Missionary Update: Mike & Beverly Creiglow in Brazil [February 2012]
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together for 40 years. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
Dear Brethren,
Hudson and I made 2 long trips this month. We visited several of our works at some of the farthest places on 2 rivers. The first trip was to the mountains on the Moa River. The second trip was all the way into Peru on the Juruá River.
We visited our congregations at Pé da Serra and República. Both are doing well. Pé da Serra is steady in attendance, but we don’t expect growth as it is inside the national park. The federal government is trying to get everybody to move out. Nevertheless, the folks there have put up a new building. We helped them with our standard floor plans, design and the roofing. It is almost finished. In fact, the day we arrived I got straight out of the boat and went to work with them on the building. We held services every night and worked on the building during the days. Our visit at República was brief. This work is in the Nukini Indian reservation, so growth there is slow and limited, too. Our pastor there is Aldenízio. He is 25 years old and just graduated from high school. The tribe wanted him to be principal of the school, but he felt that it would interfere with his ministry, so he declined. He made a wise decision. The cultural and political pressures would have been huge. The day with left the reservation, headed for home, we got caught in one of our all day tropical rains. We were in my little jon boat with 20HP outboard. It was over 5 hours of COLD rain. We survived, though and just a few short days later we were back on the river in the same boat and same weather.
Bro. Mike Creiglow baptizing a couple at Foz do Breu.
Our second trip was up the Juruá River. We visited 6 of our works, 5 of our missionaries, held 6 services, baptized 2 during our 7 day trip. We also helped settle in our newest foreign missionary family. Brother Eduardo is a Caxinauá native, from Peru. We have done some switching around of missionaries and fields. All the moves were natural and practical. Brother Tito (who had been at Tipisca, Peru) moved to Contamana to work among the Chipibo, his native tribe. We then moved José Maia to Tipisca from the Breu. José had been working with the Caxinauá. He was trying to learn the language yet. While Tito was at Tipisca he had worked only with the tribes and not the native Peruvians, so we feel that José Maia will be a better fit to work with the whole population. He has plenty of experience in this type of pioneer mission work. Then the Lord brought us Eduardo and family from the Purús River. He is Caxinauá. This gives him 2 big advantages: 1. He already speaks the language and knows the culture, 2. He does not need a government permit to go into the tribe. All this to say that all fields are covered, plus a new area was opened and a new missionary added. It was a great trip. This one alone was over 1000KM. Lots of sun and plenty of rain. Lots of blessings.
The newest missionary to the Caxinauá tribe, Eduardo and his family. He already speaks the language, knows the culture, and does not need a government permit to go into the tribe!
Let me remind you about the need to pay for the jet drive and satellite phone renewal, which costs $2,000.00. Our support has also dropped dramatically over the past few months. I know the US economy is in a deep depression, but I also know that God’s people will continue to give if they see the need. Bev and I are committed to continue to serve here regardless of the support level.
So, thanks for your faithful prayers and support. God will bless you just as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
Click here to donate to BFM.
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [January 2012]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
January 17, 2012
Great News About the Building in Assai!
On January 4, fifteen men from the New Chapada Baptist Church in Manaus arrived in Assai to finish the new building. Manaus is about 3,000 air miles from Assai. The prefabricated basic structure and roof you saw in the last Mission Sheet. The men left Assai on Sunday, January 15. They worked almost around the clock. What they accomplished in ten days is a fabulous feat. The few pictures I am sending will tell you a little about their love and dedication to the Lord and to the work in Assai.
John & Alta Hatcher with the beloved brothers from Chapada who came to help build in Assai.
They built up the four block walls; they poured the floors, sidewalks and entrance; they installed lights, water system, and toilets with tiled floors and walls. The walls inside the building and the front of the building were plastered and painted.
Various views of the work.
The Chapada Church was the first church plant God gave us in Brazil fifty-six years ago. Our son David was the youngest founding member. He is now pastor of the church which has an attendance of about 3,000 persons each Sunday.
Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude to our Lord for what He has done and is dong in Brazil; and that He has permitted us as a family to have a part in this work. For you who have prayed and given as our supporters—this is your work.
Front view of the building almost finished.
Our hearts are filled with love and thanksgiving for the Chapada Baptist Church who sent these volunteers and, also, paid for the material used in the construction.
Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Chapada Church. Thank you, brothers that came and did such a great work of love.
Bro. Carlos Chaves from the Chapada Baptist Church in Manaus coordinated the mission team.
Sincerely,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
Click here to donate to BFM.
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Missionary Update: Roger & Julie Tate in Kenya [January 2012]
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Our new year has started off well even though it is very hot and very dry. It seems as if the roads are always treacherous to traverse on my little motorcycle. They are either very muddy or very sandy. Either way we always have to be careful.
Ministry with Nathan is progressing nicely. We have started up two new Bible study/worship groups this month. Obviously, our hope and prayer is that these groups will eventually become churches of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one group has four members in it, three men and one woman. The second group has two members, both men. These are small beginnings for the new year but are definitely seeds of new churches. To become churches is what we will train them and teach them to be. This is what we are modeling for them as well. We are trying to teach them to obey what they have learned from the word of God, even if they only know a very little. The great challenge for me is to conduct these meetings in Swahili. It is still very difficult for me to understand Swahili but we want to speak in the heart language of the people. But speaking and listening to Swahili for two or more straight hours at a time can be exhausting. There are many other challenges as well. In our second group, it dawned on me while I was teaching that the young man sitting next to me was illiterate. This poses difficulties that are hard to overcome. I wanted to teach him how to share his faith and present the gospel to his friends and family. I had some simple points I wanted him to write down so that he could easily remember them later. However, he couldn’t read or write. I suddenly had to change my approach to teaching him. The most prevalent and biggest challenge is still the problem of dependency. We still do not want to do anything that a) they will become dependent upon or b) they cannot reproduce on their own. So, when Nathan suggested that we bring some books to the meetings for resources, we quickly decided that it wouldn’t be a good idea because later the group members would want those same resources (from us) when they went to start new groups. It is also why we are meeting in group members’ homes. Even though their homes may be very small and made of mud, I believe it is still the best place for us to meet. Later, when they go to start new groups or churches they will be able to reproduce quickly and not be tied to the model of a church building (The picture I have included is the small house that the second group meets in. We hope this little house later doubles as a meeting place for a new church).
The small house one of their groups of believers is meeting in to worship. They hope this house later doubles as a meeting place for a new church.
This whole non-dependency approach is still definitely swimming against the current. Most Kenyans just don’t get it or understand why we are here. Just for example, 10 minutes before I sat down to write this update I received this anonymous text message. I will reproduce it for you complete, with no corrections for spelling or grammar: “Hi pastor we are really suffering of u come in kaenya to help the poor but nothing u have done Nathen is telling wrong things that’s our crises as Church”. Of course, what this person has said about Nathan is a lie but the whole message reveals the common mindset: Missionaries are to come to Kenya in order to give handouts to all those who want them. Most people want the handouts but not the gospel. Beloved, if you pray for nothing else, please pray for us in this arena.
On a lighter note, I did attend a wedding this past Saturday. I was told the wedding started at 10:00am. When I told the pastor that I would be late because I had a Bible study group from 10-12 he told me to just come when I could as the wedding would probably start late. I arrived at 12:45pm. The bride still had not shown up to a wedding that was supposed to start at 10:00am. She didn’t show up until 2:15pm. Then, when she arrived, it took her and her entourage a full 20 minutes to dance down the 50 foot aisle from the back to the front of the church. I left at 3:45pm. The pastor was just beginning to preach. Anyway, I thought the whole thing was kind of funny.
Until next month, beloved. May God’s peace and joy be with you.
For the glory of God in East Africa,
Roger & Julie Tate (and Emily, Amy, & Josiah)
P.O. Box 761
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta@gmail.com
Website
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Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley in Brazil [January 2012]
The Hensleys have spent nearly 15 years serving in Brazil. They run a vocational school and orphanage in Caraguatatuba and have also established a church and mission points throughout the city.
Friends,
Well, we had an awesome Christmas here in the States. We spent it with Barb’s mom and our son Bryan and his famil, and our Brasilian daughter and her family. We were anticipating a white Christmas but we got fall-like weather. Oh well, things and times are changing.
We traveled some in December visiting two churches in Virginia Beach. We stayed with dear friends Lonnie and Barbara there in Virginia Beach. We also got to spend some time with Jerry Flug, one of the first youth pastors that visited us in Brasil. He has been a big help for us printing our prayer cards and banners for us to use at some of the conferences we will be attending while here in the States.
