Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley in Brazil [May 2016]
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
May 11, 2016
How AWESOME is the God we serve!!!
Dear friends and family,
Every day I thank Him for the many wonderful blessings He bestows on us. There have been many blessings this month: To start with, we have completed our 4th semester of Seminary in Caragua Baptist Seminary here in Caragua and in the second location here in the State of São Paulo. Dr. Derek was with us for 3 weeks here in Brasil. In addition to the seminary, he did a mini revival here in Caragua Baptist Church and in Igreja Batista Nova Vida in Natividade da Serra. While here we have revamped the way the Seminary will be conducted. Instead of taking 2 years for the 4 semesters, we will now do 3 weeks of intense classes with 3 months of distant learning via computer. While he was in Natividade da Serra, he scheduled the first of these classes, and when he went to Orlanda, he scheduled the second place for this type of classes. We are planning our graduation here in Caragua for September/October. We started with 27 students and ended with 8 students. Several of those that did not complete the 2 years had moved because of lack of work here in Caraguatatuba.
Well, I don’t know how we could make it through a month without car problems. It is Barb’s car again. I was afraid it was the motor because it was using a lot of water; however, the mechanics are saying that it is something else. I hope it is something that costs less than a motor. Also maintenance on the bus brakes took a big toll on the budget, but through it all—with these roads and chug-holes—we are totally blessed. So here is one prayer request: pray for our transportation problems, bus, car, truck.
Well, I stepped out on faith and have had our church building finished outside. It was needing it because of the horrible wind-rain storms we have had. The rain came inside through the walls. With the stucco on the walls outside, we are ready for the next rain storms (hopefully).
In our Sunday School, we are running a campaign—4 weeks attendance in a row and three Bible verses memorized, you get a t-shirt with our church logo on it. What a great way to encourage the people to come and to advertise our church. Last week we had 97 in attendance. GOD IS AWESOME!!! As you can see from the pictures, lots have won their shirts already. Many thanks to those who helped purchase these shirts.
While our construction project is going on, I must refrain from working, so I must sit on the sidelines and supervise. This is harder for me than working, but to complete my recovery and be ready for the next step this is what I must do. We are planning on coming home the last of July or the first of August to start my radiation treatments. Actually I am (I think) doing great in recuperation from surgery.
Our Church is going great. Pastor Walmir is assuming the lead pastor’s role and I am moving to 2nd “lugar” (place). The people are accepting the change wonderfully.
So please pray for us as we are here ministering in Brasil. Pray for our health, car problems, bus repairs and our new Pastor and family as they begin to lead the Church. Though we are coming home we are still open for visits to see what God is doing here in Brasil. Call and come on down—we will turn down the sheets and leave the light on the front porch.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley in Brazil [April 2016]
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
April 7, 2016
Another month has come and gone—sometimes we look back and say, “What did we do this month?” We are tired, haven’t taken any time off, our day doesn’t end until after hours—but with all this, we still cannot think what we have done for the Lord. However, through it all we are eternally grateful that the Lord has placed us where we are.
We have gotten our new Pastor moved to the city. He has assumed the premier pastoral role at Church. Their furniture is in storage as the house where they will live is occupied til the 3rd of April. We are taking advantage of this as they are living at our house. This is giving us much time with our two Brazilian granddaughters. Also, it is giving myself and Walmir time to talk and get everything in order at the Church.
We have been busy at the church building. We have painted the front elevation of the building and are working on the ceiling down stairs (this is the sanctuary). We are still using temporary lighting because the ceiling still has some work to be done on it. We hope to have the ceiling sanded, sealed, and painted within the next week. After that permanent lighting will be installed. What a blessing that will be!!
The new pastor, Walmir, and his family.
