Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [July 2015]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
June 30, 2015
Dear Friends,
Charlene and I made a two week trip to Brazil this month. The trip was a tremendous encouragement and the Lord’s hand was clearly with us at every moment. We had the privilege to ordain two young men to the Gospel ministry and they will be taking the oversight of two of our outreach teams. Marcos, one of the young men, had recently returned from a year and a half of evangelism and church planting in India. The Lord blessed him greatly there and it is clear that he is called to be a minister of the Word. The other young man, Victor, has lead one of our Projeto Vida outreach teams on trips to the interior of Brazil where he and his wife, Fabiana, are highly respected and loved by their team members.
Alysson, our missionary to the Muslims in the Middle East has returned from his first trip there and reports that the Lord truly opened doors for sharing the Gospel. Despite what we see on the news channels, the majority of the common citizens are hungry for truth and love. We know that they have been fed lies all their lives and that makes it difficult for them to have open minds to Christ, but God is glorifying Himself greatly by bringing many of them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Alysson will be returning to that field again soon, so we ask that you pray God’s blessings on him.
Alek Rossi is doing a great job pastoring my former church in Curitiba, Brazil. We visited the services and we heard many great reports on his leadership from basically everyone who attends. The church continues to grow and we sensed real unity among the members.
Charlene and I have offered to help a local Baptist Church here in the Tampa, FL area as we also seek to help with the health needs of my father. We rotate with my siblings on a 24/7 schedule. I am thankful for this privilege. Thank you for your prayers and support.
In Christ’s love,
Furlough Address:
3912 Casaba Loop
Valrico, FL 33596
Field Address:
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
Phone: (813) 481-7007
Cell Phone: (813) 727-6405
Email: bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers on Furlough from Brazil [June 2015]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
May 31, 2015
Dear Friends,
We have a carpenter steady at work getting the interior of our Alpha motorhome ready for travel. The body work looks great and it won’t be long before the motorhome is back on the road. In the meantime the team has been doing evangelistic outreach in local neighborhoods and the teams carpool to get to the locations hauling their equipment in a small utility trailer. We will be very happy to have the motorhome fully repaired and back to work soon.
Our young missionary to a Muslim nation, Alysson, reports that the Lord is truly opening doors of evangelistic outreach for him and his team. This past month he was invited by the mayor of a town into a public school to present their skits which portray the gospel through pantomime and drama. The mayor was so impressed with the presentations that he asked the team to make the same presentation in his office to his administrative team. Please pray that the Lord will use the message that was shared to touch the hearts of these leaders. Of course, not everything is easy working in a culture so steeped in false religion. After the presentations in the mayor’s office, Alysson was talking to some children in the street in front of the city offices when a Muslim man began to speak evil of Christianity and warn him not to speak of the cross of Christ. Also, the cost of living in that country is very high and he is living with a budget of bare essentials. He does not complain and shows a true spirit of servanthood.
My father’s health continues to decline and my siblings and I share the responsibility of taking care of him. I have had some wonderful conversations with him during these days. He terribly misses his bride of 64 years, my mother, of course, but he still finds peace and comfort in the Lord.
We are presently in Brazil for a couple of weeks to take care of some projects that we had begun before our furlough, but still needed our attention. We found the church doing very well despite many political problems going on around them. Some of the church members have lost their jobs due to a general chaos in the political arena. Their newly ordained pastor, Alek, is doing a great job and has the total support of the church. Tonight we will have the privilege of visiting there for the first time since we left in early March. We are looking forward to this privilege and the joy of being with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
A couple of weeks ago I was blessed to be invited to speak at the Seventh Street Baptist Church in Cannelton, IN and the Richland Baptist Church in Livermore, KY. Both the churches and their dear pastors and families hosted me with generous love and attention. I am extremely grateful to both for their faithful concern and support.
Continue to remember my family and me in your prayers as we seek to please the Lord with our lives at this stage in our ministry.
In Christ’s love,
Furlough Address:
3912 Casaba Loop
Valrico, FL 33596
Field Address:
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
Phone: (813) 481-7007
Cell Phone: (813) 727-6405
Email: bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
Give: Click here to give.
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Missionary Update: Bobby & Charlene Wacaser on Furlough from Brazil [May 2015]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
May 8, 2015
Our young missionary to the Muslim culture was greatly shaken upon his arrival to the field in more ways than one! Shortly after he arrived at the airport in Nepal, a major earthquake occurred. There was chaos everywhere, as most of you already know from news reports. Alysson was there and he and many others were stranded in the airport for four days without any way to continue on their travels. Soon the food in the airport ran out and his only intake was water and some candy for a couple of days. We are very thankful, though, that he was not injured, or worse, and now he has moved on to his field of ministry.
