SHERIDAN AND ANITA STANTON  |  MARCH 2011

Mailing Address:

Sheridan and Anita Stanton  |  Apartado Postal 140  |  Huanuco, Perú  SA

Vonage phone: 859-514-0929

sestantonperu@hotmail.com – Sheridan |  arstantonperu@hotmail.com – Anita

March 9, 2011

Dear friends and family,

We’ve had a lot of rain in the mountains recently, but today, the sun is shining in Huánuco!   Anita has been fighting a case of the flu that has given her a terrible cough, but she seems to be on the mend, for which we are thankful.  We love and appreciate all of you and thank you for your continual prayers and support of our part in the Lord’s work here in Peru.

Please continue to pray for our son, Capt. Joshua Stanton USAF, as he proudly serves our country as an Air Force pilot in Afghanistan.  He has a wife and two small, precious, little girls waiting for him back home.  We also ask you to remember my father, Ralph Stanton, in your prayers; he is battling with prostate cancer and not doing very well.

I baptized five young people into the fellowship of the Calvary Baptist Mission-Church a few weeks ago.  They ranged from twelve to twenty.  Two of them were a young couple just recently married.  Our attendance at this mission continues to grow and we literally filled our rented place to capacity twice during February.  The folks are getting anxious about moving to the new property we hope to buy in the next few weeks.  We have been trying to buy this piece of ground for months, but the owner has had to comply with numerous legal requirements in order to get the property legally up to date.  It looks like we will be able to make the purchase around the last week of March.  After we obtain the property we have an urgent need to build.  The folks here are poor, but I have seen them give sacrificially many times.   We could really use some help toward this project; it’s the Lord’s work and HE will provide, but maybe HE will lead some of you to be HIS means of provision.  We are also hoping that we could have a few churches send some mission teams down late this summer or early fall and help us with some of the construction.

My Monday night pastor’s class continues to be a blessing.  These men study the Word during the week and bring me some very challenging questions each Monday night.  Their questions keep me on my knees in prayer and compel me to dig ever deeper into God’s Word for the answers.  It is a privilege and honor to work with them.

Roosevelt Hermitaño, one of our national missionaries needs help with funds to buy the property for the Cayumba Grande Baptist Mission near Tingo Maria.  The owner wants to sell the place so they either have to buy or vacate by the end of April.  They have already raised over half of the cost but still need $1500.00 in order to have enough.  Please pray and give as the Lord leads.

In HIM by HIS grace,  Sheridan and Anita Stanton

JOHN AND ALTA HATCHER | MARCH 2011

John & Alta Hatcher | Caixa Postal 112 | Urai, PR – Brazil 86280-000

E-mail: jhatcher@uol.com.br

March 1.2011

Dear Friends, We praise the Lord and thank Him for each of you who have been our faithful fellow laborers in the many years we have been in Brazil. The number of our days here on earth are coming to the end, but the work of the Lord continues to grow.

The territory of Brazil is larger than the 48 continental States of the United States. It is wonderful to know that God has used BFM missionaries to plant churches in over one half of the States in Brazil. That is an area larger than the US from the Mississippi River to the east coast.

There is a price to be paid but nothing in comparison to the price Jesus paid on the cross to save sinners like us. BFM missionaries have suffered strange sicknesses, buried their children, buried their wives and been separated by long distances from their loved ones. To see men, women, and children trust Jesus as Savior is worth the price paid and we rejoice in the sufferings for the Glory of the Father.

NEW CHURCH IN FOZ DE IGUACO [ee-gua-soo]

The first week of March a new church was founded in the city of Iguaco. This city is in the western part of the State of Parana. This State is the fourth from the southern tip of Brazil. The history of the work and its workers is the story of God’s Grace. The pastor and wife who started the work and labored for several years are Edson and Maria Jose. They are parents of three children.

Edson was saved in Duartina. This church is forty miles from Garca. Maria Jose was saved in another city fifteen miles from Garca. They met at the Seminary in Garca. Edson was called to preach at about age twelve. At that time, Maria, our adopted daughter, was working in the church at Duartina where Edson had been saved. He felt called to preach at about twelve years of age. Maria began te3aching him how to study the Bible, and at fourteen, he began preaching. Edson is Maria’s son in the faith. The new church in Iquaco has another mission point.

