Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [June 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
June 6, 2014
Dear Friends,
I’m a happy man! Nothing makes me happier than seeing God get glory through my life and the life of my family. I get my greatest joy from seeing my family happily engaged in spreading the good news of Jesus’ love to others, and I’m getting a double dose of that right now.
My wife, Charlene, has been such an instrument in touching the lives of the families of her aerobics classmates. For years she has faithfully been an example of kindness and love among them and lately her effectiveness has only increased. So much so that these ladies have spoken with their kids at home about Charlene and, now, these kids want to hang out with her and join with her as she interacts in the public schools and parks sharing the gospel. Now I know that part of the attraction to her is that she is beautiful inside and out, and another is that she is a source for them to train English as a second language, but I also am certain that her winsome personality is ultimately what leads them to decide that they want to spend huge blocks of time with her. Charlene would blush to hear any of this said and would immediately start pointing out her shortcomings as an individual, but that just shows that Christ is truly present in her life and is making Himself known through her.
The second dose of my happiness comes through our daughter, Jessie. She lives in Tampa, Florida and works assisting in various ministries at a large Baptist church there. Today I will get the privilege of having her arrive to coordinate a group of translators who will minister with us as we host a youth group from a Baptist church in Phoenix, AZ. Jessie has such a passion for sharing God’s word and love and she uses her dual language ability and network of friends to put together a wonderful team of volunteers to help us. I could not be happier… well, unless our son, Brennen, could be here too. But then again, only Heaven reserves the perfect life. We’ll be missing you something fiercely, little Buddy. He just finished the 10th grade in the USA.
We have one of our Projeto Vida motorhomes repaired and back in operation and have begun the body work repairs on the Alpha motorhome. The Lord saw fit to raise up the funds to pay for these expenses and we are extremely thankful. During the month of May we were able to take the gospel message into 9 public schools and spoke to over 4000 students. We know many were touched by the Word and several shared with us that they had surrendered their lives to Christ. This week, with the arrival of the youth group from Phoenix, AZ we will be taking the gospel into 6 more schools and also presenting gospel skits in three public parks. We are praying and expecting the Lord to make Himself known through these efforts.
We just received a container full of gospel booklets to distribute during the World Cup Soccer games that begin this coming Thursday here in Brazil. Most of you know how much Brazil is enthused about soccer, so you also can imagine what a door of opportunity is open for us to share these booklets among the crowds that will be showing up at the stadiums and sporting venues. We will be leading our church members to seek to pleasantly offer these gospel booklets at these events and be willing to take a personal moment to answer any questions or more fully explain the Word of Christ.
Charlene and I are very grateful for your prayers on our behalf. We are also thankful to God for using your sacrificial offerings so that we may continue to carry on our outreach ministries here in southern Brazil.
Thank you,
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)436-9980
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [May 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
May 9, 2014
Dear Friends,
I am constantly encouraged to invest in the lives of people around us by the way the Lord keeps raising up new kingdom warriors. Toni, a recent high school graduate shared with a couple of weeks ago that she’s certain the Lord wants her to dedicate next year to evangelism through our outreach ministry, Projeto Vida. I have been observing Toni’s spiritual growth for about 4 years and she truly has a servant’s heart and a passion for the Lord’s glory. She also demonstrates the love of Christ to everyone around her.
Projeto Vida has had a series of struggles with mechanical breakdowns recently. My friend and church member, Antonio, has offered to rebuild the engine of one of our motorhomes for practically nothing. We are also still trying to put together the resources to repair the damage on our Alpha motorhome that was sustained in a serious accident late last year. I don’t have a church member who does body work, so we’ll have to find an honest and reasonable repairman for that task. Even with two of the motorhomes out of commission, we were able to get into several cities with our evangelistic teams this past month. Many people heard the gospel and several surrendered their life to Christ.
An interesting thing happened a couple of weeks ago as we were getting prepared to put on a gospel presentation for our Easter service. Elias is an old hippie one of our friends introduced to us a few years ago. Elias likes to set up lighting and sound systems for parties and presentations. While visiting our church with a neighbor he heard that we were going to have a theatrical presentation and he offered to loan us his very expensive equipment and help us set it up. It came in very handy and opened a door for us to interact with him and his wife beyond the church’s scheduled services. We have gone out with them on a couple of friendly outings and have used the opportunities to share our relationship with Christ with them.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
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)436-9980
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [April 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
April 3, 2014
Dear Friends,
A gospel skit performed in a public school
I have to make a correction to my letter from last month, but it’s a positive correction. I mentioned that we would be sharing the gospel in public schools where we’d have contact with about 4000 students and teachers. It turned out that we were able to speak with over 6000! Each year for the past nine years, the youth group from the Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, Florida has come to interact with us in sharing the gospel through our translators and partners in ministry, Projeto Vida. Every year has been a blessing and this year was no exception. In the public school presentations, where we use skits, testimonies, and a gospel message preached by one of the leaders, several hundred students at a time get a chance to hear a biblical presentation of the gospel. In these large school events, we can’t persuade those who hear and believe to make their decision known publicly. Many do surrender their lives to Christ at these events, but to know whom, we have to encourage them to seek us out privately after school hours. This setup makes it difficult for us to know just how many conversions occur during these public school events. Although we can’t always follow up every conversion with personal discipleship, we realize that those who truly come to Christ as Lord and Savior are saved eternally. In many cases we are only able to plant a seed, but we trust the Lord to see that someone else may water it, or even that we ourselves may be able to meet with them again and be instruments in their growth in Christ. This has happened on numerous occasions. No matter what, we know that a large number of people who had not heard the truth of God’s grace have now.