On Sunday mornings our Church is filled—Sunday School is going AWESOME!!! Over the last 3 weeks we have averaged 90 in Sunday School. Great is the God we serve!!! These children need lots of love and nurturing. Feeding them on Sunday morning is just the first step in the process. After feeding their hunger for food, we then feed their hunger for knowledge of the Lord. Then we can enter their homes and get to tell their parents about the Christ that is making a change in their children’s lives.
We have had Barb’s car in the shop for some time now and they say that probably next week we can get it out. Just another week (ha ha).
My health status is gradually getting better and now guess what? I think Barb is washing my clothes in extra hot water, they don’t fit any more. I need to lose some weight. We are planning to be back home in Lexington in August to complete my treatment. I will be having 30 rounds of radiation. Through everything God has been AWESOME!!! Hope to see many of you during this time.
We are still praying for some financial help with the stucco on our building, the cost will be between $2,500 to $3,000. Please make this a prayer request along with these others.
- my treatment and recuperation
- transition of Pastors
- work on our building
- new ministries
- Seminary that starts April 18 (we will be traveling so pray for safe travel, Pray for Dr. Derek our Seminary Professor, for strength and endurance and voice strength)
- We will begin to shop for our tickets to travel back in August so pray for good prices
- lots of ministry problems because God is at work and Satan is not happy.
If you are looking to plan your vacation for this year, we have a great place to vacate. We have the beach, the mountains and good fellowship with Christians. I am not saying that you will get time to visit the beach or the mountains, but that we have them. We can keep you so occupied doing great things for the Lord that you will forget that it was supposed to be a vacation. Come on down and we will treat you so many different ways that you will find one that you like. Your bed is turned down.
In His service,
Aj and Barb
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley in Brazil [March 2016]
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They run a vocational school and orphanage in Caraguatatuba and have also established a church and mission points throughout the city.
March 11, 2016
Dear friends and family,
We are back in Brasil and enduring the heat. My health is showing sign of improvement each day. We will be here in Brasil until the middle of August and then return to the States for radiation for 30 days. Continue to pray for my recovery and toleration of the treatments. God is in control and He is AWESOME!!!
I have had more time than usual to think recently and it is hard to believe that this year Barbara and I will complete 20 years on the mission field. We came after my retirement from the Lexington Fire Department. It is unbelievable what you can accomplish in retirement. Actually it is AWESOME! I truly feel that I am one of the most blessed men I know, to have been able to have served on the Fire Department for 23 years, take an early retirement and then to have served the Lord in Brasil for 20 more years as a Baptist Faith Missionary. My work for the Fire Department was to rescue lives from fire and my work for the Lord, though it is similar, is many times more important. Here in Brasil we preach the Word and save lives from a burning Hell. AWESOME is not a big enough word.
What a God thing—a true calling from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is hard to express how exciting it is and has been to be here in Brasil—seeing lives transformed and works established and so much more done for the Lord.
Now I want to tell you about some hard dirty work. Sunday a week ago our Church building was flooded. We had a “chicken drowned” and one of our downspouts broke loose at the gutter connections (this is inside of the Church building upstairs)—and while the storm raged, the winds came, and the rain came down. This was at the very ending of the church service and we noticed that the ceiling was beginning to drip right where we had one of our new speakers. This was due to the fact that we have not had the funds to stucco the outside wall, so rain penetrated the wall and began to flood the downstairs. Some of the ceiling was damaged and the sanctuary got a good dousing of water. While this was happening, some thought it wise to check the upstairs because we have not put all the windows in and they thought that some water might have entered there. But to their surprise, it was not just a little water but it was past ankle height because of the gutter letting all the water from the roof enter the top story. So everyone jumped in to help and there was lots of water pushed to the stairs and down to the first floor and then out the door—all the while some of the men were taking a bath under the downspout trying to get it back into its place to take the water out of the building instead of inside of the building. Through it all God was AWESOME!!! The only damage was to the one speaker and the dropped ceiling on one side of the room. It could have been so much more. One positive thought: we did not have to clean the church that week. (lol)
I would like to explain to you the unfinished wall outside of the church. We can only build and repair as our finances permit. So this is a BIG prayer request: “money to finish the outside of our building”. We only need about $2,500.00 to 3,000.00 to finish it. We have had an unusually long and continuous rainy season. It is not so bad as long as it doesn’t rain and have strong winds at the same time. When this happens we have to live at the church. But what is life without a few challenges?
