Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [February 2013]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
Dear Brethren and Fellow-Workers:
If the year of 2013 continues passing as fast as the month of January has, the year 2014 will be here in a week or two. But we praise the Lord the month has been a good one and brought many benefits. One was that David and Pennie visited us the last week of December. It was a rare and wonderful time of fellowship. Another blessing was Odali and Kathy came from Garca for a two-day visit.
FAMILY CAMP—Each year in January, the Tabernacle Baptist Church of Cornelio Procopio sponsors a week of Camp. This year our son Paul was the principal speaker. He and Wanda came four days early to have a short visit with us. Our time together was marvelous. Several churches had groups at the Camp. We praised the Lord for the 170 persons who were there. All were from churches in the States of Sao Paulo and Parana that God had given us the joy of starting.
ASSAI—Alta and I still go to the city of Assai each Sunday morning for our services. Please make this city a special item on your prayer list. Our time is very close to running out for going there. Pray God will send a faithful man and wife to take care of this work and to evangelize the other cities close by.
NEWS—The Lord willing, plans are being made for us to go to the States for a short time and to be there during the Spring BFM Missionary Conference. Our son David is making all the plans for us and plans to go with us to do the driving. Unfortunately, we will not be able to visit churches as we usually do. However, we hope that many of you will be able to come to the Spring BFM Conference and see us there. Alta and I are doing well, in spite of some health problems that I have. We praise the Lord every day for our 65 years of marriage. I have been in the ministry for 66 years. We have been missionaries in Brazil 58 years. We thank the Lord for our five wonderful children, 15 grandchildren (all serving the Lord), and 26 great-grandchildren. Some of our great-grandchildren have already trusted the Lord as Savior. How great is our Lord!!! We love you. Thank you for your prayers and financial support for all of our years in Brazil.
In His Name,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [January 2013]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
December 31, 2012
Dear Brethren and Fellow-Workers,
It seems impossible that 2012 has gone by so quickly. The verse that teaches us to redeem the time certainly is one of the most important in the Scriptures. Alta and I celebrated sixty-five years of married life on December 20th. They have been marvelous years while serving the Lord and rearing our children. We now have two children in Heaven: Lynn and the little boy who was born without life in the interior village of Faro in the year of 1956.
After finishing at Georgetown College and serving as pastor for nine years in Shelbyville, Kentucky, Beattyville, Kentucky, and Alton, Illinois, we made application to come to Brazil with Baptist Faith Missions. In one month, we were on our way. We arrived in Brazil in 1955. We came to give our lives to preach the Gospel, establish churches, and train workers. Fifty-eight years have flown by. Our five children were reared in the northern tropical city of Manaus. Two of our sons, Paul and David, are pastors in this great city. Our other son, John Mark, is a missionary with BFM in France. Kathy, our youngest, is married to Odali Barros. They are missionaries with BFM in Garca, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and have six children.
God has given us fifteen grandchildren. All are serving the Lord faithfully. We now have twenty-five great grandchildren in different parts of the world. Some great grandchildren have already trusted the Lord as Savior and been baptized. God has blessed us with an untold number of blessings that will last forever. We praise Him with all our heart.
We thank God that we have been blessed to preach from the North to the South of Brazil. We are still going to Assai each Sunday morning. Please pray for this city of twenty-thousand people. It is the most difficult place we have worked in our entire ministry. We continue because we know that it is God’s will and one day the seed will produce great results to His glory.
Pray that God will be our strength, wisdom, and peace. We thank you for your support throughout many years. We love you and thank God for your faithful support.
In His Name,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [December 2012]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
December 1, 2012
Dear Brethren and Fellow-Workers,
At the age of eighty-seven a person talks a lot, usually about things that most do not want to hear. It is a little more difficult to write. I will do my best. Alta and I are doing well. Her vision is perfect after the cataract surgeries. We are thankful and praise the Lord. My health has suffered some in a weaker body and some mental anguish. I am still able to drive and tie my shoe strings. Alta does her own cooking and has a great appetite.
THE LORD’S WORK – Alta and I go every Sunday morning to Assai. The work is still at zero with only one lady who is saved and baptized. We meet each Sunday for Bible study and Alta’s class. It is wonderful to have the promise that where two or three are gathered in His Name He is with us. With joy and thanksgiving we make the trip and worship together. The city of Assai has 20,000+ inhabitants. Many false churches. In our years in Brazil it is the most difficult place we have worked. This city was founded by Japanese 104 years ago. Ours is the first Baptist work in this city. We continue because we know it is God’s will to do so and one day He will bless the seed to His honor and glory.
URAI – This work is doing well and there is a group of great dedicated young people who are serving the Lord. Three of them work in two Congregations. Five study in the Seminary. We are encouraged for the future with this group.
One of the Seminary teachers, Sonia dos Santos, had cancer of the breast. She had surgery last week, removing the breast. Her husband, Valdir dos Santos, is pastor of the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Cornelio Procopio. Please pray for Sonia and the family in this trying experience.
