Projeto Vida Team Shares God’s Word in Northeast Brazil

Bobby and Charlene Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.

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


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53 Years in Cruziero do Sul

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.

April 9, 2024

Hello from Cruzeiro do Sul, the furthest northwest city in Brazil.

First of all, I am not good at writing this kind of letter. It is very hot right now, probably the hottest it has been in a long time. We do not run our air conditioning all the time either, mostly just at night. I run a fan most of the daytime.

Mike and I are the oldest active missionaries right now and he is very active! We have spent almost 53 years together in Cruzeiro do Sul. Most of what I do is scheduled around whatever he is doing. As age creeps on me, I am slower and do not travel very far with him, especially on river trips.

We recently had a visit from Mark and Valerie Pyles, from Grace Baptist Church in Fairborn, Ohio. It was a very enjoyable time. We were able to show them our lifestyle, the city and many congregations in and around town. Mike took them on a boat ride. They got to see our camp that has many retreats during the year. They also visited our wonderful church. I do not think I have ever been part of a church like Primeira Igreja Batista (First Baptist Church). It is like no other I have ever visited. It is very mission-minded, lots of missionaries, solid Bible teaching and our members love to praise the Lord. You should hear them sing! Just ask Mark and Valerie. There are many souls saved, people coming to our church from other churches, and every couple of months baptizing an average of 15 plus. Mark and Valerie got to see Mike baptizing at a mission point called Gama.

Last month we celebrated Jesus My King—the whole month dedicated to Him as our King. All the lessons, sermons, songs, Bible-reading and memorization were with this theme, Jesus My King. Love my church!

I enjoy doing all kinds of crafts, besides it is therapeutic for me. I have done macramé, costume jewelry, decorative bottles and boxes, plus several other crafts. I decided since I am not getting any younger, I would try as many crafts as possible. I either sell them or give as gifts.

Love to all,
Beverly

The Creiglows with Mark & Valerie Pyles at Primeira Igreja Batista (First Baptist Church)

You can read letters from the Creiglows’ first years in Brazil in our Legacy Library.

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.


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Ministering in Native Villages in Argentina, Paraguay, & Brazil

Bobby and Charlene Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.

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


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CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF GREAT COMMISSION WORK OF BFM IN BRAZIL

Reflections from Jonathan Turner

I am so thankful to our Heavenly Father and to Baptist Faith Missions for the wonderful privilege that I was given to travel to Brazil on the one-hundredth year anniversary of the Great Commission work of Baptist Faith Missions in that great nation. Accompanying me on this trip was my sister, Kimberly DePalma. She drove from Virginia to meet me. We left my home in Kentucky on Tuesday, September 5th to catch our first flight out of Saint Louis. My father-in-law, Ken Greenwell, who lives in Saint Peters, Missouri graciously allowed us to leave my sister’s car in his garage and then drove us to the airport.

We boarded our flight bound for Houston with much excitement and some trepidation. We were excited because I had not been able to visit Brazil for eighteen years and Kim had not been back for thirty-seven years when she left at the age of seventeen. We were filled with trepidation because I had not been able to renew my Brazilian passport. I have dual citizenship and we were not sure what to expect when we would arrive in São Paulo and would be required to go through immigration.

We left Houston in the evening hours and after an approximately 9-hour flight we arrived in the São Paulo metro area at the Guarulhos International Airport Wednesday morning, September 6th. We went through immigration, and I showed my American Passport. The Federal Police officer looked at my passport, typed some information into her computer, and then asked if I had any Brazilian paperwork. Kim and I had spoken to a Brazilian friend who advised me to take all my Brazilian paperwork with me including my Brazilian birth certificate. I am thankful that I listened to his advice. I showed the officer my birth certificate. She entered more information into her computer and gave me the okay to proceed through. What a relief that was and an answer to prayer! Thanks be to our God who put a friendly face in front of us and who opened the door for us to enter the country legally and without any problems.

From the airport we took an Uber ride across the great city of São Paulo where we saw miles and miles of skyscrapers many of them filled with people who need the gospel of Jesus Christ.  BFM has one missionary family, Judson and Raquel Hatcher and their four lovely children, who are trying to reach those folks. They are worthy of your support. The Uber ride took about two hours due to the distance and the traffic.

Upon arriving at the Hatcher’s Kim and I showered, changed our clothes, packed a few things into our overnight bags and drove with Raquel and her four Hatcher kids for six hours to the interior of São Paulo state. We arrived around 11:00 p.m. at the house of Pastor Sergio Balbo and wife, Cris. They were gracious hosts. We enjoyed our time with them, and I feel like we made some lifelong friends. He is the pastor of the Igreja Batista da Fe in the city of Garça. They will be building a new building soon, God willing. 

