is a movement to plant churches in all 26 Brazilian capitals. Since 2006, 43 churches have been started in 5 states.
October 7, 2015
Dear friends,
This last month has passed so quickly.
Family
Our kids are doing well in school. Their greatest difficulty is still the English language, but they are committed to learning. They regularly bring books home from the school’s library and we take them once a week to the public library. Bedtime is a hard time for me, as I have to insist they stop reading and turn off the bedroom lights. I am grateful for their desire to read in English. The kids are doing well socially too, as friendship comes easy to them. I would be harder on us as parents if they were having difficulty making friends. Raquel is doing great, she participates in a women’s midweek Bible study and is connecting well.
Teaching and Networking
I am enjoying my time at Liberty University as an adjunct professor. Teaching and mentoring is part of my DNA and I feel at home engaging with students. The Lord is giving me the opportunity to connect and network with new pastors at existing churches around the Virginia and North Carolina region. The opportunities to work with Dr. David Adams at the School of Divinity in the Pastoral Leadership Program and with Dr. Matt Willmington at Thomas Road Baptist Church is never boring. This experience is also a great learning opportunity for me. I do stay busy, but that is part of my life’s routine anyway.
Upcoming
This coming weekend we plan to participate in the “Testify to the Gospel Conference” at Grace Baptist Church in Fairborn, OH where my dear friend, Mark Pyles is pastor. The following week I will participate in the Refuel Conference at Thomas Road Baptist Church, where Jonathan Falwell is senior pastor.
Our prayer requests are as follows:
- Our finances.
- Our children’s education and English language.
- Expanding our support base network.
- For our unsaved neighbors.
Grateful,
Jud Hatcher
Furlough Address:
216 Mill View Ln
Lynchburg, VA 24502
(859) 608-4742
judsonhatcher@hotmail.com
Website | Twitter | Facebook
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers Stateside from Brazil [October 2015]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
October 4, 2015
Dear Friends,
Charlene and I just returned from a two week trip to Brazil. We had to count on family members to cover for us taking turns caring for my ailing father. While in Brazil we were able to have a meeting with our evangelism ministry, Projeto Vida, and make plans for the next few months of outreach efforts.
My young replacement at my former church, Alek Rossi, has been doing a great job. Everyone we talked to about how the church was doing gave excellent reports on how well he is pastoring the flock and teaching. We saw several new families attending and the church is still baptizing new members. Alek asked me to preach on the Sunday that we were present. It was a welcome privilege to be in my former pulpit teaching God’s word and seeking to make Him known to the lost. It was clearly evident that the members have truly embraced Alek and his wife as their leaders. It was also clear that the members have embraced the responsibilities of caring for their facilities. Actually, I got a little ironic laugh out of seeing how well they have done that. For 4 years I sought to transfer to the members the importance of attending to the small details of cleanliness and upkeep of the grounds while they also gave loving attention to the other members and visitors. As soon as we drove onto the property we saw that loving care had gone into the upkeep of every little detail. I want to think that my constant example and drilling the members finally took hold, but it would have been nice if they had shown that while I was still there. I love them anyway!
While I was meeting with the Projeto Vida leaders they shared how the Lord has been blessing this year. They still have two more months to work in the public schools this year, but already they have been in 6 states, taking the gospel to over 30,000 students and teachers. We also made preparation for hosting and training missionary volunteers in the upcoming months. There will be two international volunteers arriving early next year who will work and travel with the teams in active training. Also, we will coordinate the partnership with a group of nearly 50 youth who will share the gospel in some public schools and parks.
It has been many years since we have been able to participate in the Missions Conference on behalf of Baptist Faith Missions in Dearborn Heights, MI. We are really excited about being there again in early November. We hope to see many of our old friends there and are looking forward to making new friendships as well.
Thank you for your prayers and support,
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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Missionary Update: Paul & Wanda Hatcher Stateside from Brazil [October 2015]
Paul and Wanda Hatcher have been serving the Lord together in Brazil since 1974. Their main ministry is church planting.
October 01, 2015
Dear Friends and Co-laborers,
We greet each of you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are so thankful for God’s goodness and grace. God is greatly to be praised for all His generous and gracious benevolence.
