Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [June 2013]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
Dear Brethren and Friends,
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! We know you will rejoice with us–The Lord has given a break through in Assai. More than seventy persons attended the special service on Mother’s Day in the city of Assai. Praise the Lord for His blessing on the new family who is working there.
The new pastor is Daniel. His wife is Leticia and their ten year-old daughter is Milena. This family came from the Chapada Baptist Church in Manaus, where our son, David, is pastor. This family is hard-working and dedicated to do God’s will. Pray for God to bless this family and have mercy on Assai. The Chapada Church paid their moving expenses and continue monthly support. Thank the Lord, with Alta and I, for this great blessing in Assai. In this city with a population of 20,000 there is only one baptized believer in our work.
The week after Mother’s Day there were thirty children present in the Saturday Bible Hour and twenty adults and children attended the Sunday service. God has heard and is answering your prayers concerning this city. Please praise Him and thank Him for His blessings.
PERSONAL EVANGELISM–As you know, I try to walk three times each week with the purpose of physical care and to do personal evangelism. We have had two weeks of rain, almost day and night so my walking has been slowed down. Two days that I did walk the Lord gave me opportunity to witness to five persons: A young couple with two small children and three working men.
URAI CHURCH–Since we do not have a specific work to care for since giving up Assai, we are attending the services at Urai church. The mission in Sussumo, on the other side of town, is going well. Three young people of the church teach Sunday School there and they have a preaching service every Friday night. The other mission and visitation program is going well and new persons are coming to services. Please pray for us. Alta is doing fine and I have some physical needs.
In His Wonderful Name,
John A. and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [April 2013]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
Dear Brethren and Friends,
It is a joy to greet you once more from Brazil. In spite of the changes that take place in old age, Alta and I have had a good month. We praise the Lord for all of His goodness and benefits.
ASSAI—Sunday was our last Sunday for the work in Assai. Praise the Lord for providing a wonderful family from the city of Manaus who was sent to Assai by the Chapada Baptist Church. Daniel, his wife, Leticia, and their nine year-old daughter, Milena, arrived in Assai on March 18. They have worked successfully in other congregations and came with a desire to see the work develop. Please make their ministry in Assai a constant matter of prayer, and that God will have mercy on that city of twenty thousand.
PHYSICAL NEEDS—There are two prayer requests for two of God’s servants. The first is Sonia dos Santos, the wife of Valdir, the pastor in Cornelio Procopio. She had her left breast removed because of cancer and she is having a difficult experience with the chemical treatments. Secondly, we ask you to pray for Silvio Pfhal, pastor of two churches and father of four children. He was painting and the ladder he was on slipped and one vertebra was cracked in his lower back. He is recovering well, but will be practically stopped for about three months. Pray for Kelly, his wife, as she cares for him and the children.
Maria, our daughter by adoption, is needing cataract surgery on both eyes. Please pray for this marvelous servant of God. Her sister, Helena, had this surgery on both eyes a month ago and is perfectly recovered.
URAI—The work of Urai church is doing well. The mission congregations at Rancho Alegre, Sussumo, and other mission activities are doing well under the leadership of Marco Moraes.
We feel a certain emotion in leaving Assai, but we praise the Lord for His provision. Our work in visitation and evangelizing will continue, as well as our financial help to pastors, seminary teachers and students. Our job is not finished, just adjusting to our abilities. We are grateful to all who have been our constant partners through our many years in Brazil. God bless you. We love you.
In the Name of our Lord Jesus,
John A. and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher [March 2013]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
February 25, 2013
Dear Brethren and Fellow-Workers:
Here in Urai the sun is shining brightly and it is a beautiful summer day. You may remember that when it is winter in the States it is summer for us here. It has been a hot summer with sufficient rain for the crops. The fields are very beautiful and harvest of the soy bean crop has begun.
PERSONAL–Alta and I are doing well for two oldies. Her eyes continue in perfect condition after the two cataract surgeries. My physical condition is going down slowly. We have been able to go to the city of Assai each Sunday.
ASSAI–Praise the Lord for His blessing for the work in Assai. This month a family from the Chapada Church is being sent to take care of the work here. The family is a young couple with two children. Please pray for them.
URAI–The church in Urai, under the leadership of Marcio Moraes, is doing well in the home church and in the three congregations. There is a wonderful group of young people, both men and women, who are dedicated to serving the Lord. The Seminary Classes begin again this month. Please pray for the teachers and eight to ten students.
PHYSICAL NEED–Sonha dos Santos, wife of Valdir dos Santos, pastor of the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Cornelio Procopio, had her left breast removed because of cancer. She is going through much suffering with the chemical treatment. Please remember to pray for this wonderful saint of the Lord.
