Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher Stateside from Brazil [September 2015]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
August 18, 2015
Dear Brethren and Friends of Baptist Faith Missions,
The Lord has given us a varied and enjoyable month. Our granddaughter, Virginia McGary, the youngest child of Lynn and Ross McGary was married in Maryville, Tennessee. They invited our son Paul to officiate the Ceremony.
(Lynn and Ross worked with exceptional children and youth Nashville Tenn., and in five other States. Lynn suffered with cancer. After three operations she was told they could not operate any more.)
Virginia was nine years old when Lynn realized she did not have long to live. She asked the Lord to let her live until Virginia was the age of 16. God granted her that request. Ross, her father, passed away two years ago.
At the wedding, we rejoiced to see so many of our family members and friends who attended the wedding.
We are living with Paul and Wanda Clermont, Florida. We are attending an active Missionary Baptist Church that is about five minutes from our home. Our son, Paul and his wife, Wanda, purchased a house and invited us to live with them. Wanda’s widowed mother, Willa, also lives with them. She and her husband were missionaries in Eastern Kentucky for many years.
Paul is still active in the work in Brazil. He makes trips there about every three months. The Tabernacle Baptist Church is active in new works and presently are building a new building in the center of the city.
There are several churches here in central Florida that have a monthly Fellowship Meeting. We have enjoyed attending and fellowship. Brothers Doug King and George Sledd attend and we are thankful for their dedication and love for BFM. We thank all of you our faithful partners in His work. We love you and thank you.
Your missionaries,
John A. and Alta Hatcher
John A. and Alta Hatcher
15905 Mercott Court
Clermont FL 34714
229-529-8497
jhatcher1925[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: Paul & Wanda Hatcher in Brazil [August 2015]
Paul and Wanda Hatcher have been serving the Lord together in Brazil since 1974. Their main ministry is church planting.
August 07, 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.
There is an update on the new church plant in downtown Manaus. The building is almost complete and plans are being made to start having services the last Sunday of August. The final painting and refurbishing of chairs is under way and all are excited about what God is doing and especially thankful for the provision that the Tabernacle Baptist Church of Manaus has made to complete the project. Pray that many will be saved and added to the church.
Three pastors and a deacon were ordained at Tabernacle Baptist Central in Manaus.
Tabernacle Baptist Central is rejoicing because three pastors and a deacon were ordained to the Gospel Ministry. The church’s senior pastor, Michael Samples, is doing a great job leading the body. They are beginning an additional service in mid August. Pray for them, as the gospel is sown and as leaders are equipped that the kingdom of God shall have great increase in fruit for the glory of God.
We had a great time with Judson and Raquel and the grandchildren. They spent a week with us at the beginning of their time in the States to visit supporting churches. Pray for their travelling safety and that the Lord will open many doors for the presentation of their mission ministry.
We pray for you that your knowledge and remembrance of our Lord, the only true God, may abundantly increase in wisdom and discernment, that your 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 your 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 love and support.
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: Mike & Beverly Creiglow in Brazil [August 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 6, 2015
Dear Brethren,
The recovery from the flu has been slow, but I am almost back to normal. We have a new building going up at camp and I have been able to help the crew with that. I went up a couple of days in my jeep and helped haul lumber from out of the jungle. I was even able to help carry some of the beams. The trailer was only able to get so far and we had to carry some very heavy stuff for a couple hundred yards out of the woods. So I guess I am back to the usual self.
We have had a good month at First Baptist. We have held 2 baptism services a month apart. There were 15 and 12 baptized. A good many more have been saved. Attendance has been really good for summer time. In fact one Sunday night we had an overflow crowd in which many could not get into the building. We have been needing to expand for years. God will make that happen in due time. Right now construction is a little far out there as the economy has really gone south. At least we have our new property waiting for the right moment.
One of two baptism groups from the past month at First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul.
