Missionary Update: The Tates in Kenya [November 2015]
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
October 31, 2015
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
If my monthly newsletters had a title I would entitle this month’s letter “Pastors NOT Welcome”. Well, with a title like that maybe I should explain. So, when I speak of pastors I am certainly not referring to American pastors. The American pastors I know are Godly, Christ-like and Biblical. They have the best interests of the church members at heart. They are concerned about the Kingdom of Heaven and furthering the cause of Christ. I’m not saying they aren’t without their faults, but the ones I know are good people who want to lead others to a deeper relationship with Jesus. No, the pastors I’m talking about are Kenyan pastors. It seems whenever they show up, I end up with problems.
We have a group meeting in the house of a man living in a local village. The group is small and though we have been meeting for nine months, it has been extremely difficult to get anyone to attend our meetings for more than about three or four weeks. Thus, the group has remained small. We have spent much time in the last nine months teaching them about salvation, baptism, following and loving Jesus, serving others and many other major Bible doctrines. We have also taught them to remain meeting in the house instead of buying property, we taught them how to remain independent, self-reliant and self-propagating, and we taught them to use their offerings to help the poor, the sick, the widows and the orphans in their community. All along the group has agreed with all the teachings. They seemed to agree whole-heartedly. Then, a few weeks ago I walked into the house to begin the group meeting and there sat a man. I introduced myself. Then I found out he was a pastor. I groaned within myself. I knew what his presence in the group meant. It meant the whole tenor and attitude of the group would change. I knew that the focus of the group would change. I knew that problems would begin to occur and I knew exactly what those problems would be. It would involve money, sponsorship, buildings, quarrels and dependency. How did I know this? Because that is the way it happens every time a local pastor gets involved with our works here in Kenya.
The very first week the pastor attended our group meeting things began to change. At the end of the meeting I was informed why the group was small and why a lot of people were not coming to the meetings. I was told it was because people didn’t want to meet in the house, that meeting in the house made them feel uncomfortable and not like a “church”. I was informed they wanted to start looking for a place to rent for a meeting-place. I asked them where they would find the money for such an endeavor. The answer was “God will provide”. Can you guess who “God” is in this answer? If you guessed “Roger” then you guessed correctly. The next week I was informed that the group had been “given” a piece of property. I was taken to the property and shown how ideal it would be for a church building. I was shown where the building could be built, where the toilets would be put and how much extra land there would be for growing crops. When I asked how much this would cost I was told 1,000,000 shillings (you could probably actually double that to get the true amount). This was coming from a group whose weekly offerings amount to 50 shillings. To give you an idea of what this is like, compare it to a church in the States which collects a total of $50 a week in their offerings who wants to build a church building worth $2,000,000. I asked where they would get the money to do this. I was told “God will provide”. Again, substitute “Roger” for “God” in this sentence and you will understand what they really mean.
Where will this end? I have a prediction. It will end with quarrels, struggles over who gets what share of the pie, resentment of me for not giving them what they want and ultimately the death of the group. Is the pastor the culprit or the symptom? I don’t know but either way he’s NOT Welcome.
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 & Chloe)
rojuta[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Radfords in Kenya [November 2015]
Nathan and Carrie Radford serve the Lord in Kitale, Kenya. Their main ministries include indigenous church planting, a prison ministry, and a hospital ministry for mothers with premature babies.
November 1, 2015
Dear praying friends,
We hope this finds each of you doing well and thank you once again for your faithfulness to missions, whether through prayer, visiting the fields, or sacrificially giving to the Lord’s work. We sincerely appreciate each of you so much and thank the Lord for you. This month, I want to take a little different approach in the prayer letter, as it is a real prayer request for us, in regards to our health, especially that of our children, McKenna and Camille. I will be sure to keep you updated on the ministries in the coming months, but I felt that this is really where we are right now. We want as many to be informed as possible what has been going on, and we covet your prayers.
About 10 months ago, our daughters were complaining of stomach aches. We heard all morning “Mommy, my tummy hurts.” Not knowing exactly what to do, we did the only thing we knew to do at that time. We took them to the various medical facilities in Kitale for testing. We tested for all the basics, such as malaria, typhoid, amoeba, etc. The conclusions we received were that it was amoeba and we got them started on the medicines. Well, the stomach aches continued and we felt it necessary to go to a much bigger hospital in Eldoret, about an hour and a half from Kitale. We saw various doctors there also, and again, the conclusion was that it was amoeba, although they prescribed a different medication and different period of usage. (10 days rather than 5 days) We did this, and things got better. For a while. A couple of months things were good and fine and we thought the problem was resolved. Well, about a month and a half ago, the tummy aches started again. We have been to all the main hospitals/doctors in Kitale and a big hospital in Eldoret, and are still having the issues.
