Missionary Update: The Creiglows in Brazil [June 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.
June 20, 2013
Dear Brethren,
A few weeks ago Zico (our missions coordinator) Thiago, Pastor Ezi and I went to a little remote town called Jordão. We chartered one of MAF’s planes. There is no road to Jordão and to make it there by river is a major challenge. We had very little time to get there and back. For years we have been working toward a goal of having sound and dynamic Baptists churches in all 22 cities of our state. Jordão is the next one where we hope to plant a church soon.
The population is only 8000. There is an Adventist church, four varieties of Pentecostals and, of course, the Catholic church. Zico and Thiago went to get things set up with the local authorities to bring in a major medical mission group early next year. Ezi and I walked every street in the town, stopping to talk and witness to some of the town folk. We even walked the mile long beach up the Tarauacá River to the mouth of the Jordão River!
Jordão, Acre
We are now praying and seeking the right missionary couple to send. It will add to our already overstretched financial commitments to missions, but our main concern is getting the right people to that remote field.
A few months back I appointed a group of men from our church to start looking seriously for property to eventually relocate First Baptist church. As many of you know, for the past 15 years we have been filling our auditorium every Sunday night. Six or seven years back we even went to an extra service on Sunday afternoon. That service now has an average of 400 and the evening is still packed to capacity. Last Sunday night there were 8 more professions of faith. One couple even came before the church for him to ask her to marry him! Their wedding is in August. So we have been living dangerously by not providing enough room for our growth. A long time ago I tried to get the church to move out of the center of town, but couldn’t budge them. That is no longer the case. Even if they had not become ready, we were going to have to move them or risk the very real possibility of lost attendance.
I gave the three men a list of properties and GPS coordinates and took them around to identify each. There were 12 in all. Most were not for sale. Those that were had price tags anywhere from $500,000.00 the 2 and a half million dollars. Can you believe such prices in a town of 100 thousand sitting out here in the middle of the vast Amazon jungle? There was one last place that we could not find even though we had heard about it. Pastor Benjamim finally found it while I was out of town for a couple of weeks. We went to check it out the day after I got home.
18 acres of nice flat land with gently sloping sides. No street yet, but the city is supposed to put in a major thoroughfare in soon. We don’t know yet exactly where, but it should be very close if not right along one side. The land is just 3 miles from our present location. Best of all, it “only” costs $250,000.00! There is a clear title and no back taxes, too. Yesterday I sat down with the owner to hammer out a deal. We came up with 3 different ways to move forward.
Last night we had over 600 present for my presentation of the plan to the church. Actually the church had no idea that I was going to spring this on them this soon. They were so ready that the vote was unanimous to buy and the crowd erupted in applause at the close of the business meeting. NOW…..Please help us with your prayers.
We are going to try to keep our property in town. It will continue to serve our seminary and other training programs even after we move, which won’t be soon. Just our 6 lots where our present buildings sit are worth 4 million dollars! If the Lord doesn’t hurry up and come back we are going to end up leaving 10 or 15 million worth of property for the cults to squabble over during the Great Tribulation. Exciting times, these! Pray real hard for us as we advance the Kingdom of our Lord.
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: Jud & Raquel Hatcher in Brazil [June 2013]
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.
Dear friends,
I am grateful for every investment you make in missions, particularly as you pray to the Father on our behalf. In this letter, I want to share with you concerning our new cycling outreach, a challenge for you to participate in a successful church plant in America, our recent salvation decisions, the auditorium expansion, our children’s cookout and also want to share several pictures.
Cycling Evangelism
Since I was 16 years old, I always dreamed of cycling as an Evangelism strategy for making new friends and witnessing. I remember as if it were yesterday, writing in my prayer book what I imaged, including an artistic sketch of a big group of cyclers. Well, 20 years later, God decided it was time. A few weeks ago, two men in their late 20’s came to visit the main Sunday service. As we talked, they told me of how they cycle daily with groups of 20 to 30 people throughout the city. I told them I loved cycling and how I had been an avid cycler during my teens. They invited me to join them in cycling. I did not have a bike so they lent me one. God’s timing was perfect (always is), I was ready for this new challenge although I felt out of shape. I have met so many new people it is unbelievable! Raquel has since joined me in cycling as well. We do not have to invest energy in organizing cycling events; we just go along for the ride, meet new people and share Christ.
Church Planting
Church planting is such an uplifting opportunity and it is the best evangelism strategy developed by the Lord. Everyone should be a part of a successful church planting experience at least once in his or her lifetime. America is also in need of new solid churches. Consider following the Lord’s example in this way – we need more churches. I am grateful to have joined my grandfather, my father and uncles in church planting to during my formative years. Now, as I pass on to my children the experience in ministry through church planting I am grateful that they will have fond memories too. Every location has something unique. The Lord teaches us life-changing lessons through challenges in reaching people, lessons we might not learn otherwise.
