God is Still Marvelously Saving Sinners!
January 31, 2023
Dear Friends,
“A blast from the past,” I think is an expression that seems to pop up occasionally. That is what I got a few days ago. And it was a good “blast.” She is a lady now, but was a nine-year-old girl when we met Tabitha in 1987. In our first church plant in Curitiba, Brazil, Tabitha was a round faced little girl who we invited to our children’s Bible school. She and two of her younger siblings would come regularly to church each week. She was taught the gospel and she memorized Scripture and learned a lot about God’s will for her life. Despite several years of showing her love and biblical teaching, Tabitha chose to lead her own life and it was not in the direction that she learned in our Bible studies and church services. For many years she was involved in demon worship and witchcraft. The “blast from the past” came last week when Tabitha messaged me, sharing that she had treasured all our teaching and examples in her heart and had finally surrendered her life to Christ! She has been marvelously saved from her life of sin and asked me if I would baptize her as she begins her new life in obedience to God. Oh, how amazing is our Savior’s grace!
Our evangelism team, Projeto Vida, has just completed its first Missions Training Seminar of the year. We had volunteers from several Brazilian states participating in this three-week experience. The first two weeks were spent in biblical and theoretical studies, and the last week was the practical application of what was learned in the classroom. During this edition of our training seminar, the volunteers accompanied our veteran team of missionaries to native Indian tribes in the neighboring countries of Paraguay and Argentina, as well as to a settlement on the Brazilian side of the shared border. Day and night the volunteers and veterans shared the gospel with hundreds of lost individuals, from little children, even to the tribal chiefs. The Lord blessed greatly and many of them openly confessed Jesus as their Savior. We’ve partnered with a local Baptist church to begin the discipleship process among those who have been converted.
Our missionaries to Portugal, Yago and Manoela, reported that they are learning some very important and helpful lessons as they reach out to the lost there. One such lesson was learned shortly after they arrived about the city where they thought they would reside in and begin a church plant. They discovered as they visited the city that most of the city’s population is made up of “vacationers”. That information helped them realize that it would be very difficult to establish a thriving church with a population that is mostly transient. They are in the process of moving to a city where the population is more permanently established. They have begun regular fellowship meetings with some other Brazilian Christians they discovered also reside in Portugal. Their main purpose, though, is to win the Portuguese people to Christ, not to form a Brazilian church in Portugal. Later this year, Charlene and I intend to go there to take some supplies and to lend some leadership training. Please pray for the success of Yago and Manoela’s ministry efforts in Portugal.
Our church will hold its first service in our “new” (for us) auditorium this coming Sunday. We held our last service in the old auditorium last week with standing room only. By God’s grace, we were packed! In my message to the congregation, I encouraged the members to invest themselves in what the Lord is doing. In an amazing show of enthusiasm and desire to serve Jesus, a large portion of the congregation showed up with tools and willing hands and hearts to move our equipment and furnishings to the new location. Many of them are working every day until 11:30 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. installing equipment and arranging furniture to be ready to launch our first service in the new location after having worked all day at their regular jobs. I thank the Lord for the privilege to pastor such a dedicated group of brothers and sisters in Christ. We have a lot of work ahead of us to adjust to our new installations, but this group of volunteers makes it a joy, and not a burden.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
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
Welcoming 2023
December 31, 2022
Dear Friends,
I’m writing letter this on the last day of 2022. Throughout the past year I was baffled at how often I heard people, even some professing to be Christians, murmuring about how bad 2020, 2021, and 2022 were. For two main reasons I could not and would not join in with them: 1- No matter what the circumstances, we know that our great and good God is in control and is orchestrating them all for our benefit and His glory, and 2- When we looked back at those three years, we noticed that all of our ministries and most of our personal experiences were greater than or as great as any in our lives. So, if 2023 is anything like the last three, we welcome it with welcome arms.
I just received news from our missionaries in Portugal, Yago and Manoela. They are very excited about the opportunities they are having to share the love of Christ. They pray daily for wisdom and discernment from the Lord so that they will recognize the best timing and ways to gain a hearing from their Portuguese neighbors and acquaintances. They have already had several chances to do that and continue to look for more. Our church members pray for them and keep in touch through social media. We trust that in God’s perfect timing He will use them to win many lost Portuguese people to salvation in Christ.
