Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [October 2013]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
October 4, 2013
Dear Friends,
So many opportunities surround us that we have to really focus so as not to attempt to put too many irons in the fire. If I had four times the number of committed volunteers than I have now, we still wouldn’t be able to fill every opening that’s available. That is why I must focus on multiplying leaders. My natural tendency would be to run from one urgent situation to the other, trying to handle each need, but I would only poorly address the issue and would soon be off in a rush to poorly address the next urgent situation. The Lord is helping me understand the Apostle Paul’s instructions to Timothy to take what I’ve learned from the Scriptures and teach it to faithful men who will then teach that to yet other faithful men. Alek, Tony, Daniel, Ruvian, Rafa, Brennen, Marcio, Aurelio and Guilherme are several of just such men. I am investing my time, energy and resources in them so that all of us may be more effective in spreading the Gospel and developing followers of Christ. These young men are exciting to train and their exuberance in their walk with the Lord helps me to stay encouraged as I see growth in their spiritual lives. As a result of their increase in knowledge and faith, our church is growing steadily and we are able to plan to launch new churches in the near future.
Two of the men mentioned above, Tony and Alek, are putting audacious faith into practice. They both want to serve as pastor/missionaries, so they are seeking ways to earn a living for themselves and their families, but reduce the hours they have to work at their income earning jobs so that they will have more time to invest into ministry. Tony is praying for a job that will allow him to work about 9 days a month and will still pay about what he makes at present as a mechanic. In order for him to get this job, he had to take a written test (which he already passed) and will still have to take a physical test to confirm the position. He isn’t just sitting around waiting for the Lord to miraculously give him the job, though. He was overweight for the job description and couldn’t meet the physical demands. Ever since he began praying for the job, he has been cautious of his eating habits and has been exercising daily. He has lost over 40 lbs and has increased his overall physical strength. Alek’s job opportunity will require that he pass a very difficult written exam. He has been investing time, energy and funds into his studies to prepare for this test while he prays that the Lord opens the door. They both understand that faith without works is dead. They know that only the Lord can give them these jobs, but they are working diligently to exercise their faith through deeds. In fact, it is because they trust the Lord that they are motivated to prepare themselves to walk through the doors when they open. These men are great examples of the type of leaders we want in our churches. I pray that the Lord will bless their faith and give them these jobs so that they will have more time available for ministry.
The Alpha team bus that was damaged in the accident last month will require some extensive and expensive repairs. The initial estimate is around $7,000. The Alpha team missionaries borrowed the Logos bus that was not scheduled for interstate travel and continued their journey to Rio de Janeiro to minister in spite of the trauma and sadness they suffered from the death of the other vehicle’s driver and passenger. The Lord blessed their three weeks of ministry and evangelism and many people became followers of Christ. We still need to do the repairs on the Alpha bus and will need the funds to do so. If you sense that God would have you to contribute to this need, please label your gift, “Alpha Bus”. It would be greatly appreciated and used to take the gospel to the lost in locations where there are no churches.
Charlene, Brennen and I are very grateful to you who pray for us and who give financially that we may live and serve the Lord in southern Brazil.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby, Charlene and Brennen 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: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [October 2013]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
September 26, 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Greetings in Jesus’ Name from Brazil. Alta and I are doing well for two oldies. Alta has so much energy that I have a difficult task to keep up with her. Our weather is still very changeable and if you do not like what you have, just wait about five minutes and what you like will be along. Here, when you are having winter in the States, we are having summer. At this time, you are having Fall and we are having Spring; changeable temperatures every two days. Oh well, variety is the spice of life.
URAI–The work in Urai is going well with services being maintained at Sussumo mission, and Rancho Alegre. Presently, plans are being made to begin a new work in Serra Morena and in Nova America da Colina. Seminary Classes continue on Tuesday and Thursday nights with seven or eight students.
CHAPADA BAPTIST CHURCH CELEBRATED 53 years of existence on the 25 of September. The Pastor of the church is David Hatcher who was five years old when the church was established. When the work was begun, it was out in the boonies. Today, that area is the most active center in Manaus. The church has an attendance of about 5,000 each week. Let me tell you of one marvelous work of the Lord that happened recently. The Church had two special days of an Evangelistic program. One young man invited his father to attend. He attended with his son. Two weeks later the man was returning home and had a car wreck. He broke his neck and died. What a wonderful joy filled the hearts of many when they discovered that the dead man had trusted the Lord as his Savior on the night he came to the special service!