We also spent time with Pastor Thomas and the folks at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church where Barb’s mother is a member. There I had the privilege of preaching the morning and evening services on the first day of the year.
While here, Barbara and I have been getting some exams done. They have found a cyst in my kidney. Pray for me as the Doctors work to decide what action to take in treating my problem.
In our absence the Church is going and growing. As we were leaving Brasil, there was plans for another baptism. And we are praying about starting another mission work on the other side of the city. One of the couples who regularly attend our services has offered us access to a hotel that they own as the building for us to begin the meetings. Pray for this project that God would supply the person to preach there and the persons that need to hear the gospel.
It has been an AWESOME year in ministry in Brasil for us. Lots of construction on the Church and plans being made for the up-coming year. The vocational school has progressed very well and we are hoping this year we will complete the dorm house.
As we have told you in other letters the most pressing need for us there in Brasil is transportation. As we were leaving, we had to put the van back in the garage for more repairs. This time it was the power steering and it took over 3 plus weeks and $1,800 reais to get it back. The Church in western Kentucky had just sent us an offering and it covered the cost. Isn’t God great? He knows your needs and He provides. While we are here in the States, our pick-up is being worked on. Hopefully a lot of maintenance will be done—wheel bearings, minor body repair, oil change, filters, tire alignment and balancing and some suspension repair. This sounds like a lot but with the age of the truck and the mileage, that is not really much work. I told you all this just for you to see that we really do need help with transportation here in our work.
As we enter this New Year we are totally thankful for everyone that has been involved in our mission work both financially and prayerfully. We ask that you continue praying for us in the coming year.
I hope that you are planning to come down to see what your mission dollars are doing in Caraguatatuba, Brasil.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara Hensley
Caixa Postal 1511
11672-300 Caraguatatuba, Sao Paulo, Brasil
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: Paul & Wanda Hatcher in Brazil [January 2012]
Paul and Wanda Hatcher have been serving the Lord together in Brazil for 36 years. Paul pastors Tabernacle Baptist Church in Manaus, Brazil. Their main ministry is church planting.
Dear friends,
Another year is ended. This one went by so rapidly. We are grateful to God and rejoice in his blessings and mercies.
The Lord blessed; the missions (church starts) had a great year. In October, six of the missions were ready to organize and incorporate as Baptist churches. At the same time six new Baptist ministers were ordained to the gospel ministry. The legal paperwork was a little complicated, however, all was completed. The following month of November, an additional eight churches were organized and properly registered with the government. Six additional pastors were ordained to the Gospel Ministry. Certainly this is reason for us all to rejoice in the Lord. You share in these blessings through your prayers and contributions to missions here in Brazil. Together, we are making friends for eternity. It is certainly a priceless hope to have eternal life. Imagine the joy of being received by friends in eternity – Brazilian friends you never knew in this life time – friends you made by sending the Gospel of Jesus Christ; they believed and now are children of God even as you and me.
Wanda and I thank you, too. Thanks for being prayer partners and giving friends. Jesus Christ has promised “Great is your reward in heaven.”
Now, a news update regarding our family. Wanda and I are doing well. We have great joy seeing our children walking with God and serving our Lord. We are enjoying our wonderful grandchildren – two boys and four girls. All the children, spouses and grandchildren are doing well.
We ask that you remember us in prayer, here are some special requests for the year: that the gospel will continue to grow and those who believe will grow in the Lord. Pray that the door of opportunity for the gospel will stay open. Pray that we will be wise stewards of our time and resources to achieve maximum amount sowing and reaping of the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray that God will strengthen us in faith, love and persistence.
We love you in Christ Jesus. May God richly bless you with peace and grace in Jesus Christ.
Paul and Wanda Hatcher
Avenida J. Carlos Antony, 172
65063-150 Manaus
Amazonas, Brasil SA
hatcher[at]argo.com.br
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Missionary Update: John Mark & Judy Hatcher in France [January 2012]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making,”
January 9, 2012
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Last month started well with the ladies of our congregation having one of their quarterly fellowship meetings at Suzanne Riedel’s house. The ladies have fellowship, share with each other the blessings they have received, pray together, and have a Bible Study. This time the Bible Study was on being the light of the world. Each lady listed the people that God had used as a light for them and then made a list of people for whom they could be light. They then prayed about this.
