Missionary Update: The Radfords in Kenya [September 2013]
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.
September 4, 2013
Dear praying friends,
Well, it is now near the end of the term here in Kitale, so I thought I would use this prayer letter to give you an idea of how it went this past term, give current ministry progress, and inform you of how to be praying for us in future ministry endeavors. We appreciate each of you so much, and you are such a blessing to us.
One verse that has been a comfort to me this past term concerns seeking the Lord. There are so many things that come in our daily lives for which we need to seek the Lord. One thing I know for sure is that life is challenging, and we need His help and strength for each day. Psalm 105:4 says “Seek the LORD, and His strength: seek His face evermore.” How true this is, and how we need to seek the Lord each day.
The Annex prison ministry is continuing along well. We have been progressing well through the book of Matthew, after learning Inductive Bible study methods. The men seem to be enjoying the studies very much, and there is definite leadership material among these men. Please pray for this ministry as we are away, that it will continue along well.
In regards to church planting, based off of how this past term progressed, I feel I can say definitively that the method we will use in the future is to train nationals to go and start churches. At the beginning of the term, my partner Roger Tate and I said we would try two different ways of church planting here. What were the results?
The church plant in Shangalamwe was very similar to Rafiki last term. The Lord blessed, and there is a church there that we hope and pray will continue along well. However, there were differences between the two methods we tried. When we trained a national to go, things went so much better and progressed much more effectively. So, please pray for us next term, that the Lord would lead us to Godly men who love Him and want to go start churches in their villages. Certainly this method does not mean that there will be no problems, but I believe strongly that training nationals is the way we should proceed in the future here. This could change, but for now, I believe this is the way to proceed based off the results. In all of this, we need to ask the Lord for wisdom. Psalm 111:10a says “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” How we need to rely on Him daily for wisdom. We ask for your prayers in regards to what we have shared and the guidance and wisdom of the Lord.
Furlough is quickly approaching, and we are looking forward to seeing many of you who pray for us, have visited us, and give sacrificially to the work here. We thank the Lord for each of you. May God bless you.
Until Next Month,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya
East Africa 30200
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Missionary Update: John Mark & Judy Hatcher in France [September 2013]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
September 2, 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Lord has blessed us with an encouraging month in our regular Sunday meetings and Bible studies. We have Bible studies that meet every day of the week except Saturday. God uses your regular giving to meet our physical needs and your prayers contribute to the fruitfulness of the our ministry in France. We thank God daily for you.
I am spending time individually each week with a couple of young single men who have trusted the Lord and been baptized here. One is a 30 year old software engineer and the other is 24 old who has no special training, no job at present and lives with his parents. Making disciples is more than just preaching and church meeting activities. It requires investing a lot of time helping believers put into practice what our Lord Jesus Christ has commanded. It involves teaching how to study God’s Word and applying it to daily life, challenging, encouraging and praying. Our Lord Jesus and the apostle Paul lived daily with those they were helping to become disciples of Christ.
One of the young men with whom John Mark meets for discipleship.
Even though we are 60 years old, we are still learning. I will give you one example of how this sometimes happens. Recently we were invited to a military ceremony by our neighbor across the street. He was turning over the command of the regional military logistical services and moving on to a different assignment. After the military pomp and circumstances, we were invited to share a meal with the others present. Most of these were military personnel and their families. Hughes, the commander and neighbor who invited us, introduced us to Nicholas, a fellow officer, with whom we spent a considerable amount of time in conversation. Because so many people here are atheist, I had tried to emphasize God’s power, love and grace by mentioning when appropriate that we are blessed in some specific way. About the third time I said something like that in this conversation, Nicholas interjected, “I like the fact that you say ‘blessed’. We usually say, ‘I was lucky’.” Happily, I thought, “He’s getting it.” Then he added, “Because it is not just luck, our hard work is rewarded.” I tried to explain, “No, I mean we receive many blessings we do not deserve.” But, he insisted, “No, you should not be ashamed to admit that your hard work is rewarded.” I am not sure that I ever did really get across to him the reality of God’s grace, but I did make a mental note about how this particular phrase does not mean the same thing to others around me here as it does to me.
