God Uses a Blackout to Shine the Light of His Gospel
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
July 12, 2016
Dear Friends,
Projeto Vida was in two towns recently that are virtually unreached by the Gospel. I want to share two amazing things the Lord did to open the door for reaching folks who otherwise would not hear the message of Christ.
First, after our team got set up to begin their public presentation of skits and testimonies in a local park, they could see that in every house people were sitting inside with their TVs on, not showing any interest in coming out to see or hear what was being offered. Then, all of a sudden, the electricity for the entire neighborhood went out! The only light or sound that could be seen or heard was where they were presenting the Gospel. The Projeto Vida motorhomes are equipped with gas-powered electric generators and the team had light and music and was ready to begin their presentation. The local blackout continued, so the neighbors began to leave their homes and make their way over to the park to watch as the teams shared the gospel through music, skits, testimonies and preaching. At the end of the presentation, several dozens of people made public professions of faith in Jesus Christ. When the leader of the team was speaking individually with one neighbor after the event, the lady said that she had been praying for her city to come to Christ and it didn’t seem like anything was happening. She prayed that the Lord would send along some help in reaching her neighbors and they rejoiced in believing that God had sent the blackout as an answer to prayer so that the Gospel would be heard.
Another event occurred that also showed God’s power at work. One of the other outreach teams was getting set up outdoors to give a public presentation of the Gospel when heavy rainclouds moved in and threatened to drench the event. We have seen God act in many ways and we know that He is not obligated to do what we tell Him. But, we also know that He has taught us to pray and to expect that He will answer according to His will and for His glory. The team paused to pray before deciding to dismantle all the equipment that could be harmed by rain. They sensed that God wanted them to continue with the program and so they did in faith. The Lord blessed to hold the rain back throughout the two-hour presentation. At the final invitation to surrender to Christ, several people professed that they had accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. After the team dismantled and stored the equipment the rain began, and hard, and did not quit for 3 days. God is so good and powerful.
We are excited about being really close to being able to purchase our first passenger van to replace one of our burdensome travel buses. Several folks have contributed toward the purchase of the first of what we hope to be four vans to carry on the outreach ministry more efficiently. We thank each one of you who has contributed and we hope that very soon you will be able to hear about the first mission journey of that first van.
In God’s love,
Bobby Wacaser
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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Missionary Update: The Wacasers Stateside from Brazil [May 2016]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
May 6, 2016
Dear Friends,
Charlene and I were blessed by our participation in the Spring Conference on behalf of Baptist Faith Missions missionaries which was graciously hosted by the Thompson Road Baptist Church. We were sumptuously fed both by spiritual and physical food. The meals were delicious and the Lord blessed our hearts through the gifted speakers. If you missed it, you really will want to make it to the next one.
I want to thank so many of you who continue to pray for my father and his health. Thankfully, he doesn’t suffer intense pain, but his strength does diminish visibly week by week. My siblings and I are glad that we have the privilege of spending time with him and sharing in his care.
Most of you have heard of Brazil’s political and economic woes due to corruption from the highest level. These issues are affecting our Christian brothers and sisters and partners in ministry greatly. Several of our close friends have lost their jobs and aren’t able to find new jobs in a shaky economy. Also, our churches are having to find creative ways to meet their financial obligations since the offerings have suffered due to unemployed church members.
Our evangelism and church-planting ministry partner, Projeto Vida, has been hit severely because of these economic challenges. The cost of fuel and mechanical parts has continued to rise while the revenue has dropped. The long-distance traveling aspect of our ministry has been very limited until we can obtain more efficient vehicles adapted for this purpose. We are seeking to raise funds sufficient to purchase at least two 18 passenger vans to replace the old expensive to operate buses. We have found that it takes 70% less money to use vans as it does to use the old motorhomes. We are hoping to sell a couple of the old buses and apply the revenue toward the cost of the vans along with any designated contributions to their purchase. We believe that the Lord is going to help them accomplish this goal for it will help them be more efficient with the limited resources available. Pray earnestly to this end, please.
