Reaching Out to Nearby Communities
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
October 27, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Thank God for each one of you that are part of this ministry here in the Amazon. The ministry would be impossible without your prayers and support. God bless each one of you and your church. I want to thank for you prayers for my health. I am feeling better. I’m doing a check-up to see if everything is ok. So far all is well. Appreciate your prayers.
We have had several activities this month. There is a school here next to us and we want to reach out to them. This month we had the students to come to the camp and had an all-day activity for them. The principal was very thankful and we had a great time with them. At the mission at Ubim we had a special day and the kids received the T-shirts that were financed by a dear friend through BFM. The kids loved the T-shirts. Please pray for this ministry as Kathy is training a new team. Since that is where Kathy works and she trains the teams, she takes advantage and they work with her until needed in a different place.
With the project reaching out to communities around us we have had two services already. One in the community of Lago do Limao (Lemon Lake) and Caldeirao. This is good for two reasons: one, it gets the church involved, and second, reaching lost souls. There are so many communities and they are scattered everywhere.
Pray that God will direct us in the best way to reach these people. Along with these plans we also are preparing more members to do witnessing, others for the music, and others for visitation. Pray with us that God will work in the hearts of the members to see the need.
The work In Iranduba is coming along well. The pastor that is helping us there has started a Bible Study in a home near the church. This has been good. Also, the work with the kids on Saturday afternoon is growing. We had 15 chairs and today in the mother church we asked who would like to buy a chair. We had donations to buy 15 more chairs. If you would like to donate to buy more chairs the cost $8.00 each. You can make a note: “Chairs for Iranduba”.
Thanks to all of you for your love, prayers and support.
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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
Read more
Training Teens to Work in Ministry
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
September 19, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
First of all, we want to thank God for the opportunity to serve Him and second thank God for each one of you that serve Him through your giving and prayers. Missions is a joint effort. May God continue blessing and guiding each one of us!
Through the special gifts that several have given, we have been able to accomplish several things at the mission points.
We are working with a specific purpose to get more people from the church involved in getting the gospel out in the communities around us. Pray that God will work in the hearts of the members to see the need to get the gospel out.
There are so many kids and teens in this area. We work at reaching them because the drugs are all around us. We had a special day for the kids from the mother church Pedras Vivas. At the mission in Ubim the drug people are right next door. If we don’t help them understand how much God loves them the money that comes from the junk becomes attractive. Kathy is getting ready to start training a new group of teenagers to work in different areas in church. We have several that have started in the music ministry. Our desire is to prepare as many as possible so they can help as we reach out to the communities around us.
Some people have asked if we have any projects. We do have several and some people have already helped, praise God!
The community of Ubim does not have running water. So, we plan on drilling a well. We have the equipment, so we only need the pipes and the pump which cost $2,000. For the insides, paint and tile, and that costs $1,800. On the outside we would like to concrete the area so it can be used more. That will cost $2,000. Any help is very much appreciated.
Thanks to all you supporters! May God richly bless each of you.
Love in Christ our Lord,
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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
Read more
4 More People Saved! Starting New Work in Cajatuba
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
August 21, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings from the Amazon jungle!!! Hope and pray that all are doing great and enjoying the peace and blessings from our Lord and Savior. We are doing great. We have been busy since we got back from our short break in the US. The work in the city of Iranduba is coming along. We are in a new location where there are actually more people. The Pastor and his wife who came to work with us are going there. Please continue to pray for this work. Also, in two weeks we will be starting a new work in the village called Cajatuba. To get there we have to go by boat. There are 2 families that we know that live there.
Each year we have 3 festivals as a reach-out program. We had our first one this year last Saturday. We visited the villages near the church and made a purpose to visit especially those who were not Christians. The festival went great and we had over 300 that attended. We had a singing and praise time, then there was a skit that presented the gospel. What a great time! The last two weeks we have had 4 people saved! How exciting to see God working in the people’s lives.
Pray that God will direct us as we try to reach out more and more in the communities around us. Many of the people do not have transportation so it is hard for them to come to church. Some only have motorcycles and can only bring 2. We have a family from the church that live a good distance from the church and if they all come to the same service they make 2 trips so everyone can come to the same service. That is why we have several services or Bible Studies in the different communities.
We want to thank those who prayed for our son and his wife who lost their baby. They are doing very well. God has given them the comfort they need.
Thanks for your prayers and your giving to the ministry. God bless each of you.
Odali & Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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
Read more
Tourism Boat Offered for Missions; Difficult Moments
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
July 30, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Time goes by so fast that it is hard to believe August is here. We pray and hope all is well with each of you. We have had wonderful moments and some difficult ones, but we know that God is in control and all we need is to trust Him.