A gospel message shared in a public school
Charlene has been teaching English as a second language for several years. She is an amazing teacher because most of her students have become very fluent speakers. Her English classes have become one of our main avenues of having intimate contact with people on a continuing basis. Because she has classes with these students for several years, we become personal friends to almost all of the students. These friendships open doors of opportunity to share Christ with those who don’t know Him and for us to offer biblical counsel with those who accept Christ as Savior. Quite a few of her students have been saved and have become members of our churches through the years. Ana Paula is one of her most recent students to surrender to Christ. She was baptized a few months ago and has grown tremendously in her faith and obedience. Before, Ana Paula had a tendency to date really “rough” guys, who were not followers of Christ. She seemed to have a need to connect with guys that would distract her from living for Christ and who would play on her desire to help them with their emotional needs. Through her participation as a translator in our recent week of working with the youth group from Florida, she saw what a joy it was for those youth to boldly share the gospel and she heard many testimonies from girls who had thrown away too many years being hooked up with guys who didn’t seek Christ first in their lives. Ana Paula messaged me recently sharing how thrilled she was now because she is finding Jesus to be her source of joy and purpose and doesn’t need to derive her sense of self-worth from some co-dependent guy. She isn’t dating anyone right now and she said that she feels completely happy being that way because the Lord is giving her a joy that she never experienced before.
The youth group from Brandon, Florida with translators and Projeto Vida in the public park
The Lord is continually blessing our church in many ways. Last week our team who handles organizing the auditorium for services got a little nervous because we were running out of chairs for seating everyone. One of the most encouraging things about this was that we were not holding any special event. Of course, every time we meet to praise the Lord and study His word is special, but we had not made any special program to draw in a larger crowd. What the Lord is using to draw larger crowds is the excitement and joy displayed in the lives of those folks who are being transformed by the power of Christ in them. We praise the Lord and thank Him for the privilege of being His instruments of this grace!
Thank you for your prayers and support.
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)436-9980
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [March 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
March 9, 2014
Dear Friends,
It is good to hear someone say, “God is good, all the time.” It is a needy reminder to me to reflect on the fact that God isn’t good only when we get a surprise financial gift, or some good health report. He is always good, even when we are struggling financially or when we are suffering terribly from some sickness. I’m as human as anyone else, so it’s easier to recognize God’s blessings when they relieve some lack or ailment we have been enduring. My concern is that by saying that God is good only when these improvements in our situation come is that we dishonor Him before a world that is watching how we Christians live to determine if they are interested in what we have. But with this kind of gratitude and praise only when the extra benefits come, even they would be grateful then. It is when we praise Him for being good while we are still in the middle of our struggles that really magnify how strong our Lord is, in whom we place our faith. So I say it now, God is good, all the time!
That being said, it has been great to enjoy the goodness of the Lord recently in the saving of two more people through our work. Next week we’ll be baptizing a man and his teenage son who professed Jesus as their Lord and Savior. On the same weekend that these two men professed Christ, I had the opportunity to share the gospel with a young man who has been suffering with deep depression for about 7 years. He came to offer to help as a translator for a team of youth from the U.S. who are spending their spring break evangelizing in the public schools in our city. His name is Eduardo. The friend who brought him told me that he was in a separate room crying and that he often would just start crying for apparently no reason. I sat with Eduardo and began to ask him what he thought made him sad and he said that he didn’t know, but that his depression began shortly after a severe auto accident when he lost the hearing in one of his ears. I had supposed that he was a Christian by his coming to volunteer to translate the sharing of the gospel, but in my conversation with him I learned that he had never surrendered his life to Christ. I used that information to let him know that he could not know true joy or overcome his sadness until he given his life to Christ. It was a simple thing for his friend to bring him to participate in our spring break evangelism, but the amazing thing that the Lord did was to send us a translator to hear the gospel when his interest was only in improving his emotional state of being. He had imagined that he could be happy if he could just get his hearing back, but the Lord helped me to show him that what he truly needed is a relationship with his Creator.
