Odali Barros Announces Retirement

Posted on 24Feb CATEGORIES: General, Letters, Odali & Kathy Barros [Brazil] Tags:Tags: , , , , , , 0

Odali Barros has faithfully served as a BFM missionary in Brazil for over 30 years, ministering in São Paulo and later moving to Manaus. He will be retiring this month. Odali, a native Brazilian, was saved under the ministry of Mike Creiglow. He is married to Kathy, the youngest daughter of John and Alta Hatcher. Their ministry together has had a special emphasis on children over the years, including many orphans.

Odali and Kathy have expressed a desire to continue working among the people of Manaus for as long as they are able. We pray that God will continue to bless Odali and Kathy as they seek to bring yet more
lost souls to Christ.

A Note from Odali

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.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We want to thank each one that supports Baptist Faith Missions. We are thankful for your support and prayers for our ministry. I’m grateful for BFM because it was through this mission that I heard the gospel and was saved. Time has gone by so fast. We are retiring but will continue serving God where we are.
May God continue blessing each one and Baptist Faith Missions.

Love in Christ,
Odali and Kathy

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father…” -1 Thessalonians 1:1b-3


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Retired Couple Gives of Themselves to Share God’s Love

Posted on 2Mar CATEGORIES: Bobby & Charlene Wacaser [Brazil], General, Letters Tags:Tags: , , , , , , , , 0

Bobby and Charlene Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.

Dear Friends, 
As many of you know, the seasons in southern Brazil are at the opposite times of year as those in the northern hemisphere. Because of this, our school calendars are also just the opposite. The months of December to February are their summer break. Due to the pandemic last year, the students had mostly virtual classes. This year looked bright for returning to the classroom for all of two weeks! But then there was an increase in the number of COVID cases in our state and the governor issued a shutdown of all public buildings. We aren’t sure if this will truly be just two weeks or if it will be extended like it was last year, but it does drastically affect our ministry outreach strategies.
Each year we are invited into public and private schools to share the message of hope and salvation through gospel skits, testimonies and the preached word to tens of thousands of students and staff. The longer these doors stay closed, the less people we are able to reach. Rather than accept defeat, though, we have sought the Lord for other open doors of opportunity and He has blessed. Our traveling team has had to stay within the metropolitan area of our city, but they have found several avenues through which they can connect with people who are lost and desperate. The homeless population of a town our size is considerably large, in the thousands. We have found locations where these folks assemble for food or clothing.
 
We have asked our churches to donate what they can toward this outreach effort and encouraged the members to accompany the outreach teams in their effort to show the love of Christ through gifts of physical and spiritual food. Since our teams have not been able to get into the public schools, they are free to return regularly to meet with and minister to this homeless population. Each visit gives our workers the chance to get to know the people they are ministering to a little better and we have seen barriers of defense come down. We are finding that, yes, most of these folks are there due to repetitively bad choices, but we also find folks who are hurting and suffering and have never heard a word of grace and love and forgiveness. In the last few months, we have been instrumental in leading 16 former drug addicts to Christ and they are now voluntarily in Christian drug rehab centers seeking to become productive servants of the Lord. We thank God for these open doors and for the open hearts of our workers to reach out to those who are on the outside.
 
Manuel and Maria are a couple who retired from their secular jobs in order to minister fulltime in missions and evangelism. Their retirement income is caught up in a bureaucratic mess and the pandemic has only served to increase that mess, but they are still joyfully giving themselves to share God’s love through practical and spiritual means, day in and day out with these homeless folks. I thank the Lord for putting examples like them in my church and in my life to challenge me to keep my first love for the Lord
aflame. I hope that this testimony of their service will encourage you to do the same. 
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Manuel and Maria

Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
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


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