Missionary Update: Bobby & Charlene Wacaser in Brazil [August 2012]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
August 8, 2012
Dear Friends,
The inaugural service in our new auditorium went extremely well. We had been meeting in our largest classroom until we could get the auditorium floor poured and also get the lighting installed. With those done, we made the move into the larger space and the Lord blessed to give us a great turnout in attendance. At our first service there were about 170 present. About half of those were some of our brothers and sisters from other churches wanted to celebrate the moment with us, but the other half were mostly un-evangelized family and friends of our present members. This was especially encouraging to us all since we began this new church with only 8 members a little over a year ago. God has blessed us at every step along the way providing us with opportunities and resources. We know that He will continue to bless because we know that He completes what He begins and this work is certainly possible only through Him.
We had 27 missions volunteers in our intensive training this month. After a two weeks of classroom teaching and workshops we took them out into the field to apply what they had learned. We had the amazing opportunity to share the gospel with over 15,200 people during the course of the month. Most of this outreach was done in the parks and squares of outlying towns and cities. There were over 300 professions of faith in Jesus Christ as a result and we helped to get those folks connected to a local Baptist church and started in daily Bible study.
My son, Brennen, who is 15 years old, got the privilege to be the translator for a group of visiting Baptist Seminary faculty and students. He did a very good job (if I say so myself) and he really enjoyed the opportunity. He is a little bit shy, normally, but doesn’t shrink from the challenge of speaking publicly for the Lord. I am grateful to God for giving me the privilege of having two kids who love the Lord and who are engaged in making Him known to others.
With the blessing of some special offerings we have continued the process of completing the building of our new church plant. We thank you who have contributed generously to this project. We are certain the Lord will bless you.
Tomorrow a group of youth from Tampa, FL will arrive to partner with us in evangelism in the public schools and parks. We will be taking two of the Project Life teams and their motorhomes into to the neighborhoods where there is a dense population and very little gospel witness. My daughter, Jessie, is coming with the team and will be the coordinator of the team of 15 translators. She has done this with another group earlier this year and did an excellent job and we are looking forward to having her back with us and helping us. Few things are as pleasing as working together with our children in the service of the Lord. We are very thankful that He allows us this privilege.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support of our ministries here in southern Brazil.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser
Rua Manoel Valdomiro de Macedo, 2281
81170-150 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
robertmw[at]brturbo.com.br
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Missionary Update: The Tates in Kenya [August 2012]
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I suppose that if I am going to be an honest missionary then I need to report the good with the bad. Last month when I sat down to write my report I was excited and everything I wrote was good, uplifting, and encouraging. Unfortunately, what I have to write about this month I am not so excited about. It is not as uplifting or encouraging. I still hope you spend the time to read it, though, as true life and ministry is filled with ups and downs, with evil and good, with blessings and hardship, with encouraging times and not so encouraging times. Don’t get me wrong, I am not discouraged, depressed, nor down. It’s just that in the course of any ministry and work for God there are mountains and valleys.
