On the Way to a Tribe in Cruzeiro do Sul
July 21, 2023
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The year is passing so fast that it is hard to believe July is gone. We pray and hope that all are well and blessed. We are doing well and blessed by God through each of your prayers and support. We have had the privilege of having some friends from Kentucky visiting us. It’s been wonderful. One of the ladies, Jennifer, used to work with us at Alpha and Omega in Garça. We have visited different places and shown where we have ministries.
Also, me and my son Joshua, mostly known as “Zinho”, are on our way to a tribe in Cruzeiro do Sul. We will be walking in the forest for 43 kilometers (26.7 miles). The chief of the tribe is a Baptist pastor. His son is from Mike Creiglow’s church.
Now that is raining less, we will be able to work more on the camp buildings and also work on the remodeling of the church in the village of Cacau Pereira. We hope and pray we can get a lot done and finished so we can use both places.
We had lots of problems with our cars but looks like the problems are getting solved. Praise the Lord. Living out where we live is difficult without a car. Also, we take several people to church. Pray that the cars will continue working so we can use them in the ministry.
Thanks to each one of you that are part of the ministry through prayers and support.
God bless you!
Love in Christ,
Odali & Kathy
Contact Info:
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, SA
odali_kathy@hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
God at Work in Garça
July 18, 2023
Dear friends and family,
As Barbara and I are traveling here in Brazil the climate is very different. In São Paulo City it is somewhat warm, in Caraguatatuba it is a little bit cooler but comfortable; however, in Garça…woah! — it is very cold! So, we had to find jackets, 2or 3 shirts, and other clothes that helped with the cold, and we are not yet done with our traveling. I was just not ready for this cold weather. We are planning to go to Rio de Janiero where we will present our Seminary. We will encounter a different part of Brazil, so we do not know how the climate will be.
While in Garça we were able to renew some old friendships and acquaintances. Boy how some of them have changed. (ha ha). However, the biggest surprise was when I preached Sunday night. This was the first “almost full” church I have been in since COVID. God is still at work and on His throne. Pastor Surgeno is the Pastor of the Church on the site of the Orphanage where the Alpha and Omega Home was located. Now for another blessing in this meeting: I encountered 7 of the young men who were in our charge while we worked in the Orphanage. Talk about changes! These young men were…beautiful (for lack of a better word)—and I am talking about inside and out. In their midst were some who were married with families, some were professionals, but the most gratifying was that all of them were active in the church, leading the music, playing instruments, and bringing their family to church. These young men all had jobs and were going about the business of raising a family and serving God. Just how AWESOME can things get! These were “our boys” at the orphanage and they still called me “Pa”. You can’t imagine the pleasure that this brought to my heart.
And then I get to preach and I am on a cloud. This was probably one of the most pleasurable messages I have had the pleasure of preaching and one of the pleasures was that my granddaughter Chelsea translated for me. You talk about the Holy Spirit working—what a night. Forget the cold, God is at work!!!
Not all is wonderful—I got the “grippe”. For those of us who don’t live in Brazil, that is a cold. So I got cold medicine and cough syrup, and got back on the road. It is an all-day drive back it Caraguatatuba.
Planning several meetings and another message or two after Garça. I am still on a cloud—between preaching and telling about the Seminary, I feel 48 years old again. God is AWESOME, WONDERFUL, AMAZING; there are just not enough adjectives to describe our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God is good all the time and all the time God is good!!
Pray for us as we travel, for our health and safety.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
CONTACT INFO
AJ & Barbara Hensley
30524 Mimi St
Sebring, FL 33870-0530
AJ: 859-539-2302 | Barbara: 859-539-1424
ajcaragua@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Reaching Other Communities, Need Van
December 15, 2021
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Hope and pray that all are doing well. We have been praying for those where the tornados hit. May the Lord be with each one through this difficult moment.