So, Hughes and his family moved away and we are anticipating the arrival of the new owners of this house across the street from us hoping to share the gospel with them. Of the 5 houses immediately across the street from us, 4 are having a change of occupancy in the next couple of months. Our field is constantly changing and this gives us added opportunities to demonstrate and present the Good News of Jesus Christ.
One of the ladies who is moving from across the street to a neighboring city with her husband declared herself to be an atheist when they moved in 9 years ago. We have spent a lot of time with them and had innumerable opportunities to share the gospel. She has come to only one special service, if my memory serves me right. But, she now believes that God exists and that He has intervened personally in her life. Last week she volunteered to us that even after they move she is planning on coming over from the neighboring town to our Sunday meetings.
And, so, we keep sowing and you keep helping us. Thanks!
Blessed by God and realizing it in France,
John and Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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August 2013 Mission Sheets [PDF & Flip-through]
Your August 2013 Mission Sheet is now available in PDF format. Follow the link below to view it!
You can also flip through the mission sheet at the link below. When flipping through, you can enlarge the pages by clicking the magnifying glass with the arrow in it. ( <–> ) Flip by clicking on the curled up page corner.
(Once you get there, click at the bottom of the page to flip through.)
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [September 2013]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
August 28, 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Good COLD morning to you all. Two days ago the temperature was in the nineties. Today, we are shivering with the temperature in low forties. God’s system of air conditioning is unequaled in its ability to change the weather rapidly. During the night, I woke up and Alta was putting another blanket on us. She said, “I am freezing.” While I write this note, the sun is shining brightly and the temperature is rising. I went to the store about 8:30 and Alta is busy cooking some of the things I bought because we are expecting our son Paul to arrive tomorrow in a surprise visit for a few days. What a joy fills our hearts when they come.
WORK IN ASSAI—Brother Daniel is the missionary pastor in Assai. He just called to greet us and to say that two persons with whom we worked and prayed for had been baptized. They are mother, Jirlene, and daughter, Mirela. We praise the Lord and thank Him for His work of Grace in these two lives. Please make the city of Assai a special item on your prayer list. A city of 20,000 population, it is the most difficult place we have ever worked in our entire ministry.
About 15 minutes ago, John Mark called us from France. Our hearts throb with joy when we receive calls from our children. Their work is going well and last Sunday they had wonderful services.
SPECIAL VISIT—While John Mark was on the telephone, Paul was trying to call us. He had just left Sao Paulo and was advising us that he would be here in about five hours. He will visit with us for about five days; what a special treat that will be!
URAI—The work here is going well. Pastor Marcio is doing a good job with the church and the mission points. The Congregation in Sussumo is going very well with a great group of adolescents. The three young people who work there are fine dedicated Christians—Wiler, Jeferson, and Odete. Marcio also pastors the Congregation in the little city of Rancho Alegre. They have services twice weekly. Presently, there is another dedicated brother in the ministry. He is married and they have four children. This week, he and the pastor are visiting two cities to decide where we will begin another Congregation. Praise the Lord for Pastors and people that pray and work for the spreading of the Gospel.
HEALTH—Kathy took me to see the doctor in Marilia. He is a great friend. My heart exam gave everything good. A complete blood exam, also, gave everything as very good. Praise the Lord for His benefits.
Sincerely, by the Grace of God,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: Odali & Kathy Barros in Brazil [September 2013]
- Odali and Kathy Barros have served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together since 1987. They are currently in the process of transitioning to Manaus to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
August 31, 2013
Greetings to all dear friends,
Twenty-seven years have passed since we began our ministry here in Sao Paulo. Looking back, it seems impossible that it has been that long. As we make new plans for our new place of work, we look back and see what God has allowed us to be a part of.
