God Orchestrates Events for His Glory
November 19, 2023
Dear Friends,
Charlene and I had the privilege of fellowshipping with several of our faithful brothers and sisters in Christ last week at the annual Thanksgiving Conference in Detroit, Michigan. It was at that same event 39 years ago that the Lord called me to Brazil as a missionary. There were so many blessings and memories re-lived at this most recent event. Also present at this conference was Brother Mike Creiglow, who was my professor of Cross-cultural Missions while in Bible college in Clarksville, Tennessee back in 1980. An added blessing was that Brother David Mitchell and his dear wife, Ellen, were present. I learned from him that he had invited Mike Creiglow to lecture at the college that year while he was in the USA on furlough. Now I can see a little part of how the Lord was working to expose me to the missionaries and their works in Brazil, the field to which He would call me as my career-long ministry. And there we were, 39 years later, enjoying the fellowship, and the fact that God had orchestrated these events so that hundreds of thousands of people have heard the gospel, and thousands have surrendered to Christ because of His sovereign and loving hand on our lives. What a great and loving Savior!
Yago and Manoela, our missionaries to Portugal sent us a video yesterday of how their ministry is progressing there. It was a joy to see their growing group meeting together to study God’s word and share the gospel with the lost Portuguese people. The Lord provided them with a place to meet temporarily, but they are still searching for a more permanent place of assembling. They do a fantastic job of teaching the Bible to the new converts and even to some who have been in church for years but have never been taught the Bible thoroughly.
Our traveling evangelistic team, Projeto Vida, has had a productive month of ministry. We continue to have open invitations into public schools to share gospel skits and personal testimonies to God’s grace and forgiveness. The Lord has shown them, and us, that He is still on His throne and is still transforming lives through the preaching of the gospel.
We are so grateful to you, our ministry partners, for your faithful prayers and support. We hope and pray that you are blessed with a joyous Christmas season and a prosperous New Year.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@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
3 Students Saved at School!
October 25, 2023
Dear Friends,
One of the subjects that I teach to high school students is Personal Finances. Many of you are familiar with the radio show host and author, Dave Ramsey, who seeks to inform his listeners with biblical principles on how to handle money. His organization did a wonderful job of developing a high school
curriculum on personal finances. As I am teaching this course, I realize just how unprepared teens are to face real-world jobs, paychecks, bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and living on a budget. I’m reminded of how little I knew when I was their age, so I know there’s hope that they can be even better equipped through this course than I was. Using the Bible and the curriculum, I have had several opportunities to share God’s financial principles for His children and His plan of salvation for the lost. This past month, three of our enrolled students professed Christ as their Lord and Savior and two have already been baptized into church fellowship. We are only ten weeks into the school year, so I am very excited about how much more the Lord will do through us.
Yago and Manoela continue ministering faithfully in Portugal. They are encouraged to remain steady in their witnessing and teaching the new converts. They are coming up on their first anniversary of beginning their ministry in Portugal on November 22, 2023. They knew that it was not going to be
easy to evangelize in a country where less than 1% of the population claims to be a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, but the contrast of such dire spiritual conditions compared to the spiritual harvest time in Brazil is stark. We believe that the Lord uses your and our prayers to supply them with motivation and ideas for effective evangelism and biblical teaching. We ask that you continue to pray for them and that the Lord would bless them with fruit for their labors.
The loud-speakers were replaced for our traveling evangelistic team, Projeto Vida. We had already replaced two tires on their van, then our speakers quit. But because of the generosity of a faithful brother (he prefers to remain anonymous), they were replaced immediately, and the team didn’t miss a single scheduled evangelistic event. The team still has a month and a half of the school year remaining and several public schools and parks in which to minister. The Lord willing, our team will share the gospel with over three to four thousand students and adults by Christmas. May He see fit to bring many to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through them.
Our church in Curitiba, Brazil has just concluded a weekend evangelistic event. The Lord blessed by bringing 14 persons to a saving knowledge of Jesus. A “Next Steps” class is scheduled to begin this Sunday for these new believers to begin to study the Bible as God’s handbook for Christian living. There were over 100 members of the church involved in preparing for and putting on the gospel presentation during a three-month period of practice and rehearsals. We thank God for providing the resources and dedication of these faithful servants.
Charlene and I were privileged to visit with Bro. Mark Pyles and his dear church, Grace Baptist, in Fairfield, Ohio and with Pastor Jared Via and the good folk at Hope Valley Baptist Church in Christiansburg, Virginia in October. We are very grateful for the hospitality and generosity shown to Charlene and me while we were with them.
