Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [August 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
August 6, 2014
Dear Friends,
July offered us some serious challenges, but the Lord was with us and gave us victories in every instance. After a night of training our children’s ministry leaders we were returning home when three armed thugs raced into our yard and demanded that we go into our house and sit under gunpoint while two of the bandits went through our rooms, closets and wardrobes, taking what they wanted. After they had searched the house they took our wallets, computers and then locked us in a small room and got away with my car and the loot. We had two guest couples staying with us at the time and the thieves also made off with their wallets, cell phones and laptops. The Lord didn’t allow them to do us any bodily harm and the police found my car intact the very next day. The incident served to teach us that satanic forces are at work against us because we are laboring in the realm of God’s kingdom. It also served to show us that, no matter how much Satan seeks to harm us, he and his forces are limited by God’s power and purposes. We and our guests were somewhat shaken, yes, but we also came out of the experience more resolved to serve God and continue sharing the gospel that transforms lives.
We helped to send off one of our missionaries to the jungle on the Brazil/French Guiana border to preach to the Tupi Indians. Alysson has been training for missions for two years and is a dedicated evangelist. We are looking forward to hearing a report from him after a two month trip where communication will be impossible. Please pray for his safety and success in sharing the gospel.
Our church has been experiencing exciting growth and this has forced us to find ways to accommodate the increased numbers and develop ministries and leaders to disciple the new members. There is nothing like volunteer group work days to unite the members of a church and to help them develop a sense of partnership in what God is doing in their community. We have been pouring the concrete floor for two new classrooms and many of the men have turned out on Saturday mornings to mix and spread the concrete while our ladies have prepared some delicious meals to fuel them with energy and strength. A couple of our volunteers have had the “privilege” of investing sweat and blood into this effort since they have carried sand and cement and have smashed a finger or two with tools in the process. I trust that, rather than be discouraged by these trials, they feel a greater sense of belonging and connection to the Lord’s work.
Charlene and I are doing very well physically and we are grateful to all of you who pray for us faithfully. Thank you for your generous support also so that we may continue to share the gospel in our corner of the world.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)481-7007
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [July 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
Dear Friends,
Many of you know that Brazil is in the middle of hosting the World Cup Soccer Championship games. As I write this letter, Brazil’s national team is headed to the semi-final game against Germany where one of the finalists will be decided to play in the final for the World Championship. As you can imagine, the whole country is super excited and there are numerous venues where people meet in large groups to watch the games on huge outdoor screens.
During these events we have been able to take advantage of the gatherings to present the gospel of Jesus Christ. On four game days we took our Projeto Vida teams to distribute free bottled water and gospel tracts in several languages to these venues. We had the opportunity to share the gospel with visitors from several Muslim nations also, since their teams were playing in our city and there were thousands of fans here from those countries. We hope to have planted some seeds of faith through the sharing of God’s word in these people’s lives.
Early in the month of June we hosted a youth group from Phoenix, AZ. There were around 25 teenagers with us for a week taking the gospel to the public schools and parks around our city. On the first day they were here they helped us cook for and feed over 200 homeless people in the inner city. Before, during and after the meal we interacted with these poor folks, sharing the gospel and sharing our time with them and loving on them with the love of Christ. We are partnering with a pastor from Chile who feels called of God to minister continually with these people on a week by week basis. Also, we are organizing volunteers from our church to help with the preparation of the food and serving it to them with a word of hope.
Tomorrow our new church is celebrating its 3rd anniversary. We are extremely grateful to the Lord for how He has blessed us. We started with 8 in attendance and we now have a regular attendance between 65-85 on any given Sunday. Those that the Lord has added to us are growing spiritually and we trust that this growth will lead to more people coming to Christ and to the church.
Charlene and I want to thank you for your faithful prayers and offerings so that we may continue to use our lives to reach these folks for Christ. May the Lord bless you for your faithfulness and generosity.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)481-7007
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [June 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
June 6, 2014
Dear Friends,
I’m a happy man! Nothing makes me happier than seeing God get glory through my life and the life of my family. I get my greatest joy from seeing my family happily engaged in spreading the good news of Jesus’ love to others, and I’m getting a double dose of that right now.
