Warm Send Off, Currently Stateside, Gospel Presentations Continue
June 1, 2023
Dear Friends,
Let me start out by announcing that Charlene and I have begun our stateside furlough and will be available to visit and share our ministries with you or your church in the upcoming months. Our contact information is:
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
Before leaving Curitiba, Brazil last week, we had a very warm send-off service from our dear church family there. I have left the pastorate in the able hands of Pastor Cledson Xenofonte. He has been my co-pastor and youth pastor for the past five years and the church has grown significantly due to his and his assistants’ dedicated labors. His wife, Fabiane, and he have two children (both teens) who are involved and dedicated in the church ministries as well. I feel confident that God placed Cledson on my heart to succeed me as pastor and I believe the church will continue to grow steadily under his leadership.
Although Charlene and I will reside this year in the USA, we have several mission trips scheduled that will take us back to Brazil a couple of times and at least on one trip to our new church plant in Portugal to assist Yago and Manoela. This couple has shown tremendous wisdom and a great work ethic as they are constantly setting up Bible studies and personal discipleship meetings. They are still seeking the right house to move to near the capital, Lisbon, so that they can reach a greater number of people with less waste of time and money on the highway from their present residence. Our church in Curitiba is contributing as much as they can so that they can afford the higher rent there and Charlene and I give personally as well. But since the currency in Portugal is the Euro and more expensive, they still need about $200 per month more to meet the additional cost of rent in the capitol. If you feel led of the Lord to give toward this investment in reaching the lost in Portugal, you may contribute by labeling your offering: Wacaser – Portugal Mission.
Our traveling evangelistic team, Projeto Vida recently returned from a three-week trip to the northwestern part of the state of Paraná. In the public parks and schools where they ministered, the gospel was presented to 1743 students and adults. Of these, 151 made a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ. We are so thankful the Lord continues to keep this window of opportunity open to us. We know that this privilege is being lost in more and more locations throughout the world, so we seek to take advantage of it to get the gospel out there.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: 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
Intensive Outreach
March 15, 2023
Dear Friends,
In my last correspondence I shared the marvelous news with you that Yago and Manoela, our missionaries to Portugal, were privileged to lead their first convert to Christ. Since then, they have kept up weekly Bible studies with Emanuel, the new disciple. This past Saturday, Emanuel braved the cold Atlantic waters and followed the Lord in baptism. He is thrilled with his daily walk with the Lord and the study of His word. At the same time, just as the Lord warned us, persecution has already begun. Some of his friends and family are trying to mock him and belittle his faith. Yago and Manoela were careful to point out to him to expect this kind of treatment and not to lose heart. In fact, it is a sign that the Lord is truly in and with him, for that is how the world and the devil treat God’s children.
Yago and Manoela are still searching for a house closer to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. They have begun several home Bible studies with believers scattered about in that general region. Where they live now is not conveniently located due to the cost of time and money getting to Lisbon. We are praying for them to find an adequate house or apartment within their budget where they can hold small groups and a weekend Bible club for children. Please pray with us for them to locate the right house for their work.
At our church’s new location, we have discovered some, let’s say, “interesting” challenges. We knew that the building would need some work done on a leaky roof. That was included in the contract for the property owner to fix back in December. Here we are in the middle of March and almost daily we are having to haul out buckets full of rainwater that drops right in the middle of our auditorium. The problem is being resolved, but it’s taking way longer than we anticipated and the constant rains require that we spend quite an amount of time mopping up water and moving furniture so that it won’t get wet. The good thing about this challenge is that our members are getting a good taste of investing their energy and resources into the Lord’s kingdom. We will be putting on a major Easter play production and we expect the building to be near full for two services. A leaky roof in the middle of a packed house could cause some very unpleasant scenes. So, pray that the workers can get the job done in time for the presentations and that the leaks are truly eliminated, please.
Today we went to the airport to pick up a team of 8 volunteer evangelists from Virginia. This is their 4th or 5th visit in about two years. They are some of the sweetest and humblest people we’ve met. But they are very bold in evangelism. They witness everywhere they go. In the markets, in the restaurants, in the parks and schools and the Lord has seen fit to bless with many people turning to Christ. They will be with us for 6 days of intensive outreach to over 4000 people outside of the church building. Mostly non-believers, for now, but we hope that many will be saved in these next few days of outreach.
In Christ’s love,
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 Marvelously Saving Sinners!