ASSAI–The new family working in this large town is being a blessing to many. Daniel, his wife Leticia, and their nine year-old daughter Milena, are working hard and God is blessing. They have special services for children and young people and then regular services for all. Several have been baptized. Please continue to pray for this family and this city.
SPECIAL NEED–Please pray for Sonha dos Santos. She is starting her light treatment for cancer and Valdir, her husband, has to take her every day for thirty days to the city of Londrina. This is a trip of 100 miles every day. Pray that God will provide their needs and heal this dear sister.
Pray for Alta and me that God will be our strength, wisdom and peace as we at weakened old age try to serve Him in spreading the Gospel through personal witnessing and prayer. We thank you who have been faithful in praying for and supporting us these many years. We love you.
Sincerely in Jesus’ Name,
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 [September 2013]
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.
September 10, 2013
Dear Brethren,
Things have been going pretty good around here, but I have not been producing as much as I would like. I have had a kind of flu that set me back for a whole month. Most of that time I had fever, pain and a really bad cough. My lungs were stuffed. The doctor had to put me on antibiotics. Better now, but not fully recovered quite yet.
During that time one of my mission trips down river had been set several months back. I got the boat ready and had my backpack and gear setting by the back door. On the day of the trip I was really weak and dizzy, so I had to back down. Nevertheless, I encouraged Hudson, Ezi and Eliésio to go on without me. The river had come up a little, so they had clear sailing with my bigger boat. They visited 4 of our congregations and the church at Ipixuna. There were 4 professions of faith and good attendance. We have been working to get the church at Ipixuna involved in the mission work. They have finally caught the excitement and are visiting the works every month. They even bought one of Andrew’s boats and a new motor. We have been meeting with them regularly since 2009 to train them and get them going. It is finally working.
The Creiglows have started a new congregation across river at Miritizal, where they are pouring the slab for a building. Right now the congregation has about 20 baptized members. The attendance is in the 70s. They are still meeting in a nearby school and they hope to have them under roof before the rainy season.
Pastor Pedro is in southern Brazil for several months working on his masters degree. At present that leaves 4 of us to pastor First Baptist. One of the ministries that he took care of was couples. One of our elders is taking care of the events that were on the calendar. The general supervision and starting of new projects with the couples has come my way. We have started a new 4 week, 16 class course for the young couples who are engaged and about to marry. I invited several other young couples who are already married and 2 older couples (married longer) to take the classes as training for their marriages and as future teachers/counselors. This is a ton of work right now, but should make this kind of counseling lighter in the future.
Since our building is full and overflowing every Sunday night, we are now permitting our chapels to have services at 8:00PM Sundays. Up until now the 6 chapels only have services on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. I was at Avenida São Paulo for their first Sunday evening service. They had a really big crowd and 2 professions of faith. I spoke and coughed for 15 minutes, but the Lord got me through it and blessed.
Zico just got back from a visit to the works on the upper Moa River. All is well. The new building at the mountains is almost finished. Not being able to go on these trips is killing me!
We had another really good service on Sunday night. Overflow crowd and many visitors. This is normal. There were 3 people who had been out of church who came back, one request for baptism and 5 professions of faith. One couple (both are doctors) who I had invited were there for the first time. Many other first time visitors, again.
We have paid R$200.000,00 (about US$100,000.00) on the new property, so far. Still have another R$300.000,00 to go. Please pray. We need to finish paying off the 18 acres for our future expansion.
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: Paul & Wanda Hatcher in Brazil [September 2013]
Paul and Wanda Hatcher have been serving the Lord together in Brazil for 36 years. Paul pastors Tabernacle Baptist Church in Manaus, Brazil. Their main ministry is church planting.
September 9, 2013
Dear Friends,
The Lord has given us a good month, beginning with a three-day men’s camp. The objective of the camp was to encourage men in their Christian maturity. The lectures dealt with our deeper relationship and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, encouraging them to trust Him in all areas of their life and Christian service. Our desire is that they might be fruitful before the Lord, demonstrating the fruits of the spirit, and bring the light of the gospel to those who are unsaved. Our prayer is that the Lord would send many laborers into fields that are ready to harvest.
Last week I made a trip to Sao Paulo to visit Herman and his wife. Herman was one of our staff members and also taught juniors in Sunday school. About two months ago he was diagnosed with a tumor at the top of his spinal cord and was taken to Sao Paulo, about two thousand miles from here, to do exams to determine the needed treatment. Being in a very high risk area of the body, the biopsy procedure to determine the type of malignancy did not end well, and left him paraplegic and unable to do simple tasks like swallowing. He also temporarily lost his speech, which he has now regained as well as very slight movement of his hands and toes. They were both self employed, so being out has put them without any income. It has been amazing to see the great outpouring of love as our church members have given generously freewill offerings to meet their financial needs. We had a great visit with him in the intensive care unit; he and his wife are very encouraged in the Lord and very aware of God’s faithfulness and goodness despite the difficult circumstances. Please pray that their faith will continue strong whatever the affliction may be.