Our son Jonas and his wife Kelly were expecting their first child, due at any moment, then the baby stopped moving. Well, they went to the doctor and there was no more heartbeat. The baby was born naturally at 9:45 pm tonight at the hospital and the mother is well. Pray for them that God will comfort their hearts.
Boat used for tourism that will be used for missions off-season
New building at Iranduba
John A. Hatcher back in Manaus with sons
Paul (left) and David (right)
We are so thankful for all the friends and supporters that gave special offerings for the needs we had. The freezers for camp and us and the money for the car documents and truck to be fixed. God bless each one.
There is a Christian man in the city nearby that works with fishing tourism. They are building a new boat to use, and I am helping with the woodwork. This boat is not used the whole year so the man said that we can use it for mission trips when it is not being used! That will give us about 5 months to use it! Pray that God will guide us in the ministry.
The work in Iranduba at the new building has started back. Looks like this new area will be really great to reach out to more people. There are many children in this neighborhood. Pray that God will help and guide us as we reach out to this new area.
Also, we had a great surprise with the return of Paul and Wanda to Manaus. This makes Dad be close to the three of his children! Dad enjoys having us near him!
Thanks for your prayers and support! God bless each of you.
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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
Read more
Not Guilty!
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
June 1, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This month we have been blessed in many ways. God gave us a great opportunity to be in the USA and visit with family and friends. But one of the greatest blessings we didn’t expect at this moment was the result from the court process against us from the Alpha and Omega Home. Maybe some don’t remember. We were closed being accused of mistreating the kids. The sentence was given! NOT GUILTY!!!! Praise the Lord! Thanks to you for your prayers and support to us in these difficult moments.
The lawyer and his family
Let me explain something very fantastic about this. Lawyers are expensive as you probably know. Well, one of the first boys we took into our home was a drug addict. He got saved and matured and stayed with us the whole time. He got married to a girl who came to teach at the home. He worked hard at changing. He studied and went to college. God blessed him and today he is a lawyer. He did much of the work on the court case. What a blessing! We have contact with many of the kids that were from the home. They decided to celebrate! They asked us to go to Garça where we had the home and have a Christmas party like we had when we had the home.
Paul, Odali, their former sports teacher, and their son Gabriel. Paul was the first boy to live with the Barros Family. He stayed with them and helped with others.
We always prayed that God would bless those who came to work as volunteers at the home. So many young people dedicated several years with us. Today they are in many different places. While we have been in the US, we have had contact with several of these people. It is so wonderful to see what God has done in their lives. Paul is one of the first boys we helped. He grew into a man and worked with us for many years. Today he lives in Missouri. Then there is Vilmar, Jennifer and Leonardo who also dedicated several years there. God has blessed them. We are thankful to God and to them for their love for souls.
Even though our time here is short we have been able to see many friends and visited several churches. The fellowship has been wonderful. God bless each of you. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated!
Love in Christ,
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Amazonas, Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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
Read more
God at Work through Each Stage of Ministry
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
Greetings to all of you who are supporters of Baptist Faith Missions. I thank God for each of you. Missions is a joint effort of us missionaries and the churches that support us financially and also pray for us.
Being on the mission field is probably not as difficult for me as it may be for most missionaries as they arrive on the field. Since I was born on the mission field, this place has always been my home.
The different kinds of ministries that we have done have been a life of experience.
The beginning was in church planting, which is always wonderful when you see souls saved. As we worked with teenagers in the missions, we saw the need to help them. That is when we started having them live in our home.
One of the first boys we helped is worship leader in his church and he is now our lawyer! There are many others that are doing well. Many of them stay in contact with us. Living in a place with over 100 people was not always the easiest thing for us as a family, but God was always present and giving us strength to keep on working. One of the things I thank God for each day is, that even though our children had to share us with so many others, they don’t have regrets. Also, they have a love for helping people in need. To God be the glory!
At the time that the children’s home was closed down, it was very hard to deal with the situation. The sensation of failure was hard to deal with. As time passed, God gave peace and comfort. To me it was like God saying, “You have reached those that I wanted here, it is time to move on.” We have moved on!! It is hard to believe that it has been five years since we moved to the Amazon. We live very near Manaus, the city where I was born. Living in the middle of the jungle has its positive points and, at the same time, some difficulties. The peace and calm we have is great. What is a problem is that you need good transportation because that is the only way to get around. All our ministries are an average of 15 miles from where we live. Needless to say, we spend lots of time on the road. For me as a pastor’s wife, I have enjoyed the new change in our ministry. Working with kids and youth in church, training teachers to help in the different ministries—that was something that I did not have time to do when we had the children’s home.
