Great News from Church in Mato Grosso
September 21, 2022
Dear Brethren,
Hope you are all well. Right now, I am not. I have been down for almost a month. Last month I went to Manaus for our conference and on the way home came down with the flu and later another virus. I am getting better, but still very weak and will have to take it easy until I can get back to my usual self. But let me tell you about that conference.
A number of years ago Paul Hatcher, David Hatcher, Bobby Wacaser, Hershael York and I got together for a fishing/work getaway outside of Manaus. During the day we reeled in the peacock bass and at night talked shop. One of the things that we discussed was the need for a practical get together, rally around, for independent Baptist pastors and missionaries in Brazil. We have our annual missions conference here every year, but we are too far off the beaten path and hard to get to for it to be practical. Bobby is way down on the other end and still doesn’t have the infrastructure to handle this kind of event. So, David and Paul took on the project.
The conference happened a few times sponsored by Nova Igreja Batista where David is pastor. It was a huge success. Then…the pandemic.
This year we are back! It was a miracle that David was able to pull this off. Air travel and logistics in general are far from back to normal. Nevertheless, there were hundreds of workers from all over Brazil and even a couple of foreign countries.
Our group from Cruzeiro do Sul is usually the biggest, but this year there were only 4 of us. We had to drive to Rio Branco (9 hours of potholes) then flew to Manaus. Flew back to Rio Branco then bus to Cruzeiro do Sul (14 hours). On this last leg is when I came down sick, almost a month.
Our group took full advantage of all the workshops and seminars they could jam in.
It was my privilege to speak at Nova Igreja Batista on Saturday night to a crowd of over 2500. Then on Sunday I spoke at Tabernacle Baptist Church to, I think over 2000. Tabernacle had been down, but boy are they back! That was one of the highlights for me.
Let me share a couple of more bright spots. Of course, it was great to run into pastors that I have known for years from all over Brazil. One of those is Pastor Gilberto from Marília, São Paulo. He is writing a book to commemorate the century mark of Baptist Faith Missions (1923). I spent a lot of time with him sharing as much as time would permit from the history of the mission work here.
Then on the very first night, a young pastor introduced himself to me. He knew me, but he was a new acquaintance to me. His name is Manoel. He pastors one of the churches that my Dad started in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Dad had asked me many times if I ever heard anything about those churches. Well briefly, here is the great news: The church had gone off the deep end into Pentecostalism and prosperity gospel. Then after one of their usual scandals the pastor called in Manoel to take over. Pastor Manoel brought them back out of their errant ways and back to sound doctrine and true evangelism. Today they are back up to 40+ members and doing fine.
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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God’s Providence Shown Stateside
September 20, 2022
Dear friends,
Last year as our family prepared to come to the US for the one-year Stateside assignment for 2021-2022, the Lord opened the door for Raquel to gain experience and expertise in foster care in suburban Chicago. In May 2021, it was confirmed she would begin an internship in August 2021. Consequently, we searched for housing. I signed a lease agreement on a home and placed a deposit. In the following weeks, significant policy changes were made in foster care services, and several people resigned from this organization, including the supervisor who hired my wife. The new supervisor informed Raquel she had to begin in mid-June or lose the opportunity. Logistically, she couldn’t begin before the initially agreed date. So, now we had two alternatives: (a) cancel the housing lease and go to another opportunity in a different state (but lose the deposit), or (b) move to suburban Chicago and see what the Lord had planned. Our decision-making involves this main principle: What is decided through much prayer and confirmed by the Holy Spirit should not be canceled haphazardly. So, we moved to Chicagoland, not knowing what the Lord had for us during this next season in the States.
