Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [April 2013]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
Dear Friends,
I want to start with some really great news! Next Sunday we will be baptizing 4 new converts. The Lord is blessing our efforts as we seek to share the gospel in our new community. We have seen a steady increase in attendance in our services and we hear great testimonies to what God is doing in the lives of those who are applying the messages from God’s Word in their lives. We have nearly completed the construction on the building, needing only to place the final one third of the ceiling tiles by the end of this week.
The group of teens from Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, Florida came last month and worked diligently sharing the gospel through skits and personal testimony. There were 55 of them, including their adult sponsors and we were privileged to have our daughter, Jessie, come with them as our translator coordinator. Our translators here in Brazil also did a wonderful job of voluntary service for nearly a week. The Lord used all the effort and dedication to bring many people to Christ in the public schools and parks. During the week, the group as a whole was able to share the gospel with over 4000 individuals. Projeto Vida, our outreach partners, served as an essential element in transporting the teams, providing the public address system and also prepared the meals for over 100 people twice daily. The service of hosting this group of young people each year has yielded marvelous results. Several of the teens who have come in the past years have since accepted the missionary call for overseas service. Also, many of those who have received Christ as Lord of their lives through their gospel presentations are now faithfully involved in local church ministries. We have another group of youth coming in August of this year from the Houston, Texas area. We are looking forward to seeing how God will use this group also for the glory of His name and for the salvation of many lost ones.
We had a mountaintop experience around the middle of the March, literally. As often as possible we schedule a mountain climb with those who’ll accept the challenge. Our purposes for these excursions are: 1) to provide an opportunity to establish a deeper friendship with folks who aren’t yet attending church, 2) seek to display our relationship with Christ in an “outside the church building” environment, 3) motivate both our church members and prospective converts to take care of their bodies through strenuous exercise, 4) teach all the participants to appreciate and praise the Lord for the beauty of His creation; the lovely mountains, rivers and forest around us. We have discovered that these mountain excursions serve as a good way to invite non-church goers to a church event that doesn’t seem threatening or “churchy.” Once they have participated with us on one of these climbs, they almost always follow up by coming to our church services.
Our American Football training camp is coming up in early June. We are still hammering out the details so that we might make the best use of the personnel who’ll be involved. We have the participation of at least one former NFL player (Johnny Mitchell – former Dallas Cowboys, and New York Jets), his brother, Gregg Booth – former Arena Football. We still have opportunities available for high school and college coaches and players to teach and execute the skills of the sport. Please pray that the Lord would give me wisdom on how to best administer this training camp for the spread of the gospel among the Brazilian athletes and their families and staff.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
robertmw[at]brturbo.com.br
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [March 2013]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
Dear Friends,
In just 2 days (March 9th) I will have one of the greatest pleasures that I can imagine – to have my wife and 2 kids working together with me side-by-side sharing the gospel with the community of people the Lord has placed me in. My daughter, Jessie, will be arriving with a group of 55 youth and their leaders from Brandon, Florida to minister in our community for one week. Jessie serves as the coordinator of my group of translators. My son, Brennen, is only 15, but has been helping as a translator for over 9 years. He has been getting more excited by the day as we await this group of dedicated youth. I can’t even begin to describe how much of a joy it is to work together with my wife, Charlene. For you who have met her personally, it is easy to understand my feelings. Her sweet disposition and tireless work ethic keep me motivated even when I feel like I can hardly keep going. I never cease to be amazed at how the Lord takes the humble and meek to display His greatness and power, and not our own. We will have three of the Project Life teams working in and around our community for a week trying to reach every house and individual with the love of Christ. Our New Church will seek to follow up on the results of this week of outreach ministry by the visiting group from Bell Shoals Baptist Church.
I am still praying and hoping to be able place a competent leader at the head of a new mission point at Corbélia, a newly established community on the outskirts of our city. The man and his wife, whom I had hoped would accept this challenge, have declined stating that they didn’t think they were quite ready for this level of responsibility. I have another young man and his wife in mind for a more distant future leadership role, but they are key parts of my team at the new church and I wouldn’t like to see that workforce depleted at this stage. Please pray that the Lord would give me wisdom about who and when I need to really invest into planting a church in that community.
