The Love of Christ Changes a Whole Family!
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
October 4, 2018
Dear Friends,
Our outreach team just arrived from a 3 week trip ministering in the interior towns of our state, Paraná. Most of these team members are seasoned missionaries with life experiences that have “toughened” them up and prepared them to deal with just about anything. But there were some interactions in a couple of towns that had even the most experienced missionaries overwhelmed with emotion. While receiving a free haircut, one young man began to share his life’s experiences. He had just recently been released from prison, which he fully admitted the guilt of the crime that sent him there. While in prison he had been beaten and tortured many times by other inmates. As he shared this with the worker, he didn’t shed a tear or even appear to be emotional. It was after the haircut that the missionary shared with him how Jesus had taken our punishment for sin upon himself and that the guilt and condemnation that we deserved was paid for because of God’s love for us when Jesus suffered and died on the cross. When the young man, who knew that he was deservedly in prison, realized how great God’s mercy and love for him is, he was overwhelmed with amazement and just broke down crying. After fully explaining to the young man what it means to surrender to Christ as Lord and Savior, the young man immediately did so. From that moment on he was totally different in his disposition and outward appearance.
In another town nearby the team was ministering in a public square. There was a teenage boy who hung around all day, but kept a distance and didn’t seem interested in talking with any of our workers personally. It was almost like the last second in a “do-or-die” situation in our public presentation of the gospel when the boy came over to one of our missionaries. He began to open up and share that he and his whole family were going through some very depressing experiences. All three adult family members in the home had lost their jobs and there was no more money to buy anything. On top of that, a close aunt had recently been stabbed to death before their eyes by her husband. The boy felt that there was no hope for him in the world. The worker started there with his confession of hopelessness and began to show him the great love of Christ. He explained the Scriptures to him and how to become a child of the King of all kings. The boy surrendered to Christ that moment. Afterward he ran home to tell his family and he brought them back to talk to the outreach team also. Through their sharing of the gospel, the whole family trusted in Jesus Christ and made their faith public. The family was so overjoyed with their newfound hope and the love they felt from Christ through the mission team that they couldn’t pull themselves away from them as they prepared to leave town. The team was also overwhelmed with how much love and gratitude they displayed and they couldn’t help breaking down in tears as they said goodbye. We are thankful that the local pastor has opportunity to begin discipling these newborn Christians and he is glad that his church is blessed with new life in it.
At our home church we held a couples’ seminar and there were several unchurched couples who attended. We attempt to put on four of these seminars per year and use them with a two-fold purpose: 1) to provide a venue for our members to invite their unchurched friends and family members and 2) to share the gospel of Jesus with the unsaved through our love and preached message. My wife, Charlene, is so instrumental in putting these events together. She does an amazing job with the details of the event like decorating and providing refreshments, but even more so through her captivating personality inviting friends she develops in her day-to-day living experiences. As I was counting how many visiting couples we had there that were not church members, I noticed that, of those that were present, fifty percent were Charlene’s invitees. I am blessed to have her by my side.
Please keep us in your prayers in the upcoming months. Like many of you, from now until the end of the year we have quite a few special events planned and they will require a lot of energy and resources to pull off with quality.
Thank you so much for your love and concern for us.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and 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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Sharing Christ in Rio Grande do Sul
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
August 30, 2018
Dear Friends,
In Brazil, Father’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in August and not in June, like in the USA. So, this month we had a special service on Father’s Day at our church which went very well. To give the mothers a break, the men and boys of the church were to work together to prepare, either the largest, or the best tasting sandwich that they could come up with. We were surprised by some very delicious sandwich recipes and the 4 feet long sub that one family made. One of the other main goals of this event was to have our members invite friends and family members that do not know Christ or who are not a part of a local church. We did have several unchurched folks attend that Sunday and I preached a simple and direct gospel message. We trust and pray that the Lord used His preached word to accomplish in the hearts of those present just what He purposed to do. We now have about 5 new teens who want to begin discipleship classes since that service. Those classes will be starting this coming Sunday and we hope and pray that those young people are truly saved and that they will follow through with baptism and growth in the knowledge of Christ.
One of Bobby Wacaser’s English classes
Projeto Vida Van heading out to the southernmost state in Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul with 12 volunteers.
Our traveling evangelistic team, Projeto Vida, was ministering in the southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul. They worked specifically in two towns, Flores da Cunha and Igrejinha. It might surprise some to learn that, even though the state of Rio Grande do Sul is one of the most culturally civilized states in Brazil, it is the least evangelized. In fact, demonic worship and witchcraft is much more common there than Christianity. We sent our team to help two new church plants share the gospel in the public schools and parks. Our volunteers shared their testimonies, performed gospel skits and preached to over 2000 people this month and there were dozens of professions of faith in Christ as a result. The pastors of those new works are now following up with personal discipleship of those who made their decision public.
