6 Professions of Faith through Projeto IDE, Visiting Gama, Serra do Moa, São Domingos
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
October 10, 2019
Dear Brethren,
We have had a great summer. The weather has been crazy though. Several unseasonable cold fronts and lots of rain. With all the rain I thought I would be on the rivers by now, but the Juruá is super low. The roads are open though, but very muddy.
We had a wonderful visit by 5 men from Calvary Church in Missouri. Pastor Randy Sawyer brought four of his men to see the work here. We took them on Projeto IDE to Profeta on a Saturday. Projeto IDE (Ide means GO!) involves doctors, nurses, dentists, haircuts, hygiene, arts, crafts, culinary classes, sewing classes, distribution of clothes, children’s classes and, of course evangelism. We went by road since the river is so low. The village is right on the river and our building is a stone’s throw from the riverbank, but now we also have a road. We had 2 big thunderstorms that afternoon, so the return was “fun”. I won’t bore you with all the numbers, but one must be shared. There were 6 professions of faith, 2 at Treze de Maio and 4 at Profeta. We didn’t get back to town until after 1:00AM because of the poor condition of the road.
On Sunday we made a visit to our new work at Gama. We just sent our missionary couple Anísio and Matilde just last January. We had already started the work and already had a building up, but now that we have a missionary there full time the work has really taken off. The village is on tributary of the Juruá River in the state of Amazonas. There is now a road that cuts north through the jungle to this town of 170 families. They have services around town in homes on Tuesday nights. Thursday is teaching at church. Friday is prayer meeting and then 2 services on Sunday. They have more than 100 in attendance on Sunday night. The guys from Missouri got to try out a short dugout canoe “trip” on the beautiful stream in front of the village. Since then we have started the parsonage. We have the foundation in and Anísio is putting in the fill dirt right now.
We have also started a new church building at Serra do Moa. This work is in a small village 100 miles west of us at the base of a low range of mountains. The Moa River starts on this side of the Peruvian border and actually flows through a canyon flowing east until it flows into the Juruá River right here at Cruzeiro do Sul. This is my favorite river in the whole region. I started preaching at Serra do Moa when I was just 18 years old. We didn’t actually get a permanent congregation planted until the mid 90’s. Our missionaries there are Rivaldo and Leila. This is our third building. The second one is wooden and still in good shape, but they have grown and wanted to put in a new brick/ wood structure this time. We already have the foundation, slab and brick wall up to 2 feet.
I also made a visit to our congregation at São Domingos. This village is right next door to the Poyanawa Indian reservation (where we also have a work). The church at Assis Brasil has been taking care of the congregation at São Domingos. They have just finished new brick building, so I went to do the dedication. The building was packed to beyond capacity. There was one profession of faith.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
Read more
God is at Work in Cruzeirão, Cruzeirinho, Cruzeiro do Sul, & Assis!
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
November 23, 2018
Dear Brethren,
Last month Beverly and I went to Assis, Brasil, for the ordination service of Pastor Eliésio De Oliviera. He has been pastor at First Baptist Church for over 16 years. When he was in high school, he was a member of our church and after graduation he went to seminary in Belém, Pará. When he returned he went straight into the pastorate. He has been on many mission trips with me and has been a great colleague in the Kingdom. The church asked me to perform his ordination. Four other pastors helped out.
We went back 2 more times to Assis, Brasil, to attend their 56th anniversary conference. I spoke at the opening then closed out the meeting on a Sunday night. This conference was really special as the church had just moved into their new building and I was honored to do the dedication. They had huge crowds all 4 nights. I don’t know how many people the building will seat, but it is several hundred. There was one profession of faith and a number of other decisions.
We had our last baptism of the year here at First Baptist in Cruzeiro do Sul. We added 31 new members. This month we lost 2 more really faithful families who were transferred to other cities. We did gain 2 more families though. Our growth is very slow because of all the folks who move away. We are grateful for the growth we have though.
Bev and I also visited the work at Cruzeirão. They are in a small building that seats about 150 people. They had to have most of the members go outside to free up seats for visitors. I closed out a month of lessons on the family with them. I shared the gospel, too. There were a couple of professions of faith.
I made a visit to Cruzeirinho, also. We had our first big rain that night, so the crowd was down a little, but still they had over 100 people.
If you are confused about all this “Cruzeiro” stuff, here is a quick explanation. The name of our city is Cruzeiro do Sul which means Southern Cross. Most people in the region just call it Cruzeiro. Then Cruzeirão means “big Cruzeiro”, but not because it is bigger than Cruzeiro do Sul. Rather it is near our soccer stadium, which is called Cruzeirão. Cruzeirinho means “little Cruzeiro” and it really is little!