Though not being able to travel great distances, the teams were able to get into a few towns not too distant from our home base and the Lord truly blessed. They were invited into 8 public schools where they shared the gospel with over 3000 students and faculty. Many of those who heard professed Jesus as their Savior publicly. We are humbled and encouraged by the opportunities that the Lord continues to give to make His name famous among the people. He is such a gracious God!
In Christ’s service,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
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
Give: Click here to give.
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [April 2016]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
April 6, 2016
Dear Friends,
I knew it! I mentioned last month that I was looking forward to telling you about the results we expected to see from our outreach efforts together with the youth group from Brandon, Florida and Projeto Vida and the Lord sure did bless! In the course of only four days ministering in 6 public schools, we had over 400 professions of faith in Jesus Christ and we shared the gospel with over 4000 students. Every year for the last 12 years we have hosted a youth group like this and this year may well have been our most fruitful yet. Not only did we see so many school kids coming to Christ, but we also saw the Lord working in the lives of the youth who participated from the USA.
Charlene and I were thrilled to be able to get back to Brazil, even if for a short time, especially since we got to translate for the youth as they shared the gospel one-on-one hundreds of times throughout the days of outreach. It was a joy to see God working through us personally and through the group as a whole. We also rejoice that three local churches were greatly strengthened by the efforts because their pastors came along with us to take the contact information of those who made decisions in order to follow up with personal discipleship.
While we were there in Curitiba we were able to visit with our former church and encourage their pastor and members. The church continues to do well under his leadership and we are thankful. The Brazilian economy is in great turmoil at present and this affects the lives of the members negatively, but we sensed that they were not dismayed and that they continue to trust that God will bless and use them if they remain faithful.
I have been asked to serve as interim pastor of a campus church in the Tampa, Florida area. Charlene and I have been seeking direction from the Lord since we arrived in the USA last year. We knew that as long as my dad needs constant care that we would remain in the country and we believe that this call confirmation that we are following His plan for us at this time. We ask for your prayers as we continue to partner with Projeto Vida in Brazil and will continue to return there from time to time to aid in that ministry and will pass on all the funds that are designated to that ministry.
We are so thankful for your prayers and support.
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
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
Give: Click here to give.
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [March 2016]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
March 5, 2016
Dear Friends,
It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord provides opportunities to make Him known to others on a personal basis. I’m still not great at it, but I am learning to look around me as I live life day by day to see where God is opening doors for me to share His love. This week’s opportunity came in what seemed on the surface to be a mistake on my part. We have been living in our neighborhood for several months and early on, we met a Christian family who lives a few houses down. They have several teenaged blond haired boys. As I was coming home and was several blocks away I saw a blond teenaged boy walking down the street toward our home. I assumed that he was one of our neighbor’s kids, so I stopped to offer him a ride the rest of the way home. As I began talking with him I realized that he was not their son, so I apologized for my mistake and started to drive away. He called out to stop me and asked if I really would give him a ride since he was still quite a way from his home. When I told him that I would he got into my car. His name is Cody. On the way to Cody’s house I found out that he had been suspended from school for what, he said, was a false accusation of vandalism; putting glue in the teacher’s seat. I knew I only had a few minutes with Cody, so I used his suspension, whether his fault or not, to begin sharing how the Lord had found me in my youth, when I was a vandal (and worse) with the love and forgiveness that only Jesus can give. I told him that God loved us, and despite our sins, truly wants to have an intimate relationship with Him. I didn’t presume him to be guilty of vandalism, but I did want to share with him that the Lord sent His Son Jesus to save us from all sin if we will just believe and surrender to Him as Lord. Our ride was short, but I continue to pray that God will use the message I shared with Cody to plant a seed which will eventually bear fruit to the glory of God in his salvation.