We’ve recently found a decent pediatrician in Kitale. Dr. Musabi is new to our area and has done a good job thus far with treating children. She ran multiple tests on McKenna but each was inconclusive. She referred us to a pediatric gastroenterologist in Nairobi. This is the first time we have had a referral, so we are thankful for Dr. Musabi. Our doctor in Nairobi has run numerous tests on both girls, including one to test for inflammation that was sent to an international lab. This test came back extremely high for McKenna and high for Camille. The doctor insisted McKenna have an endoscopy and colonoscopy.
Well, these procedures were delayed for five days as McKenna developed a cold. Finally the procedures were done and we are currently in Nairobi waiting for results to be returned to us. Camille will not have an endoscopy or colonoscopy as her test levels were lower than McKenna’s. We are praising the Lord that the tests revealed no major issues for McKenna, but most likely some kind of infection or food allergy. We pray the results would be definitive and come back soon. Oh, and yes, while we have been away, one of our big guard dogs we have had for 10 years most likely had stomach cancer, and she is no longer with us. Very sad for all of us.
All in all, it has been a very challenging past few weeks. We know the Lord is in control of all things and we trust Him. We hope and pray to get back to Kitale soon to our life there but we are waiting on the Lord and seeing how to finally get these stomach issues treated. While we don’t understand everything, and it has been a very difficult last few weeks, we trust in the Lord and know He will take care of us. His ways are not our ways. I will finish with a couple of verses that have comforted me during these difficulties. Psalm 115:3 says “But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased.” God does whatever He pleases and He is on the throne. Romans 8:28 says “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”
All things work together for good to them that love God. Even when it’s difficult. Even when we don’t completely understand. He has a plan and a purpose, and He is working it out in His timing. I’m sure many of you are going through difficulties also, and I hope these verses are a comfort to you as well.
Looking forward to updating on the ministries next month, but felt it was necessary to let you know about the health situations in the family and how to pray for us. We love and appreciate each of you so much. Remember, God is in control. Always.
Blessings,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya
East Africa, 30200
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Mission Sheets: October 2015 [PDF Version]
Get your advanced PDF copy of the October 2015 Mission Sheets at the link below!
BFM Mission Sheets – October 2015
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Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley in Brazil [October 2015]
The Hensleys have spent nearly 15 years serving in Brazil. They run a vocational school and orphanage in Caraguatatuba and have also established a church and mission points throughout the city.
October 9, 2015
Dear friends and family,
Well I have a lot to catch you up on about our ministry here in Caraguatatuba, Sao Paulo. To start with, I had to let Mrs. Barb go home to help with her mother. Mrs. Reba fell and broke her hip on the 28th of July and had to be hospitalized for surgery. We could only get tickets for her to arrive two days after the surgery. After the time of recuperating from the surgery, Mrs. Reba was moved to a rehab and for the most part was an uncooperative patient. She was sent back to the hospital because she could not keep food down. During this time she almost passed two times, but she managed to spring back enough to be dismissed from the hospital and was sent to another rehab facility.
During these two months Barb was also having various tests done. She was having numbness and loss of use in her hand and arm. After numerous tests and a stint in the hospital they think that they have determined the problem. They think that it is a deteriorating cervical disk c4—c7. The treatment is traction two times. During this time she was also scheduled for outpatient surgery and in the surgery room she became very sick and the surgeon wrestled that surgery. She will come home in December and will have the surgery then. So please put her on your prayer list.
Now just go ahead and throw me into the health issues also. My test for prostate problems came back with numbers very high. I was put on medication for one month and after that I will go to a doctor here to have the PSA numbers checked again. If they remain high I will return to the States for the next step in this process. So the three of us have health problems but we know who is in control. Just keep us on your prayer list please.
Now enough about medical problems, let’s talk about ministry issues. How AWESOME is the God we serve!!!!! With the growth, we are experiencing space problems—not enough room for Sunday School and not enough room for our regular church services not enough chairs for the people that are coming. You name it, we are experiencing it.
Do not think that we have a perfect ministry here, no our Church is full of problems. That is because our Church has sinners like you and I in it. But what an AWESOME task-blessing, to be right where you feel God wants you to be and doing what He wants you to do. Thank you Lord for allowing me to be a Missionary here in Brasil and doing that in retirement.
Here is what has been going on in these last two months: lots of remodeling and construction. You see we have purchased an AWESOME building right beside where we are renting. We looked at many areas, buildings and land and God is almost ready right beside where we are congregating. I hope you are following our remodeling progress on Facebook. The roof is now on and construction in front is progressing well. We have built two bathrooms and a new entry for the church. With help of many young people from the States and here we have removed all the columns and partitions inside the building and have made an AWESOME assembly area for the church. Upstairs will be great for Sunday school rooms and with a kitchen (all good Christians have to have a place to cook and eat).