WORK IN BRAZIL–Remember, the country of Brazil is larger in territory than the 48 continental United States. The works that have been started by missionaries of BFM or that are being started are going very well and some have grown to thousands in attendance. You who have given for this mission work can be proud of the families you have supported and the result that God has given. Alta and I count it a great privilege to have served the Lord in this country for over 58 years.
Your servants in Christ,
John A. and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [February 2013]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
Dear Brethren and Fellow-Workers:
If the year of 2013 continues passing as fast as the month of January has, the year 2014 will be here in a week or two. But we praise the Lord the month has been a good one and brought many benefits. One was that David and Pennie visited us the last week of December. It was a rare and wonderful time of fellowship. Another blessing was Odali and Kathy came from Garca for a two-day visit.
FAMILY CAMP—Each year in January, the Tabernacle Baptist Church of Cornelio Procopio sponsors a week of Camp. This year our son Paul was the principal speaker. He and Wanda came four days early to have a short visit with us. Our time together was marvelous. Several churches had groups at the Camp. We praised the Lord for the 170 persons who were there. All were from churches in the States of Sao Paulo and Parana that God had given us the joy of starting.
ASSAI—Alta and I still go to the city of Assai each Sunday morning for our services. Please make this city a special item on your prayer list. Our time is very close to running out for going there. Pray God will send a faithful man and wife to take care of this work and to evangelize the other cities close by.
NEWS—The Lord willing, plans are being made for us to go to the States for a short time and to be there during the Spring BFM Missionary Conference. Our son David is making all the plans for us and plans to go with us to do the driving. Unfortunately, we will not be able to visit churches as we usually do. However, we hope that many of you will be able to come to the Spring BFM Conference and see us there. Alta and I are doing well, in spite of some health problems that I have. We praise the Lord every day for our 65 years of marriage. I have been in the ministry for 66 years. We have been missionaries in Brazil 58 years. We thank the Lord for our five wonderful children, 15 grandchildren (all serving the Lord), and 26 great-grandchildren. Some of our great-grandchildren have already trusted the Lord as Savior. How great is our Lord!!! We love you. Thank you for your prayers and financial support for all of our years in Brazil.
In His Name,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [January 2013]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
December 31, 2012
Dear Brethren and Fellow-Workers,
It seems impossible that 2012 has gone by so quickly. The verse that teaches us to redeem the time certainly is one of the most important in the Scriptures. Alta and I celebrated sixty-five years of married life on December 20th. They have been marvelous years while serving the Lord and rearing our children. We now have two children in Heaven: Lynn and the little boy who was born without life in the interior village of Faro in the year of 1956.
After finishing at Georgetown College and serving as pastor for nine years in Shelbyville, Kentucky, Beattyville, Kentucky, and Alton, Illinois, we made application to come to Brazil with Baptist Faith Missions. In one month, we were on our way. We arrived in Brazil in 1955. We came to give our lives to preach the Gospel, establish churches, and train workers. Fifty-eight years have flown by. Our five children were reared in the northern tropical city of Manaus. Two of our sons, Paul and David, are pastors in this great city. Our other son, John Mark, is a missionary with BFM in France. Kathy, our youngest, is married to Odali Barros. They are missionaries with BFM in Garca, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and have six children.
God has given us fifteen grandchildren. All are serving the Lord faithfully. We now have twenty-five great grandchildren in different parts of the world. Some great grandchildren have already trusted the Lord as Savior and been baptized. God has blessed us with an untold number of blessings that will last forever. We praise Him with all our heart.
We thank God that we have been blessed to preach from the North to the South of Brazil. We are still going to Assai each Sunday morning. Please pray for this city of twenty-thousand people. It is the most difficult place we have worked in our entire ministry. We continue because we know that it is God’s will and one day the seed will produce great results to His glory.
Pray that God will be our strength, wisdom, and peace. We thank you for your support throughout many years. We love you and thank God for your faithful support.
In His Name,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [December 2012]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
December 1, 2012
Dear Brethren and Fellow-Workers,
At the age of eighty-seven a person talks a lot, usually about things that most do not want to hear. It is a little more difficult to write. I will do my best. Alta and I are doing well. Her vision is perfect after the cataract surgeries. We are thankful and praise the Lord. My health has suffered some in a weaker body and some mental anguish. I am still able to drive and tie my shoe strings. Alta does her own cooking and has a great appetite.
THE LORD’S WORK – Alta and I go every Sunday morning to Assai. The work is still at zero with only one lady who is saved and baptized. We meet each Sunday for Bible study and Alta’s class. It is wonderful to have the promise that where two or three are gathered in His Name He is with us. With joy and thanksgiving we make the trip and worship together. The city of Assai has 20,000+ inhabitants. Many false churches. In our years in Brazil it is the most difficult place we have worked. This city was founded by Japanese 104 years ago. Ours is the first Baptist work in this city. We continue because we know it is God’s will to do so and one day He will bless the seed to His honor and glory.
