FaithWORKS Report [June 2013]
PRAY AND PRAISE!
- ODALI AND KATHY BARROS – PRAISE GOD for the children who are learning about God’s love. PRAY for the salvation of lost family members.
- HAROLD BRATCHER – PRAISE GOD for continued health and opportunities to minister. PRAY for the Lord to work out the sale of their house in Manaus.
- JOHN AND ALTA HATCHER – PRAISE GOD for the breaking out of the church in Assai and for the new pastor there. PRAY for the Hatchers’ continued and health to keep up their witness for Christ.
- PAUL AND WANDA HATCHER – PRAISE GOD for the burden to plant yet more new churches in NE Brazil – and for the on-going work in Manaus. PRAY for all the church-planting pastors in their cities.
- JOHN AND JUDY HATCHER – PRAISE GOD for the continued interest and perseverance of believers in this difficult nation. PRAY that God will encourage both our missionaries and all the believers through difficult experiences.
- NATHAN AND CARRIE RADFORD – PRAISE GOD for the works that continue to go and grow in the several villages and neighborhoods. PRAY that God will give them wisdom to minister. PRAY also that God will provide them a vehicle to use during furlough.
- SHERIDAN AND ANITA STANTON – PRAISE GOD for all the teaching and training that continues to reach out and strengthen the churches in Peru. PRAY that God will build up His Kingdom in all parts of that nation.
- ROGER AND JULIE TATE – PRAISE GOD for the growth and blossoming of mission points and churches in the towns, villages, and neighborhoods around Kitale. PRAY for God’s continued wisdom and grace for our missionaries, the believers, and the leaders of the churches.
- BOBBY AND CHARLENE WACASER – PRAISE GOD for the works of His grace in saving and transforming lives in Curitiba. PRAY that God will continue to minister His grace through them to save many others and add them to His church.
URGENT NEED FOR $17,000.00 FURLOUGH REPLACEMENT FUNDS
We are all aware of the ever-spiking prices of all kinds of fuel. It is also showing up big-time with our missionaries’ furlough travel back to the States.
Baptist Faith Missions provides for your missionaries a 6-month furlough after at least 24 continuous months of service on their field and a 12-month furlough after 48 months of service.
BFM pays for their furlough travel expenses out of the General Fund “as the Lord provides”. But, there is never enough in the Monthly General Fund offerings to cover their essential monthly living and ministry expenses – much less the other commitments we have made to them over the course of the year as they come due. So, the benefits we provide for them for their ‘other-than-monthly’ commitments are supplied out of the Thanksgiving Offering funds.
Having said all that – we need to replace the funds we have disbursed for our two furloughing families to return to the States later this year. To transport the Tate and Radford families for their furloughs that are due to them will require more than $17,000.00. When we provide those furlough reimbursements to them, our General Fund will be all but broke. And, we are just now ½ of the way through 2013.
WILL YOU HELP US REPLENISH THE GENERAL FUND BY DESIGNATING YOUR OFFERINGS FOR ‘FURLOUGH FUNDS’? We will have already paid for the airfare tickets, but your offerings will help us replenish the account so we can provide the other future commitments we have made to them throughout the rest of this year.
“AS THE LORD PROVIDES”
This has always been the motto and mantra for all the commitments we have ever made to our missionaries. When the first missionary was sent back to Brazil by his church, Brother Hafford Overbey told him that he [Brother Overbey] would work to appeal to churches and other individual supporters to raise his support funds – and that he would forward those funds ‘as the Lord provides’.
We have always told our missionaries we approve for support that same thing. “We will work for you, to appeal for your support, but we can fulfill our commitments only as the Lord supplies the funds through the faithful, sacrificial giving of our supporters.”
It always pains us to not be able to fulfill every commitment we have made to our faithful missionaries – but we can give to them only what we receive to give them. We have had occasions already this year – and we fear there may be others to come – when we have had to tell our missionaries “We’re sorry, but the funds are not there” when they have asked for benefits we have previously given.
Please help us give in full the commitments we have made to them by faithfully giving your offerings to the Monthly General Fund.
MISSIONARIES’ FURLOUGH SCHEDULE
Harold Bratcher is retiring from active and faithful missionary service in Manaus, Brazil, and is relocating to live here in the States. He is selling his home in Manaus and is seeking to purchase a home here. If you wish to contact him before he establishes a permanent address, you may contact him at: 859.277.3716 / 1012 Balsam Drive, Lexington KY 40504 / or through his email address: harold_bratcher[at]yahoo.com
TATES AND RADFORDS – their plans at present are to be coming to the States in September and October respectively. You may correspond with them concerning any prospective plans you would like to make with them. Roger Tate rojuta[at]gmail.com & Nathan Radford naterad[at]yahoo.com
NEED FOR VEHICLES – Both the Tates and Radfords will need vehicles to use for their travels in the States during their upcoming furloughs. If anyone has a vehicle or vehicles you can loan them for their use, correspond with them at the above email addresses.
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