The progress of the plans to evangelize and disciple through American football is moving forward steadily. Once again I would like to encourage anyone with experience in football and would like to use that experience for sharing the love of Christ to contact me as soon as possible. Also, the team who will be coming to donate their time, expertise and spend the funds for travel and lodging need football equipment to bring with them. If you have good used equipment, or know where we can get some donated for this purpose, I would also appreciate your contacting me. With the date of this ministry coming up soon, I must ask you to act soon.
Today the material needed to put the ceiling in our new church will arrive. Also, the painter of the sign on the front of our building is working as I write and that job should be finished in two days. The Lord has greatly blessed. We are completing the finishing touches on this building and we’ve been blessed to reach this point without incurring debt, except the debt of love to God and to those who gave sacrificially to make Christ’s name known and praised by many.
We are grateful.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
robertmw[at]brturbo.com.br
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers [December 2012]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
Dear Friends,
Our outreach trip to Argentina was a tremendous success in terms of evangelism. Our Projeto Vida (Project Life) team called “Doulos”, had a full week of opportunities sharing the gospel in the public schools and parks just across the Brazil/Argentina border. When their activities had come to a conclusion and the bus began to return home the motor blew up and over 35 workers were stranded on a deserted stretch of highway. The broken down bus is our newest, so it was the least likely expected to have major mechanical problems.
The newest Projeto Vida bus broke down on their Argentina trip.
But, now it is nearly a thousand miles away in a shop waiting on expensive repairs to be done. We had to find alternative travel arrangements for the team and volunteers to get back to our base and that too brought on an unexpected expense. We realize that trials like these are a part of serving the Lord in this fallen world and that this kind of difficulty (and much worse) faces every generation of God’s children. We are not discouraged. We are thankful that we had the opportunity to take the love of Christ beyond our borders and for the privilege of seeing many turn to Christ. We also realize that this breakdown in equipment didn’t catch the Lord by surprise, so we’ll look to Him to meet our needs to keep this effective ministry going.
American Football is becoming popular in Brazil, which has presented unique evangelistic opportunities.
As I’m writing this, there are a couple of football coaches in the US meeting to discuss the details of a plan to come down to Brazil next June to hold an evangelistic football camp/workshop. One of these men came last year to work in a different town in Brazil and he and his group had great results, both in evangelism and sports. The football team they ministered to just won the Brazilian national championship last week. I am in a unique situation in Brazil because of the rapidly growing interest in American football here and some of the head coaches are my friends and are asking me to introduce the gospel to their teams. We still have openings for other volunteers who either play or coach football and who would like to use this opportunity to share their faith with many who do not know Christ. We are also in great need of inexpensive or donated football equipment, so you can also be greatly helpful through that means. Please contact me at the attached addresses and/or phone number.
My leg and foot are nearly mended after breaking them a few weeks ago. The injury did slow me down more than I wanted to admit. I discovered that I am not as patient as I need to be with things that are beyond my control, but I also learned that I just have to be.
Bro. Bobby has had to learn to be patient after breaking his leg and foot.
There are things “beyond my control”, and making broken bones heal faster is one of them. I was grateful to learn that there were no ligaments or tendons torn and thus, no need for surgery. I probably won’t be able to take a group to hike in the nearby mountains until next year, though.
Each week we go out to a new community called “Corbellia” to share the gospel and seek an open door among the people there. We are very well received by the people, but we have yet to locate a strategic meeting place to hold Bible studies for groups. The Lord has placed a desire in our hearts to plant a church in this community, so we will continue to minister to them as we keep our eyes open for the opportunities to expand the ministry there.
We are very grateful to you who have prayed faithfully for us throughout the year of 2012. We are also thankful to God for you who have contributed financially so that we might be able to carry on the various ministries here in southern Brazil. We trust that the Lord will bless you and that you will rejoice to know that you have been a true blessing to us in this partnership. We hope you have a wonderful 2013!
