Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley in Brazil [October 2015]
The Hensleys have spent nearly 15 years serving in Brazil. They run a vocational school and orphanage in Caraguatatuba and have also established a church and mission points throughout the city.
October 9, 2015
Dear friends and family,
Well I have a lot to catch you up on about our ministry here in Caraguatatuba, Sao Paulo. To start with, I had to let Mrs. Barb go home to help with her mother. Mrs. Reba fell and broke her hip on the 28th of July and had to be hospitalized for surgery. We could only get tickets for her to arrive two days after the surgery. After the time of recuperating from the surgery, Mrs. Reba was moved to a rehab and for the most part was an uncooperative patient. She was sent back to the hospital because she could not keep food down. During this time she almost passed two times, but she managed to spring back enough to be dismissed from the hospital and was sent to another rehab facility.
During these two months Barb was also having various tests done. She was having numbness and loss of use in her hand and arm. After numerous tests and a stint in the hospital they think that they have determined the problem. They think that it is a deteriorating cervical disk c4—c7. The treatment is traction two times. During this time she was also scheduled for outpatient surgery and in the surgery room she became very sick and the surgeon wrestled that surgery. She will come home in December and will have the surgery then. So please put her on your prayer list.
Now just go ahead and throw me into the health issues also. My test for prostate problems came back with numbers very high. I was put on medication for one month and after that I will go to a doctor here to have the PSA numbers checked again. If they remain high I will return to the States for the next step in this process. So the three of us have health problems but we know who is in control. Just keep us on your prayer list please.
Now enough about medical problems, let’s talk about ministry issues. How AWESOME is the God we serve!!!!! With the growth, we are experiencing space problems—not enough room for Sunday School and not enough room for our regular church services not enough chairs for the people that are coming. You name it, we are experiencing it.
Do not think that we have a perfect ministry here, no our Church is full of problems. That is because our Church has sinners like you and I in it. But what an AWESOME task-blessing, to be right where you feel God wants you to be and doing what He wants you to do. Thank you Lord for allowing me to be a Missionary here in Brasil and doing that in retirement.
Here is what has been going on in these last two months: lots of remodeling and construction. You see we have purchased an AWESOME building right beside where we are renting. We looked at many areas, buildings and land and God is almost ready right beside where we are congregating. I hope you are following our remodeling progress on Facebook. The roof is now on and construction in front is progressing well. We have built two bathrooms and a new entry for the church. With help of many young people from the States and here we have removed all the columns and partitions inside the building and have made an AWESOME assembly area for the church. Upstairs will be great for Sunday school rooms and with a kitchen (all good Christians have to have a place to cook and eat).
As you can see the ministry is growing and the construction is continuing so these areas also need your prayers. We will be moving into the new building before it gets completed because money will run out before it gets completed. Don’t worry this is not uncommon here. God is in control!! Here is where faith comes in. Also what would you all do next year when you come down if we were able to complete everything?
AWESOME is the God we serve. All this in reality is a miracle which I will go into in our next month’s letter. Stay tuned for building and ministry progress. AWESOME AWESOME!!!!!
Even though we are working a lot that does not mean that we do not have time to turn your bed down if you want to come and participate in what God is doing here in Caraguatatuba.
In His service,
AJ and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Creiglows in Brazil [October 2015]
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.
October 7, 2015
Dear Brethren,
Bev and I spent 10 days in southern Brazil on vacation. This was all the time I could get off, but it was enough and it was relaxing. Pastor Pedro and his wife were in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina. He was there finishing up his masters degree, so we met up in Rio Grande do Sul for the short vacation.
We have had a very busy time since then. I have been helping two of our missionaries work through some problems. Bev and I have been meeting regularly with our missionary at Guajará, Amazonas. He and his wife have got out of control with their finances, so we are walking them through the process of getting out of debt and restoring his testimony in the community. The other missionary has been working at Profeta on the upper Jurua River for 5 years. He has been struggling since the beginning of the year with deep spiritual and mental frustrations. The congregation there just sees him as their “hired hand”. They refuse to help with anything. They won’t even help with the spreading of the Gospel. Now some of you pastors are saying, “Well, what else is new?” To me this is NOT normal and I would go crazy, too, if my church did not pull their load with me. So pray for Antônio. We have brought him in from the field for treatment and possibly deploy him to a new field.