My wife, Charlene, has been such an instrument in touching the lives of the families of her aerobics classmates. For years she has faithfully been an example of kindness and love among them and lately her effectiveness has only increased. So much so that these ladies have spoken with their kids at home about Charlene and, now, these kids want to hang out with her and join with her as she interacts in the public schools and parks sharing the gospel. Now I know that part of the attraction to her is that she is beautiful inside and out, and another is that she is a source for them to train English as a second language, but I also am certain that her winsome personality is ultimately what leads them to decide that they want to spend huge blocks of time with her. Charlene would blush to hear any of this said and would immediately start pointing out her shortcomings as an individual, but that just shows that Christ is truly present in her life and is making Himself known through her.
The second dose of my happiness comes through our daughter, Jessie. She lives in Tampa, Florida and works assisting in various ministries at a large Baptist church there. Today I will get the privilege of having her arrive to coordinate a group of translators who will minister with us as we host a youth group from a Baptist church in Phoenix, AZ. Jessie has such a passion for sharing God’s word and love and she uses her dual language ability and network of friends to put together a wonderful team of volunteers to help us. I could not be happier… well, unless our son, Brennen, could be here too. But then again, only Heaven reserves the perfect life. We’ll be missing you something fiercely, little Buddy. He just finished the 10th grade in the USA.
We have one of our Projeto Vida motorhomes repaired and back in operation and have begun the body work repairs on the Alpha motorhome. The Lord saw fit to raise up the funds to pay for these expenses and we are extremely thankful. During the month of May we were able to take the gospel message into 9 public schools and spoke to over 4000 students. We know many were touched by the Word and several shared with us that they had surrendered their lives to Christ. This week, with the arrival of the youth group from Phoenix, AZ we will be taking the gospel into 6 more schools and also presenting gospel skits in three public parks. We are praying and expecting the Lord to make Himself known through these efforts.
We just received a container full of gospel booklets to distribute during the World Cup Soccer games that begin this coming Thursday here in Brazil. Most of you know how much Brazil is enthused about soccer, so you also can imagine what a door of opportunity is open for us to share these booklets among the crowds that will be showing up at the stadiums and sporting venues. We will be leading our church members to seek to pleasantly offer these gospel booklets at these events and be willing to take a personal moment to answer any questions or more fully explain the Word of Christ.
Charlene and I are very grateful for your prayers on our behalf. We are also thankful to God for using your sacrificial offerings so that we may continue to carry on our outreach ministries here in southern Brazil.
Thank you,
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [May 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
May 9, 2014
Dear Friends,
I am constantly encouraged to invest in the lives of people around us by the way the Lord keeps raising up new kingdom warriors. Toni, a recent high school graduate shared with a couple of weeks ago that she’s certain the Lord wants her to dedicate next year to evangelism through our outreach ministry, Projeto Vida. I have been observing Toni’s spiritual growth for about 4 years and she truly has a servant’s heart and a passion for the Lord’s glory. She also demonstrates the love of Christ to everyone around her.
Projeto Vida has had a series of struggles with mechanical breakdowns recently. My friend and church member, Antonio, has offered to rebuild the engine of one of our motorhomes for practically nothing. We are also still trying to put together the resources to repair the damage on our Alpha motorhome that was sustained in a serious accident late last year. I don’t have a church member who does body work, so we’ll have to find an honest and reasonable repairman for that task. Even with two of the motorhomes out of commission, we were able to get into several cities with our evangelistic teams this past month. Many people heard the gospel and several surrendered their life to Christ.
An interesting thing happened a couple of weeks ago as we were getting prepared to put on a gospel presentation for our Easter service. Elias is an old hippie one of our friends introduced to us a few years ago. Elias likes to set up lighting and sound systems for parties and presentations. While visiting our church with a neighbor he heard that we were going to have a theatrical presentation and he offered to loan us his very expensive equipment and help us set it up. It came in very handy and opened a door for us to interact with him and his wife beyond the church’s scheduled services. We have gone out with them on a couple of friendly outings and have used the opportunities to share our relationship with Christ with them.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [April 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
April 3, 2014
Dear Friends,
A gospel skit performed in a public school
I have to make a correction to my letter from last month, but it’s a positive correction. I mentioned that we would be sharing the gospel in public schools where we’d have contact with about 4000 students and teachers. It turned out that we were able to speak with over 6000! Each year for the past nine years, the youth group from the Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, Florida has come to interact with us in sharing the gospel through our translators and partners in ministry, Projeto Vida. Every year has been a blessing and this year was no exception. In the public school presentations, where we use skits, testimonies, and a gospel message preached by one of the leaders, several hundred students at a time get a chance to hear a biblical presentation of the gospel. In these large school events, we can’t persuade those who hear and believe to make their decision known publicly. Many do surrender their lives to Christ at these events, but to know whom, we have to encourage them to seek us out privately after school hours. This setup makes it difficult for us to know just how many conversions occur during these public school events. Although we can’t always follow up every conversion with personal discipleship, we realize that those who truly come to Christ as Lord and Savior are saved eternally. In many cases we are only able to plant a seed, but we trust the Lord to see that someone else may water it, or even that we ourselves may be able to meet with them again and be instruments in their growth in Christ. This has happened on numerous occasions. No matter what, we know that a large number of people who had not heard the truth of God’s grace have now.