Although the earthquake itself was not a good thing, we can already see how the Lord used it for His good purposes. Because of the disaster and despair that followed, the people are now much more open to outsiders coming in with whatever help they bring. The people are open to have their more important spiritual needs addressed also. Alysson is struggling to communicate the love of Christ to a people who have never heard of Jesus Christ amidst many physical and spiritual challenges. We are praying for him and supplying him with whatever physical needs that we can.
During the last month our Projeto Vida buses were working together with the group of youth that comes each year from Brandon, Florida to spend a week evangelizing in the city parks and public schools. This year there were 48 people in the group and the Lord used them greatly. They spent one day ministering to a group of over 200 adults of street dwellers, homeless folks who meet at a city park each week to receive a hot meal, are loved on, receive counseling and hear the gospel preached. The youth group performed skits which clearly communicated the love of Christ and several of those folks surrendered to Christ. As an extra blessing, the young people who ministered were also touched by the Lord as they learned just how greatly the Lord could use them when they are willing to step outside of their comfort zones.
Since my mother’s passing away, I have been trying to help my family in the care of my aging father. Our return was unexpected, so my family and I are attempting to adjust to some challenges here in the US. My son’s schooling situation is one of our greatest difficulties because of all the red tape involved, but I think we are finally getting somewhere.
Charlene and I had the wonderful privilege of attending the annual Baptist Faith Missions Conference sponsored by the Thompson Road Baptist Church this past month. We were so well received and taken care of by the good people of the church and it was a joy to be able to fellowship with so many of our missionary brothers and sisters who were in attendance. We also had the privilege of renewing old acquaintances and making new friends with pastors and members from other supportive churches. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there.
Thank you for your continued prayer and support.
In Christ’s love,
Furlough Address:
3912 Casaba Loop
Valrico, FL 33596
Field Address:
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
Phone: (813) 481-7007
Cell Phone: (813) 727-6405
Email: bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
Give: Click here to give.
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Missionary Update: The Wacaser on Furlough from Brazil [April 2015]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
April 5, 2015
Dear Friends,
In my last correspondence, I shared with you that because of my mother’s diagnosis of acute Leukemia I would be making an emergency trip to the USA and would begin a year’s furlough from Brazil to help look after my parents. Four days after my arrival my mother passed away. I did arrive in time to spend some hours with her while she was still conscious. She had been a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ for many years and she was prepared to go and be with our Lord. My father has many health challenges and I am working together with my family to aid him. He now lives alone at home, but we take turns staying with him since his needs require 24 hour care. Thank you all who have been and are praying for me and my family.
Before I left our church in Brazil, I officially turned the pastorate over to my co-pastor Alek Rossi. It has only been a few weeks, but from pictures and reports from him, the work there continues to progress. I made some financial commitments to that work before I left and will maintain that support and for as long as necessary. Alek has a very able team of volunteer helpers and we expect to hear encouraging news of how the Lord will use them in the future.
Our young missionary, Alysson, is getting ready to leave for a Muslim country in Eastern Europe this month. We are excited about his upcoming opportunities to share the Gospel where the Word of God is not known. We pray for his safety and fruitfulness in evangelism. He is very aware of the possibility of danger and persecution, but he trusts that the Lord will be his source of protection.
Charlene and I plan to attend the Spring Missions Conference on behalf of Baptist Faith Missions at the Thompson Road Baptist Church in few weeks. It has been several years since we’ve had this opportunity and we are really looking forward to greeting old and new friends and brothers and sisters in Christ there.
If you would be interested in having us come to visit with you or your church, feel free to contact us at the contact information provided with letter.
Thank you so much for your prayers and faithful support.
In Christ’s love,
Furlough Address:
3912 Casaba Loop
Valrico, FL 33596
Field Address:
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
Phone: (813)481-7007
Email: bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
Give: Click here to give.