We are doing well. God has blessed the services that we have started in the homes. This has opened doors in homes of people that don’t go to church. In the village of Serra Baixa we are giving soup on Wednesday nights. The number has grown. We were doing this in the open. Now we have been able to use a small auditorium that belongs to the community. This way we can have a service.
What has been really great, and was our plan, was to get more people from the church involved. One of the families that we first started at, we went to pick up to bring to church. The first time there were 3. The last time there were 12.
We plan to go into other communities. As you drive along the highway you see many exits of dirt roads. As you drive, you come into many small communities. Many of the people that live in these places don’t have cars, so it’s hard for them to go to a church. So, the best way to reach them is going and having services in their homes. We are praying for God to provide us a van. It is hard to bring so many in a pickup truck and it is not safe.
Kathy and I, our son Jonas and his wife, and the teen who lives with us are going to spend Christmas in Garça where we had the children’s home. Several who were from the home will spend Christmas with us.
God bless each of you. Pray that all of you have a great holiday season. Thanks for your prayers, love and support!
Love in Christ,
Odali and Kathy
Teens in Ubim 
Service in a Home 
Serving Soup 
Serving Soup
Contact Info:
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, SA
odali_kathy@hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
God’s Hand in the Amazon Jungle
August 28, 2021
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings from the Amazon jungle! We hope and pray that each of you are doing well and being blessed. Thank God we are doing well and blessed! We know that so many families have been affected through this virus that is in the world. We pray that God will comfort and strengthen each one.
Things here around where we live and work have been pretty calm. Thank God the ministries we do are almost all back to normal. The services we have in homes are back and going to the homes that want us to come. We had service last week in a home of a brother of one of our church members. He had a motorcycle wreck over a year ago and was having problems with his broken leg, but through all these problems he accepted Christ as Savior. He can’t wait to be able to come to church to be baptized.
We also are still working with some men from the “Project Life” which have had problems with addictions. Pray that we can help them continue to be encouraged to not go back to their addiction and keep God as their focus.
On Sunday morning we have been having Christian growth studies and music classes. Now we are going to have a class to train those who want to serve in the ministry, preaching, visiting and reaching out to the communities. Pray that God will touch the hearts of those in the church who can help in these areas.
This young man grew up at Alpha & Omega Home in Garca.
He now helps in Ubim’s ministry.
Teens helping with the kids in Ubim
The work in Ubim continues doing well. Pray with us that God prepare someone who could take that ministry full time. There is so much that can be done there. There are lots of young people there and there is nothing for teens to do there. Like everywhere else, there are drugs.
We are involving some of the teenagers that have been coming since they were kids. It is so great to see them helping!
The difficulty in these areas is that people don’t all live close and many don’t have transportation, so there is a need to go where the people are. Pray that God will touch the hearts of more people so we can reach more people.
We have been working with 2 teenagers in our home. One was through the church and the other one is from a place where I went to catch fish. The teen would help me catch them and I brought him to our house a couple of times. Later he asked if he could come and stay a few days. Where he lives is the street of the drugs. Well, he came for a few days! And he is still here! Now he calls Kathy and I mom and dad. He says he doesn’t want to go back home because he doesn’t want to go into drugs. Praise the Lord. But the interesting thing is that after the 2 teens met each other, they found out they were cousins!! Pray for them that they can grow and reach their families!
Love in Christ,
Odali and Kathy
Father’s Day. The tallest is their son Jonas. The others have adopted Odali & Kathy as parents…and they have taken them in as their children! 
Service at the home of David, the man with a broken leg.
Contact Info:
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, SA
odali_kathy@hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Special Program at Pedras Vivas
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
September 20, 2020
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We are all well and hope that each of you are doing great. This month was a little different here at home. Kathy went to the US to help with her dad. Paul had messed up his arm pushing his dad in the rain coming from church. So, they asked her to come to help with him. She is back now and had a good trip and visit with her dad and Paul and Wanda.
