Missionary Update: Paul & Wanda Hatcher in Brazil [June 2013]
Paul and Wanda Hatcher have been serving the Lord together in Brazil for 36 years. Paul pastors Tabernacle Baptist Church in Manaus, Brazil. Their main ministry is church planting.
Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
May 29, 2013
Dear Friends,
God gives some people the ability to move to a new city and preach the gospel, nurture the new believers in Christ, and in a short time, organize the body of believers into a new church. Many times the starter missionary does not enjoy the ongoing pastoral duties because his heart is burdened for another place that does not have the Gospel. Even with so great a burden, the missionary realizes he must stay until the Lord provides a pastor to lead the new flock. Missionary Raimundo Pinto and family are great starter missionaries in the city of Fortaleza in northeastern Brazil. They have been sent from Tabernacle Baptist Church in Manaus. The church plant was successful and a blessing, but Missionary Pinto was anxious to move on to a new state to begin a new church. He waited and prayed anxiously that the Lord would provide a pastor so he could move on. He was elated and grateful as the Lord answered their prayer and provided a man of God, Pastor Vilian and family. The new church invited him to become their new pastor and He accepted the call. They are working on the transition; and soon Missionary Pinto is planning to move to the city of Aracaju, in the state of Sergipe in northeastern Brazil. Needless to say, the two families are very excited to move and get started. We ask that you pray for them, especially the Pinto family, as many challenges will present themselves in this new church plant. We will rejoice as God continues to work out all the details.
John is a member at Tabernacle Baptist in Manaus and has a small farm in the jungle on the banks of the Amazon River. He is a joyful Christian and loves to talk about his faith in Jesus. As he talked about Jesus to the people living out on the river banks, several became interested and trusted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. So he would get together with them on the week end and read the Scriptures and talk about the Lord and pray together. About three weeks ago, John requested that one of the church pastors go and talk to them, as they wanted to be baptized. There are about 25 adults who have professed Jesus as Saviour. This is wonderful! Pray for them, their baptism and growth in the Lord, and the forming of a new church.
This month of May, Wanda and I are having some special time with our parents. My parents, John and Alta Hatcher, live in the southern part of Brazil, and Wanda’s mom, Mrs. Willa McGary, lives in the opposite direction: Mayfield, Kentucky. At the beginning of the month, we had a special treat with my parents and my two brothers and their wives – about a week of fellowship and thanksgiving.
The following weeks we are spending some time with Wanda’s mom visiting and caring for some of her needs. We would like to say a great big Thanks to churches and individuals for your meaningful prayer and support. Likewise, thanks to the wonderful men who serve on the board and the churches they pastor who also invest in missions through them. Your intercessions to God on our behalf bring us comfort and strength in the Lord Jesus. Your faithful financial support is laid to your account in heaven, as God brings salvation to many, which results in our rejoicing together and glorifying God. We thank God for each of you and pray that He will richly bless you.
In Christ,
Paul and Wanda Hatcher
Avenida J. Carlos Antony, 172
65063-150 Manaus
Amazonas, Brasil SA
hatcher[at]argo.com.br
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Missionary Update: Odali & Kathy Barros in Brazil [June 2013]
Odali and Kathy Barros have served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil for many years. In addition to leading their newest church, they also run “Alpha Omega Family Development,” which provides a home and stability for needy people, many of whom are recovering drug addicts, etc.
June 2, 2013
Greetings to all of you who faithfully support us and pray for us. We hope that all of you are doing great and enjoying God’s blessing in your life. We are doing great and seeing God at work around us each day.
We have had unusual weather these days. This is not our rainy season, but we have had lots of rain. Today we woke up with it pouring down rain. When the bus left to pick up the kids for church, I honestly thought we were going to be coming back with an empty bus. Wow! Were we surprised, there were kids waiting in the rain for the bus. We ended up with 30 kids on the bus. They were soaking wet. So we took them to the clothes room and gave them clothes to change into. Wonder how many of us would wait in the rain to get the bus to go to church. Well, needless to say, it was an inspiration for us to keep on working with them. These kids come from very difficult and complicated homes. God bless and keep these kids in His care.
