Missionary Update: Paul & Wanda Hatcher in Brazil [December 2012]
Paul and Wanda Hatcher have been serving the Lord together in Brazil for 36 years. Paul pastors Tabernacle Baptist Church in Manaus, Brazil. Their main ministry is church planting.
Dear friends,
We send you greetings from the north and northeast of Brazil. Brazilian school begins mid-January and ends the first of December. Seminary and Bible classes had finals and end-of-year parties the last week of November. The Christian school also finished the year. Preparation for the upcoming year and enrollment is at full throttle. This is most important for the success of the coming year. Teacher and staff recruiting and training are also underway.
Leigh Samples, our daughter, is principal of the Christian day school and Pastor Michael Samples, our son-in-law, is Dean of the Bible Institute and Leadership Training. We had a good year and are very thankful for the impact the Word of God is having on all the student body. Pray that many laborers be prepared and sent out to harvest ready fields.
The new churches are doing very well, and the Lord is adding the saved to the churches. The paper work necessary to incorporate with the government and the transfer of facilities is taking about one year to complete. The everyday business and running time seems to fly; often it’s so easy to get caught up in the details and problem solving that we forget the great things God is doing. It was refreshing to be reminded by one of the pastors that twenty-three churches were organized, incorporated to meet government requirements, and properties transferred over the last twelve months.
This caused a swelling emotion of joy and gratitude to Our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father in heaven. The Lord has done great things. It’s precious to know Him, to trust Him, and to be filled with His love for Jesus Christ and His children.
We ask that you pray for us that God will encourage and embolden us in the coming year. All the family, Wanda, the children and grandchildren are doing well.
Thanks for your prayers and faithful support,
Paul and Wanda Hatcher
Avenida J. Carlos Antony, 172
65063-150 Manaus
Amazonas, Brasil SA
hatcher[at]argo.com.br
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Missionary Update: Jud & Raquel Hatcher [October 2012]
Jud and Raquel Hatcher serve the Lord in Manaus, 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.
October 5, 2012
THANKFUL HEART
Thank you for your faithful prayers and investing in missions.
Thank you Bro. David Pitman & Addyston Baptist Church, Addyston, OH for
taking us on for support. Thank you also to Atlantic Shores Baptist Church,
Virginia Beach, VA; Friendship Baptist Church, Bristol, VA; New Hope Baptist
Church, Dearborn Heights, MI; Darwin & Cathy Smith, Lexington, KY; and Ron
& Judy Logan, Lexington, KY. WE ARE TRULY GRATEFUL!! Now, let me tell you about family news and some exciting moments of our latest church plant.
FAMILY DETAILS
Everyone is doing well. Sarah is 7 years old and studies hard on her math. Laura is 6 years old and is reading and writing amazingly. Benjamin is 4 years old, is learning to read and knows all of his numbers. Melissa is 11 months old and has 4 little teeth. At times, Raquel and I feel overwhelmed with family and ministry, but wouldn’t change a single moment of God’s plan for us.
CHURCH PLANTING: INITIAL PLANNING
On January 7, 2012 two couples, a lady, Raquel, the children and I went on a
van ride to pray and discuss where the Lord would lead us to start a church in
Manaus. I invited each one to make a personal commitment to join us and plant
a church. Everyone in the van that day committed wholeheartedly to start a
new church. The following weeks were filled with excitement as we visited six
different churches on Sundays and met from 5:00pm until 7:00pm to pray, study,
brainstorm and plan. During this time we also selected our name – Ativa: Uma
Igreja Batista (Active, a Baptist Church).
EVANGELISTIC COOKOUTS
During the weeks to come we organized several cookouts in homes where family
and friends were invited. Our contact list grew tremendously. Our fifth event was
a one-day camp where 95 people participated. Several people heard the Gospel
and made decisions.