The next morning, we went with Pastor Sergio and Cris to the city of Lupércio to attend the one-day conference that Missionary Judson Hatcher had invited us to attend. It was well attended by several churches, their pastors, and pastors’ wives. I had the opportunity to preach that morning, Thursday, September 7th which happened to be Independence Day in Brazil. I was also privileged to sit on two different panels with Pastor David Pitman and several Brazilian pastors and answer questions from pastors and others in attendance. It was a very encouraging time with good music, good preaching, good fellowship, and good food. It was the first time this type of conference had been organized to bring the churches together. Many of these churches were started by faithful missionaries John and Alta Hatcher. The conference was organized to celebrate their shared heritage, to allow the pastors to network, and encourage each other. It was a well-organized event and they have already begun planning next year’s conference. I am so thankful to Missionary Judson Hatcher for the invitation to come and to participate. After a long day we returned with our hosts to their home where we spent the night again.

The next day, Friday, September the 8th, we were picked up by Raquel Hatcher and we made the drive back to São Paulo City. That night Kim and I were privileged to take the Hatchers out for a great meal and to enjoy some great fellowship. Saturday, September 9th, we left São Paulo and flew to Cuiabá. Cuiabá is the capital city of Mato Grosso, a state about the size of Oklahoma and Texas. Cuiabá is the place where Kim and I spent most of our childhood years. It is the place where in 1973 my dad, Missionary Richard Turner, traveled with Missionary John Hatcher to survey the city and to hold some evangelistic services. God blessed and land was bought, a church building was built, and God filled it with people. I would encourage you to visit the website bfmnow.org and read the history of this Great Commission work under our Legacy Library where all the previous letters of faithful missionaries have been digitized. You can read the letters that Dad wrote from this time. That church, Igreja Batista Boa Esperança (Good Hope Baptist Church) is still in existence and several other works have been started out of this church in other locations in the city of Cuiabá and in the state of Mato Grosso. Kim and I had the privilege of spending five days with folks that were saved, baptized, and added to a New Testament church during the ministry years of my parents in Brazil. They shared their testimonies with us and their memories of our parents. This Great Commission work in Cuiabá and the surrounding areas was a great work of God through faithful missionaries, Richard and Wanda Turner, Bob and Betty Creiglow, George and June Bean, and Harold and Ursula Draper.  While we were in Cuiabá, we visited several churches. I preached Sunday morning, September 10th, at the Boa Esperança church. That was a real honor and privilege. It was also a very emotional time for Kim and me to return to the church where we grew up. I was baptized in that church after being saved at the age of seven during our furlough in Lexington. That Sunday night we visited the Igreja Batista Bereana (the Berean Baptist Church). I had the opportunity to speak for a few minutes and share a little of BFM’s history.

Tuesday, September 12th, our host in Cuiabá invited family and friends to his house for a fish fry.  There were approximately 30 people present. He asked me to speak, and I gladly accepted.  Then several others gave testimonies of what my parents meant to them and how God used them in their lives.  Mission dollars from churches and individuals in the United States were used to send my parents to Cuiabá, to buy land, to build a building, to financially support my parents so that the gospel could be given to people in that city.  Some of those people were at that fish fry recounting God’s blessings and their salvation in Christ. Those dollars were not wasted! Let’s be encouraged to support missions, to support missionaries in places like Cuiabá and São Paulo.  There is still a great work to do.  Christ has not yet returned which means that the Great Commission still needs to be the focus of churches. 

Wednesday night, September 13th, we visited the Igreja Batista Jardim do Pinheiros (Garden of the Pines Baptist Church). This was a church started by Missionaries Harold and Ursula Draper.  This church is without a pastor and has been for about two years now. Pray for them.

Thursday, September 14th we began the long journey back to the United States. Our time had flown by, and it was difficult to leave, but we also were missing our families back in the States. We arrived safely back in Saint Louis, Friday, September 15th. My hope is to return, God willing, in a year or two to visit Cuiabá again but also to visit some other works in Brazil. I would encourage everyone to make a trip to the mission field and visit one of our missionaries.

Finally, let me quickly share some other ways God used my sister and me while we were in Brazil. We had some God-ordained appointments to keep that we were not aware of when we got on that first plane in Saint Louis. On our flight from São Paulo to Cuiabá on Saturday, September 9th we sat in a row with a young man named Gladson. Kim was the first to strike up a conversation and he was more than willing to talk to us. After a while, the conversation turned to spiritual matters. He shared with us that he had been raised in some type of Assembly of God Church. However, he could not give us a good testimony of salvation. He also shared that he had been taught and still believed that one can lose their salvation. Kim and I both were able to share the gospel with him. We are now friends on social media, and I am planning on sending him some gospel material. Pray for God to bless those efforts.

