Families Encouraging One Another
September 19, 2024
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We want to thank all those who support our ministry through your prayers and support. May God bless each of you.
The ministries are doing well. The ministry of Ubim has been blessed with new workers. They are doing great and enjoying the ministry. They are being a wonderful blessing.
They are planning a special day for children day in October. It is so wonderful to see young people getting involved.
We started a new thing at the Pedras Vivas Church where I pastor. We put the names of each family on a paper, then each family picks out a name to pray for during the week. This month we did this a little different. Two family names were picked out for them to pray for each other and get to have fellowship and know each other better. The families are really enjoying this. We pray that it well help them to encourage each other.
We are also planning baptism in the new baptistry.
We are encouraging the members to visit the people who live in the area they live in. Make friends and invite them to church. May God help us to reach out to more people. Since so many people live far from the church and many don’t have transportation, we want to start using the bus again. Pray with us that God will give us a driver willing to do this ministry.
Love in our Savior,
Odali and Kathy Barros
Contact Info:
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, SA
odali_kathy@hotmail.com
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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2024 Thanksgiving Conference
69th Annual Thanksgiving Missions Conference
in the interests of Baptist Faith Missions
November 11-12, 2024
New Hope Baptist Church
Dearborn Heights, MI – Pastor Terry Adkins
CONFERENCE THEME:
WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A SOUL?
“…he that winneth souls is wise.”
– Proverbs 11:30 –
MONDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 11TH
5:00 p.m. – Dinner
6:30 p.m. – Music
6:45 p.m. – Singing
7:15 p.m. – Message, Pastor George Sledd; Jordan Baptist Church; Sanford, FL
8:00 p.m. – Singing
8:25 p.m. – Message, Missionary Bobby Wacaser
Curitiba, Brazil
TUESDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 12TH
9:45 a.m. – Message, John Moore, Member of Grace Baptist Church; Fairborn, OH, preparing for the ministry
10:30 a.m. – Singing
11:00 a.m. – Break
11:10 a.m. – Message, Pastor Mark Campbell; Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church; Salyersville, KY
12:00 Noon – CONFERENCE ENDING WITH LUNCH
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New Seminary Student from the Jungle
September 9, 2024
Dear friends and family,
With the conference and the first graduation for the Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministries behind us, we must get back to the work at hand. But just let me say what a blessed accomplishment it all was. AWESOME!!!! The end of classes for this semester and the completion of exams. The classes were Theology of Missions and Lexicon Hebrew. All passed with flying colors.
We are truly blessed because God has sent us a Brazilian to be one of our professors. He will teach for the Bluegrass Baptist Seminary in the class for Pastoral Ministries. He also is the Pastor of the Bible Baptist Church in the center of São Paulo.
This church sold their old building and are now in a construction project that hopefully will be completed in June of 2025. The plans for the grand opening is to coincide with the graduation of the first Zoom classes we were able to have after COVID. This opened a new era for us there in Brazil. These are friends of the Seminary and our friends also.
We would like to introduce you to one of our newest students. We met him in Manaus in July and he showed great interest in entering into the Seminary. We soon discovered that there would be some LARGE hurdles to jump but we always say, “There is nothing too big for God to conquer,” so the class is taught at 7 o’clock and that is 8 o’clock in Brazil. Not such a big obstacle, but this student lives and works in the jungle. And he only had solar powered energy so he could only receive the classes in the daylight hours. Not such a big deal, right? So, we are now recording the classes and he can listen during the day when the sun is shining. God will make a way, He is AWESOME!!!
Barbara and I will be returning to Brazil on October 9th with the church we are attending here in Sebring, Florida on a fact-finding trip. Our church wants to see if God is calling them to find a place where He is working and join with them to further His kingdom. We will be going to visit Caraguatatuba and see our family there and then go to Rio de Janeiro to visit an Indian tribe there.
We covet your prayers on this trip. Though we have been missionaries for many years there, we have always received the visitors, not been the people visiting. So, this will be a new journey for us.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
CONTACT INFO
AJ & Barbara Hensley
30524 Mimi St
Sebring, FL 33870-0530
AJ: 859-539-2302 | Barbara: 859-539-1424
ajcaragua@gmail.com
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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New School Year Starts with Students Representing 7 Different Countries
September 8, 2024
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
First of all, let me apologize for not writing a newsletter last month. Here is my lame excuse – Julie was in the United States visiting family and I was struggling with Chloe here in Kenya and just trying to make it through the month. I felt like I didn’t have much to write about except: Monday – struggled with Chloe; Tuesday – struggled with Chloe; Wednesday – struggled with Chloe, etc. I recognize that it is a lame excuse so, again, I apologize.
