198 Profess Faith in Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior
November 9, 2024
Our traveling missionary team, Projeto Vida, experienced an amazing month of outreach in three different cities! In all, the team shared the gospel with 4,831 people. Of those people that heard the gospel, 198 made a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Oh, how great is the love and mercy of the God. Our team of missionaries returned to Curitiba, our home base, overflowing with gratitude and joy with how the Lord used and blessed their efforts. They had to spend a few days doing maintenance work and cleaning on the vehicles and equipment they use in their ministry, but they are now ready and excited to depart on what will be their last mission journey of the year. We pray that this next trip will be greatly blessed with many more individuals coming to know the Lord as well.
Our missionaries to Portugal, Yago and Manoela, called us a few days ago to share some joyful news. They are expecting their first baby! We rejoice with them at this news. Along with their ministry of Bible study and outreach in Portugal, they are working diligently on the translation of their children’s Bible study lessons into English for an upcoming mission effort in Egypt. The Lord has not opened the door for them to move there, as yet, but the ministry that called upon them to provide these Bible lessons is still in need of the material. They remain open to God’s direction in how He wants to use them. Please keep them in your prayers.
Charlene and I are traveling tomorrow to the annual Thanksgiving Missions Conference on behalf of Baptist Faith Missions at the New Hope Baptist Church of Dearborn Heights, MI. We hope to see some of you there and will miss those who can’t.
Thank you for your faithful love and support of our ministry. May the Lord bless you greatly.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside ministering to Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@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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Rare Opportunity to Minister with Fellow Missionaries Judson & Raquel Hatcher
October 4, 2024
Dear Friends,
We have learned, though not perfectly, to look at everything around us through the lens of God’s sovereignty. Of course, that is both a challenge and a blessing. The apostle Peter began to sink when he got his eyes off Jesus, looking at the circumstances around him instead of focusing on the One who controlled the circumstances, who was with him. This past month we had some wonderful opportunities for evangelism and training. Of course, our enemy and the enemy of our Lord hates that, so he saw fit to bring on some distractions, and outright attacks. If the Lord had not reminded us daily of His sovereign rule and power over all things, we would have lost our focus and victories. But there was celebration in heaven over the many who surrendered to Christ during our evangelistic efforts in the public schools and squares, and our trials did not nullify that.
We had a rare privilege to minister together with some missions-minded churches and pastors and with our fellow missionary, Judson Hatcher. As many of you know, Brazil is a huge country. “Although the total area of the US is approximately 500,000 square miles larger than the total area of Brazil, Brazil is larger than the contiguous US by approximately 300,000 square miles. About 685,924 square miles of the US is covered by water compared to only 21,441 square miles of Brazil.” (worldatlas.com) Although Judson and Rachel minister in Brazil, we rarely get the privilege see one another or work together because of the distance between our fields of service. The time spent ministering together was a joy and we hope we’ll be able to do it again in the not-too-distant future.
Yago and Manoela continue faithfully in Portugal. They are having regular in-presence services after a few weeks of virtual meetings. Both they and their members are much happier. They are also working steadily on translating their children’s Bible study lessons into English to be used in Egypt and other Arab nations. Please continue to pray for them.
Projeto Vida worked alongside our visiting pastors and church teams in Curitiba, their home base, for a week, but they went immediately to some outlying towns to share the gospel after those days together. One of our missionaries, Julio, had been sidelined for some surgery, but he returned to full-time duty this month. He was really missing the daily joy of sharing the gospel to unreached youth and their families. He seems to be fully recovered, and we are thankful to the Lord for that.
Charlene and I are preparing to attend the Annual Thanksgiving Conference on behalf of Baptist Faith Missions at the New Hope Baptist Church in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, next month. We look forward to reacquainting with some of our dear brothers and sisters there, but we also hope to meet new friends and family in Christ. Thank you to pastor Terry Adkins for the invitation to attend and speak.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@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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A Vision Trip to Brazil
September 26, 2024
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Greetings in the name of our Lord! We hope this newsletter finds you well and filled with the joy of serving Christ. We are excited to have received Daniel Akers, Shamma Lorredan, and Glenn Tolson from Heritage Baptist Church, Lexington, KY. They were here on a vision trip to Brazil, which took place from September 3 to 17. The purpose of the trip was to map out future plans for yearly church mission trips to Brazil.
Together, we embarked on this journey with a heart full of anticipation and a desire to strengthen our partnerships in the field. The bulk of our trip was spent in São Paulo, where we visited our church planting framework for evangelism, discipleship, and leadership development. It was inspiring to see these men engage with Brazilian people and witness their dedication and passion for missions and our partnership to spread the Gospel in this vibrant city.