We are doing a special program at the mother church, Pedras Vivas. We invited a team of 20 young adults to help with Sunday School and teach music to those interested. We want to make an emphasis on fellowship with other churches and get more people involved in the ministries in the church and show the importance of each one serving in the church.
The church in the village of Cacau is really doing great. We are excited that soon we will be back in the church building with more space. We have put the ceiling in and an air conditioner. The members that had scattered are returning. Praise the Lord!
We are still limited with all the different activities and being careful with everyone’s health. We have had the virus in 2 families from our church. They stayed out of church for over 2 weeks. Thank God they are all well.
Today the last things that we had left in Garça arrived here in Manaus at our home. Thank God that the trip with the things went well. The driver was raised at the Alpha and Omega Home. What a blessing.
Pray that God well lead us in the new project of getting people involved and reaching out to more places. Thanks for your prayers and support. God bless each of you!
In Christ,
Odali and Kathy
Contact Info:
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, SA
odali_kathy@hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Getting Back to Normal; Drilling a Well in Ubim
August 19, 2020
Greetings from the jungle! We are all doing well and hope all our friends and supporters are doing well also! We thank God for each of you! Your prayers and support are important to us and our ministry.
Things here in the different churches are gradually getting back to normal. The virus in our area seems to be under control! But we are still taking the precautions necessary.
Since things have gotten better, we are working on things that we had planned but could not do. One of these things is drilling a well in the village of Ubim. There is no running water in this village. So, a well to use at the church is needed and we also plan on helping with water for the villagers. Having a well helps with several diseases especially malária. A young man who learned and lived at the Alpha and Omega Home since he was little is going to be drilling the well. He is married and lives in a village close to us. He and two other brothers stayed at the A&O Home for many years. I asked him if he would like to help me with the well and he said, “Sure’. The Lord willing, we should start this coming Thursday. When you read this letter, the Lord willing, the well should be done. The final cost, pump and all, is $2000. Thanks to donations made, we are able to have the well.
The work in the village of Mutirão is doing great. Their services are back and they are also being very careful.
Pray for the work at the village of Cacau. It is growing and we need to make a decision to sell the old building or remodel. The main problem is that when the water comes up in high season it gets into the church. We want to make the right decision.
Things are a little different for me now because Kathy went to the US to help Paul and Wanda with Bro. John. Paul hurt his arm pushing his dad in a wheelchair on a rainy day. So, Kathy is there to help, and we hope Paul gets to feeling better.
Thanks so much for you love, prayers and support. God bless you!
Odali and Kathy
Ubim 
Ubim 
Ubim 
Ubim 
Paul, Wanda, & Kathy 
Mutirão 
Mutirão 
Kathy & her dad, John A. Hatcher 
Getting ready to drill the well 
Drilling the well 
Cacau 
Cacau 
Teens
Contact Info:
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, SA
odali_kathy@hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
A Look Back
Dear friends and family,
Well, this month, we wives have been asked to write the letters. So, I have been thinking of my time as a missionary wife and all the different things I have done. But my mind returns to now and how everything has been put on hold because of the pandemic. I have been struggling with what to write in this letter so I think I will do a quick look back.
When we first came to Brasil our goal was to be helpers to Odali and Kathy Barros. We went to Vera Cruz, São Paulo, Brasil. There I walked to their house every day to help Kathy with the boys they had in their home. This was the start of the Orphanage.
Now I want to tell you that we went to Brasil without knowing the language, which is Portuguese. This is not something that I would recommend for a new missionary. So, we encountered many things that were language barriers in our day-to-day lives. For example, we learned how to say “bread”, but went to get some and did not know the word for how many we wanted, but we could hold up how many fingers. One day I wanted to make some bread and went to the store to get flour, but did not know the word for “flour”, so I looked for something that might indicate that it was flour but did not find anything. And this time, I could not figure out how to motion anything for that word. These are just two of the many challenges I faced.
