God is Working in Various Communities in Brazil!
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
July 1, 2018
Dear brothers and sisters,
Thanks to the Lord we are doing well and have had a great month. Time does not stop or wait. It is hard to believe July is here.
The works are all doing well. God has blessed as we reach out into the communities. All our works involve lots of time on the road. We are working in 4 different communities during the week. Kathy and the team of youth she works with go every Monday to Ubim to have the children’s club. Her car is 18 years old and has had lots of problems. I would like to get another car for her. Please pray with us that God will provide a means.
A special sports day at Iranduba
Service at Serra Baixa
A truck full at Serra Baixa!
Children at Ubim on Monday
The first youth night at Ubim on Saturday
Children at Ubim on Monday
We started youth meeting at the Ubim community on Saturday night. Through this, we plan on reaching out to the adults. There is an Indian tribe right behind this community and you can only go there if invited. A couple of weeks ago an Indian lady came by the church and asked Kathy what was going on there. So Kathy explained it was a kids club that taught the Bible. She asked “Can my daughters come?” Kathy said, “Sure!” Well last week we had six that came! Praise the Lord!
The services that we have on Friday night at Serra Baixa community is doing well and we always have visitors. Please continue to pray for the salvation of those that have never trusted the Lord. This last Friday our truck was loaded. We took 25 people. Kathy’s car wasn’t working.
The mother church is doing well and this month we are planning our outreach festival. This is a great time to get the whole church involved and a special time to reach out and bring people from the community close to the church to have contact with the church and to hear about God. The festival is July the 28th. Pray that we can reach many people.
The church at Iranduba is coming along. We have been doing visitation. The couple from Venezuela is helping out quite a bit there. Pray with us that God will lead us to a place to buy or rent. The place we have now is not very big and not in the best place.
Our night off is always on Tuesday, but last week a man who has been coming to our church asked us to have a service at his mother’s house. She is very catholic and he wanted her to hear the gospel. It was great! There were 25 there.
Also, we had a blessing last week. A young lady who was coming to our church wanted to get saved but her mother is very catholic and didn’t want her at another church. Well, she got saved and her mother was ok with that. Now she and a young man from our church are planning on getting married. Her mother said, “Only if a priest does the wedding.” We told her let’s just pray and God will take care. Sure enough. A couple who is their friends and are from our church got married last week. The young lady’s mother was there for the wedding. When they got home, her mother said, “I would like for you to get married at that place and have that pastor to do your wedding.” She was so happy. Praise the Lord.
We thank each of you for your love prayers and support. May God bless each of you.
Odali & Kathy Barros
Caixa Postal 1
Iranduba, Amazonas 69.415.000
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[at]hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online
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News & Reports – July 2018 [Online Edition]
The Online Edition of the July 2018 BFM News & Reports is available at the link below. Read how God is working through the lives of our faithful missionaries and continue to pray for them.
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Is Living on the Mission Field a Death Wish?
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is church planting.
June 25, 2018
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Question: Is doing mission work and living on the mission field a death wish? I have to wonder if it is. I don’t know how I ever leave my house in my car or on my motorbike and return alive. The unwritten rule of the road in Kenya is if you are bigger than the other vehicle then you have the right of way. That means when I’m on my motorbike, other cars will deliberately pull out in front of me or deliberately use my lane to drive in, forcing me off the road. At other times, when I’m in my car, motorbikes will dart in and around me, missing me or oncoming traffic by mere inches, forcing me to brake hard in order not to kill them. Pedestrians step out right in front of me. Cows, sheep, goats, chickens, baboons, and zebras all use the same road as me.
And then there is malaria, e bola, typhoid, amoebae, and all the other microscopic critters that share our living space. Fortunately, we don’t have to worry too much about the bigger critters like snakes, crocodiles, lions, hyenas, or hippopotamus. They are around, some farther away (like crocodiles, lions, hyenas, and hippopotamus), some nearer (like snakes), but we don’t really concern ourselves with them.