In a few days we will be traveling to Detroit, Michigan to participate in the Thanksgiving Conference on behalf of Baptist Faith Missions sponsored by the New Hope Baptist Church and pastor Terry Adkins. We’d love to see you there.
Charlene and I want to express our gratitude and appreciation to you who pray and give so that we may serve the Lord where He has called us.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@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
3 Students Saved at School!
October 25, 2023
Dear Friends,
One of the subjects that I teach to high school students is Personal Finances. Many of you are familiar with the radio show host and author, Dave Ramsey, who seeks to inform his listeners with biblical principles on how to handle money. His organization did a wonderful job of developing a high school curriculum on personal finances. As I am teaching this course, I realize just how unprepared teens are to face real-world jobs, paychecks, bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and living on a budget. I’m reminded of how little I knew when I was their age, so I know there’s hope that they can be even better equipped through this course than I was. Using the Bible and the curriculum, I have had several opportunities to share God’s financial principles for His children and His plan of salvation for the lost. This past month, three of our enrolled students professed Christ as their Lord and Savior and two have already been baptized into church fellowship. We are only ten weeks into the school year, so I am very excited about how much more the Lord will do through us.
Yago and Manoela continue ministering faithfully in Portugal. They are encouraged to remain steady in their witnessing and teaching the new converts. They are coming up on their first anniversary of beginning their ministry in Portugal on November 22, 2023. They knew that it was not going to be
easy to evangelize in a country where less than 1% of the population claims to be a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, but the contrast of such dire spiritual conditions compared to the spiritual harvest time in Brazil is stark. We believe that the Lord uses your and our prayers to supply them with motivation and ideas for effective evangelism and biblical teaching. We ask that you continue to pray for them and that
the Lord would bless them with fruit for their labors.
The loud-speakers were replaced for our traveling evangelistic team, Projeto Vida. We had already replaced two tires on their van, then our speakers quit. But because of the generosity of a faithful brother (he prefers to remain anonymous), they were replaced immediately, and the team didn’t miss a single scheduled evangelistic event. The team still has a month and a half of the school year remaining and several public schools and parks in which to minister. The Lord willing, our team will share the gospel with over three to four thousand students and adults by Christmas. May He see fit to bring many to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through them.
Our church in Curitiba, Brazil has just concluded a weekend evangelistic event. The Lord blessed by bringing 14 persons to a saving knowledge of Jesus. A “Next Steps” class is scheduled to begin this Sunday for these new believers to begin to study the Bible as God’s handbook for Christian living. There were over 100 members of the church involved in preparing for and putting on the gospel presentation during a three-month period of practice and rehearsals. We thank God for providing the resources and dedication of these faithful servants.
Charlene and I were privileged to visit with Bro. Mark Pyles and his dear church, Grace Baptist, in Fairfield, Ohio and with Pastor Jared Via and the good folk at Hope Valley Baptist Church in Christiansburg, Virginia in October. We are very grateful for the hospitality and generosity shown to Charlene and me while we were with them.
In a few days we will be traveling to Detroit, Michigan to participate in the Thanksgiving Conference on behalf of Baptist Faith Missions sponsored by the New Hope Baptist Church and pastor Terry Adkins. We’d love to see you there.
Charlene and I want to express our gratitude and appreciation to you who pray and give so that we may serve the Lord where He has called us.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@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
Sharing Christ at School + Another Baptismal Candidate in Portugal
September 23, 2023
Almost immediately after our return from Brazil, I began teaching at a high school near Tampa, Florida. The school is operated out of a local Baptist church and is administrated by Christian faculty and staff. I found out very quickly, though, that that doesn’t mean that all the students are Christians. I am very grateful and thankful to the Lord for the privilege of being able to share the gospel and biblical precepts with the students in each of the 6 subjects that I teach. Almost every day I find a situation where I can share the gospel or apply the Word of God in practical ways to my students. I have come to love them, and I pray that the Lord will use me to win as many of them as will surrender to Christ this school year.
