Missionary Update: Mike & Beverly Creiglow in Brazil [March 2016]
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. 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.
March 9, 2016
Dear Brethren,
Have you ever heard of saints Cosmas and Damian? Probably not, but here in Brazil they are very important. The twins were, according to tradition, born in Arabia in the 3rd century, but later lived and worked in Syria. They were doctors. Their most famous miracle was to transplant a leg. Again this is all from Roman Catholic tradition. They were martyred during the Diocletian persecution. Today they are the patron saints of doctors and nurses.
In Brazil, however, the veneration goes well beyond the usual. They have also been absorbed by the main spiritist groups, such as Candomblé, and are the protectors of children–mainly twins. The oldest standing church building in Brazil is dedicated to them, built in 1535.
One more story about them was that they never took money for their services. One day though a lady that had been healed by one of the brothers made 3 cakes for him. The other brother found out about it and was furious. He said he would never be buried with his brother. When they were finally killed, on the same day, cooler heads prevailed and they were buried side by side. The idea was that they were twins, had worked and died together and should not be separated even in the grave.
A few days ago I was visiting some of our works on the upper Juruá River. I spent a week 300 miles upriver, across the border in Peru. Our missionary in Tipisca, Peru is José Maia and family. There are 4 Indian tribes in the region. We are trying to preach the gospel to all 4. So far we have made some good progress among 2 of the tribes – the Ashaninka and the Kaxinauá. One of the first converts among the Kaxinauá is a 20 year-old girl named Damiana.
Here is Damiana’s story. She trusted Christ during one of José Maia’s visits to her village on the Breu River. The Breu is a tributary of the Juruá River and is also the border between Brazil and Peru. She later came to live with our missionaries. Here are a couple of impressive traits of this young woman. Although she is 20 years old, she is still single. Most Indian girls her age are already married and have 10 kids. Then, even more impressive: she speaks Spanish, Portuguese and, of course, Kaxinauá. Damiana is a twin. Her sister’s name is Cosma.
The twins: Damiana and Cosma
That is no mere coincidence, but has its own backdrop. Why would Kaxinauá twins be named Cosma and Damiana? Their dad was a little white boy who had been taken in by the Indians. He grew up in the tribe, but stayed there and married one of the women. Besides Cosma and Damiana, the couple has a bunch of other kids. Some of the boys even have beards! Beyond the racial mix there is also a cultural and religious mix in the tribe.
One such crossover is a popular myth that sprang from the Saint Cosmas and Damian story. Many people along the rivers here believe that if twins are born they must be named either Cosme e Damião (if they are boys) or Cosma and Damiana (in case of girls). Why? If you don’t name them with the saint names one of the twins will drown and thus the twins will be separated. So now 2 Indian girls are named Cosma and Damiana. The latter is now saved and the other is reading her Bible day and night. We are praying that she will trust Christ soon along with all of her tribe.
Damiana’s baptism in Tipisca, Peru
Recently José Maia took her back to the tribe for a visit. He asked her if she would have the courage to translate a very aggressive message to the tribe. She said that she could talk directly to the children and women, but wasn’t sure about the men. José Maia wanted to go ahead and tell them that the only God is Jesus Christ and that the jiboia (boa constrictor) is not god. He started preaching and she stepped up and started translating no matter what the cost. Everyone listened carefully and are still listening. Many of them came out to Tipisca while I was there and were present at Damiana’s baptism service. Pray that all will trust Christ. The door is now wide open to this tribe. Hopefully Cosma will receive Jesus next and the twins will be truly inseparable.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley in Brazil [April 2013]
The Hensleys have spent nearly 15 years serving in Brazil. They run a vocational school and orphanage in Caraguatatuba and have also established a church and mission points throughout the city.
Dear friends and family,
The starting of this year has been just AWESOME. The past month we spent in the United States having our yearly check up. We have been given a clean bill of health except that I need to lose 10 pounds and do a diet adjustment.
Our new Church start is progressing by leaps and bounds. Our average for Sunday school is between 33 and 35 and for our Sunday night service, it is about the same average, it is just the reverse in adults to children with the greater number of children in the morning service. We were greatly blessed with 50 on Easter morning and 52 in the night service. These results are due to the blessing of being able to use our “New Bus” to pick up the children and adults. We have worked out the bus route schedule and plan on doing additional visitation in these neighborhoods to continue to build our attendance. How AWESOME is the God we serve!! These numbers are great but we only have 39 plastic chairs. I have made friends with a man who has a club next door to our Church (a private city soccer club where they meet to have their parties and come in the evenings to drink). He has loaned us chairs from his business. What is remarkable is that he went through his chairs and picked out chairs that did not have any beer names on the back of the chairs(advertising). We are being a light in the community.
While we were in the States we were blessed to have men from various Churches to take care of the work here. They were blessed by our people just as we are. We have a great little Church and the people are fantastic. Come down and meet them for yourself and you be the judge.
