Brazil

Harold Bratcher

Harold Bratcher has served the Lord in the Amazon Valley since July 15, 1959. His dear wife Marie, faithfully served with him for 52 years until her death in February 2011.

The Bratchers organized over 20 Baptist churches and many other missions in the Amazon Valley. Harold has pastored three churches and has traveled extensively up and down the Amazon to mission points. He pastored the 24th of December Baptist Church for 30 years and under his leadership, the congregation grew from 40 members to 250. In 1999, he accepted the pastorate of the 24th of March Baptist Church (named in honor of his birthday), where he still continues to serve.

They were blessed with three sons: Dr. Asa Mark Bratcher, Pastor Stephen M. Bratcher, and Joel Bratcher, who drowned in the Amazon River at the age of 6. Marie is buried next to her son Joel in the St. John the Baptist Cemetery of Manaus Brazil. Missionary E.A. Nelson, "The Apostle of the Amazon," is buried close by as well.

Harold was born in Louisville, Kentucky and Marie was born in Richmond, Kentucky. Harold graduated from Georgetown College in 1950 and was a classmate of John Hatcher. Marie met Harold when he preached at the church she attended, Newby Baptist Church. They married in 1954.

[Read more about the history of their work in Brazil.]

Contact Info:
Rua Francisco Jose Furtado No. 2
Bairro de Sao Francisco
69.079-200 Manaus, Amazonas
Brasil, S.A.
harold_bratcher@yahoo.com

Odali and Kathy Barros

Odali and Kathy Barros have served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil for many years.

Odali is pastoring a new church they started in Garça, the Community Baptist Church. They recently started offering music lessons for the members in their church, something that is very rare in Brazil. They students are able to choose from piano, guitar, bass, drums or voice lessons.

The Barros Family runs "Alpha Omega Family Development," which provides a home and stability for needy people, many of whom are recovering drug addicts, etc. They wish to offer the following services out of their home in the near future: a public library to promote reading among kids, adult education classes, sports leagues, a jewelry-making class, a health and wellness class, a painting class, a disease prevention class, and dancing, culinary, and crafts classes as well. They also faithfully go into the public schools with Gospel presentations.

Odali, a native Brazilian, was saved under the ministry of Mike Creiglow. Kathy is the daughter of John and Alta Hatcher and has lived in Brazil her whole life. She was saved at Chapada Baptist Church in Manaus. Odali and Kathy were introduced by Stephen Bratcher, son of Harold Bratcher, another one of our long-time missionaries to Brazil. They have been blessed with 3 grown children, 3 younger children they have adopted, and 8 grandchildren.

Contact Info:
Caixa Postal 182
17.400-000 Garca,
Sao Paulo, Brasil SA
odali_kathy@hotmail.com
Blog

Michael and Beverly Creiglow

Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together for 40 years. The state of Acre is located in the northwest corner of Brazil and is bordered by Peru on the west.

They serve at First Baptist Church in Cruzeiro do Sul, which Mike has pastored since 1978. First Baptist was organized in 1929 by Joseph Brandon, the first missionary supported through BFM. It has served as the launching pad for many churches and mission points.

Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down the Juruá River preaching the Gospel to those who have never heard.

In the past few years, the Lord has opened an incredible door for them to reach the Ashaninka Indians of Peru. (Read more!)

Their church has multiple ministries to the people of Brazil. One ministry is called "IDE," which is Portuguese for "Go." They send a group to different towns and villages several times during the year to give haircuts, teach dental hygiene, etc. During the day, the children are told Bible stories and at night, there is a church service. This ministry is completely funded by the local church.

Mike was saved at the age of 10. When he was 12 years old, his family moved to Brazil as missionaries. Bev was born in St. Louis, Missouri and raised in Alton, Illinois. She was saved under her father's ministry at the age of 9. Mike and Bev have been married 41 years and have been blessed with four children and 8 grandchildren.

Contact Info:
Caixa Postal 24
69980 Cruzeiro do Sol
Acre, Brasil SA
mdcreig@hotmail.com
Website / Video

John and Alta Hatcher

John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence. Their latest work is in Assaí, Paraná, where they have just received approval from the neighbors on the four sides of their lot and from City Hall to build.

In March 2011, a new church was founded in the city of Iguaco, which is in the western part of their state (Parana). There is also a mission point out of this church. The church in Urai is thriving under Pastor Marcio who also holds services in Rancho Alegre. They also have mission points in Sussumo and a village called Duzentos. The seminary in the Cornelio Procopio Area is going well and the church there has congregations in two cities. God has raised up a group of faithful men there!