We are looking forward to the Seminary next month. We will be completing the 4th semester and looking forward to a graduation in the coming months. Continue to pray for the students and the Churches they represent.
Because of my health we thought it time to call our Brazilian pastor. The church voted and we called Walmir Quaresma. He and his family will be assuming the pastorate on the 13th of March. Barbara and Jenny Thompson went and worked 4 days packing their house and then when the move got here, PJ and Jenny were a great help in the getting it off the truck. Thanks PJ and Jenny for your help with this and many other works here in Caragua. This couple has been here helping us for 3 months. We have an apartment just for these kind of missionaries. You too could do this kind of missionary work here with us. Pray and come on down. Let us know if you would like to visit the work here in Caraguatatuba.
Your bed is made and waiting for you. Come on down!!!
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley in Brazil [February 2016]
The Hensleys have spent nearly 15 years serving in Brazil. They run a vocational school and orphanage in Caraguatatuba and have also established a church and mission points throughout the city.
February 11, 2016
Friends and family,
Well, I am at a point that I don’t know where to start: so here goes. We were in the States for Christmas and we were traveling on a buddy pass and because of the weather in another location, we were bumped two days straight. But in the end we were able to get back to Brasil in time to pass the New Year with the Church.
Now I will digress to December 2015. One of the reasons we were in the States was because I had to have a biopsy on my prostate. My number was high and when I did the test it proved to be aggressive cancer. The doctor said that my body needed one month to recoup before he could do the surgery to remove the prostate. With this in mind we decided to return to Brasil to get the Church moved to the new building. What an AWESOME blessing!!! We were able to do 1000 little chores and with 1000 more, we moved. We are now in the new building and I preached Sunday before we returned to the States for my surgery. We were back in the States for the surgery on the 25th. The surgery was a success, but the cancer had bled through the prostate into the bladder and the urethra tube. So now I am recuperating for 6 months to be able to come back to begin 30 days of radiation treatment. So we will go back to Brasil for the 6 months and see what we can get into. The only thing is that the doctor says that I cannot do any work. So it looks like I am demoted to the supervisor role.
While we have been here doing all these doctor things, Barbara’s mom, Reba Baker, went home to see the Lord on February 5th. Barbara and I would like to THANK each and every one of you for your prayers and your love that has been shown to us during this time. The AWESOME part of this is that we are certain of where she is. She had such an AWESOME testimony of Christian faith and service. She will be greatly missed.
Because of the time we will have to spend in the States, I led the Church to call a Brasilian Pastor. This will allow me to do my treatment knowing that the Church will have good leadership. This also lets me be able to concentrate on the other ministries of the Church, such as visitation, small groups, discipleship, seminary and the others.
So as you can see, the next few months before I start the treatment, we will be very busy. God is so AWESOME—we know that He will take care of every aspect of our lives and the life of His Church.
So our request is that you keep in your prayers our Church in the transition of pastors, my treatment, the work that needs to be finished on the Church building, and our travels to the States and back to Brasil.
Our doors are still open for you to come see what God is doing here in Brasil. Give Barb a call and set up your visit.
In His service,
Aj and Barb
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley in Brazil [December 2015]
The Hensleys have spent nearly 15 years serving in Brazil. They run a vocational school and orphanage in Caraguatatuba and have also established a church and mission points throughout the city.
December 12, 2015
How awesome to be involved in the Lord’s work here in Caragua, SP (Brasil, SA). The month of November has been great!! We have had our Pastors’ Conference and it was a huge success. Thanks to all who were involved.