WORK IN URAI AND AREA

Marcio is doing a good work as pastor of the Urai church. He preaches at the church in Rancho Alegre. Young people care for the work in Sussumo Mission, and they have services in a village called Duzentos. There are seven young people who are working in Congregations and growing in grace.

WORK IN THE CORNELIO PROCOPIO AREA

The Seminary is going well, and the church has Congregations in Terezinha and Congoninhos. God has raised up a group of faithful men here in this part of Brazil. Their wives and children are godly and faithful. They are some of the most wonderful Christians we have ever known.

Fellow laborers, you can be proud and thankful to have a part in His work here.

We sincerely thank you for your prayers and support.

John and Alta Hatcher

MIKE AND BEV CREIGLOW  |  MARCH 2011

Michael D. Creiglow | Caixa Postal 24     69980 | Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre   Brazil

March 5, 2011
Dear Brethren,
Beverly has not been too happy with me this month. It seems that I have been traveling most of the time. One time I came in from a trip, spent one day at home and left again. I keep telling her that she should just go with me. The part about all the insects, mud, sleeping in a tent doesn’t help my sales pitch much though.
The main visits this month were to Rodrigues Alves, Foz do Breu, Tipisca (Peru) and São Salvador.
The river is finally up nice and high. The long trip to Peru was really easy this time. I even took my bigger boat all the way to Tipisca. Hudson finally got over a bad bout with malaria and was able to go with me.
The congregation at Foz do Breu (The Breu River is the border between Brazil and Peru. The village of is right at the mouth of the Breu) is now meeting in the new building, which is still under construction. They are having about 100 in attendance on Sundays. Even on Wednesday night we had over 70 people. On Sunday they have over 25% of the local population. That isn’t bad at all. While there I laid out the last jobs on the construction. We plan to have the dedication in about 6 weeks. Also, I had 3 meetings with our 2 missionaries. José Maia works in the Breu with the Caxinauá indians. Vando works with the locals at Foz do Breu.
José Maia went with us on our trip into Peru. On the way up river we were used to save the lives of an indian family. As we came around a bend we saw flailing in the most turbulent part of the river. A whole family had been in a tiny, rotten canoe and gone down just as we were coming along. The story is too long to tell here, but I must mention that God’s timing is SO precise. A minute earlier and we would have been past them. A minute later would have been too late. They would have been gone. As it was, I pushed my boat as hard as possible to get to them. When I reached out to grab the young mother’s hand, her head was just about to go under and I never saw such a look of despair in my life. She was still clutching her baby and trying to keep its head above water. She is probably 7 or 8 months pregnant. We also managed to get her 2 little boys out safely. None of us speaks their language, but she was able to thank us in Spanish. By the way, we turned around and took them downstream to their village before continuing our trip upstream.
The visit to Tipisca to visit Tito and the work was pretty routine. They are in their brand new building. We now are working on getting them some pews built. They only have 2 pews and 4 benches! Things are a little slow there, but not bad.
The trip to São Salvador was great, too. For this trip I took my smaller boat. The river up there is much smaller and crooked. The church there held their first preachers meeting ever. There was a pretty good bunch considering the difficult access. There were about 40 preachers. The new brick builiding, which seats over 200, was packed for the 3 evening services and on Sunday morning there were 208 present. I preached on Saturday night. There were 4 who came forward during the invitation that Pastor Moisés gave. My message was about missions, but you just never know what the Lord might do with a doctrinal sermon. The church insisted that I perform the baptism on Sunday morning. I baptized 15.
Well I see that this letter is already too long. Besides that, I am leaving on another trip in a couple of hours. Bev is going with me! Yeah! The rest of the news will have to wait until later. Maybe I can share a little more, in a more personal way during our furlough, which is just 2 short months away! Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ, Mike Creiglow

NATHAN AND CARRIE RADFORD  | MARCH 2011

March 3, 2011

Dear praying friends,

Another month has come and passed so quickly, and we are so excited to write this update and give you some exciting news concerning our family. This update will share current prayer requests, a family update, and how to pray for us in the days ahead.

