MIKE AND BEV CREIGLOW  |  October 2011

mdcreig@hotmail.com

Caixa Postal 24  69980  |  Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre  Brazil

1012 Balsam Drive | Lexington, KY  40504

(859) 277-3716 | (859) 494-2845

October 8, 2011

Dear Brethren, Beverly and I have had a great time visiting friends, churches and just plain resting. We have travelled over 6000 miles, seen a lot of the United States and, best of all, made new friends.

In Colorado we met Ole, Dawn Ann Johnson and her mom. We were impressed with this family. In fact Dawn Ann’s mother has been on several mission trips to Brazil. On her last visit to a favela in Rio she was actually dodging bullets. I’m not telling how old she was at the time she was being shot at!

Later we visited Ole’s brother Jim in Reno. He asked me to present the mission work to his men’s group. This group of Christian businessmen has been meeting for over 25 years! What an encouragement. After the brief visit with Jim and Cris Johnson they offered us their cabin in the Sierra Nevadas for a few days of rest. We got to see lots of wildlife and beautiful scenery. One day I took off on a hike of over 6 miles. Along the way I got to see a mountain lake. The hike took me to the summit of a 7400 foot mountain. Eureka Peak overlooking Eureka Lake. What a view! There was snow up there, too: in September. I was all alone on the trail and mountain. It was a wonderful time of prayer.

We got to visit Berean Baptist Church again after 5 years. This is a great independent Baptist church in the middle of a spiritual wilderness. Pastor Mark Smith is quite isolated, but is still doing a great job. One of the members shared with me that they are in the middle of the largest concentration of witchcraft in the nation. This is northern California. Really tough circumstances.

Bev and I dropped down to the central valley where we visited Sonrise Baptist Church. This was a first. This church is so similar to our church down home. I sat on the front row and the tears poured down as I waited to get up and preach. Pastor Otis Ledbetter has been there for 25 years. That tells you lot.

My very good, lifelong friend, Sherman Smith is executive pastor at Sonrise. After our visit with the church we spent a few days with Sherman and Kathy over in Monterey. We talked all day and most of every night, trying to get caught up. Very refreshing.

Before I go on, let me ask you to pray for the churches in California. They are really struggling financially. You are too, I know, but times are REALLY hard out there.

Bev and I took the scenic route back east. The breathtaking beauty of God’s creation made me shake my head, cry and praise Him all along the way.

News from home is good. More folks saved and good attendance. On Sunday nights they have been blocking off the street and putting up a screen outside for the overflow crowd. The rainy season has started early this year though, so pray that we can finish our annex SOON.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.

In Christ, Mike Creiglow

JOHN AND ALTA HATCHER  |  October 2011

jhatcher@uol.com.br

October 1, 2011

Dear Friends – this has been a good month.  Praise the Lord!  Alta’s eyes continue perfectly since her two cataract operations. She is looking at her husband of sixty-four years through new eyes. She thinks he looks a little older than before the new eyes.

TWO NEW BAPTIST CHURCHES FOUNDED IN THE STATE OF SAO PAULO AND THREE PASTORS ORDAINED TO THE GOSPEL MINISTRY.  On September 25, the Faith Baptist Church in Marilia founded two new churches and ordained three pastors in the same service.  Gilbert Stefano is the pastor of the Faith Baptist Church. He was one of the very first persons to be saved in the work we began in Cornelio Procopio.  His lovely wife was saved in the work we began in Galia.

One of the new churches is in the city of Pompeia and the other is in the city of Oriente. Each church had about fifteen charter members. About three hundred people attended the service of founding and ordaining.

Needless to say, it was a blessing to two oldies, close to closing up shop, to see how God continues to bless His Word and Work. On Sunday morning, we had morning service in Assai. We then drove four hours to Marilia where we stayed at the home of Maria. Other than a little ‘hangover’ from the drive, we made the trip without incident, Praise the Lord!

On Monday afternoon, we drove to Garca and spent three days with Kathy and Odali. It is always great to spend a little time with our children whom we seldom see.

THE WORK IN URAI  –  Recently, two young couples have been baptized into the fellowship of the Urai Baptist Church.  Each couple is around thirty years old. One family has three beautiful little girls and the other couple has a handsome robust boy. Both of the men are studying in the Seminary in Cornelio.  There are seven from Urai who are studying in the seminary.

WORK ON THE NEW BUILDING IS STOPPED IN ASSAI.  PLEASE PRAY FOR THE MAN TO FINISH HIS PART OF THE CONTRACT.

Your servants, John and Alta Hatcher

JOHN AND JUDY HATCHER  |  October 2011

JMHatcher@aol.com

Dear Fellow Laborers,
Another month had gone by quickly.  We hope that you are enjoying the blessings of the Lord as the weather gets colder and the days get shorter.  The changes remind us that there is a season for everything in this world God has given us.  Our responsibility in the Kingdom of God is very similar to gardening.  There is a lot of digging, sowing, watering and weeding before we see the produce.
The Youth meeting last week went quite well.  There were 10 young people present.  We have usually had 10-12 each time, but not always the same ones.  Of those who come, not one has made a profession of faith.  We are glad that they come and listen, that most return and that many ask a lot of questions.  Two boys who had never been before were here for this meeting.

They are sons of a lady with whom Judy has Bible study.  Two other young men, who had been before with friends, returned and we were able to meet their mothers.  The mothers expressed gratitude for our interest in helping adolescents.  None of these young men have ever been to regular services.  Plowing and planting is most of what we do.
I just answered two people by email who live in Spain.  One is a lady from our congregation who with her husband, started a business in Barcelona. We are helping her prepare a lesson for teaching children where she lives.  The other person lives in a town north of Barcelona and had written to share that she was able to lead a young Muslim lady to the Lord.  This young lady is in her Catalan (language of the Barcelona region) class.  A lot of our work is helping believers grow in the Lord and pass on what they have received.  I guess that is sort of like fertilizing and watering.  We garden, God gives life and growth. And he (Jesus) said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.  For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. (Mark 4:26-28)
Yesterday, I met with a handful of faithful Baptist pastors who are working in places scattered across southern France.  We see each other twice a year to encourage one another and work on a joint project of Bible expositions.  The meeting took place in a small town about one hour north of us.  The testimony of Pierre, the pastor of the Baptist church that hosted our meeting is worth sharing.  He just retired as a mail carrier.  He had been a member of this little church for about a dozen years when the former pastor stepped down because of bad health.  They asked him to pastor, and he is doing a great job.
Years ago, when he was about 20 years old.  His good childhood friend was arrested in Mauritania.  A catholic priest visited the jail and gave the young man a New Testament. Reading the New Testament, he trusted Christ. Unexpectedly, 11 days later he was released and thrown out of the country.  He went to Senegal and ran into some Pentecostal Christians who got the money together to pay the young man’s way back home in the Paris area of France.  Pierre was impressed by what God had done in his friend’s life and realized that he himself was throwing his life away.  He found a Bible and read it convinced that it would lead him to salvation…and it did!  Shortly thereafter, he started serving in the local church and was discipled by an American Baptist missionary. After years of working in with La Poste, he was transferred to this town where he found a church plant by a missionary and just went on serving the Lord.  He hasn’t stopped and is doing a great job.
God get’s His work done using you and others like you.  Keep on serving and growing.

Until next month, John and Judy Hatcher

AJ AND BARBARA HENSLEY  |  October 2011

ajcaragua@gmail.com

Dear friends and family,

It has turned into a very warm time here in Caragua. It is not yet summer but the days are hot and the nights are comfortable. As our summer approaches, it will be getting HOT. But we cannot complain because our Lord is AWESOME. When it is hot, we want it to cool down;  and when it is cool, we wish it were warmer. Oh well, let’s quit complaining and keep on keeping on.
We have had some exciting days lately. One of the mission points that we helped start 5 years ago has been organized into the Baptist Church in Nativity da Serrha. How AWESOME is that. The pastor there is Pastor George and his wife is Alda, Keep them in your prayers. Pastor George was one of the first students in our seminary here in Caragua, and I had the pleasure to be one of his professors. In addition he was one of the two ministers that was ordained in our previous work, Igreja Batista Nova Vida. Several men from the States were here to participate in this ordination service. The other pastor that was ordained was our son-in-law Pastor Walmir. He is now pastoring in Sales Oliveira which is about 7 hours from Caragua.

We have had several baptisms in our Church. Our membership is steadily growing and we are approaching 80 members. On Sunday nights we are now having around 130 people in attendance. AWESOME how the Lord is bringing people in. We are having new members classes and we now have 5 more waiting for baptism. That is not counting the 3 that were baptised yesterday.

We are constantly working on the building we are using for our Church services. We are now looking at the wall in front of the Church and the sidewalks. They are in need of repair. If this were in the States, the building inspectors would have already made us do the work. So now it is time to get to it.

I know that sometimes you can beat on old horse to death, but I need to tell you about our transportation needs; a BUS is becoming more crucial all the time. Our van has been making two and sometimes three trips to pick up people for every service, and this week it just quit. I guess it just got tired. The problem is the motor.  We are having to re-work the motor and that, as some of you know, is not cheap. This last few weeks have been a challenge, members helping others and everyone pitching in to help out with the transportion needs. This past week we were able to get a bus for both services on Sunday. God is great, AWESOME, all the time. We hope to get the van back this week and the repairs will be about $3000.00 (not definite yet).  Pray with about our transportation needs.

We have a big holiday coming up this month. Here it is called Children’s Day and it is comparable to Christmas back in the States. It will be lots of work – Bible stories, games, candy, food – well, you get the picture: work, work, and more work. But it will all be worth it if only just one child comes to know the Lord as Savior. We are planning for 200 children for 6 hours telling them about our Lord and Savior. Pray for this day.
Construction on the dormitory is at a standstill because of lack of money. But we are still looking to the future for things to change.

We are praying for all who help us here financially. We realize the financial hardships being suffered back home. And we wish to say ‘Thanks’ for your faithfulness in the midst of these hardships. We continue to ask for your prayers for the works here. And what we wish to say is “many thanks” for all u “awesome people”.
We are planning to come home for Christmas and stay until the last of March, so if we can come to visit you we would love to. Pastors, e-mail us and we will fill our calendar with your requests.
When we come back to Brasil, we wish that some of you could come with us. Know that you are as welcome as a summer rain.

In His service, Aj and Barb

NATHAN AND CARRIE RADFORD  |  October 2011

naterad@yahoo.com

P. O. Box 4150  |  Kitale, Kenya 30200

October 7, 2011 Dear praying friends, Another month has come and gone, and we are now at the end of the year 2011. We are now back in Kenya, and specifically, in Kitale. We appreciate so much each one who prayed for our safety as we traveled back to Kenya. We had a long trip back to Kenya, and our daughters did very well with the traveling, given the distance, time changes, etc. It was hard to say goodbye to friends and family that we love, and please know that each of you are so special to us and we love to hear from you. Life on the mission field has many challenges, and your prayers, encouragement, and friendships mean so much to us. We would ask for your continued prayers, as we are adjusting back to Kenya and life here. We would ask for your continued prayers for us in many ways this upcoming term. We would ask you to please pray for our health, as it is a daily struggle to stay healthy. Also, for safety traveling, for good friendships with others, and for the Lord to lead and guide us. We want to be where He wants us to be. One of my favorite verses is Psalm 32:8, which says “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” What a tremendous verse of encouragement this is from the Word of God. We would covet your prayers in the above areas. Also, please pray for our visitors who will be coming in the next few days from the States. Please pray for safety as they travel, for good ministry opportunities as they are here, and that we would be a blessing to them, as well as the people of Kenya. We are so looking forward to their arrival and would ask you to pray for our time as we serve the Lord together in Kitale. Please also pray for the ministries that the Lord has for us here in Kitale. Please pray for my wife, as she plans to continue serving in the district hospital, for the annex prison ministry, and for church planting this term with my friend and partner, Mr. Roger Tate. We are excited to see what the Lord will do, and are excited to be part of His work here in Kenya. There is so much work to be done for the Lord, and we must pray that the Lord would send laborers into His harvest field. Matthew 9:36-38 states “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” What challenging verses these are, and a reminder for us to be involved in the harvest, whether through praying, giving, or going. We will be sure to keep you updated. Thanks so much to each one of you for your prayers, interest, support, and encouragement. You all mean so much to us, and we thank God for you. Please note our new mailing address. Until next month, Nathan and Carrie Radford

BOBBY AND CHARLENE WACASER  | October 2011

robertmw@brturbo.com.br

Rua Manoel Valdomiro de Macedo, 2281  |  81170-150 Curitiba, PR  Brasil
Ph: (813) 436-9980

October 13, 2011
Dear Friends, The construction on our new church plant continues. The plaster needed to make ready to place the windows has been done. We will have to wait, though, to install our doors after our floor is poured.  You may still contribute toward that phase by giving $2 per square foot. Our leadership team embraced the challenge of paying to complete the bathrooms with funds above and beyond their regular offerings.
This weekend, October 15th, we will be holding an evangelistic event for married couples with the folks in this unreached community. This is our third of the year and they have been well attended. We are expecting encouraging results.
We had an amazing month of opportunities for our all four of our Projeto Vida teams. Two teams traveled to the distant state of Minas Gerais, Brazil where they had exceptional responses. Together the four teams were privileged to present the gospel to 20,074 persons during the month. We are amazingly blessed with this privilege and do not want to ever take it for granted. This type of ministry is only possible because the Lord opens the doors. The workers and their leaders show exemplary attitudes of dedication and humility and spiritual maturity. As a result, there were over 850 responses to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. The two teams that stayed in state worked in the metropolitan area of the capital helping to launch new church plants in unreached towns. The reception there was also very positive and we hope to see a new congregation growing as those who were converted are baptized and discipled.
I’m still in need of football players who want to use their talents and gifts for God’s glory. Our Brazilian semi-professional league is a great avenue for demonstrating why God gives such abilities. The attention that a good player would draw would provide wide open doors of opportunity to share one’s faith and testimony. If you know of a young man who would like such an opportunity and truly knows the Lord, please contact me at the contact info above.
In Christ’s love, Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser

 

ODALI AND KATHY BARROS  | AUGUST 2011

odali_kathy@hotmail.com

Greetings Dear folk!   It is hard when you get used to using a computer for everything.  Not having one to use without being broken more than working.  We finally decided we better get a new one before we lost all that we had on the old one. We should be set for a good while.