This month was our annual missions conference. We had most of our missionaries in from the fields. We had three of our men who work in Peru, who managed to get all the way here. José Maia is our Brazilian missionary who works in Tipisca, Peru. Eduardo, who is a Peruvian citizen from the Caxinauá tribe, came in. Then, for the first time, Laureano, who is a Peruvian from the Ashaninka tribe came in. It was so good to have Larueano. I had not seen him for 2 or 3 years. He is one of our first converts from the days when I first started going across the border (about 15 years ago). He takes care of 4 preaching points at the mouth of the Huacapisteia River and up the same river. These are the villages we plan to visit with our medical mission team in October.
Men Present at Annual Preachers Meeting
Our newest missionary family came in, too. Idelvaldo and family were approved last year and were sent to the city of Jordão 5 months ago. They have already had a few people saved. They started meeting in a space in a public school. Then they moved to a covered area at their rented house. Now they have spruced up a “store front” and have a nice big sign up front. They are having about 40 people in services. We already have property to build our first church building. Jordão is one of the 22 “county seats” in the state of Acre. Our goal is to have a solid church planted in every one of them. We have already gotten to seven!
Meal at the annual workers meeting
Last Saturday morning we held our annual preacher’s meeting. There were 84 present. The men had 3 solid hours of practical classes on 5 different topics. It went by so fast. I taught just one of these and had 2 more ready if there had been time. The wives also got together for a lecture from Dr. Suiane. Suiane is one of our medical doctors who goes along on our medical mission trips. She just concluded another missions course and followed that with a month long practical internship in Bolivia. The ladies were thrilled to hear her testimony and teaching. We closed out with a great meal. We had over 150 present for lunch.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: Odali & Kathy Barros in Brazil [August 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.
July 26, 2015
Dear Brothers & Sisters,
We rejoice in the Lord that all is well here and we pray that all is well with each of you. Kathy got back from her trip to the US to see her parents and our children. She had a great time. She really enjoyed the BFM conference in Lexington.
We are really excited with what God is doing here. I have been pastoring the church for a little over a month. God is really working and the people are responding. Before, when services were over the members of the church would leave immediately. It has been wonderful to see them change and just enjoy hanging around and having fellowship. We praise God for this. There were some children that were coming to church with some members of the church. After a while the mother started coming. Then this month the father came. The father got saved after the second time he came. Kathy and I went to visit them. I asked him why he started coming to church. He said that we started to notice a difference in his children, so he wanted to see what made the difference. Last Sunday night I did not have an appeal for salvation at the end of service, but as soon as service was over the children’s mother came to me and said she wanted to be saved. Praise God! At the next midweek service I asked if anyone wanted to be saved and the lady made a public decision. Also another man got saved this month. This last month we have averaged 66 in church. Last Sunday we had 10 people baptized. What a blessing!
The youth group is doing great! We have had to drive two cars to take them to church. Last Sunday night we had to drive 3 cars. We are praying that God will give us a van.
Last letter we mentioned about a group that was going to come and build a church building in one of the communities where we were blessed with a lot given for a mission. Two weeks before the group arrived we had a group of men putting in the foundation. The group that came arrived here on the 9th of July. They stayed here at our place. They started putting up the building on Monday and had walls up, windows in and lights and fans ready to use in four days. They worked hard and did a great job. On Sunday we had an inauguration service. The building was full and 3 people were saved. Kathy and a group of young people are having a children’s program Saturday afternoon. The first day they had 63 kids. Then on Saturday night and Wednesday night we have services. The response has been great. Pray that God will continue to open doors in this city, MUTIRÃO. We want to thank Tabernacle Baptist Church for the lot where the building was built. Also thanks to Judson Hatcher who gave our name to the group that wanted to build a church.
We have talked to the people in Garça these days. They are really excited with their new pastor. They are doing some remodeling in the area where the church meets. It is really great to see how happy they are.
Please continue to pray about the court hearings about the closing of Alpha and Omega because of the accusations that the kids were mistreated. Pray that God will give the Lawyers wisdom as they gather information they need. We thank those that have already been praying for us.
