Benefits of Reading God’s Word
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
February 2, 2021
Dear Friends,
There is one good habit that I stumbled upon shortly after my surrender to Christ 43 years ago and that was to read the Bible through from cover to cover. I don’t remember that I set out to read it through even the first time back then, but a thirst to know more about the God who loved me enough to give His Son to save me motivated me to read on. After that first time, I felt that I knew Him better and that led me to establish the goal of reading it through yearly. There have been a few years that I fell short of that, but nonetheless, I learned more about my God and Savior and I find more to praise and worship Him for each time.
One of the greatest benefits to me of reading the Bible through often is that the reader (in this case, I) discovers just how much God is in control of everything that is going on in the affairs of this world. This is true even when the events and circumstances for believers are drastic and horrible. I share this to say that I am greatly encouraged and excited about what is going on all around us, though a casual observer who doesn’t read God’s word, and isn’t aware of His sovereign power, might tend to despair and lose hope.
Certainly not all the events and circumstances are pleasant, in and of themselves. We have lost some wonderful people to COVID-19. My wife and I both suffered the discomfort of it ourselves. The political and spiritual climate of both Brazil and the United States is appalling. The apparent lack of justice and goodness in the highest places and the increase of violence and hatred on the streets of our cities pain me. But, because I have seen in God’s word how He governs all the affairs of mankind, using even evil to accomplish His good purposes, I rejoice in the midst of it all, because I am loved and cared for by Him. His word also gives me the message of hope and salvation to take to those people that He has put in the scope of my influence. I, and those I train, can offer true peace to them when all around they see despair. I thank God for the Bible, which is His means of communicating what He’s up to, both now and in, what seems to be, the daunting future. I am excited about what’s coming next because “I know Who holds the future, and I know He holds my hand.”
A young couple just recently joined our outreach traveling team, Projeto Vida. Vitor just finished law school and his friends expected him to go into practice and make a bundle of money, but the Lord put it in his heart to go into fulltime evangelism. His wife, Loren, is nearly finished with college, but she is equally convicted that the Lord wants them to serve Him in this ministry. This weekend will be their first trip to minister with our team. They come to us from one of our sister churches where they served for several years in evangelism as parttime volunteers. We are so thrilled that they love and trust the Lord so much that they would walk away from a possibly lucrative profession to make God’s love known to many who have never heard. Please pray for them as we seek to support and encourage them in this vocation.
I hope that you are finding God’s word to be your delight and source of encouragement in this new year. It certainly is to us.
Yours in Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
bobbymichael_1@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
Doors of Opportunity Unlocked Amidst Lockdown
May 20, 2020
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
It’s still all Corona, Corona, Corona around here. And as a result of that not much has been altered since the last time I wrote a report.
Schools are all closed so the kids are all at home. Josiah is at home doing on-line schooling. He is finishing his final term as a senior at Rift Valley Academy. He has missed his interim trip, his senior trip has been canceled and his graduation ceremony is probably canceled as well. It is unlikely he will ever see any of his friends again before they all head off to their home countries and home continents. Chloe is home too. Julie is homeschooling her and I am assisting by teaching math.
Churches are all closed. I haven’t been able to meet with the folks at Upper Room Baptist Church for many weeks now except individually. Everyone I talk to wants to get our worship services started back up again but to do so would be against the lock-down orders. At what point do we say we have to meet anyway?
Nairobi is locked down. Nobody is allowed in or out.
At least we still have access to food, water, and medicines. Our supply lines are operating as normal and all the necessities of life are still readily available.
The one thing we are desperately trying to avoid is Kenyan quarantine. People who test positive for Covid19 AND everyone they come into contact with are quarantined in official Kenyan quarantine centers. We all hear that these places are nightmares – No care, crowded, Corona-contracting centers. Healthy people get quarantined and are not allowed to leave. They end up coming down with the virus. I was in town today and saw a sign at the store: “Help contain Covid19 – Donate here to send street kids to quarantine centers”. I had to shudder.
But not all is bad news. There are opportunities as well. The other day I was in town picking up some supplies and I was at the store of a Hindu proprietor. He started talking about Corona and I said, “All I can do is pray, and trust God, and leave the rest in His hands”. The Hindu store owner stopped and said, “Yes, thank you. I guess we should be talking more about God than about Corona Virus”. Now I know that the “god” in his mind is different than the God in mine but we have small opportunities to talk to people these days in a way we might not be able to during a normal time.