It seems that the year has flown by, October again – a great occasion to count the many blessings God has given each of us. It is great to see how God is so marvelous. September the fourteenth, mom, Alta Hatcher, celebrated her ninetieth birthday, a celebration of God’s blessing to her. We thank the Lord for the many years she has faithfully served in the mission of sharing the good news of our Lord Jesus. We thank God for the health He gives her and the joy she brings to so many. Dad and Mom were missionaries for sixty years in Brazil. Praise the Lord!
This month I was reminded of a fond memory and a great encouragement. The first church Dad established in Brazil was in a very difficult place to get to, a community controlled by the roman church. The Bible was a forbidden item – explanation for the prohibition was that the “ignorant would reap damnation for misinterpreting the Bible”. A seed was planted. This was the place I attended church as a child, had friends, and joined in the visitation for Bible School and service. The last week of September they celebrated the fifty-fifth homecoming. For many years the church struggled. God preserved it thru many difficulties; and today, they have over seven thousand in Sunday attendance and the Senior Pastor for the last few years is my youngest brother, David Hatcher, who was also part of the small church plant fifty-five years ago. Lesson – never despise the day of the small things. Blessing – God does awesome things beyond our greatest imagination. Praise be to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Pray for the ministries in Brazil as they continue to take the gospel to the regions near and far. Pray to the Father of the harvest to send laborers into a very ripe field of harvest. We know that all the fields are not ready to harvest at the same time; however, it is always timely to sow the gospel abundantly, water generously, and, as we have witnessed, God gives the increase.
We thank you for your prayers and financial support. We pray that our knowledge and remembrance of our Lord, the only true God, may abundantly increase in wisdom and discernment, that our trust and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ may be steadfast always, and that the love of his Holy Spirit may fill and overflow in our every word and action, with thanksgiving to God though Jesus Christ our only Lord and Life. God bless each of you richly through Jesus Christ.
Thanks for loving us,
Paul and Wanda Hatcher
rphatcher[at]gmail.com
15905 Mercott Court
Clermont, FL 34714
(239)227-6551
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Missionary Update: John Mark & Judy Hatcher in France [October 2015]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
October 2, 2015
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Hope this finds you enjoying the Fall colors of our Father’s creation and many other blessings. Judy and I have been home for just a few hours from a month long trip to the United States.
A good part of this time was spent helping David and his wife Dulce following the birth of their 4th child, our 12th grandchild. The oldest child in their family is 7 years old. We were glad to be able to help them with the newborn Lua and others as the school year started. We were also able to spend some valuable time with our daughter Lydia and help them with their four children ages 2 months to 6 years old as Adam, our son-in-law recovered from surgery.
The same day that Adam had surgery in Chicago, Judy was in Cincinnati to help our oldest daughter Laura who was having a serious surgery to place a plate in her forearm to correct damage caused by an accident the week before. We were glad to be able to be of assistance.
Celebrating Alta Hatcher’s 90th birthday!
(Front: John & Alta Hatcher / Back L to R: Paul Hatcher, Kathy Barros, John Mark Hatcher)
On the very day the surgeries were taking place up north, September 14, I was in Clermont, FL with Mom and Dad, Paul (my brother) and Wanda and Kathy (my sister) celebrating Mom’s 90th birthday. The week spent with them was very enjoyable as I also got to spend time with many other friends and family members. We enjoyed a wonderful meal with many on September 15th to again celebrate Mom’s birthday. This allowed us to spend some quality time with Doug and Ramona King our long term friends and supporters.
I thoroughly enjoyed speaking at Hope Baptist Church in the Cincinnati area on September 6 and was blessed by the great hospitality of Steve and Debbie Hall and their family while in their home. Their heart to share the love and Good News of Christ to those in need is evident. We anticipate what God will be doing through this young church.
While in Evansville, IN for a few hours Judy and I were able to visit great friends and fellow servants whom we had the privilege of working with for a quarter of a century, Jim and Carolyn Evans and Frank and Sylvia Schofner. They still are on the front line serving the Lord in Evansville and they faithfully support our ministry in France. While we were rushing around the US, Judy’s dear sister shuttled us, loaned us her car and did many other things to help us as she always does. She also continues to be active daily in reaching others for Christ and discipling believers. God has blessed us far beyond our ability to enumerate.
Meanwhile, things are going well at the church in Tournefeuille and we restart all of our other Bible studies this coming week.
Thanks for your faithful support and prayers.
Sharing the Good News in France,
John and Judy Hatcher
John and Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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