Celebrating the Church’s 90th Birthday in New Building with New Professions of Faith!
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
June 18, 2019
Dear Brethren,
For a long time, we have known that we needed to expand our facilities if we wanted to continue to absorb growth. To that end we built a new steel building over the top of our old building. That was the easy part. Getting up the gumption to tear down the old building and rebuild was the hard part. It had to be done though, so on January 13th we held our last service in the old building. From there on out we held services on the third floor of the annex.
On January 18th we started the demolition. The goal was to move back in by the church’s birthday on May the 12th. Those four months were intense, to say the least. I only made three mission trips during that period. For the whole time I worked 10 to 18-hour days. Naturally, I caught a lot of grief from my wife (not so much because of the long hours), but because from time to time I was 30 feet above the ground in the rafters. The Lord protected us all and there were no serious accidents or injuries.
On May the 10th we held a three-day meeting to celebrate the church’s 90th birthday. Brother Joe Brandon organized the church with 13 members on May 12, 1929. Today the church has well over 1600 members including those who are in our 9 chapels here in town. Pastor David Hatcher was our guest speaker. On Saturday we had our annual pastors and missionaries meeting with over 100 workers present.
Our former seating capacity was 830. The goal was to double that with the new building. We put every available bench, pew and chair in there. We still had room for another 200 seats. We filled the building every night. The guys who take care of stats for me counted over 1400 on Sunday night. The best thing though was that during the meeting there were 24 professions of faith.
A few months ago, I designed the new pews for our new building. We managed to get 8 of those finished for the church to see in time for the anniversary services. We will be building over 100 of these to be able to fill those extra spaces and replace some of the older pews. I am telling this mostly for the following reason: I told the church that once we got moved back in, I was going to take off a month and rest. So just before I left Cruzeiro do Sul, I stretched out on one of the new pews to begin my rest!
Bev and I have been in the States for almost a month. We will be returning to Brazil on June 20. I still have most of the finish work on the building awaiting me besides 3 other building projects, not to mention all the other regular jobs that I must keep up with. So, pray and rejoice with us about all the great things that are happening in Cruzeiro do Sul.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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Going Back in Time
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
I really didn’t know what I was getting into when I came to Brazil in June of 1971. I tell everyone that I went back 50 years in time when I arrived in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre. I grew up with running water, indoor bathroom, hot water from the faucet, buying almost anything needed, electricity 24 hours, etc. I came to a town with no running water, no hot water, and electricity only in the middle of town at night for a few hours. To buy most anything, it was a hassle, especially meat.
The first few years were pretty difficult, Mike traveled a lot. I knew very little Portuguese. We walked in a lot of mud those first several years! God knew I would need my first born, Adam, to occupy my time. Today much has changed. We have very nice supermarkets, 24-hour electricity (most of the time), and paved roads, even though they are full of holes! We have internet and cell phones.
When it came time for my kids to go to public school, for a while it was fine. After they started insisting that the students bring items for the saint’s holiday, that began our search for a way to home school them. Thankfully a church in Missouri bought the books for this to happen. All of my children homeschooled then went on to get their GED or equivalent and further education. Their social life was at church. Most of their friends were from church. That’s a very important detail.
Adam is an IT manager in the California court system. He has two grown daughters. Monica is manager of a law firm in Lexington and has a young daughter. Andrew started and owns a boat factory, but because of the poor economy, he is also a shop manager of a regional airline. He has two daughters and two sons. Crissy has her own English school and is married to one of our pastors. She has three sons and one daughter. Andrew and Crissy live across the street from us and I usually get visits from my grandkids once a day!
I wasn’t able to go with Mike on his river trips while our children were at home and at school. Now that they are out and on their own, I am able to go with Mike on a few trips. My arthritis limits my activities. Now on most of his longer river trips men go with him. My most important job now is supporting him and caring for his needs.
I cannot see Mike retiring. He doesn’t know how to stop! If he doesn’t retire, I guess neither do I.
Keep us in your prayers,
Beverly
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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The Lord at Work in Tipisca, Peru
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
March 21, 2019
Dear Brethren,
A few days ago Zico (our missions director) and Lúcio Maia went with me up river to the border and beyond. The first leg of the trip took us all the way to the border village of Foz do Breu. It took us over 11 hours to do those almost 300 miles. We had some engine trouble, but still made it before dark.