A month after arriving in Wheaton, IL (September 2021), I was diagnosed with cancer and would need chemotherapy and radiation therapy. This shocked us as a family, but we rejoiced in the Lord to be in an excellent location for treatment. My wife found an opportunity to serve as a clinical therapist at a local clinic and participate in several equipping seminars to equip her to work better with orphans in Brazil. Our second child (who lost her hearing in the left ear two years prior) had a cochlear implant installed in December 2021 by one of the nation’s best cochlear implant surgeons and has regained hearing. I began my doctoral study at Columbia International University in January 2022 (began studying during my cancer treatment). This last month I was diagnosed with severe carpal tunnel syndrome on both hands. I underwent the surgical procedure and can now sleep at night uninterrupted by pain. It is impressive to see the hand of God at work in unique ways. I could write endlessly about God’s marvelous care for us during this season of life.
Our reaction to this turn of events was to trust in God and rest in His sovereign hand and providence. Matthew 6:25-27 often came to mind as we navigated these uncertain waters: “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?”
The outcome is that I am now cancer-free, can sleep throughout the night without waking up from the pain in my hands, my wife has grown in her expertise as a professional, our daughter can hear again, and I have begun my doctoral studies. Praise the Lord!
Another unique event over the last month is that our three older children – Sarah, Laura, and Benjamin – expressed a desire to be part of the “ministry team” and do more than just “help.” Raquel and I were elated to learn of their desire. We began equipping them with the same approach we use for training leaders for church planting. We are studying the philosophy of ministry, strategy planning, and having in-depth theological discussions. We love working with this great team!
Thank you for partnering with us through prayer and financial giving. We are grateful.
Always grateful,
Jud Hatcher
Hiking with the family at Starved Rock State Park, IL 
Jud’s carpal tunnel release surgery 
Benjamin’s cross-country school competition 
Celebrating Brazil’s Independence Day
Contact Info:
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
São Paulo, Brazil
judsonhatcher@gmail.com
(872) 400-6522
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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Sending Two Missionaries to Portugal
September 19, 2022
Dear Friends,
Last month, Charlene began giving English classes again and we had one student already make a profession of faith after coming to a church service on the following Sunday. We are also having students from some of our computer classes and martial arts classes attending church as well. These classes have been a great way for us to get to know people in our community that probably wouldn’t come if we only offered Sunday worship services. We are rejoicing!
There is a young couple in our church who feel called to missions and we are preparing them to go to Portugal in the near future. Their names are Yago and Manoela. Right now, they are waiting on their work visas to Portugal to be processed. In the meantime, they are helping with various ministries at our church, and I have had Yago preach in the pulpit as well. I am super excited about our young church learning that they are also a sending body of Christ, not just a growing body of Christ. It’s not going to be easy to support them, but Yago will also be a “tent-maker”, having a secular job as computer consultant to help with their support. Charlene and I plan to go visit them after they get settled in to use our experience to help them identify some fields of opportunity for gospel outreach. Less than 1% of Portugal’s population identifies as “born again” believers in Jesus Christ. At the same time, most Portuguese people claim to have religion, just not Biblical religion. Yago and Manoela know that their work will not be easy, but they know also that the Lord will be with them to work in the hearts of those whom He will call at the preaching of the gospel.
Our travel team, Alpha, is in the middle of a three-week trip to minister in the interior of our own state, Parana, and in the next state northwest of us, Mato Grosso do Sul. They have invitations to share the gospel in several schools and I will be traveling there tomorrow to minister with them. This month we have already had the privilege to preach to over 2500 students along with their school staff. There have been hundreds of public professions of faith at these events, and we constantly receive word from school principals and local pastors of what a change they are seeing in many of those who receive Christ. We are thrilled to have this liberty still open to us and we plan to take advantage of it for as long as the Lord provides.
Charlene and I are very grateful for your faithful prayers and generous support of our ministries. Thank you very much.
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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Blessed with Music in Ubim
September 19, 2022
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We have had a blessed month, praise the Lord. We had a couple to visit the church and, as we were talking, found out that their grandpa worked with Bro. John Hatcher in the ministry in Manaus. Now this couple is helping us in two places. He plays several instruments. What a blessing. They have been a great blessing at the village of Ubim. They live close to the village. Now we have music when we sing.