Our second God-ordained appointment was with a young man from Sweden. This young man had never heard the gospel. He was staying in the house where we were staying. He was in Brazil doing some volunteer work with two brothers of our host. He went with us to the Sunday morning service at Boa Esperança where I was preaching, and the gospel was given. Imagine that! God brings an American/Brazilian to Cuiabá, Brazil to preach in a service where a Swede who has never heard the gospel will attend a Baptist church service for the first time. Who but God! 

Our third God-ordained appointment was with an Uber driver. He was a young man who also had been raised in some kind of evangelical church but was not currently attending. During our conversation he shared that his mom still attended church, and he tried to do good, and that he said his prayers every day. We were able to share a little bit of the gospel with him during our short ride. Only God knows how those interactions will be used.

I pray this recounting of our trip to Brazil will encourage you and be used of God in some way in your life to bless you and increase your love for missions particularly the work that God is doing through the missionaries of Baptist Faith Missions.

The young man, Gladson, we met on our flight to Cuiabá and were able to witness to.
A view of the church started by Missionary Richard Turner and that has been used to start other churches.
Just a few of our friends came to see us off from Cuiabá to return Stateside. These are folks that were saved years ago and are still serving the Lord.
One view of the attendees of the conference in Lupércio, São Paulo. It was a great event.
A view of the skyline of São Paulo City where Missionary Judson and family are serving. This place is immense. 

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The Pitmans – Ministry Trip to Brazil

David & Kym Pitman traveled to Brazil during the month of September to represent BFM.

By the Numbers

  • 2055 miles traveled in 3 states
  • 24 churches visited/influenced
  • 20 pastors & their families received personal visit / ministered/prayed with
  • 21 cities
  • 1 foster care center
  • 9 speaking engagements (David)
  • 2 debate panels
  • 4 speaking engagements (Kym Pitman)
  • 1 pastors & leaders breakfast with 43 participants
  • 5 Sunday services and 320 people total
  • Saturday Churches Gathering in Paraná with 130 present
  • Conference with 250 people present
  • 40 – 50 decisions (salvation, baptism, reconciliation, ministry)
The PItmans with Jud Hatcher’s Family & Friends

Kym Pitman’s Synopsis

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

It was my honor to speak to the ladies of Brazil several times during our visit, concluding with a devotion
on fruitfulness at the September 7th event using the deep-rooted tree of Psalm 1 as my text. The ladies
were very attentive and patient while my translator, Carol, and I did our best to communicate the same
thoughts.

Also, the homes that we visited were very hospitable. And the bond we have in Christ overcame many
language barriers. It was truly a foretaste of Heaven being there with brothers and sisters with whom
we will spend eternity worshiping our Lord.

It was also a trip full of wonder as we saw places that we had only heard about when missionaries were
on furlough, or that we had read about in the Mission Sheets. I am so thankful for the goodness of God
that allowed me to meet in person those ministering in Brazil who still faithfully honor their Lord and
their mentors, to see the places in which they now minister, and to have the opportunity to hear their
prayer requests so that I can understand better how to pray for their specific needs. These are
memories and friendships that I will always treasure. Many thanks to Jud and Raquel Hatcher for their
invitation and their hospitality.


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Field Representative Report – August 2023

An update from Pastor David Pitman, Field Representative

2023 began with George Sledd and Sheridan Stanton presenting BFM to the Founders Conference in Florida.

In March, Darrell Messer and David Pitman were with Pastor Mark Campbell at Emmanuel Baptist, Salyersville, Kentucky.

Our team made its second visit to CBTS in March. 

In March BFM also displayed at the Addyston Baptist Church’s Men’s Retreat (Ohio) and the Spring Conference at Grace Baptist Church of Fairborn, Ohio.

Darrell Messer and Mark Pyles will lead our team’s return to G3, Atlanta in September.

David & Kym Pitman and Jonathan Turner are representing BFM in Brazil.

October 19-20, David & Kym Pitman and Dan Hillard will represent at DBTS in Detroit.

Pray for us!


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John Hatcher, 60-year Missionary to Brazil, Meets His Savior Face-to-Face

“…’Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.’”  -Matthew 25:23

John Albert Hatcher, died on May 14, 2022, at his son’s home in Clermont, Florida, where he lived comfortably for the past eight years under the loving care of Paul and Wanda Hatcher, his eldest son and daughter-in-law.  

John was born in 1925 in Alexandria, Kentucky, to Albert and Beatrix Hatcher. He was the second of four children, reared in a God-fearing home on a dairy farm. He trusted the Lord Jesus at age nine after hearing the Gospel story of the three crosses, which he later made into a visual pamphlet, translated into three languages, and shared with hundreds of people in his latter years. 