And, you know, every long-term missionary can say they know at least one other missionary who has died in an airplane crash. Well, up until this month I didn’t know of any. I can’t say that anymore. And that is what is causing me to reflect upon this subject so much in this newsletter. If you keep an eye on international news you might have noticed earlier this month that a small plane carrying eight passengers and two crew members went down in Kenya this past month, killing all those on board. It went down in the Aberdare Mountains, requiring two days for rescue workers to even find it and arrive at the crash site. As I said, nobody survived. Normally when we hear about plane crashes we think “well, those things happen” and we feel bad for those who have died. But this plane crash was VERY, VERY personal to us here in Kitale. You see, this plane was THE VERY PLANE that goes from Kitale to Nairobi every day. We only get one scheduled flight from Kitale to Nairobi every day and this was “our” plane that went down. We have all ridden it. Julie and I have ridden it many times. My parents have ridden it. Other of our guests have ridden it. Amy and Josiah have ridden it a couple of times already just this year (2018) when going back to school. Any of us could have been on that plane. We thank God that none of our family was flying on that plane on that particular day. When we heard about the crash, Julie and I looked at each other and wondered what were the chances that we DIDN’T know somebody on that plane. The chances were good that we did. And as it turned out I did have friends on that plane. Two of our missionary community were on that flight and were taken home to glory: Zechariah, a missionary from Fiji that I did not know very well, and Ron, a missionary from the States and a good friend of mine. It is incredulous to me that Ron is gone and that he left in this way. I was supposed to have coffee with him just before I left for the States but he had to cancel and I didn’t see him. Then we were to get together after I returned to Kenya but then he was killed in the crash. Now I will never see him again.
I guess we missionaries are all aware of the fact that we could die on the mission field. Obviously, none of wants to have to pay that ultimate sacrifice for the work of God, but we all know it could happen. I kept thinking over and over again that my kids could very well have been on that flight. Any other day and they may have been. We place ourselves in God’s hands and pray for safety, accepting the risks and knowing that our God is big enough to take of us. And if He does allow bad things to happen we also believe that He is big enough to also work that out to our good and His glory. So, is doing mission work and living on the mission field a death wish? Definitely.
Rest in peace, Ron, and worship in the presence of your Savior.
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 Amy, Josiah & Chloe)
rojuta[at]gmail.com
Visit their blog!
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
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Planning for More Seminary Classes
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
June 14, 2018
Dear friends and family,
Sometimes you think you don’t have a lot of things happening and then you turn around and see all the things that have happened. We have finally gotten all the results of the two classes mailed out. It takes some time to translate and grade these tests and then get them to the students. The professors of these two classes were AWESOME. We can tell because the test scores were high.
Now we pray for the students (pastors and church workers) as they start putting their training into practice. I have already heard from three pastors and they are very appreciative of the class and are asking if they may help us find more locations for more classes. They want to help us find more locations in larger cities so that we can reach more pastors and church workers. I think this is AWESOME. The more help we receive the faster we can have established seminary sites in regional locations and this will help facilitate our class schedules. We have already been in São Paulo two times this year and have two more planned.
There are times when in spite of all of your planning, praying, and doing schedules—things happen. That is the case for this month. I had my plane reservations to go to Brasil to do some research for locations for the next year’s classes, but I got a call from my daughter Mary Katherine to inform me that the truckers had gone on a strike. So, all the plans I had made went up in smoke because without the truckers there is no gas and no food being delivered. So within days, there was no transportation, food or cooking gas in Caraguatatuba and many other religions of Brasil. They advised me not to come because the traveling I was planning could not happen.
In the church there in Caraguatatuba we had families helping other families. So God was glorified in all. During this time people rode bikes and those who did not have a bike walked, but the Caragua Baptist Church did not close its doors. The strike ended in two-and-a-half weeks and things are slowly getting back to normal, so please pray for Brasil and its people. Also pray for the planning session that I missed as I do not have another date to go do this.