Our missionary couple to Portugal, Yago and Manoela, report that their little group is growing weekly. There is another baptismal candidate, Beatriz, whom we are praying for. She professed faith in Christ some time back but was not baptized then. After she told Manoela and Yago that she was ready to be baptized, several issues arose that have caused her to waver. I ask you to pray with us for Beatriz, that she may be firm in her decision to follow Christ boldly in the waters of baptism. We know that she is enduring demonic attacks and our prayers will be used of the Lord for her victory. She and her sister, Bruna, had never gotten along well until Beatriz fully committed to Christ. Since then, they have both been serving joyfully in outreach ministries at the fledgling church. That’s when the attacks on Beatriz’s faith began. We know the enemy seeks to cause damage to anything that speaks of Christ’s love and forgiveness, but we also know that “greater is He who is in them than he who is in the world.”
Our mobile evangelistic team, Projeto Vida, had a very fruitful month of outreach. The Lord blessed and each of the 14 volunteers had the privilege of leading some to repent and surrender to Christ as Lord and Savior. Of course, where there is faithfulness, there is testing. Our van’s tires went as far as they could, but two of them wore out this month. We are grateful to some of you readers who, when you heard of the need, gave funds to help replace them. The team only had to stop long enough to purchase new ones, change them, and continue their mission journeys. They are already in another town this week sharing the gospel, thanks to your willingness to help. May the Lord bless your generosity.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@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
Professions of Faith in Public Schools
August 11, 2023
Dear Friends,
Charlene and I returned from Brazil this week after 3 weeks of hosting two groups from 3 different churches from the USA, one from Florida and two from Virginia. The Lord blessed tremendously, and we shared the gospel in 8 public schools to 4,260 students and staff. There were over 200 people who professed Christ as their Lord and Savior. We are still rejoicing in the privilege of being used to make Christ known and to be a part in many coming to salvation.
I spoke with our missionaries to Portugal, Yago and Manoela, and they are excited about the second baptism they have been privileged to perform since arriving there last November. They still haven’t been able to move to the capital, Lisbon, but they did find a meeting place there that they can rent for a very reasonable price just for the time they are using it. It is a community center that puts no limitations on the types of activities they have, which is very important in Portugal. Very few public places are that gracious, especially concerning evangelical outreach and worship. They plan to meet there with those new converts that are already coming to their meetings and with the new contacts they’ll meet in their outreach efforts.
Charlene and I have scheduled to visit with them in January of the new year to encourage and to assist them in this new work. Please pray for this new church plant in Portugal.
The newly established pastor of our former church in Curitiba, Brazil is doing an excellent job. I met with several charter members who all said that he is doing great. We were already confident that he would, but it was reassuring to hear that from the longtime members. The church has continued to see growth under his leadership. This month they are engaged in WordFest, which is a 3-week challenge to read several books of the Bible, memorized over 45 Bible verses and spend at least 45 minutes in guided Bible study. Last year over 90 percent of the congregation completed the challenge and I expect similar results this year as well.
While on furlough, I will be teaching high school students at a Christian school, during the weekdays. On weekends, Charlene and I are available to accept invitations to come and present our ministries. If you or your church would be interested in having us, feel free to contact me at (813) 501-9328, or at my e-mail: bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com.
We are so thankful for your faithful prayers and support.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@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
Projeto Vida Presenting the Gospel in Public Schools & Parks
July 24, 2023
Dear Friends,
Although Charlene and I have begun our US furlough, at the present, we are back in Brazil ministering together with our evangelistic team Projeto Vida. We also had the privilege to worship and serve together with our former church during their 11th anniversary. The new pastor, Cledson, asked me to bring the message and it was an honor and joy to do so. It is clearly evident that the Lord guided me correctly in choosing Cledson as the lead pastor. The church is very united and growing under his leadership.
The missionary couple that we sent to Portugal is doing well. Yago and Manoela recently held a community event to establish friendships and bridges with neighbors to win opportunities for sharing the gospel. They were joined by a couple of other Brazilian Christians and the worked together to share Christ’s love. They had dozens of neighbors show up and doors for future opportunities were opened. Please continue to pray for Yago and Manoela to locate the right home to hold the weekly meetings.
Projeto Vida had an amazing month of activities. The first week had to be spent doing maintenance work on the van and equipment, but the very next week was a whirlwind of ministering in 8 different public schools during 13 gospel presentations. Through evangelistic skits and personal testimonies, they shared the gospel to 1,635 students and staff in just one day. At the end of each presentation our missionaries interacted directly with the students, many of whom would seek them out to ask questions and share how they could identify with the message. Although we can’t ask the students to come forward and profess Christ publicly at the schools, these personal conversations revealed that at least dozens of students understood their need to surrender to Christ and did so at those meetings. We are so thankful to the Lord for this privilege to make Him known to so many that wouldn’t ordinarily step inside the doors of a New Testament church!