January 31, 2023
Dear Friends,
“A blast from the past,” I think is an expression that seems to pop up occasionally. That is what I got a few days ago. And it was a good “blast.” She is a lady now, but was a nine-year-old girl when we met Tabitha in 1987. In our first church plant in Curitiba, Brazil, Tabitha was a round faced little girl who we invited to our children’s Bible school. She and two of her younger siblings would come regularly to church each week. She was taught the gospel and she memorized Scripture and learned a lot about God’s will for her life. Despite several years of showing her love and biblical teaching, Tabitha chose to lead her own life and it was not in the direction that she learned in our Bible studies and church services. For many years she was involved in demon worship and witchcraft. The “blast from the past” came last week when Tabitha messaged me, sharing that she had treasured all our teaching and examples in her heart and had finally surrendered her life to Christ! She has been marvelously saved from her life of sin and asked me if I would baptize her as she begins her new life in obedience to God. Oh, how amazing is our Savior’s grace!
Our evangelism team, Projeto Vida, has just completed its first Missions Training Seminar of the year. We had volunteers from several Brazilian states participating in this three-week experience. The first two weeks were spent in biblical and theoretical studies, and the last week was the practical application of what was learned in the classroom. During this edition of our training seminar, the volunteers accompanied our veteran team of missionaries to native Indian tribes in the neighboring countries of Paraguay and Argentina, as well as to a settlement on the Brazilian side of the shared border. Day and night the volunteers and veterans shared the gospel with hundreds of lost individuals, from little children, even to the tribal chiefs. The Lord blessed greatly and many of them openly confessed Jesus as their Savior. We’ve partnered with a local Baptist church to begin the discipleship process among those who have been converted.
Our missionaries to Portugal, Yago and Manoela, reported that they are learning some very important and helpful lessons as they reach out to the lost there. One such lesson was learned shortly after they arrived about the city where they thought they would reside in and begin a church plant. They discovered as they visited the city that most of the city’s population is made up of “vacationers”. That information helped them realize that it would be very difficult to establish a thriving church with a population that is mostly transient. They are in the process of moving to a city where the population is more permanently established. They have begun regular fellowship meetings with some other Brazilian Christians they discovered also reside in Portugal. Their main purpose, though, is to win the Portuguese people to Christ, not to form a Brazilian church in Portugal. Later this year, Charlene and I intend to go there to take some supplies and to lend some leadership training. Please pray for the success of Yago and Manoela’s ministry efforts in Portugal.
Our church will hold its first service in our “new” (for us) auditorium this coming Sunday. We held our last service in the old auditorium last week with standing room only. By God’s grace, we were packed! In my message to the congregation, I encouraged the members to invest themselves in what the Lord is doing. In an amazing show of enthusiasm and desire to serve Jesus, a large portion of the congregation showed up with tools and willing hands and hearts to move our equipment and furnishings to the new location. Many of them are working every day until 11:30 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. installing equipment and arranging furniture to be ready to launch our first service in the new location after having worked all day at their regular jobs. I thank the Lord for the privilege to pastor such a dedicated group of brothers and sisters in Christ. We have a lot of work ahead of us to adjust to our new installations, but this group of volunteers makes it a joy, and not a burden.
In Christ’s love,
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
Thanksgiving & Commissioning Service
November 19, 2022
Dear Friends,
This past week, our church celebrated our thanks to the Lord for this year’s provisions as well as His calling from our midst, Yago and Manoela Guedes, to go to Portugal as missionaries. We had a commissioning service for them and a Thanksgiving banquet at the same event. It was truly a joyous occasion. It was the first time that our entire church could get together at the same time and location for nearly two years. We met at a church member’s farm that has a pavilion that was large enough for us all. Yago and Manoela will have arrived in Foz do Arelho, Portugal by the time you are reading this letter. We will be praying for them and seeking to support their ministry efforts as they seek to reach the spiritually lost there. There is less than 1 percent of born-again believers in Portugal and this young couple will greatly need the Lord’s wisdom and power in sharing the gospel and winning lost souls. Please pray with us and for them as they seek to serve the Lord and obey His commission. If you believe the Lord is guiding you to aid this couple, you may contribute with the memo: “Wacaser-Portugal Mission”.
It has been many years since I have had any health issues and I am extremely grateful. These past two weeks, though, I have struggled with laryngitis and have had to call on my co-pastors to preach in my place. I haven’t felt very ill, but my voice was too weak and raspy to communicate without being a distraction. I am grateful to be able to count on these young men who are doing an excellent job of faithfully delivering the Word. I seem to be much better today (Saturday) and intend to preach at both services tomorrow. Challenges like this are great reminders to me of just how much I depend on the Lord for every large and small grace. I pray for His strength and ability to honor Him with my mind and my voice.
Just a little reminder that in Brazil, below the Equator, we are entering into our summer months and the 3-month school break. Since the public schools are our traveling evangelistic team’s main venue for outreach, we change our focus during this period to assist the home church with the Christmas program and to minister to the poor and homeless in our own city. The volunteers who are from other cities will get a couple of weeks to return home to visit with their families on the holidays but will return shortly after New Year’s Day to begin preparing for the outreach trips scheduled for next year. The Lord blessed greatly this past year as we were privileged to share the gospel to over 40,000 people in public venues. Thousands of those who heard responded by surrendering their lives to Christ. All honor and glory to our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Charlene and I are so thankful for the faithful prayers and support on our behalf. We humbly acknowledge and recognize that you sacrifice from what you could use in any number of ways but choose to give so that we may minister here. We thank the Lord for you and pray that you may be eternally and richly blessed.