This year’s conference was made possible by these pastors and churches:
Dr. Jim Perdue, Second Baptist Church, Warner Robbins, GA
Dr. David Grantham, Pinecrest Baptist Church, Cordele, GA
Pr. Mike Durough, Riverbend Baptist Church, Gainesville, GA
Pr. Tim Price, Pinehurst Baptist Church, Pinehurst, GA
Pr. Jason Hamlin, First Baptist Church, Centerville, GA
Dr. Luann Purcell. Member of Second Baptist Church, Warner Robbins , GA
The weeks leading up to the conference were somewhat difficult, to say the least. Satan was working to his fullest to impede our conference planning efforts. Just to mention a few, Pr. Mike Durough had many last minute issues so he was unable to leave Georgia. Dr. David Grantham made it to Brasil and as we were traveling to Caragua, he received a phone call advising him a member of his church had gone home to be with the Lord. Dr. David was able to preach for us Sunday evening at Igreja Batista Caragua before he returned early to the US. So, even with problems, God is blessing. We temporarily moved our church, chairs, sound system and the lot, in order for Dr. David to preach in the new building—the first message. We were able to use and be blessed by Dr. David in a very special way. AWESOME! So this obstacle became a blessing, our first Sunday in the new building and it was full. The space in our new church building will be double our present rental building. All we can say is GOD IS AWESOME!!
Now don’t think we don’t use these pastors and helpers when they are not otherwise occupied teaching and preaching. As conference began Tuesday night, Monday morning Dr. Luann and Pr. Jason helped the church members go through old vegetables and fruits a local supermarket had designated as past their time to sell. Many of these vegetables and fruits are just bruised and soft and are still good enough to be eaten. So they helped sort this food to be given away to church members in need and the poor people in our church’s neighborhood. Also, we had enough to help a recuperation center (drug and alcohol abuse center) who were very grateful for the supplement to their needs.
It always amazes me how here (USA) we have so much in abundance and here (Brasil) many have so little. This food supply, after we had sorted, cleaned, divided sacked and thrown away the undesirable in our eyes, some others went through that “undesirable” or “bad” portion and saw it as good. Sometimes even at home we see people going through our trash to get the “leftovers”. So please pray for our church and the outreaches we have in the communities of Caragua.
Now to the conference—Tuesday night through Friday noon. It was held at a local hotel and we had approximately 180 in attendance. We had approximately 86 churches represented which included church plants. We were expecting more, but God had there those He wanted. There were over 50 ladies present and they were blessed by Dr. Luann Purcell daily. Our daughter Mary interpreted for her and with Mrs. Barbara did a wonderful job encouraging these ladies to follow God and to support their husbands in the ministry.
So, now you may say, why a pastors’ conference—I think it is an excellent way to further reach Brasil for Christ. So from all these present, we estimate the outreach of this conference to touch over 10,000 lives. So this is an AWESOME number, but what excites us is the pastors are rejuvenated and will go back to their communities more excited about reaching people for Christ!
Pray for all as they return to their respective regions and us as we continue our ministries here—reaching more people for Christ!
God is AWESOME!
AJ and Barb
P.S. More about our new church building next letter.
P.S.S. Everyone have an AWESOME Christmas!!
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley in Brazil [November 2015]
The Hensleys have spent nearly 15 years serving in Brazil. They run a vocational school and orphanage in Caraguatatuba and have also established a church and mission points throughout the city.
November 9, 2015
Dear friends and family,
Well another AWESOME month has become history here in Caraguatatuba, Brasil! It is just AWESOME what God is doing. Lots of physical labor being done on our new Church building. Just think, what used to be a soccer club building has been converted into an AWESOME sanctuary for the Church and the upstairs that will be used for Sunday School rooms and a kitchen.
