What’s a Missionary Wife’s Life Like?
April 22, 2022
Dear readers,
When I’m asked what a missionary wife’s life is like, I guess I have to say that it is as varied as there are missionary wives. This is true because every missionary wife has her own personality and her own set of skills and struggles that shape her. I’m certain that there are many circumstances and experiences that we missionary wives have in common just by the nature of our calling to leave our families, our home culture and language. But how we adjust to all of these is different in many ways because we are different in many ways.
Before anything else, though, I want you to know that I do not consider my life on the foreign mission field a sacrifice or a burden. I am thankful to the Lord for the life He has given me. Yes, I have my struggles and hardships, but I know that each and every one of you do too. Some of mine are completely different because of my calling, but many are very similar to yours. I am both happy and fulfilled in what the Lord is using me to do here in Brazil. I thank Him for the privilege to serve Him where I am.
Charlene 
Charlene & Bobby 
Charlene with some of their church ladies for Children’s Day 
Charlene
It is hard for me to put a title on my role, so I will just share some of the things that I do and not worry about titles. I help our couples’ ministry team leaders prepare for our outreach events. We usually hold 4 to 5 of these events per year. They are basically two-hour banquets, each with a different décor theme and different marital issues in focus. My husband, Bobby, usually brings a message addressing the marital principle in focus and always shares the gospel with the lost guests. My part is to help plan the décor and set up the auditorium for those who attend.
I also work with our children’s teaching ministry. We have put together a great team of volunteers who are gifted teachers and I assist them now. Through the course of our ministry and with each new church plant, I am usually the first and main children’s teacher as we begin to discover and develop new teachers from among our new converts.
Maybe one of my most important roles, though, is to assist Bobby in whatever he needs me to do. When he has to counsel women, he always has me with him, both for my female input and for ministerial integrity.
Our home life is one of the strongest illustrations of what we teach and of what he preaches, so I realize that I must give great attention to making it both pleasant and solid. We have raised our children and we now have an “empty nest,” but I want it to still be full of joy and love.
The hardest part for me as a woman is the absence of our children and our grandson. But I would rather be 5,000 miles away from them doing what the Lord wants me to do than to be in the same city with them when that’s not His will for me.
My prayer request is that Bobby and I will always be attentive to the Lord’s leading. We want to be in fellowship with Him so intimately that we will know when and where He is leading us to new opportunities to share the gospel and plant new churches.
I am really grateful to all of you who pray for us and for the faithful support to maintain our ministries.
Yours in the love of Jesus,
Charlene Wacaser
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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Helping Those in Need
Dear brothers and sisters,
I pray that all of you are well. The world is going through hard times but we know that our Lord and Savior is in control.
We are all doing well and adapting our life to the times in which we are living. Through this situation, we have been able to help different people with some of their needs. We stay in contact with our people by internet and send messages and Scripture to the people.
We went and gave fish to many people. And also we went and delivered some basic foods that were given to a member of the church to donate to whoever needed the food.
I really miss going to Ubim and having my time with the kids and having our studies. The other day when we went to take some food to the Indian tribe, I saw the kids from a distance. The chief was the one who came to receive the food. The chief asked, “Who is Kathy?” I said, “It’s me.” He said, “The kids are over there calling you. They said to say ‘Hi’.” The Lord willing, we will be back to normal soon.
The Indian chief in a canoe 
The Indian tribe from a distance
I have been working with some of the young girls from the church and training them to work with the kids at church. It has been great to be with them. Pray that God will help them to grow more and more each day. They are new converts and were not brought up in church, so I work with them with their spiritual growth and with developing their abilities with working in Sunday school.
One of the difficulties in this area is the distance that people live. So everything takes time to make things work. Not everyone in the church has transportation, which makes things a little harder at times.
I thank each of you for your prayers and support. Pray that God will continue to allow me to serve Him and open new doors in new communities. We are still planning to do mission trips on the river. When I was a child I went on many trips with my parents. It was fun! I can’t wait for us to be able to go on our first trip. Pray for this also.
God bless each of you!