We are praying and planning for two more regional locations for the Seminary in 2019. Pray with us for God to give us the places where He wants us to go.
This year’s class schedule is full to overflowing because we had to cancel one class last year and are scrambling to put them into this year.
So please pray for the Seminary locations as this means more pastors reaching Brasilians with the gospel. And as you well know, praying is so important but so is your financial commitment to missions. So please pray for BFM and the missionaries that are on the field reaching people for our Lord and Savior.
Just a reminder why we started Caragua Baptist Seminary: I saw that there were many Pastors that did not have Bible training. So with this seminary, we are filling that gap. This way we can help these pastors to become more biblically trained and to be able to “preach the Word”. And for those who have had seminary training to add to their Bible knowledge. As you know we pick one of the students and help him with his expenses and one year in his starting a new church. So with that in mind, we at Gardenside Baptist Church are planning a Singspiration and silent auction on Saturday, August 4th. If you are close, come over and enjoy the singing and some Brasilian appetizers and bid on some unique items.
I have been to the doctors this past month and have another appointment in August. I am anxious for this appointment as I am praying that the exams will give a positive result and MAYBE I will get a vacation from the meds for a short time.
Our God is an AWESOME God!! So all we have to do is look around, count our blessings, and say, “Thank you God!”
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online
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Recalling the Start of Making Disciples in France
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
June 4, 2018
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The question arises from time to time, “How did you start the church where you are?” This is an excellent question. This past week we were vividly reminded of how the process of making disciples here began. We had the privilege of receiving for dinner and the Sunday meeting, Ursula, the first person to be touched by the Lord at the beginning of our efforts here. Ursula was here with her daughter, Veronika, who was about five when she and her younger sister came with their mother to Sunday School. She is now a fine young lady of 23 doing internship near us.
John & Judy with Ursula and Veronika
The neighborhood had a special welcome home party potluck for John & Judy. The party theme was “Dress like an American”.
Children at the neighborhood’s special welcome home party potluck for John & Judy. The party theme was “Dress like an American”.
In September 2000, we moved to Tournefeuille where we knew no one. The day we signed the rental contract on our house we were invited to a neighborhood gathering in the street a few dozen feet from our house. One of the neighbors organized the snack time so that all the new home renters could get to know each other. That event was an answer to prayer in ways I do not have the space to retell here. At this gathering, word got around that we were here to communicate the word of God and Ursula introduced herself and let us know that she would like to come to Bible studies. She a key person that God used to help us start here. She was very friendly and brought her friends and people she befriended. Ursula and her family returned to the home area of Germany in 2003. She expresses the fact that the crossing of our paths here changed her life. It was great to review those early days. I am including a picture of Ursula, Veronika and us following Sunday morning service.
One of our neighbors stopped by in early May to say that since we had been out of town for so long and missed the last couple neighborhood gatherings they wanted to have a special welcome home party potluck for us. The party theme was “dress like an American.” I am including pictures of the adults and children at this party which will give you an idea of how they visualize Americans. You might try to guess who Judy and I were trying to impersonate from an old TV series that was quite popular here. It was great to renew these acquaintances and keep the links warm for communicating the Good News of Jesus Christ. That evening I had the opportunity to spend a good amount of time giving the message of salvation to a man who is a new neighbor next to us.
The annual neighborhood party is to be held this coming Saturday evening. We thank God for all of these opportunities He gives us to link up with people and build credibility to communicate the Good News.
Thank you for your participation which enables us to be here as lights in this and other communities. God continues to work through the believers here for His glory and we are encouraged.
From southern France,
John and Judy
John Mark & Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online
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Venezuelan Couple Helping in Iranduba, Growth in Serra Baixa
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
Iranduba
Iranduba
Friday Night in Serra Baixa
June 1, 2018
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We have had a great month and we hope that you have also! Things here are moving along in an amazing way. God has done so many wonderful things. The church and the missions are doing really well.