MEETING AT HOME
Our first Sunday service was March 18, 2012 and met at our home. We had no
music, but the great food led to tremendous fellowship. A sense of belonging
began to grow amongst the team members, the newly saved and the unsaved
attendees. Excitement grew every week as people asked questions and decisions
were made. By the end of April, we had 30 people attending our home services.
During this period a member of the congregation asked “Where should I give
my tithe?” It is worth noting, we did not have a specific moment for tithes and
offerings during the service. We didn’t have a treasurer either. That week we
selected a treasurer and a vice-treasurer, and a box was placed on a corner table
during Sunday services. Those who attended began to give generously, even
though we never spoke of the matter. Six weeks latter we purchased a simple
sound system, three microphones, an acoustic guitar and a two-tone percussion instrument. With low monthly expenses our new congregation was able to save towards what the Lord was about to do.
BUILDING QUEST
Children singing on Sunday (building still under retrofitting)
In May, we began to search for a building to lease. We wanted a building on an
easy to find street, with good visibility. As we looked around the city we ran into
a serious problem – the outlandish cost of rental property. The reason? Manaus
is a host city for the World Cup 2014 and buildings are now exponentially
expensive to lease and/or purchase. Our small budget only allowed us to commit
to $1,000/mo and we needed a location to accommodate at least 150 people
(projecting growth over the next years). The cheapest we could find was $7,500/mo and with little to no parking. I even found a place that could accommodate 200 people and had six parking spaces for $15,000/mo. That’s right, fifteen thousand per month! And yes, that is the cost in US currency. To put the price absurdity into full perspective: the minimum wage in Brazil is currently at US$297.00/mo. Not encouraging… but we sure prayed and searched.
Despite the challenges, the Lord blessed! He gifted us with a small warehouse
to seat 140 people, with two small rooms, and a bathroom. The location is on
one of the main throughways of the city. Guess how much? Yes, $1,000/mo.
Unfortunately, it only has one parking spot. Yet again, the Lord blessed us.
Around the corner, within a hundred yards we found a walled parking lot for 30
cars! We met with the congregation and agreed to lease the lot at $25/Sunday.
BAPTISMS, ORGANIZATION & RETROFITTING
On August 12, 2012 we baptized 13 people (including our daughters Sarah
and Laura) and were organized with 37 members through Tabernacle Baptist
Church. It was an exciting Sunday for us all. We continued to meet at our home
while retrofitting the warehouse for services. Everyone came to help scrape the
old paint of the walls, repair the roof, clean, paint, and install doors and curtains.
Tabernacle Baptist Church donated the needed metal and the welder to build
and install a sign for on the front of the building.
Church building inauguration night with 102 people (84 adults and 18 children)
BUILDING INAUGURATION
On September 23, 2012 we had our inaugural service and kicked off a six-week Evangelistic message series. That evening we had 102 attend (84 adults
and 18 children). The Lord also gave us two salvation decisions that evening.
On the second week a tropical storm hit hard, and most of our invited guests
stayed at home. Despite the downpour of rain, we still had 63 attend and one
reconciliation. Pray for us this coming Sunday, it’s our third week.
PRAYER
Please, invest time in prayer for all of those who will need discipleship. Also,
pray for each one of us to continue in good health. Consider coming to visit us in
Brazil. And, continue to give generously to missions.
Grateful,
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
judsonhatcher@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: Paul & Wanda Hatcher in Brazil [July 2012]
Paul and Wanda Hatcher have been serving the Lord together in Brazil for 36 years. Paul pastors Tabernacle Baptist Church in Manaus, Brazil. Their main ministry is church planting.
July 9, 2012
Dear Friends,
We just came through a record high-water season – the highest in over a hundred years. The rainy season in the Amazon Basin begins in December and lasts until the end of June. During this season, the Amazon River and tributaries are at flood stage for three to four months. Most of the houses are built above flood stage, especially housing built on stilts in the swamp area. Many of the poor families build in these swamp areas because land is cheap, or they just “squat” on it. However, provisions were not made for such high waters as we had this year. As a result, about a hundred thousand people had to move from their houses and seek refuge in shelters or homes of relatives. One of the churches organized last November by Tabernacle Baptist Church was affected by the high waters and was totally flooded for about six weeks. Many of the members lived in lower areas where their homes were flooded for an even longer period. The church here in Manaus had a food drive and furnished food for members of that church and other families in the community whose homes were flooded. It is good to see the outpouring of love by God’s people and His church. The church there has continued to grow even through all this difficulty.
