Missionary Update: Sheridan & Anita Stanton on furlough from Peru [November 2012]
Sheridan and Anita Stanton have served the Lord in Peru for 28 years. Their main ministry is church planting and they have helped establish churches all over the country. Sheridan also works to train pastors and Anita works with the ladies’ ministry and developing children’s material.
Dear friends,
The autumn mix of red, yellow, gold and orange has been amazing as Anita and I have traveled the interstates this past month. The first of the month we were in Michigan and had the opportunity to visit Niagara Falls for a few days on the Canadian side for Anita’s birthday. Then we came back to Michigan in time for the Annual Mission Conference sponsored by the Grace Baptist Church of Holly, Michigan –Pastor Bob Hopkins and the Lake Road Baptist Church of Clio, Michigan –Pastor Doug Armstrong.
October – 7 in the morning with the Grace Baptist Church, Holly, Michigan, and then with the Liberty Baptist Church, Burton, Michigan in the evening -Pastor Tim Works.
October – 14 with the Grace Baptist Church, Fairborn, Ohio, pastor Mark Pyle (am service). Emmanuel Baptist Church, Bellbrook, Ohio, pastor Darrell Messer (pm service), then back on Wednesday – 17 with Emmanuel Baptist for their Annual Missions Conference.
October – 19 we headed to Florida so we could be with our home/sending church, Jordan Missionary Baptist of Sanford, Florida on the 21st.
October- 18 we began a four day Revival Meeting with the Grace Baptist Church of Bradenton, Florida, Pastor Jim Burnham. The Lord blessed our meeting with power of the Spirit of God being gloriously manifested. We would have enjoyed attending the Annual Mission Conference of the Bryan Station Baptist Church of Lexington, Kentucky, but the dates conflicted with the meeting in Florida.
At this time Anita and I are in Atlanta, Georgia attending a conference sponsored by the NCCA – National Christian Counselors Association. We head for Glenville, Georgia tomorrow.
We continue to be graciously received by each church. New friends have been made and a lot of old friendships have been strengthened. The amount of miles travelled on furloughs never changes but Anita and I feel this furlough has been a little less stressful due to your faithful prayers. Thank you all so much!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Hilda Bayhi (Anita’s sister) has finished taking chemotherapy and radiation treatments for brain cancer and will undergo cyber-knife surgery to remove the four brain tumors on November 5th.
- Our son, Major Joshua Stanton, USAF, for his safety as a pilot flying missions in Afghanistan. Hopefully he will return to the States soon and see his new born son, Benjamin for the first time.
- God’s grace and protection as we continue our furlough travels.
- Anita’s knees are doing a bit better but still hurting her.
- For the Calvary Baptist Mission of Huánuco, Peru and all the churches and pastors of Peru.
For the churches reading this letter please consider giving a special, generous, Thanksgiving Offering designated for the General Fund of Baptist Faith Mission.
Until next month,
In HIM by HIS grace,
Sheridan and Anita Stanton
Furlough Address:
1012 Balsam Drive
Lexington, KY 40504
(859) 277-3716 – mission house
(859) 490-5370 – cell in States
(614) 500-8823
sestantonperu[at]hotmail.com – Sheridan
arstantonperu[at]gmail.com – Anita
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Thank You!
Our Secretary, Dave Parks, expresses personal thanks on behalf of our missionaries to all of our faithful and generous contributors.
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Missionary Update: Jud & Raquel Hatcher [October 2012]
Jud and Raquel Hatcher serve the Lord in Manaus, Brazil. They are part of the “SeedFactory” church planting initiative, which is a movement to plant churches in all 26 Brazilian capitals. Since 2006, 43 churches have been started in 5 states.
October 5, 2012
THANKFUL HEART
Thank you for your faithful prayers and investing in missions.