The kids love to sing. We started singing “King of Kings & Lord of Lords” and immediately these 3 boys sat on the floor to sing the song with the gestures we do. Special moments.
We had a wonderful service tonight. During invitations, 4 people asked for baptism: 3 men and 1 teenager. Praise God.
Our friendship suppers have been a blessing. We encourage our people to bring new people to be with us. Last night we had a family that brought 15 visitors. When you hear what we had to eat you will probably say, “What in the world does that taste like?!” We had cooked calf’s foot soup or stew. Well, it’s different, but it sure is good.
A few months ago I mentioned that my father, Alcides had made a profession of faith while my brother was preaching. That was such a blessing. In the beginning of last month I got a phone call that he was very ill. So I decided to go see him. But as I was on my way, waiting at the airport in Sao Paulo, my brother called and said he had passed away. We praise God that he had gotten saved. We will be together again. I ask you to pray for my oldest brother who is very sick and is not saved, and has a very hard heart.
We know that God can break the hardest heart. He has 3 sons which I have spent lots of time with. One of them has shown an interest in knowing more about God. Please pray for them. Here are their names: Edson is the father. The sons’ names are Edson Jr., Jefferson and Anderson.
Thanks for all your prayers and support. Our ministry is nothing without the help of our co-laborers. May God bless each of you.
In Christ,
Odali & Kathy Barros
odali_kathy[at]hotmail.com
Blog
Av. Victor Hugo Boaretto S/N
Garca, Sao Paulo 17.400,000
Brasil, SA
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Missionary Update: John Mark & Judy Hatcher in France [June 2013]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
June 3, 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our desire is that this finds you enjoying the Lord’s blessings where you live and serve. We thank the Lord for His blessings and above all His presence in us. We are encouraged by what the Lord is doing on several fronts. The Bible study in Mazere, about 45 miles by car south of here is going well and during the past few months we have had several new participants. We would one day like to see a church in this growing city with a population of about 3,500. At present there are only two believers in the group that actually live in the city, though we average about 7 or 8 at the Bible studies.
The youth meetings are on the increase and those coming are showing interest.
Another area of activity that causes us to rejoice is the meetings with youth. The attendance at these is on the increase and those who come show an interest. Of those who now attend, only one has actually made a profession of faith and followed the Lord in baptism. We hope many others will follow.
I like to keep a positive note and share with you what God is doing, but there are bumps in the road here as there are everywhere. This past week I have been a little frustrated by the lack of commitment and selfishness of some believers. It is important, however, to remind myself of God’s patience with me and His forgiveness. We must continue to sow the seed and disciple those who believe as we look to Christ for strength and trust Him to work in hearts and lives.
Of the youth who now attend the meetings, only one has actually made a profession of faith and followed the Lord in baptism. Pray that many others will follow.
Judy and I pray together each morning after our personal time in the Word of God. Thank God for you. If you would like for us to pray about your area of ministry, we would love to do so. We know that you have family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors and even people who frustrate you that you would like to see trust Christ. We would be glad to pray with you for them. You contact us through the email or mail address below. We are not interested in forwards off the internet, so be please to not send us links and copies. We are interested in praying for you and your needs personally, so please do not hesitate to share these. We would like to be a blessing to you as you are to us.
May God’s blessings be evident to you during the month ahead.
Proclaiming the Good News in France,
John and Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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Missionary Update: Nathan & Carrie Radford in Kenya [June 2013]
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.
Dear praying friends,
Lord willing, by the time you receive this prayer letter, it will be the middle of the year 2013. Where has the time gone? Our lives are just a breath when compared to eternity. May we be ever committed to making our lives count for the Lord, sharing the Gospel message with the lost, and seeking to please Him in our actions and behavior. God is so faithful, and we thank the Lord for His many blessings.
