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 [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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