We are also working on reaching a couple we met with the fish market. The wife is a Christian and the husband is a dedicated catholic. We have them over to our house every once in while to make friends with them. I invited him to church this weekend. He said, “One of these days I’ll go.” They came to our home and fixed lunch for us. Pray for them: Rocha and his wife Josi.
Also, the family that lives here with us are doing well. The wife has many struggles with her past. Especially drugs. Pray for her. Kathy talks to her as opportunities open for a good conversation. They are a great family, and their children are very special. We take them fishing and do as much as we can to spend time with them.
Our plans for the next month are to have more pizza days. Now that the water has gone down enough, we will be able to have the pizza day at the Indian village at Ubim.
Next week is the last Sunday for the training classes we have had. Now we will be putting the training to practice. Pray that God works in the heart of the members, that each one will find an area to serve in the different ministries in the church. We want to start Sunday School Classes and more services in the homes.
We want to thank each of you for the prayers and support. May God bless each of you.
In Christ,
Odali and Kathy
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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Open Doors to Share the Gospel
September 9, 2022
Dear Co-Laborers,
Thank you for your faithful support in many different ways. Compared to last month this one has been relatively quiet. We enjoyed having Lydia and Adam (our daughter and son-in-law) along with their children with us for nearly a month. These rare moments with family are a great blessing.
One day when Judy was at the grocery store near our house along with one our granddaughters, she was stopped by a young lady who had heard them speaking in English. This lady has a son in grade school, and she wants him to become proficient in English. They set up a time to come by our house while our grandchildren were still here. Judy has had continuing contact and walks with this lady. God opens doors for us to have relationships with people with whom we can share the gospel.
One of the ladies in our church is a chiropractor and a people magnet. She called me the other day because one of her patients had approached her seeking information for her daughter’s sake. The patient said that her 12-year-old daughter wanted to get baptized. The family has no religious practice. The request is interesting considering the fact that only about 2% of French people are practicing Catholics, less than one half of a percent are evangelical believers. I do not yet know what instigated this desire in the girl. The mother told Anaelle, the chiropractor from our church, that she had approached her on the subject because she thought Protestants were more open than Catholics.
Anaelle called me to discuss the best way to talk to this lady and her daughter about baptism. The lady lives on the other side of the metropolitan area of Toulouse from us. Coming to meetings here would be quite a drive, but we are hoping to see her Sunday.
We are very encouraged with the Bible studies and hope to be starting a new one in a different city this month.
May God bless you and use you as His light where you are.
In His service with you,
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.
Read more
Presidential Election Update + Discipling Young Men
September 6, 2022
Dear praying friends,
Another month has come and gone, and there are many important items in the country to update you on. This update will share current prayer requests as well as ministry progress.
We thank the Lord that the Kenyan presidential election was resolved yesterday, September 5th. It was a very close, competitive race with less than two percentage points separating the two main presidential candidates. The election results were sent to the Kenyan Supreme Court for a two-week consideration and examination, to see if there was probable cause to overturn the election. In this case, the election would need to be done a second time within 60 days of the previous election. This is called a “run off.” In this case this year, the Supreme Court decided the results were legitimate and declared the presidential elect, without a runoff. He will be sworn into office next week, Lord willing.
So far, much of the country has been calm. Both of the main presidential candidates have urged calm with their supporters, and not to resort to violence or any kind of unrest. Where we are in Kitale, it has been calm, for which we thank the Lord. There were some skirmishes last night in a different part of the country, but we hear that the police are prepared and many. We will see how things go in the coming days as it is still early. We trust the Lord with our safety and follow all the precautions we can. Proverbs 18:10 says “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Also, Psalm 27:1, which says “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” These verses are certainly a comfort during these times.
