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
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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
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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
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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
The Love of Christ Changes a Whole Family!
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
October 4, 2018
Dear Friends,
Our outreach team just arrived from a 3 week trip ministering in the interior towns of our state, Paraná. Most of these team members are seasoned missionaries with life experiences that have “toughened” them up and prepared them to deal with just about anything. But there were some interactions in a couple of towns that had even the most experienced missionaries overwhelmed with emotion. While receiving a free haircut, one young man began to share his life’s experiences. He had just recently been released from prison, which he fully admitted the guilt of the crime that sent him there. While in prison he had been beaten and tortured many times by other inmates. As he shared this with the worker, he didn’t shed a tear or even appear to be emotional. It was after the haircut that the missionary shared with him how Jesus had taken our punishment for sin upon himself and that the guilt and condemnation that we deserved was paid for because of God’s love for us when Jesus suffered and died on the cross. When the young man, who knew that he was deservedly in prison, realized how great God’s mercy and love for him is, he was overwhelmed with amazement and just broke down crying. After fully explaining to the young man what it means to surrender to Christ as Lord and Savior, the young man immediately did so. From that moment on he was totally different in his disposition and outward appearance.
In another town nearby the team was ministering in a public square. There was a teenage boy who hung around all day, but kept a distance and didn’t seem interested in talking with any of our workers personally. It was almost like the last second in a “do-or-die” situation in our public presentation of the gospel when the boy came over to one of our missionaries. He began to open up and share that he and his whole family were going through some very depressing experiences. All three adult family members in the home had lost their jobs and there was no more money to buy anything. On top of that, a close aunt had recently been stabbed to death before their eyes by her husband. The boy felt that there was no hope for him in the world. The worker started there with his confession of hopelessness and began to show him the great love of Christ. He explained the Scriptures to him and how to become a child of the King of all kings. The boy surrendered to Christ that moment. Afterward he ran home to tell his family and he brought them back to talk to the outreach team also. Through their sharing of the gospel, the whole family trusted in Jesus Christ and made their faith public. The family was so overjoyed with their newfound hope and the love they felt from Christ through the mission team that they couldn’t pull themselves away from them as they prepared to leave town. The team was also overwhelmed with how much love and gratitude they displayed and they couldn’t help breaking down in tears as they said goodbye. We are thankful that the local pastor has opportunity to begin discipling these newborn Christians and he is glad that his church is blessed with new life in it.
At our home church we held a couples’ seminar and there were several unchurched couples who attended. We attempt to put on four of these seminars per year and use them with a two-fold purpose: 1) to provide a venue for our members to invite their unchurched friends and family members and 2) to share the gospel of Jesus with the unsaved through our love and preached message. My wife, Charlene, is so instrumental in putting these events together. She does an amazing job with the details of the event like decorating and providing refreshments, but even more so through her captivating personality inviting friends she develops in her day-to-day living experiences. As I was counting how many visiting couples we had there that were not church members, I noticed that, of those that were present, fifty percent were Charlene’s invitees. I am blessed to have her by my side.
Please keep us in your prayers in the upcoming months. Like many of you, from now until the end of the year we have quite a few special events planned and they will require a lot of energy and resources to pull off with quality.
Thank you so much for your love and concern for 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 Privilege of Partnering with God
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
May 2, 2018
Dear Friends,
As I begin to write this report, I am nearly overwhelmed with joy and gratitude to the Lord for all that He has done since last month. Our evangelistic outreach team has just arrived from a 4-week trip to several interior towns and villages and I was thrilled to join them in a couple of these towns. The greatest joy that comes from having the privilege of partnering with God is the business of bringing lost folks into His family. It is blessing to be able to go into public schools, by invitation, and share the gospel clearly and openly to over 3000 students and teachers, but my most satisfying happiness was to get alone with a young father of 4 and lead him to Christ in a personal conversation. James, the young father, had gone to the car repair shop that morning to have some work done on his vehicle. On his way home, he passed by the town square where we were giving free haircuts, blood pressure checks and family counseling. The Lord nudged him through his curiosity and he and his young son stopped to get a haircut. As James was getting his hair cut, our volunteers are trained to start up conversations that lead into discussions of spiritual needs. By the time the barber had finished his haircut, James wanted to learn more about God’s love and plan for his life. The barber then referred him to come over to my counseling area to talk more at length with me. In my conversation with James, the Lord guided me to share the Scriptures that clearly revealed his guilt of sins against a holy God and his need of repentance and forgiveness. By the time our conversation ended, James confessed Jesus as his Lord and Savior and returned that night to our outdoor service, bringing his entire family. At the end of that service an invitation was given to come publicly before the crowd to confess faith in Christ and James and his whole family stepped out to do just that. We spoke with his family and got them all connected with the local missionary at that new church plant. He will begin to teach them in weekly Bible studies. Nearly all of our team members have personal stories to share of individuals that they too had the privilege of leading to Christ during this month’s travels.
Back at our own local church, Charlene and I have been excited about the constant influx of new visitors. We want to see even more come, but we are seeking to teach our members how to lovingly embrace those who come and make them welcome into our fellowship. What really encourages me is to hear the visitors share how the church seems like a loving family and that the services are so practical and useful to them. I just got great news from a lady in our congregation yesterday. She sensed that God wanted her to give up her paying job at a secular company to come and work full-time with almost no pay as an assistant at the church office and she has already given her company her two-weeks notice. We had been praying for a couple of part-time volunteers, but this is even better. Having her come on the team is such a blessing and we pray and trust that God will bless her faith and trust in Him. Her husband is just as confident that this is God’s plan for them that he isn’t concerned about a drop in income, even though they are far from affluent.
Thank you for your prayers and faithful 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
Praying God would Touch the Hearts of Friends
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
May 2, 2018
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Less than two months ago I wrote, “Paulette, the oldest member of our congregation who is faithful in seeking to reach others has had many physical problems in the last 2 or 3 years. Tomorrow she will be having a needle biopsy to determine if a tumor in her pancreas is malign. About two weeks ago she called me to ask me to meet her husband at his only brother’s home. They had just entered the house and found a suicide note on the table. There has been no sight of this brother now for over two weeks.” On April 5, the day after I wrote you last month, Paulette left this earth for the presence of the Lord.
There were about 150 friends of Paulette at her funeral service. Only about a third of these were believers as far as we know. My message was a presentation of the gospel for which Paulette’s life was a good illustration. We drove 600 miles round trip the next day to have a burial service at her tomb in the east of France. The drive was an opportunity to spend some valuable time with Gilbert, Paulette’s widower. Judy, Wendy and I from the church had lunch with about 20 members of her family before the graveside service. As far as we know none of these are believers. Pray with us that God will save these friends and family members to whom Paulette was a great witness.
Paulette and one of her many church art projects.
Paulette and VBS team members.
Judy celebrated her 65th birthday organizing the events surrounding the funeral. I am so thankful for Judy who is a wonderful wife and co-worker in the ministry to which God has called us. She is also a great mother and grandmother to her natural offspring and many others.
Last week one of our neighbors stopped by to say that since we had missed the annual neighborhood dinner last summer they were planning a special dinner among neighbors with us as the special guest. Please pray that God would touch the heart of these friends and draw them to Himself. We thank God for the opportunities to have meaningful conversations about spiritual matters with our neighbors and others.
The Lord continues to bless our fellowship of believers and we are very encouraged by the interest of the thirty or so young people who come to the youth meetings.
Thank you for your prayers and faithful support,
John and Judy
John Mark & Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
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