In Christ’s love,
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
Young Couple Headed to Portugal as Missionaries
October 22, 2022
Dear Friends,
The young couple from our church, Yago and Manoela, have received their work visas to go to Portugal and have already purchased their airline tickets for November 22. Our church will be hosting a sending off meeting and gift shower before they travel. Their visas came out a couple of months sooner than expected, but this is good news, and they will be able to get settled in Portugal before the Christmas holidays. We are still praying and discussing ministry strategy with them and are guiding our church in how and how much we can support them. If you believe that the Lord is leading you or your church to partner with us in their support, feel free to contribute with a designated offering “Wacaser-Portugal Mission”.
Our home church just held an evangelistic drama presentation based on the story of Esther in the Bible. We had over 70 of our church members involved in this presentation in one form or another. We practiced, built, painted, sewed, and recorded music and voices for over 4 months in orders to produce a quality presentation with a gospel invitation at the conclusion. We received more than a dozen public responses to the invitation at the two meetings. Our “next steps” discipleship team is following up with Bible lessons for new believers.
I traveled to meet with Projeto Vida, our itinerate evangelistic team, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. We were thrilled to see how the Lord worked through our 12 volunteers in the public schools where we shared the gospel to 2300 students and staff within two weeks, resulting in over 140 professions of faith. The first school where our team was scheduled to minister got a message one day before our presentation that we would not be welcome. They canceled the engagement because we were evangelical (the principal is a spiritist). Almost immediately after the cancellation, we got a call from the secretary of education from a neighboring city inviting our team to come minister to a huge assembly of 4 schools at one location. We ended up reaching four times as many people than we would have reached at the other school, had it not canceled on us. The Lord’s plan is always the greatest.
Charlene and I are doing very well, and we thank you for your prayers for us and your faithful support.
In Christ’s love,
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
Tampa Teens Share the Gospel, English Classes Resuming
August 9, 2022
Dear Friends,
Our church’s anniversary is on July 22nd. In celebration of its anniversary, each Sunday of that month, a different aged Bible study group gave a chorale presentation and culminated with a chorale formed with the church leaders. The church rejoiced in how God has blessed in so many ways. We have experienced phenomenal growth, by His grace.
During the month of July, we had the privilege to host a team from the Tampa, Florida area. The group consisted of 8 members who ministered with our Projeto Vida evangelistic team in 3 public schools, two drug rehab centers and in a homeless shelter. The group was very enthusiastic and helpful in each outreach effort. The Lord used them and there were many professions of faith in Christ through their sharing of the gospel. Half of the group were teenage girls who were very courageous in giving their testimonies in front of hundreds of students in middle school and high school auditoriums. I didn’t think about it at the time, but in retrospect, I’m sad that no young men/boys decided to come be a part of that group and share the gospel. In fact, we have noticed that more and more, visiting groups consist of mostly girls. Come on down, young men! Be valiant servants of the Lord! A big shout out to you young ladies who heed the call to share your faith despite the fears you face.
Our traveling evangelistic team leaves tomorrow for another two-week trip to the northwest corner of our state and then on to the Federal District where they have been invited to minister in several schools. We have the van fueled up and the team of 11 members is excited about the privilege of sharing the gospel to school staff and students. Please remember them in your prayers as they present the gospel in a variety of ways and venues. We do not take this privilege for granted because we know that it may not last long, just as it has been taken away in almost every other country in the world, including the USA. What we seek is to take advantage of it as long as it is open to us and seek to honor the Lord through the sharing of His word and love.
Because of COVID-19 the government shut down our in-person English classes back in 2020. This week Charlene is restarting one of those classes and she already has about 15 students signed up for it. The classes are offered free of charge to our community for the purpose of providing an opportunity to meet new people and share Christ’s love and gain an open door for evangelism. We have already had several conversions, baptisms, and church growth through this ministry effort in the past and we pray that this will be the result again. Please pray for Charlene as she teaches these students in the weeks and months to come.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Annabelle 
Mandy & Mark 
Taylor
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
Sharing the Gospel in Festivals, Schools, Public Squares, & More
July 5, 2022
Dear Friends,
Recently we hosted a group of 7 American Christian brothers and sisters who were led of the Lord to come work with us for a few days. They ministered together with our traveling evangelistic team, Projeto Vida. We traveled with them to a town about 2 hours from our home base to share the gospel in public schools and parks. During the week of their time with us we shared the gospel in school gymnasiums and auditoriums to over 1,500 students and faculty. In these public-school presentations, we are not allowed to give an invitation to come forward publicly professing Christ, but we were able to speak one-on-one with dozens of students and faculty members after each presentation and many of these shared that the Lord had spoken to them through the gospel message that was shared through testimonies, skits, and the preached word.