Since last writing you, we had four great joys from the Lord. Our first two are the births of two wonderful grandchildren. Melissa Nicole was born November 30 to Judson and Raquel Hatcher; and Noah Christian was born June 18 to Michael and Leigh Anne Samples. It is certainly a great privilege to have our three children and families (a total of seven grandchildren) near us for the time being, as the Lord wills. Neither Wanda nor I or our own children had the privilege of being near our grandparents as we grew up. So you see, it’s a big deal for us! We are grateful to the Lord and pray for them that they will at an early age come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, trust Him in every area of their life, and love others as Christ has loved them.
The next two joys are also very dear to our hearts. Two new churches were born here in Manaus in the last six weeks. The first is Impact Baptist Church in the community of Ouro Verde. They have made a great impact in their community through their Christian love for one another. The second one is the Victory Baptist Church in the community of Cachoeirinha, also a very loving church, comprised mainly of young couples who are very excited about the Lord. Both churches are very committed to knowing God through the study of the Scriptures , to encouraging each other to trust God in the big and little things each day, and to modeling the love that Christ has shown us.
The sowing and reaping continues. Our prayer is that Christ’s will be fulfilled in us – “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
Thank you for your support. Pray for us always. May God bless you.
Love,
Paul and Wanda
Your missionaries to North and North East Brazil
Paul and Wanda Hatcher
Avenida J. Carlos Antony, 172
65063-150 Manaus
Amazonas, Brasil SA
hatcher[at]argo.com.br
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Missionary Update: Paul & Wanda Hatcher in Brazil [March 2012]
Paul and Wanda Hatcher have been serving the Lord together in Brazil for 36 years. Paul pastors Tabernacle Baptist Church in Manaus, Brazil. Their main ministry is church planting.
Dear friends,
Another year is ended. This one went by so rapidly. We are grateful to God and rejoice in his blessings and mercies.
The Lord blessed; the missions (church starts) had a great year. In October, six of the missions were ready to organize and incorporate as Baptist churches. At the same time six new Baptist ministers were ordained to the gospel ministry. The legal paperwork was a little complicated, however, all was completed. The following month of November, an additional eight churches were organized and properly registered with the government. Six additional pastors were ordained to the Gospel Ministry. Certainly this is reason for us all to rejoice in the Lord. You share in these blessings through your prayers and contributions to missions here in Brazil. Together, we are making friends for eternity. It is certainly a priceless hope to have eternal life. Imagine the joy of being received by friends in eternity – Brazilian friends you never knew in this life time – friends you made by sending the Gospel of Jesus Christ; they believed and now are children of God even as you and me.
Wanda and I thank you, too. Thanks for being prayer partners and giving friends. Jesus Christ has promised “Great is your reward in heaven.”
Now, a news update regarding our family. Wanda and I are doing well. We have great joy seeing our children walking with God and serving our Lord. We are enjoying our wonderful grandchildren – two boys and four girls. All the children, spouses and grandchildren are doing well.
We ask that you remember us in prayer, here are some special requests for the year: that the gospel will continue to grow and those who believe will grow in the Lord. Pray that the door of opportunity for the gospel will stay open. Pray that we will be wise stewards of our time and resources to achieve maximum amount sowing and reaping of the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray that God will strengthen us in faith, love and persistence.
We love you in Christ Jesus. May God richly bless you with peace and grace in Jesus Christ.
Paul and Wanda Hatcher
Avenida J. Carlos Antony, 172
65063-150 Manaus
Amazonas, Brasil SA
hatcher[at]argo.com.br
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