Amazed at God’s Goodness
April 26, 2023
Hello Faithful Friends,
So much has happened since I wrote last year that I am amazed at God’s goodness to us. It is actually quite encouraging to stop and write about it because it’s a way to reflect on and count our many blessings.
We have been experiencing steady growth at our church. So much so that we had to find a larger building to move to. The Lord guided us to a great location that will allow the church to keep growing. Part of my role in this process was to organize the packing and labeling of everything the needed to be moved so that we could find it and use it almost immediately after our arrival there. I had some great volunteer helpers working with me and I am very grateful for them.
One of my roles at the church is as an assistant teacher. I work with the kids ages 8 to 12. Through the course of my years teaching, I have evangelized and taught children who are now grown up, have gotten married, and now I’m teaching their children in my classes.
One of my favorite activities in our ministry is to coordinate the preparation and decorating for special events like marriage seminars and evangelistic outreach meetings. I believe that even in small things like this we should seek to honor the Lord with excellence. One of the challenges is to apply excellence with a limited budget. I enjoy the challenge, though.
As a missionary’s wife, there is one area that is not pleasurable, and that is the “goodbyes”. There are so many of them and for various reasons. Of course, there are the goodbyes when we leave family and friends when coming to our field of service, but there are also the goodbyes on the field to those who we’ve evangelized and prepared to go out as missionaries to new places. Recently we sent Yago and Manoela off to Portugal to start new churches. I had worked side by side with Manoela for quite a while and we had become very close. As much as I was thrilled that God had called her husband and her to go, it still hurt to lose that constant companionship with her. I’m very glad that we have the promise of an eternal home to enjoy fellowship again, and without the goodbyes.
Bobby and I are going to begin a U.S. stateside furlough near the end of May. If you or your church would be interested in having us come and share personally how God is using our ministry, feel free to contact Bobby at: bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com.
I am so grateful for your prayers and concern for us and our ministry.
Yours in Christ,
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
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Holding Grief & Gratitude at the Same Time
April 21, 2023
Greetings to all of you from beautiful Kijabe, Kenya.
It’s interesting writing these newsletters every year. One of the neat things about it is looking back over the letter from the year before and seeing all the answered prayers. Last year I listed 10 things for you to pray for. Of those 10 things, only one has not changed in the least – adoption. All the others have been answered to one degree or another. That is so encouraging!
God has been good. Well, God is always good even when circumstances are difficult – which they still are. But God has shifted a lot of things for us. Many of them you already know about from Roger’s letters.
I will be honest with you. After going through several months where things were looking up with Chloe, this last month has been difficult and disheartening. I feel like we’ve taken several steps backwards, and that’s really discouraging. In the middle of that, it’s sometimes difficult to remember that things are still better than they were a year ago – on every level: Chloe; support from professionals; community; ministry; marriage; growing in patience, faith, strength, and perseverance…
One of the fundamental things God has been teaching me is that it’s okay to hold grief and gratitude in my hands at the same time: they are not mutually exclusive. I think this is difficult for a lot of people in Christian circles. Anytime someone expresses hard things our knee-jerk reaction is to remind them to be thankful or to minimize the pain they are trying to express. We want to fix things, correct things, and make people feel better about their situation and about God. We say things like, “But don’t forget,” or “At least it’s not as bad as…” or “But look at the important work God has called your parents/spouse/you to…” which communicates the message that the person talking to us isn’t allowed to express those difficult emotions. We shut them down and communicate to them that there is something wrong with them or that they are bad Christians…or even worse, that they are just collateral damage. We’re often not good at sitting with suffering and difficult emotions.
As a mom of three adult MKs now, I can look back and see how I did this to my own children way more than was healthy for them. It seems like experiencing trauma is considered a badge of honor for missionary families in many circles, and we lose sight of the fact that our missionaries and their wives and children need better support in processing those traumas without fear. This doesn’t negate the things we do well for our missionaries – not at all. So please, if a missionary says, “We need a little bit more emotional support right now,” don’t hear that as, “Y’all aren’t doing your job…” rather, just hear the humble admission that life is extra tough in this season and we need our far-away Christian community in extra-ordinary ways right now.