We are doing great.  We took some time off and went on vacation.  We had not had a vacation for some four years.  Since our boys like the beach, we went down to Caraguatatuba where my brother Epitacio is pastor.  Even though I was on vacation I preached 3 times at the church that he pastors.

We are making new plans for our church here in Garça. We will be working with Pastor Gilberto who is pastor is Marilia.  There are several mission points that are going through some difficult situations, mostly in need for pastors.  Also pastor Gilberto and I have visited several cites in a one hour radius that still do not have Baptist churches.

We have bought a lot in Marilia and have already built a house for a pastor to live in. We will be starting a building there next.  Also one of the plans there is to open a Bible institute.  This lot only 1.5 miles from the 4 universities in Marilia.  We are praying that God will prepare some that would love to work with the college students.  There are over 30.000 students that attend these colleges.  This is a tremendous opportunity.

We will be moving our services to the building where we used to have the school.  Since we have so many kids on Sunday morning and we will be working with Sunday school classes where we can move the kids into the classrooms more easily. We will be fixing some things like painting, changing some doors and things like that.  We have been working on getting the library ready to open.  But we will have to make a change and move it to a smaller room and leave the bigger room for the auditorium for the services.  We hope that we can have all this ready in the next 2 weeks.

Pray for us, and all our new plans. Thanks for your prayers and support.

Odali and Kathy

JOHN AND ALTA HATCHER  | AUGUST 2011

jhatcher@uol.com.br

August 2, 2011

Dear Friends and Fellow Workers,

Alta and I are doing well.  The cataract surgeries on Alta’s eyes have healed perfectly and she is doing fine and seeing well.

Alta and I go to Assai every Sunday morning and finally, the man has started the prefabricated structure.  He has erected the eight steel uprights and trusses which will form the outside skeleton and support for the building. We hope he will soon have the cross beams and roof on so we can start the walls.  Pray for the city of Assai.

Please continue to pray for us.  We thank the Lord for each of you who have been our stay and support for all our years here in Brazil.

In His Name, John and Alta Hatcher

JOHN AND JUDY HATCHER  | AUGUST 2011

JMHatcher@aol.com

August 9, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Last month I did not get a letter to you.  We were on our way over the mountains to Barcelona when I realized that I had not written before leaving home.  I didn’t have the opportunity to get online to send a letter while in this part of Spain.  However, this trip was blessed by the Lord.  The primary purpose of going to Barcelona was to visit Amelia and her husband.  She was the first person to make a profession of faith here.  Her husband claimed to be an atheist.
We wanted to encourage her and have a chance to witness to him again.  They moved to Barcelona last year to start a business.  When members move from here, it is often God’s way of planting the seed of Gospel somewhere else.  If we do well our God given task of making disciples, they will be prepared to also make disciples.  We can not be every where, but God is everywhere He plants His children. Besides being able to encourage Amelia, we were also able to talk to Thierry, her husband about spiritual matters. He was much more receptive than he had been previously.
Just a few days before going to Barcelona we received an email from Leila, a lady who had been saved through the ministry of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Manaus, Brazil. This is the church where my brother, Paul Hatcher serves.  It is a very missionary minded church.  Paul is supported through Baptist Faith Missions.  He serves on the team with you as we do.  Seven years ago, Leila moved to Spain.  She witnessed to a young man who trusted Christ.  He asked her to marry him.  They have two daughters and through the witness of this family a couple of other young men have been saved.  She contacted us because she wanted to know what they could do to help us in the Lord’s work.  They live in a town just north of Barcelona.
We told Leila and Jose that we would stop by to meet them on our way back from Barcelona.  They insisted that we spend the night.  What a blessing it was to hear them tell about their desire to reach others and what they are doing.  We met one of the young men besides Jose to who has trusted Christ.  They want us to return shortly to baptize them.  We were also able to help Leila get materials for sharing the Gospel with children.  God’s children grow where they are planted. If they have been discipled, they reproduce. This is God’s plan as revealed in the New Testament.  It is our job.
We have also had many other opportunities.  One of them has been contact with a young man who is Muslim.  He is the father of a child in the same class as Camille, one of our granddaughters.  Amanda, our daughter-in-law, has befriended the mother of this child. In conversation with Amanda this lady asked if Amanda knew anyone who could help her husband, and engineer, with his English.  She suggested that he contact me.  This young man is a devout follower of Islam, but has been open to talk about spiritual matters.
Our regular meetings and Bible studies our going well.  A lady from the choir I sing in has attended some on Sundays and this has been an encouragement.  She is the first of several from the choir who have said they would come to have actually done so.  We hope that she will trust the Lord and will be the first of many to do so.
Thank you for your faith support and keep growing and bearing fruit where God has planted you.  Let us know if there is something that we can do to encourage you.
In France for Christ,
John and Judy

AJ AND BARBARA HENSLEY  | AUGUST 2011

ajcaragua@gmail.com

Hi friends and family,
This month has been very exciting and busy one for us. We have had groups from two Churches and they came two days apart. The group from Warner Robbins Ga. did a vacation Bible School at the home of our member Gloria. The exciting thing about this is that some of these teenagers had helped in the construction of Gloria’s house. They also participated in the Tuesday night meeting that is held in Gloria’s home. In preparation for the Bible School we canvassed the neighborhood door to door to let the children know when we were going to be there. During this door to door visiting we were able to present the Gospel to various people. We were invited to do some work in one of the public schools and were fed by the kitchen workers and ate with the teachers and the principal. This group scraped the walls, sanded the walls and then painted in two classrooms.  From there we went to the Vocational School where tile was laid and other jobs were done.  The next group from Gardenside Baptist Church in Lexington Ky. was able to do a Bible School in the same public school where the others had painted. So one opened the doors for the other.  Even though the students were on winter break the principal invited them back to participate and also their parents. The Principal is new to this school and she wanted to get the parents involved and get to know them and she used us as a tool. It worked for her and for us too.  She also brought her twin boys.  A great time was had by all!!!  This group also painted in this public school.  We went from the public school to the Vocational School where tile was laid and walls painted along with planning for a electrical class in the future. Opportunities are unlimited when you come to do whatever God has for you to do.
We made many new friends at the school and I have been invited to start an English class for the teachers and workers. Among the new friends we have made are the principals twin boys that are teenagers. The family is catholic and we were surprised when the boys began to attend our youth meetings on Saturday night. And then even more excited when they started to come the Church every Sunday.  AWESOME what God does and lets you be apart of. This is a small miracle but it is a miracle.
To top off the month we had a baptism last Sunday and two were baptized. There are several attending new converts class and soon we will enter into the waters of baptism again. Praise be to God who gives the harvest.  We are still deep in the planning for the Pastors conference here in November. Our Church in conjunction with Second Baptist Church in Warner Robbins Ga. will be sponsoring our first Pastors Conference. We will be inviting pastors from across Brasil to attend so that we can encourage them in their ministry.  Pray for this conference with us as we desire to reach Brasil for Christ. And what better way than to encourage Brasillian pastors in the work.
As we are writing this letter our son Bryan called to tell us that our long time friend and brother in Christ, Fred Hearn, has gone to be with the Lord.  I remembered that when we were just coming to Brasil to help other missionaries Fred and Pat made the trip with us. Pray for this family in their loss.
Our vehicles are giving us good service but at the same time are costing much in the mechanic shop.  It is imperative to keep the van running because it is our churches only means of transporting the people that don’t have cars nor money to come by public transport.  I have begun to have to make two trips on Sunday morning and on Sunday night as we are having many people coming. Praise the Lord for this. That brings me say that we need a buss. Please put this on your prayer list and if you can help with an offering to purchase a bus that would be AWESOME.
We have had many visitors this month but that does not mean that we are not looking for you. The bed is turned down and I can get new mints for the pillow as the other groups have eaten the last ones.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara

NATHAN AND CARRIE RADFORD  | AUGUST 2011

naterad@yahoo.com

315 College Street  |  Youngsville, PA 16371

For ministry donations:

Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM  |  P.O. Box 471280  |  Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280

Dear praying friends,

August 2, 2011
Another month has come and passed so quickly, and Lord willing, it will be time soon to be getting ready to depart for Kenya, East Africa to return to the work of the Lord there. It seems like we just left the country to return to the United States, and now we are just a few weeks from leaving to return to Kenya. It has been a busy furlough, and we are thankful for each opportunity we have had to meet people, visit supporters, and spend time with friends and family. This update will share the current prayer requests that we have, and we would covet your prayers.
What a privilege we have to be able to pray. We can pray, asking the Lord for wisdom, guidance, and direction for our lives. We can pray and praise the Lord for Who He is. We can also pray to the Lord and leave our burdens with Him. I read a statement recently that I really thought applicable.  It said “Prayer is the place where burdens change shoulders.” This reminds me of well known passages of Scripture, such as 1 Peter 5:7, which says “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” Also, Psalm 55:22, which says “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee:  he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” What a great God we serve, and what a privilege it is to pray.
Please pray for us as a family, that the Lord would keep us healthy for the remainder of our time in the United States. It is always a struggle to keep two little children healthy, and we thank the Lord that so far, they have done very well in regards to health. Please pray that we would get everything done before leaving for Kenya, as many details arise before leaving. Please also pray for us as we  say goodbye to friends and family, as this is one of the most difficult aspects of missionary life.   Pray that we would adjust well back to the culture in Kenya, as there will definitely be adjustments there as well. Please also pray that we would follow the Lord’s leading and guidance through this upcoming term and the challenges of missionary life. One of my favorite verses is Psalm 48:14, which states “For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.”   Pray that the Lord would take care of us mentally, physically, financially, relationally, etc. Each day serving in Kenya is a step of faith, and there are many challenges in day to day living. Please also pray for the ministries, that the Lord would provide those who desire to be independent and to trust the Lord and His provisions for them.
Faith and trusting the Lord is necessary for each of us, wherever God calls us to serve Him. Many times it is difficult to walk by faith, as so often we like to have the answers in our time, rather than trusting the Lord for His plan and timing.  Hebrews 11:6 says “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” We will give more details of the ministries once we return and get updated, and we ask you to pray for us as we plan to leave  for Kenya September 13th, Lord willing. May God bless each of you for your prayers, interest, encouragement,  and sacrificial giving. You are each such a blessing to us and we thank God for you.
Until next month, Nathan and Carrie Radford

SHERIDAN AND ANITA STANTON  | AUGUST 2011

sestantonperu@hotmail.com

Mailing Address:  Apartado Postal 140 |Huanuco, Perú | South América

Vonage phone: 859-514-0929

August 10, 2011

Dear friends and family,  In my last letter I reported spending some time with my ailing father, Ralph Stanton.  On the 21^st of June, Anita and I kissed dad goodbye and headed back to Peru.  Two days later on Thursday morning, 23^rd of June, Dad went home to glory; four weeks shy of his eighty-fourth birthday.  Anita and I were at the Lima, Peru airport waiting for our flight back to Huánuco when we received the call about his death.  After receiving the news about dad we immediately made plans to return to the States for his funeral.  I spoke for the family at the memorial service and it truly was a “celebration of life”; a good long life of love, laughter and singing for the Lord.  Dad will be missed by all who knew him.  We thank those that were present at the memorial service, those that sent flowers and cards and those that sent financial gifts to help defer our traveling expenses.  We spent a few weeks with Mom to help her get adjusted to this new phase of her life; a life without Dad.  Predictably she has “good days and bad days”; please pray for her as the Lord brings her to mind

We arrived back home to Huánuco on the 15^th of July, and immediately occupied ourselves once again in the Lord’s work here; a work in which we are privileged to participate.  The Calvary Baptist Mission is doing very well; attendance remains high (four were added to the church while we were gone), and a healthy spirit of cooperation continues to prevail as we are in the “waiting” period of construction; waiting for the plans and permits to be approved.  I have built numerous church buildings in Peru over the past twenty-eight years but I have never been more enthusiastic about a building project than this one.  Innovative design allowing for easy, future expansion, combined with cost effective construction and a lot of donated but organized labor are just a few of the reasons why I am excited about this project.  Pictures will be forthcoming as we move forward in the first phase of this undertaking.  Prayers for safety, good progress, and prudent use of resources will be appreciated.

The Monday night bible class for pastors was postponed while Anita and I were in the States.  I will be starting it back up in a few weeks.  In addition to this, many of the dear folks from our five churches here in Huánuco have been asking me to start a basic bible class for the lay people of our churches.   Hopefully this will be a reality before too long.  I would really appreciate your prayers that I will be a good steward of the time God has given me.  With, construction, sermon preparation, Bible classes to prepare, writing a doctoral thesis, counseling, and traveling, the time just seems to disappear before each day is done.  It seems the older I am the more work there is to do!  Please pray! Thanks.

I conducted a Seminar on Administration of a Baptist Church the 27^th thru the 30^th of July for the Faith Baptist Church in the coastal town of Huaral, north of Lima.  Alberto Ramirez is the young pastor of this church that we helped start several years ago while living in Lima.  The church is growing and busy in their own construction project; new and larger Sunday school rooms. Even while teaching a seminar we had one young man give his life to Christ, a lady asking for baptism (after an understanding of the importance of the Lord’s church), and several repenting of their neglect of their responsibilities to the church.  It was a good meeting and hopefully the teaching will bear abundant fruit in the future of this faithful young congregation.

All of the fourteen, Peruvian national missionaries that Anita and I support have sent good reports for the month.  Collectively about eighteen souls were saved during the past month as a result of these ministries.  Donations given to “new work” or “as needed” funds go to help these fourteen missionary families and the works God has given them to do.  Thank you for enabling us to support them.

As usual, my monthly report is getting too long so let me close it by saying once again how thankful Anita and I are for you love, prayers and support.  We pray God might shower HIS richest blessings on each of you.  Until next month.