FAMILY – We are expecting the births of three new great grandchildren: One from Kriston and John Victor McGary, one from Lydia and Adam Reese, and the other from Amelia and Ivo Oliveira. We praise God for His work of grace in the lives of our grandchildren. All are serving the Lord; some in the States, some in France, and some in Brazil. Our hearts a filled with gratitude that our great grandchildren are being saved and baptized. How rich we are in His eternal blessings.
VISITS – David and Pennie plan to visit us for a few days the last of December. Paul and Wanda will be with us the first of January when he comes to be the main speaker in the annual Family Camp that Valdir dos Santos and Tabernacle Church sponsor.
Pray for our health and ability to continue active in His Work until He comes or until He takes us. Thank you for your many years of financial support and prayers. We love you and realize that what we do depends on your help and love.
In His Name,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [October 2012]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
Dear Brethren and Fellow-Workers,
When I realized that Jesus died for me, I was nine years old. At that moment I felt such shame for my bad deeds; at the same time I felt the great love that Jesus had for me—to die on the cross to save me. During 78 years of my 87, Jesus has been my all in all. Even during the time of my weakness and failure during the war, He was faithful to answer the prayers that I had prayed with love and sincerity as a child and young man. I cannot imagine what life would be without Him. For this reason my only desire is to tell people who Jesus is and what He has done for sinners.
ASSAI—The work in Assai continues to be the most difficult we have had in our entire ministry. We go there each Sunday and our attendance is from one to three or four persons. Pray for this city of twenty thousand population.
WALKING TO EVANGELIZE—Two or three mornings each week I walk for physical necessity and to evangelize persons with whom I encounter. A few days ago ten men who work for the city were at a street corner waiting for the truck to pick them up. I asked permission to have a minute of their time. I gave each of them a visual of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. They listened patiently and I thanked the Lord for the opportunity.
At the gasoline station I had the opportunity last Saturday to witness to two men of Japanese origin. They listened with much care.
Three days ago I came to a man who was in a wheelchair. He was unkempt, middle-aged, and weary. His name is Alberto. Pray for him. I gave him a lift, pushing his wheelchair for a city block. Stopping in the shade of a tree, I asked if I could tell him about Jesus. He listened well and seemed to be moved as the expression of his face revealed. The greatest joy of the day is when there is an opportunity to tell someone about the Savior.
VISIT OF KATHY & ODALI—Two weeks ago, Kathy and Odali came to visit us for two days. Odali brought a special cut of meat and prepared a delicious meal for us. Kathy is the only one of our children who we can see each three or four months. We really get homesick to see the others but we praise the Lord they are faithfully serving the Lord. Dear Friends, if the lost die without Christ they are lost forever; if they die without hearing about Jesus, their blood will be on our hands.
Thank you for your prayers and financial support through many years.
In His Precious Name,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [September 2012]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
Dear Brethren and Fellow-Workers,
Greetings from Brazil. We are happy to greet you once more from the land where we have labored for more than fifty-five years. We are thankful to our Lord that He has been pleased to use our children and grandchildren in the work of His vineyard in many parts of the world. At our age we are aware that we soon will be in His presence forever.
URAI- The work in Urai is going well. There is a fine group of young people in this Church who are dedicated to the Lord and busy in His work. Along with the Congregations at Rancho Alegre and Sussumo there are some that do visits from door to door distributing Gospel tracts.
This past week Kathy, one of her sons, and Maria were here for a two day visit. What a joy these visits bring to our lives. Sometimes we are so homesick to see them; it is hard.
ELECTIONS- This is the time of electioneering for the offices of State and City officials. It is a very noisy period with loud speakers on, what seems to be, most of the cars.
ASSAI- This month the second son of Dona Maria passed away. He had suffered with cancer for nearly ten years. The sad part is there is no assurance he was saved. Sunday morning, his widow came to service. Her name is Jirlene. She has two children, a girl and a boy. Please pray for her and for her children. Alta and I go to Assai each Sunday morning and we praise the Lord for health and ability to go these sixty miles each week.
CAR PROBLEM- Rather, owner problem. Three weeks ago I failed to put the radiator cap on and coming home the engine overheated and cracked the heads. The heat melted the wires but the car stopped on a curve in front of a small business. The man who lives there was able to fix the wires enough for us to arrive home. The two mechanics who do my work have put our car in first class condition and I am trying to remember the radiator cap.
In all of our years of experience, this city of twenty thousand is the most difficult we have encountered. Pray for God’s mercy on Assai.
On September 14, Alta will have her eighty-seventh birthday, the Lord willing. She is in good health and her eyes are great.
In His Love,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [August 2012]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
July 31, 2012
Dear Brethren and Fellow Workers,
Greetings from Brazil in the Name of our Great Savior. Alta and I have had a good month and have gone to our mission in Assai each Sunday morning. Our attendance has not grown but we have the promise that where two or three are gathered together in His Name He is present with us. His promise is His Word will not return void. We are trying to be faithful and one day the Isaac will be born.
