10 Baptized and Prayers Answered
August 20, 2022
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings to all our family in Christ and supporters. We pray and hope that all are doing well and blessed. We are doing great. We have had a wonderful month. Thank God that things have calmed down and we have been able to have several activities.
We had our first pizza day in the village of Ubim. We were there morning and afternoon. We enjoyed the day and so did the students. We are going to have a pizza day in the Indian village there in Ubim also. We are contacting other school in communities near us to have pizza day. We want to thank all those who have donated to this project.
We also had baptism day at our church, Pedras Vivas. Since everyone lives far away here, when we have baptism, we make it a day of fellowship. Last month we asked prayer for a family that came to live here at our place. Well, God is working!!!! Thanks for your prayers! The father and the 3 sons accepted Christ and were baptized. Also, three from Ubim were baptized. Cleomar, the teen who lives with us, was also baptized, and Gabriel, the other teen that is always at our home. Thank God for these 10 that were baptized. Pray for them!
Pray for us as we want to reach out into the communities, that God will open the doors. Also, that God will touch the lives of the members to help more and more in these projects.
Love 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.
Read more
Tampa Teens Share the Gospel, English Classes Resuming
August 9, 2022
Dear Friends,
Our church’s anniversary is on July 22nd. In celebration of its anniversary, each Sunday of that month, a different aged Bible study group gave a chorale presentation and culminated with a chorale formed with the church leaders. The church rejoiced in how God has blessed in so many ways. We have experienced phenomenal growth, by His grace.
During the month of July, we had the privilege to host a team from the Tampa, Florida area. The group consisted of 8 members who ministered with our Projeto Vida evangelistic team in 3 public schools, two drug rehab centers and in a homeless shelter. The group was very enthusiastic and helpful in each outreach effort. The Lord used them and there were many professions of faith in Christ through their sharing of the gospel. Half of the group were teenage girls who were very courageous in giving their testimonies in front of hundreds of students in middle school and high school auditoriums. I didn’t think about it at the time, but in retrospect, I’m sad that no young men/boys decided to come be a part of that group and share the gospel. In fact, we have noticed that more and more, visiting groups consist of mostly girls. Come on down, young men! Be valiant servants of the Lord! A big shout out to you young ladies who heed the call to share your faith despite the fears you face.
Our traveling evangelistic team leaves tomorrow for another two-week trip to the northwest corner of our state and then on to the Federal District where they have been invited to minister in several schools. We have the van fueled up and the team of 11 members is excited about the privilege of sharing the gospel to school staff and students. Please remember them in your prayers as they present the gospel in a variety of ways and venues. We do not take this privilege for granted because we know that it may not last long, just as it has been taken away in almost every other country in the world, including the USA. What we seek is to take advantage of it as long as it is open to us and seek to honor the Lord through the sharing of His word and love.
Because of COVID-19 the government shut down our in-person English classes back in 2020. This week Charlene is restarting one of those classes and she already has about 15 students signed up for it. The classes are offered free of charge to our community for the purpose of providing an opportunity to meet new people and share Christ’s love and gain an open door for evangelism. We have already had several conversions, baptisms, and church growth through this ministry effort in the past and we pray that this will be the result again. Please pray for Charlene as she teaches these students in the weeks and months to come.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Annabelle 
Mandy & Mark 
Taylor
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
Read more
A Baptism, A Wedding, & New Bible Study
August 8, 2022
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The past few weeks have been very busy and wonderful. Judy and I have driven hundreds of miles, have seen God at work in many different ways and have had wonderful moments with our family.
Early in the month was our neighborhood dinner. It was at the very first of these that we met the first person who started coming to our first Bible study and who later trusted Christ as Savior. This year we met four new families with children who have moved into our neighborhood. All of these are in homes within 100 feet of ours. I was able to speak briefly with two of these couples about what we do here. They informed me that they respected the beliefs of others but were themselves atheist. This is an answer we hear often.
On July 24 we drove north about 200 miles to baptize an 80-year-old lady, Michelle Pascale. We met her for the first time 15 years ago and she trusted Christ 7 years ago. She asked me to preach from John 4 about the Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well. “I am that woman,” she said. This lady has 6 children and all but one were at the baptism along with their spouses and children. This weekend was also Michele’s birthday. She invited her children to celebrate her party hoping that they would also attend her baptism and hear the Gospel. Some said that they would not attend the baptism. However, God allowed us to befriend most of them before the baptism and I invited them to attend. ALL of them attended and in later conversations with me and other believers, they expressed how they were touched by the message. Please pray for Michelle’s family.