Let me start with the church that we organized just last month (Kanisa la Baptisti la Shangalamwe – Baptist Church of Shangalamwe). It is still going strong and I still have high hopes for it. The people there love the Lord and love to worship and fulfill the commission of Christ. But what I have been waiting to happen has now happened. You might have guessed it. It has to do with money. The patriarch of the church finally approached us for help. He told us he didn’t have any food and that he needed our assistance. We have been dreading this from the beginning and the start of the group because we know well the two most likely outcomes from this scenario. Outcome #1 looks like this: We organize a group of Kenyan believers into a church; After some amount of time they begin to ask us for money, aid, and help; Having compassion on their needs we help them with monetary gifts, food gifts, etc; This begins a vicious, downward, irrevocable cycle that ultimately leads to DEPENDENCY and PATERNALISM; The church is ruined. Outcome #2 looks like this: We organize a group of Kenyan believers into a church; After some amount of time they begin to ask us for money, aid, and help; Knowing the problem of dependency and paternalism that is the sure outcome of us giving them money and gifts, we spend great amounts of time teaching them why they should help each other, depend on the Lord, and not beg the missionary for money; All the members of the church begin to realize that they will not be receiving money and gifts from this missionary (what they were probably expecting from the beginning) and slowly begin to drift away and make themselves scarce until they are no longer around; Those who have been “spurned” begin to tell everyone in the village that these are stingy missionaries that are selfish and unloving; We are left with no members in the church; The church is ruined. Those are the two scenarios that I keep seeing played out over and over again. After much prayer and wisdom seeking, Nathan and I decided to help the family by providing them with food. It was a very difficult decision because we never really know if we are getting the whole truth and because we are quite familiar with Outcome #1 above. We fear Outcome #1 even more because when we tried to ascertain the families’ financial situation we found out it is bleak. The patriarch of the family is 70 years old and has no job and supposedly no retirement. They have no farm or land to farm. Their children and neighbors are not willing to help them. They are taking care of four orphaned grandchildren. And, they have no hope for any future income. I kept asking them, “What are your plans for the future”? Ultimately, they have no plans for the future. Actually, Julie may have hit the nail on the head when she told me later, “Roger, YOU are their plan for the future”? I’m afraid she might just be right. I hope that we have made the right decision and yet can still stay off the path of dependency and paternalism. We will only know as things unfold in the future. On the bright side we do have two additional people who would like to join this small church. Nathan and I are scheduled to head out to Shangalamwe later this week to talk to them about salvation and baptism. Please pray for Baptist Church of Shangalamwe.
Briefly, now, because I am out of space. Please pray for our car situation. I have found out that the car I paid a lot of money for a couple of years ago was not properly registered by the authorities in the Kenyan government when it was imported (This happened years before I bought it either by human error or corruption). Bottom line: The Criminal Investigation Department wants to impound my car (which, if they do, I will never see it again). When I refused to hand it over to them they threatened to arrest me. I would like to avoid being arrested as well as having my car impounded and stolen from me. Please pray about this situation as well. (You can read more about this situation on Julie’s blog.)
See, I told you this month’s report wasn’t as uplifting as last month’s. Hope you read it anyway.
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)
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Radfords in Kenya [August 2012]
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.
August 3, 2012
Dear praying friends,
It is now the month of August, and we are past halfway through the year 2012. What a blessing it is, the time that the Lord gives us to serve Him. May we be faithful to serve Him, whenever or wherever that is. One of my favorite Scripture verses is Isaiah 6:8, where the Word of God says “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” I hope and pray this is our desire before the Lord.
In ministry news, the church in Shangalamwe is continuing along well. Over the past few weeks, I have really seen how the people here need Biblical teaching from the Word of God. My good friend Roger Tate and I have been working with the people for months now, and it has been exciting to watch them grow spiritually, take in the Word of God, and follow it. Our challenge to them is not only to know the Word, but follow it, practice it, obey it, and reach others. Several have been visiting, so we are thankful for this. We ask you to pray for us, that we would have His help in all areas and progress of this ministry. Please pray for us as we teach, that the teaching would be understandable and that they would not only hear the Word, but be doers of the Word. Please also pray that the people would trust the Lord, wholly and completely. Isaiah 26:4 states “Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.” We will keep you updated on the progress of this ministry, and we appreciate your prayers.
The hospital ministry is going well. My wife enjoys this and has been doing this work with the mothers and babies for a few years now. It is a blessing for her to be able to be involved with this. Many of the mothers and children there have been reached with what God has provided, and what a joy it is to serve them. Proverbs 19:17 says “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.” What a challenge from Scripture this is. Thanks to each one who has sent supplies or given sacrificially to this ministry. Some of the babies there are abandoned, and have many struggles, so we would appreciate your prayers for them also. May God bless you for your heart for missions.
The Annex prison is continuing well, for which I thank the Lord. The Lord has provided good students of the Word, those who seem to be genuinely interested in knowing and obeying the Bible and what it teaches. We are now in the New Testament of the teachings, and will soon be looking at the ministry Jesus had while on earth, as well as other teachings. Just recently, I taught some from Luke 1:37, which states “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” What is impossible with man is possible with God. We serve an all-powerful God!
