18 New Apprentices in Training & Sharing the Gospel
February 2, 2025
Dear Friends,
I was in Brazil the last couple of weeks training a new group of missionary volunteers for this new year. Our traveling evangelism ministry partner, Projeto Vida, tries to put together at least two training seminars per year: one in January and one in July. This past month we had 18 new volunteer apprentices coming from four different states. A couple of other veteran missionaries and I were the speakers/mentors for this conference. We spent one week in the biblical study of missions and evangelism and then the students accompanied our experienced team of missionaries on a 10-hour trip to the southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul. There in a coastal city called Canoas, they spent the final week in one-on-one evangelism and outreach. The Lord blessed tremendously in at least two predominant ways: Lost listeners heard the gospel message and surrendered their lives to Christ and, also, our new volunteers were overwhelmed with how much the Lord used them to share the love of Jesus to the lost and are excited about getting out there and participating more.
While in Brazil, my former co-pastor, now senior pastor, invited me to speak to my former church. The good folks gave me such a warm reception. It was very encouraging to see how well Cledson has taken up the reins and how well he and his wife, Fabiane, are leading the church. One of the impressive details about Cledson’s leadership is how he guided the church through a very difficult and painful move to other facilities. I know how hard that can be since I’ve done it a couple of times throughout our ministry. It was clear that the Lord was doing the leading, because of the better location and lower costs. The former building was located quite a distance from a major road or street, but their new location is right in front of a main city bus terminal and a neighborhood park. During the course of a week, tens of thousands of residents pass right in front of the new location. The park also offers ample opportunities for evangelistic outreach through social interaction with the visitors and residents. And, as I mentioned, this better location also comes with a better price. God is so good!
I spoke with Yago and Manoela, our missionaries to Portugal this week. They shared the news that Manoela’s pregnancy is going fine. Yago got some good news about his “tent-making” vocational income as well. Microsoft Portugal has handed him a new set of working orders which assure that they will continue to receive a good portion of their financial support for an extended period. He had told me a couple of months ago that they had not received any contract information, and they were concerned that their income might cease. Yago conveyed to me, though, that he and Manoela were certain that the Lord was not finished using them in Portugal yet, so they were prayerfully seeking His leading and sustenance. With this new work order information, they can rejoice now that the Lord has confirmed their presence there for some time. We continue to pray for them to win lost Portuguese people to Christ and to build the church there.
On a personal note: After nearly three months, Charlene and I were able to move out of the hotel back into our home. The repairs after Hurricane Milton are nearly done, lacking only the kitchen cabinet tops and a little bit of electrical work. We still have not had much success getting our insurance companies to pay their due protection, but we will continue to appeal the process and pray that the Lord will lead us to a viable solution.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and kind support. We pray that 2025 will be a year full of ministry opportunities and results.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside ministering to Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: 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
198 Profess Faith in Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior
November 9, 2024
Our traveling missionary team, Projeto Vida, experienced an amazing month of outreach in three different cities! In all, the team shared the gospel with 4,831 people. Of those people that heard the gospel, 198 made a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Oh, how great is the love and mercy of the God. Our team of missionaries returned to Curitiba, our home base, overflowing with gratitude and joy with how the Lord used and blessed their efforts. They had to spend a few days doing maintenance work and cleaning on the vehicles and equipment they use in their ministry, but they are now ready and excited to depart on what will be their last mission journey of the year. We pray that this next trip will be greatly blessed with many more individuals coming to know the Lord as well.
Our missionaries to Portugal, Yago and Manoela, called us a few days ago to share some joyful news. They are expecting their first baby! We rejoice with them at this news. Along with their ministry of Bible study and outreach in Portugal, they are working diligently on the translation of their children’s Bible study lessons into English for an upcoming mission effort in Egypt. The Lord has not opened the door for them to move there, as yet, but the ministry that called upon them to provide these Bible lessons is still in need of the material. They remain open to God’s direction in how He wants to use them. Please keep them in your prayers.
Charlene and I are traveling tomorrow to the annual Thanksgiving Missions Conference on behalf of Baptist Faith Missions at the New Hope Baptist Church of Dearborn Heights, MI. We hope to see some of you there and will miss those who can’t.
Thank you for your faithful love and support of our ministry. May the Lord bless you greatly.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside ministering to Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: 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
Blessed by Team Visiting from Virginia
September 3, 2024
Dear Friends,
I really wanted to wait a few days to send my report last month because our visiting team from Virginia had just arrived and we were only beginning our week of ministry together in the schools and streets of Curitiba, Brazil. I can now share with you that it truly was a blessed few days of sharing the gospel with students and school staff. We were thrilled at the way the Lord moved in the hearts and lives of those that heard the gospel, and those that shared it. Pastor Jared Via has done a fantastic job of teaching and training his church what it means to be a follower of Jesus. His team of youth and their leaders boldly spoke in front of crowds, and one-on-one, about what it means to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. With the help of our volunteer translators, teens from 14 to 19 years of age were very intentional, yet perceptive in approaching the students who watched their gospel skits and listened to their personal testimonies and who seemed moved by the message. Only eternity will reveal exactly who and how many surrendered their lives to Christ through their efforts, but there were over 150 who publicly professed Jesus as their Lord and Savior during the course of our days of ministry together. We know from the Scriptures that there is rejoicing in heaven over the repentance of each lost person (Luke 15:7), but we’re also happy that these young witnesses of Christ had the privilege of being used by the Lord to have a part in that spiritual birth.