Our daughter, Lydia, and son-in-law, Adam, and their four children (our grandchildren) arrived from Chicago on the Tuesday after the baptism. They came to attend Nathalie’s marriage. Nathalie, our second grandchild and Philip and Amanda’s second child was married to Brice Arlot on August 5. Brice is a fine Christian young man from the city of Briançon, the highest European city in the Alps. Philip and Amanda are not only family, we have been working together in the mission work here for 21 years. We cannot begin to describe the central place they and their daughters have had in the service of the Lord in Tournefeuille and surrounding cities. I was honored to be asked by Nathalie and Brice to celebrate their wedding. What a joy it has been to see her come to Christ and herself serve as a missionary to refugees in Austria.
The trip to the Alps was about 400 miles each way around, up and down mountains. It was well worth it to be able to enjoy the outdoor wedding in a beautiful setting in the Alps. We met many believers and many who need Christ who are members of Brice’s family and friends.
Philip bringing in Nathalie to be married to Brice. 
Philip and Amanda Hatcher. Parents of the bride. (Our son and daughter-in-law and co-workers.) 
Marriage setting
Judy and I are delighted to be starting a new Bible study in the city of L’Union in the home of a family to which we have ministered for many years. Several people, seekers that we have never met are planning to attend this Bible study. Thank you for your prayers for this new opportunity.
We are continuing to enjoy Adam, Lydia and their children as I write.
May God’s riches blessings be enjoyed by you. We are delighted to be in the Lord’s service with your help.
Your brother and sister,
John and Judy Hatcher
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
Prepping for Class + Two Prayer Requests
August 16, 2022
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
I find myself in “gear-up” mode. The college is on term break and the new school year begins at the end of this month. This is good because it gives me an opportunity to prepare and to try and figure out what I’m doing. Changing directions in ministry and in life can be (translate “can be” as “IS!”) challenging as many of you know. And I have a lot to learn. Do we ever wonder whether we’re getting too old to make major or even minor changes in life? No! C’mon, those of us over fifty! We can still do the things God calls us to do and what he calls us to do he will give us the strength and power to do. Look, I’m not saying we have all strength to do anything we want. Nor does God promise us success. But He does promise us his presence and his Spirit and what he wants us to accomplish, we can accomplish.
Among other things, I am preparing for a class I’ll be teaching starting at the end of August. I’ll be teaching Principles of Biblical Interpretation to first year Bible students. Can you believe that? I get to teach incoming students (who will know practically nothing) possibly the most important topic they will learn in college – How to read and interpret the Bible properly. I’m not saying that I know much of anything either, but what a great privilege and responsibility to teach young students, who will some day be pastors and church leaders, how to properly interpret the Scriptures. I’ve heard a lot of sermons from a lot of Kenyan pastors and, believe me, they need the training this class will offer. In most Kenyan sermons, context is ignored, grammar is butchered, allegory is employed, meaning is changed, application is stretched beyond the text, and just in general…well…it’s awful. I get the awesome privilege of helping these incoming, first-year students learn how to avoid wild and fanciful interpretations and how to seek God’s true message from His Word. The churches in Kenya desperately need this. Believers in Kenyan churches need this. Unbelievers in Kenya need this. There is a weighty responsibility that accompanies this privilege for me. May God receive glory in His Kenyan churches and in his Kenyan people.
There a couple of things I wish you all to continue praying about.
First, Julie still has not regained her strength after recovering from Covid. She came down with Covid over a month ago, struggled with the disease itself for two weeks but is now still suffering with some dramatic side effects. She still cannot eat and has no strength for any activity. She has had tests run at the hospital and was even put out under general anesthesia in the hospital theater to get a scope to her stomach. So far, nothing unusual has been found. On Monday she goes back to the hospital for a CAT scan that may or may not reveal something. Please pray that if something is wrong that the doctors would be able to discover it and if there is nothing wrong but that she just needs more time to recover her strength, that God would quickly strengthen her. Thank you, beloved.