Two weeks ago we closed a contract on the new and larger building where we are moving our church services. We will be able to have the whole congregation together at one time and we’ll be able to host larger events for evangelism. Our members seem to be enthusiastic and voted almost unanimously to make the move. Early this month we’ll be moving our equipment and in the first week of February we should have our first service at the new location. There will be some big challenges in the remodeling process, but the Lord has given us a peaceful assurance that this the right direction for us.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support. May the Lord bless you in this new year.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
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
Thanksgiving & Commissioning Service
November 19, 2022
Dear Friends,
This past week, our church celebrated our thanks to the Lord for this year’s provisions as well as His calling from our midst, Yago and Manoela Guedes, to go to Portugal as missionaries. We had a commissioning service for them and a Thanksgiving banquet at the same event. It was truly a joyous occasion. It was the first time that our entire church could get together at the same time and location for nearly two years. We met at a church member’s farm that has a pavilion that was large enough for us all. Yago and Manoela will have arrived in Foz do Arelho, Portugal by the time you are reading this letter. We will be praying for them and seeking to support their ministry efforts as they seek to reach the spiritually lost there. There is less than 1 percent of born-again believers in Portugal and this young couple will greatly need the Lord’s wisdom and power in sharing the gospel and winning lost souls. Please pray with us and for them as they seek to serve the Lord and obey His commission. If you believe the Lord is guiding you to aid this couple, you may contribute with the memo: “Wacaser-Portugal Mission”.
It has been many years since I have had any health issues and I am extremely grateful. These past two weeks, though, I have struggled with laryngitis and have had to call on my co-pastors to preach in my place. I haven’t felt very ill, but my voice was too weak and raspy to communicate without being a distraction. I am grateful to be able to count on these young men who are doing an excellent job of faithfully delivering the Word. I seem to be much better today (Saturday) and intend to preach at both services tomorrow. Challenges like this are great reminders to me of just how much I depend on the Lord for every large and small grace. I pray for His strength and ability to honor Him with my mind and my voice.
Just a little reminder that in Brazil, below the Equator, we are entering into our summer months and the 3-month school break. Since the public schools are our traveling evangelistic team’s main venue for outreach, we change our focus during this period to assist the home church with the Christmas program and to minister to the poor and homeless in our own city. The volunteers who are from other cities will get a couple of weeks to return home to visit with their families on the holidays but will return shortly after New Year’s Day to begin preparing for the outreach trips scheduled for next year. The Lord blessed greatly this past year as we were privileged to share the gospel to over 40,000 people in public venues. Thousands of those who heard responded by surrendering their lives to Christ. All honor and glory to our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Charlene and I are so thankful for the faithful prayers and support on our behalf. We humbly acknowledge and recognize that you sacrifice from what you could use in any number of ways but choose to give so that we may minister here. We thank the Lord for you and pray that you may be eternally and richly blessed.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
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
Young Couple Headed to Portugal as Missionaries
October 22, 2022
Dear Friends,
The young couple from our church, Yago and Manoela, have received their work visas to go to Portugal and have already purchased their airline tickets for November 22. Our church will be hosting a sending off meeting and gift shower before they travel. Their visas came out a couple of months sooner than expected, but this is good news, and they will be able to get settled in Portugal before the Christmas holidays. We are still praying and discussing ministry strategy with them and are guiding our church in how and how much we can support them. If you believe that the Lord is leading you or your church to partner with us in their support, feel free to contribute with a designated offering “Wacaser-Portugal Mission”.
Our home church just held an evangelistic drama presentation based on the story of Esther in the Bible. We had over 70 of our church members involved in this presentation in one form or another. We practiced, built, painted, sewed, and recorded music and voices for over 4 months in orders to produce a quality presentation with a gospel invitation at the conclusion. We received more than a dozen public responses to the invitation at the two meetings. Our “next steps” discipleship team is following up with Bible lessons for new believers.
I traveled to meet with Projeto Vida, our itinerate evangelistic team, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. We were thrilled to see how the Lord worked through our 12 volunteers in the public schools where we shared the gospel to 2300 students and staff within two weeks, resulting in over 140 professions of faith. The first school where our team was scheduled to minister got a message one day before our presentation that we would not be welcome. They canceled the engagement because we were evangelical (the principal is a spiritist). Almost immediately after the cancellation, we got a call from the secretary of education from a neighboring city inviting our team to come minister to a huge assembly of 4 schools at one location. We ended up reaching four times as many people than we would have reached at the other school, had it not canceled on us. The Lord’s plan is always the greatest.
Charlene and I are doing very well, and we thank you for your prayers for us and your faithful support.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
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
Great News from Church in Mato Grosso
September 21, 2022
Dear Brethren,
Hope you are all well. Right now, I am not. I have been down for almost a month. Last month I went to Manaus for our conference and on the way home came down with the flu and later another virus. I am getting better, but still very weak and will have to take it easy until I can get back to my usual self. But let me tell you about that conference.