I took a group of 12 on a mountain camping trip recently and everyone really enjoyed it. Especially because of Charlene’s 2 gallons of delicious chicken noodle soup that I took to feed them. We are in the middle of our winter season here and the temperature on those days was around 45 degrees inside the tents. The next day we hiked to the top of the mountain and the Lord blessed with beautiful weather and scenery. I like to use these outings to invite people who wouldn’t normally spend 24 plus hours with a pastor or missionary, but because of the adventure involved, participate. It gives me and my co-laborers several opportunities to live outwardly the presence of Christ in us. We have seen the fruit of these efforts on many occasions and we are still seeing it. Not to mention that the mountain hikes help me to keep in better physical shape.
Charlene and I are extremely grateful to you who pray for us and for your generosity that allows us to minister here in southern Brazil. May the Lord bless you richly.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and 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
Read more
Winter in Brazil, but Hearts are Warmed by the Gospel
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
July 4, 2018
Dear Friends,
Here in southern Brazil we’ve just entered into our winter season, but our ministries are hotter than ever! Our traveling evangelistic team returned this week from 3 weeks of outreach into the interior towns of our state. The spiritual needs of the people are so great and God used our teams in some dramatic ways.
Shortly after our gospel presentation in one public school one of our team members went to the restroom. When he went in, there were four teenagers crying because of what they had seen and heard in our presentation. One of the gospel skits that was presented characterized a family that was torn and ravaged because of drugs and alcohol addiction and these teens were living in situations very similar. In the skit, the family found Christ as the answer and solution to their struggles and these youth realized that they too needed Jesus. Our team member used this opportunity to more fully share the gospel with them and all four surrendered their lives to Christ right there in the restroom. Later that night, at an outdoor meeting, they came to the front of the crowd to make their profession of faith in the Lord public.
At another meeting, a young man was impressed with the message that God is a loving “Father,” because, in his personal life, his father was the source of his greatest suffering. Because of his father’s alcoholism, his mother had abandoned the family and his father’s anger was poured out on the young man in frequent violent rages. On one occasion, the young man’s father fractured his son’s cranium by beating on him so violently. In anger and hopelessness, the young man ran away from home and got involved in drugs himself. He got caught by the police and went to jail and felt like no one loved him. He had recently been released from jail when he passed by the park where our team was presenting the gospel. He stopped to watch and listen to our presentations and testimonies. The Lord opened his heart to accept the grace and forgiveness that Christ offers and he surrendered to Him. He came to talk to one team member personally afterward and shared how joyful he was to sense the love and forgiveness of his heavenly Father even though his earthly father showed no care for him.
I gave three of our “preacher boys” an opportunity to preach at our home church this month and all three did very well. For Ruvian, it was his first time preaching publicly and he demonstrated a good grasp of God’s word and an ability to communicate its teaching to the people. I will continue to train all three and plan to give them more opportunities in the near future.
Charlene and I are so grateful to all of you who pray for us and give generously toward our ministry. Thank you so much and may the Lord richly bless you.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and 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
Read more
Scoffer Surrenders to Christ Just Days Before Drowning
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
June 3, 2018
Dear Friends,
We were very excited to be able to minister in Porto Rico this month! Oh, but it wasn’t the one in the Caribbean Sea. Actually, it is a small town in our state located on the banks of the Paraná River. Our outreach team went to help a local missionary share the gospel in public schools and parks for a week. Every outreach experience is different, of course, but some are very remarkable, like Porto Rico was. During our gospel skit presentations, there was one man who kept loudly interrupting the speaker by making jokes and trying to ridicule our efforts to share the gospel. It was necessary to have a couple of our men escort him from the platform more than once.
Before and during our presentations we pray for the Lord to guide us and use all that is done for people to hear and accept the gospel and this man was certainly being a hindrance. On the human level, he made our team angry and frustrated, but the Lord helped one of our preachers to see that the man´s behavior was the result of a spiritual battle going on in his mind and spirit. The preacher began a personal conversation with the man and asked him about his relationship with God. The man admitted that he felt totally alone in the world and was seeking attention. The preacher shared with him that Jesus Christ loved him and gave his life so that he could be saved and have an eternal relationship with God. The man listened and then returned to watch the rest of the presentations and testimonies. At the end of the service an invitation was given for anyone who had trusted in Jesus Christ to come forward to make a public profession and the man who was earlier causing a scene, stepped forward. The local pastor took the man aside and again explained the gospel to him to be sure that he understood the message. He assured the pastor that he understood and that he was surrendering his life to Christ.
