Two Students Trust Christ in Minas Gerais
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
November 29, 2018
Dear Friends,
We followed through with our plans to have a Thanksgiving service with our Brazilian brothers and sisters this month and it was wonderful! That was a first for all of them, but they want it to be annual now. Charlene and I had a great time preparing several of the traditional American Thanksgiving recipes and, by the lack of leftovers, they were appreciated by all. The Lord has greatly blessed us and our ministries this year. We had an increase of 220% in our attendance and we were privileged to have our baptismal pool used again.
The English classes and tutoring that we offer for free continue to bring people from our neighborhood into contact with us during the weekdays and several people come to our Sunday services as a result as well. We are expecting to see quite a few attend our Christmas presentation where we will present the gospel through music, drama and preaching.
Our Project Life evangelistic team was in two states this month: Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. The workers had the opportunity to share the gospel with over 3000 students and their families in the schools and town squares. There were many professions of faith in Christ, so I can’t share them all. I do want to tell you about two students in Minas Gerais, though. As our drama teams were presenting the gospel through a skit, these students were able to identify themselves in the characters of the drama and the Holy Spirit opened their eyes to see their great need of Christ. They saw how much sin had ravished their families and their own lives and they wanted a new life in Christ. They had been living in hopelessness for too long and saw that Jesus bought them salvation and purpose through his blood. One of these was a young lady who had begun to slash her wrists regularly and was constantly depressed. She had been sexually abused by her stepfather and felt like she was worthless. Our evangelist showed her through the Scriptures the Heavenly Father’s love and care for her and she was thrilled to surrender her life to Him. She asked the Lord to forgive her for her hatred and bitterness. The other youth had begun using drugs and alcohol to numb his mind to the sense of despair and lack of purpose. Instead of taking away his depression, it only increased. Another one of our volunteers sat down with him for quite a while to present the gospel of Christ and to point out how meaningful one’s life is when it is surrendered to the Lord. That young man also repented and trusted in Jesus.
We are getting ready for our long-anticipated Christmas presentation in a couple of weeks where we hope to see several people come to know Christ personally. Our church members have been hard at work for a couple of months now practicing dramas and music. We ask that you pray with us that God will bless and save souls through this event. Charlene and I are grateful to you for your prayers, concern and generous support for our ministries here in southern Brazil.
Merry Christmas and may God bless you.
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
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Missionary Update: Bobby & Charlene Wacaser [August 2015]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
August 3, 2015
Helping to take care of my father has been quite a different experience from my mission routine of the last 30 years, to say the least. First, I can say that it is a privilege and, in an ironic way, a joy to do it. I’m sad that he has lost so much of the independence and strength that he always displayed, but I truly am thankful for the opportunity to spend large blocks of time in close conversation about the really important matters of life. He has shared with me his testimony of his conversion to Christ and the thoughts and conversations that he and our mother had about how to raise me and my 7 siblings. His strength continues to decline, but his spirit is at peace with God’s will for his remaining time on earth.
Charlene and will be making another trip back to Brazil in September to renew our permanent visas because they will expire before the end of the year. We are scheduling our trip in such a way as to be of the most help to our ministry partners there. I will be teaching at the mission training school of Projeto Vida and will also do some intensive training at our former church. We are looking forward to seeing our Brazilian family for a couple of weeks during that visit.
Projeto Vida had a very busy month of ministry. The Alpha bus, though not quite 100% complete, was back on the highways and took a team of missionaries two states away to aid the ministries of several local churches. The team was very helpful in teaching and encouraging the youth of those churches to heed the call to go to the lost with the gospel. The team taught some innovative ideas for gaining a hearing among one’s own peers and age group. Their own experiences were helpful for these young people to see that evangelism and outreach doesn’t have to be rote, canned or outdated. They stick to the Scriptures in their message, but use creative means to gain a hearing from folks their own age and beyond.
The Logos team was busy in the public schools both near Curitiba and in the state of Minas Gerais, about 15 hours away. This group had the privilege of being instrumental in bringing over 500 people to make a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ. One of the missionaries had the privilege to lead an older couple who had been Catholics all their lives to a personal relationship with Christ. They knew a lot about Jesus, but they had never known how to KNOW Jesus. After hearing the gospel clearly both the man and his wife surrendered their lives to the Lord and were immediately overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness.
There was another man who seemed irreligious who was angry at God because he blamed Him for his son having walked away from the family. The missionary from the Logos team shared the story of the Prodigal Son and explained to the man that all we have behaved like that prodigal son by walking away from God, but that God, like the caring father in the parable patiently and lovingly waits for his lost children to come home. The man understood and embraced the message and surrendered his life to Christ also and was full of gratitude to the missionary for sharing God’s word with him. We are so thankful for our faithful mission teams and to God for guiding and sustaining them. We also thank you for your faithful prayers and support so that we may continue this outreach.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Furlough Address:
3912 Casaba Loop
Valrico, FL 33596
Field Address:
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
Phone: (813) 481-7007
Cell Phone: (813) 727-6405
Email: bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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