Well, this is where we are as a family: trying to remember that it’s okay to struggle, and it’s okay to ask God difficult things. It’s okay that we feel the “hard.” This “hard” isn’t unique to us. Of all the missionary families I know at RVA (and there are a LOT of them) there isn’t one that doesn’t have a LOT of trauma they are trying to process. And though there are very unique aspects of this for missionaries (especially and most devastatingly for their children), “hard” isn’t only part of missionary life – it’s just part of life, isn’t it? Only the details are different.
So, I want to encourage YOU. If you are going through a difficult period, it’s okay to process that grief. It’s okay to talk about it without feeling like you have to couch everything in “Christianese.” It’s okay to be real. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed today. It’s okay to stop, plop in a chair, look up to God (whether physically or in your spirit) and just say, “Lord, this feels too heavy for me today. I’m overwhelmed. This hurts. I don’t feel like I can keep going today. I need You.” It doesn’t make you a bad Christian or a weak Christian or an ungrateful Christian; it makes you a real, broken person in a real, broken world who is learning how to lean hard into grace.
Roger and I are still learning how to leaning hard into grace in this pro-longed season of our lives. In the middle of all the answered prayer, in the middle of all the continued struggle (because we haven’t yet entered fully into the “rest” promised us), leaning hard implies the idea that we can’t stand on our own…because we can’t. And that’s okay.
God has answered many prayers. God has given us incredible opportunities. God has done amazing things. …AND… We’re hurting. It’s hard. We need your prayers. We need your encouragement. We need to know that our peeps back home still have our backs in this difficult season.
So now, may the God of all comfort comfort us all in all our afflictions so that we may be able to comfort others with the comfort which we have received from Him.
Love,
Julie
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.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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The Biggest Challenges: Not Baboons in the Kitchen or Flying Termites
April 21, 2022
Happy May to you all!
I don’t know about you, but my head is absolutely spinning! It seems as if the whole world is changing, doesn’t it?
I think for me, with everything in the world seeming to be upside down, my brain is struggling even more with the fact that everything in my personal life seems upside down right now, too. It’s not the rainy season bringing on millions of flying termites (thousands of which ended up in my house last night including in Chloe’s bed…); it’s not the monkeys and baboons finding their way into my kitchen to steal food; it’s not the electricity going on and off that makes my brain hurt…. No, it’s transition, chaos, colors, sounds, waiting, not being able to talk about things, and sometimes not feeling heard that short-circuits my brain. Bring on the baboons, the monkeys, and the termites…but give me familiar surroundings; colors that don’t hurt my brain; and people who hear me, know me, understand me, and will pray with me. In the midst of total chaos, this is what my soul longs for.
As you probably know, Roger, Chloe, and I are not currently in Kitale. But if you read Roger’s newsletters, you already know that; so, instead of reiterating all of that story, I’ll share with you how Chloe and I are doing in all of this.
Chloe has both really struggled with this transition and greatly benefited from it. She is seeing an American occupational therapist here in Kijabe who is absolutely wonderful with our whole family. The first couple of weeks we were here, Chloe fell down the steps in the house (not all the way) three times, she threw something out of anger and shattered a large, beautiful bathroom mirror (which doesn’t belong to us), she began wetting the bed nightly, and she regressed to a lot of mal-adaptive behaviors because everything was new and scary to her. Three months later though, her core strength has noticeably improved; she’s able to take long walks with us; she’s playing outside more; she’s showing a lot more maturity in her conversations with me, and she is trying her best to regulate her emotions and reactions to things (something Luke – the OT – said would likely happen as she becomes more capable and independent as a result of OT).
But OT takes years of work, and it is only one of many things she needs. We are asking God to provide a support worker (preferably from the US) who can come for a year and work with Chloe on a daily basis – which would also provide Roger and I with a break from being her caregivers 24/7/365. As brilliant, funny, sweet, and compassionate as she is, it’s a well-known fact that of all the special needs which children face, autism is one of the most difficult on the family as a whole. The marriage failure rate of families with autistic children is 80%. That’s scary high. So, it’s really important to be in a location where not only is Roger able to minister and do church planting, but also where our whole family can get the support and care (physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally) we need.
The transition hasn’t been easy on any of us. It’s difficult (though much appreciated) to live in someone else’s home surrounded by unfamiliar things and colors…having to be even MORE hyper-vigilant that things don’t get broken or ruined. It’s difficult learning how to manage a household with the nearest grocery store an hour away…learning new people and new people learning about us and Chloe…figuring out how to fit into a new community. But truly, any difficulty is worth getting the help Chloe and we need, especially since we can’t bring her back to the US.