Our ministry with helping needy people, especially children, started in 1987 with a widow and her 5 children. Some of you may remember when we rented a home next to ours for them to live in. Those kids are all grown and on their own. As we come to a close of our ministry here, we were with these children as a new step in their lives took place. We buried the mother last Sunday. What an unusual situation. Our ministry started and ended with the same family. We praise God that she was saved. Her son Rodrigo is one of the teachers here in the Bible Institute.
Ever since I was saved, I have had the desire to work and reach people who lived in villages on the river. Ever since the home was closed and we could not reopen, we have been praying for God to show us what He wanted us to do and where. Last year in July, we had peace about where God wanted us. We then contacted the directors of BFM and informed them of our new plans. We appreciated their prayers for our move.
For the last year we have been getting thing ready for the changes here. One day at a time God has taken care of each detail. We have already started our move. We will be moving back to Manaus, Amazonas where Kathy and I met, got married, and started our work in the ministry. We have already sent to trucks of things. Wow–one can really accumulate many things in 27 years!!! We will be living across the river from Manaus on our land where we had a children’s home also. When we arrive, we will be visiting by road and by river the villages to see how many there are and if they have any Baptist work. We want to make a map of the cities and their sizes and their needs. Since roads have been opened, villages have started on roadsides. We will be using the big bus that we had at the home and we will need to purchase a boat for the river work. We are excited about the change–and what a change after 27 years of having dozens and even hundreds of people in our home every day. God has been good and we have been blessed in our ministry. Through good and hard times He has always been with us and given us the strength that only He can give.
I was saved through the work of a missionary from BFM who visited a village on the river, Bro. Bobby Creiglow. He visited my village once and when he left the village he believed it had not been worth the long trip. Little did He know that God had a purpose in that trip. I was not in the service he held, but my cousins told me about it and I wanted to know more about that God he had preached about.
So when my Grandmother got sick and had to go to Cruzeiro do Sul, I asked to go with her. When our boat arrived at the port, there stood the man that my cousin had mentioned. Not long after I was able to go to the church and hear the plan of salvation and receive God as my Savior. I thank God for those of you who have given so faithfully for so many years and continue to give. May God pour His blessing on your lives.
Please pray for us as we make our move. Everything is just about all packed. Kathy has been working hard to get things packed and things in order that need to be left for the church here. We are taking a couple that will be working with us in the ministry, Gilmar and his wife Lizene. She has worked with us for many years. Gilmar is a young man that came to live in the home and got saved here. We will support them, through the ministry.
Our main emphasis is preaching the gospel and church planting. It is amazing that everywhere you go you will find an Assembly of God church. We also plan on helping the communities in ways such as: education, clothing, health and food.
We would like to go to the U.S. some time in the near future. We applied for our sons’ immigrant visas over a year ago and we haven’t heard anything from the office since we paid all the fees. Please pray that they will arrive soon.
If you would like to know more you can contact us at : odali_kathy[at]hotmail.com.
Love in Christ,
Odali and Kathy
Tito, Jonas and Gabriel
Odali & Kathy Barros
odali_kathy[at]hotmail.com
Blog
Av. Victor Hugo Boaretto S/N
Garca, Sao Paulo 17.400,000
Brasil, SA
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Missionary Update: Mike & Beverly Creiglow in Brazil [August 2013]
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together for 40 years. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
August 13, 2013
Dear Brethren,
It has been a while. A lot of water under the bridge, many miles traveled and many bridges crossed, too.
In my last letter I told you about the church approving the purchase of the 18 acres for relocation. The approval was the easy part. Getting them to give the money to buy the property, not so much. So far we have paid $75,000.00 of the $250,000.00. I have worked day and night for weeks on this project, but know that the Lord will have to provide the miracle we need. The church has 2 lots in town and we have 4 lots near the school, which are all up for sale. Bev and I put our old house in town on the market, too. I have been working all the leads with business people. Repeated meetings and many phone calls. The Lord knows and will provide. Keep praying with us. Your prayers are very important.