Our Projeto Vida team of evangelists loved the time spent together with their American brothers and sisters. They only knew from a prior visit a couple of the teens from the group of 18, but before the week was up, they seemed like lifelong family members. There was a lot of sadness and tears on the day of departure, but they know that goodbyes come with the territory of mission work. Our team of 13 missionaries went straight from their week of work with our Virginian friends to begin another week of outreach in a couple of coastal towns a little more than an hour from their home base. The Lord continued to bless and use their efforts in sharing the gospel. Hundreds of teens heard the Word and many came to know Christ.
Our missionaries to Portugal, Yago and Manoela, continue faithfully teaching and sharing the Word there. Portugal is definitely not “white unto harvest” like much of Brazil, but they are being obedient to preach the gospel to the “uttermost parts of the world.” Please remember them in your prayers.
Next week, Charlene and I are returning on another mission trip to Brazil with a small group of dedicated soul-winners. We have partnered with some of them on several occasions and we rejoice at the opportunity to do so again. Our ministry plan will be very similar to what we did with the group I mentioned earlier, but there are no teens in this group. What is evident is that the Lord can, and will, use anyone who is willing to offer themselves to Him to take the gospel to the lost and needy. Some of these volunteers are grandparents who are having the most fruitful times of their life. Why don’t you come too? There are no limits to how God can use you.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: 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
Julio Boldly Shares the Gospel with Teens
July 2, 2024
Dear Friends,
Julio is one of our missionary volunteers who travels with Projeto Vida, our evangelistic travel team. Julio is a quiet man, usually not speaking unless spoken to. This changes, though, when he gets a chance to talk about Jesus. Recently, after our drama team performed some gospel skits in a public school, Julio was talking one-on-one with a teenaged boy. In just a few seconds, a whole group of the boy’s friends circled around to listen to what they were talking about. Julio saw the opportunity and sensed that the Lord was leading him to share with them all what Christ had done for them. He presented the gospel clearly and persuasively for several minutes. When he finished, he asked the whole group if any of them was willing to surrender their life to Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Fourteen teenagers’ hand shot up and they each confessed Christ as Lord right there in the school gymnasium! I am so thankful to have a part in Projeto Vida’s ministry and for young men like Julio for the boldness and spiritual insight to follow the Lord’s leading in presenting the gospel.
Pastor Cledson continues to lead the church in Curitiba in growth and outreach ministries. He has shown tremendous wisdom and awareness of God’s leading through some tough trials. There was an influential young man in his church who attempted to lead several other youth in an erroneous direction doctrinally, but Pastor Cledson was able to exhort the youth group as a whole using the Scriptures to show the fallacy the young man was trying to spread. The young man refused to repent of his error, but thankfully, the error was stopped from spreading on to the group through Cledson’s mature handling of the situation.
Yago and Manoela are still ministering faithfully in Portugal. Manoela still hasn’t received notice about her permanent visa, but they have Bible studies weekly with several believers and share the love of Christ through their daily contacts with the Portuguese people.
Charlene and I will be heading to Brazil in a couple of weeks to minister alongside Projeto Vida with a group of youth and their leaders from Virginia, USA. A couple of our old friends from Brazil, Rodrigo and Carol, have been teaching these young people some pantomime skits that we use in our public-school presentations. They have been practicing for several weeks and, when they arrive in Brazil, they will have the chance to perform these skits before the student body in several schools. Charlene and I will serve as translators, among several other functions, for this fine group. We ask that you pray the Lord will open hearts to turn to Christ.
Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: 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
Portugal Mission
The Wacasers recently visited their missionaries in Portugal, Yago and Manoela. Continue to pray for this young couple as they passionately share the Gospel and disciple new believers there.
You can read more updates about Yago & Manoela from months past by clicking here.
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: 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
A Year of Harvest + Traveling to Portugal
January 12, 2024
Dear Friends,
We are happy to report that, during the final quarter of 2023, every one of our ministries experienced growth through conversions and baptisms. The Lord has truly done great things!
Southern Brazil:
Our traveling evangelistic team, Projeto Vida, had the opportunity to minister in 3 different states in southern Brazil. The team of 12 missionaries presented gospel skits, shared their personal testimonies, and preached in 11 public schools. In each of these schools, many lives were changed eternally. It usually isn’t possible in these venues to get a precise number of decisions for Christ because it’s not permitted to give an “altar call” at the conclusion, but in the one-on-one conversations immediately following the presentations many people share how they sensed the Lord convicting them of sin and their need for Christ’s salvation.
The year 2023 was definitely a harvest year for Projeto Vida. All total, there were over 2,000 public professions of faith in Christ. There were also over 40,000 people who heard the gospel proclaimed clearly through our mission efforts. We are looking forward to even greater opportunities and results in 2024.