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Missionary Update: Bobby & Charlene Wacaser [February 2015]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
February 8, 2015
Dear Friends,
When I went to renew my Brazilian driver’s license recently, I got an unpleasant surprise. Before I could renew it, I would have to go through a 30 hour defensive driving course. This punishment was the fruit of a good deed to a needy friend. I had loaned my old spare pickup truck to the husband of one of my church members. He had recently arrived from Germany and didn’t have a job and needed transportation to get out looking for work. He wasn’t aware that our city has speed radars scattered about and in just a few weeks he had accumulated enough violations to have his driver’s license suspended. Except it wasn’t his that got suspended, it was mine. Usually the driver is responsible for these fines and the ensuing points against one’s driving record, but in our case, the fines were sent to my old address and the time frame allowed to transfer those points to his license had already expired before we even knew that he’d gotten them. So, off I went to defensive driver’s classes. Apparently a bad thing, but not with God. My time spent in lock up, I mean, defensive driving class, put me in contact with some people that the Lord wanted me to share Gospel with that I would not ordinarily come into contact with. Through the class interaction and discussion, several opportunities arose that allowed me to share my testimony of coming to know Christ and also to present the Gospel to our teacher and other classmates. Without even asking them to come, the teacher and one other fellow inmate asked me for our church’s address and the times of services. I hope and pray that they go, but I already thank God for the opportunity to share His word and love.
I had a meeting this week with Alysson, the young man who will be going to _____________ on a two-month missionary journey this spring. He is in intensive training for how to evangelize in a Muslim nation. I will have to leave the name of his destination blank for security purposes. I may have already said too much in the past, but I pray for his safe journey and prosperous efforts to share the Gospel there. He is extremely bold and courageous and trusts the Lord completely. Please keep him in your prayers as he seeks to honor the Lord where He is not preached.
Projeto Vida is starting its public school outreach ministries again next week. That is, if public schools start back up. Between state and national politics and misappropriation of funds, the public school teachers and administration haven’t been paid for months and are threatening to strike if they don’t get paid soon and with raises. Most private schools will start on schedule, but our main venue is in the public school system and it’s also where we reach many more people. We know that the Lord is in control of this situation and we’ll be praying that He’ll open the doors when He sees fit.
Keep us in your prayers.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)481-7007
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: Bobby and Charlene Wacaser in Brazil [January 2015]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
Dear Friends,
We have just finished our first Missions Training Seminar for 2015! It was such an encouragement to see young men and women excited and willing to get better prepared to take the Word of Christ to the lost. After a week of classroom lessons, the volunteers went out into a couple of towns and cities to put into practice what they learned in class. We hope to hold 5 more such seminar/workshops throughout this new year.
I was away from the pulpit of our new church for 3 consecutive Sundays, but the reports from those who attended were great and that our newly ordained co-pastor, Alek, did a great job preaching and guiding the ministries in my absence. The Lord has truly shown that Alek is called to this ministry. His wife joyfully aids him and the church clearly loves them.
During this last month of ministry we had some amazingly diverse opportunities to witness the Lord at work around us, in us and through us.
Our young missionary, Alysson, who will be going to _________ in April shared with us how the Lord used him to lead a more mature man to rededicate his life to Christ this past month. The man has been a Christian for some years, but had backslidden into drinking and lax morality. His wife is a believer in Christ and never ceased to pray for him. After attending one of Alysson’s evangelistic meetings, the man repented of his sins and wanted to become active in evangelism himself. He started accompanying Alysson and his ministry partners on a daily basis and began to grow in his relationship with Christ. His wife and children now testify that he is definitely a changed man and they are living in harmony and walking with the Lord. We are trying to put together everything that Alysson will need to travel and spend two months in __________, which is a muslim nation. He understands that it may be very dangerous and that he could even be imprisoned or put to death for sharing the gospel there, but he feels certain that God is leading him in this direction. We are so thankful for young men with the boldness to trust the Lord with their complete surrender like this.
We have some exciting challenges coming up in the first weeks of this new year. We have begun the discussing the plans for making the first new church plant from our own relatively new church. My leadership team will begin to develop the practical steps necessary to pin-point the precise city and neighborhood for this new work in the next few weeks. I will keep you posted on those details as they develop.
God was great to meet our every need in 2014. We know that some of you were attentive to His prompting to contribute toward our ministry needs and we are grateful. We also know that some of you do not have the means to contribute financially, but have prayed for us faithfully and we are also thankful to God for answering those prayers. The plans we have for this new year are greater than we can accomplish on our own. We must be guided by and supplied by the Lord to do what honors Him. Continue to pray with and for us that we will constantly be attentive to His direction for what we do and our attitudes towards Him. He is our true delight and we want to please Him.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)481-7007
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: Bobby & Charlene Wacaser in Brazil [November 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
November 6, 2014
Dear Friends,
With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up we are more vividly reminded to be thankful for all that the Lord is doing for and through us. We are thankful for the health to work and the faithful support you give us through your prayers and generous giving. We are thankful that our children love and live for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Our young missionary, Alysson, who had spent a couple of months evangelizing in the Amazon jungle is now preparing to go to _________ on a two year mission project. He will be working together with a group that specializes in youth evangelism on college campuses. Although the culture will be a major contrast to what he experienced in the jungle, he knows the basic need of humanity in any culture is to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. I will give you periodic updates as Alysson’s mission preparations develop.