Charlene and I still have two more weeks of working together here in Brazil with Projeto Vida in the public schools and parks. We are helping by translating for some groups of American volunteers who are using their last weeks of the summer vacation to share Christ internationally. May the Lord use us for His glory. Thank you for your prayers and faithful support.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@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
Warm Send Off, Currently Stateside, Gospel Presentations Continue
June 1, 2023
Dear Friends,
Let me start out by announcing that Charlene and I have begun our stateside furlough and will be available to visit and share our ministries with you or your church in the upcoming months. Our contact information is:
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
Before leaving Curitiba, Brazil last week, we had a very warm send-off service from our dear church family there. I have left the pastorate in the able hands of Pastor Cledson Xenofonte. He has been my co-pastor and youth pastor for the past five years and the church has grown significantly due to his and his assistants’ dedicated labors. His wife, Fabiane, and he have two children (both teens) who are involved and dedicated in the church ministries as well. I feel confident that God placed Cledson on my heart to succeed me as pastor and I believe the church will continue to grow steadily under his leadership.
Although Charlene and I will reside this year in the USA, we have several mission trips scheduled that will take us back to Brazil a couple of times and at least on one trip to our new church plant in Portugal to assist Yago and Manoela. This couple has shown tremendous wisdom and a great work ethic as they are constantly setting up Bible studies and personal discipleship meetings. They are still seeking the right house to move to near the capital, Lisbon, so that they can reach a greater number of people with less waste of time and money on the highway from their present residence. Our church in Curitiba is contributing as much as they can so that they can afford the higher rent there and Charlene and I give personally as well. But since the currency in Portugal is the Euro and more expensive, they still need about $200 per month more to meet the additional cost of rent in the capitol. If you feel led of the Lord to give toward this investment in reaching the lost in Portugal, you may contribute by labeling your offering: Wacaser – Portugal Mission.
Our traveling evangelistic team, Projeto Vida recently returned from a three-week trip to the northwestern part of the state of Paraná. In the public parks and schools where they ministered, the gospel was presented to 1743 students and adults. Of these, 151 made a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ. We are so thankful the Lord continues to keep this window of opportunity open to us. We know that this privilege is being lost in more and more locations throughout the world, so we seek to take advantage of it to get the gospel out there.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@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
Amazed at God’s Goodness
April 26, 2023
Hello Faithful Friends,
So much has happened since I wrote last year that I am amazed at God’s goodness to us. It is actually quite encouraging to stop and write about it because it’s a way to reflect on and count our many blessings.
We have been experiencing steady growth at our church. So much so that we had to find a larger building to move to. The Lord guided us to a great location that will allow the church to keep growing. Part of my role in this process was to organize the packing and labeling of everything the needed to be moved so that we could find it and use it almost immediately after our arrival there. I had some great volunteer helpers working with me and I am very grateful for them.
One of my roles at the church is as an assistant teacher. I work with the kids ages 8 to 12. Through the course of my years teaching, I have evangelized and taught children who are now grown up, have gotten married, and now I’m teaching their children in my classes.
One of my favorite activities in our ministry is to coordinate the preparation and decorating for special events like marriage seminars and evangelistic outreach meetings. I believe that even in small things like this we should seek to honor the Lord with excellence. One of the challenges is to apply excellence with a limited budget. I enjoy the challenge, though.
As a missionary’s wife, there is one area that is not pleasurable, and that is the “goodbyes”. There are so many of them and for various reasons. Of course, there are the goodbyes when we leave family and friends when coming to our field of service, but there are also the goodbyes on the field to those who we’ve evangelized and prepared to go out as missionaries to new places. Recently we sent Yago and Manoela off to Portugal to start new churches. I had worked side by side with Manoela for quite a while and we had become very close. As much as I was thrilled that God had called her husband and her to go, it still hurt to lose that constant companionship with her. I’m very glad that we have the promise of an eternal home to enjoy fellowship again, and without the goodbyes.
Bobby and I are going to begin a U.S. stateside furlough near the end of May. If you or your church would be interested in having us come and share personally how God is using our ministry, feel free to contact Bobby at: bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com.
I am so grateful for your prayers and concern for us and our ministry.
Yours in Christ,
Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
bobbymichael_1@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