I spent the majority of my days alongside Kathy, so she was my translator. But when I went home, we only had each other to communicate with. It was so funny. When a Brasilian tried to talk to us and we did not respond because we did not understand, they would just repeat it…only louder because they thought we did not hear them.
We moved later to the next city as Odali and Kathy moved to be closer to the Church and to have more space for the children. In these two places, my job remained the same: helper in the daily routine. We stayed in the house that we were able to rent for some time. Then in this town, we were to be able to get the use of an old abandoned hospital because the house that Odali and Kathy had was quickly getting too small.
In this place my duties became more intense as AJ and I became house parents to various boys. So then 24/7 we were in charge of the care of these boys. Their clothes, the managing of their chores, their studies, their bedtimes—well, you understand—all in. There were times I would sit up all night with a sick one, bake cookies at the last minute for a school party, etc.
After several years in Garça, we were invited to help another missionary couple start another orphanage. But after some time in this place it became clear that the Mayor of the town did not want Americans opening an orphanage in his town, so God moved us again.
This time we visited Odali’s brother and were invited to help him in his church. We have spent over 14 years in this town: Caraguatatuba. My work changed from a mother to boys at an orphanage to wife of a pastor. But in each phase of our lives, my main focus has been on the children. Whether it be in an orphanage or in a church, children naturally gravitated to me. It did not seem to matter that I am very strict with them; they seem to want this in their lives.
We have been just like all of you for some time, quarantined in a home in Florida, because it was from there that we were going to fly to Brasil. So, when this pandemic is over, our trips to Brasil for the Seminary will begin again.
I will close this letter with a story a Pastor here in Florida told me recently. He said when he heard at a Baptist Faith Missions Conference that AJ had been accepted as a missionary with BFM, he just shook his head. He thought AJ would make a good missionary, but he was sure that I would not last over a month. This pastor telling me this asked for my forgiveness at the Conference this year. Well I have, through God’s grace been on the field with AJ for 23 years. And with God’s grace, I think that I have a few more in me.
Thank each and every one of you for your faithful prayers and financial support—because missionaries do not do this on our own, it takes ALL of us working together.
In His service,
Barbara Hensley
Contact Info:
AJ & Barbara Hensley
Cell #s — AJ: 859-539-2302 / Barb: 859-539-1424
ajcaragua@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
A Joyous Reunion!
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
December 28, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We are coming to the end of one more year that God has given us to serve Him. With God’s leading in our lives, in the year of 2020 we can reach out to more people and tell them about God’s love and salvation.
The year has been a great year and God has done wonderful things. One of these wonderful things was the end of the court case against us because of the children’s home. So many times in the last nine years there were hard moments in the hearings. We had to trust the Lord that He would take care of us. Last June the case was closed and we were found not GUILTY! Praise the Lord. Several of those who lived at the home were so happy when the case was closed that they wanted to celebrate. So, they chose to have a day to celebrate at Christmas.
So, we bought our tickets and went to Garça to have the thanksgiving for what God had done. Several of those who were raised there came and helped put everything together. What a wonderful time we had and to see the adults doing well. Others that could not come to the Christmas dinner came by to see us. What a blessing and encouragement it was to see them grown and married and with their families. One of the kids, whose name is Marcia, invited us to go eat supper at her home. She and her husband work hard and have their home and their car—doing so great. They have two children and she and her family go to church. The kids these couples have had call Kathy and I “Grandpa” and “Grandma”. We had fun with them at the home and also taking them fishing. That is one of the things their parents remember: Kathy and I taking them fishing! The parents wanted to go fishing like they did when they lived with us. So we went with them also. What wonderful memories!
We also went to the church I pastored there. It was great to see the people there. Thanks to the Lord for allowing us to go there and just have a wonderful time of fellowship and healing.
Our prayer for 2020 is that God give us wisdom and strength to reach out to more people in the many communities around us. That souls may be saved!
A special thanks to all of you who pray and give faithfully to our ministry. God bless each one of you.
Love in Christ’s Name,
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[at]hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online
Read more