The church in Iranduba has had several activities going on. The visitation is doing well. We have the Venezuelan couple working with us there—the husband is a pastor. We have been letting them do several of the activities with the youth there. They are really excited. We are praying that that will continue to go well. It would be really great if they eventually could take over that work. As big as the city is, a full-time pastor would be a blessing.
We will be having the inauguration service for the church building in the community of Ubim this coming Saturday, June 2nd. We are going to take members from our other missions to help with visitation for the service.
We are excited and the team that works there are really happy to have the space to work with the kids and youth. Kathy and I will be going there Saturday nights for service since we don’t have to go to Iranduba now.
The service we have in the community of Serra Baixa on Friday night is growing. Many of the people that are coming are not saved. Please pray for us as we share God’s love with them.
Thanks to all of you who support us and the ministries and your prayers. We greatly appreciate each of you!
Odali & Kathy Barros
Caixa Postal 1
Iranduba, Amazonas 69.415.000
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[at]hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online
Read more
Scoffer Surrenders to Christ Just Days Before Drowning
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
June 3, 2018
Dear Friends,
We were very excited to be able to minister in Porto Rico this month! Oh, but it wasn’t the one in the Caribbean Sea. Actually, it is a small town in our state located on the banks of the Paraná River. Our outreach team went to help a local missionary share the gospel in public schools and parks for a week. Every outreach experience is different, of course, but some are very remarkable, like Porto Rico was. During our gospel skit presentations, there was one man who kept loudly interrupting the speaker by making jokes and trying to ridicule our efforts to share the gospel. It was necessary to have a couple of our men escort him from the platform more than once.
Before and during our presentations we pray for the Lord to guide us and use all that is done for people to hear and accept the gospel and this man was certainly being a hindrance. On the human level, he made our team angry and frustrated, but the Lord helped one of our preachers to see that the man´s behavior was the result of a spiritual battle going on in his mind and spirit. The preacher began a personal conversation with the man and asked him about his relationship with God. The man admitted that he felt totally alone in the world and was seeking attention. The preacher shared with him that Jesus Christ loved him and gave his life so that he could be saved and have an eternal relationship with God. The man listened and then returned to watch the rest of the presentations and testimonies. At the end of the service an invitation was given for anyone who had trusted in Jesus Christ to come forward to make a public profession and the man who was earlier causing a scene, stepped forward. The local pastor took the man aside and again explained the gospel to him to be sure that he understood the message. He assured the pastor that he understood and that he was surrendering his life to Christ.
A few days later our team went to work in a neighboring town. When they got on the highway to return to our headquarters the local missionary in Porto Rico called the team to share the sad news that that man had drowned in the Paraná River just that morning! Our joy and hope is that he is now in the presence of Jesus Christ. That remarkable event helped us realize again, and even more strongly, just how vital our ministry is. The likelihood that he would decide to go to a church service on his own accord was very slim, but because we took the gospel into the public square where he and many others were, that man got to hear the truth of God´s saving grace and we believe that already he is already in the presence of the Lord.
Just as the agitator in the crowd served to remind us to look for opportunities in our aggravations, my cell phone crash opened a door for me to share Christ with the iPhone tech guys last month. When I took my phone in to be repaired I had to wait at the counter for nearly 30 minutes. There were two technicians sitting there and no other customers. I started a casual conversation with them that led them to ask me what I am doing here in Brazil. That gave me a chance to share my testimony of coming to Christ as Lord and Savior through the Scriptures and to invite them to come to our church to know more. I pray that God will help me to constantly be aware of the open doors around us, if we will just pay attention.
Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support of our ministry here Curitiba, Brazil.
In Christ´s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
bobbymichael_1[at]hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online
Read more
News & Reports – June 2018 [Online Edition]
The Online Edition of the June 2018 BFM News & Reports is now available at the link below. Read how God is working through the lives of our faithful missionaries and continue to pray for them!
[Click here to read BFM News & Reports – June 2018]
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