In Christ’s love,
Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
robertmw[at]brturbo.com.br
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [November 2012]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
Dear Friends,
In the beginning of October I had the opportunity to meet with several men who are involved with football in different capacities. Each of them uses the sport to find an opportunity to share the gospel with the lost and also to mentor young men in their walk with the Lord. I mentioned last month that I was in a unique situation in Brazil because of the rapidly growing interest in American football here. The men I met are working with me to put together the details for holding football camps/workshops for both Brazilian coaches and players. I am still looking to fill some slots with other volunteers who either play or coach football and who would like to use this opportunity to share their faith with many who do not know Christ. If you can’t come, but know how I might obtain good condition donated football equipment, you can also be greatly helpful through that means. Please contact me at the addresses and/or phone number below.
Two of the Projeto Vida motor homes had some costly expenses this month. We are keeping up our commitments to reach the areas we had already laid out as goals, but these expenses have stretched our already tight budget. This is especially crucial this month since we have a trip scheduled to cross the Brazilian/Argentine border about an 18 hour trip from our base. We have been invited to take the gospel into some public schools in Argentina. We are very excited about this opportunity, but the funds will be very short. We will travel by faith and trust that God has opened this door for us and will expect to be carried by Him each kilometer of the way. We would appreciate your prayers and offerings toward the accomplishment of this outreach effort.
I learned a lesson a little over a week ago. Do not try to do a back flip in shallow water. A person can get hurt doing that. I know. I did. My intended 360º back flip ended up at about 355º and I with my first broken bone at 54 years old. From now on I will only do back flips in deep water…if at all. The old saying that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” ought to be changed to, “Old dogs shouldn’t try new tricks”. Now I will have six more weeks in an air cast to learn better to delegate the physical work of construction at our new churches. I will also have a great opportunity to learn personally the struggles of the disabled. I am grateful that the damage wasn’t worse.
Charlene, Brennen and I are very grateful to you who pray for us faithfully. We know that God hears and answers your prayers. We are also thankful for the offerings of love to God so that we may continue to spread His word.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
robertmw[at]brturbo.com.br
Click here to give.
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers [October 2012]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
October 2, 2012
Dear Friends,
About 6 years ago a 16 year old boy came to visit our former church. His visit was based on the interest he had in a tall blonde 16 year old girl who was a member there. His name is Guilherme. He and and his friend had met the girl on the city bus and she invited them to church. Guilherme began to attend church and our youth meetings regularly and was eventually saved and baptized. He was raised in a broken home, his parents having divorced and remarried. He was living at the time with his father because his mother had married a man from Portugal, but was working and living in Spain. After 2 years of growth and discipleship at our church, Guilherme went to live with his mom and his stepfather in Spain. As many of you know, most of Europe is steeped in agnosticism and atheism. While Guilherme was there for three years he found it very difficult to locate other Christians with whom he could fellowship and grow spiritually. When he returned to Brazil about a year ago, he had become distant and somewhat cold toward the things of the Lord. But God had not grown cold toward Guilherme. I heard that he had returned to Brazil and I found his new telephone number and began to call him from time to time and would drop by to visit him at his job. The Lord used this to stir in him a sense of homesickness for the fellowship he had experienced earlier around the time of his conversion. In recent months, Guilherme has been coming very regularly to church and has been showing great signs of spiritual growth. On many occasions he brings visitors with him. He has already brought his dad and stepmother, his mother and stepfather (who now live in Brazil) and last week he brought his younger sister and her baby daughter. He has also brought several of his friends to the youth meetings. In the place of that coldness that had slipped into his life we now see a rising passion for the Lord in Guilherme and we are praying that God will continue to use him to reach others with the good news of Jesus Christ.