Portugal:
Our missionary couple to Portugal, Yago and Manoela Guedes, also experienced God’s blessings on their mission endeavors. They have now finished their first full year in Portugal. They have three Bible study groups who meet regularly. Although it is difficult to find a convenient location to hold services, the Lord blessed them with a conference center that allows them to rent by the hour on scheduled meeting days. The cost is reasonable, especially when compared to what it would cost to lease or buy a permanent location. Yago and Manoela are a highly motivated and dedicated couple. Portugal speaks the same language as their native Brazil, but the cultural and spiritual climate in Portugal is much different. In Brazil, a large majority of the population is openly receptive to gospel conversations or presentations, whereas in Portugal, the people are predominantly agnostic or apathetic toward biblical truth. Although the results are slower to come in, Yago and Manoela know that it is their calling to be faithful in sharing the love of Christ, both in word and in actions and leave the results to the Lord.
Charlene and I will be traveling to visit them at the end of January. I will be assisting by teaching at some of their meetings and Charlene will assist Manoela from her wealth of cross-cultural experience.
We are presently working on the itinerary for outreach among some native Indian tribes in Argentina and Paraguay that we plan to minister to in early March. If any of you are interested in accompanying our group, feel free to contact me as early as possible. We are excited about this unique experience and the privilege of making Christ known to these tribes.
Charlene and I are very grateful for your faithful prayers and support so that we may minister as the Lord guides us.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: 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
Reflecting on Blessings in 2023
December 15, 2023
Dear Friends,
As this year nears its end, we reflect on just how much the Lord has blessed us and our ministries. We moved to larger facilities in February and that allowed us to continue to grow and hold well-attended evangelistic events. Through those events, we reached dozens of neighbors and visitors and many of them, upon hearing the gospel, surrendered to Christ and have followed Him in believer’s baptism. Pastor Cledson is doing a fantastic job of guiding the church in this, his first, senior pastorate. They are presently putting on a Christmas musical play and we pray and expect to see many more people come to Christ as a result.
Projeto Vida is out on their last evangelistic trip into the public schools this year. Brazil’s academic year follows its below-the-equator seasonal pattern. School will be out for the summer from December to February. Our team will still minister in some public parks and at several end-of-the-year events during this period, but they won’t have the “captive audience” of 300-1500 students at one time that the school rallies provide. They will also take this window of opportunity to do some maintenance on our van and equipment. The Lord truly blessed throughout the year, and we were able to speak in person to over 40,000 people of Christ. Hundreds of those believed the message of God’s grace and surrendered to Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
The young missionary couple that we sent to Portugal, Yago and Manoela, called this week to report that the attendance at their worship and Bible study meetings continues to increase regularly. They are super excited about how the Lord is using and blessing them. Charlene and I plan to visit with them at the end of January for about a week. Portugal is in desperate need of the word of God and the love of Christ lived out before them by those who profess Him as Lord and Savior. May the Lord continue to supply Yago and Manoela’s spiritual and material needs and use them to bring many to salvation.
Charlene and I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: 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
God Orchestrates Events for His Glory
November 19, 2023
Dear Friends,
Charlene and I had the privilege of fellowshipping with several of our faithful brothers and sisters in Christ last week at the annual Thanksgiving Conference in Detroit, Michigan. It was at that same event 39 years ago that the Lord called me to Brazil as a missionary. There were so many blessings and memories re-lived at this most recent event. Also present at this conference was Brother Mike Creiglow, who was my professor of Cross-cultural Missions while in Bible college in Clarksville, Tennessee back in 1980. An added blessing was that Brother David Mitchell and his dear wife, Ellen, were present. I learned from him that he had invited Mike Creiglow to lecture at the college that year while he was in the USA on furlough. Now I can see a little part of how the Lord was working to expose me to the missionaries and their works in Brazil, the field to which He would call me as my career-long ministry. And there we were, 39 years later, enjoying the fellowship, and the fact that God had orchestrated these events so that hundreds of thousands of people have heard the gospel, and thousands have surrendered to Christ because of His sovereign and loving hand on our lives. What a great and loving Savior!
Yago and Manoela, our missionaries to Portugal sent us a video yesterday of how their ministry is progressing there. It was a joy to see their growing group meeting together to study God’s word and share the gospel with the lost Portuguese people. The Lord provided them with a place to meet temporarily, but they are still searching for a more permanent place of assembling. They do a fantastic job of teaching the Bible to the new converts and even to some who have been in church for years but have never been taught the Bible thoroughly.
Our traveling evangelistic team, Projeto Vida, has had a productive month of ministry. We continue to have open invitations into public schools to share gospel skits and personal testimonies to God’s grace and forgiveness. The Lord has shown them, and us, that He is still on His throne and is still transforming lives through the preaching of the gospel.
We are so grateful to you, our ministry partners, for your faithful prayers and support. We hope and pray that you are blessed with a joyous Christmas season and a prosperous New Year.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Currently Stateside on Furlough from Brazil
Phone: (813) 501-9328
E-mail: 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