On February 21, 2011, Camille Sophia Radford was born. She weighed 9 pounds and 13 ounces. As far as we can tell, she is progressing well and getting good reports from the doctors, for which we thank the Lord. Thanks so much to each one who prayed for my wife as she was pregnant, throughout the pregnancy, and also for the birth of our daughter Camille. What a blessing she already is to our family, and we thank the Lord for her. What an honor it is to be a parent, and what a responsibility to bring them up in the ways of the Lord. Proverbs 22:6 states “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” What a tremendous promise this is from the Word of God, and an encouragement. I have also attached a picture of Camille to this prayer letter so you can see her. Please pray for us as a family during this time of adjustments, and also for our daughter McKenna as well.

I am in the process of contacting churches to come and share the ministries in Kenya, so if you would be interested in this, you can email me at: naterad@yahoo.com <mailto:naterad@yahoo.com>  or call me at: 814-688-4703. We also have a DVD of the ministries, so if you would be interested, please contact me and I will send you one free of charge.

For prayer requests, please pray for the ministries in Kenya in our absence, that they would continue on well. Please pray also that the people would look to the Lord to provide for them and help them with their needs, and to rely on Him. Psalm 62:8 states “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.” Please pray for all the ministries, as we are now home for furlough.

Personally, for our family, please pray for our health, that we would stay healthy at this time of the year. Please also pray for our safety as we travel, and for our vehicle to do well with the many miles that it needs to go for this furlough. Let’s also remember to faithfully pray for our nation as well. May we have time for the Lord we need to have, and spend quality time in prayer. A quote I read recently that challenged me is “If you are to busy to pray, you are too busy.” How true this is, and may we be people who pray faithfully.

God bless you all and thanks again so much for your love, support, encouragement, and care. It means more to us than you will ever know. We will keep you updated.

In Him, Nathan and Carrie Radford

Mailing Address:  315 College Street  |  Youngsville, PA 16371

For ministry donations:  Pastor George Sledd  |  Treasurer of BFM

P.O. Box 471280  |  Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280

BOBBY AND CHARLENE WACASER  | MARCH 2011

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

E-mail: robertmw@brturbo.com.br <mailto:robertmw@brturbo.com.br>

March 10, 2011
Dear Friends,
We began construction on the new church building two months ago last week. A good friend of ours is a contractor and he is co-coordinating the project. My ministry team and I, (consisting of two young married couples, one young single man, my wife Charlene and my 13 year old son, Brennen) are doing all the labor on a voluntary basis. We have had a few members from our former church drop by to help too, but it has been mostly the 8 of us digging all the footers, mixing and pouring the concrete, bending and tying the rebar, and the ladies have done their share of the heavy stuff and also prepared all the meals. I am super proud of the whole team and thank God for their attitudes and effort.

Our first family to attend the new work even dropped by one afternoon and spent 3 hours digging footers with us. Kiddingly he said that the spot where he was digging was going to be his seating place in the new building. I hated to inform him that where he was working was going to be the handicap bathroom, but at least his sense of belonging was evident. He is yet unsaved, but we are praying for him and his family and loving on them as we have opportunity.
Projeto Vida was back on the road evangelizing this past month. In the month of February we hold a two week long missions seminar where volunteers come in from the surrounding states for classroom instruction and follow-up with two more weeks of traveling with the teams on their motorhome/busses to minister in the public schools and squares where they put into practice what they learn in the classroom. In this seminar we had over 20 volunteers participating. Some of these participants will stay on for 3 to 6 months more during the year as trainees. If they feel led of the Lord and our leaders approve them, then they may also become short-term missionaries with our teams. This is the strategy that we use to build our mission teams and God has blessed us many times through it.
Well, I need to get back out to the construction site. Pray for us.
Thank you for your love and support.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser

JOHN AND JUDY HATCHER  |  MARCH 2011

John and Judy Hatcher

March 10, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
It is good to be back home in France after a month in Chicago.  We had a wonderful visit with our daughter Lydia and her husband Adam and their two girls, Anastasia and Margaret.  Margaret was just two days old when we arrived.  We thank God for the birth of our 8th grandchild.  Unfortunately, as we were leaving France I came down with a severe chest cold that made the flight and first part of the visit a bit miserable.  It is tough to be in quarantine when you have new granddaughter and only a few days to visit!  But, God gave us wonderful bodies that still function marvelously well despite the “fall”.  After 3 weeks and hundreds of coughing fits I was able to hold Margaret and help out by washing dishes.

We are thankful beyond our ability of expression for the relationships that our children and their families have with the Lord.  This joy contrasts sharply with the people who surround us here.  They have no hope.  Most people in France have a comfortable physical existence but no spiritual life.

Here are some blessings that have caused us to rejoice recently:

1. Since I wrote my last letter, Marc has been back to the Sunday meetings.
2. Nicole, an elderly French lady with whom I have corresponded at length about spiritual matters has recently re-contacted us.  She is in her 80s.  She is a friend of a friend.  Initially her friend asked us to contact her as she had many questions about God, eternity and spiritual matters. She writes letters that are usually about a dozen pages long and filled with questions.   She lives in the Paris area and we have never met her face to face.  You can pray with us for God to open her understanding and enable her to trust Him.
3. Renewed interest by some children who came with their mother when they were younger them stopped coming.  They have returned with seemingly greater interest.
4. God has given Judy and I, Philip and Amanda, and Wendy a number of new contacts and opportunities to share the Gospel.
5. Evidence of increased maturity in several of the believers in our group.
6. Philippe, a man who has come for several years has recently seemed to be seeking God’s answers.
7. Rosana has professed faith in Christ and asked to be baptized.  We have Bible study with her over internet.  She was our neighbor but now lives with her family in Spain.

Our goal is to make disciples who will do the same.  Our Lord, who gave us this mandate, enables us to do so.  To Him be all the Glory.
Thanks for your faithfulness in giving and praying.
With grateful hearts in France,  John and Judy

ROGER AND JULIE TATE  |  MARCH 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings from Dayton, OH.  The last number of weeks have seen us traveling to various churches and presenting our work.  It has truly been a pleasure to revisit the churches we have been to so far.  Since I last wrote we have visited Union Baptist in Union, OH;  Rosedale Baptist in Rosedale, WV;  Buffalo Baptist in Buffalo, WV;  Cornerstone Baptist in Cincinnati, OH;  Covenant Baptist in Dayton, OH;  Emmanuel Baptist in Salyersville, KY;  and Storms Creek Baptist in Ironton, OH.  We have been so well received and loved in each of these churches.  What a joy it is to see and meet God’s people in various states of our great country.  I love to experience the love that exudes from all God’s people in these various places.  If you are thinking that you and your church are the only ones left that are serving Christ and worshiping the Lord, don’t despair.  There are many others, brothers and sisters in Christ and sister churches that are holding strong just like you!  Thank you to all the churches we have visited so far.  Thank you for allowing us to share with you our ministry, our burden and our struggles.  It is a privilege to me to be able to minister in this way.