This month, however, we have opened up a new school year after seeing our graduates off from last year. It is exciting to welcome the new students and to see what God is doing and is going to do with them in Kenya and the world. As always, one of my greatest prayer requests for many of these students is finances. The economy in Kenya continues to struggle (thus, the many riots and demonstrations by the Gen-Z’s in Nairobi and around the country that have caused so much trouble) and most of the students have difficulties even raising the money for their fees. But one of my goals is to see all of these students educated in the Bible and ministry and graduated at the end of their studies. Therefore, I continue to work with each of them to ensure they all eventually wear their regalia at graduation and go out to minister the Word and the love of Jesus to God’s people and the world.
One of the things that continues to thrill my heart is the growing group of international students that we have at the school. Our four Congolese students graduated in July and have moved on to either further studies or to return to Congo to minister to their people and their country. However, with returning and new students we now have seven countries represented within our student body. Of course, we have students from all over Kenya and many Kenyan tribes represented. Some of our returning students also come from Uganda, South Sudan, India, and Tanzania. Our South Sudanese student has not been home to see his wife and children in over two years because it would be too dangerous to try and travel in and out of his village. He wants to travel back just once, after he graduates this year, to minimize the travel and the danger. When he does return, there will be no open and usable roads to his home, and he will have to fly into a small airstrip and then continue his ministry to his people and his village. In addition to these returning students, we now have new students from other countries. We now have a student from Indonesia. He also will not return home until he graduates and returns to Indonesia to minister the Word and the love of Jesus to his people. The other two international students I need to be very careful about when I talk about them, because of their situations. I will not be able to disclose their origins or their destinations, in order to keep them safe.
One is from an undisclosed African country who also works as a missionary to another undisclosed African country. I wish I could describe even what he is doing for the Kingdom of Christ, but I want to keep him and his ministry safe. The other student comes from even farther away, but we need to keep him safe as well.
I mention these international students because I am excited to know we are teaching the Word and ministering to people who will be taking the gospel back with them to their own countries and ministering God’s grace to their own people. They are not more important or more exciting than our many Kenyan students, but it continues to thrill my heart to know that the reach of the gospel and the extent of Christ’s Kingdom is expanding as a result of our efforts and ministry. I am impressed with all of our students, and I love them all and continue to pray that God would use them mightily in His service and for the Kingdom of His Son. I hope you all will continue to pray for them in this way as well. To the glory of God.
Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie, & Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.com
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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Blessed by Team Visiting from Virginia
September 3, 2024
Dear Friends,
I really wanted to wait a few days to send my report last month because our visiting team from Virginia had just arrived and we were only beginning our week of ministry together in the schools and streets of Curitiba, Brazil. I can now share with you that it truly was a blessed few days of sharing the gospel with students and school staff. We were thrilled at the way the Lord moved in the hearts and lives of those that heard the gospel, and those that shared it. Pastor Jared Via has done a fantastic job of teaching and training his church what it means to be a follower of Jesus. His team of youth and their leaders boldly spoke in front of crowds, and one-on-one, about what it means to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. With the help of our volunteer translators, teens from 14 to 19 years of age were very intentional, yet perceptive in approaching the students who watched their gospel skits and listened to their personal testimonies and who seemed moved by the message. Only eternity will reveal exactly who and how many surrendered their lives to Christ through their efforts, but there were over 150 who publicly professed Jesus as their Lord and Savior during the course of our days of ministry together. We know from the Scriptures that there is rejoicing in heaven over the repentance of each lost person (Luke 15:7), but we’re also happy that these young witnesses of Christ had the privilege of being used by the Lord to have a part in that spiritual birth.
Our Projeto Vida team of evangelists loved the time spent together with their American brothers and sisters. They only knew from a prior visit a couple of the teens from the group of 18, but before the week was up, they seemed like lifelong family members. There was a lot of sadness and tears on the day of departure, but they know that goodbyes come with the territory of mission work. Our team of 13 missionaries went straight from their week of work with our Virginian friends to begin another week of outreach in a couple of coastal towns a little more than an hour from their home base. The Lord continued to bless and use their efforts in sharing the gospel. Hundreds of teens heard the Word and many came to know Christ.