Thank you Bro. David Pitman & Addyston Baptist Church, Addyston, OH for
taking us on for support. Thank you also to Atlantic Shores Baptist Church,
Virginia Beach, VA; Friendship Baptist Church, Bristol, VA; New Hope Baptist
Church, Dearborn Heights, MI; Darwin & Cathy Smith, Lexington, KY; and Ron
& Judy Logan, Lexington, KY. WE ARE TRULY GRATEFUL!! Now, let me tell you about family news and some exciting moments of our latest church plant.
FAMILY DETAILS
Everyone is doing well. Sarah is 7 years old and studies hard on her math. Laura is 6 years old and is reading and writing amazingly. Benjamin is 4 years old, is learning to read and knows all of his numbers. Melissa is 11 months old and has 4 little teeth. At times, Raquel and I feel overwhelmed with family and ministry, but wouldn’t change a single moment of God’s plan for us.
CHURCH PLANTING: INITIAL PLANNING
On January 7, 2012 two couples, a lady, Raquel, the children and I went on a
van ride to pray and discuss where the Lord would lead us to start a church in
Manaus. I invited each one to make a personal commitment to join us and plant
a church. Everyone in the van that day committed wholeheartedly to start a
new church. The following weeks were filled with excitement as we visited six
different churches on Sundays and met from 5:00pm until 7:00pm to pray, study,
brainstorm and plan. During this time we also selected our name – Ativa: Uma
Igreja Batista (Active, a Baptist Church).
EVANGELISTIC COOKOUTS
During the weeks to come we organized several cookouts in homes where family
and friends were invited. Our contact list grew tremendously. Our fifth event was
a one-day camp where 95 people participated. Several people heard the Gospel
and made decisions.
MEETING AT HOME
Our first Sunday service was March 18, 2012 and met at our home. We had no
music, but the great food led to tremendous fellowship. A sense of belonging
began to grow amongst the team members, the newly saved and the unsaved
attendees. Excitement grew every week as people asked questions and decisions
were made. By the end of April, we had 30 people attending our home services.
During this period a member of the congregation asked “Where should I give
my tithe?” It is worth noting, we did not have a specific moment for tithes and
offerings during the service. We didn’t have a treasurer either. That week we
selected a treasurer and a vice-treasurer, and a box was placed on a corner table
during Sunday services. Those who attended began to give generously, even
though we never spoke of the matter. Six weeks latter we purchased a simple
sound system, three microphones, an acoustic guitar and a two-tone percussion instrument. With low monthly expenses our new congregation was able to save towards what the Lord was about to do.
BUILDING QUEST
Children singing on Sunday (building still under retrofitting)
In May, we began to search for a building to lease. We wanted a building on an
easy to find street, with good visibility. As we looked around the city we ran into
a serious problem – the outlandish cost of rental property. The reason? Manaus
is a host city for the World Cup 2014 and buildings are now exponentially
expensive to lease and/or purchase. Our small budget only allowed us to commit
to $1,000/mo and we needed a location to accommodate at least 150 people
(projecting growth over the next years). The cheapest we could find was $7,500/mo and with little to no parking. I even found a place that could accommodate 200 people and had six parking spaces for $15,000/mo. That’s right, fifteen thousand per month! And yes, that is the cost in US currency. To put the price absurdity into full perspective: the minimum wage in Brazil is currently at US$297.00/mo. Not encouraging… but we sure prayed and searched.
Despite the challenges, the Lord blessed! He gifted us with a small warehouse
to seat 140 people, with two small rooms, and a bathroom. The location is on
one of the main throughways of the city. Guess how much? Yes, $1,000/mo.
Unfortunately, it only has one parking spot. Yet again, the Lord blessed us.
Around the corner, within a hundred yards we found a walled parking lot for 30
cars! We met with the congregation and agreed to lease the lot at $25/Sunday.
BAPTISMS, ORGANIZATION & RETROFITTING
On August 12, 2012 we baptized 13 people (including our daughters Sarah
and Laura) and were organized with 37 members through Tabernacle Baptist
Church. It was an exciting Sunday for us all. We continued to meet at our home
while retrofitting the warehouse for services. Everyone came to help scrape the
old paint of the walls, repair the roof, clean, paint, and install doors and curtains.
