Tourism Boat Offered for Missions; Difficult Moments
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
July 30, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Time goes by so fast that it is hard to believe August is here. We pray and hope all is well with each of you. We have had wonderful moments and some difficult ones, but we know that God is in control and all we need is to trust Him.
Our son Jonas and his wife Kelly were expecting their first child, due at any moment, then the baby stopped moving. Well, they went to the doctor and there was no more heartbeat. The baby was born naturally at 9:45 pm tonight at the hospital and the mother is well. Pray for them that God will comfort their hearts.
Boat used for tourism that will be used for missions off-season
New building at Iranduba
John A. Hatcher back in Manaus with sons
Paul (left) and David (right)
We are so thankful for all the friends and supporters that gave special offerings for the needs we had. The freezers for camp and us and the money for the car documents and truck to be fixed. God bless each one.
There is a Christian man in the city nearby that works with fishing tourism. They are building a new boat to use, and I am helping with the woodwork. This boat is not used the whole year so the man said that we can use it for mission trips when it is not being used! That will give us about 5 months to use it! Pray that God will guide us in the ministry.
The work in Iranduba at the new building has started back. Looks like this new area will be really great to reach out to more people. There are many children in this neighborhood. Pray that God will help and guide us as we reach out to this new area.
Also, we had a great surprise with the return of Paul and Wanda to Manaus. This makes Dad be close to the three of his children! Dad enjoys having us near him!
Thanks for your prayers and support! God bless each of you.
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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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There are Always Ups and Downs
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
June 11, 2019
Dear Brother and Sisters,
Last month I wrote, “There are always ups and downs. Sometimes what seems to be a down becomes an up.” At the time I certainly did not think that I would be writing the present letter from Evansville, IN. Many of you know Judy’s only sister and that she has been dealing with cancer the last few years. At the end of May, Judy and I decided that the Lord wanted us to come to Evansville to help Peggy because of the illness related circumstances that she was facing. The encouragement of the believers in our congregation in Tournefeuille helped us much in the decision process. They have really stepped up to the plate. We have now been here for two weeks and thank God for the opportunity that we have had to be of assistance to Peggy.
A blessing that came along with our trip to the US was getting to see my sister and dear brother-in-law, Kathy and Odali Barros. Though I had seen Kathy not long ago, it had been nearly 10 years since I had seen Odali. They are in the US for a short time and will be returning to Amazonas next week. What a blessing to spend a couple of days with these members of our family this week.
We are not sure exactly what the next few weeks hold for us. I would be glad to set a tentative date to come to your church to tell what God is doing in France and minister to the folks in your congregation. You can communicate with us using the email address above. If you include your phone number I can call you to finalize plans.
Thanks for your prayers and continual support.
Yours in Christ,
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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Not Guilty!
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
June 1, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This month we have been blessed in many ways. God gave us a great opportunity to be in the USA and visit with family and friends. But one of the greatest blessings we didn’t expect at this moment was the result from the court process against us from the Alpha and Omega Home. Maybe some don’t remember. We were closed being accused of mistreating the kids. The sentence was given! NOT GUILTY!!!! Praise the Lord! Thanks to you for your prayers and support to us in these difficult moments.
The lawyer and his family
Let me explain something very fantastic about this. Lawyers are expensive as you probably know. Well, one of the first boys we took into our home was a drug addict. He got saved and matured and stayed with us the whole time. He got married to a girl who came to teach at the home. He worked hard at changing. He studied and went to college. God blessed him and today he is a lawyer. He did much of the work on the court case. What a blessing! We have contact with many of the kids that were from the home. They decided to celebrate! They asked us to go to Garça where we had the home and have a Christmas party like we had when we had the home.
Paul, Odali, their former sports teacher, and their son Gabriel. Paul was the first boy to live with the Barros Family. He stayed with them and helped with others.
We always prayed that God would bless those who came to work as volunteers at the home. So many young people dedicated several years with us. Today they are in many different places. While we have been in the US, we have had contact with several of these people. It is so wonderful to see what God has done in their lives. Paul is one of the first boys we helped. He grew into a man and worked with us for many years. Today he lives in Missouri. Then there is Vilmar, Jennifer and Leonardo who also dedicated several years there. God has blessed them. We are thankful to God and to them for their love for souls.
Even though our time here is short we have been able to see many friends and visited several churches. The fellowship has been wonderful. God bless each of you. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated!
Love in Christ,
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Amazonas, Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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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Blessings in the Middle of Nowhere
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
March 20, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We rejoice in the wonderful things that God has been doing in our lives and ministry. We hope that all is well with each of you and that you are rejoicing in the blessings of our Lord.