While in south, a dear friend drove me five hours further to visit my parents. It was great to have three days to visit them and enjoy one another’s company. I wish we could see them more often, but we are certainly grateful for each opportunity we have.
Sunday evening I was invited to speak at one of the churches organized last year. It was great to revisit those lovely people and see the original members remaining strong and the addition of new families through salvation and baptism.
All the family is doing well after several weeks of flu amongst our children and grandchildren. God is marvelous and supplies all our needs and grants us joy at all times. Thank you for your prayers and continued support.
God bless each of you,
Paul and Wanda Hatcher
Avenida J. Carlos Antony, 172
65063-150 Manaus
Amazonas, Brasil SA
hatcher[at]argo.com.br
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [September 2013]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
August 28, 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Good COLD morning to you all. Two days ago the temperature was in the nineties. Today, we are shivering with the temperature in low forties. God’s system of air conditioning is unequaled in its ability to change the weather rapidly. During the night, I woke up and Alta was putting another blanket on us. She said, “I am freezing.” While I write this note, the sun is shining brightly and the temperature is rising. I went to the store about 8:30 and Alta is busy cooking some of the things I bought because we are expecting our son Paul to arrive tomorrow in a surprise visit for a few days. What a joy fills our hearts when they come.
WORK IN ASSAI—Brother Daniel is the missionary pastor in Assai. He just called to greet us and to say that two persons with whom we worked and prayed for had been baptized. They are mother, Jirlene, and daughter, Mirela. We praise the Lord and thank Him for His work of Grace in these two lives. Please make the city of Assai a special item on your prayer list. A city of 20,000 population, it is the most difficult place we have ever worked in our entire ministry.
About 15 minutes ago, John Mark called us from France. Our hearts throb with joy when we receive calls from our children. Their work is going well and last Sunday they had wonderful services.
SPECIAL VISIT—While John Mark was on the telephone, Paul was trying to call us. He had just left Sao Paulo and was advising us that he would be here in about five hours. He will visit with us for about five days; what a special treat that will be!
URAI—The work here is going well. Pastor Marcio is doing a good job with the church and the mission points. The Congregation in Sussumo is going very well with a great group of adolescents. The three young people who work there are fine dedicated Christians—Wiler, Jeferson, and Odete. Marcio also pastors the Congregation in the little city of Rancho Alegre. They have services twice weekly. Presently, there is another dedicated brother in the ministry. He is married and they have four children. This week, he and the pastor are visiting two cities to decide where we will begin another Congregation. Praise the Lord for Pastors and people that pray and work for the spreading of the Gospel.
HEALTH—Kathy took me to see the doctor in Marilia. He is a great friend. My heart exam gave everything good. A complete blood exam, also, gave everything as very good. Praise the Lord for His benefits.
Sincerely, by the Grace of God,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: Odali & Kathy Barros in Brazil [September 2013]
- Odali and Kathy Barros have served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together since 1987. They are currently in the process of transitioning to Manaus to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
August 31, 2013
Greetings to all dear friends,
Twenty-seven years have passed since we began our ministry here in Sao Paulo. Looking back, it seems impossible that it has been that long. As we make new plans for our new place of work, we look back and see what God has allowed us to be a part of.
Our ministry with helping needy people, especially children, started in 1987 with a widow and her 5 children. Some of you may remember when we rented a home next to ours for them to live in. Those kids are all grown and on their own. As we come to a close of our ministry here, we were with these children as a new step in their lives took place. We buried the mother last Sunday. What an unusual situation. Our ministry started and ended with the same family. We praise God that she was saved. Her son Rodrigo is one of the teachers here in the Bible Institute.
Ever since I was saved, I have had the desire to work and reach people who lived in villages on the river. Ever since the home was closed and we could not reopen, we have been praying for God to show us what He wanted us to do and where. Last year in July, we had peace about where God wanted us. We then contacted the directors of BFM and informed them of our new plans. We appreciated their prayers for our move.
