A Visit from Family
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.
January 15, 2021
Dear Brothers and Sister,
It’s hard to believe that a new year has begun. With so many changes we have had to make in our way of living and ministering, we are thankful to God for His protection in our family and those around us in the churches. Things had gotten better but after Christmas and New Year’s, things have gotten bad again. The cities have closed down most of the stores and malls. They only allowed what are major necessities to be open. So once again we are taking precautions with the services.
God has given us the opportunity to have our son Joshua Odali here with his family. Since we live in the middle of the jungle the grandkids can have fun even though everything is closed in town. We have had a wonderful time together.
One of the things that we have started helping with small communities that are in the middle of the jungle is making wells. Now a friend of our son has joined in this ministry. He donated money to drill a well. The cost of a well is $3,000, which includes the labor, the materials, and the pump. He will be coming to help. There are many communities that have no running water. So, this is a great opportunity to reach out to them with drinking water and Living Water. If anyone would like to help, make the donation to “well drilling”.
We want to thank each one of you for your constant prayers and your faithful support.
Please continue to pray for us as we deal with the difficult moments, that God will give us wisdom to work through this time.
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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Another Delay
The Hensleys have served the Lord in Brazil, South America since 1996. They have worked with orphanages, started mission points, established churches, and are presently conducting a seminary to train Brazilian pastors.
Thursday, January 14, 2021
Friends and family,
Well, in the prospect of not sounding like a broken record—plans have been made, ticket have been purchased, COVID tests have been scheduled (72 hours before take-off). Then we got a notice from Brazil!! The two cities where we are planning classes had been put on lock-down. What that means is ANOTHER delay!!
Plans changed, classes cancelled, letting our professors know and calling the pastors in Brazil. This is the first step in the cancelling of these classes that were in place for the Spring. We had to call our Brazilian brothers, the IT people, the translator, and all others that had their plans to attend the Seminary classes.
So now the Spring classes will become classes in the Summer and the Summer classes will move to the Fall and the Fall classes move to the Winter. Do we need your prayers? Yes, yes, yes, now more than ever. Please pray for us and our Brazilian students and helpers.
Here is where I ask myself, “Am I doing something wrong and do I need to change something?” Well, one thing I know is I need more patience; however, in light of praying for more patience, I will be praying for wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and remember that we are not in this alone. And when I fail to remember ALL that I get, reminders to me from me: remember—Pastors, Congregations, and how easy it is to displace them when you are keeping the main thing the main thing. We were going there to help them in understanding the Bible better and how to pass that knowledge on to the Brazilian people.
All the changes that have had to be made are disturbing to us and the budget, but we need to remember Who is in charge. And He has our best interest at heart. So, I know that we serve an AWESOME God and it is all in His plans.
Thank you for your continued prayer support and financial support. And thanks to BFM for their continued belief in our work to train our Brazilian brothers.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
CONTACT INFO
AJ & Barbara Hensley
592 Emery Court
Lexington, KY 40505
AJ: 859-539-2302 | Barbara: 859-539-1424
ajcaragua@gmail.com
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Times of Unrest and Trials in America & Kenya
The Tates have served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is church planting.
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
In times of unrest and trials in America and in Kenya, what do we do? The best that I can offer is to trust God and pray, knowing that God sees all and that he knows our plight and that he is for us.
While you all in America are going through turmoil, we in Kenya (myself and the Kenyan people) are learning to trust and pray too. For a long time, Kenyans have lived with political unrest, government and police oppression and mistrust, and economic disaster. They also need to be directed to trust God and pray.
I have had one lady and her daughter that has recently started attending our worship services at the Chapel. She has had no work lately because of the changes that have occurred as a result of Covid. Her daughter was supposed to go back to school this month because the government has reopened schools after a 10 month Covid hiatus (that’s right, the schools have been completely closed for 10 months). Unfortunately, her daughter did not have everything she needed in order for her to return to school. After our services at the Chapel the lady would approach me and begin this rehearsed speech: “I am sorry we were late this morning. My daughter delayed me because she was crying. She doesn’t have everything she needs to return to school. I don’t have a job and I don’t have any money. How can she return to school without the things she needs? Covid has really been hard on us. I don’t know what to do. What am I going to do? Do you have any suggestions?” This is the cultural way of asking for a handout without explicitly asking for a handout. I told her I was sorry, that times really were hard, that Covid has effected many people but that God is still in control and that we should pray that God help her with the things she needed. This only caused her to repeat her speech again, which she repeated many times during this conversation. Each time I told her I would pray for her (I can’t actually give her the money she is asking for because of the many, many problems it would cause not only with her but also with the rest of the Chapel members and with the overall health of the Chapel). When she returned to worship this week (which I didn’t think she would) she was rejoicing in the fact that she not only was able to purchase her daughter’s necessities, but she also landed a job that would bring her some steady income. She told me it was all because I prayed for her and blessed her and that God must really listen to me and how thankful she was that I had blessed her. Of course, at this point I had more lessons for her that she needed to learn in order to dispel the myth of my magical praying powers.
