Retired Couple Gives of Themselves to Share God’s Love

Bobby and Charlene Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.

Dear Friends, 
As many of you know, the seasons in southern Brazil are at the opposite times of year as those in the northern hemisphere. Because of this, our school calendars are also just the opposite. The months of December to February are their summer break. Due to the pandemic last year, the students had mostly virtual classes. This year looked bright for returning to the classroom for all of two weeks! But then there was an increase in the number of COVID cases in our state and the governor issued a shutdown of all public buildings. We aren’t sure if this will truly be just two weeks or if it will be extended like it was last year, but it does drastically affect our ministry outreach strategies.
Each year we are invited into public and private schools to share the message of hope and salvation through gospel skits, testimonies and the preached word to tens of thousands of students and staff. The longer these doors stay closed, the less people we are able to reach. Rather than accept defeat, though, we have sought the Lord for other open doors of opportunity and He has blessed. Our traveling team has had to stay within the metropolitan area of our city, but they have found several avenues through which they can connect with people who are lost and desperate. The homeless population of a town our size is considerably large, in the thousands. We have found locations where these folks assemble for food or clothing.
 
We have asked our churches to donate what they can toward this outreach effort and encouraged the members to accompany the outreach teams in their effort to show the love of Christ through gifts of physical and spiritual food. Since our teams have not been able to get into the public schools, they are free to return regularly to meet with and minister to this homeless population. Each visit gives our workers the chance to get to know the people they are ministering to a little better and we have seen barriers of defense come down. We are finding that, yes, most of these folks are there due to repetitively bad choices, but we also find folks who are hurting and suffering and have never heard a word of grace and love and forgiveness. In the last few months, we have been instrumental in leading 16 former drug addicts to Christ and they are now voluntarily in Christian drug rehab centers seeking to become productive servants of the Lord. We thank God for these open doors and for the open hearts of our workers to reach out to those who are on the outside.
 
Manuel and Maria are a couple who retired from their secular jobs in order to minister fulltime in missions and evangelism. Their retirement income is caught up in a bureaucratic mess and the pandemic has only served to increase that mess, but they are still joyfully giving themselves to share God’s love through practical and spiritual means, day in and day out with these homeless folks. I thank the Lord for putting examples like them in my church and in my life to challenge me to keep my first love for the Lord
aflame. I hope that this testimony of their service will encourage you to do the same. 
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Manuel and Maria

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


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An Example of Faith & God’s Faithfulness in Trying Times

Bobby and Charlene Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.

December 2, 2020

Dear Friends,

You may be experiencing similar circumstances in your area, but I did want to inform you of what is happening here in southern Brazil. A new wave of COVID cases has arrived and several of our members have been infected. Thanks to the Lord, no one has died because of it and most have recovered quite rapidly. Charlene and I have been blessed by not getting it, so far, and we pray that it will stay that way. 

Our youth minister went through some tough experiences recently that helped us see that we are truly in a spiritual battle in this world as we seek to serve the Lord in a fallen society. Cledson and his wife, Fabiane, are very dedicated to teaching the youth God’s word and demonstrating its principles in their daily lives. They go the extra mile in showing love and faithfulness to Lord and to the youth under their leadership. There is a young man who had struggles in his home life and they took him into their own home to mentor him, even though he often pushes the limits of their patience. In one three-week time frame, he caused several accidental damages, though his carelessness was the main factor. They already live on a very tight budget and these damages were sorely stretching them. Last week, Cledson and Fabiane were pushed near to the end of their faith. Cledson makes his living as an Uber driver and this young man, without Cledson’s permission, took his car keys, started the engine and accidently popped the transmission into reverse while the car was parked next to the church’s brick wall. The car rammed backward, crushing the rear of the car and crashing through the wall. All together, the cost was more than 3 months of Cledson’s earnings, plus he would have to put his car in the shop for 3 weeks without further income from Uber services. He and his wife broke down crying. They know that “all things work together for the good of them who love the Lord…”, but on the emotional level they were nearly spent. They dried their tears and went before the youth to teach them that God is still in control and that they are trusting in Him. 

They had no idea how they were going to pay for their daily needs, much less the repairs to the car and the church property. But the Lord amazingly showed His gracious mercy and love. The church members, though none are wealthy, pitched in together to cover their expenses for the month and the Lord answered a several months’ old prayer request of Cledson and his wife by having a company call him to work where he won’t even need his car. In the midst of their trial, the Lord showed Himself strong and attentive to their needs. They were super encouraged by the apparent turn in events and were strengthened in their faith. Also, the youth under their leadership learned a tremendous lesson on how to live out their faith in a very real and practical way through the example of their leaders. I am very grateful to God for the strong leaders that He has placed over our youth and I trust that we will have a new generation of faithful servants as a result of their teaching and example. 

Another couple of amazing volunteers are Emmanuel and Maria. They are both retired from their secular jobs. As they contemplated retirement and what they believed the Lord wanted them to do with their lives, they felt led to be a part of our gospel outreach team. Emmanuel and Maria are just the kind of people that I want to always be and hope to teach and inspire the people under my leadership to be – selfless! As I write, they are together with our outreach team on a trip to a town in the interior of our state where they will share the love of Christ in public squares and parks. They’ll be sleeping on very thin pads and traveling in a crowded van, but they do this joyfully because of their love for the Lord. I am so thankful for them! 

I mentioned in my last correspondence that I got an invitation to preach the gospel in English in a neighboring state. Well, that opportunity led to a re-invitation. Charlene and will be returning there in a couple of weeks and we pray that the Lord will use us to get the gospel out to the listeners present and online and that we will be an encouragement to the team who invited us. 

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support so that we may continue to be useful in the Lord’s service.

Bobby and 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

God is Still Showing His Love & Power

Bobby and Charlene Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.

July 30, 2019

Dear Friends,

The month of July is a wonderful month for us here in southern Brazil. One of the highlights is our church’s anniversary. What makes it a little extra special is that it falls during the winter season when the climate and culture lend themselves to a festive sentiment which makes it ideal for inviting folks to our services. We had a record crowd a couple of weekends ago which also led to our highest regular service attendance the following week. We are excited and thankful for the new opportunities to minister to those whom the Lord brings our way.

Our traveling mission team, Projeto Vida, was up on the state line that separates our state, Paraná from the next state north, São Paulo. Where they were ministering there is an extensive river valley called Vale do Ribeira. Along this valley are a number of towns and communities in great need of the gospel and our team was used of the Lord to preach and share there for two weeks. The public schools are our usual venue for presenting the Word, but they were on winter break and the team presented in the public squares instead. Still there were many who surrendered to Christ as their Lord and Savior.

School has already started back up now and the team will be traveling again this week to other interior towns to minister.

We are still rejoicing from the wonderful grace the Lord showed this past week among our youth! Four teenagers made public professions of faith in Jesus at their most recent meeting. One young lady, Maria, has been attending with her boyfriend, Eric for several months, and, finally, she surrendered her life to Christ. Two others were attending for the first time, but the Lord graciously opened their hearts to understand and receive the gospel also. I didn’t get the personal information on the fourth person, a girl, that also trusted in Christ. I will be meeting soon with their leader who will begin a personal discipleship program for each of these new converts. We are so grateful that God is still showing His love and power at work even when society, in general, seems to be more and more decadent.

Thank for your faithful prayers and support.

In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser

Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
bobbymichael_1[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


Read more
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