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

April 2, 2020

Dear Friends,

Fortunately, Charlene and I are doing well. As in most of the nations of the world, Brazil is also going through tremendous turmoil due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but no one from our works has been infected, so far.

Just before our schools were closed because of the virus, our evangelism team was ministering in a small town in the interior of our state. There were over 1200 students in the schools that participated in our evangelistic presentations. Of those who attended, 23 made public professions of faith in Christ and another 15 rededicated their lives to the Lord.

After one of our gospel skit presentations, a teen girl talked with one of the volunteers, telling her that she was seeing a psychologist because of depression and thoughts of suicide. The volunteer evangelist shared God’s word with the girl and she surrendered to Christ. Later that night, at a presentation in the town square, the girl and her mother came to talk with the same volunteer about how God had replaced her depression with joy. That same afternoon she had gone to her psychologist’s appointment and, there, she had shared with him how thrilled she was knowing that God loves her and had forgiven her of her sins. She said that even the psychologist got all choked up with the transformation that he saw in her.

On Saturday afternoons our team offers community services such as haircuts, blood pressure checks and family counseling. During these activities, a different teenage girl listened as the worker shared the gospel. She asked to speak privately about what was going on in her life. Both of her parents had died and she and her siblings were living in a children’s home. There, she had to take care of her younger sister and her niece because her older sister was involved in drugs. Although she had heard of Christ before, she had never come to know Him personally. She said that she felt abandoned in this world. The volunteer who was counseling her had a very similar life story and was able to share with her how true God is to receive those who humbly come to Him in faith and surrender. The teen girl did that and confessed that Christ was her Savior and Lord.

Now, with the Coronavirus pandemic disrupting all areas of activities and events, we are having to find creative ways to reach out to people and minister. I have never been too fond of tech stuff, nor appearing before a recording camera, but I am having to get out of my comfort zone and learn how to share the love of Christ through social media. As a pastor, I am also learning how to shepherd my own members through phone calls and social media. Since I am a “hugs and touches” person, this isn’t ideal for me, but I can also see the Lord doing some amazing things through these quarantine measures that wouldn’t have seemed possible just a few weeks ago. The people seem to be much more aware of their mortality and emotional frailty. We are so thankful that we have God’s word to guide us during these times of human uncertainty. We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we do know Who holds tomorrow and we are resting in Him.

We have received several alerts from the American Embassy here in Brazil advising us to either get out of the country now or expect that the window of return will be closed for an indefinite period. Charlene and I were expecting to return to the U.S. later this year to give a report to supporting churches and also get to see our kids and grandson. We do not feel, though, that now is the right time to go, so that visit may be put on hold for a little longer than what we expected. We know that God has all this under control and that He will take care of us and those we love. We will seek to be faithful while we wait for His good timing.

We greatly appreciate your faithful prayers and faithful support.

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