In HIM by HIS grace, Sheridan and Anita Stanton

ROGER AND JULIE TATE  | AUGUST 2011

rojuta@gmail.com

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We are finally back in Kitale and so, of course, that is what the majority of this update will be about.  It is good to be back in the town where we have already been ministering and where we will continue to minister this term.  Although we have been gone many months we returned to find Kitale just the same.  It takes a while for anything to change in Kitale.  About the only thing that has changed is that the prices of things have gone up.  The prices of staple foods for Kenyans like corn, rice and sugar have really skyrocketed which causes much struggle for the Kenyans who were already struggling to live in the first place (OK, I just lost my train of thought as my 16 year old daughter just walked into my office and we talked for an hour.  I need to take advantage of those moments as often as they happen as in three weeks she will return to boarding school at Rift Valley Academy and I will miss her terribly).  Anyway, many Kenyans are struggling.   The area to the north of us is especially struggling.  That area is usually dry and they are always facing famine.  This year might be worse than usual and considering 1) the roads are bad getting there 2) gangs and thugs patrol the roads and steal relief food and 3) the Kenyan government is doing little to help alleviate the situation it means that there are people who are starving to death just a couple hundred miles of where we live.  Other people are coming into Kenya from surrounding countries like Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia also trying to find help and finding none available.  It’s quite sad actually.  Fortunately, the situation in Kitale is not that bad and the people are able to cope with the higher prices.  Other things affect us, though.  Julie had a tire blow out a couple of days ago and it when I replaced it today it cost $244.  That’s for just ONE tire!

This past month has been spent mostly trying to settle back in.  We lived in our current house for only three weeks before we left for furlough and so it was difficult trying to remember how this particular house works.  I had to buy a new refrigerator, get the car working, renew the insurance, and get numerous other problems worked out.  I also had to get the internet working again.  If any of you remember an update I wrote about a year and a half ago you will remember why I was dreading this task.  It took three months of begging, pleading and threatening the internet company to do their job before they succeeded in getting the internet working at my house.  I was anticipating similar resistance this time as well.  However, I went in to the office, walked out fifteen minutes later, drove home and tested my internet.  IT WAS ALREADY WORKING!  I was truly amazed. Mixed into all this I have tried to study a little Swahili, communicate again with the Kenyan people, get used to power outages, and pray for God to continue to lead and guide in how he wants us to conduct future ministry.  I still look forward to what I think he will do this term as we plan to start churches that are independent, self-reliant, self-governing and reproductive.  May God bless his children in Kenya.

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)

 

BOBBY AND CHARLENE WACASER  |  AUGUST 2011

robertmw@brturbo.com.br

Manoel Valdomiro de Macedo, 2281  |  81170-150 Curitiba, PR  Brasil
Ph: (813) 436-9980

August 10, 2011
Dear Friends,
I’m certain that God accomplished an innumerable amount of His plans through the latest financial meltdown (the week after the debt ceiling debacle), but we were thrilled with how clearly He showed us His providential reign over all things, even world markets. When I accessed the internet to check my e-mail messages, I was confronted with a flood of international headlines of financial chaos. Every major market that day had dropped severely, the US Dow/Jones being one of the worst. And it was precisely on this day that we got a message that God had wonderfully blessed a couple of believers in Christ and they felt led to contribute generously to our new church plant. It was no coincidence that this message came at just such a time. I had been teaching and preaching to our people how that, as God’s children, we do not look to circumstances to gauge our faith, but we look to God’s promises regardless of circumstances. With the aforementioned funds, we will be able to purchase our windows and doors and even begin the finish work on our building. We are extremely grateful to the Lord for both supplying the funds through this dear couple and for laying it upon their hearts to do so.
Last month I shared that we were hosting over 30 prospective missionary volunteers in our missions school. Shortly after their classroom teaching and training, most of them set out with Projeto Vida, our bus/motorhome teams into the interior to minister in several cities and towns. During the month they were able to share the gospel in public schools and squares to over 8000 people. There were many who responded to the gospel invitation given at each public meeting. We are thankful for those who came to Christ as Savior and Lord and also for the zeal that these missionary trainees have gained from their experience of being used of the Lord.
A few weeks back, one of our ministry team members (Valter is his name), my son, Brennen, and I took a man and his son on a mountain hike nearby. We live less than an hour away from some of the most beautiful mountains in the country. We use these hiking experiences to accomplish at least two purposes: 1) stay in shape, 2) provide a setting to invite un-churched families on outings where we will spend several hours together getting to know them and opening opportunities to share the gospel with them. This strategy has proved very helpful and we usually have other opportunities develop as a result of the friendship that is begun on the hikes.  I will ask you to pray for Marco and his son, Guilherme, who accompanied us on our latest hike. Marco has already asked me what days and at what time we have church services without my even mentioning an invitation to come. I’m praying that he will soon become my brother in Christ.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support this past month. God has certainly heard and has blessed. We are grateful.
In Christ’s love, Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser

HAROLD BRATCHER  |  JULY 2011

harold_bratcher@yahoo.com

Rua Francisco Jose Furtado 2, São Francisco, Manaus, Amazonas, 69079-200
Brazil, South America.  011-55-92-36112331

July 8, 2011

Dear Brothers of the Blessed Lord and Sisters of the Savior:

This Mission Sheets month began May 11th and finishes today.  During this period I preached 9 sermons, all at the 24th of March Baptist Church where I serve as the pastor.  On the 14th of May I performed the wedding of Alysson Vieira Louzada, 21 year old member of the 24th of March BC and Sara Jessica Ribeira Luozada.  She is 20 years old and is a member of the New Jerusalem BC where her father, Ediberto Ribeiro da Silva is the pastor.  They are living in a house near the 24th of March BC.  Pray for this young couple.  I have during this period heard a total of 19 sermons preached at 4 different places.  On  Saturday night, the 21st of May Asa Mark and I attended the special service of gratitude of the children of Sulamita Rodrigues Farias, all members of the First Baptist Church of Manaus where the service was held.  Asa Mark baptized the whole family, 20 years ago, and they were celebrating the release of their 2nd Gospel Music CD.  All three, Alfredo, Darla and Albano sang several hymns and gave testimonies of their faith.  The church was filled to capacity and many standing.  Eight of the sermons I heard where at the Retreat Center of the Constantinopolis BC, on the outskirts of Manaus.  Four of the sermons were preached by Dr. Hershael York and four by Dr. Thomas SChreiner, professors at the Southern Baptist Seminary of Louisville, KY.  Both of these were interpreted by Pastor Winston Oliveira Lages of Manaus.

Also, Asa Mark and I attended at a park here in Manaus the 90th birthday celebration of  a dear brother in Christ, Benedito Oliveira Nobrega.  91 of his children, in laws, and grandchildren were present along with another 70 of his friends.  On Wednesday June 15th, Stephen M. Bratcher arrived at the Manaus airport, met by Asa Mark and I, to spend a month with us.  May we all heed the pleas of Pastor Dave Parks for more offerings for Baptist Faith Missions.  The Bratchers in Brasil need the prayers of those we love.  Some days are more difficult to get through than others, but the memories are so sweet and the Lord’s Grace is so sufficient.  Yours in the Service of the Savior, Harold Bratcher

MIKE AND BEV CREIGLOW  | JULY 2011

mdcreig@hotmail.com

Caixa Postal 24  69980  |  Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre  Brazil

Dear Brethren,

Beverly and I have now been in the States for 2 months. We continue to rest. I have been able to keep up my walking and running. The scenery and weather have been beautiful. Most days I get in 10KM. Unfortunately I have not been able to lose any weight though. Too much good food!

Since our arrival we have been able to enjoy the arrival of our youngest grand daughter. Monica and David are adopting Isabella. She was born on May 21. Bev and I have had such fun with her and, of course, her mom and dad.

Bev and I have visited several churches. We have been to Emmanuel, Ashland Avenue, Heritage (all here in Lexington) and First Baptist, Science Hill. I also went over to Oldtown, KY with Dad and Judson Hatcher for one night of their revival meeting. Congratulations to Pastor John Lybrook and the church. Good to spend a little time with old friends.

We have made presentations at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church here in Lexington, Kentucky. A couple of weeks back we also visited Elliott Baptist Church in Elliott, Mississippi. Thanks for the great reception and offerings.

The latest news from home is that 54 more were baptized. Crowds continue to be capacity and more are being saved.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.

In Christ, Mike Creiglow

AJ AND BARBARA HENSLEY  |  JULY 2011

ajcaragua@gmail.com

Hi friends,
I am sure that all of you have had the problem I am having these days—There are just not enough hours in a day to accomplish all that needs to be done. Well I know that I can not add more hours to a day– but—what about one more day a week? Won`t work you say–oh well–ok. Let`s just try to accomplish more of His work.
We have just had an AWESOME month. We were blessed to have a group from Centerville Ga. Not only did we divide the group —but we conquered also. Many persons, mainly children, heard the gospel and we accomplished a lot of projects. Finished the carpentry work on the sound booth worked on our Church bathrooms, and started the tile work at the vocational school dormitory building.  What an inspiration this group was for our church.
In addition to Vacation Bible School they did a food basket ministry where we delivered some needed food stuff for some of our church members. And in each of the food baskets we placed a Bible.  AWESOME eh? While delivering the baskets we were also able to evangelize in the areas where we took the food baskets. Thinking back on Jesus ministry–what did He do—feeding them, teaching them. AWESOME and it still works today. And even more AWESOME  the gospel is the same.
I won’t spend a lot of words on the roads and vehicles, but just to say that I request your prayers for our vehicles. Their maintenance is becoming a burden financially.
Myself and Pastor Jay and our families have been praying for some land. Our contract for the building where we are now was for 3 years and we have been in the building for over one year now. As we see this ministry growing we realize the need for more space. Pray with us about finding land to purchase and build. Or perhaps a building already built ready for renovation.
Construction at the vocational school is on-going and it looks as though we are ready for roughing in the water lines and the electrical lines. Then we can begin the painting of the walls and ceilings and hang the doors and install the glass in the windows and then the floors. There is still lots of work to be done, if you need a vacation from the boredom.  Come on down for a working vacation.
I am really glad that you there in the States do not have as much trouble with your computers as here in Brasil. Ours is down again so if we have not responded to your letters for a while I am sorry. We have a semi promise that it will be up and working by Friday.
By the way, Cornerstone Baptist Church thanks so much for sending the speakers with Central Baptist they have really helped. This is just one more AWESOME blessing THANKS.
We have been concentrating on our men`s ministry the last couple of months. Special classes and group meetings. Pray for this ministry as in this culture men are somewhat slow to take a part in the ministry. “God is working on our men” keep on praying.
One of our members just had a new baby. Our Church is growing a lot in this manner. We have been ministering to another member of Church her name is Paula. Barbara has been to the Dr. with her four times in the past two weeks. She has a problem that needs surgery and she keeps getting the run around. That is how medical services are here. It takes longer to get in to see a Dr than the sickness lasts.
Pray for us as we will be doing VBS in our public schools. We are trying to capitalize on our opportunities to enter the public schools as much as possible. We are planning to paint a couple of rooms in the school where we will be ministering. How many schools can you get into there in the States?  AWESOME is our God!!!!
In His service, Aj and Barbara

NATHAN AND CARRIE RADFORD  | JULY 2011

naterad@yahoo.com

315 College Street  |  Youngsville, PA 16371

For ministry donations:

Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM  |  P.O. Box 471280  |  Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280

Dear praying friends, Another month has come and passed, and it is hard to believe that we are already over halfway through the year 2011. God has been so good, and is good all the time, through all the seasons of life. What a great, faithful God we serve. I would encourage those who faithfully serve the Lord to continue in their commitment, steadfastness, and faithfulness to the Lord, as we do not know how much time we have to serve the Lord. A quote I read recently really challenged me. It said “Serving God tomorrow won’t help you today.” May we each be serious in our service to the Lord, trusting Him for the results in His time and plan. This update will share our current update, as well as prayer requests. It is hard to believe that we are heading back to Kenya in September, Lord willing. This furlough has passed so quickly, and God has been so good to provide opportunities to share the ministries in Kenya . Please continue to pray, as there are many challenges to life on the mission field. We desire to be specific in our prayer requests, as this will help you all to pray for us. Please pray for our health, as we now have two small children, as well as ourselves, and it is difficult to stay healthy and it is truly a battle to stay healthy on a day to day basis. There are many health issues and concerns, and we would covet your prayers for our health as a family for this next term. Please also pray that we would not get worn out, as cultural fatigue is a real concern for many missionaries. Please also pray for our relationships while on the field with others, as many times it is hard to find good, lasting, relationships with others. Please also pray for myself and my good friend, Roger Tate, as we plan to work together in church planting this next term. Please pray that the Lord would lead and guide us and that we would follow His leading. The Lord will guide us, and what a comfort that is. Some of my favorite verses are Psalm 32:8, which says “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” I also like Psalm 31:3, which says “For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.” What precious promises we find in the Bible, and what a blessing it is to read and study the Word of God. Please also pray for us that we would not grow weary in service to the Lord. It is easy to get discouraged at times and want to give up, as there are many challenges, but the Lord is so faithful to help, lead, guide, provide, and strengthen those that serve Him. May those who serve the Lord remain faithful to His call and lean on Him for strength. Galatians 6:9 is a great verse, which states “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” This is primarily a letter of prayer requests, and we wanted to specifically list our requests so you can know how to pray for us. May we be people of prayer, and rely on the Lord as we serve Him. What strength we gain in prayer, and what a blessing and privilege it is to be able to pray. A quote I read recently that I really liked said it this way, and it is true. “Seven days without prayer makes one weak.” May we be people of prayer. We will be sure to keep you updated. God bless each of you for your prayers, sacrificial giving, and encouragement. You are each a vital part of our lives and we thank God for you.

ROGER AND JULIE TATE  |  JULY 2011

rojuta@gmail.com

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

For the first time in many months I can finally say “Greetings from East Africa”.  Yes, we are back in Kenya.  It is now 3:00am in the morning and as I am suffering greatly from jet-lag and cannot sleep I thought I would send out an update to you all.