Gratefully, my dad still doesn’t have any pain. God continues to answer the prayers of many to bless both him and us, his kids. We can see that he becomes feebler as each week passes. He is sleeping approximately 22 hours per day and even in his hours awake he is often confused. Charlene and I will be leaving to go to Brazil for 2 weeks starting tomorrow and we are hoping that he can endure until we return. Please pray for him about this, if it can please the Lord.
As I mentioned, Charlene and I will be leaving tomorrow to go back to Brazil for two weeks. We will serve as hosts and translators for a group of 40 youth from Brandon, Florida. Our outreach teams, Projeto Vida, are getting geared up to receive and assist us in getting the gospel to several public schools during Spring Break. We expect to be in about 8 public schools during in one week’s time. Please pray that the Lord will open the hearts of many to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior and that He will also protect the group from spiritual and physical harm.
I’m looking forward to our next letter when I expect to report the results of this trip and of the many conversions to Christ that we hope to see from these efforts.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
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
Give: Click here to give.
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [February 2016]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
February 5, 2016
Dear Friends,
Charlene and I truly appreciate you who have kept us in your prayers as we continue to care for my ailing father. It is evident that God has answered many of those prayers because he is not in any pain. Also, the time that he and I spend together is very precious as we reflect on the Lord’s blessings to us and how we may best serve Him while on this earth. Thank you for those prayers.
I continue to have opportunities to share the Word of God with some of the Hospice care personnel. Just yesterday I was asked several questions about how to have the assurance of one’s salvation. I shared several Scriptural references and their application and the young lady seemed to understand and accept that teaching.
The Winter Missions Conference at the Park Ridge Baptist Church last month was a true joy as we got to fellowship with several of our dear friends of Baptist Faith Missions. Pastor Benton Glover and the church members hosted us very graciously. It was also a tremendous joy to get to visit with our fellow missionaries to Brazil, John and Alta Hatcher and Paul and Wanda Hatcher.
Our evangelistic outreach teams in Brazil, Projeto Vida, have returned to their activities after the holiday break. Besides having Christmas and New Year’s Day during this period, it is also summertime in southern Brazil and the schools let out for summer break. The public schools are our main venues for taking the gospel to unreached cities and their being closed doesn’t provide the teams with many available audiences. We will shortly resume our travels to many new cities since the students are back to school. In fact, Charlene and I will be traveling down to Brazil early next month to host a team of 40 youth from the Tampa, Florida area. I have already been resolving logistical details for their lodging, meals, and travel inside the country and will arrive a few days ahead of them to prepare our translator teams and tie up any loose ends.
Charlene and I thank you so much for your prayers for us. May the Lord richly bless you and your families and churches.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
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
Give: Click here to give.
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers Stateside from Brazil [January 2016]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
January 4, 2016
Dear Friends,
Welcome to 2016! The last month of last year was very productive for us in several ways. We had the privilege of hosting some of the best missionaries in the world, Bro. and Sis. David and Pennie Hatcher of Manaus, Brazil. We also got to share the gospel on a personal level to a few people involved in the hospice care of my dad in Plant City, Florida. Our outreach teams in Brazil had opportunities to present the love of Christ in 4 different cities in 2 separate states. Overall, the gospel was shared with over 4,000 people in one month.
After coming to the US in March to help my siblings with the care of my ailing father, Charlene and I still were able to return to Brazil twice to help tend to our outreach ministries there. Those works are doing very well and we are excited about the opportunities to continue those partnerships this year. My father’s health continues to decline as his need for assistance increases. Please keep him and my family who cares for him in your prayers.
In a couple of weeks I plan to attend the Winter Missions Conference on behalf of Baptist Faith Missions at the Park Ridge Baptist Church in Gotha, Florida. Bro. Benton Glover, the pastor, was gracious enough to invite me and I’m looking forward to reuniting with some wonderful friends and brothers and sisters in Christ and also to meeting some new ones.
