Praying for Salvation
August 16, 2021
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our hearts are touched by the news that some of your families are touched by death and illness. It underscores part of our text from the message to our congregation yesterday, “…now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” We are daily reminded that we live in a dark world, but need to live in the reality of Jesus Christ, the Light of the world and our Eternal life.
Yesterday, a young lady from our congregation sent a text just as service was beginning. “Sorry, I can’t be with you. I found out yesterday that I have Covid.” This eighteen-year-old is the only member of her family who has trusted Christ and she was to leave today to go to Lyon to begin university studies. She is the daughter of neighbors and began coming to Sunday School about the time she started grade school. As she entered her teens, she made a public profession of faith and followed the Lord in baptism.
Let me set the scene for another event yesterday. One of our members has a husband whose parents, professing atheists, died when he was quite young. He had no Christian background. Two children were born to this couple and he, along with his family, regularly came to church. Considering his refusal to place his faith in Christ, his attendance for eight years was unusual. He had a good relationship with the men of the church, and we all prayed for his salvation. About two years ago he posted a note on the church communication site letting everyone know that he would not be coming to church anymore and did not want anyone to approach him about it.
Yesterday, I about fell off my feet as I was greeting people and saw this “I’m not coming anymore…” man walking from his car to the house. Would you pray with us for …oan..’s salvation?
A week ago, Judy and I drove about a 1000 miles round trip to St. Malo to spend a couple of days with a couple, members of our congregation, who moved to Brittany a couple of years ago. They are nearly our age. We had a good visit and were happy to hear that they are considering starting a church in their home. Please pray for God to give Dennis and Marianne God’s wisdom about this.
Thank you for your interest and support. May our Lord’s blessings be evident to you today.
In His Grace,
Judy and John 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.
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Homecoming Celebration & Encouraging News from Mission Works
August 4, 2021
Dear Brethren,
Although technically it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, the Amazonian summer is here. We have had bright blue cloudless skies for days. The river is at its lowest and the muddy Juruá River has turned to a deep green color. We have had temperatures in the mid 60’s at night and early morning. Usually only gets up to lower 80’s during the day. Nice!
With the pandemic subsiding and good weather things have picked up at church. We have a homecoming service every year in late January or early February. This year, because of the virus we did not have one. Well last Sunday we had our homecoming service. We had 559 in the morning and 440 at night. Those add up to 999. I don’t know what I would do to the member that stayed home and kept us from reaching the 1000 mark for the day! Now these numbers a still way below our normal attendance, but are still very encouraging. We served lunch for everybody up on the third floor terrace of the annex. A really good day overall. We added 4 new members, too.
Our 2 youth groups (15-24 year olds and 25 and older) are back in full swing. Our nursery is now open, too. The “tweens” will start back next Sunday. Andrew had a special activity for the teens out at the new church property last Saturday. They had a bonfire and roasted hotdogs. There were over 180 for a chilly evening of Bible study and worship under the Southern cross. Again these numbers are only about 50% of normal, but still really good considering where we were just a couple of short months ago. Children’s activities will return in early September in a very limited fashion.
Although I have not been able to visit as much of our mission work as I would like, we still are getting great reports from our missionaries all around the region. The work among the Hunikuin on the Breu River is a very bright spot. They have outgrown their great house (holds about 100) and are gearing up to build a new building. I have promised them the aluminum roofing for a building that should seat a couple hundred.
Recently the federal government expelled the missionaries of New Tribes Mission from among the Marubos on the Ituí River north of us in the State of Amazonas. Fortunately we have 2 members of our church who are full blooded Marubos and have moved back into the tribe in 2 different villages. We are going to put them on as our missionaries. The feds will not be able to expel them!
During the month of July I did most of the teaching and preaching. I had a series to do that was much needed. That is all finished up now. I also had a ton of jobs to do on the building and was able to finish those projects as well. Now Bev and I are getting ready to make a trip to the States. We had planned to go last year and hoped to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary while there, but we all know how that turned out. Now we have several urgent health issues to try to get taken care that have only gotten worse with the delay. We are scheduled to leave Cruzeiro do Sul tomorrow afternoon. We will have to go all the way to São Paulo before heading north to the States. For now that is the only way to get to the US. It is going to be a long grueling trip, so pray for us.
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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News & Reports – August 2021
The Online Edition of the August 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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Numbering Our Days
August 2, 2021
Dear praying friends,
Another month has come and gone, and we are now heading to the end of summer and school is almost starting up again. Where has the time gone? The summer months are definitely busy, and time passes so quickly. May we make the best use of the time that God gives each each day, as we will never get time back once it is gone. Time is truly a gift from God. Psalm 90:12 says “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Amen.