Concerning ministry, it has been a definite challenge with church planting here. One of the main reasons is the dependency within the culture. Please pray that the Lord would lead us to the right people, and even for wisdom in the different models. My good friend Roger Tate and I have been thinking of and praying over the best way to do church planting in this culture. We have tried it both ways: with us going to the village and starting the church within the culture and village, and also training a national to go and start churches without us ourselves going. Both ways have advantages and disadvantages, and we would appreciate your prayers for wisdom. We praise the Lord for the church that has been planted in the village of Shangalamwe, as well as the churches that have been started through the national we have been training. Even in this endeavor, God will give wisdom. Proverbs 4:7 says “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”
The hospital ministry is also continuing along well. My wife has been involved with this ministry for several years now, and God has been faithful to keep the door open there. She enjoys going to meet the mothers and seeing the babies that are in the ward. There are many babies there that need care and attention, and my wife helps as she is able. Please pray for her also, that the Lord would give her wisdom also. God cares for these people, and there are many challenging Scriptures. One is Psalm 72:12-13, which says “For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.” Please keep this ministry in your prayers.
There are many prayer requests. Once is for us personally, as the end of a term is always difficult. The reasons for this are many, including cultural fatigue/burnout, homesickness, and loneliness. There is definitely a spiritual battle going on, and we appreciate your prayers for us as we finish up this term. We know God is able, and will help and assist us in all our needed areas.
Another prayer request is for safety. We have done all we can in regards to security, and first and foremost we trust the Lord to watch over us. Kitale has had some security issues in various areas of the town lately. We do our best to stay aware and be as safe as we can be. We know the Lord protects us as we serve Him here, and would appreciate your prayers not only for us, but others who live and work here. Psalm 121:1-2 says “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” Our help comes from the Lord, and we know He is faithful to protect us as we serve here in East Africa.
Some other major prayer requests are for our upcoming furlough. Just to explain, furlough is very expensive. Why? We have many expenses here in Kenya that we still have to pay, even when we come to America. It actually can be overwhelming, when there is so much to pay during our absence while we are home. A huge help for us would be twofold at this time.
First, we are in need of reliable transportation during furlough. A minivan would be very helpful, for the needs of our family and for transporting what is needed. I could go pretty much anywhere to pick it up if anyone would be interested in donating or selling cheaply for our needs. Another need is housing. We would prefer housing to be in the Charleston/Huntington area of West Virginia, if possible. This would also be a huge help to us right now. We plan to be home in America later in the year, but wanted to announce a few months early, so there would be awareness. If anyone is interested in either of these needs, please email us at: naterad@yahoo.com As always, we trust the Lord for all our needs. We know He is faithful and we depend on Him. Thanks for allowing us to share our current needs.
Please keep us in your prayers as we seek to finish this term well and be faithful to the Lord. 2 Timothy 4:7-8 says “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” What tremendous verses, and a challenge to us today as we serve the Lord, wherever He calls us. Thanks to each of you for your interest in missions.
Nathan and Carrie Radford
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya
East Africa 30200
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [June 2013]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
Dear Brethren and Friends,
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! We know you will rejoice with us–The Lord has given a break through in Assai. More than seventy persons attended the special service on Mother’s Day in the city of Assai. Praise the Lord for His blessing on the new family who is working there.
The new pastor is Daniel. His wife is Leticia and their ten year-old daughter is Milena. This family came from the Chapada Baptist Church in Manaus, where our son, David, is pastor. This family is hard-working and dedicated to do God’s will. Pray for God to bless this family and have mercy on Assai. The Chapada Church paid their moving expenses and continue monthly support. Thank the Lord, with Alta and I, for this great blessing in Assai. In this city with a population of 20,000 there is only one baptized believer in our work.
The week after Mother’s Day there were thirty children present in the Saturday Bible Hour and twenty adults and children attended the Sunday service. God has heard and is answering your prayers concerning this city. Please praise Him and thank Him for His blessings.
PERSONAL EVANGELISM–As you know, I try to walk three times each week with the purpose of physical care and to do personal evangelism. We have had two weeks of rain, almost day and night so my walking has been slowed down. Two days that I did walk the Lord gave me opportunity to witness to five persons: A young couple with two small children and three working men.
URAI CHURCH–Since we do not have a specific work to care for since giving up Assai, we are attending the services at Urai church. The mission in Sussumo, on the other side of town, is going well. Three young people of the church teach Sunday School there and they have a preaching service every Friday night. The other mission and visitation program is going well and new persons are coming to services. Please pray for us. Alta is doing fine and I have some physical needs.