Our outreach teams, Projeto Vida, spent several weeks on the highway in December taking the gospel message to 3 Brazilian cities in the states of Minas, Gerais, and Parana. Those trips were very fruitful and the teams had the privilege of leading 54 individuals to Christ as their Savior and Lord.
During the month of January the teams will take a short break and then return to do maintenance on the vehicles and begin practice for their gospel skits before going out on the highways again. We are looking forward to a challenging and productive 2016 with God’s blessings with us at every step.
Thank you for your care and support through prayer and offerings.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
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
Give: Click here to give.
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers Stateside from Brazil [December 2015]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
December 7, 2015
Dear Friends,
What a trip! Our ministry partners from Projeto Vida (Project Life), Paulo and Luiza Novaes, came to the USA to spend a month with us and visit with some supporting churches and to attend the annual Baptist Faith Missions conference in Dearborn Heights, MI. On that trip, we traveled through 11 states in 9 days. The Lord blessed us to provide the amazing beauty of the autumn leaf colors of the Great Smoky Mountains—something our partners had never seen and we hadn’t seen in many years.
We had the privilege to share our ministry endeavors and goals with two wonderful churches: The Concord Baptist Church of Leesville, SC and the Emmanuel Baptist Church of Bellbrook, OH. Both churches and their pastors hosted us graciously. Charlene and I and our ministry partners, Paulo and Luiza, were encouraged and refreshed by spending quality time with new friends from these churches.
Three of our teams were very busy in outreach this past month. They were blessed to have 26 public schools open the doors for them to present Gospel skits and testimonies to over 7,000 students and faculty. There were just under 200 professions of faith in Jesus Christ as a result of these efforts. The Lord has truly blessed!
Thank you for your continued prayers for my ailing father and for Charlene and me while caring for him.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
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
Give: Click here to give.
Read more
Missionary Update: The Wacasers Stateside from Brazil [November 2015]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
November 2, 2015
Dear Friends,
I’m sure that I have had a busier month in my life, but I just can’t remember when. But on the upside, it was a marvelous month of seeing God’s hand at work. We are none the worse for wear from the events that made up our month either. In fact, Charlene and I are very excited about so many of the signs that the Lord is blessing our efforts and using us to further His kingdom.
We are having the privilege of hosting Bro. Paulo Novaes and his wife, Luiza, this month and they will be attending the Thanksgiving Conference with us next week. Paulo and his wife launched our partnered ministry, Projeto Vida (Project Life) in 1997 to take the gospel to nearly every state in Brazil and lately they are reaching nearly 100,000 people per year with the Word of God.
Here is a recent report from one of our team missionaries:
“We were in an interior town recently doing a Gospel presentation through skits and testimonies. There was a young lady at one of our presentations who came from a very dysfunctional family where there was much abuse and abandonment. This young lady had begun to cut herself frequently and had a sense that her life was hopeless. Through the dramatic Gospel presentation and testimonies, the Lord touched this young lady’s heart and she surrendered her life to Christ. After sharing her faith publicly, she sought out her parents to declare to them that she forgives them for the way they treated her.”
Another Projeto Vida volunteer shared:
“There was a man at one of our presentations who had been abandoned by his young adult children. He felt extremely lonely and had begun to be bitter toward his children and depressed with life in general. I used his situation to show him the story of the Prodigal Son in the Scriptures and how much the Lord longs for his lost children to come home. I pointed out to him that in the same way that he longed to see his children return to an intimate relationship with him, that Lord wants this man to come into God’s loving care. The man understood the message and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. We rejoiced with him, gave him a written Bible study plan and gave his contact information to the local pastor who was hosting our team.”
Each week we have the privilege of hearing testimonies of how the Lord is using our outreach teams. I hope you will have the opportunity to be with us at the Thanksgiving Conference to hear more of how God is using this ministry.
Thank you for your loving prayers and support.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
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
Give: Click here to give.
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