People are moving back to the village and we had really good crowds for the services, over 70 people. Before heading into Peru we held a morning baptism service. I baptized 12. One couple had been waiting for some time to first get legally married then baptized. Ercílio had been one of the town drunks and enemy of the gospel. Now he is a go-getter missionary. He has made 22 mission trips in the last 12 months. He used to detest the native tribes up the Breu River. Now he has become friends and has made 5 mission trips to visit our brothers from the Kaxinauá tribe.
We continued to Tipisca, Peru. On arrival, our missionary José Maia (Lúcio’s dad) took our baggage to his house on his 4 wheeler. I stayed behind to get the boat and motor bedded down. Just as I finished, a huge tropical rain storm came in. There is no pavement in Tipisca and this time of year the mud is knee deep in many places. When I saw the rain was not going to stop I decided to go ahead and make my way up the slippery bank and into town through the driving rain and mud. I had to go barefoot and on the way I slit my foot open on who knows what. For the rest of that week my feet were wet and muddy most of the time and could not bandage the foot. A week later it had pretty much healed up though, so no harm no foul.
We dedicated the new building on the weekend. José Maia did an admirable job and built the building to match the design we use all over in our congregations. It seats over 100 people, is on a corner lot, right on the main street of Tipisca. This newly purchased lot and what we already had, gives us over an acre. We had over 200 people in at least 2 services and well over a hundred in the other 2. The army brought most of their soldiers out for 1 service and the local police department came on Sunday morning. This is a first. In fact we had never had crowds like this in the several years since we opened the work there (over 10 years). Up to now we had made inroads among the children, but no progress with the adults. They now have a big group of kids and a number of adults that attend regularly.
Let me tell you about one of the ladies who trusted Christ while we were there. Dona Mila and her husband are in their 70’s and were what you might call founders of Tipisca. She was born over on the coast of Brazil and moved to Cruzeiro do Sul as a little girl. Her husband is Peruvian and was working in our town as a young man. They met and married. When the Peruvian government put in an outpost a few miles up the Juruá River from the border the young couple moved there. This became the town of Porto Breu, which the locals call Tipisca. Dona Mila and her husband were drinking buddies. It was not uncommon to see the couple sleeping off their liquor in the grass along the paths of town. They were both at church with us. Both have stopped drinking and Dona Mila has trusted Christ!
We came all the way back to Cruzeiro do Sul in one long day, but not without more engine trouble. I had to stop in the middle of nowhere and repair the motor at high noon, lots of bugs and mud, too. This motor is now over 10 years old and broken down on me on my last 3 trips. It is about time to replace it. I will be looking to you to help me with this in the near future. For now, just pray.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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Tearing Down to Build Up
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
February 3, 2019
Dear Brethren,
Time flies when you are having fun or when you have too much work to do and deadlines looming. Forgive me for not reporting to you lately. Our work is in a major transition right now. There is enough to report, but it seems so boring to me that I have just been lazy about telling you.
Our Christmas musical was a success and several people were saved. Now that the crime wave has subsided somewhat the crowds actually came back up. On Christmas night we had a big rain and that kept the crowd just at maximum capacity. We actually thanked the Lord for that rain as otherwise we would have had to turn away hundreds of people.
We held our first baptism service of the year and 13 new members were added. We have had people saved every week so far this year. One Sunday night I preached about the Sabbath and did not give an invitation, although I did preach the gospel. There were still 3 public professions of faith! We have had some more saved during our Wednesday night doctrinal services, too.
We sent out another missionary couple this month and approved another. Anísio and Matilde are already at Gama, Amazonas (neighbor state, east of Cruzeiro do Sul). We also approved Lucas and Diana. They have just finished seminary. For the next 6 months they will be here under our wing doing an internship that all of our missionaries are required to do. In the middle of the year we will be taking them to Santa Rosa do Purús. This town has no Baptist church and is on the Purús River on the Peruvian border. They are also expecting their first child in March. Yesterday the ladies at church gave Diana a baby shower.
Their church building was designed and built 40 years ago by Bro. Mike.
Demolition has started on the old church building in order to rebuild and double their seating capacity.
Two weeks ago I began tearing down our old church building. I designed and built it 40 years ago. We outgrew it a long time ago and have made modifications to add more space. I added a mezzanine for an extra 220 people. A couple of years later I tore out 6 Sunday School rooms to add another 240 seats. We moved those rooms into our 3 floor annex. Over a year ago we built a metal structure over the top of the old building. Now I have gutted the old building and tomorrow I start rebuilding. Of course many of our members are working with me every day and into the night. Some can only come during their lunch break or at night and there is a lot of different crews almost every day. It is a strange sensation tearing down what I built personally, hands on, 4 decades ago. I have no sentimental or regretful feeling. It is just strange as each brick, bolt or nail comes down. As I work I think, “I put this bolt in this truss 40 years ago, now I am taking it out.” Just sharing the feelings that go along with this new phase.