Second, Kenya is facing major elections at all levels of government on Tuesday of next week – President and vice-president, senators, governors, and local government. These kinds of major elections have caused problems in the past. Many Kenyans don’t trust the system or the validity of the outcomes. In the past this has caused violence and tribal conflict. Tribal allegiance is still big in Kenya and certain tribes don’t always get along. Sometimes, tribal relations is like a shook up can of Coke. The outbursts can be kept under control until someone pops the lid. But when the lid is popped, the contents explode. Elections can present the opportunity for the lid to be popped. If it does, this can lead to great suffering for the Kenyan people. Please pray that the elections would be fair and honest and above all please pray for peace in Kenya. For the glory of God.
Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie, and 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.
Read more
Praying for Kenyan Presidential Election
August 6, 2022
Dear praying friends,
Another month has come and gone, and we are already moving towards the end of 2022. Time is precious, and may it be used faithfully in service to the Lord. This update will share current prayer requests as well as ministry updates.
A major prayer request we have currently is for the presidential election which is scheduled for August 9th. One of the big presidential candidates visited Kitale recently, and from my understanding, much of the town was blocked off and thousands went to the rally. We have had multiple visits here in Kitale from the presidential candidates over the past few weeks, and now Kenyans will vote on August 9th for their candidate.
Please pray for the country and any post-election violence. You never know how things will go – some years have been peaceful, and others have been with more unease and conflict. The year 2007 was one of the more unpeaceful elections, so we pray for peace and safety for this year, with no unnecessary rioting or violence. We are thankful to be in Kitale, as Kitale has a mixture of tribes and is generally very peaceful. In all these matters, we are trusting the Lord. Psalm 5:11 says, “But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.” Psalm 28:7 also says, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.” What a faithful God we serve.
Please continue praying for our family during this time, as many families have relocated from Kitale since we returned earlier this year. It has not been easy with all the adjustments, but we are praying and trusting God to bring other families in His timing and plan. Psalm 123:2 says “Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us.” We are praying, and trusting the Lord with this in our current situation, and we know He will provide in His timing.
I (Nathan) am continuing to disciple younger Kenyan men in the village of Taito. I thank the Lord for those who have been faithfully attending. Please pray for these men and their spiritual growth. As I have talked with other missionaries who have succeeded at church planting here in Kenya, this is the model – disciple (give them a strong Biblical foundation), train, and send. This is the model that I am currently following and has yielded the best results. All of this must be bathed in prayer. Colossians 4:2 says, “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” Please pray for me as I trust the Lord in church planting endeavors here in Kenya. God is faithful.
We will update you next month on the election and how things are faring in the country. We know God is in control and we trust Him with all these matters. Thank you so much for your prayers, sacrificial giving, and interest in missions around the world. You each mean so much to us.
Until next month,
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.
Read more
News & Reports – August 2022
The Online Edition of the August 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.
Read more
Praying for the Quaresma Family
July 21, 2022
Dear friends and family,
We have not been able to go to Brazil this month, so I thought I could tell you about some of the people that are near to our heart.
Most of you all know that our daughter Mary Katherine has come down to Brazil to visit quite a bit. In these years of her visiting, God has given her a Brazilian husband. They have two children, Chelsea Isabel (13 years old) and Ashley Mayara (11 years old).
Each of them have health concerns. Walmir (pronounced Valmir) her husband has been diagnosed with thinning of the cartridge between the femur and the pelvic girdle. The doctor has told him that if could not begin weight training, he will have to have surgery in two years. He is having pain with that. Mary Katherine has been diagnosed with glaucoma and is on two pills to bring down the pressure, but during this time, they have discovered that her optic nerve is dying. This means that her field of vision is shrinking. Optic nerve death usually comes after glaucoma, but hers has come before the glaucoma.
Chelsea was diagnosed two years ago with spina bifida occulta in the L5 S1 juncture. Because of this, she has scoliosis in her anterior vertebrae, and they are slipping forward. She just had an MRI and they say that her condition is stable because she is doing physical therapy three times a week. But with all of this, she is in constant pain.