As you can see the ministry is growing and the construction is continuing so these areas also need your prayers. We will be moving into the new building before it gets completed because money will run out before it gets completed. Don’t worry this is not uncommon here. God is in control!! Here is where faith comes in. Also what would you all do next year when you come down if we were able to complete everything?
AWESOME is the God we serve. All this in reality is a miracle which I will go into in our next month’s letter. Stay tuned for building and ministry progress. AWESOME AWESOME!!!!!
Even though we are working a lot that does not mean that we do not have time to turn your bed down if you want to come and participate in what God is doing here in Caraguatatuba.
In His service,
AJ and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Creiglows in Brazil [October 2015]
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
October 7, 2015
Dear Brethren,
Bev and I spent 10 days in southern Brazil on vacation. This was all the time I could get off, but it was enough and it was relaxing. Pastor Pedro and his wife were in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina. He was there finishing up his masters degree, so we met up in Rio Grande do Sul for the short vacation.
We have had a very busy time since then. I have been helping two of our missionaries work through some problems. Bev and I have been meeting regularly with our missionary at Guajará, Amazonas. He and his wife have got out of control with their finances, so we are walking them through the process of getting out of debt and restoring his testimony in the community. The other missionary has been working at Profeta on the upper Jurua River for 5 years. He has been struggling since the beginning of the year with deep spiritual and mental frustrations. The congregation there just sees him as their “hired hand”. They refuse to help with anything. They won’t even help with the spreading of the Gospel. Now some of you pastors are saying, “Well, what else is new?” To me this is NOT normal and I would go crazy, too, if my church did not pull their load with me. So pray for Antônio. We have brought him in from the field for treatment and possibly deploy him to a new field.
A few of the men from church who showed up to do fencing last Saturday.
As some of you may recall, First Baptist Church bought 18 acres of land for expansion in the near future. It is about a mile past where we live. On one of my evening runs I decided to swing in there and check up on things. I discovered that a man had just cleared about 3 acres of land on our neighbor’s ranch and planted some new manioc on his place and in ours, too. The rancher paid the guy some cash to get him out of his hair and not have to take him to court. Since the church doesn’t feel that it would be appropriate to pay the man, we have decided that now is the time to get all of our fences and gates up to par. I have been working out there for several days now. Several of our men have taken time to help out, also. We have been cleaning out brush, did some plowing and fencing. I could tell you more, but let me just say: September and October are our hottest months of the year. This afternoon I decided to sit in the AC of my office and write you. Thank you very much for stopping my machete!
We have been having huge crowds at church for weeks now. We have actually had 48 more in September on average over August in our evening services. The morning services added another 146. We have had 3 people saved in each evening service for the past 5 weeks (all of September and the first Sunday of October). We have had several more requests for baptism. Of course several have moved away, too. Levi and Eliane just retired from Bank of Brazil and moved to Curitiba, Paraná to take care of her elderly mother. Levi was still single when I became pastor. He married a Presbyterian, who I baptized many years ago. Hard to lose such faithful people. He was one of those original 40 members that I had when I became pastor 37 years ago.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: Jud & Raquel Hatcher Stateside from Brazil [October 2015]
Jud and Raquel Hatcher serve the Lord in Manaus, Brazil. They are part of the “SeedFactory” church planting initiative, which is a movement to plant churches in all 26 Brazilian capitals. Since 2006, 43 churches have been started in 5 states.
October 7, 2015
Dear friends,
This last month has passed so quickly.
Family
Our kids are doing well in school. Their greatest difficulty is still the English language, but they are committed to learning. They regularly bring books home from the school’s library and we take them once a week to the public library. Bedtime is a hard time for me, as I have to insist they stop reading and turn off the bedroom lights. I am grateful for their desire to read in English. The kids are doing well socially too, as friendship comes easy to them. I would be harder on us as parents if they were having difficulty making friends. Raquel is doing great, she participates in a women’s midweek Bible study and is connecting well.
Teaching and Networking
I am enjoying my time at Liberty University as an adjunct professor. Teaching and mentoring is part of my DNA and I feel at home engaging with students. The Lord is giving me the opportunity to connect and network with new pastors at existing churches around the Virginia and North Carolina region. The opportunities to work with Dr. David Adams at the School of Divinity in the Pastoral Leadership Program and with Dr. Matt Willmington at Thomas Road Baptist Church is never boring. This experience is also a great learning opportunity for me. I do stay busy, but that is part of my life’s routine anyway.
Upcoming
This coming weekend we plan to participate in the “Testify to the Gospel Conference” at Grace Baptist Church in Fairborn, OH where my dear friend, Mark Pyles is pastor. The following week I will participate in the Refuel Conference at Thomas Road Baptist Church, where Jonathan Falwell is senior pastor.
Our prayer requests are as follows:
- Our finances.
- Our children’s education and English language.