A few of the men from church who showed up to do fencing last Saturday.
As some of you may recall, First Baptist Church bought 18 acres of land for expansion in the near future. It is about a mile past where we live. On one of my evening runs I decided to swing in there and check up on things. I discovered that a man had just cleared about 3 acres of land on our neighbor’s ranch and planted some new manioc on his place and in ours, too. The rancher paid the guy some cash to get him out of his hair and not have to take him to court. Since the church doesn’t feel that it would be appropriate to pay the man, we have decided that now is the time to get all of our fences and gates up to par. I have been working out there for several days now. Several of our men have taken time to help out, also. We have been cleaning out brush, did some plowing and fencing. I could tell you more, but let me just say: September and October are our hottest months of the year. This afternoon I decided to sit in the AC of my office and write you. Thank you very much for stopping my machete!
We have been having huge crowds at church for weeks now. We have actually had 48 more in September on average over August in our evening services. The morning services added another 146. We have had 3 people saved in each evening service for the past 5 weeks (all of September and the first Sunday of October). We have had several more requests for baptism. Of course several have moved away, too. Levi and Eliane just retired from Bank of Brazil and moved to Curitiba, Paraná to take care of her elderly mother. Levi was still single when I became pastor. He married a Presbyterian, who I baptized many years ago. Hard to lose such faithful people. He was one of those original 40 members that I had when I became pastor 37 years ago.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers Stateside from Brazil [October 2015]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
October 4, 2015
Dear Friends,
Charlene and I just returned from a two week trip to Brazil. We had to count on family members to cover for us taking turns caring for my ailing father. While in Brazil we were able to have a meeting with our evangelism ministry, Projeto Vida, and make plans for the next few months of outreach efforts.
My young replacement at my former church, Alek Rossi, has been doing a great job. Everyone we talked to about how the church was doing gave excellent reports on how well he is pastoring the flock and teaching. We saw several new families attending and the church is still baptizing new members. Alek asked me to preach on the Sunday that we were present. It was a welcome privilege to be in my former pulpit teaching God’s word and seeking to make Him known to the lost. It was clearly evident that the members have truly embraced Alek and his wife as their leaders. It was also clear that the members have embraced the responsibilities of caring for their facilities. Actually, I got a little ironic laugh out of seeing how well they have done that. For 4 years I sought to transfer to the members the importance of attending to the small details of cleanliness and upkeep of the grounds while they also gave loving attention to the other members and visitors. As soon as we drove onto the property we saw that loving care had gone into the upkeep of every little detail. I want to think that my constant example and drilling the members finally took hold, but it would have been nice if they had shown that while I was still there. I love them anyway!
While I was meeting with the Projeto Vida leaders they shared how the Lord has been blessing this year. They still have two more months to work in the public schools this year, but already they have been in 6 states, taking the gospel to over 30,000 students and teachers. We also made preparation for hosting and training missionary volunteers in the upcoming months. There will be two international volunteers arriving early next year who will work and travel with the teams in active training. Also, we will coordinate the partnership with a group of nearly 50 youth who will share the gospel in some public schools and parks.
It has been many years since we have been able to participate in the Missions Conference on behalf of Baptist Faith Missions in Dearborn Heights, MI. We are really excited about being there again in early November. We hope to see many of our old friends there and are looking forward to making new friendships as well.
Thank you for your prayers and support,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Furlough Address:
3912 Casaba Loop
Valrico, FL 33596
Field Address:
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
Phone: (813) 481-7007
Cell Phone: (813) 727-6405
Email: bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: Jud & Raquel Hatcher on Furlough from Brazil [September 2015]
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.