One of the key highlights was our visit to Raquel’s foster care ministry. This impactful initiative not only provides a safe haven for at-risk children but also serves as a platform for sharing the love of Christ with families in need. I was grateful for the opportunity to share Raquel’s passion for foster care, connect with those involved in this ministry, and explore ways to support those efforts.
The three men also joined us for a day at the soccer school and ministered to young athletes. While in São Paulo, they also learned of other sports evangelism opportunities in basketball and volleyball as potential opportunities for future sports mission trips. They received an invitation to speak at our kids’ school – PACA. Shamma shared his powerful testimony of salvation, how he became a professional musician, his survival of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and how the Lord equipped him to serve as a pastor in Lexington, KY.
Additionally, we traveled to the Marília and Cornélio Procópio regions to connect with the pastors and churches of the Togetherness Network. In Cornélio, we gathered with pastors, pastors in training, and spouses to discuss a bilateral partnership in ministry. This meeting inspired everyone, and the repercussions will produce a lingering positive impact. Daniel and Shamma spoke at the Pastors’ Symposium in Duartina, where they preached on “The Legacy of Faithful Preaching in Pastoral Ministry” and “The Legacy of Integrity in Pastoral Ministry”. It was a significant symposium full of enthusiasm and encouragement for pastors, aspiring pastors, and spouses. Everyone’s dedication to the Gospel inspired us, and it was a time of mutual edification.
During the second weekend of our trip, we joined Bobby and Charlene Wacaser in Curitiba. Here, we learned about Projeto Vida and the church’s ongoing efforts to reach the community through evangelism and discipleship. Together, we were able to have a firsthand experience of the depth and scope of the Wacaser’s ministry in Curitiba. The significance of the church’s Bible training for adults and the children’s ministry is self-evident.
As we reflect on this trip, we are grateful for Heritage Baptist Church. We are also thankful for your continued support and prayers. Your partnership enables us to engage in this vital work, and we are excited about the future opportunities that lie ahead. Please offer prayers for the ongoing ministries in Brazil so that they may bear fruit for the Kingdom and that more people will experience the love of Christ.
On another note, the soccer school continues to be a powerful tool for evangelism in São Paulo. This last month, we had two friendly games with other soccer teams, during which I was able to openly share about Christ. Through this program, we can connect with athletes and their families, sharing the Gospel and fostering relationships that lead to discipleship. The soccer school not only opens doors for sharing the Good News but also provides us an opportunity for discipling new Christians and developing leadership within the sport. We have seen firsthand how the Lord uses this initiative to minister to numerous families in their homes, creating a ripple effect of faith and transformation.
Thank you for standing with us in this mission. We look forward to sharing more updates and stories of God’s faithfulness in the coming months.
Always grateful,
Jud & Raquel
Contact Info:
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
São Paulo, Brazil
judsonhatcher@gmail.com
(872) 400-6522
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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Blessed by Team Visiting from Virginia
September 3, 2024
Dear Friends,
I really wanted to wait a few days to send my report last month because our visiting team from Virginia had just arrived and we were only beginning our week of ministry together in the schools and streets of Curitiba, Brazil. I can now share with you that it truly was a blessed few days of sharing the gospel with students and school staff. We were thrilled at the way the Lord moved in the hearts and lives of those that heard the gospel, and those that shared it. Pastor Jared Via has done a fantastic job of teaching and training his church what it means to be a follower of Jesus. His team of youth and their leaders boldly spoke in front of crowds, and one-on-one, about what it means to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. With the help of our volunteer translators, teens from 14 to 19 years of age were very intentional, yet perceptive in approaching the students who watched their gospel skits and listened to their personal testimonies and who seemed moved by the message. Only eternity will reveal exactly who and how many surrendered their lives to Christ through their efforts, but there were over 150 who publicly professed Jesus as their Lord and Savior during the course of our days of ministry together. We know from the Scriptures that there is rejoicing in heaven over the repentance of each lost person (Luke 15:7), but we’re also happy that these young witnesses of Christ had the privilege of being used by the Lord to have a part in that spiritual birth.
Our Projeto Vida team of evangelists loved the time spent together with their American brothers and sisters. They only knew from a prior visit a couple of the teens from the group of 18, but before the week was up, they seemed like lifelong family members. There was a lot of sadness and tears on the day of departure, but they know that goodbyes come with the territory of mission work. Our team of 13 missionaries went straight from their week of work with our Virginian friends to begin another week of outreach in a couple of coastal towns a little more than an hour from their home base. The Lord continued to bless and use their efforts in sharing the gospel. Hundreds of teens heard the Word and many came to know Christ.