John was raised at First Baptist Church of Alexandria in Kentucky, where he was saved at the age of 9. He and Alta have been married 64 years. Together, they raised 5 godly children while serving Brazil: Lynn (who is now in Heaven), Paul (who serves in Manaus, Brazil), John Mark (who serves in France), David (who serves in Manaus, Brazil), and Kathy (who serves in Garça, Brazil).

Contact Info:
Caixa Postal 112
86280-00 Urai
Parana, Brasil SA
jhatcher@uol.com.br

Paul and Wanda Hatcher

Paul and Wanda Hatcher have been serving the Lord together in Brazil for 36 years.

Paul pastors Tabernacle Baptist Church in Manaus, Brazil. Tabernacle Baptist Church was started by Francisco Santiago in 1948. Santiago was one of the first disciples saved under the ministry of Joseph F. Brandon, who was the first missionary supported through BFM. Many churches have been started out of Tabernacle. Most recently, Paul has led the church to start new works in four states in northeast Brazil.

Paul was raised in Brazil as a missionary's kid. He and Wanda have been married for 40 years and have been blessed with three children and a host of grandchildren.

Contact Info:
Avenida J. Carlos Antony, 172
65063-150 Manaus
Amazonas, Brasil SA
hatcher@argo.com.br

Judson and Raquel Hatcher

Jud and Raquel Hatcher serve the Lord in Manaus, Brazil. They are part of the "SeedFactory" church planting initiative, which is a movement to plant churches in all 26 Brazilian capitals. In turn, each church becomes an equipping center designed to further expand into the smaller cities of the state and each new church continually plants new churches throughout their region. Since 2006, 43 churches have been started in 5 states.

Jud is a third generation missionary to Brazil (son of Paul & Wanda Hatcher and grandson of John & Alta Hatcher). He was born in Manaus to American parents and is a dual citizen who is bilingual and bicultural. Jud graduated from Lexington Baptist College in 1998 with a B.A. in Biblical Studies/Youth Ministry. He met Raquel, a native Brazilian, when he was 14 years old and they have been married since 1999. They lived in Virginia for 7 years where they attended Regent University for grad school. Since then, they have been blessed with three children: Sarah, Laura, and Benjamin, and one more who is expected to arrive around Thanksgiving!

Contact Info:
judsonhatcher@hotmail.com
Website / Twitter

A. J. and Barbara Hensley

The Hensleys have spent nearly 15 years serving in Brazil. After working with Odali & Kathy Barros at the Alpha & Omega Children's Home in Garca for several years, the Hensleys moved to Caraguatatuba. They have started an orphanage in Caraguatatuba and are ministering to Brazil's ever-growing number of street children. They also run a vocational school to teach young men and women life skills while also ministering to their spiritual needs.

Their church is continuing to grow, averaging 90 in attendance. Right now, they are in need of more Sunday School space, more teachers, and a bus. They have helped establish mission points throughout the city of Caraguatatuba.

In November 2011, they plan to hold a pastor's conference and anticipate about 100 pastors to be in attendance. Two pastors from the States will preach about "Rescuing Our Happiness to Serve."

A.J. and Barb are both Kentucky natives. They have been blessed with two children and three grandchildren.

Contact Info:
Caixa Postal 1511
11672-300 Caraguatatuba, Sao Paulo, Brasil
ajcaragua@gmail.com
Blog

Bobby and Charlene Wacaser

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

In January 2011, they started their newest church plant. They are in the process of getting to know their neighbors, telling them about the plant, and building a place to worship.

In addition to pastoring their local church, their ministry includes an outreach called Project Life, which involves sending out four evangelistic teams to public schools all over the country. The teams travel and live in buses that have been converted into motor-homes and have the privilege to share the Gospel with as many as 3000 students and faculty per week.

Bobby grew up at Ahava Baptist Church in Plant City, Florida. Charlene is from Georgia. Their daughter Jessie is attending college in Florida and their son Brennen is 13.

Contact Info:
Rua Manoel Valdomiro de Macedo, 2281
81170-150 Curitiba, PR Brasil
robertmw@brturbo.com.br

Peru

Sheridan and Anita Stanton

Sheridan and Anita Stanton have served the Lord in Peru for 28 years. They currently reside in Huánuco, Peru, where Sheridan pastors the Calvary Baptist Mission. They have recently purchased property for this work and are trying to collect funds to start construction.