September 3, 2015
Dearest of friends,
I just want to start out by saying thank you. Thank you, Lord, for blessing our family and for blessing the families and churches that bless our family. A personal thank you to the following churches and their pastors that have blessed us since we arrived in the States:
- New Life Baptist Church – Pastor Steve Wainright
- Calvary Baptist Church – Pastor Jeff Hurst & Pr. David Mitchell
- Thompson Road Baptist Church – Pastor David Parks
- Center Point Church – Pastor Tim Parsons & Pr. Todd Thomas
- Addyston Baptist Church – Pastor David Pitman & the women’s ministry
- Concord Baptist Church – Pastor Jimmy Reagan
- Grace Baptist Church – Pastor Mike Pyles
- Buck Run Baptist Church – Pastor Hershael York
- Thomas Road Baptist Church – Pastors Jonathan Falwell, Matt Willmington & Dave Adams
- East Keys Baptist Church – Pastor Dan Hillard
- The Baptist Church at Andover – Pastor Eddie Schwarberg & Pr. Donovan Stewart
So much has happened during these last several weeks since we returned to the United States—it is unbelievable. For starters, the Lord provided us with a great car for a great price. We purchased a KIA Sedona 2009, in clean condition. Already we’ve driven over 5,000 miles in 6 weeks as we’ve traveled and visited family, friends and churches.
Jud is currently assisting in teaching a Church Planting course for Pastoral Students with Dr. Matt Willmington.
A casual family picture of the Hatchers!
Secondly, the Lord opened up the door for me to serve at Liberty University’s School of Divinity as part of our stateside assignment (furlough) during this year. Several months back, while in Brazil, I contacted Dr. Dave Adams, who is the director of Pastoral Leadership program at Liberty University and requested to serve with him in any capacity that I might gain additional mentoring. (Dr. Adams was one of my professors at Lexington Baptist College along with Dr. Ed Overbey, Dr. Hershael York, Dr. David Hatcher, Dr. Larry Robbins, and others.) Through Adams’ leadership I was invited to assist in a non-remunerated role as Adjunct Faculty for Pastoral Leadership in the School of Divinity. Per agreement, my financial support continues through Baptist Faith Missions. I was also grateful for the response received from Bro. Dave Parks as he communicated with the directors of BFM concerning this matter. The Lord has opened many doors for additional mentoring and networking opportunities. I’m overwhelmed by the receptivity of the faculty and staff and overjoyed with gratitude with this one-year partnership. I’ve had the privilege of interacting with world-renowned faculty and leaders, including Jonathan Falwell, Drs. Ed Hindson, Elmer Towns, Troy Templeton, Jonathan Geukgeuzian, Scott Phillips, Chris Gnankan, Troy Matthews and others. I am currently under the mentorship of my dear friends Dr. Dave Adams and Dr. Matt Willmington—what a delight it is to see strategic leaders in action. I see this moment as additional training grounds for what lays ahead in Brazil when we return in July 2016.
Finally, the Lord has directed us every step of the way in our transition from Brazil to Lexington, KY, and then to Lynchburg, VA. We are currently renting a three-bedroom townhome in a quaint neighborhood with campus transportation to and from work. The kids are enrolled in a local public school and loving it. We look forward to connecting with you and at each opportunity.
Jud Hatcher
Judson Hatcher
judsonhatcher@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: Paul & Wanda Hatcher in Brazil [September 2015]
Paul and Wanda Hatcher have been serving the Lord together in Brazil since 1974. Their main ministry is church planting.
September 01, 2015
Dear Friends and Co-laborers,
We greet each of you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are so thankful for God’s goodness and grace. We do not cease to be reminded, and Praise God the Father for providing unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. He so graciously supplies our every need and much more; we want to always be grateful and gracious to others even as God has been to us.
The building for the new church plant in downtown Manaus was completed and the dedication service was the last Friday of August. The missions team and new members worked around the clock the last week to get everything ready. At the first service there were about 200 in attendance; and I spoke on the subject of being a sweet smelling perfume in the community. The building is a beautiful vessel, but the value is in the content—God’s loving children who meet there. The meeting extended through Sunday, led by Pastor Ivanildo Ross. There were two professions of faith in Jesus Christ on Sunday; thanks to God for His great blessing. Continue to pray that the community will be reached far and wide by the gospel of Jesus.