We have had a wonderful time this month with our children’s ministry. Here we celebrate a holiday that we do not have in the States. It is called Children’s Day. It is a day bigger than Christmas for the children here in Brasil. Our attendance was 119, we had a special breakfast for the children and then each of them received a present. This was accomplished by the generosity of many Churches and individuals there in the States. The boys got soccer balls and the girls got Barbie dolls along with various other things. We include things like toothpaste toothbrushes and other hygiene articles. There were a bunch of HAPPY children on that day.
Back to the Church—we have sealed the walls where the roof has been installed and began the drop ceiling downstairs—this is to cover up the places in the ceiling where we removed 3 walls to make the room bigger for our Church services. We had to put in a steel beam as the walls that we removed were load-bearing walls. Overcoming many obstacles, these areas are now one big room. And this big room will soon be our sanctuary. The drop ceiling that is being installed is making an AWESOME difference in the interior appearance. Just beautiful if I may say so!
This construction and remodeling has at times been very trying. But through it all God is and has been supplying our many needs. How AWESOME is the God we serve. Here we get to see miracles almost daily. It helps one to see how the Apostles were in Bible times. When they would meet they would ask “How has your day been?” the other would answer like this, “Just one miracle after another.” Our God is AWESOME and He is still in the miracle business. We just have to have our eyes open to see what He is doing all around us. This could not happen without the prayer support of many praying saints back home. THANKS.
Another prayer request: pray for our “Pastors Conference” Nov. 10-13. We are planning for 200 to 250 Pastors and wives. This Conference is planned in conjunction with several Pastors in the States. They come down and do the classes for the Pastors. It is just heartwarming that these Pastors and their Churches are giving of their time and money to help train our Brasilian brothers. A big THANK YOU to Dr. Ji Perdue, Pr. Mike Durough, Dr. David Grantham, Pr. Jason Hamblin, Pastor Tim Price and Dr. Louann Purcell (she will be bringing studies to the Pastors’ wives) and their Churches. We see this Conference as one more way of reaching Brasil with the gospel. How AWESOME!!!!
Pray for Barb and I as when this Pastors Conference is over we will be coming back to the States for more Dr. appointments and possibly some treatment. Thanks in advance for your prayers. Thanks for your financial help and thanks for your encouragement. We need all three of these things to do God’s work here in Caraguatatuba, Brasil.
If you would like to see your mission dollars at work, come to Caraguatatuba and we will introduce you to the work that God is doing here. Come on down!!!!
In His service,
AJ and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley in Brazil [October 2015]
The Hensleys have spent nearly 15 years serving in Brazil. They run a vocational school and orphanage in Caraguatatuba and have also established a church and mission points throughout the city.
October 9, 2015
Dear friends and family,
Well I have a lot to catch you up on about our ministry here in Caraguatatuba, Sao Paulo. To start with, I had to let Mrs. Barb go home to help with her mother. Mrs. Reba fell and broke her hip on the 28th of July and had to be hospitalized for surgery. We could only get tickets for her to arrive two days after the surgery. After the time of recuperating from the surgery, Mrs. Reba was moved to a rehab and for the most part was an uncooperative patient. She was sent back to the hospital because she could not keep food down. During this time she almost passed two times, but she managed to spring back enough to be dismissed from the hospital and was sent to another rehab facility.
During these two months Barb was also having various tests done. She was having numbness and loss of use in her hand and arm. After numerous tests and a stint in the hospital they think that they have determined the problem. They think that it is a deteriorating cervical disk c4—c7. The treatment is traction two times. During this time she was also scheduled for outpatient surgery and in the surgery room she became very sick and the surgeon wrestled that surgery. She will come home in December and will have the surgery then. So please put her on your prayer list.
Now just go ahead and throw me into the health issues also. My test for prostate problems came back with numbers very high. I was put on medication for one month and after that I will go to a doctor here to have the PSA numbers checked again. If they remain high I will return to the States for the next step in this process. So the three of us have health problems but we know who is in control. Just keep us on your prayer list please.