Building ping-pong tables for the prison.
The first three days back, while Barbara and Jenny are getting our house back in order, P.J. and I have been making ping pong tables for the prison. (P.J. and Jenny are visiting from Cornerstone Baptist Church). Just a reminder of what kind of prison we are working in–it is a prison for children. These inmates are from 14 to 24 years of age. This prison has no amenities, just four cement walls and a lot of steel bars.
It is an amazing story how God started this ministry in this prison: Myself and a couple of friends went to this prison to just visit and see the conditions in the prisons here in Brazil. While there, we got to go into the population and visit with the young men. Of course while I conversed with them, the warden saw that I was creating a friendship with the young men and that I talked different (you can take the man out of Kentucky but you cannot take the hillbilly out of the man)…the accent carries over into Portuguese. At the end of our tour of the prison we were asked where we were from and they were trying to relate the accent to the State, but were having some difficulty. We told them that we were from the United States. Then to my surprise the warden asked if I would be interested in giving English lessons for the young men and also to the administration. Of course was my resounding answer.
As you would guess, pastors and churches are not normally welcomed in this prison but God is still in the miracle business. So the next week I started a class with the young men. I prepared a lot of terms and phrases for them, but at the end of the class the monitor (guard) took up all the papers, pencils, etc. They were not allowed to keep the class materials in their cells. That would present a problem for learning English. We were told that there was nothing in their budget for books or material for this class and I asked if I could supply the books and the administration was glad to let us do that. So the next week when we showed up for the English class we had the study material and the English books in hand—-67 Bibles. These they were permitted to take into their cells. Where there is a will there is a way. For a prison that before this would not even let a Church or a pastor into their prison, God has made a way for a pastor and Bibles to enter into the prison.
While talking with the warden (a lady and an ex-principal), I told her of our Vocational School that we have here in town. She was immediately interested and asked if she could visit the School. The next day she and two of her top advisers visited the School and asked if we would be interested in training some of the most well behaved inmates at our School. The proposal was drawn up but with all of the tools and equipment that we have at the School the State will not give permission for the young men to come there. So we resolved to take the school to the prison. We now teach a refrigeration class on site at the prison on Saturday afternoon and two English classes during the day. How AWESOME is our God!!!
So now I pray before all classes, use the Bible for the English Class to teach morals, character, and skills useful in their return to society in these Vocational Classes. Simply AWESOME.
As a final touch to the prison ministry, they have asked if I would sit on their advisory board. Guess what the position is—not Chaplain , not Pastor —but Religious Adviser for the prison. Of course my answer was yes. God is so AWESOME.
We have stepped out on faith and purchased 60 chairs for the Church. They will be arriving in about 3 weeks.Our remodeling is still in progress and painting is the next step to getting everything in order. I am still having to talk very loud at this time because of not having any equipment right now. We have some microphones coming and some of the other needed equipment but until this gets here we will continue to holler. So what I am asking is that you continue to pray for this new work and our people and us as we move forward for the Kingdom’s Glory.
To see what God is doing here in Brasil come down and experience it personally. The bed is turned down and we will put a little more water in the beans. Come on down.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: Mike & Beverly Creiglow in Brazil [March 2012]
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.
March 7, 2012
Dear Brethren,
One of my trips this month was much longer than usual, but was not a river trip. While still in the States I received an invitation to be the keynote speaker at a seminary in southern Brazil. At the time, I didn’t know that we were going to be in the States longer than anticipated, nor did I realize how cramped for time after returning to the field. Anyway, I took out 10 days to speak to an average of 200 students and local pastors at Maranatha Bible Institute in the state of Paraná. It was their 50th anniversary celebration. The conference was 4 days and I spoke 7 times. All the lessons and theme were from John 3:30. Although my speaking style is much different from what they are used to, I am hoping that the Holy Spirit uses it to enlarge His kingdom.
The return trip was exhausting. One 9-hour leg by bus, followed by a 15-hour flight from São Paulo to Rio Branco, and a 12-hour layover before the 1-hour flight home.
Things are going great here. There have been a number of folks saved and several requests for baptism. One couple from our small group was saved and made a profession of faith in the Friday night prayer meeting at church. My son Andrew is the leader of our group, which meets every 2 weeks. Andrew pastors me in this group. He also pastors my son-in-law, Dauro, who is one of our local pastors, too. The group is already twice as big as it is supposed to be. We usually have over 20 people.
We held our first baptism service of the year on March 3. There were 29 people baptized. One more person was saved and there were other requests for baptism the same day.
We are working hard on the annex. It is already in limited use. We can use the garage and some of the second floor. We have been in desperate need of more space for some time. I have been devoting quite a bit of my time to getting the next floor poured. As soon as that is finished I plan to build the metal structure and roof for the third floor. What we really need to do is relocate, so pray that something will open up.