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: John & Alta Hatcher Stateside from Brazil [August 2015]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
July 23, 2015
Dear Brethren and Friends,
The pastors of churches we started in Brazil are sending us news about the work. We want to share two letters where they now pastor. One writes,
Pastor John, you will always be our pastor and spiritual leader. Thank you for all that you and Alta taught us. Thank you for your prayers. We miss you, but we know we will be with you in Heaven forever.
We are still serving the Lord and the work is growing. Many are trusting Christ as Savior and our Seminary here now has 16 students. Our children are serving the Lord. Thank you for teaching us how to rear our children to serve Him.
Thanks again for loving us so much! We love you. May God bless you!
Valdir and Sonia dos Santos
We also, received letters from the wife and pastor of the church we started in our home where we lived before leaving Brazil.
When Alta’s parents passed away, some money was left to Alta. We built a church building across from the small park close to our house in the town of Urai. On Mother’s Day there were 100 persons present, including 34 mothers. The mission churches that these churches have planted are growing. God bless you, Marcio & Carol Moraes.
Friends, we hope these letters will bring joy to your hearts. We thank each who have supported us in offerings and prayers throughout 60 years in Brazil. God will give you rewards in Heaven and you will meet the Brazilians your efforts have brought to Salvation. We love each of you.
John A. and Alta Hatcher
15905 Mercott Court
Clermont FL 34714
229-529-8497
jhatcher1925[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley in Brazil [July 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.
Running out of space and seating for Sunday School.
July 6, 2015
Dear friends and family,
What an AWESOME month we have had here in Caragua this month with our Church. Lots of work and ministry thanks to these groups: Pinehurst Baptist, Pinecrest Baptist, First Baptist in Centerville—all in Georgia—and Central Baptist in Paris, Kentucky.
These Churches did not get to know our Brazilian Pastor as he has been in the hospital with heart problems. The Doctors said that he had a heart attack, but when the dust settled, the problem was with his aortic valve. So let me cut through all the exams, problems, doctors, etc, and get to the bottom line. He had surgery in Sao Paulo on the last of June and today is in the Intensive Care Unit doing GREAT. He is expected to be in the hospital for about 7 to 10 days if all goes well. Please keep Pastor Rosevaldo and his family in your prayers.
About our month—we have been blessed with two groups from the States. Our first group of 39 was from Georgia and represented 3 Churches. They were able to do lots of work on the Church and the school property. Window replacement, put up 3 more fans and installed emergency lights in the Church building. In addition, they did 3 Bible Schools in our area—one in our Church and 2 in the public schools here in the city. They also traveled to the Indian Village and did another Bible School with them. The Indian village is about 2½ hours from our city. These Indians need lots of help—physical and especially spiritual. Pray with us that more will accept Christ as their personal Savior. They serve many gods and we serve only One!!! We have established a good relationship with them because of several work projects with many American groups. God is so AWESOME!
The second group helped with more of the maintenance needs and also did 3 Bible Schools. This group has adopted a remote school (up a holler) here in our city. It is a two-room school and, needless to say, it is a somewhat forgotten school when it comes to supplies and maintenance needs. We had two Bible Schools there and did some much needed painting on their walls around the school building. The principal was so excited to see us come. What a little work and a little elbow grease can accomplish! They are almost like the Indians—“out of sight, out of mind.”
God really knew what He was doing when He led us to this area. After the completion of the new subdivision about ½ mile down the road, just in Sunday School we have doubled our attendance. “How Great Thou Art!” I would like to give a suggestion to all the Pastors in the States—if you want to increase in your attendance, just buy more chairs. The past two months we have had gifts to purchase new chairs and what an AWESOME blessing this has been. Our attendance before the chairs was around 60-80. This month we have averaged 105. God is good all the time—all the time God is good! Well I thought I would mention the chairs—because now we need to purchase more chairs! How AWESOME! We now have 85 chairs and 25+ white plastic chairs in our Sunday School areas. We are making do with this number, but if anyone out there would like to help purchase more chairs!!!! (They cost 75 each.) What a sweet way to ask for more financial help with Church problems. And what a good problem to have. As you can tell by the numbers I have cited, we are not only out of seats but we are out of room to seat them. We are looking for a larger place for our Church. God is working in this area. Pray with us about this new building.