The men think these meeting are a great idea and want to have one for themselves, but they seem to have difficulties in planning and implementing. Philip and I have tried to leave the planning in their hands in order to help them take responsibility.
Lydia, our youngest daughter, along with Adam her husband, and their two children were with us for Christmas and New Years. This made the Holidays extra special. All the regular activities are going well.
Some ladies met together for a Bible Study and a time of fellowship last month. They studied about being the light of the world, listed people that God had used as a light for them, and made a list of people for whom they could be light.
Just before Christmas Steve Wainright asked me to put together some information about our call to France and what God is doing here. He wanted to make it a part of his message for the Winter Conference in Gotha, Florida. Since you may not have gotten to go to Florida, the same information might help drive some chill out of your bones wherever you are this Winter.
About fourteen years ago we were caught somewhat by surprise by God moving in our lives and hearts to move us to France in order to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The general job description did not change, but the people to which we were now directed was a total surprise.
In my teen years I had often told the Lord that if He wanted me to pastor or be a missionary I would be glad to do so. In response, Heaven seemed to be silent. Had God spoken to me earlier on this subject, I think that my preparation would have been quite different. As it turned out, following God’s general written directives and my interest in science, I prepared for a career as a doctor. My thinking was along these lines…people listen to their doctor so why not use this as a platform to communicate the Gospel.
I was totally upended by what seemed to be a clear call to be a proclaimer of the gospel that came to me in the middle of my Junior year at the University of Kentucky. It occurred when I was with a number of other believers in prayer. This was not the topic that we had been pursuing in the discussions prior to the time of prayer and it took me totally by surprise. Up to this moment I thought that I was following God’s will as I prepared for a career in Medicine. This new direction was confirmed in interesting ways from several different sources. After consulting with other believers, I said, “Lord, I am going to pursue this new direction assuming that it is your will.” Immediately, I had a sense of peace.
In retrospect, I realize that God wanted me to spend time on a public University campus in the field of natural sciences as part of the preparation for what He wanted me to do. God seems to be always using those who are willing in the present while simultaneously preparing them for service in the future. For brevity, we will skip forward through 26 years of preparatory service.
Once again, I was broadsided by this change in direction that God had in store for us. Within a relatively short period of time and through a number of confirming witnesses we became aware of the great spiritual need of the French people and were moved by a passionate desire to go and make disciples in this nation. A nation where over 50% of the people are atheist, 10% are Muslim, there is great despair and where all is tainted by general distrust. A nation where the number of believers is a fraction of a percent; one of the most unevangelized countries of the world. This country of 36,000 communities and a population over 60 million has just a few more than 100 Baptist churches with an average size of 30 members. Most of the people in these churches are immigrants. A nation for which I previously had no special interest!
We live and work in a city of 30,000. The only church besides ours is a small Catholic church. There is a synagogue that meets in a house. Our work includes several other communities in a radius of about 1 hour of driving time.
On arrival, we knew no one. God has marvelously intervened to bring people to Himself. Some of these have since moved away. There are people who were once a part of our congregation who now live in 7 different countries. We still have regular contact with many of these and they share with us what God is doing in their lives. There are about 35 people who meet in Tournefeuille. Of these, 19 have trusted the Lord and followed Him in baptism. There are other interested people and believers who participate in Bible studies at other locations. We have meetings for teenagers several times during the year. This is a new area of opportunity. Seventeen young people were at the last meeting we held.
We have contact with many people who do not participate in meetings and to whom we are able to witness. We are here to help them come to Christ and our desire is to see many disciples doing the same as God uses us and you in this endeavor.
Thank you for your participation. May God richly bless you.
Shining the Light in France,
John and Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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Missionary Update: Mike & Bev Creiglow in Brazil [January 2012]
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together for 40 years. They serve at First Baptist Church in Cruzeiro do Sul, which Mike has pastored since 1978
January 9, 2012
Dear Brethren,
Home, at last! It has now been just over 3 weeks since we returned to Cruzeiro do Sul. I won’t bother you with the adventure that it was to get back home. It might scare some of you away, those of you who are considering a visit. We need your visit, so just let’s pretend that getting here is just a walk in the park.