URAI – This work is doing well and there is a group of great dedicated young people who are serving the Lord. Three of them work in two Congregations. Five study in the Seminary. We are encouraged for the future with this group.
One of the Seminary teachers, Sonia dos Santos, had cancer of the breast. She had surgery last week, removing the breast. Her husband, Valdir dos Santos, is pastor of the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Cornelio Procopio. Please pray for Sonia and the family in this trying experience.
FAMILY – We are expecting the births of three new great grandchildren: One from Kriston and John Victor McGary, one from Lydia and Adam Reese, and the other from Amelia and Ivo Oliveira. We praise God for His work of grace in the lives of our grandchildren. All are serving the Lord; some in the States, some in France, and some in Brazil. Our hearts a filled with gratitude that our great grandchildren are being saved and baptized. How rich we are in His eternal blessings.
VISITS – David and Pennie plan to visit us for a few days the last of December. Paul and Wanda will be with us the first of January when he comes to be the main speaker in the annual Family Camp that Valdir dos Santos and Tabernacle Church sponsor.
Pray for our health and ability to continue active in His Work until He comes or until He takes us. Thank you for your many years of financial support and prayers. We love you and realize that what we do depends on your help and love.
In His Name,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [September 2012]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
Dear Brethren and Fellow-Workers,
Greetings from Brazil. We are happy to greet you once more from the land where we have labored for more than fifty-five years. We are thankful to our Lord that He has been pleased to use our children and grandchildren in the work of His vineyard in many parts of the world. At our age we are aware that we soon will be in His presence forever.
URAI- The work in Urai is going well. There is a fine group of young people in this Church who are dedicated to the Lord and busy in His work. Along with the Congregations at Rancho Alegre and Sussumo there are some that do visits from door to door distributing Gospel tracts.
This past week Kathy, one of her sons, and Maria were here for a two day visit. What a joy these visits bring to our lives. Sometimes we are so homesick to see them; it is hard.
ELECTIONS- This is the time of electioneering for the offices of State and City officials. It is a very noisy period with loud speakers on, what seems to be, most of the cars.
ASSAI- This month the second son of Dona Maria passed away. He had suffered with cancer for nearly ten years. The sad part is there is no assurance he was saved. Sunday morning, his widow came to service. Her name is Jirlene. She has two children, a girl and a boy. Please pray for her and for her children. Alta and I go to Assai each Sunday morning and we praise the Lord for health and ability to go these sixty miles each week.
CAR PROBLEM- Rather, owner problem. Three weeks ago I failed to put the radiator cap on and coming home the engine overheated and cracked the heads. The heat melted the wires but the car stopped on a curve in front of a small business. The man who lives there was able to fix the wires enough for us to arrive home. The two mechanics who do my work have put our car in first class condition and I am trying to remember the radiator cap.
In all of our years of experience, this city of twenty thousand is the most difficult we have encountered. Pray for God’s mercy on Assai.
On September 14, Alta will have her eighty-seventh birthday, the Lord willing. She is in good health and her eyes are great.
In His Love,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [August 2012]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
July 31, 2012
Dear Brethren and Fellow Workers,
Greetings from Brazil in the Name of our Great Savior. Alta and I have had a good month and have gone to our mission in Assai each Sunday morning. Our attendance has not grown but we have the promise that where two or three are gathered together in His Name He is present with us. His promise is His Word will not return void. We are trying to be faithful and one day the Isaac will be born.
God has blessed us in the old age of our life. It is a great joy to look back over the years and see how God has been faithful in all His promises. Our children are serving the Lord, all of our grandchildren are faithfully serving the Lord and our great-grandchildren are being saved as they come to the age of accountability.
Another great thrill is to see how God has blessed and is blessing the works that He gave us the privilege of beginning. Those works have also begun and are beginning other new works. We want to encourage you young persons to surrender your lives to serve the Lord. Make the surrender while young; you will never regret doing the best for your Lord and Savior.
(Just had a wonderful interruption of fifteen minutes–a phone call from John and Judy in France. The Lord knows how we love them and miss them.)
Last week we had a wonderful two-day visit with David. He came down to our State for the dedication of two new buildings: One in the center of Parana and the other in Curitiba where Bobby and Charlene Wacaser work. We praise and thank the Lord for how He is using our children in His vineyard. They are all so far away and sometimes the heart aches to see them. Kathy is the closest and we get to see her every two or three months.
All of the work is going well in this part of Brazil. In Urai the work is going well. The pastor, Marcio, is doing a good job. There are about ten young people and two young married couples who are faithful and working in the church and congregations. There are six or seven who study in the Seminary. Pray for us. At age 87, things are not so easy.
God bless you, we love you,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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