Salvation Decisions and Expansion
Over the last month, 11 people have surrendered to the Lord. We continue with small group prayer meetings, home discipleship visits, breakfast, lunch and dinner meetings. Last week, the auditorium received a reorganization in its layout to accommodate more chairs. We now have room for 130 seats. Our main Sunday night service generally lasts 4 hours from start to finish. I generally preach for an hour, we sing, share and eat together. We have intense and sweep fellowship on Sundays.
Kid’s Club
Last month we reached 50 children, plus their parents through a children’s evangelism cookout and game day. It was a true success. As the children sang, heard a Bible lesson, played and competed, the adult members of the church plant made personal connections with the parents and witnessed. As a result, several families have visited during our Sunday services simply because the kids ask their parents to go to church. Most of the parents, who come from Catholic backgrounds, are not used to having a special focus on their children and they love it. One family has a 4 year old daughter who wakes up every day asking “Is today Sunday? Can I get dressed for church?”
Come and visit us anytime. If you want, give me a call. My phone number is (859) 544-9040. Yes, it is a Kentucky number and you can reach me in Brazil. Thanks again for all you do for the Gospel!
Grateful,
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
judsonhatcher@hotmail.com
Website | Twitter
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May 2013 Mission Sheet [PDF & Flip-Through]
Your May 2013 Mission Sheet is now available in PDF format. Follow the link below to view it! This month’s edition features letters from our Missionary Wives.
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: Harold Bratcher on Permanent Furlough from Brazil [June 2013]
Harold Bratcher served the Lord in the Amazon Valley for 52 years from July 15, 1959 through December 29, 2012. His dear wife, Marie, faithfully served with him for 51 years until her death in February 2011. The Bratchers organized over 20 Baptist churches and many other missions in Brazil. He is now on permanent furlough in Kentucky, still in the service of the Savior.
June 9, 2013
Dear Brothers of the Blessed Lord and Sisters of the Savior:
Once again we (Asa Mark and I) greet you not from the Amazon Valley of Brazil, South America, but from our temporary warm Kentucky home where the sun is shining bright!
This Mission Sheets month began April 8 and finishes today. During this period I heard 19 sermons, or Bible studies. I also had the privilege of preaching twice. The first time at the Spring Conference at the Thompson Road BC in Lexington, Ky where Bro. Dave Parks is pastor. The second time was Sunday morning the 26th of May, at the High Point Baptist Church of Alexandria, Ky, where Bro. Ron Duty is pastor. During all the conference, we enjoyed a time of great food, preaching and fellowship. Also during this MS period, we attended the services at the following churches: Porter Memorial BC, Lexington Bethel BC, David’s Fork BC, all of Lexington, Ky, and Linden St. BC of Richmond, Ky, Glen’s Creek BC of Versailles, Ky, and the Lexington Baptist College Alumni Meeting at the Heritage BC, of Lexington, Ky. We also attended the funeral services of Dr. Hoge Hogensmith, Bro. Derek Gilpin, and Sis Eva Sams, 105 years old. I pastored this dear sister at the Valley View BC, over 60 years ago.
During this past weekend, we were privileged also to attend the 9th Bratcher-Porter family reunion at the General Butler State Park in Carrolton, KY. What a wonderful time we, along with Stephen, had there.
I hope to be a blessing to many of you, during this first year of my permanent furlough. I would like to report and thank each of you that have supported us during these past years. We appreciate the invitations we have already for this month, and the next one. I look forward to seeing many of you soon. I will be speaking on Saturday night, the 15th, one week from yesterday, at the Emanuel BC, of Oldtown, KY, where dear brother, John Lybrook is the pastor. The Lord permitting, until next month.
Yours in the Service of the Savior,
Harold Bratcher
1012 Balsam Drive
Lexington, KY 40504
(859) 277-3716
(859) 806-9827 cell
harold_bratcher[at]yahoo.com
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Missionary Update: The Tates in Kenya [June 2013]
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I would like to give you a short update on the churches and groups here in Kitale. The church in Shangalamwe is progressing OK, although I wish there were more members. Nathan and I have decided it is time that we start “pulling away” just a little and give the church the chance to minister on its own without our intervention. Maybe our presence there has prevented it from growing and maybe with us being absent a bit, the members will begin doing more of their responsibilities and reaching out more to the community and villages nearby. More and more we will have to place this church and its members into the hands of the Holy Spirit and pray that they follow His leading in place of ours.