But there is also amazing beauty and peacefulness here. The view of the Rift Valley and the surrounding mountains (including a beautiful dormant shield volcano called Mt. Longonot) has always been a visual balm to my soul. The streets are quiet without the traffic and the motorcycle taxis of Kitale. I feel safe to walk, am surrounded by the Kijabe forest (I grew up wandering around woods for hours at a time), and love watching the antics of the local Colobus monkeys, Sykes monkeys, and even the baboons.
Monkeys 
Julie’s Artwork 
Chloe
As far as how you can pray for us, you can pray for the following: 1) A support worker; 2) respite for Roger and me; 3) peace in Chloe’s heart and soul and mind; 4) the medical/mental/spiritual/emotional support our family needs; 5) transitions to end sooner rather than later; 6) parental patience; 7) acceptance of Chloe by the community; 8) comfort as our second daughter is getting married in May and, though we will be there for the wedding, we can’t participate in the festivities the way we could if we were there…and we have to leave Chloe behind with hired help. Please pray for them and for her. She struggles mightily with abandonment issues and Mama’s heart hurts deeply for her; 9) Adoption to open up; 10) For me to find a quiet place to work on my art…a past-time I discovered last August that really helps me cope.
Thank you all,
Love,
Julie Tate
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta@gmail.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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Major Adjustments in the Last Year
Charlene Wacaser has served the Lord with her husband Bobby as a church planter in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since
1985.
Hello, dear friends,
It has been just a little over a year now that our life routines were drastically changed. With several lockdowns and worship services online only, I had to make some major adjustments. Added to this, our region went through a yearlong drought and water was rationed. The supply was cut off every thirty-six hours for thirty-six hours and I had to schedule my cleaning routine such as washing dishes, laundry and baths.
Our outreach ministries were also affected. We had to discontinue our English classes and suspend our children’s Bible classes. What I had to do was to learn how to teach and counsel through the Internet. That isn’t really how I prefer to communicate with others, but I had to adjust to the new restrictions.
Our fortieth wedding anniversary came around during this period and we had planned to take a small special vacation, but because of travel restrictions we had to stay home and be creative. It actually turned out pretty nice. Bobby helped me prepare a very nice romantic dinner and we thoroughly enjoyed our special day together.
Our grandson, Jayce, is now three years old and we miss him greatly. We thank God for the technology that allows us to interact with him and our children, even though we can’t be with them as often as we’d like. At least he knows us and recognizes us by sight and the sound of our voice.
My main prayer request is that I will stay encouraged in and through these new challenges. I need the Lord’s wisdom to know how to be effective for kingdom work with a whole new set of circumstances. I am very grateful to you who pray for us and support us faithfully.
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
Challenges in São Paulo, God’s Faithfulness Through It All
Jud and Raquel Hatcher serve the Lord in São Paulo, Brazil. They are part of the “SeedFactory” church planting initiative, which is a movement to plant churches in all 26 Brazilian capitals. Since 2006, 43 churches have been started in 5 states.
São Paulo, 8 of April of 2019
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
It’s with joy I write to you. God has done great things in our lives and around us. Since we arrived in São Paulo, on July 20, 2016 (almost 3 years ago), we have faced difficult challenges. But God is faithful and has given us wisdom in every step of the way. We thank you for your prayers and love demonstrated towards us in so many ways. Without you supporting our ministry, it wouldn’t be possible.
I want to share, even if in a nutshell, a little bit of our routine. When we first arrived, we were involved in starting/ministering at an English-speaking church and a Spanish-speaking church. Both were connected to a Portuguese-speaking church. Both churches were growing fast, and we were happy to be serving in that capacity. But God had other plans for us. Frustrated efforts in church plants in homes were discouraging. Through a turn of events, He redirected us to the other side of town. In the beginning, it was not easy. It was an unexpected change for all of us. There were questions in my mind at that time but never doubts about God’s faithfulness and love for us. As a wife, I learned I need to be prepared to follow my husband’s lead, and trust God. I think, this attitude of readiness (like Sarah – who had to pick up everything she had and follow her husband Abraham to a place where she did not know) was for me, the most difficult challenge as a missionary.