Native missionaries and their families on Friday, August 2, 2013, the first night of their missions conference.
The only break from the routine of these negotiations was a 12 day motorcycle trip through the Andes of Peru. This trip was something that I have wanted to do for years and had been planned long before we knew that the property would be available. Anyway, the guys at church took over the promotion of the first offerings and did a good job while I was away. Pastor Pedro, one of our businessmen, Hudson and 13 others went along. My long time friend and buddy in crazy adventures, Sherman Smith, executive pastor of Sonrise Baptist Church, Clovis, California, was down for this trip, too. There were 2 pickup trucks full of folks and 9 bikers.
The scenery is breathtaking. The altitude is breathtaking, too! We went over 2 mountain passes at over 16,000 feet! Visits to Machu Pichu, Cusco and Lake Titicaca were all and more than I had hoped for. The trip was 2,600 miles, very dangerous and trying. We even got into a snow storm on one pass. It was eye opening in an unexpected way.
The visit to Peru was a vacation, but a missionary will always see places for what they are: mission frontiers. The jungle regions of Peru (East of the Andes) seem to show evidence of the gospel’s presence. The mountains and high plains of central and southern Peru were a shocking contrast. Going through large cities and many, many medium and small towns, my eyes kept looking for churches. Every town has a Catholic church. During the whole trip I only saw 1 Pentecostal church and 1 Mormon church. The people are still living the same religious and cultural paganism of the last 5 or 6 hundred years. Shocking!
19 new members were baptized during the August 4, 2013 morning service at First Baptist Church of Cruzeiro do Sul.
My first Sunday night sermon back at First Baptist Church was from Romans 1:19-23. I showed and mentioned the 3 Inka gods: The Condor, The Puma and The Serpent. We had an overflow crowd. There were 5 professions of faith. I also managed to challenge the church about the need for missionaries to our close neighbor Peru. We already have 2 in the jungle area, but none in the mountains.
We also held our annual missions conference last week. Most of our missionaries were in. The reports were all vibrant and uplifting. On Sunday morning we had baptism and Lord’s supper. 19 new members. Two more saved and 5 more requests for baptism, too. Great conference.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: Sheridan & Anita Stanton in Peru [August 2013]
Sheridan and Anita Stanton have served the Lord in Peru since 1983. Their main ministry is church planting and they have helped establish churches all over the country. Sheridan also works to train pastors and Anita works with the ladies’ ministry and developing children’s material.
August 13, 2013
Dear friends,
We just finished our 34th annual Thanksgiving Conference here in Peru. This year it was held in the jungle town of Pucallpa. The first church we organized twenty-five years ago, Jordan Baptist of Pucallpa, was the host church of the conference. Pastor George Sledd of our home church, Jordan Missionary Baptist Church, came down as the main speaker this year. I had the privilege of translating for him each night. George and I graduated from high school together and later from Bible college together. He has been my pastor for the past twenty-two years. God used him in a mighty way and we saw several come to know Christ as Savior during the week, more than a hundred people reconciling their lives with the Lord, and about fifty making a complete surrender to serve the Lord. There were one thousand three hundred people in attendance from all parts of Peru. It was a wonderful, spiritual time for all that attended.
Pastor George Sledd from Jordan Baptist Church in Sanford, Florida, preached at the 34th annual Thanksgiving Conference, where there were one thousand three hundred people in attendance from all parts of Peru.
My Monday night Pastor’s Study is doing very well. The guys here in Huánuco are very faithful. I am considering the possibility of being able to teach “live” on the internet with a closed group from many of our cities here in Peru. Many of the brethren manifested great interest while we were in Pucallpa. If this works out it will open up an entirely new area of ministry for us. Please be much in prayer with us about this.
Bro. Sheridan Stanton at their 34th annual Thanksgiving Conference in Peru
The Calvary Baptist Mission is doing very well. We have a good lead on a piece of property where we can relocate. Hopefully by my next letter I will have some more news about this. The saints have been very faithful in their service but it is time for us to move to a permanent location. Your prayers are appreciated. Until next month.