Please continue to pray for Kenya and the struggles of coronavirus. Our understanding is that public gatherings and meetings have been closed for the past several weeks, and this is likely to continue if the coronavirus cases continue to rise. Neighboring Uganda has also been hit with the coronavirus, and much of Africa. It seems just like when things start to get better, then cases start to break out again and many things are either locked down or shut down.
We know that God is in control of all these things and we trust Him during these challenging times. I like the statement “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future.” May we trust God during these difficult times, all over the world. This pandemic has really stretched our faith and taught us to trust God more. God frequently tests our faith to see if we will falter or trust Him during the uncertainties of life. May we trust Him more than ever before.
Please pray for me (Nathan) as I am continuing to travel and report during our time of furlough. I am thankful that our vehicle has done well throughout all the traveling and I would ask that you would pray it would do well throughout the duration of my time reporting in the States. So many of you have been so kind, friendly, inquired about the ministry, etc.
This means so much to us. We truly do appreciate each of you and God will bless you for your heart for missions. I am reminded of Isaiah 6:8, which says “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” We thank each of you for your mindfulness of missions, either by praying, sacrificially giving, or going personally to see what God is doing all around the world.
Please continue to pray for my wife as she is educating our daughters. She does a great job at homeschooling and has her degree in education. She is an excellent teacher but there are certainly more challenges in the coming years as high school is approaching. Please pray for her for wisdom, guidance, and direction as she does the best she can to educate our daughters. I am truly blessed to have a wife who has served faithfully in Kenya alongside me. She is truly a blessing and helpmeet.
We will be sure to keep you updated. Until next month, may God bless you all.
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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God is Still Changing Lives!
July 21, 2021
Greetings to all of our supporters and prayer partners! We hope and pray that each of you are doing great and are blessed! Thank God we are doing great. Things here are doing well and are more and more getting back to normal.
The church activities are getting back, too. More and more people are coming. There is a project near the church I pastor that works with men with addictions. Since the church isn’t using the bus, we have we have let the project use the bus. They bring around 40 men on Sunday night. Several have made professions of faith. Also, we have had other visitors and several of them have accepted Christ as Savior also. What a blessing!
We have 4 men working with us who finished the treatment and the project. Pray that they will continue to be encouraged to stay firm and have strength. One of them has two daughters. He got so deep into the drugs that he lived on the streets and lost his family. He is now working on his father-daughter relationship. We let him bring his daughters here to spend some time with him. It was a great time.
Daughters of the recovering drug addict 
Friday Night Service 
Men from “Project Life” singing 
Men from “Project Life” 
Service in Cacau
Also the services we had in homes on Friday night are back. We want to expand the areas where we have the services to reach more people. There are so many little communities in the area. Also so many of the people do not have transportation, so having these services is a great way to reach more people.
The water in the area where it was flooded is going down—almost down to where getting around is easier.
If you are looking for a specific project, we have small and large projects—from buying a lot to build a church in a new subdivision with no church, to a well for portable water in these communities!
We want to thank all of you for your 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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A Visit to Caraguatatuba
July 22, 2021
Dear friends and family,
It has been totally AWESOME to have been in Brazil and then good to have come back to the States. Brazil is about where the United States was about 9 months ago with the COVID virus. Our travel was restricted, but while there, we found the enforcement was loosely applied.
The Church services were observing social distancing and using masks. It was a pleasure to get to preach in all services and to also visit other Churches to tell about the Seminary. Also was able to preach in those other Churches (while using no mask).
The COVID in Brasil is limiting the in-person classes and it is also limiting the classes financially as the Pastors are unable to work their second job and that limits their income.
While we were in Caraguatatuba, we were able to visit the widow that helped us as we began the last Church plant. It was on the very porch that this picture was taken that we had the first services. We remained there until we were able to rent a building. We were also able to talk with some more people that are interested in the Seminary classes. We are looking at holding these classes in the Hotel where we have held Pastors conferences in years past. The owner of the Hotel has always worked with us when we have asked for his help. He has also attended our classes in years past.
We have not let this COVID stop us from teaching the classes. We have used the same methods that many pastors here in the States have used: the internet. We have had 4 zoom classes but the pastors are chomping at the bit to get back to the face-to-face classes. Pray for the upcoming classes and the people who will be impacted by these classes. In everything we do, we see the AWESOME hand of God.
Thank you in advance for your continued prayers for the Pastors and others that will be continuing their learning about our Savior and how to spread the GOOD news about our returning Savior.