Charlene and I sold our house. We had it on the real estate market for 3 years and last month we closed the deal. Since we bought the house in 1987 it had gone up quite a bit in value. Of course, so had the rest of the real estate market in Brazil, much like what was happening in the US market back before 2008. But, we bought a house at a lower price and we plan to use part of the difference to complete our construction and finish the work at our new church. The Lord blessed us and we want to honor Him because of His grace toward us.
Our Projeto Vida motorhomes and teams have been very busy. Three teams are in the interior of the country sharing the gospel in public schools and parks as I write this. We had the opportunity to be in six cities this month and present Christ’s love to over 5,000 people. We know that God’s word is powerful and that many lives have and will be changed eternally because of their having heard it preached and through their surrender to Christ as Lord and Savior. Our missionary volunteers are a constant source of joy, excitement, and encouragement to us as they return from each trip bubbling over with the joy of serving the Lord and being used by Him to touch people’s lives with His love and salvation.
My son, Brennen, has grown quite a bit. He is now 15 years old. As most of you know, soccer (or “futebol” as it is called in Brazil) is a major pastime here. Brennen plays soccer quite well since he has been playing it nearly all of his life. But a few years ago regular “football” (American style) caught hold here and interest in it is growing rapidly. New teams are sprouting up quickly and Brennen has become a player on one of these teams. The most important aspect about this to us as servants of the Lord is how we might use this phenomenon to gain a platform to share the gospel. Since the sport is so connected to American culture, our nationality provides an open door of opportunity to the enthusiasts of the sport. A good friend of mine is the coach of one of the most successful teams in the league. He has told me that any US coaches and players interested in teaching or demonstrating the skills would be more than welcome to come and share both their expertise and their testimonies of Christ’s work in their lives with the players. There is also a great need for football equipment; pads, clothing, helmets, balls, cleats, etc. If any of you have football skills (either to teach or play) or football equipment and would like to use them to share the gospel, we have a prime opportunity for you. Contact me at the numbers/addresses provided.
Thank you for your prayers and faithful support.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby, Charlene and Brennen Wacaser
Important Notice: New Address!
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
robertmw[at]brturbo.com.br
Click here to give.
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [July 2012]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
July 11, 2012
I enjoy life. Not every single detail of it, you understand, but life itself is good. There is a wonderful reason that this is true. My purpose in life is what makes it grand. I have the privilege to serve, fight for, honor, make famous, and love the Creator of everything, who is my God and Savior.
Some details in life are honestly a pain, some literally, others metaphorically. For example, a couple of mornings ago I woke up with a terrible headache. I didn’t like it, you know? It hurt. It didn’t want to go away. I was happy, though, that I had the ability to FEEL. I was thankful that it was only a headache and not something more serious. A few days before that I was working on the electrical installation of our new church plant and I pinched my finger in my own pliers (not on purpose, of course). It hurt. I did not immediately say, “I thank Thee Lord for that sharp reminder that I am frail and prone to errors.” No, I gasped and groaned and murmured for a few seconds. I am grateful, though, that I have the mobility and strength to be able to work with my fingers in the Lord’s service, because I know that many do not have that gift. The work on the new building is progressing very well and, in fact, we will be holding our official inaugural service on the 22nd of July. Life is great because after a year of very hard work (with some minor injuries) and much prayer and sharing God’s Word with neighbors and friends, God has tripled our attendance and those who attend are helping us to invite more friends and family to the special inaugural service.
Life is great because the absence of it is just awful. I do not fear death, neither do I seek it. I am ready for it, because the One who makes and gives it, Jesus Christ, has already done everything needed for me to obtain and keep it. Some of the details of everyday life are disheartening, like poor health, betrayal by friends, being ridiculed by unbelievers and the letdowns that come from my own errors. But, God’s word sheds light on even these shortcomings so that I might see that He uses them for my good and His ultimate glory. The knowledge of that fact makes life very good indeed. Even the bad – results in good! Who could ask for better, or more?