For the last year we have been getting thing ready for the changes here. One day at a time God has taken care of each detail. We have already started our move. We will be moving back to Manaus, Amazonas where Kathy and I met, got married, and started our work in the ministry. We have already sent to trucks of things. Wow–one can really accumulate many things in 27 years!!! We will be living across the river from Manaus on our land where we had a children’s home also. When we arrive, we will be visiting by road and by river the villages to see how many there are and if they have any Baptist work. We want to make a map of the cities and their sizes and their needs. Since roads have been opened, villages have started on roadsides. We will be using the big bus that we had at the home and we will need to purchase a boat for the river work. We are excited about the change–and what a change after 27 years of having dozens and even hundreds of people in our home every day. God has been good and we have been blessed in our ministry. Through good and hard times He has always been with us and given us the strength that only He can give.
I was saved through the work of a missionary from BFM who visited a village on the river, Bro. Bobby Creiglow. He visited my village once and when he left the village he believed it had not been worth the long trip. Little did He know that God had a purpose in that trip. I was not in the service he held, but my cousins told me about it and I wanted to know more about that God he had preached about.
So when my Grandmother got sick and had to go to Cruzeiro do Sul, I asked to go with her. When our boat arrived at the port, there stood the man that my cousin had mentioned. Not long after I was able to go to the church and hear the plan of salvation and receive God as my Savior. I thank God for those of you who have given so faithfully for so many years and continue to give. May God pour His blessing on your lives.
Please pray for us as we make our move. Everything is just about all packed. Kathy has been working hard to get things packed and things in order that need to be left for the church here. We are taking a couple that will be working with us in the ministry, Gilmar and his wife Lizene. She has worked with us for many years. Gilmar is a young man that came to live in the home and got saved here. We will support them, through the ministry.
Our main emphasis is preaching the gospel and church planting. It is amazing that everywhere you go you will find an Assembly of God church. We also plan on helping the communities in ways such as: education, clothing, health and food.
We would like to go to the U.S. some time in the near future. We applied for our sons’ immigrant visas over a year ago and we haven’t heard anything from the office since we paid all the fees. Please pray that they will arrive soon.
If you would like to know more you can contact us at : odali_kathy[at]hotmail.com.
Love in Christ,
Odali and Kathy
Tito, Jonas and Gabriel
Odali & Kathy Barros
odali_kathy[at]hotmail.com
Blog
Av. Victor Hugo Boaretto S/N
Garca, Sao Paulo 17.400,000
Brasil, SA
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Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley in Brazil [August 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.
Friends and family,
As June wound down and July started we still had the two men from Atlantic Shores Baptist Church, Lonnie and George, and our Brazilian son Edson with us. We continued using this free labor to catch up on the work at the new Church plant (ie: completed laying the tile and grouting it, replaced old fixtures in the bathrooms and the kitchen, installed the kitchen sink, and put the donated appliances in the kitchen with the new cabinets and roll-around islands). We have also put up new fencing around the Church front and painted it. We painted the balcony and separated it to make two Sunday School classes. The children were extremely excited with their room where Pastor Jason and Ryan painted animals all around the walls.
Putting the sign out in front of the church!
Another job that got done this month was getting the sound installed in the Church. We were fortunate to be able to buy an old sound system and a sound board from another Church. But as with all things used, as soon as we got it into the Church, things began to go wrong. But from our experience here in Brasil, it is not what you know but who you know. So we thought of Edi. He was a young man in Garca that was always taking things apart, especially things to do with sound. So remembering this young man, we called him and asked if he could come and help us. It was such a rewarding feeling to see a young man that we had in our care in the Alpha and Omega Children’s Home years ago using what he had learned to help us here in Caragua in God’s work. As Edson was here in Caragua he also helped in the work. It was a double blessing to see the two of them working together here in Caraguatatuba remembering them 17 years ago. Edi is married and making a living installing alarms and Edson is in his 3rd year of vet school. Both of them involved in the Lord’s work in their prospective cities. Thank you Lord for these two young men who You set on the right path. Our Lord is so Awesome!
We have not only done physical labor this month but we have been busy with the Church work also. The ladies had a yard sale and made around 600 Reais which is around 300 dollars. Their plans are to buy the needed supplies for the kitchen. Our youth have also been busy–they did visitation in the neighborhood around the Church and distributed around 800 flyers inviting people to come to Church. We are having on average 50 kids on Sunday mornings and about the same number on Sunday nights (this being more adults). We are so excited about our ministry with the kids. We are seeing lives changed. Here is what one of the ladies here at our Church had to say about the children that come to Church from her neighborhood. She said that she has been noticing that the kids have been getting along better when they are playing. Another thing that she has noticed is that there is less and less use of bad language as they play. The other thing that she told us is that as she has been bed-ridden for two months, during that time the children, from 6 years to 11 years of age, came to pray with her every day. This is what Church and Sunday School is all about, changing lives one at a time. God is so AWESOME.