Another opportunity is to invest in the lives of other people. As a result of the schools closing, we have two Kenyan teenagers studying here at our house and Julie is overseeing their education and I am teaching them Geometry. One is staying with us around the clock, including boarding here and the other comes every day for school purposes and then leaves at the end of the day. Yesterday, during their morning break, the four of us (myself, Josiah and the two Kenyan teenagers) sat on the veranda while they drank their chai and we just talked. And the most amazing questions and discussions came out. We talked about salvation, heaven, missions, f=ma and e=mc2, the movements of planets, English idioms, biological taxonomy, sin, grace verses the law, Jesus’ interpretation of the 10 Commandments in Matthew 5, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and what happens to morally upright Muslims who have never heard about Jesus. It was all done in a casual way and I didn’t lead them to any of these topics. We just talked about whatever came up out of their brains. What an amazing time to try and make sure they heard wisdom from a Biblical perspective on all of these topics.
Let’s ask God to give us more of these kinds of opportunities during this chaotic and unnerving time of uncertainty.
Blessings to you all, Roger, Julie, Amy, Josiah & Chloe
Contact Info:
Roger & Julie Tate
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta@gmail.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
PalavraFest, Sharing in Schools & Parks, Headed to Rio
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
October 1, 2019
Dear Friends,
You may remember that I wrote how Charlene and I teach English as a second language in order to gain an opportunity to reach people who wouldn’t ordinarily come to a church service. We continue to do that and we are truly getting those opportunities. She and I teach different age levels and we both have English students who now come to our church services as a result. One of my students, a twelve-year-old girl, has also started bringing her entire family of six to church on Sundays. Our art teacher has also been able to draw several of her students to our worship services. This ministry is time consuming and requires effort, but the results that we are seeing make it worthwhile.
In our discipleship efforts at our base church we engaged in what we call, “PalavraFest,” translated, “WordFest.” This three week long event is pretty challenging for anyone, but especially for new believers. To complete the challenge, each person must read the Bible books of 1st Samuel, 2nd Samuel, 1st Kings, 2nd Kings and 2nd Chronicles completely. Also, they must memorize the 4th and 5th chapters of James and, additionally, they must study and fill out a prepared Bible study guide that requires approximately 30 minutes of study per day. We are in the middle of our third week of “WordFest” right now and I am very thrilled that around 60 percent of the congregation has kept up with all the challenge’s requirements. One of the greatest joys to me is to see how excited everyone is at our meetings as each one recites the verses they memorized to one another and discuss the details of the Bible texts that they read during the week! Our aim, above all, is to encourage our church members to study and practice God’s word so that they will be better equipped to love and serve Him.
Bobby Wacaser shared his testimony in a public school in Tatuí, São Paulo.
This past week I traveled to the interior of the state of São Paulo to meet together and minister with our team of evangelists. We shared the gospel in several public schools as well as in two city parks. I can’t think of any activity in life that gives me a greater joy than to share the gospel in a venue like a public school or park. In the town of Tatuí, I spoke to a group of around 300 high school students and shared my testimony of how I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. As I spoke, I looked around the crowd and could see many who were crying as God used me to communicate His love and mercy. I believe that several of those who heard the gospel also surrendered their hearts to Christ. In the schools, we aren’t permitted to ask the students to come forward to proclaim publicly their faith, but very often, some of the students come to talk to us individually to share how they felt God speaking to them through us. Like I said, I can’t think of any greater joy than that!
Bobby Wacaser shared his testimony in a public school in Tatuí, São Paulo.
In a week, our team will be packing up to head out again to 2 different states of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul. Both locations offer some daunting challenges. In Rio de Janeiro, the drug use and crime rate are very high and our team is at constant risk. We are confident that God is sending them and that He will protect and use them. In Rio Grande do Sul, there is a very high percentage of demon worship and ritualistic sacrifices of animals, grains and alcoholic beverages in nearly every public square. It is sad to see how blind the people in this state are to the grace of God. They are desperately in need of the gospel and we are praying that the Lord will use our efforts there for the salvation of many. Please remember to pray for our ministries.
Thank you for your faithful prayer and 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
God is Still Showing His Love & Power
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
July 30, 2019
Dear Friends,
The month of July is a wonderful month for us here in southern Brazil. One of the highlights is our church’s anniversary. What makes it a little extra special is that it falls during the winter season when the climate and culture lend themselves to a festive sentiment which makes it ideal for inviting folks to our services. We had a record crowd a couple of weekends ago which also led to our highest regular service attendance the following week. We are excited and thankful for the new opportunities to minister to those whom the Lord brings our way.
Our traveling mission team, Projeto Vida, was up on the state line that separates our state, Paraná from the next state north, São Paulo. Where they were ministering there is an extensive river valley called Vale do Ribeira. Along this valley are a number of towns and communities in great need of the gospel and our team was used of the Lord to preach and share there for two weeks. The public schools are our usual venue for presenting the Word, but they were on winter break and the team presented in the public squares instead. Still there were many who surrendered to Christ as their Lord and Savior.
School has already started back up now and the team will be traveling again this week to other interior towns to minister.
