Trying Month of Bus Problems; Encouraged with Seminary
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
May 13, 2017
Friends and family,
This month has been one that has been somewhat trying. Our church bus has had a minor problem with the air brakes. Well, we were told that all we had to do was take off the part and replace it with a new one. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well, we were told by the mechanic what part to purchase, so we call the parts store in the next city and ordered the part. We go get the part on Tuesday and bring it to the mechanic (good—this is one day before we will need the bus for Wednesday night). But they call us on Wednesday to say that the part is the wrong one. So, Thursday we make the trip up to the other city to get the new part—which they don’t have—so we order the new part. So, this is the first week that we will not have the bus to pick up the children on Sunday. When we ordered the part on Friday, we were told that there would be a delay in the order because this is a holiday and there would be no mail to get the piece to the parts store. So, we would have to wait 5 days for the part to get to the store. This takes us past Wednesday again. When it arrived and we went to get it, it was for the wrong side. So, they ordered it again.
By this time, I have to go up north for the seminary in Orlandia and the part has not come yet. I was there for a week and upon my arrival, the part had not come yet. Now we are in the third week without a bus for the kids. We were called and told that the new part was at the parts place so Barbara and Edson make a trip up the hill to get it, hoping that this Sunday we will have a bus for the kids. Guess what—this piece did not fit either. Now we discover that someone has worked on the brakes sometime in the past and none of the pieces would have fit so we tell the mechanic to cut the new piece and make it fit the bus.
The blessing in this story is that the bus company that we use when we have big groups has generously loaned us one of their buses on Sunday morning to pick up the kids, but not for the people on Sunday night nor on Wednesday night. But on the last Sunday they could not loan a bus, so we made trips with 2 cars to pick up the kids. We have around 80 to 100 kids that attend Sunday School every week–so you can imagine the amount of kids we had in each car. We were so busy getting the kids to church that no one got pictures.
The bus was functioning on Wednesday night and we are looking forward to a full house on Sunday!!! Sometimes things so simple can become so complicated. Oh well, we are still so blessed that it is unreal. And even in all this mess we have had numerous visitors in the church each week.
Now on to more blessings. At this session of the seminary we had a group of students, 26 in number, 18 of which were pastors and 8 church workers. The classes were taught by Dr. D. Colman from Gardenside Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, and Dr. R. Edge from First Baptist Church in Bastrop, Texas. What a blessing these two men are to the seminary. The seminary now has accreditation given by the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and this has helped us to gain more students. These students are now asking if we can add a Master’s Program to our original classes. You know that with God all things are possible! We are working on this as you read this letter and by God’s grace we will have the Master’s Program included for the classes that start in 2018. How AWESOME is the God we serve.
Pray for our Seminary: Caragua Baptist Seminary as we continue to train Pastors—specifically for us to be able to reach more Pastors to train them to take to gospel to Brasil. In 2018 we will be offering the classes in São Paulo City, Orlandia, São Paulo, probably in Manaus, Amazonas, and maybe in one other location. We are taking these classes to different regions to make them more available to the areas where the pastors reside. That way more pastors can attend and then take the teaching to their areas. This will be an AWESOME blessing to them and their churches.
We always ask for prayer for the Seminary everywhere we go so we now have 70-100 pastors praying for Caragua Baptist Seminary. Won’t you join with them in praying for the seminary also? For the pastors and the workers that participate in the Seminary, for the teachers and for the translators, and the churches that these Pastors return to after they finish the classes. Please include in your prayers Barb and I, our church here in Caraguatatuba, Pastor Walmir and all the works here in Brasil.
To end the letter on a note of a blessing, this month we have had one more soul added to God’s kingdom. Praise His Name.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Praying for Sunday School Teachers & Helpers; Planning for Seminary
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
April 12, 2017
Dear friends and family,
What an AWESOME God we serve. As we left the States I completed my last shot (I thought); however, when I received that “last shot” my doctor said, “SORRY, but I would like you to have TWO more shots.” Oh well, life has turned around. I am so thankful for all the prayers for me during these cancer treatments. I would also like to exalt my God for the GOOD reports from the doctor. So, these TWO more shots will be on August 3, 2017, and the LAST one on February 3, 2018. God is AWESOME!!! So, thanks one more time for all the prayers that have been sent on my behalf. With Him all things are possible.