Later this month we will be ordaining to the ministry my co-leader, Alek Rossi. He has proved himself to be solid in the word of God, full of integrity and character and gifted in teaching and leadership. He is married and his wife, Livia, exhibits all the biblical traits of a godly woman and she is supportive of his leadership at home and in ministry. In just over one year Alek and Livia have led our youth group to grow from 5 to over 30. Not only has the group grown numerically, but these youth study the Scriptures daily and we can see them living out the teachings of God’s word. It is wonderful to have a co-laborer who can handle the Scriptures faithfully and we are certain that his ordination is a step in the right direction, for his life and for the church.
In Brazil, the school year ends around the first week of December. Since our main venue for our Projeto Vida teams is in the public schools, our traveling teams will work hard until the break and then we’ll suspend most of their activities until the early part of February when school starts back up. Only one team will remain active throughout this period working to help local churches with Vacation Bible Schools and various evangelistic outreach projects. The Lord allowed us to overcome some serious obstacles during 2014. We were able to get all our bus/motorhomes back operating after some expensive repairs were needed and accomplished. We are thankful.
Thank you who gave and prayed faithfully toward this.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)481-7007
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [October 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
October 3, 2014
Dear Friends,
I missed giving you a report last month on what’s going on, so I’ll try to get you caught up without making this letter too long.
In my last report, I mentioned that we were sending one of our young evangelists out into the jungle region where Brazil and French Guyana share a border. Alysson, our volunteer has now returned from that trip and has shared the experiences and results that he had while working there. In the course of one month the group went to several villages of Indian tribes and a few towns of small population. They were able to share the gospel in hospitals, public schools, public squares and in 67 homes. In all, they spoke to over 3390 persons and, of these, 750 made a profession of faith in Jesus. Alysson was so encouraged that now he wants to prepare to go to other regions as a missionary.
Our motorhomes are all running again and we have 3 teams out sharing the gospel as I write. During the last two months we took two of our teams to some neighboring towns to evangelize in the public schools and parks, as well as assisting some local churches with their missions training. Projeto Vida has gone through some very trying times, both financially and some health issues. Our leader of this ministry, Paulo Novaes, received a doctor’s report that he has cirrhosis of the liver. He, of course, is concerned and is having to change his diet, his exercise program and was advised that he’d have to stop stressing. It is this last item that is the most difficult. There are over 50 volunteers involved in this ministry and their well-being is a constant concern. Also, there are all the issues involved in maintaining 4 motorhomes equipped, fueled and running properly. Add to that, the relational issues between 12 people per motorhome living together in a small space for 3 weeks per month, 9 months per year. These are stress-generating issues, to say the least. Please pray for Paulo that he may know how to fully surrender these issues to the Lord and not let them destroy his health.
We just went through a rough period with the death of my co-pastor’s aunt. Glenda fought with breast cancer for nearly one year. She maintained a strong testimony to God’s grace and love throughout the ordeal, but the Lord saw fit to take her home last Sunday. Many of you have had to suffer a similar battle, either from having cancer yourself, or accompanying a loved one who had it. You know how hard this battle can be. My co-pastor’s family was strengthened by God’s grace as a result of this battle and we have seen in many ways how trials truly serve for our growth and spiritual well-being. We rejoice that Glenda no longer suffers the pain and uncertainty of how to please the Lord in sickness, but we are saddened by the family’s loss of their loved one.
Our church is experiencing encouraging growth, especially among our youth and children’s ministries. I am amazed every week while I’m preaching to look out upon the congregation and see so many new faces of folks that I’ve never met. Even more exciting than this is that they return week after week and several have come seeking to be baptized as followers of Christ. Next week we will be scheduling a baptismal service for 6-7 converts. We are so thankful to the Lord for using us and blessing us with these signs of His power at work around us.
Thank you for your continued prayer and faithful giving so that we may continue to serve the Lord here in southern Brazil.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)481-7007
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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