The third floor of our annex is a covered but all open. That is where we are having services now. The area is over 5800 square feet. The crowds have been really good in spite of the lack of AC and 2 flights of stairs. We want to have the new building up by May 12th when the church celebrates her 90th birthday. We don’t have any debt and we only have $3,000.00 in the bank. We do have a crazy pastor. What matters though is that we have a very rich and loving Father. The new building will double our seating capacity.
For some time I have been working 12 and 13 hour days of manual labor. Leave at dawn and get back home after dark. Then I have church work at least 4 nights a week, besides trying to make time for counseling and other jobs related to our ministry. You get the idea. The church needs your prayers and I need your prayers.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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God is at Work in Cruzeirão, Cruzeirinho, Cruzeiro do Sul, & Assis!
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
November 23, 2018
Dear Brethren,
Last month Beverly and I went to Assis, Brasil, for the ordination service of Pastor Eliésio De Oliviera. He has been pastor at First Baptist Church for over 16 years. When he was in high school, he was a member of our church and after graduation he went to seminary in Belém, Pará. When he returned he went straight into the pastorate. He has been on many mission trips with me and has been a great colleague in the Kingdom. The church asked me to perform his ordination. Four other pastors helped out.
We went back 2 more times to Assis, Brasil, to attend their 56th anniversary conference. I spoke at the opening then closed out the meeting on a Sunday night. This conference was really special as the church had just moved into their new building and I was honored to do the dedication. They had huge crowds all 4 nights. I don’t know how many people the building will seat, but it is several hundred. There was one profession of faith and a number of other decisions.
We had our last baptism of the year here at First Baptist in Cruzeiro do Sul. We added 31 new members. This month we lost 2 more really faithful families who were transferred to other cities. We did gain 2 more families though. Our growth is very slow because of all the folks who move away. We are grateful for the growth we have though.
Bev and I also visited the work at Cruzeirão. They are in a small building that seats about 150 people. They had to have most of the members go outside to free up seats for visitors. I closed out a month of lessons on the family with them. I shared the gospel, too. There were a couple of professions of faith.
I made a visit to Cruzeirinho, also. We had our first big rain that night, so the crowd was down a little, but still they had over 100 people.
If you are confused about all this “Cruzeiro” stuff, here is a quick explanation. The name of our city is Cruzeiro do Sul which means Southern Cross. Most people in the region just call it Cruzeiro. Then Cruzeirão means “big Cruzeiro”, but not because it is bigger than Cruzeiro do Sul. Rather it is near our soccer stadium, which is called Cruzeirão. Cruzeirinho means “little Cruzeiro” and it really is little!
Our church has had to celebrate Thanksgiving in our small groups for the past several years. Years ago, we tried to find places to have the whole church together, but it was just too big and even expensive. My small group, which is way overdue for what we call multiplication, had 51 people for our dinner.
On November 27th I will be taking my son Andrew to Manaus for yet another surgery. He has been really ill and the doctors discovered that he has several stones in his liver. One of these is 3/8th of an inch in diameter and has caused excruciating pain and other symptoms. We have been able to see doctors and get some basic tests done, although the local hospital is basically shut down right now. The state has not paid doctors, nurses or other help for the last few months. Andrew does not have any kind of insurance, so we will be paying everything out of pocket. Please pray for him and the procedures.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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News & Reports – November 2018 [Online Edition]
The Online Edition of the November 2018 BFM News & Reports is available at the link below. Read how God is working through the lives of our faithful missionaries and continue to pray for them.
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Bro. Brandon’s Courage and Wisdom Brought to Fruition in Porto Walter!
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
October 15, 2018
Dear Brethren,
Our founder, missionary Joseph F Brandon, arrived in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre in 1926. He was the first man to bring the gospel to the Juruá valley. Just 3 years later he organized First Baptist Church with 13 members. He continued to share the Good News in the villages along the river with his new converts. To reach these distant villages he had a boat built and named it “The Pilgrim”. Many of the members of first Baptist traveled with him.
About 100 miles upstream he came to a little town called Porto Walter. At the time, Porto Walter was the biggest village other than Cruzeiro do Sul. It was a major hub for the collection of native rubber and distribution of merchandise to the rubber workers. The nuns and priests put in their biggest schools there. Children came from all around to go to these schools, which had dorms for the kids. The Catholic religious leaders were actually more powerful and influential than in Cruzeiro do Sul.