Street evangelism with some of the youth!
This month we have concentrated mostly on the Church construction but we have accomplished some things at the school property. We have taken an old rusty saw that was given by a friend in Ohio and given it new life. With lots of help from Ernesto, we now have a saw that will enable us to do many things with wood that we were not able to do before. Hopefully next month we will be able to get back to working on the dorm house, but the main thing is spreading the work of the Lord and all these other things will get done in God’s time.
We have had the blessing of Mary, Walmire and the girls being here to visit this month also. We were able to take some time to enjoy the grandkids and their parents. You know we discovered that grandkids are a lot of fun. We have made a decision–if we had known how much fun the grandkids were, we would have had them first.(lol)
I hope you can see through our letters how God is working through us here in Brasil. But if we are not painting a good enough word picture, please come on down and see for yourself. Beware—those who venture into Caraguatatuba, Brasil are never the same. Be prepared for what God will do in your life here in Brasil!!!!! So come on down, your bed is turned down and we have turned on the light on the porch.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
Click here to give. | Like them on Facebook. (Their Facebook page has some videos of stuff they have written about!)
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Missionary Update: The Creiglows in Brazil [June 2013]
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.
June 20, 2013
Dear Brethren,
A few weeks ago Zico (our missions coordinator) Thiago, Pastor Ezi and I went to a little remote town called Jordão. We chartered one of MAF’s planes. There is no road to Jordão and to make it there by river is a major challenge. We had very little time to get there and back. For years we have been working toward a goal of having sound and dynamic Baptists churches in all 22 cities of our state. Jordão is the next one where we hope to plant a church soon.
The population is only 8000. There is an Adventist church, four varieties of Pentecostals and, of course, the Catholic church. Zico and Thiago went to get things set up with the local authorities to bring in a major medical mission group early next year. Ezi and I walked every street in the town, stopping to talk and witness to some of the town folk. We even walked the mile long beach up the Tarauacá River to the mouth of the Jordão River!
Jordão, Acre
We are now praying and seeking the right missionary couple to send. It will add to our already overstretched financial commitments to missions, but our main concern is getting the right people to that remote field.
A few months back I appointed a group of men from our church to start looking seriously for property to eventually relocate First Baptist church. As many of you know, for the past 15 years we have been filling our auditorium every Sunday night. Six or seven years back we even went to an extra service on Sunday afternoon. That service now has an average of 400 and the evening is still packed to capacity. Last Sunday night there were 8 more professions of faith. One couple even came before the church for him to ask her to marry him! Their wedding is in August. So we have been living dangerously by not providing enough room for our growth. A long time ago I tried to get the church to move out of the center of town, but couldn’t budge them. That is no longer the case. Even if they had not become ready, we were going to have to move them or risk the very real possibility of lost attendance.
I gave the three men a list of properties and GPS coordinates and took them around to identify each. There were 12 in all. Most were not for sale. Those that were had price tags anywhere from $500,000.00 the 2 and a half million dollars. Can you believe such prices in a town of 100 thousand sitting out here in the middle of the vast Amazon jungle? There was one last place that we could not find even though we had heard about it. Pastor Benjamim finally found it while I was out of town for a couple of weeks. We went to check it out the day after I got home.
18 acres of nice flat land with gently sloping sides. No street yet, but the city is supposed to put in a major thoroughfare in soon. We don’t know yet exactly where, but it should be very close if not right along one side. The land is just 3 miles from our present location. Best of all, it “only” costs $250,000.00! There is a clear title and no back taxes, too. Yesterday I sat down with the owner to hammer out a deal. We came up with 3 different ways to move forward.
Last night we had over 600 present for my presentation of the plan to the church. Actually the church had no idea that I was going to spring this on them this soon. They were so ready that the vote was unanimous to buy and the crowd erupted in applause at the close of the business meeting. NOW…..Please help us with your prayers.
We are going to try to keep our property in town. It will continue to serve our seminary and other training programs even after we move, which won’t be soon. Just our 6 lots where our present buildings sit are worth 4 million dollars! If the Lord doesn’t hurry up and come back we are going to end up leaving 10 or 15 million worth of property for the cults to squabble over during the Great Tribulation. Exciting times, these! Pray real hard for us as we advance the Kingdom of our Lord.
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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