I guess if I could summarize my feelings about the last week I would say that while I am very glad to arrive in Kenya, I was also very sad to leave the States.  We have been in “prepare to leave” mode for a month now but the last week in the States was filled with many “Good-byes” and “See you laters” and “We’ll miss you” and a lot of tears from a lot of people.  You all know that was the hardest part of leaving, don’t you?  But the last month was good for us.  We needed to spend that time with family and friends.  We were able to spend a lot of time with our church family.  We desperately needed to do that.  I think I can speak for all five of us when I say without the support and love of our home church, Emmanuel Baptist in Bellbrook, Ohio, we would be lost indeed.  But it was still hard to say good-bye.  I remember sitting in our last worship service and thinking that this was the last time I would hear a message in English and sing songs in English for a very long time.  And I remember looking around at all the people I love and thinking how I would miss them:  Miss their presence, miss their faces, miss their voices, miss their encouragement, miss their conversation, miss their friendship.  How can I thank God enough for such a loving church, loving friends, and loving family.  It was no accident that God placed us in loving, Christian homes with godly parents who took us to God-fearing, Bible-believing, Jesus-loving churches.  It is what enables us to be where we are today – In Nairobi, preparing to leave in a few hours to drive up to Kitale and resume our ministry there of sharing the love of Jesus and starting self-sufficient, independent, reproducing churches.

It has been a long journey to get us here.  We flew from Dayton to DC; from DC to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; from Addis Ababa to Nairobi.  We praise our gracious God that everything went just about as smoothly as it possibly could.  We had no problems with TSA (security people); we had no problems with catching flights;  everything was on time;  I was able to talk my way out of paying for visas in Nairobi;  we received all our luggage;  I didn’t have to pay for any items in customs;  and we were able to arrive at our lodgings in Nairobi and finally get some rest.  Yes, it was tiring, but God really was good to us through the whole ordeal.  The only difficulty we had was in the Ethiopian airport.  We were directed to a large room where hundreds and hundreds of people from all around the world were waiting to catch various flights to various destinations all at the same gate.  It was total chaos and nobody on duty seemed to know exactly what was going on or where we should be.  We had to push and shove our way to where we wanted to go and when we got there we weren’t 100% sure we were even in the right place.  We finally did get to our plane, however, and here we are.  I have hired a van to take us to Kitale and we leave in just a couple of hours.  I am expecting and anticipating chaos in Kitale as we arrive and try and get settled and get everything ready for living there again.  I have a long list of things that need to be done immediately.  The only problem is that nothing gets done “immediately” in Kitale.  But God knows what needs to be done and I know that what we actually need He will provide.

Ok, let me go ahead and send this off while I have internet service because I know when I arrive in Kitale I will not have it for a while.  Thank you all for your prayers and support.

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)

BOBBY AND CHARLENE WACASER  |  JULY 2011

robertmw@brturbo.com.br

Manoel Valdomiro de Macedo, 2281  |  81170-150 Curitiba, PR  Brasil
Ph: (813) 436-9980

July 7, 2011
Dear Friends,
Since we are on the south side of the equatorial line, our seasons are the opposite of those in the USA. June 21st, my birthday, is the first day of winter in southern Brazil. I say “southern” because there is no real winter in northern Brazil since it sits virtually on the equator. Winters in our region are not as frigid as those of the northern US or Europe, but we also do not have insulated or heated homes, churches or businesses. For our first church (I pastor two churches now) we have a smaller building with windows and doors and when crowded with members it can be quite cozy. For our new church, we have a larger unfinished building which has no doors or windows installed. The crowds aren’t large enough yet to generate any considerable heat, and without windows or doors, I’m certain that the increased attendance wouldn’t effect a temperature change worthy of mention anyway.
We did have a very good turnout, though, at our recent winter festival. We had several un-churched persons present who had been invited by several different members from our church. I preached the gospel and called on them to turn to Christ. We are anxious to continue our construction project so that we might finish the building and provide an environment that is more conducive to receiving visitors.

Yesterday, we had 37 men and women attending our Missions’ training school. I taught them on the importance of their own personal walk with Christ and we will follow up by having them participate in a missionary trip into the interior, accompanying experienced missionaries in gospel presentations, evangelical skits and presenting their personal testimonies before crowds in the public schools and squares. I and Projeto Vida (Project Life) have been using this training system and have seen some amazing results in preparing missionaries and in the large numbers of individuals coming to Christ where we minister. Many of these mission students who experience being used of God to touch the lives of others in such an impacting way are overjoyed to surrender themselves to fulltime missionary service after the training period. We thank God for this strategy that we’re certain He has given to us.

Charlene is doing very well in her outreach through English as a second language and through her aerobics classes (as a student, not a teacher). Practically all of our first-time visitors at our outreach events have come by way of their contact with Charlene. She is such a shy person that many would not expect this of her, but she is also so sweet and winsome that she’s quite the magnet. I thank the Lord for such a wonderful partner in life and service.

Thank you for your prayers and faithful support of our ministry in southern Brazil.

In Christ’s love, Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser

MIKE AND BEV CREIGLOW  | JUNE 2011

Michael D. Creiglow | Caixa Postal 24  |  69980 Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil

STATESIDE RESIDENCE:

1012 Balsam Drive  |  Lexington KY 40504  |  859.277.3716

June 3, 2010

Dear Brethren, Greetings from “I Can’t Believe How Much Rest I’m Getting in Lexington, Kentucky”. It has now been a month since we left Cruzeiro do Sul. Even though it has been this long, I am still not caught up on my rest. It was 8:00AM before I could drag myself out of bed this morning. Of course, the fact that the NBA playoff game wasn’t over until well after midnight didn’t help. Bev and I are thanking the Lord all day long, every day for the much needed rest.

The news from down home is exceptional. There have been over 20 saved each week since we left. Maybe I should stay away for a few years!

To balance that out though, there are always problems to work through even while I am away. One of our older churches is going through a split. Calvary Baptist only has about 80 members. 40 of them have left because the pastor refuses to let them work and grow. These members bought instruments, sound equipment, computer, video projector, building materials for expansion and begged to start at least one congregation, but the pastor would not let them do any of it. He said these were not his ideas, so no deal. Sound familiar? He must be an old time Baptist preacher! Anyway I started trying to help them before I left. They followed my advice and went to talk to him, but he is unbending. He says the church is “his” and it has to be his way. Sad. Anyway I am talking with one of our pastors almost daily to try and help them through this crisis. Pray.

Zico gave me a report on the medical mission trip down river in May. Our team visited Açaituba, Campinas, Nova Esperança and Santo Antônio on the lower Juruá. The church at Ipixuna dug in and really participated. There were 22 people saved. He didn’t tell me how many medical procedures were performed. Knowing the size of the villages and from past experience I can safely say that over 1000 dental and medical procedures were done during this clinic.

Before leaving Cruzeiro do Sul I sat down with my leadership to lay out and plan some of the next steps of expansion in the work. One of these plans was to start the next 2 chapels in town. One of these is in our own neighborhood (4 miles from the church building). The opening service was on Thursday, June 2nd at the neighborhood meeting hall. The other location is across and down river where we have several members and an estimated 5000 people, but no church. There have been 3 services in homes already. We do not have property in either of these places. They are going to wait until I get back home to start that process.

Well we are available to visit you and report directly on the work down in Cruzeiro do Sul.

You may contact us at the following numbers and addresses:

(859) 277-3716, (859) 230-3713 (my cell)

mdcreig@hotmail.com, beverly_creiglow@hotmail.com

1012 Balsam Drive, Lexington, KY   40504

We will be in the States until the middle of October. Please don’t wait until the last minute to invite us, because we really would like to visit as many of you as possible, but dates are limited. Hope to see you soon.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.

In Christ, Mike Creiglow

THE ROBERT BRUCE LUNSFORD STORY

In April of 2011, Hudson and Eliésio, who travel with me on most of my trips were along again for the longest mission trip that I have ever made on the Juruá River. We put my boat on the front of a barge and went downstream past Eirunepé to continue gathering data for the next waves of missions in our part of the world. After several days of barge life and sleeping in our tents in the hold of the barge we reached the mouth of the Juruá River. It took us 10 days to go 1650 miles. On a rainy morning we came out into the Amazon River. The crew helped us get our boat off of the barge and into the river. The long trip home began at noon.

We arrived at the first town at 5:30. The name of the town used to be Caitaú, but when it was given city status in 2004 the name was changed to Juruá. The population is just over 10 thousand. It is the only city on the right bank of the river. Cruzeiro do Sul and all the other 8 cities are all on the opposite side.

After getting set up for the night, our first task was to try to find a pay phone to let our wives know where in the world we were spending the night. All the phones were broken. A lady at a store said there was a working phone inside city hall and the night watchman would let us in. Sure enough! The guys insisted that I be first to call home. While I waited for them to make their calls I sat outside on the curb and struck up a conversation with the night watchman and another man.

They were both interested in what we were in their town to do. They answered all of my questions about their town and whether there was a Baptist church. When I asked about a church the one man was very helpful and was ready to take me to see the church location and fill me in on how the church came into being.

In the middle of his explanation he stopped abruptly and asked, “Do you know Pastor Roberto?” My answer was that actually I know several pastors by the name “Roberto”, so maybe yes or maybe no. After all, I am in a little town in the middle of the Amazon jungle, which I am visiting for the first time, and 1500 miles downriver from my hometown. What are the odds that I will know this Pastor Roberto? He went on to tell me that Pastor Roberto had left a few years earlier. Before he left though he had started the church. One of the locals with whom he had shared the gospel was a young alcoholic named Raimundo Nonato. Raimundo or “Nona”, as he is known by the folks, was saved and is now the pastor of First Baptist Church of Juruá. He then continued to talk about what great folks Pastor Roberto and his wife Jewel…..When he said Jewel, my jaw dropped and hit the curb with a thud! When my composure finally came back I told him that not only did I know Roberto and Jewel, but it was because of them that I was where I was and that I am saved.

Pastor Roberto is none other than the unforgettable and remarkable Bruce Lunsford and his wife Jewel.

Now let me tell those of you who have no idea of whom or what I am talking about, the background to this story and my shock that Friday evening.

In the mid 1950’s Dad moved us from Ohio to Florida. He and Mom were as lost as could be, but looking for that pot of gold at the end of a Florida rainbow. We had just moved to a little town called Sanford. One evening a man and his son came to pay us a visit. The man was a preacher from east Kentucky. His name: Bruce Lunsford. The son was James (Jamie). He and I hit it off immediately. We began our joint “life of crime” that very evening. Don’t ask! The stories are many and frightening. The main thing is that my Dad heard the gospel for the first time in his life that night. He was saved a few days later. Then a few weeks after that he was called to preach.

Not long after that Bruce and family moved to Brazil as missionaries. They served faithfully for many years. Initially they worked with Baptist Faith Missions. That is how my Dad and I became acquainted with BFM.

In 1960 Dad became a missionary. After a year in Manaus, Brazil we moved to Cruzeiro do Sul. Guess who moved to Cruzeiro with us. In fact Bruce was always afraid of flying and talked Dad into making the long journey on a paddle wheel steamboat. That little adventure took us 50 days! That was the first time I saw the mouth of the Juruá River. It was 50 years before I would go back again on this last long trip.

Bruce and family didn’t stay long in Cruzeiro do Sul. Jamie and I had those months to continue our life of crime and cement our life long friendship.

After those first years of missionary service in Brazil, Bruce returned to the US for a time of service as pastor in Kentucky.

During those years I began my own life as a missionary. I was called to the ministry in Cruzeiro do Sul, worked for a while on the rivers, later moved to the States for college, met Beverly, married and returned to Brazil in 1971.

Then, sometime in those first years of our new ministry, Bruce and Jewel moved back to Brazil. I knew he was somewhere in the Amazon River basin, but really didn’t know exactly where.

You can imagine my surprise to find out that he had worked for years in 2 towns on the same river where Bev and I have now worked for 40 years. We were 1500 miles of river apart, so close and yet so far. He started First Baptist Church of Juruá and First Baptist Church of Carauari. We hope to partner with these churches to continue spreading the gospel up and down the Juruá River.

Later that evening I went to visit Pastor Nona. What a great visit it was. You should have seen the look on Nona’s face when he opened the door at my knock and the first thing I asked him was, “Have you ever heard of a guy named Pastor Roberto?” We shared several big hugs and spent the evening sharing stories about the great Bruce Lunsford. Nona has a big picture of Bruce and Jewel in his living room.

Well Bruce has now moved again. He is with our Lord now. What a legacy he has left though. My family is eternally grateful to Bruce for sharing the gospel with us and with hundreds of others. My eyes well up with tears even now as I think of all the ripples of influence and change that have touched the lives of so many. Because Bruce Lunsford cared enough to look up a total stranger who had just moved to Sanford, Florida in that December of 1955 and share Christ with him, thousands of other lives have been changed for eternity.

It is just astonishing to see how our sovereign God intertwines the lives of His children. He never lets us be too far apart for too very long.

Thank you Robert Bruce Lunsford. Thank you God.

ROGER AND JULIE TATE  | JUNE 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The time of our first furlough in the States is quickly drawing to an end.  In less than one month we will be boarding the plane to go back to Kenya and resume our ministry there.  I have finished visiting the churches and reporting on our work and ministry.  Thank you all for your overwhelming support.  We are now in “prepare to leave” mode.  We are packing up suitcases and luggage that we want to take back to Kenya.  We also have to pack up the house that we’ve been renting for the past five months and get it cleared and cleaned out in the next twenty days.  Time is running short now.  I can’t hardly believe that our furlough is over.  It seems like I just jumped off the plane in Dayton, Ohio and hugged my family and friends for the first time in over three years.  But that was really six months ago and now it is time to return.  For the most part I think we have prepared our hearts to go back.  We all want to get back because we know that Kenya is where God wants us but it will be difficult to leave the States again.  Julie reminds me of the good and bad in our return.  The good is that we are a bit more experienced and have already lived there for three years so the overwhelming fear and trepidation we felt when we left in January 2008 is not there this time around.  However, because we have already done this before we also know some of the difficulties that await us in Kenya and we also know exactly what we will miss from the States.  So, I don’t know if all that makes it easier to leave this time or more difficult.  I can’t speak for my family but I think for me this time is a little easier.  But it will still be hard.  I have thought of returning to Kenya many times in the last six months but a few days ago I was lying in bed trying to sleep and had my first heart flutter of panic when I thought of returning.  It’s just that it’s so close now.  Please pray for us over the next few weeks as we once again make these many transitions.  Especially pray for my wife and children.  Uprooting them over and over again is very hard and stressful on them.