In August, we complete one year since the move. With God’s grace, we started two new churches. One meets on Saturdays – Hope Church. We have children’s church at 4:30 pm (they live in a very poor community, and they come by themselves bringing along their baby siblings; their ages average from 1-year-old to 13), and at 6:30 pm we have an open service to reach mainly adults. Another church meets on Sundays – Imagine Baptist Church. We have an English service at 5:00 pm and a Portuguese service at 6:30 pm. This church is an urbanized, more middle-class neighborhood. Jud is also mentoring a team of leaders from another Baptist church during the week (it is part of the network of churches Jud has started in São Paulo). But I stay home during the week. It is a tremendous joy to have the privilege to tell the good news of Jesus Christ to little ones, young and old. It’s an honor to serve Him.
Our children are very involved in both ministries – Hope and Imagine. They help us with children’s ministry on Saturdays, and in different ways on Sundays. It is priceless to see our daughters and son involved in church planting. I know the seed will grow in their hearts and be fruitful. They are a blessing to us. Sarah just turned 14 years old. Laura will be 13 in July, Benjamin is 11, and Melissa is 7 years old. They are attending an American Christian School. We are very happy. When we came to São Paulo, we brought material for me to home school them. Well, it didn’t work. So, they went to a public secular school. It was a mistake. Finally, we took a huge step of faith, and we registered them at Pan American Christian Academy, a well-known school for its strong biblical foundation and Christian worldview. They follow the US school calendar. With so many school changes, our kids had to adjust to the new school, which follows both curriculums: American and Brazilian. In other words, they have more disciplines in order to get both diplomas when they graduate. And 90% of their classes are in English.
During the week, I volunteer a few hours a week at our kids’ school. I also help families as a psychologist during the week. Next month, I’ll be guest speaking at a meeting for people who are thinking about becoming foster care parents, and families that already have a child under their care. This event is led by a Christian organization which has several ministry fronts in São Paulo. I also participate in a weekly, small group Bible study. It’s a blessing to study the Word of God with sisters in Christ. We are doing True Woman 201 – Interior Design – Ten Elements of Biblical Womanhood. It’s fantastic. I highly recommend.
There are so many other things I could share, but I need to save it for another opportunity. So, I will end with prayer requests:
1. For our ministries – that people can be saved
2. For our children – spiritual growth and studies
3. Our health, but especially for Laura who had her left eardrum ruptured and lost 90% of her hearing (the doctor in Brazil declared it as permanent hearing loss).
We are so thankful for each one of you. May God bless you with His spiritual blessings.
In Christ’s love,
Raquel Hatcher
Judson & Raquel Hatcher
(859) 544-9040
judsonhatcher@gmail.com
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My Happy Place
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
April 1, 2019
My life as a missionary wife in Brazil is truly my “Happy Place”. It is so evident that this is what God has called me to and He has blessed me more than I could have imagined. He gave me two beautiful children here and now we have our first grandson, named Jayce. Bobby ministered in Brazil from 1985 to 2015 when he had to return to the USA to take care of his ailing father after his mother passed away. We spent 3 years there until January of 2018 when we returned to Brazil to start all over again. It’s been a little over a year since we returned from the States. We had to sell everything when we left and having to start from scratch was quite a struggle. The Lord blessed tremendously, though, and we have seen our ministry flourish beyond our greatest hopes. The toughest part as a wife was to refurnish our house and make it feel like a home again. We were only able to bring a few suitcases on the plane with us and our house was in great need of many repairs.
3 generations Charlene has evangelized and taught.
These two men were boys of 8 and 9 years of age when Charlene was the their Bible school teacher. They have each become faithful leaders in their church work.
When we first came to Brazil, I struggled with the Portuguese language. I grew up in southern Georgia and had never even thought that I might need to learn another language. Since I came to Brazil as an adult, it has been impossible to completely lose my southern accent, but everyone says that I speak the language very well. It is probably just me that feels that my language skills aren’t the best. The Lord has used me, though, to share the gospel with thousands of women and kids through the course of our 33 years of ministry here. I am very grateful for this privilege. One of the most thrilling blessings to me is that I am in the process of discipling two girls who are from the third generation of people we evangelized during the course of our ministry. We had the privilege to lead a woman, her daughter and now, her granddaughter to the Lord and teach them the Word of God.