When Brother Brandon arrived there and was getting ready to land, the head priest, a stern and cruel German named Dom Henrique, sent a mob down to the river’s edge. As one of Brother Brandon’s new converts grabbed the rope and got ready to jump ashore, one of the men in the crowd, brandishing his machete, said, “If you try to tie up here I will cut the rope and cut you up, too!” Brother Brandon backed away from the confrontation. “The Pilgrim” moved on up river to a little village called Campo de Santana. There he preached and many were saved. We still have a congregation there to this day.
After the threat by the most powerful man on the Juruá River, Dom Henrique, it seemed as if Porto Walter was put off limits to the gospel. When we first visited Campo de Santana in the early 60’s I found it strange that we would pass this big town by to visit a little congregation further upstream.
Later on I was called to be a missionary and I too would pass Porto Walter and continue spreading the Gospel all the way up the Juruá and into Peru. It just wasn’t right. Then in the early 90’s I made a special visit to the town to “case the place”, you might say. In 1992 I made a strong appeal for a missionary to Porto Walter in our annual missions and pastors conference. Two years later First Baptist Church sent Brother Mário and family. I took them up, rented a house and started looking for property. The Catholic church was not at all happy that these “crentes” (believers) had dared to invade their territory. It was really hard and the persecution was nonstop, although they were no longer able to use bodily harm as a tool to try to stop us.
Nine years ago, we sent Mário to a new field. In his place we sent Alexandre and Rejane. They had just finished seminary and had spent several months in our own internship at First Baptist Church to complete their training.
Last week I went up to visit the work and celebrate our 24th anniversary of the first steps of our work at Porto Walter. We now have a parsonage and a new 2 story building. The building is still under construction, but usable. We had 3 days of teaching and preaching. Three more people were saved and on Sunday morning I baptized 21 new members.
Here is the best part though: On Sunday night, October 14, 2018 we organized First Baptist Church of Porto Walter with 158 charter members. The church already has 4 congregations that they visit every weekend. They bought 2 boats and motors to take their missionaries to their fields.
The cruelty of those priests and nuns of years past is now just a faint memory in the history of Porto Walter as hundreds flock to First Baptist Church every week to hear the Word of God.
As for the priest Dom Henrique, all that is left is his name on a school here in town. He eventually became the bishop over the whole Juruá Valley parish, but left no lasting legacy. Jesus Christ is leaving a vivid lasting mark on all of this region by way of his churches and servants.
Brother Brandon, “The Pilgrim” and her precious cargo didn’t live to see what I have seen. However, his courage and wisdom have come to fruition. His legacy is eternal.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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Ladies Retreat at Acampamento Salém; Ordination in Assis
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
September 12, 2018
Dear Brethren,
My routine is pretty much back to normal, but according to Beverly I am taking on more than I should. Since our return I have been able to get my diet back in shape and have shed 18 lbs. Every day I try to get in a 4 or 5 mile walk/run. Feeling much better already.
We had our first baptism since getting home. Fourteen new members were added to the church. There have been a few people saved in the last 6 weeks and some other new members added by letter.
Bev and I visited the church at Assis, Brasil. The pastor there is Eliésio Oliveira. He is a local guy who was a member of our church when he was in high school. He spent 4 years in Belém, Pará while in seminary. His home church called him to be pastor as soon as he returned. He has done a great job and is on board with missions. We have travelled together on many mission trips. I am to be with them next month to lead in his ordination service. Then in November I am to return for the dedication of their brand new building, which is still under construction.
I have held 2 meetings with 2 other churches in the area over the past few days. One was at Igreja Batista Elim and the other at Igreja Batista Esperança.
Bev got on my case because I have been either preaching or teaching somewhere every night. One or 2 nights a week I record TV programs. Then there are our services and classes at First Baptist. Besides these I have been accepting quite a few invitations to speak at other churches. She is looking out for me and my health, but I had to remind her that these things are “sortta” what I am called to do!
Bev’s mom passed away last week, so Bev had to turn around and return to the States. The funeral was this last Saturday. Bev is helping deal with some other family issues. We still don’t know when she will be able to come home. Please pray for her and the family. God’s timing is always amazing.
Ladies Retreat at Acampamento Salém
The ladies of our church held their regular September retreat at our camp (Acampamento Salém). The ladies ministry team is about 15-20 women. Not counting the team, there were over 200 women present. I don’t know how they do it. We really only have room for about 120 people in the cabins. It is summer time here (dry season – although it is actually winter now in the southern hemisphere), so many of them camped out in tents.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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