Tabernacle Baptist Church donated the needed metal and the welder to build
and install a sign for on the front of the building.
Church building inauguration night with 102 people (84 adults and 18 children)
BUILDING INAUGURATION
On September 23, 2012 we had our inaugural service and kicked off a six-week Evangelistic message series. That evening we had 102 attend (84 adults
and 18 children). The Lord also gave us two salvation decisions that evening.
On the second week a tropical storm hit hard, and most of our invited guests
stayed at home. Despite the downpour of rain, we still had 63 attend and one
reconciliation. Pray for us this coming Sunday, it’s our third week.
PRAYER
Please, invest time in prayer for all of those who will need discipleship. Also,
pray for each one of us to continue in good health. Consider coming to visit us in
Brazil. And, continue to give generously to missions.
Grateful,
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
judsonhatcher@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: AJ & Barbara Hensley [October 2012]
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.
Dear friends,
Forgive us for not writing to you last month. We have been in such a whirlwind of events that the time just got away from us. Nothing has slowed down yet but we seem to have gotten our priorities in order this month.
We were in the States for 2 weeks in August with Barb’s Mother to help her celebrate her 90th birthday. That was a blessing. While there I was also privileged to preach at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church where Pastor Thomas is the pastor. While there we were so rushed that all I had time to do was to gain more weight. That is so easy to put on and so hard to get rid of. (lol)
On returning we were blessed with a group from Centerville Baptist Church in Georgia. They were an AWESOME ministry group for our public schools. With them we were able to reach two schools to spread the gospel. We did Bible Schools and a work project in each school. Just saying that it does not seem like much ministry but the inroads made were AWESOME. The principals were astonished that we were willing to help with some needed repairs that they had been unable to get done. Then the friendships that were established with the children are truly amazing. One of the schools is located near the Vocational School and here we will be able to do more follow-up with the school and principal.
This group gave one AWESOME day for us working at the Vocational School. We were able to hang doors and do some interior painting in the dorm house. God is so AWESOME.
The ladies at Centerville were so gracious in making cloth bags for us to use in the food basket ministry that we did while the group was here. I must take my hat off to the ladies in the sewing group–they did an AWESOME job. We were able to mount 43 food bags and the majority of those were taken to the Indians at their reservation. What an unexpected blessing for these Indians that the Government has practically forgotten. This tribe I must say is very very poor. This word does not tell just how bad the situation is for these people. Their spiritual lives are just as bad as their physical lives. They have served so many gods for so long in their tradition that it is very hard to break through to them and make them understand that there is only one God. There are about 250 in this tribe and there is another tribe in the same area. Pray for these Indians, and for the people that work with them, that they would hear the word and accept the only living God as their Savior and Lord.
The remainder of these food baskets were given to some of the families in our church. We sometimes forget those who do not have 3 square meals a day because we do have. Everybody just simply does not have the basic necessities. So what an AWESOME blessing for the Church to be able to minister with these basic necessities. Thanks, Pastor Allen and Church!
While talking about the Church–ours is going great. We have around 90 members and the fellowship is growing along with the membership. We are having around 140 in attendance on Sunday night and this is a blessing to see.
This past weekend the ladies of the Church had a Ladies Retreat. It was a great blessing to many women. They received cloth bags that were sewn by the sewing group there at Centerville Church also. Everyone loved their gift. When the retreat ended, Barb and I headed out on a 3 hour trip for me to preach at the Church in Natividadi da Serra. We helped begin this mission 6 years ago and now it is a Church established for 1 year. It was my pleasure to preach at this one-year anniversary and to see the growth that has occurred in these years. They started out in a house then moved to a room then opened the front of the room and added a covered garage. They are now spilling out to the street. They started with 6-8 children and Pastor George and Alda. Sunday night there were 80 or more in attendance. Those children that were there at the beginning are now adult teenagers leading music and one has surrendered to the ministry. What God is doing there in that location is AWESOME!!!!! As you can tell they are needing some land to build a new building. Please make this a matter of prayer for the Church at Natividadi da Serra.