Our missionaries to Portugal, Yago and Manoela, continue faithfully teaching and sharing the Word there. Portugal is definitely not “white unto harvest” like much of Brazil, but they are being obedient to preach the gospel to the “uttermost parts of the world.” Please remember them in your prayers.
Next week, Charlene and I are returning on another mission trip to Brazil with a small group of dedicated soul-winners. We have partnered with some of them on several occasions and we rejoice at the opportunity to do so again. Our ministry plan will be very similar to what we did with the group I mentioned earlier, but there are no teens in this group. What is evident is that the Lord can, and will, use anyone who is willing to offer themselves to Him to take the gospel to the lost and needy. Some of these volunteers are grandparents who are having the most fruitful times of their life. Why don’t you come too? There are no limits to how God can use you.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@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
Read more
Joy in Ordaining One Who Came to Christ through Soccer Ministry
July 30, 2024
Dear Friends,
Through the years of our lives and ministry, the good Lord has blessed us with varied and numerous blessings. Among them I can’t think of a single one that brought us more joy and satisfaction than the one we experienced last Sunday. I was invited to preach the challenge at the ordination to the Gospel Ministry of Valter Correa, a true man of God and a servant-leader. I came to know Valter first when he was a 12-year-old kid through a soccer school that my church offered to the neighborhood. He had no father and didn’t attend any church. Through the influence of our soccer coach, a friend of his who also attended our church, Valter started attending our Sunday School program. In the course of a year or two, he came know Jesus as his Lord and Savior. It has always been evident that he had a strong desire to serve the Lord who saved him. Valter has served in many different capacities in the church and also on our travel mission team. When it came time to marry, he sought the Lord’s guidance and found a godly and gracious wife, Evelize. Together they continue to teach and serve faithfully. The Lord blessed them with a wonderful little girl (now nine years old) who has surrendered to Christ as well. To see how the Lord has blessed and used Valter and his family, my cup of joy overflows! And to participate in his ordination to ministry was an honor and a privilege. May the Lord use him greatly and grant that we get to see many others follow his example.
Charlene and I are in Curitiba, Brazil, awaiting the arrival of our friends and Christian brothers and sisters from the Hope Valley Church in Virginia. There are 18 members of youth and their leaders coming to minister with us and our Projeto Vida evangelistic team in the public schools and parks here. During the course of a week, we will have the opportunity to share the gospel to over 3000 people. This will be with many who have never stepped inside of a church building. Some will be hearing the gospel for the first time in their lives. It is our hope and prayer that many of those who hear the message will be convicted and surrender their lives to Christ. We also hope that those youths who come to serve will be touched by the Lord to commit themselves more fully even upon their return to their homes in the USA.
We are grateful to you who graciously pray for and give to our ministry.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@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
Read more
Julio Boldly Shares the Gospel with Teens
July 2, 2024
Dear Friends,
Julio is one of our missionary volunteers who travels with Projeto Vida, our evangelistic travel team. Julio is a quiet man, usually not speaking unless spoken to. This changes, though, when he gets a chance to talk about Jesus. Recently, after our drama team performed some gospel skits in a public school, Julio was talking one-on-one with a teenaged boy. In just a few seconds, a whole group of the boy’s friends circled around to listen to what they were talking about. Julio saw the opportunity and sensed that the Lord was leading him to share with them all what Christ had done for them. He presented the gospel clearly and persuasively for several minutes. When he finished, he asked the whole group if any of them was willing to surrender their life to Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Fourteen teenagers’ hand shot up and they each confessed Christ as Lord right there in the school gymnasium! I am so thankful to have a part in Projeto Vida’s ministry and for young men like Julio for the boldness and spiritual insight to follow the Lord’s leading in presenting the gospel.
Pastor Cledson continues to lead the church in Curitiba in growth and outreach ministries. He has shown tremendous wisdom and awareness of God’s leading through some tough trials. There was an influential young man in his church who attempted to lead several other youth in an erroneous direction doctrinally, but Pastor Cledson was able to exhort the youth group as a whole using the Scriptures to show the fallacy the young man was trying to spread. The young man refused to repent of his error, but thankfully, the error was stopped from spreading on to the group through Cledson’s mature handling of the situation.
Yago and Manoela are still ministering faithfully in Portugal. Manoela still hasn’t received notice about her permanent visa, but they have Bible studies weekly with several believers and share the love of Christ through their daily contacts with the Portuguese people.