The ministry here is going wonderfully. Pastor Walmir and Mary K. are working very hard and the Sunday School has doubled. Worship service is also growing. They have started a Children’s Church on Sunday nights and this is going good. One of the kids came for the first time last Sunday night and the first thing he asked was, “Is there children’s church tonight?”
We have been in planning mode for next year’s classes for the Seminary. Two classes have been planned and we are just waiting to have the dates confirmed for two more. Here we need lots of prayers because this is an AWESOME way for us to reach Brasil. Training new Pastors and helping old ones to be more grounded in the Baptist doctrine.
Along with the ministry there is lots of maintenance and construction going on. The work on our new building is going very good, but as always there is more work to be done. We can always use more help in this. Are you thinking about a mission trip? Put us on your list of places to go. We are praying for more financial aid for the completion of the building. Maybe you or someone you know would like to be a part of this.
We started a training program for us to have more Sunday School teachers and helpers. This is one of the areas where we are lacking as some of our teachers have upwards to 40 students in their class and only one helper. So, we are in great need for more qualified teachers. God is great and He will supply our needs. Of this we are sure.
As usual car and bus maintenance are an everyday job. You can get one thing fixed and turn around and there are two more to fix. The urgent need for the bus at this time is new tires. We have noted since our return this time that everything has gone up–not only things for the vehicles, but food, Sunday School supplies, electric, water, and the list goes on and on. I would like to say thanks to Grasp International for help on the bus maintenance. Thanks Jason and family, you are greatly missed here in Brasil.
We would like to ask for special prayer for our granddaughters, they both have been having health issues. The doctors are not discovering what the problems are and, on top of that, they both have been suffering with a virus. The healthcare here is not like the States. If nothing else, I can tell you that “social medicine” is terrible. Treatment is minimal if at all—don’t let me get on my soap box about that. Just remember Chelsea and Ashley in your prayers please.
Like I say, come on down and see what your mission dollars are doing here in Caraguatatuba, Brasil. We will leave the light on and put some more water in the beans. As Barbara’s dad always said, we will treat you so many different ways, you will have to like one of them and come back.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara Hensley
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Children’s Ministry Growing; Running Out of Space
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
February 4, 2017
Friends and family,
Well January has been a very active month. We have been trying to complete needed construction for Sunday School space upstairs. We had a group from Mt. Eden Baptist Church that came to celebrate the New Year with us. While with us, they helped us with this construction. They helped with painting, electric problems, doors, fans, closets, shelving, and they provided the financing for these projects. Also this church, under the leadership of my longtime friend Pastor Foy, helped the missionary to the Indians in Rio de Janeiro with their home.
We continually live and worship around and in construction projects. The upside of dust, walking around materials and lots of cleaning in the kitchen when we feed the children on Sunday mornings is that we are a growing Church and our members are very understanding. HOW AWESOME is the Lord we serve!!!!
Speaking of children, what a blessing. Pastor Walmir has been talking with a couple in our area who also work with children about bringing those children to worship with us. They were very happy to find a Church that would welcome them as they had been rejected by various other Churches as they had been told that to many children would disrupt their services. These children, about 20 to 25, live around our neighborhood so we were a great match. With this joining of work, our Sunday school grew about 30%.
Pray that the Lord would supply more space for their growing children’s ministry.
Well, while this mission group was here we had planned to have a Vacation Bible School. So we planned to have the children to come in the afternoon and stay through the church service on Wednesday night. We visited the neighborhood nearby and was expecting around 40-60 kids. But oh me of little faith. As the Bible School was beginning, I was taking care of a transportation problem, so when I finally got upstairs, WHAT A SURPRISE. We did not have enough chairs, much less enough space nor enough teachers nor materials. While we were expecting 40-60 children, imagine my surprise when I saw that there were 108 children packed in our upstairs.
Well we began to divide and conquer—we put some downstairs and left some upstairs, ran out and bought more hot dogs and drinks, and an AWESOME time was had by all. GOD is so AWESOME!!
Now Sunday school is more challenged and with one class offsite already, we are out of space again even before the building is finished. These are good problems to have, don’t you think? Just so you know, we have a lot behind our building that would solve these problems (hint, hint, hint). Pray with us for the Lord to supply.