May God bless my Kenyan people and my American people with his presence, his Spirit, his love, his grace, and his mercy.
Blessings to you all,
Roger, Julie & Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
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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Exiles in Our World; One Now at Home
January 10, 2021
Dear Fellow Exiles,
We just finished the Sunday meeting with our church in France, morning here but evening there. Being able to meet electronically with them is a great blessing. Today was the beginning of a new series of messages from God’s Word, “Exiles in our World”. Philip suggested that we make this our next series as God’s people are clearly presented in the Old and New Testament as pilgrims in exile.
This morning we looked at the outstanding encounter of Elijah with Ahab, Jezebel, the prophets of Baal, and Yahweh on Mt. Carmel and Mt. Horeb. You might like to reach I Kings 18 and 19 and meditate on the wonderful lessons we learn about God’s love and interaction with us in the midst of the calling we have received. It is very applicable to the times in which we live.
And, speaking of times in which we live. What a year 2020 was globally and personally. Judy’s sister Peggy left us to be in the presence of the Lord in the wee morning hours of December 24. Our children and grandchildren who live in the USA were here for an early Christmas celebration on Tuesday, December 22. This was the last day that Peggy was cognizant of her surroundings here on earth. Our family in France had Zoom time with us singing Christmas carols to Peggy. A little later, all who were here sang hymns to Peggy for about an hour. Peggy would join us singing a word or two in her breathless state. She is now singing in perfection.
Peggy had a passion to help the needy and loved reaching out to children. She actively served in these areas. Her life touched many who she is now with and others who will join her in the presence of the Lord because she was a witness to them of Jesus Christ.
Thank each one of you who have expressed your concern and love in many different ways. We are now working hard at wrapping up the physical and legal matters so that we can be back in France soon. It is our to hope to be there within the next couple of months. God has manifested His presence in many different ways and things are going well.
Thank you for your prayers now and during the past months.
May God display Himself in all of us during this year and until our Lord and Savior returns for us.
Your fellow pilgrim exiles,
John and Judy
Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, 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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Preparing DVD on Furlough
January 1, 2021
Dear praying friends,
Happy 2021! Hard to believe that another year has passed so quickly. I (Nathan) am sure many of us are wanting to get 2020 over, as it was a very challenging year with the coronavirus. It was certainly an unprecedented year, and one of the most challenging in my lifetime. I am sure many of you can say the same. With all the restrictions, lockdowns, etc. it was difficult, but God saw us through, and He will see us through 2021 as well. He is so faithful. Psalm 33:4 says “For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth.” Amen.
In all of the challenges of this past year, I am comforted by many passages of the Scriptures, and have found many encouraging verses we can cling to in Psalm 34. I will mention just a few. Psalm 34:4 says “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” What an encouraging verse, with all the fears and distresses we faced this past year.
Also, Psalm 34:19, which says “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” I could mention others, but these are a couple of my favorites. I would encourage you to read Psalm 34 completely through to find many promises from our faithful God in these challenging times. May we trust Him and His promises in the year ahead. D.L.Moody said “God never made a promise that was too good to be true.”
Our daughters are currently on break from their schooling and have worked hard in their studies. My wife has done a great job homeschooling them and they are really enjoying it. Of course, there are challenges with homeschooling, but my wife has done fine and has her degree in education, so she is well qualified. Please pray for her and our daughters, as they learn together. Life is truly all about learning. There are new things to be learned all the time, and we need His grace and help through it all.
Kenya has continued to get hit hard with the coronavirus. There are over 96,000 cases at the current time, so you can imagine that the health facilities, doctors, and nurses are getting overwhelmed. How they need us to remember them in prayer at this challenging time, as well as the missionaries that are currently serving in Kenya. Please pray for all involved in this difficult situation. Prayer changes things. Hopefully there will be a treatment in the near future, all over the world, so people get the help they need at this time.
I will very soon be working on my missions DVD, so I appreciate your prayers for that. There is always so much to do with it and it is a lot of work, but I am glad to be receiving help at this time with it. Please pray for me and the helpful man that I will be working with, that we will be efficient, get our work done in a timely manner, and develop a good missions DVD from our last term in Kenya.
I will be scheduling churches in the near future, so please be in prayer for this as well. I know there will be different challenges with coronavirus this furlough, so I am trusting the Lord for this. We are pleased with our housing situation in Milton, WV and God truly provided this for us. We have never lived in Milton, so pray for us with our adjustments to the area. We will trust God day by day, as you all do as well.
We will be sure to keep you updated on our furlough. We appreciate each of you so much for your letters, emails of encouragement, prayer support, and sacrificial giving. We could not do this without you. You are each a great blessing to us. Please note our new mailing address below.