A few days later our team went to work in a neighboring town. When they got on the highway to return to our headquarters the local missionary in Porto Rico called the team to share the sad news that that man had drowned in the Paraná River just that morning! Our joy and hope is that he is now in the presence of Jesus Christ. That remarkable event helped us realize again, and even more strongly, just how vital our ministry is. The likelihood that he would decide to go to a church service on his own accord was very slim, but because we took the gospel into the public square where he and many others were, that man got to hear the truth of God´s saving grace and we believe that already he is already in the presence of the Lord.
Just as the agitator in the crowd served to remind us to look for opportunities in our aggravations, my cell phone crash opened a door for me to share Christ with the iPhone tech guys last month. When I took my phone in to be repaired I had to wait at the counter for nearly 30 minutes. There were two technicians sitting there and no other customers. I started a casual conversation with them that led them to ask me what I am doing here in Brazil. That gave me a chance to share my testimony of coming to Christ as Lord and Savior through the Scriptures and to invite them to come to our church to know more. I pray that God will help me to constantly be aware of the open doors around us, if we will just pay attention.
Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support of our ministry here Curitiba, Brazil.
In Christ´s love,
Bobby and 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
Read more
The Privilege of Partnering with God
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
May 2, 2018
Dear Friends,
As I begin to write this report, I am nearly overwhelmed with joy and gratitude to the Lord for all that He has done since last month. Our evangelistic outreach team has just arrived from a 4-week trip to several interior towns and villages and I was thrilled to join them in a couple of these towns. The greatest joy that comes from having the privilege of partnering with God is the business of bringing lost folks into His family. It is blessing to be able to go into public schools, by invitation, and share the gospel clearly and openly to over 3000 students and teachers, but my most satisfying happiness was to get alone with a young father of 4 and lead him to Christ in a personal conversation. James, the young father, had gone to the car repair shop that morning to have some work done on his vehicle. On his way home, he passed by the town square where we were giving free haircuts, blood pressure checks and family counseling. The Lord nudged him through his curiosity and he and his young son stopped to get a haircut. As James was getting his hair cut, our volunteers are trained to start up conversations that lead into discussions of spiritual needs. By the time the barber had finished his haircut, James wanted to learn more about God’s love and plan for his life. The barber then referred him to come over to my counseling area to talk more at length with me. In my conversation with James, the Lord guided me to share the Scriptures that clearly revealed his guilt of sins against a holy God and his need of repentance and forgiveness. By the time our conversation ended, James confessed Jesus as his Lord and Savior and returned that night to our outdoor service, bringing his entire family. At the end of that service an invitation was given to come publicly before the crowd to confess faith in Christ and James and his whole family stepped out to do just that. We spoke with his family and got them all connected with the local missionary at that new church plant. He will begin to teach them in weekly Bible studies. Nearly all of our team members have personal stories to share of individuals that they too had the privilege of leading to Christ during this month’s travels.
Back at our own local church, Charlene and I have been excited about the constant influx of new visitors. We want to see even more come, but we are seeking to teach our members how to lovingly embrace those who come and make them welcome into our fellowship. What really encourages me is to hear the visitors share how the church seems like a loving family and that the services are so practical and useful to them. I just got great news from a lady in our congregation yesterday. She sensed that God wanted her to give up her paying job at a secular company to come and work full-time with almost no pay as an assistant at the church office and she has already given her company her two-weeks notice. We had been praying for a couple of part-time volunteers, but this is even better. Having her come on the team is such a blessing and we pray and trust that God will bless her faith and trust in Him. Her husband is just as confident that this is God’s plan for them that he isn’t concerned about a drop in income, even though they are far from affluent.
Thank you for your prayers and faithful support.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and 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
Read more
Rolling Up Sleeves at Church is Providing Discipleship Opportunities
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
April 4, 2018
Dear Friends,
We just celebrated the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday with a wonderful turnout at our special services. One of the most exciting things to me was that we had so many unchurched folks in attendance. Our members did such a great job of inviting unsaved family and friends to hear the gospel message. We are now praying that the message they heard will be used of the Lord to open their hearts to surrender to Christ as their Lord and Savior.
One of our traveling teams is leaving today on a one-month trip to the extreme western region of our state where they will be helping in new church plants of three local churches. There are 12 young men and women who will be sleeping on mats and cots during this trip and sharing the gospel in public schools and squares. This is their second long-distance trip this year. The new vans that some of you helped to purchase are really being a blessing. With them, the trips are much more economically efficient and less tiring on the team members as well. We are praying that the Lord will bless all their efforts in sharing the gospel and that many people will hear and receive the message with open hearts.
