God at Work through Each Stage of Ministry

Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.

Greetings to all of you who are supporters of Baptist Faith Missions. I thank God for each of you. Missions is a joint effort of us missionaries and the churches that support us financially and also pray for us.

Being on the mission field is probably not as difficult for me as it may be for most missionaries as they arrive on the field. Since I was born on the mission field, this place has always been my home.

The different kinds of ministries that we have done have been a life of experience.

The beginning was in church planting, which is always wonderful when you see souls saved.  As we worked with teenagers in the missions, we saw the need to help them. That is when we started having them live in our home.

One of the first boys we helped is worship leader in his church and he is now our lawyer! There are many others that are doing well. Many of them stay in contact with us. Living in a place with over 100 people was not always the easiest thing for us as a family, but God was always present and giving us strength to keep on working. One of the things I thank God for each day is, that even though our children had to share us with so many others, they don’t have regrets. Also, they have a love for helping people in need. To God be the glory!

At the time that the children’s home was closed down, it was very hard to deal with the situation. The sensation of failure was hard to deal with. As time passed, God gave peace and comfort. To me it was like God saying, “You have reached those that I wanted here, it is time to move on.” We have moved on!! It is hard to believe that it has been five years since we moved to the Amazon. We live very near Manaus, the city where I was born. Living in the middle of the jungle has its positive points and, at the same time, some difficulties. The peace and calm we have is great. What is a problem is that you need good transportation because that is the only way to get around. All our ministries are an average of 15 miles from where we live. Needless to say, we spend lots of time on the road. For me as a pastor’s wife, I have enjoyed the new change in our ministry. Working with kids and youth in church, training teachers to help in the different ministries—that was something that I did not have time to do when we had the children’s home.

But I thank God for each stage in our ministry that we have gone through. It is wonderful to see God working each day. As I look back, I see so many ways God worked that at the time I could not see. Each day as I pray, I ask God to help me see with “His eyes”. Living in the crazy world it is easy to be blinded. I praise God for calling me to serve Him and caring for me, my life and my family.  May God bless you, supporters and friends, and continue to direct our ministry.

Kathy

Odali & Kathy Barros
Caixa Postal 1
Iranduba, Amazonas 69.415.000
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[at]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


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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [March 2014]

Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.

February 24, 2014

Dear Brothers, Sisters and Friends of Baptist Faith Missions,

It is a great blessing for an old man to be able to write another letter to dear Friends like you. Alta and I are eighty-eight years old and you have been our dear supporting and praying partners for over fifty-five years for our ministry here in Brazil. It is a very emotional moment for me.

As I was preparing to write, the phone rang. Sebastian Oliveira, a blind person from birth, was calling from two thousand miles away to greet Alta and me and to thank us for the blessing we had been to him. Sebastian was saved in the interior village of Mira Aua, about 1960, when we lived in Manaus and traveled to the interiors on the launch you dear friends helped to build. He has been a Baptist pastor for over thirty-five years.

Our first church plant was in an area called Chapada. It was in the boonies. It was begun through the Tabernacle Baptist Church where we were members. It was started with 24 members. Among the 24 were four future mothers of pastors; there were five future Baptist pastors, including Paul, John Mark, and David Hatcher. The mothers of Baptist preachers were Alta, Guilermina, our daughters, Lynn (now in heaven) and Kathy. We praise God for His promises and unfailing faithfulness.

God touched the Chapada plant in a special way with its pastors and work. On February 23, 2014, there were 5,000 persons in morning services and 6,300 persons in evening services. In the evening services there were over 300 decisions. Praise the Lord for the ministry of church planting!

Our praises to the Lord for His blessings to our family. Alta and I thank Him for our parents and homes who taught us the fear of the Lord and the power of His Word. God has blessed our dear children: three sons are Baptist pastors, two daughters are wives of pastors and mothers of pastors. We have fifteen grandchildren, all of whom are serving the Lord with their partners in definite church planting projects. We have 26 great grandchildren, and eight of those have trusted the Lord as Savior.

WORKS GOING WELL – The mission points are going well here. There are congregations in Assai, Urai, Sussumo, and Rancho Alegre. There are several faithful young pastors. Some are not married; please pray for God to give them the right partners.

The Lord willing,  we hope to be at the Spring Missionary Conference in Lexington. Our son, Paul, is planning our trip with him and Wanda. We may be in the States by the time this letter gets to you.

God bless you each one. We love you in the Lord,

John and Alta Hatcher

Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br

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