Blessings,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
Contact Info:
Nathan and Carrie Radford
1126 Smith Street
Milton, WV 25541
naterad@yahoo.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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Ministry Continues Amidst COVID-19
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
January 1, 2021
Dear Friends,
Last month I mentioned that a new wave of the COVID-19 virus was passing through our area. Well, it certainly did and Charlene and I were caught by it. To God’s praise, we both have fully recovered, but our youth minister is still in the Intensive Care Unit four weeks after contracting the virus. This is that same youth minister, Cledson, that had gone through several trials unrelated to health before. Our church people are praying earnestly for him and have seen much improvement in his condition.
Our Uber driver ministers continue to report many opportunities for sharing the gospel and praying for their customers. There are 5 or 6 members of our church who earn their income as Uber drivers. As a church we try to teach our people that they are all ambassadors for the Lord wherever they may be. These Uber drivers started out just trying to make a living for their families, but each one discovered that the Lord would open up opportunities for them to share God’s love with their customers. Sometimes it’s just an encouraging word to a fellow Christian, but on many occasions, they have been able to fully share the gospel with a customer and have the customer surrender to Christ right there in their car. It has been very encouraging to hear their testimonies. They all meet once a month to share their experiences, pray for one another and discuss strategies for how to better serve the Lord through this medium.
In a few weeks we are going to be hosting our first Missions Training Seminar of the new year. We are praying that the crest of the COVID wave will have passed by then so that our volunteers who have to travel from out of state will be free to come. We will be prepared to host the seminar online, if necessary, but we hope that we can have the trainees actually come and participate in our evangelistic workshops and outreach events. I will keep you posted on how these plans develop.
I am excited about what the Lord has in store for us to do in 2021! We know that the challenges can be even greater than they were last year, but we also know that the Lord will be with us through them and that He will provide the grace, the strength and the resources to accomplish everything that is His will.
We ask that you remember to pray for us. We daily need His guidance and strength to serve Him faithfully.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
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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Desiring to Be Back in Brazil
The Hensleys have served the Lord in Brazil, South America since 1996. They have worked with orphanages, started mission points, established churches, and are presently conducting a seminary to train Brazilian pastors.
Well, things are still on hold. We have been trying to keep our students excited about the Seminary and learning about God’s Word. So, we have tried the virtual learning and the first one was a make-up class for a couple that missed the first class that we taught in São Paulo.
Our desire is to be back in Brazil teaching those who want to be studying to teach their church members. But it seems that every time we think we are about to go we have another roadblock put in our way. Our plans seem to change daily. We are thinking that if we can get the vaccine, we could possibly be there around the first of the year. With our inability to be in Brazil, we are setting our tentative schedules for 2021 and putting it in the Lord’s hands because He is in control. So, our new schedule is for 4 classes in April which will be in Manaus and Porto Velho (jungle region). Then 4 classes in June conducted in São Paulo and Campinis. Then an undetermined number of virtual classes after the on-site classes. Then we are planning approximately 8 classes for September, October, and November and will be in 5 different cities. These are our schedules with the availability of our professors.
Please pray for our travel plans and for our professors and our protection from this virus. Thanks to each of our prayer warriors for your continued prayers for these classes.
I am going very slow with the healing of my ankle. Each day is a victory and I am still guarding the injury as I try to get back to normal.
We want to wish you all a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
CONTACT INFO
AJ & Barbara Hensley
592 Emery Court
Lexington, KY 40505
AJ: 859-539-2302 | Barbara: 859-539-1424
ajcaragua@gmail.com
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Recovering from Covid-19
December 14, 2020
Dear Brethren,
Greetings from “I don’t even know how to describe this place anymore.” Cruzeiro is well in to its second wave of Covid-19, yet there is all kinds of construction going on, schools are closed (all year), restaurants are open and business seems to be booming.
As many of you already know, the Creiglow family is going through the virus phase. We are not sure how many of us have had it, but it seems to be somewhere between 8 and 10 of the 14 family members. It looks now like Bev may have been the first. Her test was the first to show antibodies. Now Andrew’s 2 oldest have it. I was the only one hospitalized. As it turns out I had the coronavirus and dengue fever at the same time. Recovery has been slow, but steady.
First Baptist was forced to halt services back on March 18th. We started back in September with one service and at only 50% of our normal attendance. It grew gradually in size and number of services per week. Then the second wave hit. We dropped 20%. Now we are back up to where we were before the second wave. The drop, by the way, coincided with our election frenzy here. Lots of big rallies every day for 2 months. This down period was also when I was out of commission.
Bev and I got to go back to church yesterday, December 13th. We had good crowds morning and evening. 624 for the day. I was surprised to see so many visitors. There was a young mom who came back into fellowship after being away for 6 years. There were also 2 professions of faith. Although Dauro and I are not preaching just yet, we were at the doors to dismiss the crowd in the evening service. It is so strange to just have to stand there smiling and speaking to folks, but not knowing if a person wants to shake your hand or get a hug. Many do, but some just walk by with a sheepish smile. Awkward!
Construction at Jordão
Continue to pray for us and for Cruzeiro do Sul. Many friends have left this earth during this year.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
CONTACT INFO
Mike & Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
69980 Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre
Brasil, SA
mdcreig@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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