We have been extremely busy working on the maintenance and repairs of our facilities. In order to save money, we have been doing most of the labor ourselves. That has made for some long tiring days, but it also goes a long way showing the community and recent church attenders that we are willing to roll up our sleeves and work alongside our people. I also tried my hand at cabinet making with old pallet wood that turned out to look and function very well and saved us a bunch of money. As I was doing the job, I really enjoyed having the opportunity of mentoring a few men who volunteered to help me. We got several weeks of daylong discipling sessions in during the course of the work projects and they seemed to have developed a greater sense of participation in church life.
I didn’t ask for permission to use his name, so I’ll just say that we are very grateful to an anonymous pastor for the generous donation of funds to purchase a much needed vacuum cleaner for our home and church. We are grateful and we trust that God will bless you for this gift. I also want to thank all of our supporters who give regularly so that we can be here to minister and plant churches for Christ’s glory.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and 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
Read more
Longtime Friends Trust Christ!
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
March 8, 2018
Dear Friends,
In the time period that Charlene and I were absent from the church here the attendance had dropped considerably. Our co-pastor who had become the lead pastor had been very faithful, but several factors contributed to the decline, some of which had nothing to do with him. Even so, the Lord has greatly encouraged us since our return by an immediate increase of 85% in attendance. We have also had the extreme privilege of seeing two of our longtime friends whom we have been witnessing to for several years come to Christ as their Lord and Savior. They are both very excited about their new walk with the Lord and show outward evidence of His presence in their lives as well.
One of the ministries that we offer that helps us establish relationships with un-churched people is couples’ meetings. We plan and put on fun and informative meetings for couples four times a year where we provide biblical marriage counseling and a friendly group of couples willing to help them do life together. The solid Christian couples from our church serve as witnesses and role models for unsaved or struggling couples. Our first meeting this year went very well and we saw a 350% increase in attendance from our last meeting.
Just before we left Brazil a few years ago, not knowing if we would be returning to live, I felt led of the Lord to be very open and share with two families who were very close friends of ours that it was my hope and prayer that they would come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior so that, if we never saw each other again on earth, at least we would be together eternally in heaven. Since returning, I have had the pleasure of speaking with Paulo, one of those friends, and it is clearly evident that the Lord has been working in his heart. His job is being a representative for several printing presses and book publishing houses. In each of our conversations since we’ve returned he nearly bubbles over talking about books that he’s reading about atheists turning to Christ. What is especially thrilling to me is that, when he mentions Christianity, he includes himself. I don’t know where his wife stands, yet, but I am praying for her and Charlene and I plan on spending more time with them in hopes of confirming her faith also.
Thank you so much for your prayers and concern for us. The Lord is truly blessing us and our ministries and we are excited about what He has in store for us in the upcoming days and weeks.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and 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
Read more
God Thoroughly Confirms His Will to be Back in Brazil
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
February 3, 2018
Dear Friends,
We’re back in Brazil! The Lord blessed us in so many ways, both on our journey and since arriving. We couldn’t have imagined that we would see so much accomplished in such a short time, but He has thoroughly confirmed that it is His will for us to be here again.
We were wonderfully received by many of our old friends. Our former church sensed God’s leading to call me back to be their senior pastor and I have accepted. The Lord also blessed as Charlene began the process of refurnishing our home. She was very diligent in searching out good deals on appliances and furniture and we have been able to purchase the most important ones. You know; refrigerator, stove, table, chairs and a bed. Actually, the bed came as a generous gift from our fellow missionaries, A.J. and Barbara Hensley. We are very grateful to them.
One week after we arrived, we began our first Missions Seminar, which lasts for four weeks. We spent the first two weeks teaching the biblical theology of missions and then we took the volunteers out into the interior towns for another two weeks of practical application of what they learned in the classroom. This month we had nearly 30 volunteers participating from various parts of Brazil. During the two weeks of practical evangelism there were 62 people who made a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ. God’s word tells us that there is rejoicing in heaven at the repentance of a lost sinner and we rejoice also. Another wonderful side benefit of this endeavor is that the volunteers return with a strong sense of excitement about being used by the Lord in ways that they never expected.
I have only been back in the pulpit for 2 Sundays. I can tell that my Portuguese has gotten a bit rusty for lack of use for 3 years. I know that it will come back to me, but it sure is frustrating when I go to express a thought and the word I want to use doesn’t come to mind. The people are very gracious and haven’t made any negative comments, but I want to get back into the clear presentation of God’s word as quickly as possible.
Charlene and I both are very grateful to you who have given special love offerings to help us purchase the appliances and furniture that we needed. Just a few more pieces of furniture and we’ll be able to start receiving guests again.
Thank you for your prayers and faithful support.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and 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
Read more