Being “in Christ” by God’s Grace,
Apartado Postal 140
Huanuco, Peru
South America
(614) 500-8823 – Internet Number
sestantonperu[at]hotmail.com – Sheridan
arstantonperu[at]gmail.com – Anita
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Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley in Brazil [August 2013]
The Hensleys have spent nearly 15 years serving in Brazil. They run a vocational school and orphanage in Caraguatatuba and have also established a church and mission points throughout the city.
Friends and family,
As June wound down and July started we still had the two men from Atlantic Shores Baptist Church, Lonnie and George, and our Brazilian son Edson with us. We continued using this free labor to catch up on the work at the new Church plant (ie: completed laying the tile and grouting it, replaced old fixtures in the bathrooms and the kitchen, installed the kitchen sink, and put the donated appliances in the kitchen with the new cabinets and roll-around islands). We have also put up new fencing around the Church front and painted it. We painted the balcony and separated it to make two Sunday School classes. The children were extremely excited with their room where Pastor Jason and Ryan painted animals all around the walls.
Putting the sign out in front of the church!
Another job that got done this month was getting the sound installed in the Church. We were fortunate to be able to buy an old sound system and a sound board from another Church. But as with all things used, as soon as we got it into the Church, things began to go wrong. But from our experience here in Brasil, it is not what you know but who you know. So we thought of Edi. He was a young man in Garca that was always taking things apart, especially things to do with sound. So remembering this young man, we called him and asked if he could come and help us. It was such a rewarding feeling to see a young man that we had in our care in the Alpha and Omega Children’s Home years ago using what he had learned to help us here in Caragua in God’s work. As Edson was here in Caragua he also helped in the work. It was a double blessing to see the two of them working together here in Caraguatatuba remembering them 17 years ago. Edi is married and making a living installing alarms and Edson is in his 3rd year of vet school. Both of them involved in the Lord’s work in their prospective cities. Thank you Lord for these two young men who You set on the right path. Our Lord is so Awesome!
We have not only done physical labor this month but we have been busy with the Church work also. The ladies had a yard sale and made around 600 Reais which is around 300 dollars. Their plans are to buy the needed supplies for the kitchen. Our youth have also been busy–they did visitation in the neighborhood around the Church and distributed around 800 flyers inviting people to come to Church. We are having on average 50 kids on Sunday mornings and about the same number on Sunday nights (this being more adults). We are so excited about our ministry with the kids. We are seeing lives changed. Here is what one of the ladies here at our Church had to say about the children that come to Church from her neighborhood. She said that she has been noticing that the kids have been getting along better when they are playing. Another thing that she has noticed is that there is less and less use of bad language as they play. The other thing that she told us is that as she has been bed-ridden for two months, during that time the children, from 6 years to 11 years of age, came to pray with her every day. This is what Church and Sunday School is all about, changing lives one at a time. God is so AWESOME.
Street evangelism with some of the youth!
This month we have concentrated mostly on the Church construction but we have accomplished some things at the school property. We have taken an old rusty saw that was given by a friend in Ohio and given it new life. With lots of help from Ernesto, we now have a saw that will enable us to do many things with wood that we were not able to do before. Hopefully next month we will be able to get back to working on the dorm house, but the main thing is spreading the work of the Lord and all these other things will get done in God’s time.
We have had the blessing of Mary, Walmire and the girls being here to visit this month also. We were able to take some time to enjoy the grandkids and their parents. You know we discovered that grandkids are a lot of fun. We have made a decision–if we had known how much fun the grandkids were, we would have had them first.(lol)
I hope you can see through our letters how God is working through us here in Brasil. But if we are not painting a good enough word picture, please come on down and see for yourself. Beware—those who venture into Caraguatatuba, Brasil are never the same. Be prepared for what God will do in your life here in Brasil!!!!! So come on down, your bed is turned down and we have turned on the light on the porch.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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