July 1, 2002

Dear Friends,

We continue to receive calls from folks who participated in our evangelistic Marriage Workshop last month. Just today I got a call from a lady who wanted to know when we would be holding regularly scheduled meetings. Her husband told me that they want to obtain copies of the material that was used in the workshop to pass on to some of their friends who are having difficulties in their marriage. We have also heard from Baptist churches in other parts of town that have had some growth as a direct result of our workshop. The name "Baptist" appeared on our advertisement and folks assumed that they would get the same type of content at any Baptist church. Thankfully, that is true in some cases, but regretfully not in others. We do trust that many will be led to Christ and that was our goal.

We also are happy to report that a new work will be inaugurated on October 12th. A young Brazilian pastor, named Oseias, and I have been working together on several projects recently and he shared with me how interested he was in getting a new church planted in the neighborhood Diadema. Many of you may remember that I have been praying and asking for designated offerings toward a new church in that neighborhood for a couple of years. When we had nearly received enough funds to purchase property we seem to run into several "roadblocks". No kind of deal would go through. We would set up a meeting with a land owner and they would establish their price. We would put together enough money to close the deal and then they would either renege or raise the price at the last minute. We didn't quite understand what God was trying to tell us, but we didn't lose our confidence that we were to get a church started in Diadema. There are over 35,000 folks who live there and not one Baptist church. What is worse is that there are dozens of churches that preach false doctrines sprouting up constantly. As Oseias shared with me about his interest in getting a work started there, I mentioned how strongly we too wanted to get a church in Diadema. He then told me that a group of Baptists from the U.S. would be coming to Brazil in October to mount a pre-fabricated church structure if a local church here had the property to put it on. In faith that this is from the Lord, we assured them that we will have the property ready before they arrive. They U.S. group would pay for the building (approximately $15,000). The church I pastor here in Curitiba is working together with Oseias's church to purchase this property before October. Two years back it would have cost us more than double the amount that we are now going to spend to be able to have a church work planted in Diadema. We didn't know why God was having us wait back then (I'm sure I still don't know all the reasons), but we can see that He was at work the whole time and now we can see some of the pieces falling into place. We never cease to be amazed at how limitless God is in His workings. Oseias and I are preparing a leadership team from both of our churches to head up the ministries in that new work in Diadema. We are looking forward to seeing many many folks come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior as a result of this new church plant. If you'd like to help in the purchase of the property you may label your special offering "New work/Diadema".

Charlene is doing very well in her work with the ladies and children. Our children's ministry is growing steadily. On one hand our group has increased by new babies coming along. We have several new infants. We are certainly happy about this, but we are also experiencing growth by new families coming into our fellowship. Our church property and facilities are small so we have never encouraged folks to come in from other Baptist churches. We feel our calling to reach out to win those folks who have never known Jesus. The most exciting news is that this growth that we are experiencing is the influx of those folks who were not church attendees before. Charlene's quality work with and among the children has gained a great reputation and folks are interested in bringing their children where they will be cared for and valued. Pray for her to sense God's strength daily in her ministries.

My whole family thanks you all for your faithful love and prayers for us. We know that many of you pray regularly for us and we want you to know that God is answering those prayers. We experience great health, numerous victories against temptations and trials, and we see God's kingdom increasing on a daily basis. All of this is certainly fruit of your faithful prayers on our behalf. Please continue to do so.

In Jesus' love,

Bobby, Charlene, Jessie and Brennen Wacaser