Kathy Barros
Contact Info:
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, SA
odali_kathy@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 to School & Continuing to Train Young Kenyan Men
Nathan and Carrie Radford serve the Lord in Kitale, Kenya. Their main ministries include indigenous church planting, a prison ministry, and a hospital ministry for mothers with premature babies.
January 3, 2019
Dear praying friends,
Happy 2019! We wish each of you a happy 2019 as you serve the Lord this upcoming year. May we truly be busy serving God, as we don’t know how much time we have to serve. Time passes so fast, and how we need to prioritize and put His kingdom first. I am reminded of Matthew 6:33, which says “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Please pray for my wife and daughters, as they will be going back to school this next week. My wife will be teaching on Thursdays and Fridays, and assisting where she can. I am thankful for her servant spirit and making herself available to serve. Our daughters have been getting bored as the break has been long, so we are thankful that they will be going back to school soon to be with their friends again. This school has been such a huge answer to prayer in regards to the much needed socialization for our children, and having activities to do. They will be studying the languages of Kiswahili and French, as well as staying busy with their studies. Please also pray for Julie Tate, my wife’s friend, as they both will be assisting with the new curriculum during the week.
I (Nathan) am continuing to disciple the younger Kenyan man in his home village of Rafiki. We have gone through many Biblical teachings together, and recently we studied about the need for daily devotions. We looked at how we need to spend time with God, praying, studying the Word of God, and entrusting to Him all the activities of the day. He seemed to appreciate the teachings and it challenged him in regards to his quiet time with God. I hope and pray that the teachings will be a blessing to him. He has told me that he has been growing spiritually, for which I am thankful. I feel that the men need to be grounded and pass through the discipleship course before they are sent out to start churches. This is the way I feel led at this time and I pray that you would pray that God would bless and provide the right men to train. I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 3:6, where Paul says, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” Without His blessing, nothing will work, but I am trusting Him to give the increase. Praise God.
I am also continuing to train another younger Kenyan man in the area of Milimani, right outside of Kitale town. This young man also seems hungry to learn and be discipled, for which I am thankful. He has given positive feedback to the training, and I thank God for that. Please pray for both of these men, as they have jobs and are busy, but are desiring to be taught and trained in the Word of God. I will continue to wait, pray, and trust the Lord to provide the right men in His timing and plan. I appreciate your prayers for me as I continue to train and leave the results to God.
We appreciate each of you so much. May God bless you for your prayers, sacrificial giving, and notes of encouragement. You are each a blessing and we thank God for you. We will keep you updated.
Blessings,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
Nathan and Carrie Radford
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya
East Africa 30200
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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Reaching Out to Youth & Training New Workers
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.
September 30, 2016
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We pray that all of you are well and enjoying blessings from our Lord and Savior. We are doing great and enjoying blessings from our Lord in our lives and ministry.
We have been saving an outreach for youth in the 3 communities where we have churches. The purpose is to reach new youth and also train new workers. We will have a total of 8 weeks, then we will leave the workers in these churches and go to new communities. We have had around 100 new visitors, plus the ones who belong to the churches. Although we live far from the city and with little commodities, it is unreal how much drugs are in these communities. Contact with these youth has reminded us so much of the Alpha & Omega Home. So, we are working in these churches with teens with the same needs. Pray for them and for the leaders as they reach out to them. There has been several saved. We are going to plan a baptismal service and a time of fellowship.
The mission we have at Ubim is going well. We are praying for God to show us a place to buy to build a mission. We have service on the porch of a couple’s home. It is getting a little hard to work with the group. We have a large range in ages. Pray with us that God will show us the perfect place. Kathy is training 5 of our youth to work with kids. It has been great to see them get involved.
We want to thank all of you for your prayers and support. God bless each of you.
These are pictures of the youth program Odali & Kathy are having in three communities: Iranduba, Mutirão, and the mother church Pedras Vivas. They have planned eight weeks of reaching out to lost youth and training new leaders.
Odali & Kathy Barros
Caixa Postal 1
Iranduba, Amazonas 69.415.000
Brasil, S.A.
odali_kathy[at]hotmail.com
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