In His Wonderful Name,
John A. and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Founder’s Day Offering 2013
For many years, we have remembered and honored our principal founders, Hafford Overbey and Z. E. Clark, by giving special offerings for the missionaries during the month of June. We call it our FOUNDER’S DAY OFFERING.
But, the Founder’s Day Offering not only memorializes our original founders in 1942 – we are also honoring our twelve faithful missionary families who are currently serving the Lord in Brazil, Peru, France, and Kenya.
Their support needs are great – and the supplies are low. We use the Founder’s Day Offering to help supply our missionaries’ monthly essential living and ministry support. And, these offerings will also help prevent our having to reduce the monthly commitments we have made to them due to a lack of General Fund supplies.
Here’s what each of us can do:
PASTORS – we encourage you to observe a special Missions or Great Commission Emphasis Sunday and give your church the opportunity to give to the BFM General Fund. Emphasize Jesus’ command to preach His Gospel to all nations. That is what our missionaries are doing. That is the original burden and vision that inspired the founding of BFM. We are continuing to perpetuate that vision and burden. That is what we are supporting when we give to BFM’s General Fund. We will use these offerings to continue to supply our missionaries’ on-going needs.
GIVING FRIENDS – if your church is not participating in our Founder’s Day Offering, we encourage you to support your missionaries by giving a personal offering. You can visit our Donate/Support page to easily contribute through the options we have made available to you.
Of course, you can give as the Lord enables you to give, and no offering of any amount is insignificant. But what if every one of our missionaries’ Giving Friends gave at least a $70 offering in honor of the 70+ years our missionaries have been faithfully preaching the Gospel? But – please do give as the Lord impresses and enables you.
Here are a couple of PDFs that might be helpful as you promote Founder’s Day:
BFM Founder’s Day Offering – Bulletin Insert
BFM Founder’s Day Offering – General Letter
BFM Founder’s Day Offering – Letter from Our President
The image below is ideal for a PowerPoint slide. To save the image, right click and click “Save Image As.”
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FaithWORKS Report [May 2013]
‘MOTHERS IN ISRAEL’ SPECIAL EDITION!
During this Month – read, honor, and pray for our Missionary-Wives…
- KATHY BARROS
- BEV CREIGLOW
- ALTA HATCHER
- JUDY HATCHER
- RAQUEL HATCHER
- WANDA HATCHER
- BARB HENSLEY
- CARRIE RADFORD
- ANITA STANTON
- JULIE TATE
- CHARLENE WACASER
“MOTHERS IN ISRAEL” Judges 5.7
Deborah, the judge, called herself “a mother in Israel”. She was not referring to her biological children because we don’t have written record, at least, that she and Lapidoth had any biological children. But, she was ‘a mother in Israel’ because of the spiritual leadership and nurturing she demonstrated during this time of spiritual declension. She provided the leadership of conviction, moral courage, and inspiration to trust and obey God – and she influenced and strengthened many.
So have our missionary-wives who have as faithfully and valiantly served with their husbands to be mothers, not only to their own children and families, but to countless others also. So, in keeping with the Mother’s Day tradition we observe here in the States, we have asked our beloved missionary-wives to write this month’s letters from their own distinctive perspectives. This is our way of recognizing them, honoring them, and rising up with their husbands and children to bless them! Proverbs 31.10-31
WE COULD NOT FULFILL OUR BASELINE COMMITMENTS TO OUR MISSIONARIES AGAIN THIS MONTH – MAY. When we don’t receive sufficient General Fund offerings to cover the $46,000+ commitments we make to our missionaries each month just for salaries, expense allowances, hospitalization, and correspondence – then we have no other choice but to reduce the amounts of those commitments we disburse that month.
But, we are thankful that we didn’t have to reduce their commitments as much this month as last month. This month, we reduced their baseline commitments by only $238.84 which was equitably and proportionately distributed among them.
This month, also, we applied the $1699.00 offerings which was given during the Spring Missions Conference to their Essential Maintenance disbursements. Thanks to everyone who contributed to those offerings.
If you are not contributing to the General Fund, would you consider doing so regularly? Even if you want to help perhaps your ‘favorite’ missionary, by contributing to the General Fund, you are helping us supply the Essential Maintenance Transactions commitments we have made to them…so we won’t have to reduce them again.
