A Joyous Reunion!
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
December 28, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We are coming to the end of one more year that God has given us to serve Him. With God’s leading in our lives, in the year of 2020 we can reach out to more people and tell them about God’s love and salvation.
The year has been a great year and God has done wonderful things. One of these wonderful things was the end of the court case against us because of the children’s home. So many times in the last nine years there were hard moments in the hearings. We had to trust the Lord that He would take care of us. Last June the case was closed and we were found not GUILTY! Praise the Lord. Several of those who lived at the home were so happy when the case was closed that they wanted to celebrate. So, they chose to have a day to celebrate at Christmas.
So, we bought our tickets and went to Garça to have the thanksgiving for what God had done. Several of those who were raised there came and helped put everything together. What a wonderful time we had and to see the adults doing well. Others that could not come to the Christmas dinner came by to see us. What a blessing and encouragement it was to see them grown and married and with their families. One of the kids, whose name is Marcia, invited us to go eat supper at her home. She and her husband work hard and have their home and their car—doing so great. They have two children and she and her family go to church. The kids these couples have had call Kathy and I “Grandpa” and “Grandma”. We had fun with them at the home and also taking them fishing. That is one of the things their parents remember: Kathy and I taking them fishing! The parents wanted to go fishing like they did when they lived with us. So we went with them also. What wonderful memories!
We also went to the church I pastored there. It was great to see the people there. Thanks to the Lord for allowing us to go there and just have a wonderful time of fellowship and healing.
Our prayer for 2020 is that God give us wisdom and strength to reach out to more people in the many communities around us. That souls may be saved!
A special thanks to all of you who pray and give faithfully to our ministry. God bless each one of you.
Love in Christ’s Name,
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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
Not Guilty!
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
June 1, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This month we have been blessed in many ways. God gave us a great opportunity to be in the USA and visit with family and friends. But one of the greatest blessings we didn’t expect at this moment was the result from the court process against us from the Alpha and Omega Home. Maybe some don’t remember. We were closed being accused of mistreating the kids. The sentence was given! NOT GUILTY!!!! Praise the Lord! Thanks to you for your prayers and support to us in these difficult moments.
The lawyer and his family
Let me explain something very fantastic about this. Lawyers are expensive as you probably know. Well, one of the first boys we took into our home was a drug addict. He got saved and matured and stayed with us the whole time. He got married to a girl who came to teach at the home. He worked hard at changing. He studied and went to college. God blessed him and today he is a lawyer. He did much of the work on the court case. What a blessing! We have contact with many of the kids that were from the home. They decided to celebrate! They asked us to go to Garça where we had the home and have a Christmas party like we had when we had the home.
Paul, Odali, their former sports teacher, and their son Gabriel. Paul was the first boy to live with the Barros Family. He stayed with them and helped with others.
We always prayed that God would bless those who came to work as volunteers at the home. So many young people dedicated several years with us. Today they are in many different places. While we have been in the US, we have had contact with several of these people. It is so wonderful to see what God has done in their lives. Paul is one of the first boys we helped. He grew into a man and worked with us for many years. Today he lives in Missouri. Then there is Vilmar, Jennifer and Leonardo who also dedicated several years there. God has blessed them. We are thankful to God and to them for their love for souls.
Even though our time here is short we have been able to see many friends and visited several churches. The fellowship has been wonderful. God bless each of you. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated!
Love in Christ,
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Amazonas, Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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 at Work through Each Stage of Ministry
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
Greetings to all of you who are supporters of Baptist Faith Missions. I thank God for each of you. Missions is a joint effort of us missionaries and the churches that support us financially and also pray for us.
Being on the mission field is probably not as difficult for me as it may be for most missionaries as they arrive on the field. Since I was born on the mission field, this place has always been my home.
The different kinds of ministries that we have done have been a life of experience.
The beginning was in church planting, which is always wonderful when you see souls saved. As we worked with teenagers in the missions, we saw the need to help them. That is when we started having them live in our home.
One of the first boys we helped is worship leader in his church and he is now our lawyer! There are many others that are doing well. Many of them stay in contact with us. Living in a place with over 100 people was not always the easiest thing for us as a family, but God was always present and giving us strength to keep on working. One of the things I thank God for each day is, that even though our children had to share us with so many others, they don’t have regrets. Also, they have a love for helping people in need. To God be the glory!
At the time that the children’s home was closed down, it was very hard to deal with the situation. The sensation of failure was hard to deal with. As time passed, God gave peace and comfort. To me it was like God saying, “You have reached those that I wanted here, it is time to move on.” We have moved on!! It is hard to believe that it has been five years since we moved to the Amazon. We live very near Manaus, the city where I was born. Living in the middle of the jungle has its positive points and, at the same time, some difficulties. The peace and calm we have is great. What is a problem is that you need good transportation because that is the only way to get around. All our ministries are an average of 15 miles from where we live. Needless to say, we spend lots of time on the road. For me as a pastor’s wife, I have enjoyed the new change in our ministry. Working with kids and youth in church, training teachers to help in the different ministries—that was something that I did not have time to do when we had the children’s home.
But I thank God for each stage in our ministry that we have gone through. It is wonderful to see God working each day. As I look back, I see so many ways God worked that at the time I could not see. Each day as I pray, I ask God to help me see with “His eyes”. Living in the crazy world it is easy to be blinded. I praise God for calling me to serve Him and caring for me, my life and my family. May God bless you, supporters and friends, and continue to direct our ministry.
Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Caixa Postal 1
Iranduba, Amazonas 69.415.000
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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