But I thank God for each stage in our ministry that we have gone through. It is wonderful to see God working each day. As I look back, I see so many ways God worked that at the time I could not see. Each day as I pray, I ask God to help me see with “His eyes”. Living in the crazy world it is easy to be blinded. I praise God for calling me to serve Him and caring for me, my life and my family. May God bless you, supporters and friends, and continue to direct our ministry.
Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Caixa Postal 1
Iranduba, Amazonas 69.415.000
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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
Read more
Blessings in the Middle of Nowhere
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
March 20, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We rejoice in the wonderful things that God has been doing in our lives and ministry. We hope that all is well with each of you and that you are rejoicing in the blessings of our Lord.
Our church has had an experience they have never had before. It has been interesting to see how the members have reacted. We have a senior of 81 years old, Mr. Levi, who had a stroke. He was always a happy person and had fun talking to everyone, young or old. His illness has moved the church. He spent 3 weeks in the hospital. We encouraged our members to get involved and they did. Several went and stayed with him at the hospital. Last week the doctors sent him home. So, we had Sunday service at their home. When we started singing, Mr. Levi lifted his hand and started leading the singing. Just about everyone started crying. When we finish the song, he started signing with his hand then we understood he was asking for a specific song. He was trying to give the number. Well, his wife understood, and we sang the song. Talk about excited! Then he really wanted to lead the song and tried to move his lips! Praise the Lord.
Pastor Wilson Ibernon
Church at Grande Januáca
Church at Grande Januáca
Church parking lot (I mean…boat lot!)
Last week a group of 6 couples went on a short trip up the river to visit a church that Baptist Faith Missions has a part in. Bro. John Hatcher worked in this church many years and later he put Pastor Miguel Ibernon in charge of this work. The pastor that is there now is Miguel’s son, Wilson Ibernon. I met Wilson when I worked with Bro. Paul Hatcher when at Tabernacle Baptist Church. This church is in the middle of the river. They built the church as you can see in the picture. What a job! Everything is taken by boats up the river. The parking lot is a boat lot. It was great to see so many boats parking at the edge to come to church. It was impossible to take a picture that got all the boats, because there were over 100 boats. One of the things that everyone there mentioned was that the pastor that was there many years ago always said, “If we serve God, this place will be blessed.” The people would say, “How will we be blessed if this place is in middle of nowhere?” Well, they served God and this place is truly blessed. There is probably no other place in the world where 98% of the community are Christians. One of the pastors told me that here in one of the communities called Sumauma, there are 800 people and there are 3 Baptist churches plus 4 other evangelical churches. These churches are not split off from other churches. They have several just because it makes it easier for the people to get to church. The church we went to that night that we were there had 800 that attended the service. That church is in the community called Januáca Grande. These communities have their own business making “farinha” made from manioc root. Also several big business people in the area are from this community. It was great to see what God does when we serve Him! For those of you who have supported BFM for many years, your support is still producing many fruits. God continue to bless all those involved.
We have another blessing from the ministry from the past here in Manaus. The other day we got a call from a pastor that was from Bro. John’s ministry. He is blind. Sabastian Oliveira. He will be with us for an evangelistic conference the first week in April. God has used him tremendously.
We want to thank each of you for your constant prayers and support. God bless you!
Love in Christ,
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Caixa Postal 1
Iranduba, Amazonas 69.415.000
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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
Read more
Getting Ready for Camp; Painting in Ubim
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
February 20, 2019
Dear Supporters,
We have had a great beginning of year and hope you have also. This month we have been busy with getting the camp ready to be used and painting the church in the community of Ubim. Also trying to get the water connected. The community only has an artisan well that everyone uses.
Last month we had a pastor visit whom I have known since I was saved. He was looking for a new place to work and came to visit our work. He was excited and sent his wife to meet us and see the work. His wife and Kathy hit it off. The really enjoyed each other. We are excited about having a couple to help in the work. Pray for them: Pastor Amauri and Miriam. They have 3 kids.
We have had lots of problems at the camp. In March there will be camp, and the tractor broke and several light posts need changing due to so much rain. And to top it off, the water pump went out. Working hard to get things fixed.
We now have two teens living with us from the community of Ubim. Their fathers are involved in drugs and they were being strongly influenced the wrong way. Pray for them. Their names are Eduardo and Fabio.
Kathy is in process of putting together a new group for training to work with kids’ ministry. They are really excited about helping.
We have a need to buy tables to use in the Ubim mission—tables we can use, then stack up so they don’t take up too much room. They cost $30.00. If you would like to help, make a donation to “Tables for Ubim Missions.” We would like to have 10. We appreciate any help. (Click here to donate now. Type Tables for Ubim Missions in the memo line.) God bless each of you. We thank you for your prayers and support.
Love in Christ,
Odali & Kathy Barros
Odali & Kathy Barros
Caixa Postal 1
Iranduba, Amazonas 69.415.000
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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
Read more