My hope and my efforts are not based on improving or lengthening this earthly life. What I see in this life is the opportunity to invest in the real one that awaits me. This one is a shadow of the real thing up ahead. What make this one good is that even it is lived in fellowship with my Savior and King who has promised that He’ll return to take me to LIVE with Him eternally. And He assures me that that LIFE has no undesired details, not even little ones.
The God that provides a life that grand deserves to be worshipped, honored and loved. It is my joy to use this life that He has given me to do just that. I don’t have plan B! I rejoice that God also gives me the privilege of partnering with you in making Him known and praised. That way, both you and I are blessed when I speak God’s message of love and salvation here; you are a co-laborer in that ministry. Without you, I couldn’t be here. I thank God for you.
We are training over 20 new missionary candidates at our Projeto Vida Mission School this month. There will be two weeks of intensive study and rehearsals of skits, then our four teams will head out into the interior on their buses together with these missionary candidates to work in the public squares for another three weeks. Pray with us that many lives will be reached and that God’s name will be glorified.
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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Missionary Update: Bobby & Charlene Wacaser in Brazil [February 2012]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
February 8, 2012
Dear Friends,
Charlene isn’t really fond of public attention. She will speak in public if it is for God’s glory. She will stand in front of a class and teach for people to come to know the Lord, or to know him better, but not because she enjoys the limelight. She hates either side of a camera, and a microphone even worse. But recently I was mentally going over nearly all the names and faces of the people we have involved in our new work and I see that these relationships began with contact with Charlene. She is unassuming, but is amazingly captivating. Though she is beautiful, other women don’t feel threatened. Though she is shy, she notices others in their need and gets beyond her comfort zone to reach out to them. This letter will become public soon, and knowing her, she’ll be embarrassed, but because of what I’m about to say, she’ll be glad it was written after all.
You see, Charlene doesn’t start up new friendships because she seeks attention to meet her needs, nor does she make herself available to help others because she feels incomplete herself. Her motivation behind all these acts and attitudes is her love and gratitude to God, who through Jesus Christ, has given her joy, salvation and a purpose for living. With Charlene, I can say, Thank you Lord for calling us into a relationship of love and service for your glory and our happiness.
School started back again this week, so our main venue for taking the gospel to unreached masses has opened again. Projeto Vida started planning and practicing this week to have gospel skits and musical presentations ready to go into the hundreds of cities where there are no evangelical churches. We are also getting the buses/motorhomes ready for highway travel. The first two weeks of February are spent training new volunteers and tweaking programs and preparing equipment. Last year we reached nearly 100,000 people with the gospel through this ministry and we hope to do the same or better this year, with God’s help.
Bro. Wacaser in front of their new work.
The construction on our new work is progressing steadily. We had to install some protective fencing around the property because of the constant threat of theft, so we are now able to install electrical wiring and bathroom fixtures that would otherwise run the risk of being stolen. It would be nice to live in a world where we didn’t need to spend our precious little resources on barricades, but this is part of the reality that we face in a fallen world. We pray, hope and work in such a way that some of those who would today steal from God’s servants, may shortly become his servants. But in the meantime, we need to keep our guard up to safeguard what has been entrusted to us to build a lighthouse in the community.
They have installed some protective fencing around the property because of the constant threat of theft. Now they can install electrical wiring and bathroom fixtures that would otherwise run the risk of being stolen.
We have Brazil’s Carnaval week coming up soon and we are really excited about the opportunities for evangelism that are available. Our mother and daughter churches will be holding an evangelistic camp for the entire family (as opposed to “youth camp”). We are encouraging all our members to invite lost families to participate since this holiday weekend is usually a carnal mess in Brazilian culture (picture Mardi Gras over the whole country, not just in one city). Also, Projeto Vida will be heading to three beach cities to evangelize right out among the throngs of party-goers, being with them, but not like them. We have seen some amazing results in years past through this avenue of outreach and we are praying that this year will be even greater.
We are thrilled to have all these ministry opportunities to make our great God and Savior known. We thank Him also for your partnership with us in this endeavor. May you be blessed for your love, prayers, concern and support of our ministries.
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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