Now enough about medical problems, let’s talk about ministry issues. How AWESOME is the God we serve!!!!! With the growth, we are experiencing space problems—not enough room for Sunday School and not enough room for our regular church services not enough chairs for the people that are coming. You name it, we are experiencing it.
Do not think that we have a perfect ministry here, no our Church is full of problems. That is because our Church has sinners like you and I in it. But what an AWESOME task-blessing, to be right where you feel God wants you to be and doing what He wants you to do. Thank you Lord for allowing me to be a Missionary here in Brasil and doing that in retirement.
Here is what has been going on in these last two months: lots of remodeling and construction. You see we have purchased an AWESOME building right beside where we are renting. We looked at many areas, buildings and land and God is almost ready right beside where we are congregating. I hope you are following our remodeling progress on Facebook. The roof is now on and construction in front is progressing well. We have built two bathrooms and a new entry for the church. With help of many young people from the States and here we have removed all the columns and partitions inside the building and have made an AWESOME assembly area for the church. Upstairs will be great for Sunday school rooms and with a kitchen (all good Christians have to have a place to cook and eat).
As you can see the ministry is growing and the construction is continuing so these areas also need your prayers. We will be moving into the new building before it gets completed because money will run out before it gets completed. Don’t worry this is not uncommon here. God is in control!! Here is where faith comes in. Also what would you all do next year when you come down if we were able to complete everything?
AWESOME is the God we serve. All this in reality is a miracle which I will go into in our next month’s letter. Stay tuned for building and ministry progress. AWESOME AWESOME!!!!!
Even though we are working a lot that does not mean that we do not have time to turn your bed down if you want to come and participate in what God is doing here in Caraguatatuba.
In His service,
AJ and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley [August 2015]
The Hensleys have spent nearly 15 years serving in Brazil. They run a vocational school and orphanage in Caraguatatuba and have also established a church and mission points throughout the city.
August 10, 2015
Dear Friends and Family,
The month of July has been one full of many things. This month we have had two groups: one from Georgia and one from South Carolina. With them we did Bible schools at the Church and with the Indian children.
While at the Indian village, we were able to deliver food boxes to each family. With one group we were asked by one of the children to pray with him as he felt that he was demon-possessed. So we all gathered ‘round and each one of us prayed for him. When we went back at the end of the month we talked with him again and he said that he was better.
Barbara also had the opportunity to witness to the wife of the Chief. This was the lady who was never receptive to our being there, let alone hearing the Gospel. She did not make a decision for the Lord but at least the seed was planted or watered.
We have been telling you in past letters about how much our Church is growing. Well, we have been looking for a way to accommodate this growth. We had made all the arrangements to cover the driveway beside our building so we could use it for Sunday School classes. The very day that we were getting ready to start the construction, the owner of the building appeared. He informed us that he did not want this construction done on his property. I asked him if he would like to sell his property and he said that he would not. He was with a friend and this friend owned the land behind so I asked if he would like to sell his land, but he did not. What I was not aware of was the owner of the building next door was close by and when these two men left, he approached me and said, “My building is for sale.” And through the AWESOME grace of God, we are now the owner of a new church building!
God has provided a new building for the church in Caraguatatuba with lots of work to be done.
We have used the visitors to tear down walls, beat up concrete, smash down windows, and all the other demo jobs that you can imagine. We are looking forward to having church in our new building shortly. We may have to move in on concrete floors, unpainted walls, and many other things in the process of being finished, but God is so good – no, He is AWESOME! When you see where He is working, go join Him – you will be amazed at what He will do through you.
In the midst of all this, Barbara has had to go to the States. Her mother, Reba Baker, fell and broke her hip. She is now in a nursing home doing physical therapy and Barb will stay with her through September. Pray that all goes well with the therapy and Mrs. Reba can get back home to her house.
If you have not been to see what God can do with your mission dollars, well come on down. We will treat you so many different ways you will have to like at least one of them. Come see what God is doing in Caragua.
In His Service,
AJ & Barb Hensley
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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