We are still rejoicing from the wonderful grace the Lord showed this past week among our youth! Four teenagers made public professions of faith in Jesus at their most recent meeting. One young lady, Maria, has been attending with her boyfriend, Eric for several months, and, finally, she surrendered her life to Christ. Two others were attending for the first time, but the Lord graciously opened their hearts to understand and receive the gospel also. I didn’t get the personal information on the fourth person, a girl, that also trusted in Christ. I will be meeting soon with their leader who will begin a personal discipleship program for each of these new converts. We are so grateful that God is still showing His love and power at work even when society, in general, seems to be more and more decadent.
Thank for your faithful prayers and 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
Wherever We are is No Surprise to God
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
July 9, 2019
Dear Brother and Sisters,
It is a joy to know that our Saviour will never leave us nor forsake. His presence has been evident to us this month and I hope the same is true in your life. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us and Judy’s sister, Peggy. Some of the difficult symptoms she had when we arrived have improved. There have been a battery of doctor appointments and we have been glad to be here to get her to these. We are now awaiting answers on options for treatments in University Medical Research Centers.
I had the privilege of being with Paul and Wanda and our father, John A. Hatcher, last week in Florida. They are all moving back to Manaus, Brazil, today. Your prayers for them as they seek to minister would be greatly appreciated. During my time with them in Central Florida we had great fellowship.
The Lord has opened up doors to visit and speak in supporting churches and I am enjoying these opportunities and times of fellowship. If you are interested in us coming to share what God is doing in France or to minister to your church in any way, it would be delighted. Contact us through the email listed above.
Peggy has a couple of Bible studies that meet in her home and we have enjoyed participating in these. News from France is good and the brothers and sisters in Christ show great concern for Judy’s sister. With long distance communication today, it is possible for us to continue part of our ministry.
But, wherever we are is no surprise to God and He brings across our paths those who need to know Christ or believers who need to be encouraged and are and encouragement to us. Judy and I like to do Nordic Trekking for exercise. Since we do this on neighborhood streets and in public parks it, opens up many doors of contact. It is a bit unusual to see trekkers around this part of the country so people stop and ask us about it and one thing leads to another and Jesus shows up on the scene!
May God bless you and use you as His light where you live!
Thankfully yours,
John and Judy Hatcher
John Mark & Judy Hatcher
JMHatcher[at]aol.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
Sharing the Gospel on Mountain Hikes and in Public Parks
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
July 3, 2019
Dear Friends,
Our winter weather has arrived here south of the equator. We aren’t having snowstorms, but the upper 20s without indoor heat or insulation feels frigid for almost anyone. Fortunately, I thrive in cooler weather and this is my favorite time of year. One of our ministry efforts during this time of year is to take teams hiking in the nearby mountain range. The cooler weather makes the physical exertion more invigorating and that makes it easier for us to invite unsaved friends to go with us. The hikes give us opportunities to get to know new friends better and show them the love of Christ through our actions and words. We have had several people come to our church services for the first time after having participated with us on a mountain hike. Just recently there were 36 of us who climbed a local peak and one of our members had 2 workmates and their wives go also. We always have prayer before we begin the hike and, during it, we intentionally point out God’s greatness in the creation of the natural beauty around us. When we stop to eat our packed lunches, we give thanks for His provision. I have spent time teaching our people how to use opportunities like these to find open doors for sharing the gospel with their friends and family members who accompany us. We also teach the entire group to consider how they behave and treat our guests so as to reinforce what the one sharing the gospel has to say. These hikes are also a great way to get some physical exercise while being distracted by the beautiful scenery around us.
Our outreach team went to three interior towns this month sharing the gospel. We were amazed at how many teens and children are being abused, both sexually and physically. Sadly, many times it is the very family members that should be loving and protecting them that are doing the abuse. It is enough to break your heart hearing 8 to 18 year-olds tell about suicide attempts and feelings of being unloved by their parents. Most of them live in fatherless homes and often the stepfathers and step-uncles are the sexual abusers and aunts often abuse them physically when they are called upon to “babysit” their nieces and nephews. On the one hand, these youth are distrusting of nearly everyone, but on the other they are very hungry for the good news that God loves them. Our teams are almost overwhelmed with sadness for their situations, but often are thrilled with joy when these youth come to Christ as their Lord and Savior! Our team was privileged to share the gospel in public parks and schools to over 2,000 students, teachers and adults this month. Only eternity will reveal how many of these truly surrendered their lives to Christ, but dozens openly confessed that they are now trusting in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We are grateful for the opportunity to take the good news to them and we want be faithful in doing it while we still can.
Next Sunday we will begin worship and Bible study in English for the first time in our church services. We don’t know what kind of attendance to expect, but we are hoping that it will be a ministry that will only increase our outreach in the community. Many Brazilians want and some need English for their jobs and education, so there are quite a few who, we believe, will come to improve their language skills. It is our hope that God will use this strategy to communicate His word to them even if their aim is only secular. Please pray that God will save many through 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
Read more
The Gospel Going forth in Brazil, Paraguay, & Colombia!
