New Boat for Itinerant Missionary
August 15, 2023
Dear Brethren,
Hello from perfect weather Cruzeiro do Sul. We just had a cold front come through. There were 3 days of rain and temperatures in the low 70’s. We had just come off a 30-day drought. Now the grass is green again and clear blue skies. So good to be home. Speaking of being home: Bev and I have been back for exactly one month.
The church has been taking advantage of my return and put me to work big time. I have been preaching or teaching at least 3 times a week. Sometimes more. Besides these messages in our regular services, I have also been in the studio recording videos and have visited one of our chapels, too. This month they asked me to prepare a series of lessons about some of the “One to another” texts. I singled out 8 in the book of Romans. Sunday morning, I taught about having the “same mind” from Romans 12:16. Each lesson is supposed to be 1 hour. Mine took an hour and a half. When I closed, they broke into applause. My hope is that they enjoyed the lesson. Of course, there is always the possibility that they were just glad I shut up!
Bev and I visited Cruzeirinho last Sunday night to help them celebrate the Brazilian Father’s Day. Although it was raining, they had a really good crowd, and one lady came back into fellowship after being away for 3 years.
This is church camp season. The preteens went to Camp Salém (our own 400 acre camp) three weekends ago. They had 55 kids. The next week was the men’s retreat. They had over 170. This past weekend was the youth group. Don’t know exactly how many went. I was up there yesterday, and I am sure they had well over 100.
The church bought a brand new aluminum boat and 23HP motor for our itinerant missionary Geverton. The boat and motor were unveiled in the church parking lot 2 Sundays ago. The boat will carry 12 people. He has been taking care of all the congregations and mission points between here and Porto Walter. His last trip covered Valparaiso, Nova Cintra, Valquiria, Profeta and Luzeiro.
Since my last letter our evangelists have been back to Gama and Ramal 7, plus Generoso on the Boa Fé River.
Besides all the meetings and work at church, I have been trying to squeeze in as much repair work as possible. It is unreal how many things broke down while I was away for 6 months. It seems like every day I find something else that needs to be fixed. I have started up some new building projects, too. Nothing major yet, but things are starting to get back into a rhythm.
My health has improved. I have lost 13lbs so far and am getting my exercise pretty regularly. The medical bills are still trickling in, but nothing big of late. Thanks to all who have prayed and given. Thanks for all your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
CONTACT INFO
Mike & Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
69980 Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre
Brasil, SA
mdcreig@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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Back Home in Brazil
July 24, 2023
Dear Brethren,
Greetings from hot and dry Cruzeiro do Sul. Perfect! After 6 months in the United States, I have arrived back home. Bev was with me for the last 3 months of my “vacation”. My treatment ended at the beginning of July. Our return trip was long, tiring, but went without a hitch. My parting shot as the surgeon left the room on my last checkup was, “Doctor, you did what nobody has ever been able to do: You made time stand still. These have been the longest 6 months of my life.”
Thanks to all of you who have prayed. Please don’t stop though. At age 75 I am still not out of the woods and may never be. Special thanks to my daughter Monica who had to put up with the “homeless guy” for 6 months. What a trooper, just like her Mom.
We have been back home for 10 days now. You would not believe the number of things that can break in 6 months. I am still weak, but have gotten quite a few things repaired. Of course, there have been meetings and more meetings as I try to catch up. It has all been very pleasant though.
Attendance is on the rise at church. Yesterday morning we had a baptism and Lord’s supper service. Pastor Maicom (one of our 7 pastors) performed the baptisms. We added 10 new members. We also had 3 more requests for baptism yesterday. Three more people came back into fellowship. We also reinstated a family of 6 that had been away for a long time. We had 1,089 at church yesterday.
Yesterday was one of our oldest members birthday. Sister Eunice Sá was at church to celebrate her 90th. Many of her children and grandchildren are faithful members to this day. Her husband pastored First Baptist Church back in the fifties. He went to heaven many years ago. He was a deacon when I became pastor. Many other family members were at church last night to help her celebrate.
Our missions teams have been busy these past few days. They made visits to Ramal 7, Campinas, Gama and Paraná dos Mouras. We are having a little trouble with our missionary at Campinas, but the work is doing pretty good. Gama just continues to grow by leaps and bounds. The congregation at Ramal 7 has just finished their first building. They have moved in, but haven’t held the dedication service yet.
Well I realize that this is much news, but it is a start. It is hard to express the relief and joy of being home again. Thanks again for being patient and prayerful.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
CONTACT INFO
Mike & Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
69980 Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre
Brasil, SA
mdcreig@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