Our church has had an experience they have never had before. It has been interesting to see how the members have reacted. We have a senior of 81 years old, Mr. Levi, who had a stroke. He was always a happy person and had fun talking to everyone, young or old. His illness has moved the church. He spent 3 weeks in the hospital. We encouraged our members to get involved and they did. Several went and stayed with him at the hospital. Last week the doctors sent him home. So, we had Sunday service at their home. When we started singing, Mr. Levi lifted his hand and started leading the singing. Just about everyone started crying. When we finish the song, he started signing with his hand then we understood he was asking for a specific song. He was trying to give the number. Well, his wife understood, and we sang the song. Talk about excited! Then he really wanted to lead the song and tried to move his lips! Praise the Lord.
Pastor Wilson Ibernon
Church at Grande Januáca
Church at Grande Januáca
Church parking lot (I mean…boat lot!)
Last week a group of 6 couples went on a short trip up the river to visit a church that Baptist Faith Missions has a part in. Bro. John Hatcher worked in this church many years and later he put Pastor Miguel Ibernon in charge of this work. The pastor that is there now is Miguel’s son, Wilson Ibernon. I met Wilson when I worked with Bro. Paul Hatcher when at Tabernacle Baptist Church. This church is in the middle of the river. They built the church as you can see in the picture. What a job! Everything is taken by boats up the river. The parking lot is a boat lot. It was great to see so many boats parking at the edge to come to church. It was impossible to take a picture that got all the boats, because there were over 100 boats. One of the things that everyone there mentioned was that the pastor that was there many years ago always said, “If we serve God, this place will be blessed.” The people would say, “How will we be blessed if this place is in middle of nowhere?” Well, they served God and this place is truly blessed. There is probably no other place in the world where 98% of the community are Christians. One of the pastors told me that here in one of the communities called Sumauma, there are 800 people and there are 3 Baptist churches plus 4 other evangelical churches. These churches are not split off from other churches. They have several just because it makes it easier for the people to get to church. The church we went to that night that we were there had 800 that attended the service. That church is in the community called Januáca Grande. These communities have their own business making “farinha” made from manioc root. Also several big business people in the area are from this community. It was great to see what God does when we serve Him! For those of you who have supported BFM for many years, your support is still producing many fruits. God continue to bless all those involved.
We have another blessing from the ministry from the past here in Manaus. The other day we got a call from a pastor that was from Bro. John’s ministry. He is blind. Sabastian Oliveira. He will be with us for an evangelistic conference the first week in April. God has used him tremendously.
We want to thank each of you for your constant prayers and support. God bless you!
Love in Christ,
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Caixa Postal 1
Iranduba, Amazonas 69.415.000
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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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Fellowship and Retreat for 15 Youth from Ubim
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
January 25, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We want to thank each of our supporters for all your prayers and support. We appreciate all you have done for us and our ministries. God has been faithful in keeping us safe and encouraged. We started the year with a wonderful get together at our church, asking God’s blessing for our country and our church.
We are making many changes in the different ministries to reach out to more people and be more effective. As we have mentioned before, one of the difficulties here is the distance that people live and that lots of people don’t have transportation. Our church has two buses, but even then it would be impossible to go everywhere to pick people up. So, what we are doing is visiting the different places and finding places to have meetings for the youth and the adults.
We are doing visits of different kinds. Some, Kathy and I go, some we take other youth to visit the youth, and Kathy goes visiting with the ladies. This has been great. Pray for us that God will open the doors to more and more homes.
We have rented a building in Iranduba in a better area with more people and it is almost ready to get started. The rent was cheaper, but we have had to do some work on it before we use it.
Last week we brought the youth from the community of Ubim. There were 15. They spent the week with us. Most of them have been coming since we started the work there. We try to do several things with them because there is not much in their communities for them to do. We went fishing, swimming, and played games. Lots of fun!
The mission in Multirão is doing really great. The people are working hard and God has blessed the work.
We are also finishing the back part of the main church, Pedras Vivas, where we have the Sunday school classes.
We want to thank all those who sent special offerings last month. The gift allowed us to have a van fixed that we have been wanting to fix. Along with the gift, God sent a mechanic who knew what the problem was. We are glad because it is an eight-passenger and it is diesel, which will be very useful for us.
Thanks again to all our supporters. God bless each of you.
Love in Christ,
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Caixa Postal 1
Iranduba, Amazonas 69.415.000
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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
Priorities and Planned Changes in 2019
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
December 31, 2018
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Well, we have come to the end of one more year. God has been faithful to us in every area of our lives. Ministry, health, protection and finances. We want to thank each of you that have been faithful in praying and supporting us and the ministry. May God richly bless each of you.