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
February 4, 2019
Starting the second week of January we held our first Missions Training Seminar and we were thrilled to have two middle-aged couples among our 20 volunteers! Two married couples who are just shy of retirement have been praying for the Lord’s direction in their life after they leave their secular jobs. After seeing how God used them to touch so many lives in Brazil and Paraguay in just a few short weeks, they feel strongly led to transition from their present jobs to full-time evangelism. We are praying with them and for them to clearly know God’s will about this so important decision. If they are truly led of the Lord to come be a part of our ministry outreach, they will certainly be a welcomed addition. I admire their way of thinking at this stage in their lives. So many middle-aged Christians start thinking about leisure and comfort and here these dear folks are seeking how they may more fully serve the Lord with their available time and resources. May God truly guide them in this process.
A man who trusted Christ in Paraguay
Another man who trusted Christ in Paraguay
Our team who took the gospel message to Paraguay came back rejoicing at how open most of the people were to the gospel. But it became evident that the adversary has his grip on people of all nations. One young man from our team was visiting in a neighborhood and began a conversation with man who became upset and hostile. Despite the man’s rudeness and hostility, our evangelist retained his pleasant attitude and treated the man with respect. He invited the man to come to our evangelistic presentation that would be held in the public square that evening, but the man told him to leave. In parting, the young evangelist felt led to ask the man to take his son, who was standing by his side, to the presentation. That night, lo and behold, the man showed up with his son to the evening meeting! He stayed throughout the entire service of gospel skits, testimonies and preaching and when an invitation was given at the end of the meeting to surrender his life to Christ, the man went immediately to the front of the crowd to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. This turn of events further strengthened our worker’s faith in the power of God to transform lives through the gospel.
While one group was in Paraguay spreading the gospel two of our workers got the opportunity to go on mission to Colombia. Israel and Giovane are both musicians and received an invitation to teach the people how to play wind instruments, which is their strength. Teaching the people to play the instruments was their platform for sharing the gospel with their students. They were assisting a missionary who is attempting to plant a new church there. As they taught how to play the instruments they also shared how God had changed their lives through trusting in Jesus Christ and how their lives could be transformed as well. They both were used of the Lord to win several Colombians to Christ during their three-week stay there. The local missionary is now working to disciple those who surrendered to the Lord.
Next week Charlene and I will resume teaching our English classes along with our volunteer tutors from our church teaching their respective subjects. It looks like we will have quite a few returning students as well as several new ones. We are excited about the privilege sharing the gospel with folks who wouldn’t ordinarily come to church for any other purpose. Please keep us in your prayers throughout this next semester.
Thank you for your concern and loving 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
Great Things He Has Done; Great Expectations for 2019
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
January 4, 2019
I want to start this letter and this year off with a hearty “Praise the Lord!” for all that He did in and through us this past year! We were blessed way beyond our expectations. The great things that God did emboldened us to have greater expectations for this new year.
During our special Christmas services, we had a huge turnout in attendance and a great response to the gospel presentation. Fifteen individuals surrendered their lives to Christ, six people professed that they wanted to rededicate their lives to the Lord and several visitors told us that they want to know more about the Christian life from what they saw in the way they were treated by our church members. I was thrilled with how hard our members worked in preparation for this event and how well they received our guests. I spoke with all of them after the special service and, although they were exhausted, they were very happy with how the Lord used them to touch the lives of so many people. The next day after our services I contacted all those who had made decisions to encourage them and we will begin discipleship training this month.
Our traveling evangelistic teams are in their summer recess because Brazilian schools are on summer break and that is our main venue for outreach. We will be hosting a missionary training seminar in the middle of this month and we are expecting volunteers from several different states. We give them biblical missions teaching in the classroom for two weeks and then we take them out on short term mission trips into the interior for another two weeks. After these four weeks of training several of these young people usually volunteer to stay on to work with our team for an additional six months or more. We hope that will be the case again this year. God has used this method and these young people tremendously repeatedly.
Charlene and I finished our first semester of giving free classes of English as a second language. We found out that this ministry is truly God-given avenue for sharing the love of Christ to the lost in our community. People who wouldn’t normally come to a church service came to learn English and that gave us the opportunity to share how God has changed our lives as we taught them English. In fact, several of those who accepted Christ as their Savior at our Christmas services were either our students or family members of our students and none of them were attending church before we started teaching them English. We thank the Lord that He gave us the insight to launch this ministry and we hope to use it even more efficiently this year.
We thank you for your faithful prayers and support of our ministry here in southern Brazil. We are hoping to see the Lord do great things in 2019.
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