Ashley Mayara has also been diagnosed with scoliosis in her upper back and is experiencing pain with this. Because of this, she is not sleeping well, but when she can sleep she has nightmares and then does not want to go back to sleep. She will have an x-ray in the upcoming weeks to measure the curvature of the spine. But this is not the greatest concern for her. For over two years, she has been having a crisis with vomiting. You can imagine the extent of the tests she has had to go through to try to discover what is wrong. But with all these, none of the doctors accept any of the diagnosis. The latest diagnosis indicates that she has food intolerances, and I don’t mean just a few. It would be easier to tell you what the child can eat than try to name all those that she cannot. Mary has been cooking special recipes for her and she has gone without an event for eight months until two weeks ago. She has now been vomiting for two weeks straight. She has been in the emergency room more than not as they give her IVs to keep her hydrated and medication to stop the vomiting. She is scheduled with a GI specialist next week. We are praying that this time they can discover what is going on so she can have some relief.
So I bring this family to all our readers so all can take them to God and ask for healing. That will release them to work more diligently for the Lord in Caragua Baptist Church in Caragua, Brazil.
Thanks in advance for all the prayers that will be going up for the Quaresma Family there in Brazil.
In His Service,
AJ & Barb
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.
Read more
New Opportunity at Bible College in Kijabe
July 19, 2022
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
Well, it took three weeks of packing and two trips to Kitale to get all of our stuff, but we have finally brought all of our belongings and unpacked most of it into our new house in Kijabe. Unfortunately, household stuff wasn’t the only thing I brought back from Kitale. I also brought back Covid. I started feeling the symptoms during the drive down from Kitale to Kijabe. By the next morning I was pretty sick with it. The worst part of it was I couldn’t keep warm. I know we live less than 100 miles from the equator, but we do live on the side of a mountain and this is the cold season. I know you are mocking me right now for being cold while living on the equator but at this time of year it gets into the 40s at night and there is no such thing as heating in Kenya. So, yes, it was cold. Anyway, I was over the worst of it after about five days but unfortunately, Julie and Chloe both got it too. Chloe slept for literally three days straight and then was over it. Julie was really sick for about two weeks, to the point I was pretty concerned about her. She is over the virus now but some side effects remain – namely, some chronic fatigue and coughing. This Covid has really hampered us from getting into the swing of things here in our new home.
So, speaking of our new home in Kijabe, I want to let you all know what I will be doing for the immediate future. The main thing that I will be doing for now is ministering the gospel at a Bible college located about 200 meters up the hill from our house. The way that this worked out really seems like something only God could have done. Many closed doors opened all at the same time, doors that were solidly closed and that I wasn’t really even looking to open. Even my first interview with the Principal of the college happened just two days after my throat surgery back in March. On Friday, I had my surgery. On Sunday, I was sitting in a chair in my house in my pj’s, and HEAVILY drugged. The vice principal called and asked if he could come and talk to me about working at the college. I told him he could come but that I was in my pj’s, I couldn’t talk, and was HEAVILY drugged. He came and he talked for as long as I could sit upright. The next day was my interview with the Principal. And that was only part of what God was doing and would finalize over the next few weeks. And so now I am on staff at Moffat Bible College. First and foremost, I will be doing what I prefer to do most – teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to people who want to learn it. And my favorite part of doing my favorite thing is to teach the Bible to other people who will then be teaching the Bible to even other people. I love teaching future pastors and church leaders the Bible. I love it because in this way the true message of the Bible gets passed on exponentially. If I teach 20 future pastors how to properly interpret the Bible and each of these students goes to a church with another 50 people each, that equals 1000 Kenyan people who are hearing Biblical teaching about Jesus. Throw into the mix that there are also Congolese, Sudanese, and Ugandan students and this becomes a big deal. East Africa so needs good Bible teaching and this is an amazing opportunity to really propagate the gospel. I will also be mentoring students and working with them in practical ministry endeavors. I am excited to see how God will use this opportunity to work with Kenyan men and women to spread the kingdom of Jesus Christ and the gospel, even potentially for future church planting activities. It is still to be seen what God will do.
In closing my letter, however, I am reminded that we live in a really harsh, brutal, and sinful world. A dear Christian, Kenyan man and friend from Kitale is with the Lord today. Evans Barasa is a man I have known for my entire 15 years in Kenya. He actually worked with Mike and Pam Anderson before I was working with him starting 15 years ago. He was a pastor, a good Christian, and a friend. If you had ever met Evans, even if for just one minute, you would remember his amazing and catching smile and laugh. Evans had been hired onto the police force a couple of years ago. He was working last night and someone hit him in the back of the head and killed him. I don’t even know what the murderer was after. It is a shame and that makes me really sad. He leaves behind a wife and four children. Rest in peace, Evans.
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.
Read more