Pray also for our church planting ministry, beloved.  I want to start churches that start other churches that start other churches and so on.  I want to build “reproduction DNA” into a church from the moment it starts and is organized so that it will from its conception be thinking how they can take the gospel to the next village and start another church, reproducing itself into another assembly of the Lord Jesus Christ.  By the time I return in three years I want to see at least a 3^rd generation church started.  That’s a church started by a church which was started by another church which I started.  That is what I will be training them to do from the beginning and with God’s blessing and the working of his Spirit, it can be done.  A 4^th or 5^th generation isn’t out of the question either, if God is pleased to bless in this way.  Oh, that we would see the Lord work like this.

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)

BOBBY AND CHARLENE WACASER  | JUNE 2011

Rua Manoel Valdomiro de Macedo, 2281
81170-150 Curitiba, PR  Brasil
Phone: (813) 436-9980
E-mail: robertmw@brturbo.com.br
June 13, 2011
Dear Friends,
In my last letter I had asked for prayer for wisdom to deal with some errors being committed by my former co-pastor. He had worked beside me for 7 years and I felt confident that he would remain faithful in following the Word as he led our former church. My hope was that with some counsel he would correct the course in which he was leading the church, but unfortunately, that was not the case. It won’t bore you with all the details, but the most grave was that he deceived the church into involvement in a “land grab”, in order to plant a new church. That property belonged to the state and an organized group was illegally setting up a sub-division of the land trying to force the government to grant them legal ownership. A loyal member of the church asked the co-pastor if what they were attempting was legal and he tried to find a way to explain it as being “the normal way” for lower income families to obtain land.
Instead of correcting the course in which he was leading the church, he began to form a group of sympathizers within the church and caused a vicious split.  We are now dealing with the discouragement and hurt that the faithful and loyal members are suffering from this terrible event. Please pray for me to be able to minister to those who are hurt and to know how to best guide the church through this crisis.
Thankfully, not all news this month is bad! At our new church we held an event for married couples in the home of a couple who attends regularly. There were 11 couples present and 2/3 of them are non-church goers. Our team did an excellent job of preparing for this event and all those who attended gave positive feedback and two couples even asked if they could host our next couples’ event. One other positive response to this event was that an un-churched couple asked me when and where we have church services so that they might attend. I told them that they would be very welcome, but that we didn’t have windows, doors, a floor, plaster on the walls, bathrooms or proper lighting. They said they knew that, but wanted to come anyway. It has been between 30°F and 40° at night for the last 3 weeks and still they want to come. We are thankful and will be praying that they and others also will come to the services and come to Christ.
We are thankful for the funds we received for one of the doors/windows I mentioned in my last letter. We still have 13 more windows and 5 more doors to pay for if you would like to contribute toward their purchase. The average cost for each window is around $325, or a total of $5850 remaining. In the meantime, we still continue to hold weekly meetings in our unfinished building knowing that many servants of the Lord have much less to enjoy than we do all over the world. You may contribute by designating your offerings “Wacaser – Doors/windows”.

Thank you for your prayers and concern,
In Christ’s love,  Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser

JOHN AND JUDY HATCHER  | JUNE 2011

John and Judy Hatcher
Tournefeuille, France
jmhatcher@aol.com

June 9, 2011
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We hope this finds you enjoying the Lord’s blessings.  We thank God for your faithfulness in praying for us and giving to provide for our needs as we proclaim the Gospel here in France.  The grace of God has been evident in a number of ways during the past month.  Here are just a few delightful examples to illustrate this reality.
Just after we wrote to you last month, Judy and I departed on a lengthy trip to baptize in Southern Spain.  We made a safe trip of more than 1600 miles.  What a joy it was to see the Lord at work in this family.  We met the Correa family after they moved into our neighborhood 5 or 6 years ago. They showed an interest and began studying the Bible with us weekly.  This went on for 3 yrs.  They moved away without making professions of faith.  However, their daughter-in-law was saved and baptized during that time and continues to serve the Lord faithfully.
I continued having Bible studies with them using the internet and this past April Rosana said that her son and she wanted to get baptized. The both made a profession of faith and followed the Lord in baptism.
As I write this letter, Judy is at a ladies Bible Study in the city of L’Union.  For the first time this particular Bible study is being held in the home of Veronica, a lady who just began attending recently. She asked that the Bible study be held in her home because the lady who usually hosts is out of town. This lady has not yet made profession of faith, but she has started reading her Bible daily and asks Judy to help her understand what she is reading.
And, speaking of reading the Bible.  A good number of the folks who attend the services in Tournefeuille on Sundays have committed themselves to read through the Bible this year.  One of them is a lady named Paulette.  She has been coming for about three years. Last Sunday, she brought her cousin Aline, a lady in her seventies who lives in eastern France.  Aline has come 3 or 4 times with Paulette when she was in town visiting her.  Sunday, Aline told me after the meeting that she thought it was time for her to convert and find a church near her in Lyon.  She said, “Paulette has been talking to me for about 3 years and I have been reading the Bible and discussing it with her.  I think that it is time for me to convert.”  What excites me about this is not only Aline’s desire to trust the Lord, but Paulette’s witnessing.  It gives evidence that she is truly a disciple and that is why we are here: to make disciples.
Aude is a young lady that was saved while student in the United States that looks to us for instruction and encouragement.  She has worked it out for us to meet her parents and witness to them.  She lives in Brittany which is quite a distance from Tournefeuille.  Last week was her birthday and Judy called to wish her happy birthday and to encourage her.  Aude reported some great news.  For some time she has been witnessing to Sylvie, a shop owner in her area.  She goes to the shop during the quieter times of the day and reads the Bible and discusses it with Sylvie.  Sylvie has trusted the Lord and wants to get baptized!
This coming Saturday is another one of our youth meetings.  One of the teenagers who comes has trusted the Lord and is going to get baptized Sunday.  Nathalie, the mother of two boys that come ask if Manon could give her testimony about trusting the Lord and why she is getting baptized.  Nathalie thinks that it would be very good for her boys to hear the testimony.  We are very encouraged by the dozen of young people who have come to the meetings.  We want to see all of them saved.
I have mentioned in past letters that I joined a choir in our area to have opportunities to witness to people in the choir.  This has given me many opportunities to talk about Christ.  One lady and her daughter have shown a good interest and said that they would come. It seems that one thing or another has kept her from coming.  But, the story gets better.  Mireille and her son, who live across the street from us, also sing in this choir. They went to hear me sing once and liked it so much they decided to join the choir.  Sunday, as our meeting was over, Mireille came across the street to see if Dominique,  the lady who had promised to come had indeed shown up. Mireille said, “I think she is a little scared of coming by herself the first time.  Next time I will come with her to keep her company.” When Mireille and her family first moved in across the street from us, she told us that she was an atheist.  Her parents and her entire family are atheist.  Of course, this is true of nearly half the people who live in France.  We have often witnessed to them and pray for them continually.  Mireille is now convinced that there is a God and that He has intervened in her life.  We anticipate the day that she makes a public profession and follows the Lord in baptism.
It sure is great to have a front row seat as God is at work!  Thanks for helping us be here!  One day you will also meet these folks in that numberless multitude!  I am moved to tears just writing about it.
In France with God, John and Judy

SHERIDAN AND ANITA STANTON  | JUNE 2011

Mailing Address:

Sheridan and Anita Stanton

Apartado Postal 140

Huanuco, Perú

Vonage phone: 859-514-0929

sestantonperu@hotmail.com – Sheridan

arstantonperu@hotmail.com – Anita

June 10, 2011

Dear friends and family,

Our son, Joshua, is home safe and sound from his deployment in Afghanistan.  Thank you all for your prayers on his behalf.  He is back with his family in Nevada at the Air Force base where he is stationed.  Anita and I will be flying out to see him and his family next week.

At present I am at my daughter, Leah’s, house in Westerville, Ohio while Anita is spending a few days with her sisters. We finally got to see our new granddaughter, Clara, and spend a few exciting days with Jack, our only grandson.  We built a birdhouse together and went fishing.  He caught his very first fish, a “whopper” as he called it!  Grandkids are fun; we are looking forward to spending a few days with our other two granddaughters next week.

We started this short trip visiting with my father, Ralph Stanton, in Dickson, Tennessee.  As you may remember his prostate cancer has spread to his bladder and kidneys and he is too weak for any type of treatment.  He also has early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.  Needless to say he is not doing very well, humanly speaking, but we know that our heavenly Father has a time appointed for all of us.  Dad is a born-again believer in Jesus Christ and anyone that has spent much time with him knows he will be in heaven when God calls him home.  We are thankful to have had this opportunity to spend time with him and Mom while he is still sufficiently lucid and able to visit.  On good days he can be helped out of bed with a special lifting device, and then he is capable of sitting up for a few hours.  He felt good enough one day for me to give him a haircut, once we got him into his wheelchair.  God’s grace is holding Mom together during this time.  My younger sister, Nancy, is doing an amazing job taking care of Mom and Dad.  My folks have a house on Nancy’s property, in the country, near Dickson.   Nancy and her husband, Gary, along with their grown children are able to be with them every day and see that their needs are taken care of.  We are so thankful for God’s provision for Dad and Mom during these trying times.  The Lord made a family before HE ever made a government or a church.  The family is the most basic and important unit of any society. Destroy the family and churches and societies will soon crumble.  I am so blessed to have been given the opportunity be a part of the Stanton Family.  Please remember to pray for Mom and Dad and my sister, Nancy and her family.  Thanks.

Anita and I celebrated thirty-seven years of marriage on June 7^th.  We had the pleasure of spending four days at the Inn Keepers Ministry in Lewisburg, Ohio. If you are in fulltime ministry you should check out innkeeperministries.org.  It was the most relaxing time we have had in a long, long time.  All missionaries should spend some time there when in the States.  Pastors should also take a break once in a while!

Before leaving Peru, I had the joy of baptizing Edward Gomero, a young man I lead to the Lord a few months ago. While being discipled we have noticed a genuine attitude of repentance on his part.  The change has been quite radical, from a former abusive husband and heavy drinker to a faithful, excited witness for Jesus.  He wrote a gospel tract himself and the day before we left he asked if he could pass them out to people passing buy the church building before and after church services.  A testing of his faith is headed his way as all new Christians will experience sooner or later, so please pray for Edward and his wife and kids.

Mother’s Day is a very big event in our churches in Peru.  This year, despite our limited space, we had a packed house with several first time visitors at the Calvary Baptist Mission. The visitors were mostly mothers coming to see the program the youth had prepared for them. Many heard the saving gospel of Jesus Christ for the first time.  Everyone had a great time.  Anita and I are looking forward to getting the new building underway for this work just as soon as we get back.  We plan to spend father’s day with my dad and then leave the next day.

Frequently, we are asked how we can receive support and for years it has always been by sending a check through the mail.  Baptist Faith Mission is now able to receive funds directly online for us and other missionaries being helped by BFM.  You can use any major credit card, just go to www.baptistfaithmissions.org and select the button for donate – then follow the instructions.  Hope this makes it easier for many of you.

This letter is getting too long so let me close it by saying once again how thankful Anita and I are for you love, prayers and support.  We pray God might shower HIS richest blessings on each of you.  Until next month.

In HIM by HIS grace,

Sheridan and Anita Stanton

JUDSON AND RAQUEL HATCHER  | JUNE 2011

Return to Brazil

We have our tickets purchased to return to Brazil on July 11th. The original plan was to return mid-August. We decided it would be best to return earlier due to the kids schooling. The Brazilian school system began in March 2011. Since it has already begun, we will at least get them in for the start of the 2nd semester – July 16th.

Our Plans

We are church planters & trainers, part of the “SeedFactory” initiative. This is a church based movement to start churches that plant churches in all 26 Brazilian capitals. In turn, each church becomes an equipping center designed to further expand into the smaller cities within their own state. We love church planting & training pastors. We return to Manaus to strategically continue our work.

SUPER HERO

Sarah, Laura & Benjamin think I am a superhero! I will have a chance to demonstrate how strong I am. You see, on flights to Brazil, each person is allowed 2 bags up to 70 lbs each. I will carry all of those bags. Hey, if Elijah was the fastest runner on earth (1 Kings 18.46), why can’t I be the strongest man on earth? Yep, packing bags for a family of five takes on a whole new meaning!

Raquel and I are getting our bags ready. We only have a few more weeks in Lexington, KY.

Our schedule
June 12 – Bible Baptist Church, N.Vernon, IN – Pr. Kevin Ridder
June 13-19 – Emmanuel Baptist Church, Oldtowne, KY – Pr. John Lybrook
June 26 – Emmanuel Baptist Church, Bellbrook, OH – Pr. Darrell Messer
July 1 – Depart from Lexington, driving to Florida.

Get the latest news

Log onto www.judhatcher.com. Read updates about our family and ministry. If you are on Facebook search for me by email: judsonhatcher@gmail.com.

A special “thank you”

David Parks – for detailed administration & care for us missionaries. BFM would not be the same without you.

David Pitman – for inspiring us to “tweet”, start a blog & post regularly.

Glenn Archer – for challenging us daily on “Morning Musings” & writing about everyday things.

Bobby Creiglow – for generously lending us a van for a year.

Darwin Smith – for being a tremendous cousin & encourager.

Tim Parsons – for being a great friend, mentor & a fireball.

Excitement is in the air for all of us. Being in the US has been tremendously inspiring to our hearts. We return pumped & ready to continue what we love to do most – church planting & training.