A gospel message shared in a public school
Charlene has been teaching English as a second language for several years. She is an amazing teacher because most of her students have become very fluent speakers. Her English classes have become one of our main avenues of having intimate contact with people on a continuing basis. Because she has classes with these students for several years, we become personal friends to almost all of the students. These friendships open doors of opportunity to share Christ with those who don’t know Him and for us to offer biblical counsel with those who accept Christ as Savior. Quite a few of her students have been saved and have become members of our churches through the years. Ana Paula is one of her most recent students to surrender to Christ. She was baptized a few months ago and has grown tremendously in her faith and obedience. Before, Ana Paula had a tendency to date really “rough” guys, who were not followers of Christ. She seemed to have a need to connect with guys that would distract her from living for Christ and who would play on her desire to help them with their emotional needs. Through her participation as a translator in our recent week of working with the youth group from Florida, she saw what a joy it was for those youth to boldly share the gospel and she heard many testimonies from girls who had thrown away too many years being hooked up with guys who didn’t seek Christ first in their lives. Ana Paula messaged me recently sharing how thrilled she was now because she is finding Jesus to be her source of joy and purpose and doesn’t need to derive her sense of self-worth from some co-dependent guy. She isn’t dating anyone right now and she said that she feels completely happy being that way because the Lord is giving her a joy that she never experienced before.
The youth group from Brandon, Florida with translators and Projeto Vida in the public park
The Lord is continually blessing our church in many ways. Last week our team who handles organizing the auditorium for services got a little nervous because we were running out of chairs for seating everyone. One of the most encouraging things about this was that we were not holding any special event. Of course, every time we meet to praise the Lord and study His word is special, but we had not made any special program to draw in a larger crowd. What the Lord is using to draw larger crowds is the excitement and joy displayed in the lives of those folks who are being transformed by the power of Christ in them. We praise the Lord and thank Him for the privilege of being His instruments of this grace!
Thank you for your prayers and support.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [March 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
March 9, 2014
Dear Friends,
It is good to hear someone say, “God is good, all the time.” It is a needy reminder to me to reflect on the fact that God isn’t good only when we get a surprise financial gift, or some good health report. He is always good, even when we are struggling financially or when we are suffering terribly from some sickness. I’m as human as anyone else, so it’s easier to recognize God’s blessings when they relieve some lack or ailment we have been enduring. My concern is that by saying that God is good only when these improvements in our situation come is that we dishonor Him before a world that is watching how we Christians live to determine if they are interested in what we have. But with this kind of gratitude and praise only when the extra benefits come, even they would be grateful then. It is when we praise Him for being good while we are still in the middle of our struggles that really magnify how strong our Lord is, in whom we place our faith. So I say it now, God is good, all the time!
That being said, it has been great to enjoy the goodness of the Lord recently in the saving of two more people through our work. Next week we’ll be baptizing a man and his teenage son who professed Jesus as their Lord and Savior. On the same weekend that these two men professed Christ, I had the opportunity to share the gospel with a young man who has been suffering with deep depression for about 7 years. He came to offer to help as a translator for a team of youth from the U.S. who are spending their spring break evangelizing in the public schools in our city. His name is Eduardo. The friend who brought him told me that he was in a separate room crying and that he often would just start crying for apparently no reason. I sat with Eduardo and began to ask him what he thought made him sad and he said that he didn’t know, but that his depression began shortly after a severe auto accident when he lost the hearing in one of his ears. I had supposed that he was a Christian by his coming to volunteer to translate the sharing of the gospel, but in my conversation with him I learned that he had never surrendered his life to Christ. I used that information to let him know that he could not know true joy or overcome his sadness until he given his life to Christ. It was a simple thing for his friend to bring him to participate in our spring break evangelism, but the amazing thing that the Lord did was to send us a translator to hear the gospel when his interest was only in improving his emotional state of being. He had imagined that he could be happy if he could just get his hearing back, but the Lord helped me to show him that what he truly needed is a relationship with his Creator.