I am so glad that God is working where we are. There is much work and few laborers. Would you like to come and help? The doors are always open and the light is on out on the porch. Come on down and see your mission dollars at work.
Without B.F.M. and you helping us, we would not have the chance to see miracles happen every day.
In His Service,
Aj and Barbara Hensley
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: Mike & Beverly Creiglow in Brazil [July 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.
July 2, 2015
Dear Brethren,
As soon as I arrived from my trip up the Juruá River in May I caught a flu that was going around. It started on a Tuesday night while recording the TV program. On Wednesday morning the lady from the health department came by to give us our flu shots. Bev took hers, but I was not able. It has now been over a month and it looks like I will be going to the doctor this afternoon. That is what the boss says. I had improved last week, but since Monday it has gotten much worse.
Even though I have been very weak I have been able to get a few things done.
One of the jobs that was urgent was build a trailer for missionary José Maia for the work in Tipisca, Peru. The river is going down fast and we needed to get the trailer and some building supplies to him while there is still a little water in the river. The trailer was finished last week and early this week I bought the last of the materials and got it all on a boat. I wasn’t much help getting the stuff on the boat, so Pastor Ezi helped and we still had to hire some guys. Those 100lb bags of cement now weigh about a ton!
Baptism at Guajará in the state of Amazonas
Also I was able to visit our works at Rodrigues Alves (up river) and Guajará, Amazonas (down stream). Bev went with me on the visit to Guajará. We held a baptism service there, too.
The materials that I produce for the church and the work got behind, also. There were a few days when my fever was so high I couldn’t think straight. Much of that is caught up, but still have a way to go.
The most recent group that was baptized into First Baptist Church, Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil.
I managed to preach Friday night, Sunday night and Wednesday night at church. We had a huge crowd on Sunday and 2 more people were saved. There have been several more saved in other services, too. There were several more baptized on the 21st of June.
Well I hope that by time you read this I will be well again. Pray for me anyway.
Pray and give also for our next big medical mission trip. On October 23-31 we will be going to the Huacapisteia River (a tributary of the Juruá River way up in Peru). There are 4 Ashaninka indian villages that we will visit. Besides all the fuel, food and medicine we will have to buy one more aluminum canoe and motor to add to our fleet. Next month I will give you some numbers. Please pray and get ready to give to make this exciting mission trip happen.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: Paul & Wanda Hatcher in Brazil [July 2015]
Paul and Wanda Hatcher have been serving the Lord together in Brazil since 1974. Their main ministry is church planting.
July 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.
There is an update on the new church plant in downtown Manaus. I met with the mission team for this church plant and they are praying and awaiting the new facility to be completed. Meanwhile they are meeting and getting things ready for the inauguration. Pray for them to have a fruitful ministry. It is an old part of the city where older and traditional families live, most of whom profess to be religious but not knowing or trusting in the living Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thanks to you for your prayers in this matter and your contributions towards the building.
Meeting with the team for the downtown Manaus church plant.
I visited one of the churches that was started as an underground church plant. They have since decided to expand as a formalized church. They are now renting a place to meet. It was a great joy to meet with them and speak. It also was very special to see that the entire original group is active in the work, and that new disciples are being added. I rejoice to see the transformation of people’s lives by means of the gospel of Jesus Christ and their endeavors to reach their community with the Gospel.
I spent some time with our children and grandchildren. It’s always great to be with them and enjoy their company and see how the grandchildren are growing in stature and Christ-likeness. We thank God for your continued prayers and financial support to God’s ministry in Brazil.
I arrived back from Manaus two days ago on June 29th. Despite travel delays and resulting missed flights, all went well and I had a blessed time there.
We pray for you that your knowledge and remembrance of our Lord, the only true God, may abundantly increase in wisdom and discernment, that your 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 your 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.
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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