Please, give generously to the BFM General Fund.

Always grateful,

Jud, Raquel, Sarah, Laura & Benjamin.

AJ AND BARBARA HENSLEY  | JUNE 2011

Dear friends and family,
Our days go so fast here that we let last month pass without writing a letter to you all. Please forgive us for that laps of communication. It is just totally amazing that with all of our technology how we loss track of this communication. Not only did the time slip through our fingers but the computer was down for a while.
We are in the planning stages for the visitors we will receive this month. The First Baptist Church from Centerville, Georgia will be with us for seven days. This is an awesome work group, last year they built our pulpit area. This work was cement, block, stucco; just plain old dirty HARD work. Along with this work they did a fabulous back yard Bible School. This year will be more of the same–doing miracles, seeing people saved. It is AWESOME to see God at work anywhere but for us here in Brasil along with Americans it just great for the two countries working together.
Well on the 23rd of May we helped our daughter Mary and her husband Walmir move to their new ministry in Sales Oliveira. This is about a seven hour drive from Caraguatatuba. Pray for them as they are starting a new ministry there. We helped set-up their new home and got to hear Walmir´s first sermon in his new Church. This was on a Wednesday and they had about 40 in attendance. That was excellent for a Church of 29 members.
When we left there Barb and I visited another Pastor in a near by town to start our advertising for the Pastor´s Conference in November. The theme for our conference will be ” Rescuing our Happiness to Serve” It will be the 1st through the 4th of November and we are expecting around 100 pastors to attend from all around Brasil. Please pray with us about this very important conference. I will be visiting various Churches to preach and tell about this conference.
We are hoping that this week we will complete all the structural work for our dorm house at the Vocational School. We have been stuccoing the building now for about 2 months, this will prepare the building for paint and tile work.  Pray also for this ministry with us.
Well have you ever just been working yourself to the bone to accomplish your work for the Lord and the devil throws you so many blows? Well, this month has been one of those months. I had a little hose on my truck spring a leak, it was a pressure hose to the clutch, maybe a $50.00 item. I dropped the truck off to be fixed and 5 days later picked it up and that little hose, less than 2 feet, wound up costing one thousand reais ($620). The mechanic said that you could not just purchase the hose you had to purchase the whole set up for the clutch. Then on Monday morning (wash day) the dryer quit working and the tech could not find a motor for it. It will have to be ordered because it is imported. And if that was not enough the washing machine went out the next day. All this happening and we are having 18 people from Georgia coming and we need everything in working order. I think that we just need to pray more realizing that there will always be obstacles in the Lord´s work.
As we are asking for prayer for lots of things let me add one more for your prayers.  Pray for our son Bryan and his family as they are having many health issues there in the States. Thanks to all you prayer warriors for your constant pray for us as we serve as your ambassadors here in Brasil.
If you want to help more in our work here and you would like to see how God works outside of the States, just come on down and experience it up close and personal. We are always glad to have friends come as it gives us courage to confront all that Satan throws in our path. Come on down.

In His service,
Aj and Barb

JOHN AND ALTA HATCHER | MAY 2011
John & Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR – Brazil 86280-000
E-mail: jhatcher@uol.com.br
April 1, 2011
Dear Friends and Fellow Workers,
This month has passed quickly and our fall and winter is arriving. This past week, we had to take the heavy covers out of the mothballs. Most of our fall and winter weather is not too bad. This one is starting with a rather strong chill.
ALTA’S EYES
This month we went to Garca to see the eye doctor. The report is: she has cataract blindness in one eye and the other is partially affected. We are now in the process of deciding if she will be operated on in Garca, or if she will go to Manaus for the operation. She is having some problem in walking because of the sight deficiency. Pray for her.
VISIT IN GARCA
While in Garca, where we lived and worked for thirteen years, we had the joy of seeing old friends. Sandra was seven years old when she trusted the Lord. She has brought her mother to know the Lord. Sandra said to me, “Pastor, I was holding a chorus poster when I trusted the Lord to save me.” One day we had the joy of visiting with Maria, our adopted daughter, along with Noemi, an elderly faithful saint who was saved while we worked in Garca, Cida [from Galia] and her daughter, Claudia, and Gilberto, the pastor in Marilia.
While in Garca we stayed with Kathy and Odali at the children’s home. We were treated royally and did not lack for anything. On Sunday we attended the Sunday School and evening service at the Community Baptist Church that Odali pastors. There was a large group of children in Sunday School and we heard a good message in the evening by Odali from the life of David.
ASSAI
In my last letter I mentioned the need to get the approval from the neighbors on the four sides of our lot where we intend to build. Those people were visited and approval was granted by the City Hall. Hopefully, we will soon have news for you that the building is going up. Make this an item of prayer.
86 YEARS
Last but not least, on April 30, 2011, I had my eighty-sixth birthday. Fifty-six years in Brazil this year. THANK YOU! BFM! I praise the Lord for the home and parents where I was born, for my brother and sisters, for the Alexandria Baptist Church where my parents took me from the time I was about a month old, and where I was saved at the age of nine. I thank God for the many friends and Sunday School teachers who prayed for me, especially during the years I served in the Merchant Marines during the WWII.
I praise God for the dear wife He gave me. This year completed sixty-four years together. I thank Him for our five godly children: Lynn, in Heaven; Paul, in Manaus, Brazil; John Mark, in France; David, in Manaus, Brazil; and Kathy, in Garca, Brazil.
Pray especially for the work in Assai.
Thank you for your love and faithful help. We love you in the Lord.
John and Alta Hatcher

MIKE AND BEV CREIGLOW | MAY 2011
Michael D. Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24 | 69980 Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil
STATESIDE RESIDENCE:
1012 Balsam Drive | Lexington KY 40504 | 859.277.3716
May 1, 2011
Dear Brethren,
Over the last 30 days I have traveled 4,165 miles of river. That’s right: four thousand, one hundred and sixty-five miles on the Juruá River. Last letter I told you about the long trip to the mouth of the Juruá, getting geared up for our next big push down river with the Gospel.
Since then I have gone back up river from Cruzeiro do Sul to the Peruvian border. My visits were to Triunfo, Thaumaturgo, Foz do Breu and Porto Walter. We held services in these villages and towns with really big crowds in all.
At Foz do Breu we dedicated the new building, which turned out just plain beautiful. We held 3 services with over 200 in each. The high was 246 on Saturday night. There were 3 saved. After the Sunday morning service we went down to the river for a baptism service. This was a very international service. I baptized 15. Some were Brazilians, others were Peruvians and yet others were Indians from 3 different tribes. This was a first for me.
Hudson, Zico and I returned back home on a Tuesday. Hudson was sick the whole trip with malaria. Zico came down with the flu the next day. I spent a couple of days at home then got in my boat and headed down river to Ipixuna. Zico was not well, but better, so he and 3 other men from church went with me. I put down my foot and made Hudson stay hope and get over his malaria. Two of these guys weigh over 220 pounds! My poor little 60HP engine suffered to get the boat up on plane. We managed though and had a very productive visit with the church there. We ironed out the details of our partnership to put on a medical mission trip down their way in the middle of May. We will provide the doctors, dentists, nurses, medicine, logistics, tickets and hotel. The city of Ipixuna will provide a big enough boat to hold the clinics, fuel and food for the team. The church there will also provide some team members to work on the evangelism along side our missionaries. We plan to hold clinics in 4 villages.
Unfortunately YOU are going to have to put up with me as I will be in the States and not be here for this exciting mission trip. Beverly says she is looking forward to getting her husband back. I think she actually has a plan to kidnap me.
I found time to visit some of our churches here close between trips. All is running smoothly.
Our church has been experiencing extraordinary growth. This month we have had over 20 saved. I missed the last 2 baptisms, because of my river trips. This year we have held 3 baptism services. The first was 60, the second 49 and last Sunday my son-in-law, Dauro baptized 73!
It is going to be hard to break away, during such a time of blessings. I’m counting on you to fill in and share your blessings while we are there in the States on furlough. Our furlough begins May 4 and is scheduled to end on October 15. Hope to see you soon. Pray for us, please.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ, Mike Creiglow

ROGER AND JULIE TATE | MAY 2011
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We have been very busy while in the States visiting churches and talking about our ministry in Kenya. While this has been a blessing for us as well as for the churches we have been ministering to, we find our energy level dropping a little more after every weekend. When we first started traveling I still felt strong after the weekend. Now I find myself exhausted after the weekend. Throw in a few conferences and it leaves us tired. I’m not complaining as I love visiting the churches and talking about our work, it’s just that being Stateside isn’t very relaxing or restful. But we thank God for the overwhelming support and encouragement we have received from the churches concerning our approach to church planting in Kenya.
I wasn’t sure how the models we want to follow once we return to Kenya would be received back home but I’m very pleased with the response that I’ve been getting. I am very encouraged with the strong backing that I’m getting from churches in all the states we’ve visited so far. Keep praying for us, beloved. We have less than two months before we return to Kenya. God has taught us so much be we know that there is yet so much more to learn and mistakes and failures to make. But we believe God will continue to be with us and bless our endeavors in Africa.
Let me go ahead and add some brief details to the models I have been speaking of. In the last few months I have been speaking of the things I CAN’T do: like I can’t build buildings, I can’t pay pastors and I can’t transport people to church meetings. If you can’t remember why I can’t do these things look at the last couple of newsletters and read what I’ve said.
This month I’d like to mention one of the “I CAN’S”. I CAN train a new church for action and not just doctrine. Now, I’m not being prideful and saying I have great ability and skill to do this. I’m saying this is something that fits into my model of ministry and church planting. New churches and new Christians obviously need teaching and doctrine. I think that’s indisputable. But I think just as important as doctrine is teaching and modeling for these young churches and Christians how to put their doctrine into action. I don’t want to fill churches with people who just know a lot of doctrine (Again, they need doctrine!). But, I want them also to act on their doctrine by following Christ with their actions. From the very beginning I want to teach them to actually do what they’ve been taught. Teach a little, do what we’ve been taught. Teach a little, do what we’ve been taught. Teach a little, do what we’ve been taught. That’s the process.
It’s a little different than teaching them in a seminary or institute for four years and then hoping afterward they will put into practice what they’ve been taught. The approach I want to take appears to be what Jesus modeled for his own disciples. Now, I’m not Jesus, but if he did it then it must be a good practice and I can try and model the same things for the Kenyan people. It’s better than a lot of head knowledge only. The doctrine should lead to action.
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)

NATHAN AND CARRIE RADFORD | MAY 2011

Nathan, Carrie, McKenna, and Camille Radford
315 College Street | Youngsville, PA 16371
For ministry donations: Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
May 6, 2011
Dear praying friends,
Another month has come and passed so fast, and it is amazing how quickly time passes. What a reminder it is to us to use our time wisely in service for the Lord, and make the most of our opportunities to serve Him. May we truly be mindful of the brevity of our lives and use our time wisely that the Lord gives us. Psalm 90:12 states “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
This update will share our time in the States, as well as family updates and prayer requests.
This past month was an exciting month for our family. My wife celebrated her birthday in the middle of the month, and McKenna turned three years old on April 26th. McKenna is growing and developing so quickly and we thank the Lord so much for her. It seems just yesterday that she was a baby, but now she is growing and developing quickly into a wonderful three year old daughter. Please pray for us as parents, that we would be the Godly parents and example to our children that we need to be. What an awesome responsibility we have as parents, to train up our children in the ways of the Lord. Deuteronomy 6:5-7 states “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” May we remember our responsibility as Christian parents to teach and train our children in the ways of the Lord.
Camille is also progressing well, and we thank the Lord that she has been growing healthy. Please continue to pray for her health, especially at such a young age. She is now over two months old, which doesn’t seem possible, as the time has gone so fast. We are thankful for our family and ask you to continue to pray for us. I am attaching a recent photo of our two daughters and we would covet your prayers for them.
Our time for furlough has continued well, and we are thankful for the opportunities we have had to visit with friends, family, churches, supporters, and those who pray for the work in Kenya. Missing family is one of the largest challenges to missionary life, and it is so wonderful to be able to spend time with them while we are home. We have also appreciated the opportunities that God has provided to share with others and churches about the ministries in Kenya. I can be reached at: 814-688-4703 or by email at: naterad@yahoo.com if anyone would like to contact me to schedule a date to share the ministries.
Please continue to pray for the ministries in Kenya while we are home on furlough. Pray that the people would seek to stand on their own and trust the Lord to provide for them. Please continue to pray for the Rafiki ministry, prison ministry, and hospital ministry. In each of these ministries guidance, wisdom, and direction from the Lord is needed. James 1:5 says “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” What a tremendous promise this is from the Word of God, no matter where we serve Him.
May we continue to serve the Lord, wherever He calls us, through good and bad times. May we be faithful to serve, through blessings and trials. I will leave you with some words that greatly encouraged my heart that I read recently: “God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.” No matter what trials we go through, He is with us each step of the way and we can trust Him. We will continue to keep you updated and thanks again for your prayers, sacrificial giving, and encouragement that you give to us. Each of you are so special to us.
Nathan and Carrie Radford

BOBBY AND CHARLENE WACASER | MAY 2011

Rua Manoel Valdomiro de Macedo, 2281
81170-150 Curitiba, PR Brasil
Phone: (813) 436-9980
E-mail: robertmw@brturbo.com.br
May 8, 2011
Dear Friends,
Today marks the end of the second month since we began construction on the building of our new church work. The progress is really exciting and the time that our team spends together working helps to make us one body united in purpose and love.
We will begin to weld our roof trusses this week, but in the meantime we’ve continued to hold our worship services between the walls with no roof overhead and the people still seem to love coming. Hopefully we’ll have the roof done in a couple of weeks before the frosts begin. Since we are south of the equator, our winters are from June to September.
Soon we will need to install our windows and doors. There will be 10 large windows, 4 small ones and 5 doors. If you would like to contribute to help us put in all or any one of these, we would be greatly helped and you would be truly blessing us. The medium cost of each is $325 or a total of $6,175.