In the past two months, four of the groups that Titus began have been organized into Baptist churches. Here are some of the data for these new churches:
- Kipsongo Baptist Church – Organized with 13 members, 2 believers baptized
- Kibomet Baptist Church – Organized with 80 members, 19 believers baptized
- Shanti Baptist Church – Organized with 17 members, 3 believers baptized
- Rafiki Baptist Church – Organized with 10 members, 2 believers baptized
By the way, Kipsongo, Kibomet, Shanti and Rafiki are named after the towns where the churches are located. One of the other groups has a desire to be organized into a church as well but we have decided that this group is not ready yet. This group meets in a village called Folklands. It has a problem with leadership. We are still evaluating the leadership and have deemed it not ready. This group also needs some more teaching about some Biblical issues before we feel like it will be ready. So, we have decided to wait on this group instead of organizing it into a New Testament Baptist church. Maybe the Lord will lead this group into becoming a church sometime in the future.
Two other new groups are also hopefully going to be started soon. One group is in the village of Shimo la Tewa. A couple members of the Kibomet church have been walking each week from Shimo. Now they want to start a new group in their own village. In their own words they said, “We want to change Shimo and win it back to Christ.” Those are exciting words and we pray that the Lord would empower them to do just that. The other new group would be in a town called Kimilili. It is about 45 minutes from where we live in Kitale. It also would come out of the Kibomet church as two members of that church moved to Kimilili and want to start a new group there. So, things are going well although we are not without our challenges and problems.
In closing, let me ask for prayer for safety for our family here in Kitale. We have had a rash of break-ins, armed hold-ups and even murders here in our small town. A police officer was murdered responding to a break in just a quarter of a mile from our house. He was shot six times by the group of thugs. I also heard just today of an armed robber of a bank in town yesterday in the middle of the day. The thugs are getting bolder and we do sense a bit of danger living here right now. Please continue to pray for our safety here in Kitale.
Until next month, beloved.
May God’s peace and joy be with you.
For the glory of God in East Africa,
Roger & Julie Tate (and Emily, Amy, & Josiah)
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta[at]gmail.com
Visit their blog!
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Missionary Update: Sheridan & Anita Stanton in Peru [June 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.
June 6, 2013
Dear friends,
Tomorrow, June 7, Anita and I will have been married for thirty-nine years! Over thirty of those years have been in Peru. God has been very gracious to me by giving me such a wonderful life companion. She is truly a Proverbs 31 kind of woman. I am blessed! We will probably spend the day here like any other day, but next year for our fortieth we are hoping to take a trip. You can tell from the pictures here that her most common expression is her smile. I love her smile!
May was a rather uneventful month for us here in Huánuco, Peru. I had to do some serious repairs on our living quarters. But most of my time was spent studying, teaching and preaching.
The Calvary Mission is down a bit in attendance but it is planting season up in the mountains and most of our folks still “go to the farm” during these times. We had three of our young ladies from church be accepted into college. They are the first ones from their families to ever go to college. They are struggling a little, but persevering. We appreciate your prayers for them and the Calvary Mission in general.
My Monday night Pastor’s Bible Class is doing quite well. This year I am taking them through a course on Systematic Theology. I have eleven men attending. They took their first test a few weeks ago and we came out with six “A”s, three “B”s, and two “F”s. The two failing grades were close to “D”s but they left several true/false questions blank rather than take a 50/50 shot at getting it right! They are a great bunch of men to work with, and they all have a genuine desire to go deeper in the Word of God. Your prayers are requested for these men and their churches.
Anita did a great job of teaching forty-five women at the Annual Baptist Women’s Conference here in Huánuco. It is for the women of our churches and they spend an entire day together from 8:00am to 7:00pm. I have heard only good comments from the ladies! Anita worked really hard preparing for this teaching opportunity and many of the women were really touched by the Holy Spirit as a result.
We hope that all of our supporting churches and friends will consider giving a special “Founder’s Day Offering” this month to Baptist Faith Mission. For the past two months your missionaries with BFM have taken some substantial cuts from what we normally receive due to lack of funds in the General Fund of BFM. Founder’s Day offerings help fill the gap at this time of year. Please pray about it and give as the Lord leads.
You all are always in our thoughts and prayers. A few churches had talked about a mission trip for this year and also next year. Write me and let’s get the dates settled. Until next month,
Apartado Postal 860
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: The Wacasers in Brazil [June 2013]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
Dear Friends,
I’m not writing to make you envious, but I can’t help but mention just how wonderful everything is these days. Everyone in the family is doing very well physically. The weather here is as close to ideal as I could want it and all of our ministry efforts are producing encouraging results. I trust that you can rejoice together with us for these blessings.