That team of youth who are here on their spring break brought us two very special presents, our kids, Jessie and Brennen! Jessie is the coordinator for the interaction between the American youth and the Brazilian translators who volunteer to help us each year. Brennen just moved to the U.S. this past December, so it was a treat to us for him to return again so shortly after leaving home. God is good, all the time! He showed His goodness again by allowing us the privilege of working together for a week with our kids in sharing the gospel to a people we love about a God we adore. We still have 6 days to work together with them side-by-side and this is truly a blessing to us.
Yesterday we took the group of youth with their translators to a large and busy park to share the gospel. We started out by handing out cups of water to the joggers, bike riders and walkers. Along with the water, we also gave out tracts that contained a clear presentation of the gospel. It was very encouraging to see some positive reception to our attempts. We saw several people who had accepted both the water and the tract still have the tract in their hand on their next lap around the park, even though they had finished their water and had thrown the cup away. The youth also shared the gospel through skits and testimonies on an improvised stage in the middle of the park to an audience of over 300. It was a great start to an exciting week. We will be in many public schools during the rest of the week where we’ll be able to talk to over 4,000 students and teachers about the love of Jesus Christ.
Thank you for keeping 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)436-9980
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [February 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
February 10, 2014
Dear Friends,
Yesterday we had the privilege of baptizing a young lady, Isabela, who recently surrendered her life to the Lord. One of the most joyous aspects of her conversion is the fact that her friend, Bibi, is the one who led her to Christ and explained to her the importance and meaning of baptism. Bibi has just recently turned 14 years old and she’s already actively engaged in winning souls and discipling them. Bibi has such a passion for the Lord and wants to see all her friends and family come to Christ. I thank God for her and, now, I look forward to seeing her friend, Isabela, begin to win folks to the Lord also. She already invited her parents to church and they are coming regularly. The changes in her attitudes and lifestyle have shown them that what she has received is real.
Charlene and I are still trying to adapt to our new life without the kids. We raised them to leave home and begin life on their own, so we aren’t second guessing ourselves or wishing we had done differently. We are just hurting…for a reason.
Our missions school started off well this year. We trained and sent out two teams of 14 volunteers into the interior of our state. The two groups had tremendous results in the towns where they presented the gospel and ministered. The Lord blessed and there were several conversions to Christ. We are also gearing up for two more trips this month. The volunteers on the teams are excited about using their testimony and talents to share the gospel with many who have never heard a true gospel presentation. The new school year began today, so this will increase our doors of opportunity to reach larger numbers of listeners. In Brazil there is still more liberty of access to the public sector with the Word of God, but there is a wave of opposition that is increasing year by year. We want to take advantage of the opportunity while it is still there. Pray that the Lord will enable us to do so effectively.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support so that we may continue to reach out to Brazil and to the world.
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)436-9980
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [January 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
January 10, 2014
Dear friends,
We were very grateful to the Lord for what He did through our youth ministry this past month. They spent many hours practicing for a dramatic gospel presentation during the Christmas holidays and their effort really paid off. The presentation went very well and we had a very good number of visitors present to receive it.
We are catching a plane in a few hours to return to Brazil. Charlene and I traveled to the US with our 16 year old son, Brennen, to leave him here to study. He will be living with one of my brothers, Terry, and his wife, Allison. We are extremely thankful for their willingness to take on this responsibility. The emotional aspect of not having him with us at home anymore has not hit us yet, but I’m sure that our 14 hour trip home will give us plenty of time to start taking it in. We ask for your prayers, both for him to do well here and for us as we learn to live with an empty nest.
I was very pleased to hear that a couple of our young leaders did well taking care of our ministries back in Brazil while we were away for a couple of weeks. The Lord has blessed us greatly with some talented and dedicated team members that increase our effectiveness and make it easier when we have to be out for any period of time. Also, these experiences help them get more prepared to become senior leaders too when we launch our next new works.
Our evangelism teams had some unique opportunities for ministry during this month. They were allowed to share God’s love at an art museum in the capital city of our state. Also, Izabele, one of our young women was a participant in a group that gave a presentation at the auditorium of a large company. Diego, our music minister, conducted an orchestra of beginner musicians in a community center for the public which was very well attended. These presentations opened doors of contact with the families of those youth who were involved, while at the same time increased the level of influence of our leaders in the lives of their students.
We are praying for great things of the Lord in 2014 and we expect Him to do great things for His glory through us. We hope that you, too, will be greatly used of God to make Him known in this new year. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support during 2013.
