The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.

May 16, 2018

Dear friends and family,

These weeks have been some real AWESOME ones. Weeks and months of preparation have come to fruition. We have completed two wonderful weeks of seminary classes. These perhaps have been two of our most fulfilling up to this point.

The first class taught by Dr. Derek Colman of Gardenside Baptist Church in Lexington, Ky, was Systematic Theology. This class started opening the eyes of the students and created an atmosphere of excitement about Biblical learning.

This was our introduction to São Paulo City. I have been somewhat reluctant to go to this city because of its enormity. It is a challenge just to get from point A to point B. You see, the city itself is only 57 miles across. Yes, I said 57 miles. So, the challenges that the students had was not only studying, they had the challenge to get to class and—on time. The students have regular daytime jobs, so they had to face getting to the classes from their job sites, to face the congestion at quitting time, and all the other difficulties that Satan could throw at them. This alone made these students very special. Even facing these challenges their desire to learn has been AWESOME!!! Their questions have been great.

Then came Dr. Edge from 1st Baptist Church in Texas—he taught the Old Testament Survey class and just mesmerized the students.

Let me tell you about some of the students. There was this one very special lady in the class (among many others) and her story caught our attention. She was in her late 60s, still working—she is a medical doctor in São Paulo City. What brought her to our attention was her statement about our Seminary. She told us that she had been praying over 40 years for a Baptist Seminary where she could attend and learn more. Her desire is to know the Scriptures better so that she could be a more effective witness for Him. We all need more of her enthusiasm and dedication for learning more about our Lord and Savior.
Another student said that he was helping in a mission Church and had studied the Old Testament very little but after the class on the Old Testament Survey he was very enthusiastic to learn more and more.

As we were preparing for the class I was praying for 20 to 25 students. We had 23 pre-registered students, but come the night of the first class, we had 44 students. Oh me of little faith! I simply forget what an AWESOME God we serve. Sixteen of these students are Pastors. This fits right in with our desire to train Pastors and church workers to be more effective and better prepared to take the Word to their respective areas.

As we have shared with you in previous letters we are keeping our eye out for that one that God would have us help in their endeavor to start a church. Well I am happy to tell you that we have selected one from this class. He is a young man that is trying to start a mission in a needy area. His Pastor who is also in this class has high regards for this young man. We will be gifting him his books and seminary costs and will help him monthly. This help will be for one year to give him time to build God’s work in this area. He says that he has around 20 in his mission at this time and all are needy. Not only physically (very poor) but also spiritually. His name is Ricardo Posca he is married and has a little girl. Please keep them in your prayers. If you would like to be a part of his ministry, please send donations to BFM marked in his name in care of Aj Hensley.

Continue to pray for the Seminary, the professors and the continuing students and the future students. I will be returning in June or July to look into more sites for the seminary, but when I find them we will need God to send more qualified professors. Please put this on your prayer list.

In His service,
Aj and Barbara Hensley

Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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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