June is the first month of winter in southern Brazil and is also culturally a time of winter festivals. Our church takes advantage of this practice and puts on a gospel centered Winter Festival. This year was our most attended to date. We had a packed house for two consecutive services. One of the great benefits of this event is to engage almost all our church members in serving the visitors from the community with refreshments, games, and activities. Even greater is that the festival serves as an attraction for unchurched neighbors to attend. At each service the gospel was preached, and we have two new families attending regular Sunday services since that festival.
Another “most attended to date” event we had in June was our second married couples meeting of 2022. We put on 4 of these meetings per year with a two-fold focus: Present biblical principles for healthy and happy marriages and evangelize lost couples who attend. June 12th is Brazil’s closest thing to “Valentine’s Day” in the USA. So, on Saturday, June 11th we put on our Couple’s Night banquet, and we had 57 married couples present, our greatest number present for this type of meeting to date. Our own church members are encouraged to invite their unsaved friends, relatives, and co-workers and several of these were in attendance. Though there was no “invitation” to commit one’s life to Christ on the spot, I preached the gospel in my “marriage message”.
In the past few weeks our traveling evangelistic team ministered the gospel in 6 states and the Federal District of Brazil. In these locations, the main venue was public schools and public squares. The gospel was presented to 4,915 persons and we were able to hear a public profession of faith from 63 adults who also began a “next steps” Bible study course with a local church. There were many (hundreds) of students who prayed orally a “confession prayer” at our rallies, but we do not enter these numbers in our records since we are not able to converse with most of these individually because of time and institutional restraints. The Lord has blessed greatly, and we are thankful to you, our fellow-laborers, for your prayers and support of our ministries. May the Lord richly bless.
In Christ’s love,
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
Two Recent Mission Trips
June 1, 2022
Dear Friends,
A huge part of the northeast region of Brazil is known as the “sertão,” or back-country. This area is the most impoverished part of Brazil, certainly financially, and almost equally spiritually poor. There is a lot of religion, yes, but it is mostly demon worship and idol worship. Our traveling team has just returned from a three-week expedition into this region and the Lord worked amazingly through them. In the schools, parks, and town squares the gospel was presented to over 15 thousand people and there were over 2,000 who publicly professed Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
Of course, our enemy, the devil was not content with how things were going, so he attempted to discourage and sideline our workers. Several came down with ailments from the poorly sanitized water and food. Others suffered from the extreme heat (95-103 degrees) while ministering cutting hair outdoors, carrying heavy equipment, and performing evangelical skits. None of them gave up, though, and they rejoice that many who were lost are now eternally saved through their faithful service and the sharing of the gospel.
The team didn’t even get a short rest from their 5,000-mile trip before they met with a visiting group of evangelists from Virginia and Charlene and me in a town two hours away from our own work. We all ministered in several schools where some of us translated for our visitors as they shared their testimonies and preached the word of God. Again, there were many professions of faith in Christ.
I was especially thrilled by the participation of a mother and daughter team from my church who helped with the translation. Debora and Melissa took time off work and school to volunteer as interpreters. Debora, the mother, was 11 years old when I contracted her father to help me remodel my home. We became friends day by day and eventually almost the entire family was evangelized and have become excellent servants of the Lord. Debora and her husband raised Melissa in our church, and she too has surrendered to Christ. Charlene taught Debora English as a youth and now her daughter Melissa, who’s 16 years old, speaks fluent English and both volunteered to assist the visiting American brothers and sisters by translating in school rallies and in one-on-one conversations. Again, we saw the Lord work amazingly and dozens of students and adults gave their lives to Christ through the gospel as it was translated.
After nearly two years of being strongly inhibited from ministering in public places because of COVID-19 restrictions, our volunteers are working hard at not losing any more time. The Alpha team just left today, after only a one-day break, to head out to the state of Minas Gerais, a 20-hour drive from our base where they will be ministering in the schools and parks there as well. We are so thankful for the willing hearts and dedication of these amazing, but humble servants of the Lord.
Some of these young workers were evangelized and discipled by veteran missionaries that you helped to support when they were active on the foreign field, but have had to retire for a variety of reasons, either age, health, or to take care of aged parents. This month is VETERAN MISSIONARIES PENSIONERS MONTH among missionaries and churches associated with Baptist Faith Missions. These servants who served faithfully with their spouses, but who can’t be on the foreign field any longer still need your prayers and support. If you sense that God is leading you, then please give as the Lord guides. Both they and you will certainly be blessed.
In Christ’s love,
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