I will be in the States for the next shot (which I thought was to be the last) in February, but I had to come home sooner as I was having some severe pain, not necessarily related to my cancer problem. Because of this pain I had to have lots of tests. Though they did not find the cause of the pain they have been able to tell me that they see no cancer in these tests. God is so good!!!
Plan a mission trip, see the work, have fellowship, make friends that could change your life and get out of your comfort zone as Barb always says. Come on down to Caraguatuba. The light is on and we will turn your bed down. Come see what your mission dollars are doing.
In His service,
Aj and Barb
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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God Sends 5 French Bikers to Help with Thanksgiving Leftovers in Brazil
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
December 14, 2016
Dear friends and family,
We got back to Brazil just before Thanksgiving and Barb got busy getting everything ready for the big meal. We had a wonderful time with family and we had much leftovers. After we had gotten the dishes washed and the food put away, there was a clapping at the door. (For those who have not been to Brazil, that is our doorbell). As we went to see who was coming to visit, we saw a bunch of bicycles at the door. As we approached the front door, we saw that there were 5 bicycles and riders. As we talked to them, we understood that they were looking for a place to camp for the night. We told them of several camp grounds in our area. In further conversation, they told us that they were trying to only spend 8 euros a day.
I decided to invite them to camp in our backyard that is not a yard, but a covered space in front of our laundry room. They were from France and were beginning their trip around the world on bicycles. They accepted our offer of a place to stay and came in and set up their tents, took showers and rested. Then we invited them in to partake with us of the leftovers from Thanksgiving. Is not our God AWESOME!!!! He planned for our visitors before they came. We were able to show God’s love and plant a seed for someone down the road to water, and for God to reap the harvest. Pray for this to happen in these 3 years that they are riding around the world. They are riding from Brazil to the States then through several other continents.
Five Bikers from France who plan to cycle the world over the next three years showed up on Thanksgiving needing a place to camp for the night.
AJ & Barbara invited them to camp in their backyard (a covered space in front of their laundry room)!
For them to do this, they had to sell everything they had. Their plan is to be gone from France for 3 years. So we have an invitation to go to France in 3 years and we have 5 homes to stay in. Pray for these young people—for their safety and their salvation.
This month we have begun the plans for our Pastors Conference for 2017. The date is October 9-12. This year we will face more financial difficulties as the crisis here in Brazil continues. Many of the pastors that attend will be hard pressed to come up with the money to pay for the hotel bill. So we will be working on raising the money to help many of them to come to the conference. This is a great prayer request as many of these pastors need this renewing of their energy spiritual to continue in God’s work. All our speakers are from the States and they pay for their passage to come and teach in the conference. What a blessing for all of us here in Brazil. The last conference we had, there were many pastors that attended and went home with their batteries charged and ready to go. Pray for these pastors and help with the finances if you can. We have started to get the word out about the conference. We went to Garça two weeks ago and spoke to 5 pastors who are anxious to come be a part of this next conference.
Well I still have some health issues to take care of but am looking forward to August 2017 to get the final results from the treatments. Keep this in your prayers.
We want to take this time to wish you and yours a MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
In His service,
Aj and Barb
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Heading Back to Brazil; Seminary Starting New Classes
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
November 10, 2016
Friends and family,
Time has been a little slow this month as I have been in the “count down” to the last radiation treatment. I can now say “all done” with that radiation. God is so good. “AWESOME!!!!!” This word is better but still is not sufficient to describe our Lord and Savior! After it’s all over, it does not seem so bad. AWESOME is the God we serve!
I still have some more doctor stuff to do. We have to be back in February for doctor’s appointments and my last shot. Then we will return in August for my major exams and final check-up that will determine if all is well. For this I ask your continual prayers.
The work in Brazil is going well. Our reports from Pr. Walmir are very encouraging. They have been planning a missions conference there at Caragua Baptist. This will include a week end of preaching and then a promise faith offering. This will be given for the year to help national missionaries.
It is really humbling to me as I think about the members as they consider what they can contribute to the Lord’s work. And this is what it is all about. Pray…Give…Go…Send!
Lots of work still to be done on the Church—upstairs. This is where the kitchen and Sunday School rooms are located, although we also use the downstairs and a business across the street for class space. This is a good problem to have. We have just finished the sanctuary and we still need more space.
Ministry here is a pleasure, helping our members with personal needs, i.e., food, clothing, and other basics—it is a challenge!