As I have stated in my last couple of letters, while I am home on furlough I want to explain some of my ministry methods and principles, or, in other words, some of my thinking and my approach to church planting in Kenya.  Two months ago I explained why I CAN’T buy property and build church buildings.  Last month I explained why I CAN’T pay the pastors of any of the churches.  This month I want to briefly explain why I CAN’T transport people back and forth from church services or other ministry events.  Some of you might be thinking, “What?  How can you not do that!?!”  I understand your potential shock.  I would have been shocked if I heard a missionary say this three years ago.  However, my short experience in Kenya has changed my mind.  Yes, I could use my vehicle and spend most of the morning transporting people to the church meeting.  Yes, using this method I could probably fill the house much quicker and easier.  But think about this.  What happens if I start a new church this way?  The people will become dependent immediately and from the very beginning will depend on and expect this ride to the meetings.  Then what happens why I finally say, “OK, church, I’m ready to move on and start a new church in a different area”?  Well, I think you can figure out what happens next.  The church dies!  Why?  Because nobody that was receiving rides to church will come anymore.  Either it is now too far for them to get to the meetings themselves or they get mad because they believe the rides are “owed” to them.  Either way the people stop coming and the church suffers or dies.  The other reason I see why transporting people to church meetings in Kenya is a bad idea is because of one of the main purposes the Lord had in starting His churches in the first place – FOR COMMUNITY AND ONE ANOTHERING.  I believe that a church of Jesus Christ should be a close knit community that loves and serves one another;  that knows one another and minister to one another’s needs;  that share the same community and thus the same problems.  If people are shipped in from distant communities then these things will never happen.  If they are not able to walk to the meeting themselves or get there on their own in some other way, then the church becomes nothing more than something they attend once or twice a week for a service and then they go home.  The rest of the week they are not able to communicate with the rest of the congregation or serve one another in any way whatsoever.  This is not the Lord’s idea of a body working together.  No, for a congregation to function as a community of Jesus Christ they need to be able to meet together on their own without outside transport and all live relatively close together.  In other words they need to walk or ride their bikes.  Don’t worry, though, they are quite used to this mode of transportation already.

Beloved, we just so much want to follow the models, methods and principles that we find in the New Testament.  I am not the master builder.  But I can try and follow the ways of the master builder in my own ministry.  May the Lord bless this work.

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)

AJ AND BARBARA HENSLEY | MARCH 2011

Hi friends and family,
I like to sit on the front porch in the mornings and drink my coffee, read my Bible, pray and anticipate the activities of the day. As I am looking at the road in front of the house this morning I see two branches (creeks), one on each side of the road instead of the river (the road being completely covered with water).  Yes it is raining again. Whatever the plans for the day are it is a must that you include rain as a possibility for the day.

Enough about the weather, this is the day that the Lord has made! Let us be glad in it.

We were in the States for a few weeks with a seriously ill brother.  He had a stroke and was undergoing surgery, and the family was called in because of the seriousness of the situation. Well ,we arrived as soon as we could, but we were late, and we found my brother dismissed from the hospital and at home.  When we as a family (4 brothers and families) arrived at his home, his countenance completely changed. When we entered, he was down in the dumps; but upon seeing us, he became chipper and sat up immediately.  Insisted that we sit down around him with gestures because he could not speak. How AWESOME is our God.  So instead of a final farewell we had a wonderful family reunion. And on top of being able to minister and pray for him we just had and awesome time together.  And that is how it is with problems. Sometimes He takes the bad and turns it into blessings.

Sorry that we were unable to visit with you all this time but this was such a quick trip and was dedicated to family. We are looking forward to coming home and spending time with all of you soon.

Thanks to all of you for your prayer support for the new work. It is growing, and lives are being changed. On our return, we had a baptism and 16 new converts were baptised on Saturday night and were added to the Church roll on Sunday.  Since we started last year, that makes 23 new brothers and sisters added to God’s Kingdom. We still have several more for baptism and are planning another baptism this month. Awesome is it not?!  We are now above 60 members and are averaging in the 80s for our principal service. We feel the Lord’s presence with this new Church start.  We are planning to organise this mission work into a Church in April. Keep on praying for this work and for the organization meeting in April.

Don´t forget to pray for the Vocational School, we are working on the dormitory for the boys and the work is going slow. But we are not discouraged, because we know that God is with this work too. Also continue to pray for the orphanage. The couple that was interviewed before we left has accepted the invite to come and be the parents at the orphanage. They will be coming as soon as they can finish some things that they had committed to do. And the Judge has said that as soon as there are parents there he has children to put in the orphanage.