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)436-9980
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [December 2013]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
December 8, 2013
Dear Friends,
There is only one more week that I have to use crutches after my knee surgery. I can hardly wait to get around normally and not be a burden to Charlene around the house. Even the simplest of things requires help. It frustrates me when I try to get from the kitchen to the dining room with a cup of coffee or plate of food. Not only can I not help, but I also add the burden of having to be helped. As if she didn’t already have enough work on her slate. She doesn’t complain, but I know how much she has to do and, add to that, not being able to help is a bummer. I always appreciated everything she does for me, but that sentiment is even greater now. I am thankful for her and for the fact that very soon I’ll be able to relieve some of her burden.
Our much anticipated Marriage Workshop was a tremendous success last week. We had great attendance and especially from those we hoped to reach: non-church members. We encouraged our own members to invite friends, family and even strangers to attend and we had several visitors from each group. We have heard some fantastic feedback from most everyone and no negative comments from anyone. We will see today at our services how much of an impact the workshop made on those attending, at least whether or not any workshop attendees will return for regular worship service.
Our ministry through sports may be taking a leap of more effectiveness in the near future. We have been blessed recently with the addition of a married couple who was transferred to our city who are avid athletes. They have been dedicated Christians for several years and their doctrinal positions are completely in line with the Scriptures. The man holds an advanced level in Jiu-Jitsu wrestling and we already have another Greco-Romano wrestling trainer as a member. The interest in this type of sports in Brazil is very high and these men are anxious to use their skills to make an impact for the Lord’s kingdom. Adding these sports to our mountain trekking, soccer, football and we find ourselves positioned to have many hours of personal discipleship time with many young men.
In early January, Charlene and I will begin the experience of an “empty nest.” Our daughter, Jessie, left home nearly 5 years ago and now, our son, Brennen, will be leaving home to begin studies in the USA. We know that we will have some serious bouts of loneliness, but we have been praying for and preparing our kids for life on their own since their arrival in our lives. We trust that the Lord will guide and protect Brennen, just as He has Jessie and use them both for His glory and their joy in serving Him. We are eternally grateful for the privilege of being their parents. Please pray for us as we adjust to this new phase in our lives and, for them, that they may honor the Lord with their lives and decisions.
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)436-9980
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [November 2013]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
November 4, 2013
I really do want to give my ministry trainees opportunities to practice what they are taught, but I wasn’t really planning that the need would be so soon and so personally connected to me. It was only a few days after I shared how I was working to prepare some young men for leadership service when I had to have reconstructive surgery done on one of my knees that will have me off my feet for several weeks. The young man, Alek, that I mentioned in my last letter preached in my place this past Sunday and did a great job. It was his first time of teaching and administering the Lord’s Supper. Another young man, Tony, who I mentioned last month will be performing the baptism of at least 3 new converts. I am grateful to the Lord for providing me with these men, even if my being sidelined is necessary for them to be placed into these ministry opportunities. I didn’t think it would be necessary to lay me aside to provide this training experience, but I’m sure that isn’t all the Lord is up to by doing it this way. I do know that I am not irreplaceable and I actually am happy to see these men embrace these ministry opportunities. I will be more attentive, though, to seek to involve the others on a practical level if it will help me avoid hospital and recuperation time.
On December 1st we will be holding what we hope to be a very fruitful marriage workshop. The breakdown of family values in our culture runs head-on against the innate knowledge that true love needs bounds and principles. This dilemma generates an openness to our efforts to provide the tools and teaching that will help couples find the Lord’s Word as their solution. We understand that they need Christ Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, but we believe that this marriage workshop is a tool that He has provided for us to get that message across to people who wouldn’t ordinarily set foot inside a church building. We are not tricking anyone. They may come only to improve their marriage, but we seek to lead them to the One who will give them true life, and a better marriage as a side effect. Please pray for us as we invest our time, energy and resources into a God-blessed marriage workshop.
One of our outreach teams just returned from an evangelistic trip into the interior of the state we live in. They were ministering in some public schools and parks through gospel skits, testimonies and preaching. The team was blessed by the response they saw in each place of ministry and by seeing people surrender their lives to Christ. The church they were there to aid was blessed and the group returned home rejoicing. The very morning after their return to the home base, one of the leaders went to a local grocery store to get a few things for his and his wife’s breakfast. As he was leaving the grocery, three young men pulled a knife on him and forced him to give them his wallet and they tried to take his purchases also. He was able to get away without being injured, but they robbed him of his money and most of his breakfast. He was very distraught and especially because he had to return home to his wife with no money and little to eat. He called me while he was still unnerved by the incident and I assured him that we would make sure that he got some more groceries and that we will help them get through the month because of the loss of his money. Our city is getting more and more violent, but we are grateful for the Lord’s constant care and protection. We appreciate your prayers for us as we seek to make God’s word known here.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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