So here is where I want to thank everyone for all the help: prayerfully, financially, materially. We cannot do this without YOU! So, a big THANKS to all.
We are looking forward to the return trip since we have been gone for a little more than 3 months. We are especially anxious to see our 2 Brazilian grandchildren.
Our Seminary will have another class in January and March. We will be having our first graduation in the fall. How AWESOME is our God. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has come along side with us and now we are able to give a Pastoral degree (an official diploma with accreditation). In this seminary, Caragua Baptist Seminary, our goal is to provide saints in Brazil with a solid understanding of God’s truth in the scripture, equipping them to effectively evangelize, disciple, and build God’s Kingdom through the local truth.
We have had a total of 154 students enrolled: 34 pastors and 120 church leaders exposed to God’s truth. The seminary impacted 58 churches with approximately 6,104 members located in in 19 cities in 3 Brazilian locations. What is the word? AWESOME!!!!
We have some partners in Brazil that provide direct support and benefits to the Seminary and our students:
- VIDA NOVA: a Brazilian publisher that provides the seminary a 50% discount on textbooks that is passed to our students.
- CENTRO DE STUDIOS THELOGICOSDO VALE DO PARAIBA: A Brazilian Seminary that recognizes Caragua Baptist Seminary and accepts our courses for credit in their Bachelor of Theology program.
- FIEL MINISTRIES: Provides ministry resources throughout the world. Our students have access to their online educational information and their e-books.
Our plans are to open more Seminary sites this coming year, to continue our work with the rehabilitation sites, and we will be looking for other ministry starts.
Please continue to pray for our ministries, travel and health. And come on down to see what God is doing here in Caraguatatuba.
In His service,
Aj and Barb
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Treatments Finished; Children’s Day
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
October 25, 2016
Friends and family,
Well another month has come and gone and we feel like it has been an eternity. I have completed my 38 radiation treatments and am doing real well. I am scheduled to see the Oncologist on the 7th of November and the general physician also–then we can return to Brasil. I then am released ’til the 3rd of Feb. I will have to return to get another hormone shot and still will not know the results of all this until August. Continue to pray for God’s hand of healing, we know He can and that He still does today.
We have been visiting local churches during this time of treatments. This week we have ventured out a little farther. We are visiting our supporting churches in Georgia. If we did not get to see you and your church please contact us and maybe on these next two trips we can see you all and let you see what God is doing in Brasil.
Celebrating Children’s Day in Caraguatatuba
While we have been here in the States, Igreja Batista Caragua celebrated Father’s Day and Children’s Day (picture included). Children’s Day is the day that is more celebrated than Christmas there in Brasil.
We covet your prayers for the church and her new Pastor Walmire Quaresma as the church goes forward with new leadership. Also continue to pray for me as we seek God’s will for our future.
We are looking forward to the next semester of seminary. This is an AWESOME way to further reach Brasil for Christ, training Pastors to better reach their communities for Christ.
Come see what your mission dollars are doing in Caraguatatuba.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Group from Georgia Helps with Construction, Bible School, Food Baskets for Indians
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
September 9, 2016
Dear friends and family,
Our last month at home in Caraguatatuba was a month of construction. We started by painting the house. You see, there, the homes require much more maintenance than here in the States. We finished the house and the group from Georgia arrived. It was a combined group from Centerville Baptist Church and Pinehurst Baptist Church. The Church had sent money for the new tile for the sanctuary, so we were ready and waiting when they got here. Our first task was to go shopping, and yes—the ladies were in charge of that part as they do it so well.
Then the next day, with no waiting, the tile work began. While the strong and able laid tile in the sanctuary, the rest put on their painting clothes. These tackled the high ceilings upstairs. While the painting job was just to put on the sealer coat, it was nonetheless important. The work continued for several days with little let up. But the end result is AWESOME!
This was an AWESOME week where we renewed old friendships and began new ones. We were able to do this because our friend Pastor David Grantham has assumed the leadership of the new church Pinehurst Baptist. So he led the group with two churches and everyone had a wonderful time.
Inside the new building in Caragua
We were also able to conduct a Bible School there at the Church and we had around 100 children in attendance. We had planned to do another Bible school at the Indians in Parati, but the group over tourism would not let the bus that we were using enter on the road where the Indians live. It was a great disappointment as we were not only going to do the Bible school, but the group had purchased some much needed food baskets for the Indians, and some repair on the swing set that this group had constructed in past trips. The missionary that works directly with the Indians was so upset because he told us that the Indians were in desperate need—so we made plans for him to come to Caragua to get as many baskets as his car could hold. He since has told us how much the Indians appreciated the baskets. You see, that was the only food some of them had for the month.
