BFM NATIONAL CONFERENCES OUTREACH – WILL YOU HELP US?
Over the past three years, Directors of BFM have been attending and representing BFM in other national Conferences. These Conferences are also attended by numerous pastors and members of like-minded churches that share our core values of the Doctrines of Grace, local church, and Baptist distinctives. There are many such churches and brethren whom we have met and have yet to meet.
Through these contacts, God has been pleased to open their hearts with interest and inquiries concerning the ministries of BFM missionaries. Some have begun partnering with BFM with their monthly support. We bless God and thank them for the opportunities God has opened up for our acquaintance with one another, fellowship around our common convictions, and partnerships in support giving.
All of these efforts have been under the leadership of our David Pitman, our Field Representative. We want to pass on to you a request from him [and us] to help us with the expenses for these and future outreach opportunities we are planning.
Dear Brethren,
I am very thankful that we were able to present BFM at the October G3 Conference to over 6,400 attendees. We are praying for abiding fruit like partnering sending churches and missionary candidates and missionary support contributions.
There will be no G3 Conference in 2022. I propose that we return to the Founders Conference in January, 2022. What I ask is for 6 churches to give $300 each to help with the cost. I will ask Addyston to be one of those churches.
Thank you.
David Pitman, Field Representative
Of course, these outreach efforts require expenses. BFM has purchased the opportunity to set up an exhibit table and display along with numerous other ministries in attendance at these Conferences. We have also produced handout cards and other materials to be distributed. We have funded the travel and accommodations for our Directors to attend and personally represent BFM.
Please join us in praying for the Lord’s pleasure in these activities and in your financial sharing in the expenses to continue this valuable outreach.
Here are some sample images from the last Conference.
Front of handout card 
Back of handout card
Darrell Messer, George Sledd, Sheridan Stanton 
David Pitman, Field Representative
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Preparing for Return to Kenya
November 5, 2021
Dear praying friends,
Another month has come and gone, and we are now nearing the end of 2021. Hard to believe how quickly this past year went. Lord willing, as we all plan to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday later this month, may we not forget the Lord or all the blessings He gives. Psalm 100:4-5 says “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” Also, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, which says “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” May we truly not forget the blessings the Lord provides each day.
We are nearing the end of our time of furlough and doing some planning for our return to Kenya. There are still some things to sort out, and hopefully by next month, we will be on our way back to Kenya. We appreciate each one of you so much for your letters, emails, words of encouragement, and prayer support. Your sacrificial giving is much appreciated as well. You all mean more to us than you will ever know. May God bless you for your heart for missions.
In regards to prayer requests, please be in prayer for Kenya and the coronavirus. Coronavirus is still very much a factor not only in Africa, but all over the world. I read recently where Europe is getting hit hard with the virus presently. It seems to go in waves. We know the Lord is in control of all these things and we trust Him.
Kenya I am sure will be in some form of lockdown or curfew, so please pray for us as we adjust to whatever the plans are for coronavirus. We hope and pray that things will subside and get back to normal soon. We will remember you all here in America as well with the challenges of coronavirus.
Also, please continue to pray for my wife as she homeschools our daughters. As I watch the levels of study and projects increase each year, I am more aware of how much work and preparation must go into teaching them. My wife is truly a servant and a gift from God. She sacrifices each day on the mission field, and also is a great assistance to our family. What a blessing she is not only to us, but many others as well. Proverbs 31:28 says “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.” Amen.
We will continue to keep you updated. Please continue to keep us in prayer, and Lord willing, may you all have a wonderful time of being with family later this month. I will close with Psalm 103:1-2 which says “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:” May we bless the Lord with all that is within us.
Until next month,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
Contact Info:
Nathan and Carrie Radford
naterad[at]yahoo.com
Furlough Address
1126 Smith Street
Milton, WV 25541
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 – November 2021
The Online Edition of the November 2021 BFM News & Reports is available at the link below. Read how God is working through the lives of our faithful missionaries and continue to pray for them.
*Remember you can click on any headline to view the post/story on our website.
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Encouraging Trip to Brazil!
October 26, 2021
Dear friends and family,
This has been an AWESOME month traveling in Brazil. We arrived and went to Caraguatatuba to see the grands and family. My first message preached here was at Caragua Baptist Church where our son-in-law Walmir Quaresma is the Pastor. Always great to be back in the home church. There we have so many sweet memories of establishing this church and all the children that we ministered to, and also all the groups that came there to help in the construction and evangelism around the community. What an AWESOME time we have had there in Caraguatatuba.
The churches of Brasil have had the same challenges as ours here have had. One of those challenges is dealing with COVID. The challenge is getting the word out and now to get the people to come back to in-person services and classes. Here, as in the States, it is predicted many will not return to Church nor Seminary.
However, our Lord is in control and with Him all things are possible.
This trip has been to encourage our students who are attending Seminary. Before COVID our enrollment was nearing 400 students counting all the locations. During the pandemic we have gone down to around 200.
I have been encouraged with the enthusiasm from the different locations where we have visited on this trip. They have demonstrated that they are ready to return to classes.