Well it is beginning our Spring and soon it will be Summer and HOT here so if you get tired of the cold there in the States just call and we will put some more water in the beans and turn down your bed. In other words you are always welcome here in Caraguatatuba, Sao Paulo. We will be honored to show you what God is doing with your mission dollars.
This photo does not show you the awful conditions but you can see some of the Indian children that desperately need Jesus as their Savior.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: Bobby & Charlene Wacaser [September 2012]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
September 10, 2012
Dear Friends,
“Rejoice always,” are the words that the Apostle Paul wrote to the brothers and sisters in Thessalonica. It is very evident from reading all of Paul’s letters and the book of Acts that this joy he spoke of could not be dependent upon comfortable circumstances. In fact, it would be extremely difficult to find someone whose circumstances could be worse. The rejoicing that he commands is based on facts, not circumstances.
I cannot say that I have suffered anything like the trials that Paul experienced, but I know that the principle is true no matter how severe the trial. I as write this my body is aching from some type of “bug” that I got on a mission conference trip. I do rejoice, though, because I am a child of God, an ambassador of Jesus Christ and he has promised to never leave me nor forsake me.
I also had the privilege to rejoice a few days ago when a thief broke in to our new church building. I rejoiced first of all because he didn’t take much. Secondly, I rejoice because I know that all of our true needs will be met by the power and riches of Christ.
But, I did get the privilege of rejoicing in gain too, and not only loss and ill health. We had a group of youth and their leaders come down from Tampa, Florida to work together with us in the public schools and parks. We rejoiced to see several dozens of youth surrendering their lives to the Lord. This group also spent a day of hard work digging ditches and putting in a much needed drain field. They provided all the tools, labor and material to get the job done. We rejoiced to see these young people working a lot of gusto and determination.
I believe that this trial of illness that I am experiencing right now will pass. But I also know that other trials will come. I hope to honor the Lord with my joy in all circumstances and despite them.
Rejoice with me for God’s glory!
In Christ’s love,
Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser
Rua Manoel Valdomiro de Macedo, 2281
81170-150 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
robertmw[at]brturbo.com.br
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FaithWORKS [September 2012]
ODALI AND KATHY BARROS FURLOUGH – NEED HOUSING
Odali and Kathy are planning a Stateside furlough late November 2012. They need to find some affordable housing to rent while here. Can you help them either by providing a house or giving them referrals? Correspond with them directly at odali_kathy @ hotmail.com.
URGENT VEHICLE NEED FOR THE TATES IN KENYA
The Tates continue to need a replacement vehicle for the one confiscated from them by the Kenyan government due to fraudulent registration when their former vehicle they bought was first imported into the country. Special offerings have been given already, but more are needed. Their home church, Emmanuel Baptist Church of Bellbrook, has given an $8425.00 offering. Also, the East Keys Baptist Church, Springfield, IL [Dan Hillard, pastor] designated their $1000.00 Labor Day Missions Conference offerings to this need. You can give to this cause right now on our Donations page. Please be sure to designate “Tates Vehicle” in the memo line. (You can also still mail in a paper check. Address info can be found on that same Donations page.) You can read more about the car situation here and or on the Tates’ blog here.
NEW BFM BROCHURE
We have produced an attractive and informative brochure to present our missionaries’ ministries. It will serve well as a centerpiece presentation to introduce, define, and distinguish the faithful missionaries who serve in partnership with BFM. It is professionally designed and produced in full-color on a three-8½x11-pages spread-out format.
To view and flip through an animated version of the brochure, click here. You can help us reach out to introduce others to BFM by using this brochure when you tell them about us.
If you want copies of the brochure for yourself or to distribute in your church, contact the Secretary, Dave Parks, with your mailing address and the quantity you want. You will find his address on our Contact page.