We are praying for you. We know that things have become extremely tough financially in the US. I can definitely say that I feel your pain, because our support has dropped dramatically over the past 5 months. So, as God blesses you, please try to bring up or bring back your offerings to the General Fund of Baptist Faith Missions.
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: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [March 2012]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
Dear Brethren and Friends,
The harvest is truly great and the reapers are not very abundant. We need laborers, urgently. People are needy, people are hurting and the only answer to their needs is Jesus. This past month Alta and I have gone to the city of Assai each Sunday and needless to say, we and the few who attend have been thrilled to have the new building that was graciously built by the Chapada Baptist Church in Manaus.
On February 20, about 45 persons came from the Duartina Baptist Church and spent two days in fellowship with the Urai and Cornelio Procopio churches. It was a great two days of Bible study and recreation. The Duartina Church was one we started in about 1976. Marcio Moraes, the pastor of Urai was saved there.
One morning the phone rang and a brother asked if he could come talk to me. He is a saved person, but his life is worse than that of the Samaritan woman. He has been married, separated and courted three others. God has been working in his life and he has come to realize his problem is: there has not been any emptying of self and surrendering to the Lord. He has made some serious commitments to the Lord and he seems to be growing in grace.
Another similar case was a medical doctor who asked me to sit down and listen to his case. He is a professing believer. This is a summary: “I have all that a man could desire. I have a great family, I have all the material things a man could want or need. I have money and I am not happy. I am very unhappy. When we leave our first love — Jesus — and confide in things the world offers, this is the result. The Manual for Joy is 1st John—that your joy may be complete.
There is a small circus here in town. Yesterday morning, I visited it to talk to the people about the Lord. They stopped and listened with attention and some were moved. I gave them some books of John and Romans. Pray with me that some of those families will be in Heaven. At eighty-six, life is not easy, but every day we seek to tell needy people about the Wonderful Savior who died on the cross, was buried and on the third day arose to save sinners.
Your servants for Jesus’ sake,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: Mike & Beverly Creiglow in Brazil [February 2012]
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.
Dear Brethren,
Hudson and I made 2 long trips this month. We visited several of our works at some of the farthest places on 2 rivers. The first trip was to the mountains on the Moa River. The second trip was all the way into Peru on the Juruá River.
We visited our congregations at Pé da Serra and República. Both are doing well. Pé da Serra is steady in attendance, but we don’t expect growth as it is inside the national park. The federal government is trying to get everybody to move out. Nevertheless, the folks there have put up a new building. We helped them with our standard floor plans, design and the roofing. It is almost finished. In fact, the day we arrived I got straight out of the boat and went to work with them on the building. We held services every night and worked on the building during the days. Our visit at República was brief. This work is in the Nukini Indian reservation, so growth there is slow and limited, too. Our pastor there is Aldenízio. He is 25 years old and just graduated from high school. The tribe wanted him to be principal of the school, but he felt that it would interfere with his ministry, so he declined. He made a wise decision. The cultural and political pressures would have been huge. The day with left the reservation, headed for home, we got caught in one of our all day tropical rains. We were in my little jon boat with 20HP outboard. It was over 5 hours of COLD rain. We survived, though and just a few short days later we were back on the river in the same boat and same weather.
Bro. Mike Creiglow baptizing a couple at Foz do Breu.
Our second trip was up the Juruá River. We visited 6 of our works, 5 of our missionaries, held 6 services, baptized 2 during our 7 day trip. We also helped settle in our newest foreign missionary family. Brother Eduardo is a Caxinauá native, from Peru. We have done some switching around of missionaries and fields. All the moves were natural and practical. Brother Tito (who had been at Tipisca, Peru) moved to Contamana to work among the Chipibo, his native tribe. We then moved José Maia to Tipisca from the Breu. José had been working with the Caxinauá. He was trying to learn the language yet. While Tito was at Tipisca he had worked only with the tribes and not the native Peruvians, so we feel that José Maia will be a better fit to work with the whole population. He has plenty of experience in this type of pioneer mission work. Then the Lord brought us Eduardo and family from the Purús River. He is Caxinauá. This gives him 2 big advantages: 1. He already speaks the language and knows the culture, 2. He does not need a government permit to go into the tribe. All this to say that all fields are covered, plus a new area was opened and a new missionary added. It was a great trip. This one alone was over 1000KM. Lots of sun and plenty of rain. Lots of blessings.
The newest missionary to the Caxinauá tribe, Eduardo and his family. He already speaks the language, knows the culture, and does not need a government permit to go into the tribe!
Let me remind you about the need to pay for the jet drive and satellite phone renewal, which costs $2,000.00. Our support has also dropped dramatically over the past few months. I know the US economy is in a deep depression, but I also know that God’s people will continue to give if they see the need. Bev and I are committed to continue to serve here regardless of the support level.
So, thanks for your faithful prayers and support. God will bless you just 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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