September 20, 2022

Dear friends,

Last year as our family prepared to come to the US for the one-year Stateside assignment for 2021-2022, the Lord opened the door for Raquel to gain experience and expertise in foster care in suburban Chicago. In May 2021, it was confirmed she would begin an internship in August 2021. Consequently, we searched for housing. I signed a lease agreement on a home and placed a deposit. In the following weeks, significant policy changes were made in foster care services, and several people resigned from this organization, including the supervisor who hired my wife. The new supervisor informed Raquel she had to begin in mid-June or lose the opportunity. Logistically, she couldn’t begin before the initially agreed date. So, now we had two alternatives: (a) cancel the housing lease and go to another opportunity in a different state (but lose the deposit), or (b) move to suburban Chicago and see what the Lord had planned. Our decision-making involves this main principle: What is decided through much prayer and confirmed by the Holy Spirit should not be canceled haphazardly. So, we moved to Chicagoland, not knowing what the Lord had for us during this next season in the States.

A month after arriving in Wheaton, IL (September 2021), I was diagnosed with cancer and would need chemotherapy and radiation therapy. This shocked us as a family, but we rejoiced in the Lord to be in an excellent location for treatment. My wife found an opportunity to serve as a clinical therapist at a local clinic and participate in several equipping seminars to equip her to work better with orphans in Brazil. Our second child (who lost her hearing in the left ear two years prior) had a cochlear implant installed in December 2021 by one of the nation’s best cochlear implant surgeons and has regained hearing. I began my doctoral study at Columbia International University in January 2022 (began studying during my cancer treatment). This last month I was diagnosed with severe carpal tunnel syndrome on both hands. I underwent the surgical procedure and can now sleep at night uninterrupted by pain. It is impressive to see the hand of God at work in unique ways. I could write endlessly about God’s marvelous care for us during this season of life.

Our reaction to this turn of events was to trust in God and rest in His sovereign hand and providence. Matthew 6:25-27 often came to mind as we navigated these uncertain waters: “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?”
The outcome is that I am now cancer-free, can sleep throughout the night without waking up from the pain in my hands, my wife has grown in her expertise as a professional, our daughter can hear again, and I have begun my doctoral studies. Praise the Lord!

Another unique event over the last month is that our three older children – Sarah, Laura, and Benjamin – expressed a desire to be part of the “ministry team” and do more than just “help.” Raquel and I were elated to learn of their desire. We began equipping them with the same approach we use for training leaders for church planting. We are studying the philosophy of ministry, strategy planning, and having in-depth theological discussions. We love working with this great team!

Thank you for partnering with us through prayer and financial giving. We are grateful.

Always grateful,
Jud Hatcher

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Contact Info:
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
São Paulo, Brazil
judsonhatcher@gmail.com
(872) 400-6522

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.