We celebrated another baptismal service recently and we have another young lady who will be baptized this coming Sunday. We are so happy to see how the Lord is using His word to transform the lives of several of our new brothers and sisters in Christ. Just two weeks ago a teenage girl had nearly fallen into the world of sexual promiscuity, but the Lord used a series of events and our team leaders to rescue her from that and get her onto the path of obedience and joy in living for Christ. It is nothing short of amazing to see how different her level of happiness is since surrendering to Christ and fleeing immorality.
A young father of four, named Germano, almost lost his life recently when he was shot twice in a bar room fight. This fight occurred just one day after he had brought his kids to our neighborhood outreach “shin-dig”. While Germano was in the hospital his kids asked their grandfather to take them back to the church where they had been so warmly received on the following Sunday, so he did. The kids haven’t stopped coming since and, once Germano recuperated sufficiently to walk, he began to come with the kids to services. He told me last week how thrilled he is to see God at work in his life and how thankful he is for the grace of the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness. I expect that I’ll be performing another baptism in the very near future.
We had a Brazilian holiday just recently and we took advantage of it to have a “family day” at our church building. One new member specializes in Brazilian “churrasco” and insisted on preparing the 70 lbs of slow-grilled beef ribs. He and two other volunteers came out at 4:00 a.m. to roast the meat for 9 hours. We encouraged our members and visitors to invite their un-churched friends and family at no cost to enjoy the day of fun, games and fellowship. We had a great turnout and several of those have since returned to our regularly scheduled services.
Charlene, Brennen and I thank you so much for your prayers and faithful support so that we may continue to be used of the Lord to make His love and glory known in southern Brazil.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
robertmw[at]brturbo.com.br
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Missionary Update: Paul & Wanda Hatcher in Brazil [June 2013]
Paul and Wanda Hatcher have been serving the Lord together in Brazil for 36 years. Paul pastors Tabernacle Baptist Church in Manaus, Brazil. Their main ministry is church planting.
Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
May 29, 2013
Dear Friends,
God gives some people the ability to move to a new city and preach the gospel, nurture the new believers in Christ, and in a short time, organize the body of believers into a new church. Many times the starter missionary does not enjoy the ongoing pastoral duties because his heart is burdened for another place that does not have the Gospel. Even with so great a burden, the missionary realizes he must stay until the Lord provides a pastor to lead the new flock. Missionary Raimundo Pinto and family are great starter missionaries in the city of Fortaleza in northeastern Brazil. They have been sent from Tabernacle Baptist Church in Manaus. The church plant was successful and a blessing, but Missionary Pinto was anxious to move on to a new state to begin a new church. He waited and prayed anxiously that the Lord would provide a pastor so he could move on. He was elated and grateful as the Lord answered their prayer and provided a man of God, Pastor Vilian and family. The new church invited him to become their new pastor and He accepted the call. They are working on the transition; and soon Missionary Pinto is planning to move to the city of Aracaju, in the state of Sergipe in northeastern Brazil. Needless to say, the two families are very excited to move and get started. We ask that you pray for them, especially the Pinto family, as many challenges will present themselves in this new church plant. We will rejoice as God continues to work out all the details.
John is a member at Tabernacle Baptist in Manaus and has a small farm in the jungle on the banks of the Amazon River. He is a joyful Christian and loves to talk about his faith in Jesus. As he talked about Jesus to the people living out on the river banks, several became interested and trusted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. So he would get together with them on the week end and read the Scriptures and talk about the Lord and pray together. About three weeks ago, John requested that one of the church pastors go and talk to them, as they wanted to be baptized. There are about 25 adults who have professed Jesus as Saviour. This is wonderful! Pray for them, their baptism and growth in the Lord, and the forming of a new church.
This month of May, Wanda and I are having some special time with our parents. My parents, John and Alta Hatcher, live in the southern part of Brazil, and Wanda’s mom, Mrs. Willa McGary, lives in the opposite direction: Mayfield, Kentucky. At the beginning of the month, we had a special treat with my parents and my two brothers and their wives – about a week of fellowship and thanksgiving.
The following weeks we are spending some time with Wanda’s mom visiting and caring for some of her needs. We would like to say a great big Thanks to churches and individuals for your meaningful prayer and support. Likewise, thanks to the wonderful men who serve on the board and the churches they pastor who also invest in missions through them. Your intercessions to God on our behalf bring us comfort and strength in the Lord Jesus. Your faithful financial support is laid to your account in heaven, as God brings salvation to many, which results in our rejoicing together and glorifying God. We thank God for each of you and pray that He will richly bless you.
In Christ,
Paul and Wanda Hatcher
Avenida J. Carlos Antony, 172
65063-150 Manaus
Amazonas, Brasil SA
hatcher[at]argo.com.br
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