As we work here we have a few basic needs. With all the expenses for our van and truck, it is becoming a real challenge to keep up financially. These vehicles are being used daily in our ministry and the roads are becoming a true challenge for the vehicles. Some of our roads are asphalt, some dirt, and the rest are holes with a little road around them. So you can see as the rain continues the roads become worse. The repair bills keep mounting —however the ministry goes on. Pray with us for our vehicles and transportation needs. One of the greatest is a bus. Please pray that we would receive offerings sufficient to buy one. As you can imagine with the increase in members we need a bus to bring all of them to Church and have run out of room for Sunday School classes. We are in dire need of building more rooms in which to have Sunday school.  So pray for this need also.

Another AWESOME blessing I´ve been having is on Friday nights  a “Servants Class” for 5 men. I have used all the qualifications and references for deacons as a basis for this class. They, as well as I, are receiving a great blessing from this class. I hope to complete this class this week or next. This will possibly open the door for some of these men to serve as deacons in the future.

Well it seems all I have been doing in this letter is telling of our needs and prayer requests. Permit me to put one more in front of you all;  our son-in-law and daughter are looking at another place to serve the Lord and Savior. Pray for Walmir and Mary as they are considering where the Lord wants them to serve. Also pray for Mary as her due date for our third granddaughter Ashley is at the end of March. I am going to be a grand pa again for the 3rd time. What an AWESOME blessing.

As I close this letter I ask that you keep praying as that is what keeps us going spiritually and keep giving as that is what keeps us going financially.  Also think of coming down as that is what keeps us going emotionally.

Just remember that we can add some water to the beans and throw a few more grains of rice in the pot so a few more people at the table is not a problem. Hope to see you here in Brasil soon.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara

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HAROLD BRATCHER  |  MARCH 2011

Rua Francisco Jose Furtado 2  |  São Francisco, Manaus, Amazonas, 69079-200

Brazil, South America

011-55-92-36112331

harold_bratcher@yahoo.com
March 9, 2011
Dear Brothers of the Blessed and Sisters of the Savior:
Permit me to write about a few days in the future.  On the 24th of this month, I will be 84 years old.  I will be happy and grateful with many others here in Brazil and in the USA.  However, I will be sad because it will be my first birthday without my dear wife of 56 plus years, Hattie Marie Moore Bratcher.  I do not want to be guilty of the sin of ingratitude but I haven’t answered most of the sympathy cards, e-mails and letters yet, but Asa Mark and I will do so soon.  Also, I am sad and happy at the same time today because Stephen will be leaving us tomorrow to return to the States.  Asa Mark and I are so thankful to the Lord that he arrived 5 weeks ago today, and has been such a blessing to us during these difficult times.  He also was a blessing to the nine Baptist Churches where he preached.  He plans to return in June for a two month visit, the Lord permitting.  Also I am happy because Asa Mark has been and will continue to be a great blessing to me.
I praise the Lord that over a thousand people went to the church during the two days that Marie’s body lay in state.  There were over 120 cars in the funeral procession to the cemetery and over 300 attended Marie’s Memorial Service at the Comunhão BC, on Sunday evening, February 13th.  Marie’s body was laid to rest in the St. John the Baptist Cemetery, in the grave of her youngest son, Joel Harold Bratcher, who was buried there 40 years ago.  By the grace of God I am weeping less and praising the Lord more.  I know that she is with the Lord, but I still miss her very much.  May the Lord be with me until we meet again.  She will not return to me but one day I shall go to her in Heaven.  When I arrive in Heaven, I want to see my Savior, first of all. “I shall know Him; I shall know Him, when redeemed by His side I shall stand.  I shall know Him by the prints of the nails in His Hands”.
Also I am thankful that Pastor Dave Parks has been a great blessing to me by words, letters, and offerings.  To all of you who have sent us offerings, Asa Mark and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  “The Lord buried the worker, but the work goes on”.  Thus, “the work must go on till the final battle for Christ is won”.  Permit me to thank my only living brother, Charles Bratcher, and his wife, Reva of Frankfort, Ky. for his many calls, and to Marie’s only sister, Deane Cruise of Richmond, Ky.  Pray for all of those mentioned in this letter.  I thank all who are praying for us.  Praise God that we’ll never have to say good-bye in Heaven.

Yours in the Service of the Savior: Harold and Asa Mark Bratcher