During my time in Manaus, I also visited several of the churches that have been organized in recent years and was so blessed in each service. It is great to see how God is blessing with people being saved and added to the churches. Each church is doing well in the task of making disciples and preparing leadership for the work of the ministry.
We thank you for your prayers and financial support. Pray for the ministries in Brazil as they continue to take the gospel to the regions near and far. Pray to the Father of the harvest to send laborers into a very ripe field of harvest. We know that all the fields are not ready to harvest at the same time; however, it is always timely to sow the gospel abundantly, water generously, and God gives the increase.
We pray that our knowledge and remembrance of our Lord, the only true God, may abundantly increase in wisdom and discernment, that our trust and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ may be steadfast always, and that the love of his Holy Spirit may fill and overflow in our every word and action, with thanksgiving to God though Jesus Christ our only Lord and Life. God bless each of you richly through Jesus Christ.
Thanks for your loving.
Love, Paul and Wanda
Paul and Wanda Hatcher
rphatcher[at]gmail.com
15905 Mercott Court
Clermont, FL 34714
(239)227-6551
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Missionary Update: Odali & Kathy Barros in Brazil [September 2015]
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.
September 1, 2015
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We pray that all of you are doing well and rejoicing in the Lord. We are all doing great. The Lord has been good to us and cared for us each day. The works here are doing well and growing. We had a very interesting experience last month. Here where we live, we raise our own fish and other animals. One of the kinds of fish we have is a fish that eats fish. So from time to time, we go to the fish plant where they package fish and get the leftovers. We had not been getting any because the water got so high that the plant was closed for some time. Kathy was going into town for some groceries so I asked her if she didn’t mind going by the fish plant to see if they were already open. The water was still high but Kathy stopped and asked the guard if he had any idea of when they might start back to work. Here is the interesting part. The guard asked Kathy where she was from. He noticed that she had a different accent. She said. “Well, I sound like the south but I was actually born in Manaus. My parents were missionaries here for many years.” The guard quickly replied, “Missionaries?! With what church?” Kathy said, “Baptist!” The man became very excited and said, “We have a mission but we don’t have a pastor. Our pastor left and said we could do whatever we wanted: join another church or shut down.” He had been saved through the ministry of missionaries I know. So the next day I went back with Kathy to the fish plant and met the man. So we got together and talked and they joined our church. So now we have a mission point in the city of Iranduba. This is the city that I was praying about starting a church. It is a city of around 50,000 and growing. Please pray for this work.
Kathy is working with a group of young teens that she is training to work with the kids clubs on Saturday is the community of Mutirão. This has been great—it is so good to see the young men growing and enjoying the work with the kids. Two of the guys like it so much they asked Kathy if they could go with us to Ubim on Monday also. So we have extra help that day also.
We are working on getting people from the church more involved in the ministries. For so long they just went to church and that was it. It is a slow process but things are starting to change. Pray that the members will see and feel a need to reach out to others.
Please continue to pray for us and the ministry: that God will direct each step and keep us safe as we are on the road a lot. We thank all of you for your prayers and your support. You are an important part of this ministry. God bless you!
In Christ,
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Caixa Postal 1
Iranduba, Amazonas 69.415.000
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[at]hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: Mike & Beverly Creiglow in Brazil [September 2015]
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.
August 28, 2015
Dear Brethren,
My last letter was only a couple of weeks ago. In those two weeks we had another baptism at church, adding 12 new members. There have been several more professions of faith and a few more added by letter. I also visited a couple of our works around town and out of town. This time though, I want to tell you about something a little different.
This month the Catholic Church in Cruzeiro do Sul celebrated its 100th anniversary. The patron saint is “Our Lady of Glory”. The local parish was started on August 15th 1915. That means that they had an eleven year head start on the Baptists. Missionary Joseph Brandon arrived in Cruzeiro do Sul in 1926. First Baptist Church was founded on May 12, 1929 with only 13 members. Here is what I want to emphasize: From the start of our town until 1926 all the citizens were members of the Catholic Church. As late as 1929 there were only 13 Baptists in Cruzeiro do Sul. There has been a dramatic turnaround.
