JULY 2011 MISSIONARIES’ NEWSLETTERS

HAROLD BRATCHER  |  JULY 2011

harold_bratcher@yahoo.com

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

July 8, 2011

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

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

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

MIKE AND BEV CREIGLOW  | JULY 2011

mdcreig@hotmail.com

Caixa Postal 24  69980  |  Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre  Brazil

Dear Brethren,

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

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

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

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

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

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

In Christ, Mike Creiglow

AJ AND BARBARA HENSLEY  |  JULY 2011

ajcaragua@gmail.com

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

NATHAN AND CARRIE RADFORD  | JULY 2011

naterad@yahoo.com

315 College Street  |  Youngsville, PA 16371

For ministry donations:

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

Dear praying friends,

Another month has come and passed, and it is hard to believe that we are already over halfway through the year 2011. God has been so good, and is good all the time, through all the seasons of life. What a great, faithful God we serve. I would encourage those who faithfully serve the Lord to continue in their commitment, steadfastness, and faithfulness to the Lord, as we do not know how much time we have to serve the Lord. A quote I read recently really challenged me. It said “Serving God tomorrow won’t help you today.” May we each be serious in our service to the Lord, trusting Him for the results in His time and plan. This update will share our current update, as well as prayer requests.

It is hard to believe that we are heading back to Kenya in September, Lord willing. This furlough has passed so quickly, and God has been so good to provide opportunities to share the ministries in Kenya . Please continue to pray, as there are many challenges to life on the mission field. We desire to be specific in our prayer requests, as this will help you all to pray for us.

Please pray for our health, as we now have two small children, as well as ourselves, and it is difficult to stay healthy and it is truly a battle to stay healthy on a day to day basis. There are many health issues and concerns, and we would covet your prayers for our health as a family for this next term. Please also pray that we would not get worn out, as cultural fatigue is a real concern for many missionaries. Please also pray for our relationships while on the field with others, as many times it is hard to find good, lasting, relationships with others. Please also pray for myself and my good friend, Roger Tate, as we plan to work together in church planting this next term. Please pray that the Lord would lead and guide us and that we would follow His leading. The Lord will guide us, and what a comfort that is. Some of my favorite verses are Psalm 32:8, which says “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” I also like Psalm 31:3, which says “For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.” What precious promises we find in the Bible, and what a blessing it is to read and study the Word of God.

Please also pray for us that we would not grow weary in service to the Lord. It is easy to get discouraged at times and want to give up, as there are many challenges, but the Lord is so faithful to help, lead, guide, provide, and strengthen those that serve Him. May those who serve the Lord remain faithful to His call and lean on Him for strength. Galatians 6:9 is a great verse, which states “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

This is primarily a letter of prayer requests, and we wanted to specifically list our requests so you can know how to pray for us. May we be people of prayer, and rely on the Lord as we serve Him. What strength we gain in prayer, and what a blessing and privilege it is to be able to pray. A quote I read recently that I really liked said it this way, and it is true. “Seven days without prayer makes one weak.” May we be people of prayer. We will be sure to keep you updated. God bless each of you for your prayers, sacrificial giving, and encouragement. You are each a vital part of our lives and we thank God for you.

ROGER AND JULIE TATE  |  JULY 2011

rojuta@gmail.com

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

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

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

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

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

Until next month, beloved.

May God’s peace and joy be with you.

For the glory of God in East Africa, Roger & Julie Tate (and Emily, Amy, & Josiah)

BOBBY AND CHARLENE WACASER  |  JULY 2011

robertmw@brturbo.com.br

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

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

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

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

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

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


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