Last week we hosted a wonderful group of youth (with their adult leaders) from the Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, Florida. This group, together with Projeto Vida (Project Life) our frontline evangelism partners, and our team of 12 translators spent a week ministering in two towns out in the mountains. Throughout the week we had the privilege of taking the gospel into 12 different public schools, reaching over 3500 students. We also presented the gospel through humanitarian services such as free haircuts, blood pressure checks and family counseling, reaching another 1600 people in the public squares of those towns. By the end of the week we saw over 115 individuals profess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. We helped to direct these folks to local Baptist churches for further growth and discipleship. I had the special privilege of working side by side with my whole family as translators in this great effort. Our daughter, Jessie, who is in college in Florida, came with the group and our 13 year old son, Brennen, got excused from school to aid us also. Don’t you just know that Brennen hated getting out of school?
We are dealing with some ministry philosophy issues back at our mother church and would like for you to pray for discernment for us. We pray that these issues will be resolved smoothly and that I and my former co-pastor can work together for the growth of both churches and for greater effectiveness in our culture. Hopefully next month I will be reporting to you that these issues will have been resolved with minimal ripples. But that is why I’m asking you to pray.
Thank you for your love, prayers and support.
In Christ’s love, Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser

JOHN AND JUDY HATCHER | MAY 2011
John and Judy Hatcher
Tournefeuille, France
jmhatcher@aol.com
May 10, 2011
Dear Team Mates,
Spring has arrived early this year and buds and blooms are ahead of schedule. Jesus often used plants and plantings as examples of the Kingdom of God and these metaphors speak to me because I love plants and like cultivating them. We would like to see an immediate and large harvest of disciples, but realize that the times and seasons are in the Lord’s hands; there is work to be done; and the kind surface where the seed falls has a bearing on the results.
Spring also brings storms, as we have noticed in the news from your side of the ocean. Our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones, homes and much more. In the present world we will have storms, but God uses even these for our good and His Glory.
On Friday of this week we will be leaving on a 13-hour drive to baptize one lady! There are certainly biblical precedents of long journeys for the sake of one person; Philip to speak to the Ethiopian, for instance. Rosana, the lady that I am going to baptize moved into our neighborhood several years ago along with her family. They were backyard neighbors of an unsaved lady whose friendship Amanda, our daughter-in-law, had cultivated. Delia suggested we get to know this family as they were from Brazil.
We introduced ourselves and they began coming to Bible study; the family with me and Rosana also came to a ladies Bible study with Judy. One day, Rosana said, “I don’t think we are here by chance. We came here to get to know God better.” Later, this family moved with the husband’s job to Seville, Spain. We have continued to have live Bible studies using the internet. Rosana and her youngest son have been saved. Their daughter-in-law has also been saved and baptized, and lives in Portugal. We also have Bible studies with her using the internet. These people are actively witnessing for the Lord where they are. That is what it is all about. God uses us in the process of plowing, sowing, watering, cultivating and reaping. Your support enables us to be doing this in France.
We are thankful for the 35 or so folks who participate regularly here. We are grateful for the opportunities to have outreaches in Toulouse, L’Union, Plaisance, Mazere, and other places where members of the congregation of Tournefeuille are witnessing or where God has given us contacts.
With the tools God has given us we are able to teach and witness regularly in Spain, Portugal and northern France, as well as here. We praise God for those who were here but are now living as God’s children in other places. A couple of these are going to be with us next week. They now live in the Isle of Man.
You are a part of what God is doing here. God has also placed you in a field. Future disciples and missionaries and their support will come from the fields where God has placed us today. Is there darkness around you? Don’t curse it. Ask God to show you how you can let your light shine. As each of us plows, sows, waters, cultivates and reaps, God will bring in His harvest from the earth.
Until next month, John and Judy

SHERIDAN AND ANITA STANTON | MAY 2011
Mailing Address:
Sheridan and Anita Stanton
Apartado Postal 140 | Huanuco, Perú
Vonage phone: 859-514-0929
sestantonperu@hotmail.com – Sheridan
arstantonperu@hotmail.com – Anita
May 11, 2011
Dear friends and family,
April was a month of many blessings for the work here Huánuco, Peru. The Lord blessed us with record attendance at the Calvary Baptist Mission and two were saved during the month. The attendance remains strong each week.
We are rejoicing over our new property and we are now praying for funds to build. Would you like to give toward this project? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Anita and I are leaving for the Capital city of Lima today. We are in route to the States, where we will be spending a few weeks with my father, Ralph Stanton. His health continues to deteriorate due to his battle with prostate cancer and Alzheimer. As I mentioned in my last letter, this ordeal has been hard for my mother, please continue to pray for her also. Thank you so much for your prayers.
Though, we plan to spend most of the time with my mom and dad, Anita and I will also be visiting a few days with all four of our grand-children! We are excited to have the chance to spend this short time with the kids. Some more exciting things have happened these first few days of May, but I will report on that in my next letter.
Thanks again for all the prayers and support. We look forward to seeing everyone next year (2012) when we come to the States for furlough. Please remember our son, Joshua, as he continues to serve in Afghanistan. Until next month.
In HIM by HIS grace, Sheridan and Anita Stanton

JOHN AND ALTA HATCHER | APRIL 2011

John & Alta Hatcher | Caixa Postal 112 | Urai, PR – Brazil 86280-000

E-mail: jhatcher@uol.com.br

Dear Brethren and Fellow Workers,

At this writing, my body feels like I do not have many Mission Sheets letters to write. Alta and I are well and still going. However, we have been having some old age pains and problems that are somewhat debilitating.

THE GOOD NEWS – Three persons were baptized into the fellowship of Urai Baptist Church: a young man and his wife who were saved in Japan and baptized there in an irregular church, and the third person is the father of Willer, one of the faithful young people. The story of Willer is a wonderful story of what God can do with a young person. He was a very active leader among the youth in the Catholic church. One Sunday his aunt, who had been saved in England, brought him to a service. He trusted the Lord as Savior and said to his family, “I want to be a preacher like Brother Hatcher!” He was nine years old at that time. Now he is twenty-one. His mother has been saved and baptized. His grandmother has been saved. His father has been saved and baptized. His grandfather is a great person, but opposed to the Lord’s work. He is showing signs of an inward need. Pray for salvation.

ASSAI – Due to a city ordinance, the building is stopped in Assai. Neighbors on four sides have to sign a document stating they have no opposition to the building. By next week we should know if we go or stop.  While we were at the City Hall at Assai taking care of red tape, I had the opportunity to witness at length to two of the workers who were helping us.

SEED SOWN TAKING EFFECT – For many years we had a weekly Children’s Bible Hour in our home. The children who attended are now married and have children. This past month one mother started bringing her two children and a niece to Sunday School. Another came to our house. She has had five children, been to many churches, but has not found one that teaches what she learned as a child. Problems in her home and life brought her to seek help. Pray for her and her family that they will find the will of God for their lives.

Sincerely, in the Name of our Lord, John and Alta Hatcher

MIKE AND BEV CREIGLOW  |  APRIL 2011

Michael D. Creiglow | Caixa Postal 24     69980 | Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre  Brazil

April 11, 2011
Dear Brethren,
Hudson, Eliésio and I just returned from our longest mission trip ever. It wasn’t our longest in time (16 days), but beat all records in distance. We traveled over 3,000 miles going to and returning from the mouth of the Juruá River.
Before I tell you a little about this trip, here is some background. In 2006 and 2007 we preached the gospel in every house on 22 rivers and streams up stream from Cruzeiro do Sul. In 2009 we turned our sights toward the lower Juruá. The first step was to gather as much info on the section of river between Cruzeiro do Sul and Eirunepé.
Since then our guys have preached house to house on all 260 miles of river. They also established 4 permanent works. We also were able to get the churches at Ipixuna and Eirunepé to participate in the mission effort.
This last trip to the mouth of the Juruá River was to gather data for the next phase. I put my boat on a barge and the 3 of us went along to save on the gas cost. It took us 10 days to reach the mouth where the river flows into the Amazon. That was over 1500 miles downstream from Cruzeiro do Sul. During the trip I was able to repair the engine of the tug boat that was pushing us along, help transfer cargo to another barge and help with some of the regular duties on board. We had great opportunities to witness to the crew members.
Once we finally reached the mouth the next stop was 7 miles down the Amazon to a village called Itamamnicoá, where we unloaded my boat and got ready for the long trip back up stream. We left the same day and it took us 6 days to make it back to Cruzeiro do Sul.
It had been right at 50 years since I saw the mouth of the Juruá River for the first time. I was just 13 years old at the time and was on a paddle wheel steamboat. Our family had left Manaus on the 50 day adventure that finally took us to Cruzeiro for the very first time. Although the river is 2000 feet wide, it seemed then and now to be no more than a small creek compared to the Amazon River. Seeing it and being there again was an emotional experience. Back then it was just adventure, but now it is a missions adventure!
On our way back up river we gathered info on the number of houses, villages and towns along the whole section as far as Eirunepé. There are not nearly as many people on this section of river as there are up stream. However, we counted 1085 houses, 85 villages with 10 or more households and 3 cities. All 3 towns have Baptist churches, but none of them are doing any mission work along the river. We have good contacts with the leadership of these churches now and they have shown interest in helping out in our effort to get the gospel to every person on the whole length of the river. The culture and lifestyle of the folks on the lower Juruá is quite different from our stretch. The poverty is much worse and fishing is all the talk. There is little or no agriculture or ranching.
I piloted my boat the whole distance back home. It seems almost unreal to think that I have now driven my boat all the way from the mouth of the river to the last indian village on the Peruvian side: 2,100 miles! Well I needed to give you this general report, but I sure wish there was time and space to share some of or great experiences from this trip.
In 3 weeks Bev and I will be leaving Brazil for our short furlough. Hope to see you then.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ, Mike Creiglow

NATHAN AND CARRIE RADFORD  | APRIL 2011

April 7, 2011
Dear praying friends,

Another month has come and passed, and we are now into the month of April. Time goes so quickly, and may we ever be mindful of our opportunities to serve the Lord. One quote that has always challenged me says, “Only one life will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” May we be committed to serving the Lord and using our time to bring Him glory with our lives. This update will share current prayer requests, as well as other items.
Thanks so much to each one who has sent cards, gifts, finances, or supplies to help with having Camille, our second daughter. We appreciate so much each one who has reached out to us. Having two children is a special privilege and responsibility we have as parents. Please pray that we would be the example that we need to be before our children. A quote I read recently on parenting that I thought was good said it this way: “The best inheritance a parent can leave is a Godly example.” What a tremendous statement. What kind of example are we setting for our children? Are we the Godly parents that we need to be before our children who watch us each day? What a sobering thought. Proverbs 22:6 says:  “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” May this truly be our desire as parents to teach and train our children in the ways of the Lord.  Please pray for Camille and her health at this time, as it is easy to get sick, and also for McKenna, as she is learning and adjusting to her new role as the big sister. We appreciate so much your prayers for our family.
This past month was busy with traveling and sharing the ministry in Kenya with churches, and I still have availability to come through July to early August of this year, Lord willing. If anyone would be interested in contacting me in regards to coming, I can be reached at: 814-688-4703 or through email at naterad@yahoo.com. Thanks again to each one who has shown interest in the work in Kenya, come out personally to visit, prays for us and the work there, or sacrificially financially supports the work. You are a big part of the work in Kenya, and we could not do it without your help. You all are such a blessing to us and thanks for being “missions minded.”
Please pray for the ministries in our absence, for the hospital ministry, the prison ministry, and the church planting ministry in Rafiki. We covet your prayers for these ministries, and also for the nationals who are continuing the ministries in our absence. Please also pray that the people would trust the Lord exclusively for their needs, and not anyone else.  Psalms 118:8-9 states “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” What tremendous verses these are for all of us, to put our trust in the Lord and watch Him provide for the needs of our lives. We can trust in the promises of the Lord day by day, and what a blessing and comfort this is.
I will leave you with this thought: “God’s promises have no expiration date.” So many things in our lives expire – food, car insurance, driver’s license, etc., but what a comfort to know that God’s promises do not expire and we can trust Him and His promises each day of our lives. May the Lord bless you as you serve in the United States and we serve in Kenya.
Until next month, Nathan, Carrie, McKenna, and Camille Radford

315 College Street  |  Youngsville, PA   16371

For ministry donations:  Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM

P.O. Box 471280  |  Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280

BOBBY AND CHARLENE WACASER  | APRIL 2011

April 11, 2011
Manoel Valdomiro de Macedo, 2281
81170-150 Curitiba, PR   Brasil
Ph: (813) 436-9980
E-mail: robertmw@brturbo.com.br
Dear Friends,
Again I have come running in from the construction site to write to you about the progress of the work. Many of our neighbors have commented on how amazed they are with the speed at which the new building is going up. Our bricklayers told us this past week that they have never laid so many bricks in one week. In this part of Brazil, large red brick is used in the place of concrete blocks in the most construction projects. The brick is later plastered with a cement based coat and smoothed for painting. All of our ministry team has volunteered many hours to mix the cement for laying the brick and has poured the columns and beams. It is heavy work, but they have been real troopers, not only doing great work, but doing it with great attitudes.
Our meetings are being held within the bare walls and with no roof. We still have to raise the exterior walls another 10 feet in order to build our trusses and then place our roof. The folks attending don’t seem to mind walking on packed dirt floors and sitting on plastic stools and our times of praise and study of God’s word are sweet.
Last night, one man who attends regularly told me that I was stepping on his toes in my message. I wasn’t aware of any specific area in his life which I should target, but it is evident that the Lord knows what he needs to hear and applied the message appropriately. I am praying that he will surrender his life completely to Christ to be saved shortly. He, his wife and their daughter have attended nearly all our meetings since the beginning of the work back in January. Pray that they will all come to Christ as His word is preached and lived before them by us.