When I was a boy the whole center of town was blocked off for the celebration of Our Lady of Glory in the month of August. Thousands of people would flock in from all the rivers and roads for the 9 days of celebration, called Novenário. Many people would spend all or most of their hard earned money from their jobs as rubber workers. Many would give large sums to the church. Others would spend everything on liquor. Some of the priests would even sell the booze and smokes. It was sad to see all the debauchery and exploitation. This was also the month of the highest rate of pregnancies out of wedlock.
This year was quite the contrast with the past. Only a half of a block was blocked off downtown. The crowds were very small. The Baptist and other gospel preaching churches were all full. Ours was full and turning folks away. We had over 600 in the morning service and just under a thousand in the evening service. We had to take a few benches out of the auditorium because of the special program for that night and so had less seating capacity.
As each year comes and goes, more and more people are leaving the old idolatry and coming to Christ. In fact the Catholic Church is trying to imitate some of our methods and even our buildings thinking that our expansion is just a matter of facilities and methods. They don’t understand why folks are leaving Catholicism. They don’t see that it is the Gospel of Christ that is changing lives.
There are still more Roman Catholics than born again Christians in our city, but things are changing. One day soon Our Lord of Glory will replace “Our Lady of Glory” in Cruzeiro do Sul, Brazil and the world over.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers Stateside from Brazil [September 2015]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
August 27, 2015
Dear Friends,
I am still learning how to live IN the world and not be OF the world, as Jesus taught His disciples. With all the recent news reports on the atrocities of Islamists around the world, I found myself developing a strong resentment and near-hatred for unknown people of Arabic origin. I know in my heart that Jesus came into the world redeem lost people from every nation and tribe, but the brutality of this particular ethnic group I had a hard time even desiring for them to come to salvation. That was until, this month, I had the opportunity provided by God to get to know a young Muslim man about the same age as my son. His name is Houcine and he is from Tunisia, Tunis in northern Africa. He came as an exchange student to the USA and was placed in a host home close to the church where my family and I are serving. He is a very pleasant person who is easy to be around and is extremely respectful and is always offering to help in any project. As I thought about his being here, I realized that the Lord was teaching me to love the way He loves. I would think of the Muslim people as a group, but not as individuals in need of a Savior. Now that I am in constant contact with Houcine, I am able to relate to him as a fellow sinner who is loved by Christ and who needs to be saved. I pray that my behavior and attitudes toward him serve to point him to the Lord and that, in due time, he may come to a saving knowledge of Christ and would take the Gospel back to his own family and nation.
Our church in Brazil recently celebrated their 4th anniversary. They were happy to see several new faces attending and are still growing firmly in our absence. I will be with them near the end of September for couple of services and training. Alek and his wife are doing a great job in the leadership of the church there.
Our evangelistic outreach teams from Projeto Vida had a unique opportunity this month in the capital city of Curitiba. They were invited to participate in a drama fair where the teams portrayed the gospel in skits and dramatic plays on a public stage. The theme was the horrors of the Holocaust, but our teams were able to adapt their scripts to convey the message of Christ in a public setting beyond the usual realm of evangelism. We are very thankful for the opportunities that the Lord provides for our ministry. We have seen that, as we seek Him and are bold to make Him known, He blesses and opens doors that we couldn’t even imagine possible.
Charlene and I leave in a couple of weeks to go back to Brazil to renew our permanent visas and to help in training leaders. You may have noticed in the world news that there is great unrest in Brazil. There are major rallies crying for the impeachment of the president for corruption and there is great unrest throughout the country. Please pray for us as we travel and that the Lord may prosper our journey.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Furlough Address:
3912 Casaba Loop
Valrico, FL 33596
Field Address:
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
Phone: (813) 481-7007
Cell Phone: (813) 727-6405
Email: bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
Give: Click here to give.
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