Continue praying for our granddaughters Chelsea and Ashley as they are going through some serious health problems. Also pray for their parents as they search for the right doctors to treat them.
Thank you for your continued support for us in prayer and financially. Thank you to Baptist Faith Missions for believing in us and for always giving us the added backing to continue the good fight.
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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Back in the States!
Jud and Raquel Hatcher are third generation missionaries serving the Lord in São Paulo, Brazil. They are part of the “SeedFactory” church planting initiative, which is a movement to plant churches in all 26 Brazilian capitals. Since 2006, 43 churches have been started in 5 states.
July 21, 2021
Hello friends!
WE ARE BACK IN AMERICA! Yes, we were due back a year ago, but COVID kept us from coming. We arrived in Florida on June 18th and got our vaccines. We will settle in Wheaton, IL for the kids´ academic school year. Our one-year Stateside assignment/furlough will last until July 2022. We desire to visit your family and/or church. If you’d like for us to come visit, please reach out to me. My cellphone is (872) 400-6522, and my email is judsonhatcher@gmail.com. We’d love to catch up with you! And, as they say on TV, “call us today!” Pun aside, we want to invest time with you and personally share what the Lord has done over the last 5 years. Yes, it has been five years since we last were in the States and we want to catch up and take pictures with you.
During our first month in the US, we enjoyed quality time at my parents’ home in Florida. It is a blessing to our four kids (and us) to have time with their Grandparents Paul & Wanda Hatcher and with their Great Grandpa John Hatcher. The Lord also allowed us to visit a few of our supporting churches and friends. For 4th of July weekend, my sister Michelle and her family came from Georgia, and we had a great time together. Sarah, Laura, Benjamin and Melissa were invited by our dear friend Todd Thomas to attend Family Church´s student camp at Lake Placid. The spiritual impact on their lives was tremendous. This last Monday our beloved friends Jason & Nikki Estes took us to Busch Gardens – Tampa Bay. The following day, we celebrated our daughter Laura´s 15th birthday at her favorite restaurant, at a plaster painting workshop and ice-cream with Grandpa, Grandma and cousin Luke.
In the meantime, the ministry in Sâo Paulo is well taken care of. But, we also have Zoom conference calls and individual follow-ups with people, even while in the US. In a nutshell, during the last 5 years in São Paulo, the Lord allowed us to start and/or revitalize five churches and assist several orphaned children into foster care. We are grateful to serve the Lord in His Kingdom!
Always grateful,
Jud and Raquel Hatcher
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.
Read more
Seeing God’s Hand at Work in the Lives of Others
July 14, 2021
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today is Bastille Day in France. It is similar to the 4th of July in the USA. This celebrates the overthrow of the monarchy in France. At this moment all is quite and at 11 o’clock in the morning it is 61 degrees Fahrenheit. While the western part of America has had extreme heat this summer, we have had unusually cool and rainy weather here.
The Lord has blessed the church meetings during the past month. It is good to see God at work in the lives of the members. There have also been some special moments that exemplify God’s continual work in our lives and the opportunities that He gives us to be His witnesses where He has placed us.
Last Sunday we had a surprise contact with Amelia, the first lady to make a profession of faith here. She has lived south of Barcelona, Spain for quite a while and it had been about 10 years since we had last seen her. We enjoyed having her in our home for dinner and having a time of fellowship with her. I am including the a “selfie” she took with us on her way out.
Earlier this week, we were at our local grocery store when a young lady in store worker clothing ran up to us (all wearing masks) and excitedly told us how great it was to see us and how she wanted to spend time with us and tell us about what is happening in her life. This girl was a school mate of our oldest granddaughter, Abigail, and for many years came to youth meetings. Judy invited her for dinner this past week and she poured our her heart. She needs Christ and the Lord has reopened this door. Please pray for I..s and our witness to her. The Lord will know for whom you are praying.
Judy and I just finished listening to a recent message by Brian Nussmeier. He and his wife Sherri became a part of our congregation in Evansville in the late 70s three weeks after he had trusted the Lord in the state of Washington. He had just completed service in the Navy and God led them along with two very small children to the church in Evansville, his hometown. What a blessing it was to hear his message on discipleship to the church where he is now an elder.
Our Heavenly Father has and is good to us beyond our imagination. My reading this morning in Romans included chapter five where Paul tells of God pouring His love into our hearts. May it overflow to those who are so needy around us.
We are inexpressibly grateful to God for placing you in our lives!
From Tournefeuille, France,
Judy and John 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