‘Thank You!’ to everyone of you who does contribute to our monthly General Fund. You are not only supplying the essential needs of these servants of the Lord – but you also daily increase many thanksgivings to God for you!
SPRING MISSIONS CONFERENCE
The Lord attended with us and blessed us with His Presence and grace during our Spring Missions Conference. We want to thank all of you also who attended with us and prayed for us during this time of fellowship, preaching of the Word, and encouragement to commit ourselves to partnering together to help our missionaries fulfill their callings to ‘go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.’
Our special thanks also to the 40 pastors and preachers who attended during the course of the Conference. We hope each one will help us carry the burden and need of our missionaries back to your churches and increase our prayer and financial support to supplying their needs. These pastors-preachers represented eight U.S. states: KY, TN, OH, IL, IN, WV, MI, and FL. Two states in Brazil were also represented: Amazonas and Sao Paulo.
In addition, five nations were represented by the missionaries who have served there, either presently or formerly.
The Lord gave to every one of our 10 preachers and presenters Spirit-filled messages from His Word. The Holy Spirit ‘fleshed out’ the prayer-theme of our Conference ‘O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years’ from Habakkuk 3:2. He ‘fleshed out’ this theme by giving all our speakers a burning revival message from His Word; and then by sending them to us to deliver those messages; and then by convicting our hearts to receive them into our own lives and ministries. May He continue to ‘flesh out’ His Word through us all as we obey His Word and carry out His Great Commission to fulfillment in our own generation.
YOU are the ones who make our Conference services what they are. We in our host churches can plan the services and provide the accommodations to make your attendance as comfortable and enjoyable as we can, but it is your attendance and presence that makes the Conference. May God bless you as much for attending as you blessed all of us by your presence.
CONFERENCE OFFERING
We designated the $1699.00 in offerings given during the Conference services toward May’s General Fund supplies to help provide our missionaries’ Essential Maintenance Transactions. These are the essential expenses incurred each month to cover their salaries, housing and ministry allowances, hospitalization, and correspondence costs. These are their essential living and ministry needs.
CONFERENCE CDs
If you would like to receive copies of the audio CDs from the Conference messages, you may contact Doug Cornish, our media guy, at dougkyc[at]aol.com
CONFERENCE RECAPS
Also, if you haven’t done so – you may go to the “Conference Recaps” section of our FaithWorks Blog or to our Facebook to search for detailed descriptions and recaps of all the sessions and services during our Conference.
ANNUAL FOUNDER’S DAY OFFERING
Reminder: One of the reasons we were able to carry our missionaries’ Essential Maintenance Transactions through last year [2012] without reducing their standard baseline commitments [after having to make significant reductions in January and February] is because of THE 2012 FOUNDERS DAY OFFERING.
June has traditionally been the month when we remember and recognize the Founders of BFM – and also to honor the faithful missionaries who have served…and are serving…over our 70+ years of ministry!
We are asking you again for a special Founders Day Offering. We want to make our Founders Day Offering an annual event to help us continue to provide for our missionaries’ needs. Nothing we ever ask for or do is for any personal benefit to any of us – but everything is so we can continue to meet the commitments we have made to our missionaries so they can continue their daily ministries unhindered and undistracted by a lack of financial supplies.
All we are asking you to do is to give your church the opportunity to give to a specially-announced and designated Founder’s Day Offering. Or, if your church does not participate in the Offering, then please consider giving a special gift over and above your regular giving to the General Fund. All offerings received for the Founder’s Day Offering will be used to go toward meeting our missionaries’ needs for monthly General Fund supplies to help fund our standard commitments we have made to them for their essential living expenses.
Will you pray and ask the Lord what He wants you to give – and plan to participate with your church in a fellowship-wide Founders Day Offering?
MISSIONARIES’ FURLOUGH SCHEDULE
Harold Bratcher is retiring from active and faithful missionary service in Manaus, Brazil, and is relocating to live here in the States. He is selling his home in Manaus and is seeking to purchase a home here. If you wish to contact him before he establishes a permanent address, you may contact him at: 859.277.3716 / 1012 Balsam Drive, Lexington KY 40504 / or through his email address: harold_bratcher[at]yahoo.com
TATES AND RADFORDS – their plans at present are to be coming to the States in September and October respectively. You may correspond with them concerning any prospective plans you would like to make with them. Roger Tate rojuta[at]gmail.com & Nathan Radford naterad[at]yahoo.com
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Missionary Update: Jud & Raquel Hatcher in Brazil [May 2013]
May 11, 2013
To all women and heroines, happy Mother’s Day!