We got an email from the missionary just some days later with a picture showing us a tragedy that had occurred in a wind storm some days earlier. You see, the wind storm had uprooted a large tree and that tree had fallen on the swing set that the Americans had made for the children there. Well, when we get back to Brasil we will have to assess the damage and see what we all can do to set that swing set to right.
Loading the car with bags of food for the Indians in Parati
Here I want to interject something: without YOU and people dedicated to missions, none of this can happen. Groups, financial support, prayer warriors, Baptist Faith Missions and other friends make this ministry here in Caragua able to do God’s will. We want to thank everyone for your contribution however it might be. Thanks sometimes does not seem enough—you all are AWESOME!!!
This does not let you off the hook, we still need lots of help. There is still work going on on the school property and so much more. See where God might use you in Brasil and let us know what He is calling you to do. We do have an apartment for those who want to stay longer than the normal 8 to 14 days.
Barb and I got to the States on the 26th of July and began the long journey of the radiation therapy to take care of the prostate cancer. We had been told that I would have 30 radiation treatments, but when we met with the oncologist, she wanted to add 7 more treatments. She also wants me to stay in the States for some follow up after the treatments are finished. So the trip that was to be over and we were to go back to Brasil on the first of November has been prolonged. But we are in God’s hands and we know that He is taking care of every aspect of my life. I have had about one third of the treatments today 9/9/16 and God has been faithful. I have had so few side effects they are not even worth mentioning. I take treatments Monday through Friday with the weekends off. So maybe I will see you in Church. Continue to pray for great results and good tolerance.
We hope to be in Brasil for Thanksgiving so if you need someplace to go to get out of the snow then come on down! We will put some more water in the beans and treat you so many different ways that you will have to like one.
Lord bless,
In His name,
Aj and Barb
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Inauguration, Construction, and Radiation
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
July 12, 2016
Dear friends and family,
We started this month with a special meeting in our church: we inaugurated our new pastor. Here in Brasil, the coming of a new pastor to a church is a big deal. There is a special service with a Pastor from another Church preaching, a laying on of hands, and an eating meeting. So we had the whole thing and accepted Walmir Quaresma as the lead Pastor of Igreja Batista Caragua. This means that I am now the second Pastor and will have less duties; this will let me come home to the States to have my radiation treatments. I can do this with one less preoccupation while doing so.
We have had a hard month of construction this month. We are still doing remodeling at the church and we are remodeling the house on the lot for our new pastor and family. Also, at our house, we have painted the outside and are waiting to do the same to the inside. Here in Brasil the homes require much more maintenance than the homes in the States, especially here in Caragua because of the closeness to the beach. This means that the water level is closer to the surface so the walls of the homes sometimes get water saturated and begin to bubble and peal. This also brings mold and that is a big problem for Barbara. Little by little, we are getting it done.
The house for the pastor and family was supposed to be done the last of June but we are still waiting for the completion, so the pastor and family are living with us—but you know how much grandparents love their grandchildren, so we are loving every minute of it. We are hoping that they will be in their home by the end of this month.
We are anxiously waiting for the group from Georgia to come in July to get the tile laid in the church. This not only will make the sanctuary look beautiful but will also make it so much easier to clean. We did get the bathrooms installed but the funds ran out so we will wait a bit more for the glass doors to cut the road noise in the sanctuary. Pray for the funds for this project.
We have our tickets purchased for our trip back to the States. We will leave here on the 25th of July. The purpose for this trip is for me to begin my radiation treatments. Pray for us on this trip. The date of the starting of the treatments will depend on the extent of my improvement since my surgery. I am scheduled for 30 treatments all done on week days. The weekends will be for rest and getting ready for the next week of treatments. I don’t know what to expect because I have never had cancer before nor have I had radiation. So pray for me and God’s grace for this next part of my life. I want to thank you all in advance for your prayers during this time. I can do all things through God who strengthens me.
Since we will be home for about 3 months I cannot invite you down but I can say “Get ready for your mission trip next year.” Caraguatatuba is a great place to serve God so come on down and visit us.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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