Our church has had to celebrate Thanksgiving in our small groups for the past several years. Years ago, we tried to find places to have the whole church together, but it was just too big and even expensive. My small group, which is way overdue for what we call multiplication, had 51 people for our dinner.
On November 27th I will be taking my son Andrew to Manaus for yet another surgery. He has been really ill and the doctors discovered that he has several stones in his liver. One of these is 3/8th of an inch in diameter and has caused excruciating pain and other symptoms. We have been able to see doctors and get some basic tests done, although the local hospital is basically shut down right now. The state has not paid doctors, nurses or other help for the last few months. Andrew does not have any kind of insurance, so we will be paying everything out of pocket. Please pray for him and the procedures.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
Read more
Ladies Retreat at Acampamento Salém; Ordination in Assis
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
September 12, 2018
Dear Brethren,
My routine is pretty much back to normal, but according to Beverly I am taking on more than I should. Since our return I have been able to get my diet back in shape and have shed 18 lbs. Every day I try to get in a 4 or 5 mile walk/run. Feeling much better already.
We had our first baptism since getting home. Fourteen new members were added to the church. There have been a few people saved in the last 6 weeks and some other new members added by letter.
Bev and I visited the church at Assis, Brasil. The pastor there is Eliésio Oliveira. He is a local guy who was a member of our church when he was in high school. He spent 4 years in Belém, Pará while in seminary. His home church called him to be pastor as soon as he returned. He has done a great job and is on board with missions. We have travelled together on many mission trips. I am to be with them next month to lead in his ordination service. Then in November I am to return for the dedication of their brand new building, which is still under construction.
I have held 2 meetings with 2 other churches in the area over the past few days. One was at Igreja Batista Elim and the other at Igreja Batista Esperança.
Bev got on my case because I have been either preaching or teaching somewhere every night. One or 2 nights a week I record TV programs. Then there are our services and classes at First Baptist. Besides these I have been accepting quite a few invitations to speak at other churches. She is looking out for me and my health, but I had to remind her that these things are “sortta” what I am called to do!
Bev’s mom passed away last week, so Bev had to turn around and return to the States. The funeral was this last Saturday. Bev is helping deal with some other family issues. We still don’t know when she will be able to come home. Please pray for her and the family. God’s timing is always amazing.
Ladies Retreat at Acampamento Salém
The ladies of our church held their regular September retreat at our camp (Acampamento Salém). The ladies ministry team is about 15-20 women. Not counting the team, there were over 200 women present. I don’t know how they do it. We really only have room for about 120 people in the cabins. It is summer time here (dry season – although it is actually winter now in the southern hemisphere), so many of them camped out in tents.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
Read more
Missionary Update: Mike & Beverly Creiglow in Brazil [December 2015]
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together since 1971. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
December 9, 2015
Dear Brethren,
It has been exactly one month since my last letter, but it has been a short month. We have continued to have good services at First Baptist Church. We have had a few folks saved every week. Last Sunday Pastor Benjamin baptized 8 more. I served the Lord’s Supper. We had one more profession of faith during that service even though we never have an invitation on those days. Just before services a man named Ney came to me to talk. He has attended our church for 20 years, but just got saved Sunday morning and wanted to make his public profession of faith. There were 3 more saved in the evening service.
We finally got all the trusses and purlins on the building at Cruzeirinho. The roofing is going on right now.
Bev and I visited the church at Assis, Brasil a couple of weeks ago. They have a big building, but have purchased new property and are building an even bigger building. They continue to partner with us on several mission projects.
Zico is at Jordão right now. He reports that the new work there is going great. They have been averaging 55 people in Sunday services. Although we had made some trips there over the past 3 years the work was just really started this year when we sent Idevaldo and family to that field. Some have been saved already. Zico will be leaving Jordão for Santa Rosa do Purús this week. We don’t think there is any church of any kind there. I will report on his findings next month. Santa Rosa do Purús is one of the 22 cities of the State of Acre that we plan to start a church. First Baptist has sent missionaries to 7 of the 22 cities so far. We still have a long way to go.
We now have a new missionary to send to Foz do Breu on the Peruvian border. Mário and his wife came before the church for approval 3 weeks ago. That field has been without a missionary for 10 months now. During this time one of the local men has been taking care to hold services, teach and even make a few mission trips.
Our television program just celebrated 25 years. I have had a half hour program on a local station every Saturday and Sunday morning. I don’t know if anyone has been saved. The only real feedback is from folks I run into downtown who say they never miss a program. You and I have bought all the equipment, studio setup. The church here pays for the airtime. We will probably only be able to gauge results in eternity. Hopefully we will be able to keep the program on the air for a few more years.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
Read more