We have re-organized the classes and with the problems of COVID we have learned how to reach the students with Zoom. And now we will have some classes that are in-person four times per year, and four by Zoom. Through the Zoom classes we will able to reach many more Pastors and Church leaders with classes and instruction. What an AWESOME God we serve!!!
Even though we have had some problems in the pandemic like losing four of our pastors to COVID we know that God is in control. Good things have come out of this also. Because of the pandemic we have been given permission to have more Zoom classes than in-person classes. Because of this we are able to still maintain our quality of instruction and training, reaching more students, and expanding the Seminary.
Our first graduation for our Master’s program will be this coming year. In this Master’s program we are offering two different degrees: a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies and a Master in Pastoral Ministries. The Master in Pastoral Ministries will only be offered to Pastors. The schedule for the upcoming year has been discussed with the students and is now on the calendar.
This trip has been wonderfully blessed with renewed contacts, classes scheduled, and many miles traveled. Pastor Derek and I were invited to be speakers in a Bible conference in one of the towns where we have had classes for the Seminary in Nativity da Serra with Pastor Israel. We spent Saturday and Sunday there and went back to Caraguatatuba because it was overly cold where we were. Then to end the trip, I was asked to preach back in Caragua on the Sunday before we left. Barbara and I have had a wonderful time with the grandbabies (they are no longer babies) who are 10 and 13 years of age.
Thanks to all who are our prayer warriors because without all of you we would not be able to do what we are doing. A special thanks to Durbin Memorial Baptist Church and Heritage Baptist Church for helping with this trip financially and to all the Baptist Faith Missions supporters who make each month easier by your financial support and prayers that hold us up when we are too weak to hold ourselves up.
Continue to pray for the missionaries and the work that is being done to take the word to the needy.
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
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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Ordinations, Outgrowing Space, & Couples Being Used in Ministry
October 20, 2021
Dear Friends,
I can’t use the word ‘proud’, because it would assume that some credit goes to us, but we are very grateful and thankful to the Lord for our couple’s ministry leaders, Edinei and Debora. The husband, Edinei was an eight-year-old boy when we met him 35 years ago. His dad was an alcoholic and his family had no interest in the things of the Lord. Charlene and I started a children’s Bible club in the garage behind our house and Edinei was one of the first kids from our neighborhood to accept an invitation to come. He started attending weekly and eventually brought several other members of his family. Edinei came to know Jesus as his Savior and Lord and has been faithful in Christian service for all these many years. His wife, Debora, was 11 when we met her. Her father and brother were doing some remodeling work for us on our house. We became friends with their entire family back in 1995 and since then, she, her mother, sister, brother, and several other family members have surrendered to Christ. Both Edinei and Debora volunteer many hours each month in ministering to the married couples in our church and in evangelistic events to married couples. This weekend they are holding a retreat where we will work together to evangelize and teach 30 couples for three days. Charlene and I feel like the two are practically our children, but more than that they are God’s children and our co-laborers in His service. We are thankful for them.
This next Sunday we’ll have the privilege of ordaining two young men to Gospel ministry, Cledson and Adriel. Cledson is our youth minister and has been doing a fantastic job together with his wife, Fabiane. Our youth group has grown from 8 to 35 under their leadership in the last year.
Adriel and his wife, Lorena, are our traveling evangelistic team leaders. That ministry is made up of 12 volunteers who travel by a 15 passenger van throughout Brazil and South America taking the gospel to public schools and parks. Adriel has proven to be a wise leader to his team and a very effective evangelist to students and adults. It will be a joy and blessing to ordain these two men as dedicated servants of the Lord in spreading the gospel and discipling converts.
October 12th is a national holiday in Brazil (a patron saint’s day). Informally it has become “Children’s Day” for more commercial reasons. For whatever reason the day is celebrated, we took advantage of the long weekend to do a special event to attract families with their kids to our ‘Children’s Day’ gospel play. Our drama team worked for many weeks in rehearsals and stage preparations to perform the play in two services. The team did an outstanding job, working with a great attitude and sweet spirit despite the long hours and the personal cost of travel back and forth to practice for several weeks. The Lord blessed and we did have one 11-year-old boy make a public profession of faith in the Lord. The folks who were on the team were also greatly motivated by their participation in the event and the great reviews from those who watched. In fact, someone who saw a video of the presentation who attends a different church has asked our drama team if they would give the presentation at their church as well.
The Children’s Day presentation also helped us to come to a huge decision. We must move to a larger building. For the event we just held, we asked the church members to divide into two groups in order have a smaller congregation at each presentation, allowing the people who would come as guests to have a seat in our crowded auditorium. It helped some, but our last service was stilled packed to the max. This with only half of our regular congregation in each service and more than 30 workers behind the curtains engaged in the presentation. We are presently in the process of signing papers on a larger building. We pray the Lord will guide and provide as we seek to grow this church and as we train leaders to go out to begin new works as well.
We are super excited with all that the Lord is doing through and in us.
Thank you for your prayers and concern for us.