I’m so glad to share with you the many blessings God has poured out on us. Let me start by saying that I’m the happiest mother on the planet. I have four children: Sarah Isabel (8), Laura Elizabeth (6), Benjamin Judson (5) and, Melissa Nicole (17 months). I feel like I’m unwrapping a present every day, always finding a nice surprise. They make me laugh, they make me cry, they make me even scream some times; they make me do silly things, like dancing with them and playing with dinosaurs.
There is nothing like being a mother… some of my favorite moments are when they get home from school and I can hear them coming up the stairs, (you would think it was an army); they open the kitchen door and give me the best hug of all, like they have not seen me for days; or they hand me a special picture they have drawn (two hearts with our names in it, or two smiling people holding hands). Or maybe it’s when, as I’m leaving their bedroom after saying good night, they say something like: “Mom, I love you as the size of the sky!” And it just melts my heart. Another special time is when I lie in bed with them; this time is as sweet as honey, because they really open up and share their deepest thoughts; and sometimes they say very funny things, but I don’t dare laugh, because they mean it. For example, one time Benjamin asked me, “Mom is it true that Jesus is everywhere?” I responded, “Yes.” He asked, “Is He in my bedroom right now?” “Yes, Ben, He is here.” Then he said, “He must be a nice ghost.” I also recall telling the girls that they didn’t have to worry about being in their room by themselves because Jesus was always with them. One night Sarah said, “Mom, can you stay with me? I’m tired of being just me and Jesus.” And Laura, she loves talking about heaven. One night she asked me, “Mom, what is the fastest animal?” I guessed, saying that it was the leopard. Then she said, “then I will pick the leopard to go everywhere in heaven.”
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.
You know, being a mom is not always easy. There are moments I feel like entering in the wardrobe, hoping to appear in a faraway land; or sometimes I feel like screaming from the top of my lungs for a minute or two. Isn’t it amazing how those little angels can, in a blink of an eye, transform themselves into little uncontrollable animals? And they usually do that magic trick show when there are lots of people around. During those moments I think, “What am I doing wrong? Will she/he ever learn?” But, despite those frustrating situations we mothers experience from time to time, I know God is faithful and will keep His promises to us. My heart becomes peaceful when I trust God’s words. He said that we parents should teach our children in the right path, and even in their old age, they will not deviate from it. That is why I don’t get tired of telling my kids about God. I’m proud to say that they know all the main Bible stories, and they could tell you very well. My mom came to visit when Melissa was born. She liked to read them stories from the children’s Bible every night. But she was amazed by the fact that when she would start reading it, they would say: “Oh! We know that story…” and they would start telling her all about it.
Raising kids in a lost world is the most difficult task we parents have. And we have to be in constant prayer, asking God for wisdom, and asking Him to protect our kids from the evil around them. But at the same time, we have to teach them about who God is as they wake up, as they eat, as they play, as they go to bed. We have to tell them about how much God loves them and how much God cares for them, and how much God has blessed them by sending His only Son Jesus to die in their place so they can have eternal life with God in heaven. Sarah and Laura understood the message of salvation and they have accepted Jesus and have been baptized. Hallelujah! Now, please, join us in prayer for Benjamin, who is five years old, and needs salvation desperately, like anyone who doesn’t know Jesus. When a child gets to that place of understanding right from wrong, and chooses to do the wrong thing, he or she is responsible for that decision; meaning that he or she needs to accept the gift Jesus has to offer them: salvation. There is no other way but Jesus. No matter if you are five, fifteen, thirty, or sixty years old, Jesus is the only one who can forgive sin, and give you eternal life.
So, as I end this letter, I want to invite you to get to know Jesus. You will find that He is everything and the only thing you always needed. Just trust Him with your life, and He will do the rest. God bless you, and Happy Mother’s Day!
Raquel Hatcher
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
judsonhatcher@hotmail.com
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