A number of years ago Paul Hatcher, David Hatcher, Bobby Wacaser, Hershael York and I got together for a fishing/work getaway outside of Manaus. During the day we reeled in the peacock bass and at night talked shop. One of the things that we discussed was the need for a practical get together, rally around, for independent Baptist pastors and missionaries in Brazil. We have our annual missions conference here every year, but we are too far off the beaten path and hard to get to for it to be practical. Bobby is way down on the other end and still doesn’t have the infrastructure to handle this kind of event. So, David and Paul took on the project.
The conference happened a few times sponsored by Nova Igreja Batista where David is pastor. It was a huge success. Then…the pandemic.
This year we are back! It was a miracle that David was able to pull this off. Air travel and logistics in general are far from back to normal. Nevertheless, there were hundreds of workers from all over Brazil and even a couple of foreign countries.
Our group from Cruzeiro do Sul is usually the biggest, but this year there were only 4 of us. We had to drive to Rio Branco (9 hours of potholes) then flew to Manaus. Flew back to Rio Branco then bus to Cruzeiro do Sul (14 hours). On this last leg is when I came down sick, almost a month.
Our group took full advantage of all the workshops and seminars they could jam in.
It was my privilege to speak at Nova Igreja Batista on Saturday night to a crowd of over 2500. Then on Sunday I spoke at Tabernacle Baptist Church to, I think over 2000. Tabernacle had been down, but boy are they back! That was one of the highlights for me.
Let me share a couple of more bright spots. Of course, it was great to run into pastors that I have known for years from all over Brazil. One of those is Pastor Gilberto from Marília, São Paulo. He is writing a book to commemorate the century mark of Baptist Faith Missions (1923). I spent a lot of time with him sharing as much as time would permit from the history of the mission work here.
Then on the very first night, a young pastor introduced himself to me. He knew me, but he was a new acquaintance to me. His name is Manoel. He pastors one of the churches that my Dad started in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Dad had asked me many times if I ever heard anything about those churches. Well briefly, here is the great news: The church had gone off the deep end into Pentecostalism and prosperity gospel. Then after one of their usual scandals the pastor called in Manoel to take over. Pastor Manoel brought them back out of their errant ways and back to sound doctrine and true evangelism. Today they are back up to 40+ members and doing fine.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
CONTACT INFO
Mike & Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
69980 Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre
Brasil, SA
mdcreig@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
Sending Two Missionaries to Portugal
September 19, 2022
Dear Friends,
Last month, Charlene began giving English classes again and we had one student already make a profession of faith after coming to a church service on the following Sunday. We are also having students from some of our computer classes and martial arts classes attending church as well. These classes have been a great way for us to get to know people in our community that probably wouldn’t come if we only offered Sunday worship services. We are rejoicing!
There is a young couple in our church who feel called to missions and we are preparing them to go to Portugal in the near future. Their names are Yago and Manoela. Right now, they are waiting on their work visas to Portugal to be processed. In the meantime, they are helping with various ministries at our church, and I have had Yago preach in the pulpit as well. I am super excited about our young church learning that they are also a sending body of Christ, not just a growing body of Christ. It’s not going to be easy to support them, but Yago will also be a “tent-maker”, having a secular job as computer consultant to help with their support. Charlene and I plan to go visit them after they get settled in to use our experience to help them identify some fields of opportunity for gospel outreach. Less than 1% of Portugal’s population identifies as “born again” believers in Jesus Christ. At the same time, most Portuguese people claim to have religion, just not Biblical religion. Yago and Manoela know that their work will not be easy, but they know also that the Lord will be with them to work in the hearts of those whom He will call at the preaching of the gospel.
Our travel team, Alpha, is in the middle of a three-week trip to minister in the interior of our own state, Parana, and in the next state northwest of us, Mato Grosso do Sul. They have invitations to share the gospel in several schools and I will be traveling there tomorrow to minister with them. This month we have already had the privilege to preach to over 2500 students along with their school staff. There have been hundreds of public professions of faith at these events, and we constantly receive word from school principals and local pastors of what a change they are seeing in many of those who receive Christ. We are thrilled to have this liberty still open to us and we plan to take advantage of it for as long as the Lord provides.
