Mission Trip to Peru, Surgeries Scheduled
February 22, 2023
Dear Brethren,
Greetings from not so cold today Lexington, Kentucky. It has now been over a month that I arrived here for medical attention. Things have gone pretty well so far.
Before leaving home, I had confirmed my first visit of the year to our mission work in Peru. That didn’t quite work out as planned. Still there is good news. Our missions director, Zico took Pastor Benjamim (yes, that spelling is correct) with him and made the trip anyway. The church building was packed and they had a baptism, too.
Today is the final day of our first big youth camp of the year. Andrew is the leader of that ministry.
The last Sunday of January we had our “Ministry Fair”. This event is just as many ministries as possible setting up displays and recruiting new help for the year ahead. Our church has an average of 70% of the membership involved in some kind of ministry or service. We are so thankful that the Lord has made this happen. It is why so much gets accomplished. Sharing the workload across the membership has made it a joy to pastor.
My oldest son Adam and his wife Suzy came over from California to visit. Also, my grandson Caleb came in from Indiana. I am staying with my daughter Monica and granddaughter Isabella here in Lexington, Kentucky. We all went over to visit my Dad and his wife Lois last night. Dad is now 96. He is not in the greatest health. He is still very much alive and has not lost his sense of humor. Last night he was in great form. He told a bunch of stories. We had some really good laughs and shed many a tear. Dad and I have 90+ years of missions combined between us. One date that he and I share is January 29. He was baptized on that day in 1956. I surrendered to be a missionary on that same date in 1966. Great times. Wonderful blessings.
My first surgery is scheduled for tomorrow February 23. Please continue to pray for all of my treatment. I will have a second surgery on March 6. There will be other doctor visits and procedures along the way.
Since the treatment is going well into March I have accepted an invitation to attend the Baptist Faith Missions Spring Missions Conference in Ohio on March 31 and April 1. Looking forward to seeing many of you there.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
CONTACT INFO
Mike & Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
69980 Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre
Brasil, SA
mdcreig@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.
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Open Doors to Share the Gospel
September 9, 2022
Dear Co-Laborers,
Thank you for your faithful support in many different ways. Compared to last month this one has been relatively quiet. We enjoyed having Lydia and Adam (our daughter and son-in-law) along with their children with us for nearly a month. These rare moments with family are a great blessing.
One day when Judy was at the grocery store near our house along with one our granddaughters, she was stopped by a young lady who had heard them speaking in English. This lady has a son in grade school, and she wants him to become proficient in English. They set up a time to come by our house while our grandchildren were still here. Judy has had continuing contact and walks with this lady. God opens doors for us to have relationships with people with whom we can share the gospel.
One of the ladies in our church is a chiropractor and a people magnet. She called me the other day because one of her patients had approached her seeking information for her daughter’s sake. The patient said that her 12-year-old daughter wanted to get baptized. The family has no religious practice. The request is interesting considering the fact that only about 2% of French people are practicing Catholics, less than one half of a percent are evangelical believers. I do not yet know what instigated this desire in the girl. The mother told Anaelle, the chiropractor from our church, that she had approached her on the subject because she thought Protestants were more open than Catholics.
Anaelle called me to discuss the best way to talk to this lady and her daughter about baptism. The lady lives on the other side of the metropolitan area of Toulouse from us. Coming to meetings here would be quite a drive, but we are hoping to see her Sunday.
We are very encouraged with the Bible studies and hope to be starting a new one in a different city this month.
May God bless you and use you as His light where you are.
In His service with you,
John and Judy
Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher@aol.com
Present USA phone 1-812-416-1033
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
Wonderful Divine Interactions
Missionaries John and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
June 11, 2020
Dear Fellow Disciples of Jesus,
Walking with Jesus is fruitful, instructive and corrective. It is also delightful. This is God’s will. He wants us to rejoice in Him. Your present circumstances are probably quite different from what you would have imagined a year ago, but the illnesses, crises and wrongs of the world in which we live to not limit our Heavenly Father one iota. Furthermore, He has made you and me “the light of the world.” What a privilege!
As you read about some of the wonderful divine interactions in our lives this month, think about God’s interventions in your life and let us give thanks together. Feel free to send us an email telling us about the delightful moments God has given you.
A couple of weeks ago, Judy and I were trekking along the walk in front of the local grade school. The lower corner of the Stars and Stripes were caught on the top of the flag pole and the flag was in danger of ripping. My fix-it personality drove me to attempt a salvage procedure. As I was working at it, a teen aged young man rode up on his bike and asked if he could help. I readily accepted the offer. We were determined, but our efforts were unsuccessful. As we were parting I introduced Judy and myself and he informed me that his name was Adam.
“In Hebrew that means Man.” I volunteered. “You’re the man!” “He was the first man.” Adam answered. “Very good, do you know the name of Adam’s wife?” “Eve.” By now a conversation was taking place with this slim young man that we had seen from time to time on his bike as we trekked. “Adam, you seem to know a lot about the Bible.” Adam, with great passion and enthusiasm, then launched in to his story. This young man of 15, who I had initially guessed to be about 13 told about being born in Beijing where he lived at the age of 8 or 9 in an orphanage. He got to go to some activities carried out by volunteers of an NGO. “You know, you are not allowed to talk about God in China. They told about Creation and Noah. When it was time to eat, they said, ‘now we are going to thank God for our food’. That’s crazy, I said to myself. But, that night when I got back to the orphanage, I got down beside my bed and prayed – God, if you exist, I want to be adopted. The next morning, my nanny came to me and said, ‘you are going to be adopted.’ They adopted my brother and sister too. The next months were really hard because the other guys beat up on me.”
By this time Judy and I were weeping (as I am now) as Adam passionately told about how the Heavenly Father gave him a home with other siblings along with his two biological siblings. And, he continued, “I need to tell everyone about Jesus because Jesus is coming back.” Awed in the presence of God, I asked Adam where he went to Church. “Faithway Baptist Church where the the pastor is Pastor Russ.” Wow, Pastor Russ was a student of mine several decades ago. Once, when we crossed paths (just before we went to France, I think) Eddie Russ told me that I was one of the most influential people in his life. I hope that was for good. It was just a reminder that the God who is at work in you is at work everywhere! You never know how the lines will cross in this beautiful picture God is drawing.
Well, I would like to tell you about time spent with Nancy and Jason, from a disastrous, lamentable background, who believe that God brought us into their lives, exchanges with Michael, who wants someone to just help him know how to walk with Jesus daily, our conversations with Russ, the self-confessed, “Deist”, the hours of conversation with the fellow in France who wants to learn English who is very open to the gospel … and … But, its time to sign off for this month. Thank you so much for your prayers and help. Please, keep on praying because without Him “we can do nothing.”
May God’s delights fill your heart today!
Your fellow trekkers for Jesus,
John and Judy
Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher@aol.com
Present USA phone 1-812-416-1033
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