One of Charlene’s English classes with children from the community around their church.
Besides being Bobby’s life-partner, I also have a few activities that aid in our ministries. During the week I teach English as a second language to children from the community. This is a way for us to come into contact with families that wouldn’t ordinarily come to church. At present, I have 20 students from ages 8 to 12. I am also involved in our church’s couples’ outreach ministry.
A couples event that Charlene decorated for.
We put on 4 couples’ events each year to attract unchurched families where Bobby preaches the gospel and I help with planning the event, such as decoration and food preparation. On Sundays I teach the children ages 8 to 12. In fact, my assistant now is a woman who used to be one of my students and her two daughters are in our class.
There are a few prayer requests that I would like to share with you who would be interested in partnering with me in this ministry:
- My son, Brennen, and his family – his present job doesn’t pay enough and his son, Jayce, has struggles with his health. This is especially tough because we live so far away.
- My daughter, Jessie – She has a great job at her church and she wants the Lord to use her greatly for the growth of His kingdom.
- Bobby and I need wisdom to guide the church in the direction the Lord wants us to take it.
Charlene Wacaser
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
bobbymichael_1[at]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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Missionary Update: The Radfords in Kenya [May 2013]
May 2, 2013
Greetings to all our friends and family!
We pray you are all doing well! The missionary ladies were asked to write this month’s prayer letter to share some of our thoughts and insights as moms and wives on the missions field. To write all that’s on my mind would take too much space, so I will try to be concise!
Living on the missions field has its share of joys as well as times of struggle and heartache. One of the nicest things of living where we do is that we have a wonderful missionary community, especially with the Tates here as well. We support each other, cry with each other, care for each other and pray for each other. Nathan and Roger are a great team working to minister to the Kenyan people. They both bring different strengths to share with each other and learn from each other. Julie is like a sister to me and I treasure her. I’m so very thankful that we are able to all be here together.
As a mom raising our girls on the mission field, I’m very thankful that our girls will grow up with a large world view. They will have experience with other cultures (not just Kenyan culture, but insight into Indian and other European cultures as well) and flexibility to adapt to different circumstances. I pray they will develop hearts to serve the Lord and other people. I pray they will have thankful hearts for all the Lord has done for them.
Nathan and Carrie Radford serve the Lord in Kitale, Kenya. Their main ministries include indigenous church planting, a prison ministry, and a hospital ministry for mothers with premature babies.
One of the biggest blessings I have personally is to be home with the girls and care for them. I started some homeschooling with McKenna this past year for preschool and am looking forward to ordering her kindergarten curriculum. I count it a huge privilege to homeschool both McKenna and Camille. My prayer is that I will be vigilant to use the opportunities the Lord gives for teaching and discipling both girls.
However, along with these many blessings also come some definite struggles and heartaches. For the girls to learn flexibility and adaptability means they have to experience great changes in their young lives. The missionary community here is always changing, people always coming and going. Sometimes there may be a family here with younger children for our girls to play with for a few months and then they leave and our girls are left without playmates again until someone new comes. The girls are always saying “hello” and “good bye,” which is difficult for little ones to understand. Most days they are home with me all day with little interaction, if any, with other kids their age. One of our biggest prayer requests is that families with young children would move to our area. But the Lord knows what we need, and especially what our girls need, so we trust in Him to provide. Not always an easy thing to do!
Another difficult thing for our girls (actually, our whole family!) is separation from family at home. Family at home misses the girls. They miss seeing the cute things the girls say and do, they miss the milestones the girls have here, birthdays, Christmases and other holiday celebrations. Our girls miss relationships with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. McKenna tells me almost daily that she misses family at home. And that breaks my heart. One thing that has helped with this is the opportunity to skype. It’s amazing how much technology has improved the lives of missionaries! We are very thankful for this service. But while it opens a window between our family here and family at home, it is just a brief window that closes when the session is done. We are really looking forward to furlough and being able to spend time with our families in the States.
Well, I could continue sharing my heart and thoughts for several more pages, but I must close for now. Thank you for allowing me to share with you some of my joys and struggles as a wife and mom here in Kenya. May the Lord bless each of you and your families as you serve Him wherever you are.
In Christ,
Carrie Radford
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya
East Africa 30200
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