That team of youth who are here on their spring break brought us two very special presents, our kids, Jessie and Brennen! Jessie is the coordinator for the interaction between the American youth and the Brazilian translators who volunteer to help us each year. Brennen just moved to the U.S. this past December, so it was a treat to us for him to return again so shortly after leaving home. God is good, all the time! He showed His goodness again by allowing us the privilege of working together for a week with our kids in sharing the gospel to a people we love about a God we adore. We still have 6 days to work together with them side-by-side and this is truly a blessing to us.
Yesterday we took the group of youth with their translators to a large and busy park to share the gospel. We started out by handing out cups of water to the joggers, bike riders and walkers. Along with the water, we also gave out tracts that contained a clear presentation of the gospel. It was very encouraging to see some positive reception to our attempts. We saw several people who had accepted both the water and the tract still have the tract in their hand on their next lap around the park, even though they had finished their water and had thrown the cup away. The youth also shared the gospel through skits and testimonies on an improvised stage in the middle of the park to an audience of over 300. It was a great start to an exciting week. We will be in many public schools during the rest of the week where we’ll be able to talk to over 4,000 students and teachers about the love of Jesus Christ.
Thank you for keeping us in your prayers.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [February 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
February 10, 2014
Dear Friends,
Yesterday we had the privilege of baptizing a young lady, Isabela, who recently surrendered her life to the Lord. One of the most joyous aspects of her conversion is the fact that her friend, Bibi, is the one who led her to Christ and explained to her the importance and meaning of baptism. Bibi has just recently turned 14 years old and she’s already actively engaged in winning souls and discipling them. Bibi has such a passion for the Lord and wants to see all her friends and family come to Christ. I thank God for her and, now, I look forward to seeing her friend, Isabela, begin to win folks to the Lord also. She already invited her parents to church and they are coming regularly. The changes in her attitudes and lifestyle have shown them that what she has received is real.
Charlene and I are still trying to adapt to our new life without the kids. We raised them to leave home and begin life on their own, so we aren’t second guessing ourselves or wishing we had done differently. We are just hurting…for a reason.
Our missions school started off well this year. We trained and sent out two teams of 14 volunteers into the interior of our state. The two groups had tremendous results in the towns where they presented the gospel and ministered. The Lord blessed and there were several conversions to Christ. We are also gearing up for two more trips this month. The volunteers on the teams are excited about using their testimony and talents to share the gospel with many who have never heard a true gospel presentation. The new school year began today, so this will increase our doors of opportunity to reach larger numbers of listeners. In Brazil there is still more liberty of access to the public sector with the Word of God, but there is a wave of opposition that is increasing year by year. We want to take advantage of the opportunity while it is still there. Pray that the Lord will enable us to do so effectively.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support so that we may continue to reach out to Brazil and to the world.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [January 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
January 10, 2014
Dear friends,
We were very grateful to the Lord for what He did through our youth ministry this past month. They spent many hours practicing for a dramatic gospel presentation during the Christmas holidays and their effort really paid off. The presentation went very well and we had a very good number of visitors present to receive it.
We are catching a plane in a few hours to return to Brazil. Charlene and I traveled to the US with our 16 year old son, Brennen, to leave him here to study. He will be living with one of my brothers, Terry, and his wife, Allison. We are extremely thankful for their willingness to take on this responsibility. The emotional aspect of not having him with us at home anymore has not hit us yet, but I’m sure that our 14 hour trip home will give us plenty of time to start taking it in. We ask for your prayers, both for him to do well here and for us as we learn to live with an empty nest.
I was very pleased to hear that a couple of our young leaders did well taking care of our ministries back in Brazil while we were away for a couple of weeks. The Lord has blessed us greatly with some talented and dedicated team members that increase our effectiveness and make it easier when we have to be out for any period of time. Also, these experiences help them get more prepared to become senior leaders too when we launch our next new works.
Our evangelism teams had some unique opportunities for ministry during this month. They were allowed to share God’s love at an art museum in the capital city of our state. Also, Izabele, one of our young women was a participant in a group that gave a presentation at the auditorium of a large company. Diego, our music minister, conducted an orchestra of beginner musicians in a community center for the public which was very well attended. These presentations opened doors of contact with the families of those youth who were involved, while at the same time increased the level of influence of our leaders in the lives of their students.
We are praying for great things of the Lord in 2014 and we expect Him to do great things for His glory through us. We hope that you, too, will be greatly used of God to make Him known in this new year. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support during 2013.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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