Jud and Raquel Hatcher serve the Lord in São Paulo, Brazil. They are part of the “SeedFactory” church planting initiative, which is a movement to plant churches in all 26 Brazilian capitals. Since 2006, 43 churches have been started in 5 states.

August 21, 2019

Dear friends,

Here are a few key phrases to encourage you to keep reading and find out more: “Did she break her ankle?”, Darkness falls in the metropolis, Ministry explanation

I have been fighting a throat infection for the last few days. The strong antibiotic is taking a toll on my stomach. Sarah (8th grade) was invited to play in the Sr. Varsity basketball team this school year. She was surprised by the coach’s invitation. Even more surprised when he put her in to play twice during the first game of the season. Her coach is impressed by her development and drive. Unfortunately, she sprained her ankle this week. One of the coach’s first questions once we returned from the hospital was “Did she break her ankle?”. Thankfully, it was just the ligament. So, she may not get to play in the next game at the end of this week. We are thankful for no broken bones. Sarah & Laura adapted well with using braces. Melissa will be using special braces as some of her baby teeth fell out too early and the spaces for the teeth need to remain open until the new teeth drop. Benjamin is loving school and soccer – he is one happy dude. Raquel is doing well, whilst staying busy.

The last couple of weeks we’ve had very hot days followed by very cold days. The weather gets extremely melancholic during this time of the year. The day before yesterday was an even more bizarre day. Due to all the fires in another part of the country, the wind brought in a dark smog and by 4 pm it was dark as night.

Over the last month there was a lot of discipleship with new believers and planning with leadership. We had an evangelistic event this last Sunday. We had a “Friends Barbeque” at the church in Jardim Maria Virginia. We had an icebreaker before lunch began where people used a whole two minutes to talk about themselves to another person (some found it easier than others). Then, the person who listened had 30 seconds to introduce their new friend to another. It is interesting to see you people interact with having to talk about themselves and then listen to their introduction, yet they loved it. Making new friends is important, but meeting Jesus – hey, He is the best friend anyone can have. Almost 100 people turned out to the event. There were 6 decisions in all – 4 salvations, 1 reconciliation and 1 for baptism. I love interacting with the unchurched. They often don’t know what to expect and don’t know how to do the “church thing”. After we finished the altar call, one lady raised her hand and blurted out “Hey, I surrendered to Jesus several years ago but was never baptized. What do I need to do to get baptized?” I gave a brief explanation so that all could hear, and we scheduled a follow-up meeting to talk about baptism and what we believe.

This next Sunday we begin a new children’s ministry campaign to reach young children and their families. Raquel did the curriculum training and planning for the kick-off day (this coming Sunday). We are inviting families with children left and right, through social media and face-to-face. The team is excited, and the parents are encouraged that people want to invest in their children.
Grateful always,
Judson Hatcher

Judson & Raquel Hatcher
(859) 544-9040
judsonhatcher@gmail.com
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