Our missionaries to Portugal, Yago and Manoela, continue faithfully teaching and sharing the Word there. Portugal is definitely not “white unto harvest” like much of Brazil, but they are being obedient to preach the gospel to the “uttermost parts of the world.” Please remember them in your prayers.
Next week, Charlene and I are returning on another mission trip to Brazil with a small group of dedicated soul-winners. We have partnered with some of them on several occasions and we rejoice at the opportunity to do so again. Our ministry plan will be very similar to what we did with the group I mentioned earlier, but there are no teens in this group. What is evident is that the Lord can, and will, use anyone who is willing to offer themselves to Him to take the gospel to the lost and needy. Some of these volunteers are grandparents who are having the most fruitful times of their life. Why don’t you come too? There are no limits to how God can use you.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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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Celebrating 25 Years of Sharing the Good News in France
September 2, 2024
Dear Fellow laborers,
We are back in France following a good trip to the USA for the wedding or our oldest granddaughter, Abigail. It was great to see friends and extended family members. Judy and I spent the last couple of weeks in Chicago where we had great moments with our children, their good spouses and eight grandchildren! God has abundantly blessed us in more ways than we could ever count. Both of our children who live in Chicago celebrated 20 years of marriage this summer. Their children range from 9 to 16 years old and are very enjoyable to be around.
David and Dulce celebrated their twenty years of marriage by spending a week in Mozambique. Judy and I got to enjoy their children and Lydia and Adam’s children during this time. It was wonderful. But, “ya just gotta do whacha gotta do”!
Four days after our return we had a great baptismal service at the encounter of two mountain rivers. Blandine, the hostess for our Bible studies in the city of L’Union followed the Lord in baptism. She is the only person in this Bible study with “seekers” who has made a profession of faith. All of the participants are very interested. All of them drove nearly a couple of hours to be at the baptism. There were about 50 people at the baptismal service. Most of these were not believers. We tried to give a clear Gospel message, and all were very attentive.
After the baptism we had a picnic with those who attended. Judy, Philip, Amanda and I spent most of the afternoon discussing spiritual matters with those who were there. One lady, who started coming to the Bible study at Blandine’s home about a year ago, is delighted with what she is learning about Christ. She has not made a public profession of faith, but I would not be surprised if that happens soon. On March 15th (less than 6 months ago) she began reading her Bible. She has read the entire Old Testament, the Gospels and a good number of the epistles! Jesus declared, “Seek and you will find”!
Speaking of celebrations, in a couple of weeks Judy and I will complete 25 years of sharing the Good News in Southern France. Philip and Amanda have been our partners in ministry for 23 years. Time passes fast. We thank God for the privilege of serving our Savior here. What a delight to see God change lives. Thank you for your participation with us.
Thankfully in Christ,
John and Judy
Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
2 T Impasse de la Picardie
31830 Plaisance du Touch
France
JMHatcher@aol.com
Present USA phone 1-812-416-1033
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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News & Reports – September 2024
The Online Edition of the September 2024 BFM News & Reports is available at the link below.
*Remember you can click on any headline to view the post/letter on our website.
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Servants of the Lord Helping in Ministry
August 22, 2024
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We pray and hope that all is well with each one of you. We are doing well, thanks to our Lord and Savior.
We are excited that we are being able to start back the remodeling of the church in the village of Cacau. We want to do as much as possible on the part that is on the outside while it is not raining so we can start using the church building again. Also, we are excited about the camp. With the help with finances, we are going to be able to get more accomplished.
This month is Father’s Day in Brazil. The ladies and the teens had a celebration for the fathers. It was a great time together.
The Lord has put men in our ministry who had problems with drugs. They are really nice guys and really good and enjoy helping with what they can. One helps in the ministry of Ubim and has been a great help. The other helps here at our house and does anything that is needed. Please pray for them. They really want to change their life and serve God.
Kathy and other ladies in the church are working with the youth in working with children and in the music ministry. Pray that they will encourage them to serve God more.
Thanks for your prayers and support. God bless each one of you and the churches that support us. You are an important part of the ministry.
Love in Christ,
Odali and Kathy Barros
Contact Info:
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, SA
odali_kathy@hotmail.com
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.
Read more