The week after Easter we will be coordinating the evangelistic outreach of a group of 97 people made up of a youth group from Brandon, Florida, their leaders, 12 translators and 45 missionaries from our Project Life ministry. We will be working in two small towns an hour and a half’s drive from our home. We all will be staying at a camp for a week, going out each day to public schools and parks to share the gospel through drama skits, testimonies, music and preaching. These two towns have recently suffered some major devastation from mudslides and flooding. Our prayer is that these disasters may be used of the Lord to impress upon the lost in these towns how much they need Christ as Savior and Lord. Please pray that God will honor Himself and bless the efforts to reach these folks with the Gospel. We also hope to see many of the volunteer youth discovering God’s call upon them to use their lives for ministry from having participated in this week of service.

Thank you for your loving prayers and support. May you too be blessed in your sphere of service to our Savior, Jesus Christ.
In Jesus’ love,
Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser

JOHN AND JUDY HATCHER  | APRIL 2011

April 11, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Though it will history by the time you read this, we are praying today for you to have a good conference in Lexington.  We are very interested in the welfare of the churches and believers in the United States, especially those with which we are acquainted.  We thank God for your support and we pray that the Lord will open doors around you for the progress of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Today is Judy’s birthday. Last month, we completed 38 years of marriage.  Judy is truly God’s gift to me and I cannot thank the Lord enough for giving her to me. He certainly knew what I needed.  Not only is Judy a wonderful companion to me, she is also a committed, tireless and wise fellow laborer in the work of the Lord.
One of the outstanding blessings of the past month is that most of the adult believers have decided to read their Bibles daily for 15 minutes.  This will enable them to completely read through the Bible in less than a year.  They are expressing the joy they are receiving from this time in the Word of the Lord and telling of the things they have learned.  My mother and father strongly encouraged us to read through the Bible regular and help me establish this practice in my life. It has been passed on to our children and many others.   If you haven’t read through your Bible recently, why not start today?
The Lord has given many opportunities to witness to folks who really show an interest this past month.  The believers are showing signs of spiritual growth and some who attend but have not made professions of faith indicate a concern for spiritual things.
Saturday, a week ago, we had another youth meeting.  We read and discussed the parable of the rich fool recorded in Luke chapter 12 and the request of the brother that led to Jesus telling the parable.  We had more questions and discussion than we had time for.  Afterward, they wanted to sing and we did that for quite some time.  Finally, a mother of a couple of the boys said, “I have got to get their friends home or their mothers will wonder what happened to them.” The teenagers who come to services from time to time brought a number of friends.  We are delighted at the way God is at work in these young people.
Thanks again for your prayers and support.  May God richly bless you.
Witnessing for Christ in France,
John and Judy

SHERIDAN AND ANITA STANTON  | APRIL 2011

Mailing Address:

Sheridan and Anita Stanton | Apartado Postal 140 | Huanuco, Perú

Vonage phone: 859-514-0929

sestantonperu@hotmail.com – Sheridan

arstantonperu@hotmail.com – Anita

April 10, 2011

Dear friends and family,

Today, April 10, is Presidential Election Day in Peru and there are no church services anywhere in Peru during the morning hours.  Elections are always on Sundays and one of their election laws prohibits any type of public meetings during voting hours, so we have church services in the evening after the polls are closed. The voting process requires that they dip the tip of their index finger into a bottle of permanent purple dye; this avoids allowing people to vote more than once (very practical) and for a week or so after the election everyone walks around with a purple finger!   Another election law is that all Peruvians of voting age must vote or pay a heavy fine.  As a result of this law the Peruvian people take their politics seriously.  Peru has numerous political parties ranging from the far left to the far right and all sorts of ideologies in between.  This also creates a lot of travel for these dear folks because they have to vote wherever they were last registered.  Since registering to vote in a new town is a bureaucratic process and takes money, the majority of the people just travel back to wherever they came from in order to vote.  The bus lines always take advantage of this and raise the price of bus tickets; so is life during election time, heavy traffic on the roads and purple fingers!  Anita and I have lived in this country for twenty-eight years and it has always been this way; life is interesting on the mission field!

Each month I ask you to continue to pray for our son, Capt. Joshua Stanton USAF.  He proudly serves our country as an Air Force pilot overseas.  He has a wife and two small, precious, little girls waiting for him back home.  We also ask you to continue to remember my father, Ralph Stanton, in your prayers; he is battling with prostate cancer, and is back in the hospital again in Dickson, Tennessee with a kidney infection.  He is also having test done for Alzheimer and dementia while being treated for the kidney infection. This ordeal has been understandably hard on my mother, she needs our prayers also.  Mom and Dad have been married for sixty-three years now, truly an example and inspiration to all of us.  Anita and I will be traveling back to the States for four weeks from the middle of May to the middle of June.  We plan to see our grand-kids (one we’ve never seen and she will soon be a year old!) but we plan to spend most of the time with my mom and dad.  Thank you so much for your prayers.

Do you all remember the young lady, twenty-three years old, Dany Luz Presentacion?  Many of you helped her financially back in the fall of last year when she was going through Chemo Therapy for ovarian cancer.  She also had open heart surgery when she was sixteen years old.  Well, she is doing great now; finished her college degree in elementary education and recently got a job teaching in a private school here in Huánuco.  Danitza is one of many young folks that are like sons and daughters to Anita and me.  She came by the house the other day to visit and show us how much her hair has grown back; so I had to take a picture and show you this radiant trophy of God’s mercy and grace!  We thank all of you again that had a part in helping us to help this fine and faithful young Christian woman.

Sufficient funds have come in to help the Cayumba Grande Baptist Mission with the purchase of their property in Tingo Maria.  Thanks to those of you that had a part in this project.

We still need more funds to help with construction for the Calvary Baptist Mission I pastor here in Huánuco.  Anita and I hope to have something built and secure by the time we leave for the States the middle of May.  This work has grown numerically and matured spiritually during this past year and it is time for us to move to a larger location.  The property has some old, adobe mud structures that will be torn down so we can build to suite or needs.  We know our heavenly Father will provide the funds; maybe He will use you to help with this project.

Another matter of prayer is the need to increase giving to the General Fund of Baptist Faith Mission.  BFM has financially aided Anita and me since 1983.  We work under the authority of our home church, Jordan Missionary Baptist Church, of Sanford, Florida, but Jordan Baptist is not large enough to support us full time, and thus, BFM helps our home church with the funds to keep us on the field in Peru.  The Mission provides excellent medical insurance, monthly stipends for housing, transportation cost and other expenditures necessary to live in a foreign country.  The directors of BFM have calculated that if each household and church that supports the General Fund of BFM could increase their giving by $10.00 more per month, the financial needs would be met.  Pray about it and give as the Lord leads you.  If you would like more details of the financial workings and situation of BFM you can go the webpage: www.baptistfaithmissions.org.

Thanks again for all the prayers and support.  We look forward to seeing everyone next year (2012) when we come to the States for furlough.  Until next month.

In HIM by HIS grace, Sheridan and Anita Stanton

JUDSON AND RAQUEL HATCHER  |  APRIL 2011

Hello my friend!

We have some great family news, a personal missions challenge and an awesome encouragement to share regarding what we have seen in the States. I sure love Jesus, don’t you? Read on!

Pregnant with 4th Child

This week we discovered we are expecting our fourth child. It was interesting to see our children’s response when we announced the big news to them. Sarah (6) was upset, she expected the “surprise” to be an actual present she could unwrap and play with. Laura (4 ½) was happy with eyes full of glee as she smiled and suggested we call the baby “Emily”. (It is too soon to know if we have a boy or a girl. But, we told her it was a good suggestion.) Benjamin (3) excitedly grinned, yet slightly confused, since he could not “see” the baby. Children are a blessing from God and we are ecstatic to receive God’s special gift to us. Pray for Raquel and our baby during the prenatal.

Spokesperson for the “Navy Seals of World Missions”

Since August of last year we have visited so many churches, seen good friends & met several new ones. It is truly a delight for us to connect with great folks. I also enjoy meeting with pastors who have not heard or are yet familiar with Baptist Faith Missions. Most people do not know that BFM’s financial effectiveness in missions is unsurpassed. As I’ve had the chance to converse with missionaries linked with other organizations I am made fully aware of the great blessing we have through Baptist Faith Missions. I encourage you to continue giving faithfully to the General Fund. Speaking of which, I have a special request.

Can you think of a church/pastor that has not heard of BFM & the missionaries it serves? Now, ask the Lord to give you an opportunity to excitedly share about Baptist Faith Missions. Tell them why they should participate in missions giving, praying, attending the missions conferences and going on mission trips through BFM Mission Adventures. I know it sounds like I am asking you to give a “sales pitch”. Yet, it is not about a “sales pitch”!  It is about the Gospel being spread, people being reached & churches being planted. In actuality, I’d like you to be an enthusiastic spokesperson.  Baptist Faith Missions is one of the most effective local church partnerships existent in world missions today. Dollar for dollar, there is none like it. The integrity & organization of the board of directors is amazing. The passion & ministry results of the missionaries is astounding. BFM missionaries are known as the “Navy Seals of World Missions”. For these and many other reasons a grassroots missions mobilization is underway and you should join. Here is your missions challenge: to be a Missions Spokesperson for BFM missionaries. Post on your Facebook or Twitter why you pray & support BFM. Invite a friend for dinner and tell them all about it. At your child or grandchild’s basketball game share this opportunity with those around you. Let all 50 states (and beyond) know about the efficacy of Baptist Faith Missions, tell them why & how every Christian should become personally involved.

Church Planting in America

We have journeyed as far North as Flint, MI, westward to Kirksville, MO, eastbound to Virginia Beach, VA & reached down to Gotha/Orlando, FL.  Throughout our travels we are encouraged by the many new churches & church plants in America. Christ’s message flourishes in the hearts of new believers through local churches passionate about Evangelism & Discipleship. What a joy this has been to our hearts! We are encouraged!!!

Thanks for all you do!

Grateful always, Jud & Raquel (Sarah, Laura & Benjamin)

AJ AND BARBARA HENSLEY  | APRIL 2011

Dear friends,
The Lord really knows how to bless a Church—adding more members. We have had another baptism with 5 participants. Within this group was a couple who realized that they were not saved when they were baptized before, so we were able to counsel them and they asked for official baptism. So Pastor Jay and I were to baptize them together and at the same time. What a beautiful picture of their love for each other and their love for God. We have been making visits and this week has been no exception the only difference this week was that we lost the truck. What I mean is that as we making our way to the home we were visiting we were going in the rain and were able to dodge most of the potholes filled with water until we came to one that stretched across the entire road. I looked at Barb and asked, “You reckon which side do you think we should take?” When she gave no answer I made an executive decision and took the middle ground. MISTAKE. The truck was lost in this gigantic abyss. We were up past the running board and the truck would not climb out of the hole neither forward nor backward. So we called the couple that we were going to visit and asked for help. After about an hour and help from people and another car we were able to get the truck out of the puddle.  The visit, although late was AWESOME.
We have AWESOME news—we are grandparents again. Our daughter Mary gave birth on the 25th of March to a bouncing baby girl. Her name is AshLey. This is the second child for Mary and her husband Walmir. Mother and baby are both doing well. “Looks like grandpa” (lol)
Other news about our daughter and her husband–they have accepted an invitation for Walmir to become the pastor of the Good News Baptist Church about 9 hours from Caraguatatuba. Pray for them as they move after the 15th of May to this new location to serve the Lord.  It really hurts to see them go–but it is AWESOME knowing that they are doing the Lord´s will.
We are planning a pastor’s conference in Nov. 2011.  We will have 2 pastors from the States to bring the messages and teach at this conference. Our theme will be ” Rescuing our Happiness to serve.” We are anticipating around 100 pastors to be present. Our goal is to encourage our national brothers in preaching the word. Pray for this congress of pastors. This will be our church’s first major “out-reach”.
Our Church has had continual, gradual growth–this past month we were in the low 90´s–how AWESOME is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!!  As with all growth there are some “growing pains”. Some examples — we need more Sunday School space, more teachers, and lastly, here is the great need—a BUS!!  For our people to get to Church they would have to pay $16.50 per week to ride the public bus. Per month that would be $66.00 per month.  Knowing the minimum wage here you could see how it would be impossible for them to spend that much money on bus fare. So therefore the need for a bus. A couple of weeks ago the van arrived at church with 34 people aboard ( this is a 16 passenger van). Pray with us and for us for our transportation needs.
We have been very busy at the vocational school this month, building and working in the shop. We have also found someone to live in the house where Mary and Walmire lives. He is retired and is excited about taking care of our tools and teaching the vocational students. It seems that the Lord is putting everything in order. It looks like we will get the dormitory ready for tile before the groups start to come in June. If you would like to help with the tile work, come on down. But if you can’t come, send your offerings to buy the tile and we will find someone to do the work. Pray for the school and the students that the Lord will send there.
We spoke of the groups that are coming this summer. If you are a part of one of those, we are anxiously awaiting your arrival. If you are not part of those groups, think about coming on a mission trip. Here in Caraguatatuba, Barbara and I would like to show you how your mission dollars are being spent and we would be happy to let you do some backbreaking work also.

PAUL AND WANDA HATCHER  |  APRIL 2011

April 10, 2011

Dear friends,

Let me update you on the progress of our pastors’ health.  Pastor Nildo is recovering well from the heart attacks.  Exams revealed that he has a congenital problem in which the veins around the heart are very, very small.  With medication, his blood pressure has been reduced to around 100 over 50, which has made him very sluggish.  Pastor Michael is recovering from back surgery; he is doing physical therapy, has been able to be up and around some, and is encouraged by his progress.

March 13^th, we celebrated our 40^th wedding anniversary. Our church couples did a nice party for us.  Last September we also completed 36 years as missionaries with BFM in Brazil. We continue to be excited with the opportunity that the Lord has given us to reach people with the gospel and start churches.  We are grateful for your lifting us up before the Lord and for your support all these years.

We are, at this moment, in Lexington for the mission conference and looking forward to seeing friends and sharing what God is doing with us in Brazil. We are staying with Jud and Raquel at the mission house in Lexington and enjoying our three grandchildren.  Wanda’s mom is with us and planning to go back home with us for a couple of months at the end of April.

May God bless you richly. We send you our love and thanks.  Paul and Wanda