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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Children’s Day Celebration
October 20, 2021
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We hope and pray that all are doing well and being blessed. We are doing great, and God has blessed us and kept us safe.
This month has been really wonderful. After all the problems with the pandemic and not being able to have special programs, it was great to celebrate the special day we have for the children. Here in Brazil, October 12th is Children’s Day. The church I pastor, Pedras Vivas, had a special day and we brought kids in from the communities near us and also from Ubim. From the Village of Ubim, there were 87 that came. Since there are lots of small children, the mothers came with them. It was really great to see the members of our church getting involved in the activities and others in serving the food. The kids had lots of fun.
I have challenged our church to make this end of the year different. So many times, churches slow down the end of the year doing less things and sometimes having financial problems. We have planned a meeting with the men and women of the church to challenge them to visit and reach out to more people in the community. Pray that God would touch their hearts to see the need to tell people about God’s love.
How would you like to catch one of these? It’s called a pirarara. Come and visit us. One of the things we do to reach out to people by friendship is fishing. The last few weeks we have been able to go fishing and have taken some people with us. This young teenager in the photo is living with us. On one of my road trips with him he accepted Christ as Savior. God has blessed us. We are thankful to each of you that pray for us and give to the ministry. May God continue to bless you and give us wisdom to do His will!
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.
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Sharing Jesus in Bible Studies & English Chats
October 15, 2021
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We hope you are enjoying the Lord’s blessings. This week has been busy as we have started some new meetings and are getting back in the groove of the school year schedule. Our Sunday meetings continue to be held in person with some joining us by internet.
The restart of Bible Studies in Mazere this week went very well. We are studying through the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Philip and Amanda are restarting Bible studies in the home of a church family in the city of Cugnaux. A couple of other weekly Bible studies are also held. Small group meetings are a very effective means of communicating the Good News of Jesus Christ to seekers and helping those who trust Christ to grow up in Him. This has been our primary method of outreach to adults since we arrived in France.
The first Youth meeting of this school year is tomorrow evening. The Lord has enabled us to communicate the Good News to many Middle School and High School students through these meetings.
This week Judy and I also began meeting with three ladies who want to practice speaking English. We have found this to be a great way to connect with people in order to tell them about God’s offer of eternal life through Jesus Christ. One of the ladies in the present group is an acquaintance made on our trekking path. Each time we crossed the friendship grew. When she expressed a desire to work on English to be able to communicate with a possible future son-in-law who is Australian, we offered to meet with her for English chats.
Another participant was a kindergarten teacher for our granddaughters years ago, sang in the community choir in which I (John) sang and “by chance” (another way of saying “divine appointment”) we crossed her (while trekking) as she was going to sign up for English improvement classes at the local community meeting house. She decided to cancel the English improvement classes and meet with us! She brought a friend who also sang in the community choir.
Please pray with us that God will open hearts to Jesus for eternal life and help us all to keep growing up in Jesus.
Your sister and brother in Southern France,
Judy and John
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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Waiting on Passport Renewals
October 5, 2021
Dear praying friends,
Another month has come and gone, and we are now into the latter months of 2021. While there have been so many challenges this past year with the coronavirus pandemic, it still seems the year has gone quickly. This month holds two important dates for our family, with me (Nathan) turning one year older on the 21st, and my wife and I celebrating our 17th anniversary on the 16th. What a blessing my wife has been to me over the years, and may God give us many more years together to serve on the mission field.
Please continue to pray for Kenya at this challenging time of coronavirus. Things are continuing, but in a limited capacity. My understanding is that religious gatherings can still meet, but at 30% capacity of what they were meeting at. So, there are still obvious restrictions. I am sure you still have to wear masks in public, as well as sanitizing as you go around town. Please pray for all missionaries and servants in Kenya at the present time, that the Lord would watch over them and protect them. As we go out and come in, wherever we are, God is watching over us. Isn’t that wonderful? Psalm 121:8 says, “The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.” Amen. May we trust God as we go out and come in, even with the challenges of this pandemic.
My wife is staying busy with homeschooling our daughters. She is doing well this year and our daughters are both doing well. They are absorbing the materials well and progressing in their studies. Our daughter McKenna is doing a new math program and is catching on quickly. Camille is also doing well, and of course I am thankful for my faithful wife for investing so much time and energy in teaching them and preparing them well in their studies.
We are nearing the end of our time of furlough and would ask that you would pray for us. I (Nathan) still plan to share, preach, and present the ministries in Kenya as God opens the doors. We are still waiting on our passports to be renewed, so this is a big prayer request at this time. Our paperwork has been submitted and we are waiting for the renewals. God is in control and we trust in His timing. We are waiting on the Lord and seeking His will.
I will close with Lamentations 3:25, which says “The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.” In our times of waiting in our lives, may we seek Him with our whole hearts. He is good and faithful. May God bless each of you for your heart for missions. We will keep you updated.
Blessings,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
Contact Info:
Nathan and Carrie Radford
naterad[at]yahoo.com
Furlough Address
1126 Smith Street
Milton, WV 25541
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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