Their main ministry is church planting. They have helped establish churches all over Peru. Sheridan also works to train pastors, helping them dig deeper in the Word and instructing them in the ministry. He holds a weekly pastor's class on Monday nights.

Anita works very hard with the ladies' ministry and developing children's material.

Sheridan and Anita were married in 1974 and have been blessed with two children and four grandchildren. They were sent out of Jordan Baptist Church of Sanford, Florida, where Sheridan served five years as pastor.

Contact Info:
Apartado Postal 140
Huanuco, Peru
1.859.514.0929 (Domestic Broadband call)
sestantonperu@hotmail.com

France

John and Judy Hatcher

John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as "disciple-making," meaning they contact people, build relationships, communicate the Gospel, and help those who place their faith in Christ to mature in Him, follow the Lord in baptism, serve, and be united together as a church. They do this by praying daily for opportunities and looking for ways to serve and befriend people God places in their path.

The Hatchers hold Sunday meetings in their home, where they have about 35 people in attendance. At the end of 2010, they concluded a study through the Gospel of Mark. They have also started having youth meetings where they discuss Scripture, have a question and answer time, and sing.

They also conduct inductive Bible Studies with those who are interested. They hold a children's Bible study in the city of L'Union, which has also opened doors with adults there. They also hold weekly Bible studies in the city of Mazere, about 45 miles from their home. One older lady that faithfully attends the study drives an hour and a half each week. Thanks to technology, they also now have extensions in Portugal and Spain. Several of their neighbors moved out of the country, but they are able to still have Bible Study with them via Internet.

When John Mark was two years old, his parents moved to Manaus, Brazil to serve as missionaries. He was saved at the age of six. Judy was raised by godly parents in South Shore, Kentucky in the First Baptist Church of South Shore, where she received Christ at the age of 10. John Mark and Judy met in Lexington, Kentucky and moved to Manaus, Brazil following their marriage. The Lord took them to Evansville, Indiana where they served Emmanuel Baptist Church for 25 years before following the Lord's call to France. John Mark and Judy have been married 38 years and have been blessed with four children and eight grandchildren.

Contact Info:
4, rue d'Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher@aol.com

Kenya

Nathan and Carrie Radford

Nathan and Carrie Radford serve the Lord in Kitale, Kenya, which is about 8 hours north of the capital city Nairobi. Kenya is located in East Africa.

Nathan is involved in the churches they have started in Kitale. He oversees the Bible Institute, conducts pastoral meetings, and heads up church visitation.

They also minister to prisoners, many of which are forgotten by their families and society. Over the past few years, they have been able to complete two buildings for both the men and women prisoners. Many of these prisoners have accepted Christ and upon their discharge, several of them are attending the churches in Kitale.

Currently, Nathan works in the annex prison, which is still on the main compound, but separate from the main complex. There are anywhere from 80-200 prisoners, depending on the transfers from other prisons. During their last term, they completed the course "Firm Foundations - From Creation to Christ." The men learned much from the Word of God and responded well to the teachings.

Carrie enjoys going to the district hospital in Kitale to minister to the mothers and premature babies. She gives clothes and blankets for the babies as well as gospel tracts to the mothers.

Nathan is originally from West Virginia and Carrie is from Pennsylvania. They were both saved at a young age and are members of Calvary Baptist Church in Hurricane, West Virginia. They were married in October 2004 and have been blessed with two beautiful daughters: McKenna, who is three years old, and Camille, who was born in February.

Contact Info:
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya 30200
naterad@yahoo.com

Roger and Julie Tate

Roger and Julie Tate have served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008.

Their main ministry is indigenous church planting. Their first term was an eye-opening experience for them as they learned firsthand about weaknesses built into the Kenyan people, which effected their original method for church planting. The biggest problem they have noticed is that the Kenyan people tend to depend on the missionary and western funds very heavily. When they return for their second term in July 2011, they plan to focus on simplicity in the Gospel, building deep relationships, and planting churches in homes.

The Tate Family is from Dayton, Ohio and were sent out by Emmanuel Baptist Church in Bellbrook, Ohio, which was Roger's church home for more than 27 years. Roger was raised in church, but was not saved until the age of 20. Julie grew up in Grand Blanc, Michigan. She and her family were faithful members of Liberty Baptist Church in Burton, Michigan, where she made a profession of faith at the age of 8 (and God has been working on her ever since!). Roger and Julie were childhood sweethearts and they have been blessed with three children: Emily (16), Amy (11), and Josiah (9).

Contact Info:
P.O. Box 761
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta@gmail.com
Website