Charlene and I will be heading to Brazil in a couple of weeks to minister alongside Projeto Vida with a group of youth and their leaders from Virginia, USA. A couple of our old friends from Brazil, Rodrigo and Carol, have been teaching these young people some pantomime skits that we use in our public-school presentations. They have been practicing for several weeks and, when they arrive in Brazil, they will have the chance to perform these skits before the student body in several schools. Charlene and I will serve as translators, among several other functions, for this fine group. We ask that you pray the Lord will open hearts to turn to Christ.
Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@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
Read more
Projeto Vida Team Shares God’s Word in Northeast Brazil
June 6, 2024
Dear Praying Friends,
I have mentioned in some past correspondence the wide-open door of opportunity that is available to us to share God’s word and the love of Christ in the public schools of Brazil. In May, our Projeto Vida gospel team had the privilege of ministering to over 3,570 people in evangelistic outreach. Our team of 14 people traveled over 5,000 miles round-trip to go to the northeast region of Brazil and speak in several schools and parks. Many of those who heard the gospel publicly professed their faith in Jesus Christ.
The distance the group had to travel required 3 days travel in each direction. The 3 drivers would rotate their time behind the wheel and the rest of the team would try to get some rest, although not too comfortably. There were also a couple of mechanical issues with the suspension of the trailer along the way, but they were resolved without too long of a delay. The Lord provided everything the team needed, despite the physical and emotional difficulties. Each volunteer returned from the trip encouraged and thankful for the privilege of serving Jesus and for the fruit that He produced through them.
The volunteers only got a few days to rest before they were already back on the highway taking the gospel to other states and towns. We are blessed to have on our team some very dedicated young men and women. Despite the less-than-comfortable conditions involved in their gospel outreach, these young men and women serve graciously and without complaints. It is a privilege for us to partner with them in prayer and support and to accompany them when the opportunity is there for us, as well.
Yago and Manoela continue to teach and minister in Portugal. There are a couple of pending issues that they asked us to pray with them about. Yago already has his permanent work visa for Portugal, but Manoela’s still has not been issued. Also, Yago’s “tent-making” job is phasing out, yet they still believe the Lord would have them remain in Portugal to minister. Pray with us for this truly dedicated missionary couple, that the Lord would provide direction and financial resources for them.
Thank you so much for taking the time to keep up with us and for your faithful prayers and support.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
One-on-one evangelism in the public square | Evangelism through service | Public school outreach – Projeto Vida | Getting the message out there
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@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
Read more
Ministering in Native Villages in Argentina, Paraguay, & Brazil
April 4, 2024
Dear Friends,
What a joy it was to minister alongside a fine group of visiting brothers and sisters from Virginia last month. We had doctors, lawyers, nurses, pastors, and students all working together to share the gospel in several native villages in Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. It was quite an experience to see how the Lord used people from 4 different languages and cultures to communicate His love through His Word and our efforts. We especially rejoiced that He saw fit to bring several people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Our traveling evangelistic traveling team, Projeto Vida, has grown from 12 to 17 full-time volunteers. We are preparing to multiply into a second team in the very near future. Requests from public school principals have already filled the 2024 calendar for one team and part of 2025. In order to attend to more requests, we need to launch another team of 12 members, thereby doubling our ability to reach more schools and towns with the gospel. We only need 7 more full-time volunteers and there have been several college-aged boys and girls who have spoken with us about coming on board. Most of these are young people from our own church, so vetting and preparing them is less time-consuming. We have known them for years and they have demonstrated their character and relationship with Christ. It is such an encouragement to see that young men and women are seeking to serve the Lord and use their lives for His glory. We trust that there will be a bountiful harvest of souls coming to Christ through these dedicated servants of the Lord.
I was put in a position on this last mission journey that showed me that I need to learn to speak Spanish fluently. All of Brazil’s neighboring countries are Spanish speaking, as well as Spanish being the second language of most of the native tribes we ministered to. Also, with America’s southern border being as porous as a sieve, even in the USA, Spanish is almost as common as English in many communities. Rather than bemoan a situation that can’t be reversed, I believe I can better prepare myself to use it for God’s glory. At one of our recent evangelistic events, a preacher from Virginia brought a very clear and powerful message from God’s word in English, but the translator to Spanish struggled to convey the precise message to the audience. The Lord still used that less-than-perfect message, but I was stung with the urgency to learn Spanish well enough to fill in the gap next time. May the Lord help me to wrap my old brain (and my slightly limited hearing) around this challenge and be better equipped to make Him known when the next opportunities present themselves.
Charlene and are very grateful to you for your faithful prayers and support. We look forward to meeting many of you in person on our upcoming visits.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: bobbymichael_1@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
Read more