This end of year has been a time of evaluation of the churches we are working at and making changes for better results in 2019.
We invested a lot in music at the mother church Pedras Vivas the year and the results have been fantastic. We have six members that have learned different instruments and several members that are singing in the worship group. At the beginning of the year we only had one who played. Praise the Lord.
We are investing more time in reaching the teens and youth. This week Kathy and I and a group from church took some young teens and pre-teens to sleep in the jungle. What a great time. The kids loved it and at bed time were singing praises.
At the church of Iranduba we are making some changes. The main change is the change of address. The new place is in a neighborhood where lots of people live. We are going to change church hours to better reach each community. One of the problems we have here in these places is that many people do not have transportation. So, we try to work out the best way to reach the most people.
Reaching out to lost people is the number one priority for 2019 and along with that is to invest in getting more members involved in different ministries so we can better reach the communities. Please continue to pray for our ministry that God will lead us each step of the way.
Love in Christ,
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Caixa Postal 1
Iranduba, Amazonas 69.415.000
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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
Evidence of God at Work in Believers in France
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
December 6, 2018
Dear Co-laborers in the service of our Saviour,
This is my last letter to you this calendar year. It has been an unusual year in many ways. Returning to the ministry in France at the beginning of the year brought us great joy.
My mother, Alta Hatcher – known to many of you, left this world to the presence of the Lord in March. Her departure was not complicated and her last words were repeatedly, “I love you, Jesus.” This year has been marked by the departure of several who had a special place in our lives. We miss them greatly. But, to be “absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” This thrills our hearts and encourages us as we seek to be a light where God has placed us.
Just after I sent my last letter, my nephew Odali arrived with his entire family. He is married to Amanda’s sister, Carrie. Philip and Odali had worked out the details of this trip to surprise Amanda on her 40th birthday. It was a surprise to us all and we certainly enjoyed our time with them. Odali is the son of Odali and Kathy Barros who are also supported by BFM as missionaries in Brazil.
This month has been one of good Sunday and weekday meetings. The evidence of God at work in believers is a cause of gratitude to God. Please pray for the service on the Sunday before Christmas when the children and youth of church will be presenting the Gospel in a special program.
Judy has had some good opportunities with a young lady who has come for years to the youth meetings. Her mother is muslim and her father, separated from her mother, is atheist. She is a school friend of our oldest granddaughter here, Abigail. Amanda, our daughter-in-law and co-worker here, has also had opportunities to communicate with this young lady about Christ. Please, pray for this friend of Abigail.
We enjoyed the live interaction that we were able to have with those of you who were at the Thanksgiving Conference at New Hope B.C. The faithful support we receive through Baptist Faith Missions provides for our needs and is a constant source of Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Dinner in France
I have included a photo of our Thanksgiving Dinner with Philip and Amanda. They had us in their home to celebrate Thanksgiving on the Saturday after the U.S. Holiday. Wendy, who works with us and four friends of our granddaughters were with us as well.
Abigail, along with another Christian friend, are organizing a fellowship group for Christians at their High School. In a school of three thousand there are just a handful who profess faith in Christ.
You have probably seen news of the riots and disruptions that have been taking place in France this past month. These began as demonstrations against the increase of taxes on fuels which already were about 80% of the price we pay at the pump. The manifestations have been an inconvenience but have caused us no real harm. Thank each of you who have prayed for us.
May the Lord bless your time together with your families this Holiday Season.
From France,
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
Outreach for Youth and Teens
Odali and Kathy Barros served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together from 1987-2013. In late 2013, they transitioned to Manaus in Northern Brazil to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
November 26, 2018
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We are thankful to our Lord for His care and blessings in our lives and ministries. We are all doing well and our son Jonas, who the tree fell on, is doing well. Thank you for your prayers.
The works are doing well. We have made some changes in some of the works due to changes in some of the leadership. Especially at the mother church, Pedras Vivas, we are doing a lot of outreach for the youth and teens. In the communities, there is not a lot for them to do, the enemy works hard. There are drugs everywhere. We had a special day at the camp and we also went to the city of Iranduba to a park. The two outreach days were fantastic.
The work in the community of Multirão is doing great. They are running in the 50s in attendance.
We are working and encouraging our members to get more involved in different ministries. Pray for them to see the need and where God wants them to serve. There are so many communities within an hour of where we live and many have no churches. We pray that God will raise up more men willing to preach so more places can be reached.
Thank you for your constant prayers and support. May God bless each of you.
Love in Christ our Savior,
Odali and Kathy
Odali & Kathy Barros
Caixa Postal 1
Iranduba, Amazonas 69.415.000
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[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