Please pray my wife, as she continues to homeschool our daughters. She is doing a great job, and the girls are staying on schedule. Please pray also for new families with kids the girl’s ages to come to Kitale, so they can have stable friendships. We have heard of some families that are interested in coming later in the year, so please pray they would come when planned, and that the girls would make friends. Many long-term families that were here in Kitale have moved this year, so it has not been easy, but we are praying and trusting the Lord and His timing. Lamentations 3:25 says “The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.” We are waiting in faith, trusting the Lord.
I (Nathan) am continuing along in the discipleship course in the village of Taito. Please pray for me as I continue to disciple and train the men, as I trust the Lord for the results. I am praying that God would raise these men up to go out and start churches as the Lord leads them. It is God I am trusting, every step of the way. I like 1 Corinthians 3:6, where Paul says “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” Amen. It is still the same today, and may God receive all the praise and glory for all things.
This is the current update from Kenya. We appreciate each of you so much and your heart for missions. We will keep you updated.
Blessings,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
Contact Info:
Nathan and Carrie Radford
naterad[at]yahoo.com
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya
East Africa 30200
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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Teaching Young Men How to Properly Read the Bible
September 4, 2022
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
Beloved, Brothers and Sisters, thank you so much for your prayers over the past 16 years and especially over the last couple of months. God has been moving in our lives and Julie and I find ourselves in a much more spiritually healthy position than we have been in for a long time. And Chloe is also getting some of the help that she has been needing for years. Life is still hard, but I think Julie and I would both say we are not living day to day in absolute survival mode. We believe this is the result of many prayers on our behalf and God working powerfully behind the scenes and directing us in ways we could not have envisioned. So, dear friends, thank you for your prayers and loving support and please continue to pray that God would uplift us and fill us with His Spirit, His grace, His love, and His strength.
I am very tired as I write this, but it is a good kind of tired, knowing that the last couple of weeks have been filled with good things. The students have returned to the college, and I am teaching them wonderful things about the Bible. I am teaching them how to properly read and interpret the Bible, and, frankly, they need it. These are young men coming from various parts of the country who have not received much training yet in their young lives. My oldest student, Simon, is 35. His parents died when he was very young, and he was never able to go to school. When he became an adult, he went back to school. He started at primary school and went and sat in the primary class with primary age students until he could proceed to secondary school. This is a great shame for an adult in this culture and is almost unheard of. But Simon wanted his education, not caring about the shame, and he finally finished it a couple of years ago, got married last year, and now finds himself in my Interpretation class and wanting to be a minister of the gospel. Amazing. Anthony is 19. When he wanted to be baptized his pastor asked him, “You do realize that being a Christian is more than going to church on Sundays and having Christian parents, right?” Actually, Anthony did NOT realize that, and it got him thinking about what a Christian really is. Now, he is trusting, following, and loving Jesus as his Lord, Savior, and Master and wants to help other young people know what it really means to be a Christian. These two are just a couple of my students. The others have similar kinds of testimonies. I also have a Ugandan student who is arriving in Kenya this weekend after struggling with immigration issues.
I also serve at the school as the finance manager. This means that every student must eventually funnel through the door of my office to receive my signature stating they have paid their fees. When they cannot pay their fees, it is me that they need to see. This past week I have sat with many impoverished students who could not pay their fees. I would cry with them, pray with them, help them put together a plan on how to raise their money, and pray with them some more. It was a hard week for me because most of these students have never had to take any responsibility whatsoever for their finances, being completely dependent on parents and/or sponsors. Being responsible for their finances is a hard lesson that many of them need to learn. The financial culture and mentality in Kenya could not be more different than the financial culture and mentality of America. Another time I will try and explain some of the vast differences between the two cultures when it comes to dealing with money. But not right now, as this newsletter is now full.
Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie, and 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.
Read more
News & Reports – September 2022
The Online Edition of the September 2022 BFM News & Reports is available at the link below. Read how God is at work through our faithful missionaries and continue to lift them up in prayer.
*Remember you can click on any headline to view the post/story on our website.
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