Upon finishing high school at Campbell County H.S., amidst World War II, he signed up as a volunteer for the U.S. Merchant Marines. He served proudly for four years, including action on D + 1 day at Normandy, France. After the war he enrolled in Georgetown Baptist College, Georgetown, Kentucky, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree. He went on to earn a Master’s in Theology at Lexington Baptist College and a Doctorate in Theology at Luther Rice Seminary.  

In his first year at Georgetown College he met his wonderful wife, Alta McKeehan, and they were married for 69 years. Throughout their college years they worked together in home missions in Kentucky. After graduating, he pastored in Shelbyville and Beattyville, Kentucky, and finally in Alton, Illinois before they followed God’s call to be life-long missionaries to Brazil, sponsored by Baptist Faith Missions.  

He arrived in Brazil in 1955 with Alta and their children, and dedicated the first 19 years to church planting in the Amazon Valley, working in the city of Manaus and in villages along the Amazon River. During those years John founded Batista das Americas School and the Manaus Baptist Theological Seminary, and was involved in starting several churches. His many skills and talents were put to God’s use: piloting his boat, building churches and school buildings, making pews and desks, educating and training young pastors, translating theology books, printing Christian literature and song books, evangelizing and teaching by radio, using puppets, ventriloquism and magic to reach people for Christ. John played the saxophone and clarinet and loved Christian music.  

In 1976 John and Alta felt led to move to the city of Garça, São Paulo, in southern Brazil. There he started ten churches in ten cities where there were no Baptist churches, along with a bus ministry and Bible Institute through which the churches were serviced with leadership.  

In 1989 John moved 200 miles further south to Urai, Parana, Brazil. In the next years he repeated the church planting and leadership training, resulting in seven thriving churches in that region, each with its building paid for.  

John Hatcher was known for his unwavering faith in God, incredible discipline and work ethic. As his late mission director, Hafford Overbey put it: John Hatcher works!  

All of John and Alta’s children are actively involved in church work, serving the Lord as pastors and missionaries.  

Only Heaven will tell the extent of John Hatcher’s influence in spreading the Gospel to the nation of Brazil. He is loved and will be missed by thousands. He fought the good fight, finished his course, kept the faith.  

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Alta McKeehan Hatcher, his daughter, Lynn McGary, his unborn son, buried on the banks of the Nhamunda River in the Amazon, and his brother, Charles Hatcher. He is survived by two sisters Neree Woods and Jessie Sills, his loving children, Ranaah Paul Hatcher (Wanda) of Clermont, Florida, John Mark Hatcher (Judy) of Toulouse, France, David Judson Hatcher (Pennie) of Manaus, Brazil, Kathy Amazonas Barros (Odali) of Iranduba, Brazil, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  


Arrangements

Visitation | Tuesday, May 24, 2022 | 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Becker Funeral Home | 806 W. Minneola Ave. | Clermont, Florida 34711 | Directions

Funeral Service | Tuesday, May 24, 2022 | 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Becker Funeral Home | 806 W. Minneola Ave. | Clermont, Florida 34711 | Directions

Graveside Service with Military Honors | Wednesday, May 25, 2022 | 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Cape Canaveral National Cemetery | 5525 US-1 | Mims, Florida 32754 | Directions

Formal Obituary

Memorials

In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to John’s lifelong passion, missions.
You may do so at:
Baptist Faith Missions
c/o Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Please designate to the “General Fund in memory of John A Hatcher”
.

Condolences
Condolences may be made to the family at:
Paul Hatcher | 15905 Mercott Ct | Clermont, FL 34714 

Click here to read the Autobiography of Alta Hatcher: “The Story of My Life as a Missionary”

“Disse-lhe o seu senhor: Muito bem, servo bom e fiel; sobre o pouco foste fiel, sobre muito te colocarei; entra no gozo do teu senhor.”  –Mateus 25:23


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ANNOUNCING PASTOR JONATHAN TURNER AS NEW BFM DIRECTOR

We are thankful to announce that we have asked Pastor Jonathan Turner to serve with us as a Director of BFM, and he has consented. Jonathan is currently serving as Pastor of Richland Baptist Church in Livermore KY, which also has a decades-long history of BFM association with and support of BFM.

Pastor Jonathan has been associated with Baptist Faith Missions all his life. He grew up in Brazil as the son of the late Missionary Richard Turner and current pensioner Wanda Turner. They served for 16 years as missionaries supported through BFM.

Pastor Jonathan has maintained a close relationship and fellowship with BFM throughout his life and pastoral ministry, not only in his personal friendship and fellowship, but also in leading the churches where he has served to either begin or continue maintaining support for BFM.

We are thankful to God for this partnership and we look forward to serving Christ, His churches, and the missionaries associated with BFM with him alongside us. He brings with him a rich experience of faithful pastoral ministry as well as his distinctive perspectives as a ‘MK’ [‘Missionary Kid’].

He is man of integrity and proven service. Please join us in welcoming him!


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