‘LIKE US’ ON FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/BaptistFaithMissions
We have launched a new Facebook page. We are updating many of our daily developments as they happen. We are asking you to “Like” us when you visit the page. It will help us get the word out about BFM to all the others who view your personal page.
2012 THANKSGIVING OFFERING
Please pray to the Lord of the Harvest concerning what you can give to our THANKSGIVING OFFERING. The THANKSGIVING OFFERING supplies the funds to provide for the many benefits and services we give our missionaries over the course of the year such as furlough expenses and the support services required to meet their needs. We have 4 more months to complete the year, and from all indications, the remaining funds from last year’s THANKSGIVING OFFERING will not suffice to meet the funds yet to be disbursed for the services and benefits we commit to our missionaries. PLEASE PRAY, CONSIDER, AND COMMIT TO GIVE AS GENEROUS OFFERING AS YOU CAN!
MONTHLY GENERAL FUND OFFERINGS
We also continue to need increased and faithful MONTHLY GENERAL FUND OFFERINGS to supply their monthly Essential Maintenance Transactions [EMT]. Those essential commitments amount to more than $45,000.00 every month.
$20,426.00 for their salaries;
$10,950.00 for their standard housing and ministry allowances;
$11,918.11 for their monthly hospitalization premiums;
$1722.50 for the printing and distribution of their monthly newsletters and reports in The Mission Sheets. These disbursements must be made every month. They must be supplied through your monthly GENERAL FUND offerings, or else we will be required to reduce either their salaries or expense allowances to make the monthly GENERAL FUND supplies / disbursements balance.
YOUR FAITHFUL AND GENEROUS MONTHLY GENERAL FUND OFFERINGS ARE SUPPLYING THESE NEEDS so they can maintain their daily ministries unhindered by shortages of funds and undistracted from their service by wondering what they will have to curtail to keep their ministries going.
We love you and thank God for each one. All our offerings working together will keep them GOING AND GROWING for the Glory of God!
BFM ON YouTube
We are launching a BFM YouTube Channel to post videos to update you and provide clips from our missionaries and events. You will find links to these YouTube clips here on our FaithWorks Blog page and also on our Facebook posts as we upload them.
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Missionary Update: The Tates in Kenya [September 2012]
The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope and pray that the Kingdom of God is growing back in the States and here in Kenya as well. God is good, just, faithful, merciful and gracious. His word will accomplish everything He wants it to accomplish in our lives and in this world. Our King sits on the throne and rules by His mighty power. Praise be to our great God.
We will probably have some changes coming in some of our groups in the next couple of weeks. At the beginning of the year we started three groups with the hopes of them becoming churches of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of those groups was organized into the Baptist Church of Shangalamwe. It looks like the other two groups will be canceled but that doesn’t mean that good things haven’t come out of them. These groups often start strong with many people and then begin to fade once the attendees realize they will not be receiving any gifts. That happened to our Friday group. It has dwindled to basically one or two attendees who were not being faithful themselves and who were not putting forth much effort to help the group grow. It was time to cancel the group this past month. Also, our Saturday group has had the same kinds of problems. A local pastor who attended the group became angry at us for not building him a new building and went about sabotaging the group, poisoning it with his lies and driving people away. We have also had to cancel this group this past month. However, out of this group has come a young man, Titus, who has gone on to form five other groups himself. We plan on continuing to mentor and teach this young man on how to lead these groups and on how to lead these groups into becoming churches. He is doing an excellent work. People are being saved in his groups and most of the attendees are hearing the Bible taught verse-by-verse for the very first time in their lives. So, with the canceling of two groups this past month, we will be looking to start a couple of new groups that we hope to eventually turn into house churches. Nathan and I are not discouraged about the canceling of these two groups. At the beginning of the year we looked at things realistically and decided that if even one out of every four groups we started became churches that we would be happy with that. We are excited about starting some new groups in the near future.