Charlene and I are very grateful for your faithful prayers and generous support of our ministries. Thank you very much.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
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
Tampa Teens Share the Gospel, English Classes Resuming
August 9, 2022
Dear Friends,
Our church’s anniversary is on July 22nd. In celebration of its anniversary, each Sunday of that month, a different aged Bible study group gave a chorale presentation and culminated with a chorale formed with the church leaders. The church rejoiced in how God has blessed in so many ways. We have experienced phenomenal growth, by His grace.
During the month of July, we had the privilege to host a team from the Tampa, Florida area. The group consisted of 8 members who ministered with our Projeto Vida evangelistic team in 3 public schools, two drug rehab centers and in a homeless shelter. The group was very enthusiastic and helpful in each outreach effort. The Lord used them and there were many professions of faith in Christ through their sharing of the gospel. Half of the group were teenage girls who were very courageous in giving their testimonies in front of hundreds of students in middle school and high school auditoriums. I didn’t think about it at the time, but in retrospect, I’m sad that no young men/boys decided to come be a part of that group and share the gospel. In fact, we have noticed that more and more, visiting groups consist of mostly girls. Come on down, young men! Be valiant servants of the Lord! A big shout out to you young ladies who heed the call to share your faith despite the fears you face.
Our traveling evangelistic team leaves tomorrow for another two-week trip to the northwest corner of our state and then on to the Federal District where they have been invited to minister in several schools. We have the van fueled up and the team of 11 members is excited about the privilege of sharing the gospel to school staff and students. Please remember them in your prayers as they present the gospel in a variety of ways and venues. We do not take this privilege for granted because we know that it may not last long, just as it has been taken away in almost every other country in the world, including the USA. What we seek is to take advantage of it as long as it is open to us and seek to honor the Lord through the sharing of His word and love.
Because of COVID-19 the government shut down our in-person English classes back in 2020. This week Charlene is restarting one of those classes and she already has about 15 students signed up for it. The classes are offered free of charge to our community for the purpose of providing an opportunity to meet new people and share Christ’s love and gain an open door for evangelism. We have already had several conversions, baptisms, and church growth through this ministry effort in the past and we pray that this will be the result again. Please pray for Charlene as she teaches these students in the weeks and months to come.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Annabelle 
Mandy & Mark 
Taylor
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
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
Sharing the Gospel in Festivals, Schools, Public Squares, & More
July 5, 2022
Dear Friends,
Recently we hosted a group of 7 American Christian brothers and sisters who were led of the Lord to come work with us for a few days. They ministered together with our traveling evangelistic team, Projeto Vida. We traveled with them to a town about 2 hours from our home base to share the gospel in public schools and parks. During the week of their time with us we shared the gospel in school gymnasiums and auditoriums to over 1,500 students and faculty. In these public-school presentations, we are not allowed to give an invitation to come forward publicly professing Christ, but we were able to speak one-on-one with dozens of students and faculty members after each presentation and many of these shared that the Lord had spoken to them through the gospel message that was shared through testimonies, skits, and the preached word.
June is the first month of winter in southern Brazil and is also culturally a time of winter festivals. Our church takes advantage of this practice and puts on a gospel centered Winter Festival. This year was our most attended to date. We had a packed house for two consecutive services. One of the great benefits of this event is to engage almost all our church members in serving the visitors from the community with refreshments, games, and activities. Even greater is that the festival serves as an attraction for unchurched neighbors to attend. At each service the gospel was preached, and we have two new families attending regular Sunday services since that festival.
Another “most attended to date” event we had in June was our second married couples meeting of 2022. We put on 4 of these meetings per year with a two-fold focus: Present biblical principles for healthy and happy marriages and evangelize lost couples who attend. June 12th is Brazil’s closest thing to “Valentine’s Day” in the USA. So, on Saturday, June 11th we put on our Couple’s Night banquet, and we had 57 married couples present, our greatest number present for this type of meeting to date. Our own church members are encouraged to invite their unsaved friends, relatives, and co-workers and several of these were in attendance. Though there was no “invitation” to commit one’s life to Christ on the spot, I preached the gospel in my “marriage message”.
In the past few weeks our traveling evangelistic team ministered the gospel in 6 states and the Federal District of Brazil. In these locations, the main venue was public schools and public squares. The gospel was presented to 4,915 persons and we were able to hear a public profession of faith from 63 adults who also began a “next steps” Bible study course with a local church. There were many (hundreds) of students who prayed orally a “confession prayer” at our rallies, but we do not enter these numbers in our records since we are not able to converse with most of these individually because of time and institutional restraints. The Lord has blessed greatly, and we are thankful to you, our fellow-laborers, for your prayers and support of our ministries. May the Lord richly bless.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
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