Please keep our family in your prayers, for safety, health, faithfulness to the Lord and the work here in Kitale, and that we would be the examples before our children that we need to be. Camille is now nearly walking, which does not seem possible. What a blessing she is to our family. McKenna is the typical little girl, lots of energy and into many things. They keep us on our toes, to say the least. Pray for us as we seek to lead them in the ways of the Lord. God bless you all so much, and we will keep you updated.
In Kenya,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya
East Africa 30200
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July 2012 Mission Sheet [PDF & Flip-through]
Your July 2012 Mission Sheet is now available in PDF format. Follow the link below to view it!
You can also flip through the mission sheet at the following link:
Read BFM Mission Sheet [July 2012] (click on thumbnail to view once you get there)
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [August 2012]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
July 31, 2012
Dear Brethren and Fellow Workers,
Greetings from Brazil in the Name of our Great Savior. Alta and I have had a good month and have gone to our mission in Assai each Sunday morning. Our attendance has not grown but we have the promise that where two or three are gathered together in His Name He is present with us. His promise is His Word will not return void. We are trying to be faithful and one day the Isaac will be born.
God has blessed us in the old age of our life. It is a great joy to look back over the years and see how God has been faithful in all His promises. Our children are serving the Lord, all of our grandchildren are faithfully serving the Lord and our great-grandchildren are being saved as they come to the age of accountability.
Another great thrill is to see how God has blessed and is blessing the works that He gave us the privilege of beginning. Those works have also begun and are beginning other new works. We want to encourage you young persons to surrender your lives to serve the Lord. Make the surrender while young; you will never regret doing the best for your Lord and Savior.
(Just had a wonderful interruption of fifteen minutes–a phone call from John and Judy in France. The Lord knows how we love them and miss them.)
Last week we had a wonderful two-day visit with David. He came down to our State for the dedication of two new buildings: One in the center of Parana and the other in Curitiba where Bobby and Charlene Wacaser work. We praise and thank the Lord for how He is using our children in His vineyard. They are all so far away and sometimes the heart aches to see them. Kathy is the closest and we get to see her every two or three months.
All of the work is going well in this part of Brazil. In Urai the work is going well. The pastor, Marcio, is doing a good job. There are about ten young people and two young married couples who are faithful and working in the church and congregations. There are six or seven who study in the Seminary. Pray for us. At age 87, things are not so easy.
God bless you, we love you,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: John Mark & Judy Hatcher in France [August 2012]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making,”
July 31, 2012
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am writing a little earlier than usual. We have more than enough news for our allotted space in the the Missions Sheets, so we will share it with you and save what comes later for next month.
The young man who trusted Christ last month was baptized a couple of weeks ago. We do not have a baptistry so we just use a place that has “much water.” Theo asked to be baptized near his “fishing hole,” a location on a river not far from his house where he had fished with his dad and friend. We had a special afternoon meeting in this beautiful setting and a good number of believers and interest folks were there to witness the baptism, This included a couple of people (not in the pictures) that were just in the area. One of our men remarked that it may have been God’s way to give them the gospel. Theo was in his mother’s womb when she and his father first began coming. His father was the first person to trust the Lord and follow the Lord in baptism here.
John Mark Hatcher baptizes young Theo, who trusted Christ last month. He was baptized in a “fishing hole” not far from his house.
Though our attendance is usually down in the summer, we have recently had a good number on Sundays with a number of visitors. If my memory serves me well, we have had visitors every Sunday during the past month. One of these, this past Sunday, was a man we met at the neighborhood picnic last month. He seems to be quite interested and said he would return with his three boys when they get back from visiting their grandparents.
The Lord has opened doors for us to have increasing interaction with several families in our neighborhood. As a matter of fact we are watching houses for several people while they are on vacation. When they give us their keys and ask us to take in their mail, it is evidence that they trust us. When people trust you, they are more likely to listen to what you say. It is an indication that one has an effective life witness to them.
One of the families, whose house we are watching, moved in across the street from us last year. As they were preparing to leave, Judy got the idea of giving a CD to them that is Bible verses set to music sung by children. They were very appreciative and said that they would listen to it during their trip. This family has three primary school aged children.
A crowd gathers for Theo’s baptism
Another blessing during the last couple of months is that some who have trusted the Lord in the past have returned to participate more faithfully.