- Expanding our support base network.
- For our unsaved neighbors.
Grateful,
Jud Hatcher
Furlough Address:
216 Mill View Ln
Lynchburg, VA 24502
(859) 608-4742
judsonhatcher@hotmail.com
Website | Twitter | Facebook
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers Stateside from Brazil [October 2015]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
October 4, 2015
Dear Friends,
Charlene and I just returned from a two week trip to Brazil. We had to count on family members to cover for us taking turns caring for my ailing father. While in Brazil we were able to have a meeting with our evangelism ministry, Projeto Vida, and make plans for the next few months of outreach efforts.
My young replacement at my former church, Alek Rossi, has been doing a great job. Everyone we talked to about how the church was doing gave excellent reports on how well he is pastoring the flock and teaching. We saw several new families attending and the church is still baptizing new members. Alek asked me to preach on the Sunday that we were present. It was a welcome privilege to be in my former pulpit teaching God’s word and seeking to make Him known to the lost. It was clearly evident that the members have truly embraced Alek and his wife as their leaders. It was also clear that the members have embraced the responsibilities of caring for their facilities. Actually, I got a little ironic laugh out of seeing how well they have done that. For 4 years I sought to transfer to the members the importance of attending to the small details of cleanliness and upkeep of the grounds while they also gave loving attention to the other members and visitors. As soon as we drove onto the property we saw that loving care had gone into the upkeep of every little detail. I want to think that my constant example and drilling the members finally took hold, but it would have been nice if they had shown that while I was still there. I love them anyway!
While I was meeting with the Projeto Vida leaders they shared how the Lord has been blessing this year. They still have two more months to work in the public schools this year, but already they have been in 6 states, taking the gospel to over 30,000 students and teachers. We also made preparation for hosting and training missionary volunteers in the upcoming months. There will be two international volunteers arriving early next year who will work and travel with the teams in active training. Also, we will coordinate the partnership with a group of nearly 50 youth who will share the gospel in some public schools and parks.
It has been many years since we have been able to participate in the Missions Conference on behalf of Baptist Faith Missions in Dearborn Heights, MI. We are really excited about being there again in early November. We hope to see many of our old friends there and are looking forward to making new friendships as well.
Thank you for your prayers and support,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Furlough Address:
3912 Casaba Loop
Valrico, FL 33596
Field Address:
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
Phone: (813) 481-7007
Cell Phone: (813) 727-6405
Email: bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: Paul & Wanda Hatcher Stateside from Brazil [October 2015]
Paul and Wanda Hatcher have been serving the Lord together in Brazil since 1974. Their main ministry is church planting.
October 01, 2015
Dear Friends and Co-laborers,
We greet each of you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are so thankful for God’s goodness and grace. God is greatly to be praised for all His generous and gracious benevolence.
It seems that the year has flown by, October again – a great occasion to count the many blessings God has given each of us. It is great to see how God is so marvelous. September the fourteenth, mom, Alta Hatcher, celebrated her ninetieth birthday, a celebration of God’s blessing to her. We thank the Lord for the many years she has faithfully served in the mission of sharing the good news of our Lord Jesus. We thank God for the health He gives her and the joy she brings to so many. Dad and Mom were missionaries for sixty years in Brazil. Praise the Lord!
This month I was reminded of a fond memory and a great encouragement. The first church Dad established in Brazil was in a very difficult place to get to, a community controlled by the roman church. The Bible was a forbidden item – explanation for the prohibition was that the “ignorant would reap damnation for misinterpreting the Bible”. A seed was planted. This was the place I attended church as a child, had friends, and joined in the visitation for Bible School and service. The last week of September they celebrated the fifty-fifth homecoming. For many years the church struggled. God preserved it thru many difficulties; and today, they have over seven thousand in Sunday attendance and the Senior Pastor for the last few years is my youngest brother, David Hatcher, who was also part of the small church plant fifty-five years ago. Lesson – never despise the day of the small things. Blessing – God does awesome things beyond our greatest imagination. Praise be to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Pray for the ministries in Brazil as they continue to take the gospel to the regions near and far. Pray to the Father of the harvest to send laborers into a very ripe field of harvest. We know that all the fields are not ready to harvest at the same time; however, it is always timely to sow the gospel abundantly, water generously, and, as we have witnessed, God gives the increase.
We thank you for your prayers and financial support. We pray that our knowledge and remembrance of our Lord, the only true God, may abundantly increase in wisdom and discernment, that our trust and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ may be steadfast always, and that the love of his Holy Spirit may fill and overflow in our every word and action, with thanksgiving to God though Jesus Christ our only Lord and Life. God bless each of you richly through Jesus Christ.
Thanks for loving us,
Paul and Wanda Hatcher
rphatcher[at]gmail.com
15905 Mercott Court
Clermont, FL 34714
(239)227-6551
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