God has blessed us in the old age of our life. It is a great joy to look back over the years and see how God has been faithful in all His promises. Our children are serving the Lord, all of our grandchildren are faithfully serving the Lord and our great-grandchildren are being saved as they come to the age of accountability.
Another great thrill is to see how God has blessed and is blessing the works that He gave us the privilege of beginning. Those works have also begun and are beginning other new works. We want to encourage you young persons to surrender your lives to serve the Lord. Make the surrender while young; you will never regret doing the best for your Lord and Savior.
(Just had a wonderful interruption of fifteen minutes–a phone call from John and Judy in France. The Lord knows how we love them and miss them.)
Last week we had a wonderful two-day visit with David. He came down to our State for the dedication of two new buildings: One in the center of Parana and the other in Curitiba where Bobby and Charlene Wacaser work. We praise and thank the Lord for how He is using our children in His vineyard. They are all so far away and sometimes the heart aches to see them. Kathy is the closest and we get to see her every two or three months.
All of the work is going well in this part of Brazil. In Urai the work is going well. The pastor, Marcio, is doing a good job. There are about ten young people and two young married couples who are faithful and working in the church and congregations. There are six or seven who study in the Seminary. Pray for us. At age 87, things are not so easy.
God bless you, we love you,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [July 2012]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
July 1, 2012
Dear Brethren and Fellow Helpers,
Praise the Lord; He has given us a wonderful month. Proverbs 17:6 speaks of the children’s children being a blessing for the old. This month our twenty-second great grandchild was born in Manaus. His name is Noah. His parents are Leigh Ann and Michael Samples. Leigh Ann is Paul and Wanda Hatcher’s daughter and Michael works with Paul in the School and Seminary. There were some complications in the birth but Mother and Baby are doing well after being born by C-Section.
Another good news is about the two younger daughters of Amanda and Philip Hatcher who live in France. The two older girls were saved and baptized last month. This month the two younger girls told their Mother and Dad they had trusted Jesus as Savior. We are thankful.
DRIVER’S LICENSE—In my last letter I mentioned the difficulty in getting my Brazilian Driver’s License. I received it after almost three months; it is good for two years.
ASSAI—Alta and I still make the trip to Assai every Sunday morning and we rejoice that we are still able to go. Please pray for this city of 20,000 people. Three different families whose children started coming have taken them out to take them to another church; they never attended any place before the children started coming to our Sunday School. Alta plans and has a great lesson for the children each week. Pray that the Lord will change the hearts of those parents.
URAI—The work is going well in Urai and the missions in Sussumo and Rancho Alegre. There are five or six young people who attend the Seminary and they are very active in the Lord’s work.
Great news from Manaus. The work where Paul pastors is going great and the Chapada Baptist Church where David and Pennie work is being greatly blessed. This month there were 360 people who trusted the Lord. All of these are followed up with special classes for new converts. Last Sunday there were over 3,000 in Sunday School. They have two services each Sunday night and they will soon have to go to two Sunday School hours in the morning.
The OLDIES—We praise the Lord we are still able to do and go. For our joy and contentment Alta and I still play for half an hour four or five times a week. She plays the organ and I play my Sax.
We thank you for your prayers and support.
Sincerely, in the Name above every name,
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [June 2012]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
Dear Brethren and Friends,
Greetings from two oldies in Brazil. God has blessed us this month. I told Alta, “It is not a sin to be old, but sometimes it has its difficulties.” Alta’s eyes are still doing wonderful and my hearing is great so between us we are seeing and hearing well.
My Brazilian drivers license expired the last of April and I am still trying to get my new one. It has been quite an ordeal. I was required to get three doctor’s statements that I was still physically and mentally capable of driving. Statements from a cardiologist, orthopedist and neurologist. After two months I have the documents in hand and tomorrow, the Lord willing, I should get my license.
ASSIS—Alta and I are still making the trip to Assis and during the month, four new children have attended. The new building that was built by the Chapada Baptist Church is certainly a wonderful blessing.
URAI—Brother Marcio is doing a good job in teaching and reaching out. There are five persons who are studying in the seminary as well as being active in the work. Last week Marcio took the young people to Rancho Alegre where they visited and gave out invitations for service that night. The result was good and they had a full house. Susumo is another congregation on the other side of town. Three young adults care for that work.
A PERSONAL WORD TO YOU OUR BELOVED BRETHREN AND FELLOW WORKERS.
Alta and I thank you for your faithful prayers and financial help for many years. It has not been an easy road, but it was not an easy road that our Lord walked to Calvary. When the first Church in Jerusalem continued the work after Jesus ascended, their story seems to indicate, especially their manner of giving, that Jesus would come very soon. They gave generously, some gave all. They did well even though Jesus would delay His coming. In the year 70 AD, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and most of those had given were probably killed.
THE BLESSING is: They saved all they had given!
This is true for us today. All invested in the Lord’s work will be received in Heaven with His benefits.
We love you, in the Name of our Lord Jesus,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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