Philip and Amanda, our son and beautiful daughter (French way of saying daughter-in-law) return along with their children this coming Friday, the Lord willing. They have been in the states for six weeks to visit family and friends there. What a blessing it is to have them here working with us. As we have mentioned in the past, Philip works as an engineer to support himself and their family as missionaries here. It has been really encouraging to have participants from the congregation stepping up to the plate while they are away. Our job is to make disciples to Christ.
I will close, since my letter is long enough, with the news that Judy’s annual exam showed that she is still cancer free and now has been for over 11 years. God has truly blessed us with the opportunity to serve Him together. Thanks for your faithful participation with us.
Joyfully in Christ,
John and Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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Missionary Update: Odali & Kathy Barros in Brazil [August 2012]
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.
Wow! August is here. For those of you that live in the US you are in the middle of summer. Well, for those of us who live in Garça, we are enjoying a wonderful winter, with the average temperature of 70 degrees. The sun rises and sunsets this time of the year are absolutely gorgeous!
One of the new things around here is milking cows. About a month or two ago Odali bought some cows. The boys have enjoyed going each morning to milk them. One of the cows loves cookies, well she love just about anything that is eatable. This has been a great time for the boys and their dad. They usually have other kids that go with them.
We have several new people living here with us now. They are adults or mother with children. There is a lady that is living here that is waiting for her house that is being built by the city. The city subsidies homes for those with low income and with no conditions of having a job that would guarantee them a good salary. These people lived in an area of danger. Marcia is here name. She has been coming to church along with her 13 year old son. His name is Alex. Alex has made friends with our boys and is like one of the family. Actually he has started calling Odali and I mom and dad. He has not seen or heard of his dad for many years. The last time he saw him, his dad was trying to kill his mom. Nice memories, right?! Pray for them, especially that they will accept Christ as Savior. Marcia does not read or write.
We are trying to work out a time to help her. We don´t know for sure if she has a difficulty or if she just quit her studies early. Also we have another lady here who has some learning disabilities. Since this area used to be coffee farms many people did not finish the studies. But she also does not read or write and does not know money.
Our church is doing well. We work on Sunday morning especially to reach out to the children and teens. Our city, like so many others have been taken over by drugs and prostitution. A junior age girl told her Sunday school teacher a few days ago that she didn’t know what would happened to them if our church ever closed. On Sunday they spend about 3 hours here with us. We have Sunday school and service them they play and eat then we take them home. Last Sunday we had several mothers. Most all the kids come from single mom homes. Our Sunday night services are especially for adults. Last Sunday we had several visitors.
We are planning on taking a furlough late November of this year. Our youngest daughter is having her baby then. It’s been 7 years since Amelia saw her dad. Also we have 2 granddaughters that we haven’t seen. So we thought that that would be a good time for us to take a break. We started on our boys documents and we hope that all goes well. We are not sure where we will be living yet. We are looking into finding a house to rent. Pray for us as we get things ready for us to take our furlough.
Thanks for your financial support and your prayers. Please continue to pray for us. May God bless each of you.
Love in Christ,
Odali & Kathy Barros
odali_kathy[at]hotmail.com
Caixa Postal 182
17400-000 Garca, SP
Brasil, S.A.
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BFM Labor Day Missions Conference 2012
We invite you to join us for the
2012 BFM LABOR DAY MISSIONS CONFERENCE
September 2-3
Hosted by East Keys Baptist Church
2150 East Keys Ave. | Springfield, IL 62702 | map
Dan Hillard, Pastor | dhillard51@yahoo.com | (309) 265-2974
www.eastkeysbaptist.com
Sunday, September 2
10:00 a.m. – Evangelist Bob Jones
11:00 a.m. – Teaching Pastor, Dr. David Mitchell
6:30 p.m. – Missionary Sheridan Stanton
7:30 p.m. – President of Board of Directors for BFM, Dr. Randy Jones
Monday, September 3
10:00 a.m. – Pastor Doug Armstrong
11:00 a.m. – Dr. David Mitchell
*The recommended motel is Howard Johnson Springfield, 1701 J. David Jones Pkwy., Springfield, IL 62702. They can be reached at (217) 541-8774.
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