September 29, 2025

Dear Brethren,

Do you like good news? I thought so. So do I, so here goes.

In 1955 a preacher came to our house in Sanford, Florida and shared the gospel with my Dad. That preacher was Bruce Lunsford. The Good News transformed Dad’s life. Later it changed mine, too. Bruce went to Brazil as a missionary. Not long after, my Dad did the same. In 1961 the Lunsfords and Creiglows went to Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre on a paddle wheel steamboat.

A short time later Brother Lunsford went across the border to Peru where he visited a town called Pucalpa on the Amazon River. That town already had 50 thousand people. There was no church other than the Roman Catholic church at that time. Brother Lunsford saw a gaping door for the Gospel. He then decided to go to Iquitos, Peru (further down the Amazon River) and invite a new missionary to help him start the new mission in Pucalpa. That was missionary Del Mayfield.

Del and Ada Mayfield moved to Pucalpa. The Mayfields dug in and in a few short years the work was flourishing. In September 1967 the Iglesia Bautista da la Fé was organized with 34 members. That month the church averaged 101 in Sunday School. The week following the organization there were 10 more saved and 7 more baptized.

Brother Mayfield had a vision for what could be. He bought almost a full city block in the center of Pucalpa. There a church building was erected on the corner and a Baptist school was later built on the rest of the property. Brother Del also prepared a native pastor to carry on the work. His name: Pastor Abel.

I first met Pastor Abel in 1982. I had been in the States for a skin treatment and decided to make my return to Brazil into an adventure. For company I put 2 beagle puppies in portable kennels and bought a one-way ticket to Lima, Peru. The plane made a stop in Iquitos, Peru. I got off there and spent a couple of days. Then I bought a ticket to Pucalpa where I stayed for 3 days with Pastor Abel. By the way, Brother Mayfield had already gone to heaven. From there I hired a single engine plane to take me across the border to Cruzeiro do Sul. It is just a 1-hour flight and back then you didn’t have all the red tape to get around South America.

Now, fast forward to 2025. This year we sent our oldest missionary, José Maia, to Pucalpa. He has been with First Baptist Church for 33 years and had been working in Tipisca, Peru. His health is not what it used to be and needed to go to a field with less physical hardships. We prayed and talked and went through all the best options. We settled on Pucalpa. My only requirement for José and Silvânia was that they go help our church there.

When they arrived and presented themselves to Pastor Abel and the church, things were not well. The church had gone through multiple splits. The school was still functioning, but had some legal problems. Pastor Abel is now 83 years old and let’s just say sort of stuck in the past and “sot” in his ways. Attendance was less than 10 people. He knew he needed help and help arrived! Abel put José in charge of the youth (3 young adults!) and Silvânia the ladies group.

About 3 months ago we started working on putting a team and trip together for me to go over and encourage the struggling little church and her pastor. On September 16^th the paperwork went through for our international flight from Cruzeiro to Pucalpa in the South America Mission plane.

I took 4 of my men with me. They helped me with the teaching and preaching for the 5 days we were there. My last lesson was on Sunday morning, a basic lesson on missions. Brother Abel gave an invitation. We had 11 people come forward yearning to get busy for the kingdom of Christ. Many tears were shed. Before the final prayer Pastor Abel pulled a picture out of his pocket. It was my 1982 prayer card that I had given him. He kept it for all these years having no idea that we would ever meet again.

We are very excited about what the Lord might do in Pucalpa. The city has grown more than I could imagine. Three other towns on the outskirts have grown into one big city of over 500 thousand people. The possibilities are infinite for the church there. In the coming months we have plans to bring some of their folks over here to see what God is doing on this side of the border. Then we plan to go there as often as possible to assist them. We are looking into a cheaper and less bureaucratic way over. Pray for us as we try to help them win souls with the good news of the gospel of Christ and the expansion of His kingdom.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.

In Christ,
Mike Creiglow

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CONTACT INFO

Mike & Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
69980 Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre
Brasil, SA
mdcreig@hotmail.com

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