At the Baptist Church of Shangalamwe we finished teaching about elders this past month. We taught about the need for elders, the responsibilities of elders, and the characteristics and qualification of elders. It was exciting to hear and answer their many questions concerning elders as we taught them concerning this topic from the Scriptures. Once we had finished all the teachings, the church obeyed the teaching of the Word of God and chose and appointed a qualified elder for the church. Afterwards, we gathered around him and prayed that God would give him strength and wisdom as the first elder and spiritual leader of the young church. This is an important step as this young church needs to have spiritual leaders to lead it in the future after Nathan and I are no longer around. May God bless this church with much spiritual growth and maturity and may He bless their new elder, Richard.
Very briefly, my car situation hasn’t changed. It still hasn’t been confiscated but I also cannot drive it or else it will be confiscated, impounded and basically stolen from my by the authorities. Barring a miracle from God I will not be able to keep the car. Please pray that God’s will be done in this situation whether it is for me to keep or lose the vehicle.
Until next month, beloved.
May God’s peace and joy be with you.
For the glory of God in East Africa,
Roger & Julie Tate (and Emily, Amy, & Josiah)
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta[at]gmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Radfords in Kenya [September 2012]
Nathan and Carrie Radford serve the Lord in Kitale, Kenya. Their main ministries include indigenous church planting, a prison ministry, and a hospital ministry for mothers with premature babies.
September 4, 2012
Dear praying friends,
Another month has come and gone, and we only have a few months left in the year 2012. As I reflect on this past year, I ask myself, “Where has the time gone?” I am sure that many of you can identify with this. Our lives are so brief, and we need to be serving the Lord while there is still opportunity. May we be thankful for the opportunities He gives us to serve Him, and make the most of them. This update will share current ministry progress as well as prayer requests.
The church in the village of Shangalamwe is continuing along well. Shangalamwe is quite a drive out of Kitale town and is bordered with another large village called Coast. We have had some visitors from there, for which we thank the Lord. There are many in Shangalamwe to be reached with the Gospel message. We thank the Lord that the members are continuing to go and share the “Good News” with others.
Nathan Radford & Roger Tate with some of the people in the village of Shangalamwe.
We are progressing well through the teachings from God’s Word, and my prayer for them is that they would desire to study the Word more and grow stronger in their relationship with the Lord. Please continue to pray for my friend Roger and I, as we work with these dear people. Please pray that we would be steadfast, not grow weary, and be faithful to the call here. One of my favorite verses is 1 Corinthians 15:58, which says “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” This is a verse we can claim wherever we serve the Lord, and our labour is not in vain. Praise the Lord!
The Annex prison is continuing well. The head office and chaplains are supportive, for which I thank the Lord. This past week was a blessing, as many new visitors came after being transferred from another prison. This happens quite regularly. We are now in the New Testament, studying the life of Christ and His ministry while on earth. We have many lessons ahead, and we ask you to please pray for these men, that they would stay encouraged and continue to grow spiritually. Please also pray that these believers would share their faith with the other prisoners. Matthew 4:19 says “And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” We will keep you updated of this ministry.
We have big news in the family as our daughter Camille is now walking. She is not steady on her feet yet, but making good progress. It won’t be long until we have to chase her all over. I am sure other parents can identify with this. She is doing very well. McKenna will be five years old next year and starting school soon, which does not seem possible. We love our daughters dearly and they are a great blessing. Please pray that we would be the example that we need to be before them, and raise them in the ways of the Lord.
The elections here in Kenya are supposed to be around March of next year, as far as I have heard. Please pray that the election would be done in a good manner and that there would be no unrest. We can trust the Lord even during this time, and what a privilege it is to pray. I read a quote recently that challenged me. It said, “If we only pray when we are in trouble, then we are in trouble.” How true, and how we need to pray often throughout the day, even when things are going well. Prayer is truly a privilege.
God bless each of you so much and we will keep you updated. Thanks for your prayers, encouragement, and sacrificial giving. It means so much to us.
Serving in Kenya,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya
East Africa 30200
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