The Christmas program was a huge success. The day after our arrival I was at church saw and hammer in hand. It was 10 straight days of long hours to get the stage and lighting ready, but we made it with a few hours to spare. We had overflow crowds for the 4 presentations. Although we did not have a public invitation, we still had 4 professions of faith, at least the ones that I witnessed personally after services.
A week later we had our New Year’s Eve service. Another overflow crowd. After the service, which ends sometime after midnight, Bev and I got together with family and friends for a meal. We finally got home after 3:00AM, tired and happy.
I have had 2 meetings with the leadership. The guys did an outstanding job and the church continued to grow. However, being away as long as I was, let a few things get out of focus. We will be working on getting things fine tuned again over the coming weeks and months.
In the last 27 days, since getting home we have had only 1 day without torrential rains. The river is almost out of its banks. Even so, we have had really good crowds in most services. On January 1 we had 3 professions of faith and last night we had 5 more. There had not been any in November and early December, so we are relieved that things are picking up again.
It has been 5 or 6 years (maybe more) since we started having an afternoon service to try to free up more space in our outgrown building. We have been trying all this time to get our regular members to make the switch to the afternoon service as to free up space for our visitors that come mostly to the night service. It has been a slow process. At first we had less than 100 people coming in the first service and always standing room only at night. Finally we are having about 500 in the afternoon. It is still full at night, but not always turning people away, so at long last we are getting a little relief. We had dozens of visitors last night. It crossed my mind that many pastors never spend 5 years in one place, yet they want things to change over night. Much prayer, patience and TIME is needed to see positive changes. A pat on the back to all you pastors who stick it out for the long haul. For those who are just getting started, hang in there, pray and be patient. The results will eventually come.
Last week was spent getting some of my equipment rebuilt, repaired and ready for the coming river trips. Tomorrow Hudson and I head up the Moa River. I’m pumped!
Please consider the 2 financial needs I mentioned last month: the renewal of the satellite phone and the purchase of the jet drive for the 25hp motor. The 2 items cost just over $2,000.00.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
69980 Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil
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Missionary Update: Bobby & Charlene Wacaser in Brazil [January 2012]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985 through BFM.
January 5, 2012
Dear Friends,
We started the New Year off the way we hope to work throughout 2012. We spent the first day with several new friends we’ve made who are not followers of Christ…yet. Like most Christians, our natural tendency is to gravitate toward fellow believers in our rare leisure time. The main problem with that is that we distance ourselves from those who most need to hear the gospel and see Christ truly present in the lives of those who profess him as Lord. Backing up a little bit: we actually did this on Christmas day also. They were both delightful days in which we had genuine pleasure in sharing the gospel and being friendly to folks who are usually neglected by church-goers. We train and encourage all of our leaders to utilize this strategy for reaching the lost also. We reach out to the greater population through many other means, but we see that this up-close and personal approach was the primary means that Jesus and his disciples used to get the gospel to their fellow citizens.
We are back into construction mode on our new church building. We will be pouring our concrete floor and laying the tile very soon and then move on to all the other final touches. These “final” touches seem more like they keep us in a holding pattern, or that news ones pop up regularly, but we do see steady progress. The important thing is that we’ll be able to get everyone out of the weather and have a multifunctional building operating within weeks, not months.
We are dealing with a huge challenge in our evangelistic ministry, Projeto Vida. Here in Brazil, there is an opportunity to contribute toward philanthropic/social entities through one’s monthly electric energy bill. Projeto Vida had been receiving such contributions for several months and they were increasing, when all of a sudden, a glitch arose in the power company’s billing system and these contributions ceased to enter. There was no detour of funds or theft, just the fact that many would-be contributors lost the option to give and therefore, those funds have nearly dried up. Some folks are still able to give through this means, but more can’t than can. This will greatly hamper our ability to feed and house the more than 40 workers we had depending on these funds last year from coming back to work fulltime in February. Last year Projeto Vida shared the gospel to nearly 100,000 people throughout Brazil, but with this problem we will be greatly hindered from getting to the unreached areas. Please pray that this problem may be resolved or that the Lord would provide other means of supplying the needed resources.
We are excited about this year’s opportunities to make Christ known and to launch new churches where none exist as yet. We thank you for your love, prayers and support. May the Lord bless you richly throughout 2012.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser
Rua Manoel Valdomiro de Macedo, 2281
81170-150 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
robertmw[at]brturbo.com.br
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