Mike Creiglow October Missionary Letter
Caixa Postal 24
699980
Cruzeiro do Sul,
Acre, Brazil
Dear Brethren,
The last thing I told you last month was about trying to finally getting our jeep. Well it was still quite a process, but it did come through. We closed the deal way back in March, but Just got it in late September. Even at the last minute things got balled up. Even to get the title from the government you have to go through a broker. The dealerships all have one on call. The broker sent his runner to pick up the pile of documents for my car at the dealership and on his way back to the office was held up at gunpoint. All the documents were lost. They had to start all over. This added yet another 3 days to the whole process. Well we did finally get the car on a barge to Porto Velho. I flew from Manaus to pick it up. My son-in-law, Dauro flew from Cruzeiro to drive the jeep from Porto Velho to Cruzeiro do Sul. The trip is 1300 Km or about 800 miles. Much of the road is patch quilt, 2 lane pavement. The rest is dirt and some of that was mud. The trip went well though and we are thanking the Lord that we have the car here in the garage. I had prayed for 7 years and the Lord hás answered.
There are 2 small towns (county seats) here in the Acre where we didn’t know if there are Baptist churches. These are between here and the capital. They both have a population of about 5000. We stopped in to see. One hás a church, but we haven’t figured out what or who they are. The other hás no baptist church at all, so we are already praying for some more missionaries. Please pray with us. In fact during the coming months I plan to visit all 22 “municípios” (same as your county seats) in the state to see where there are Baptist churches, what kind and if they are doing anything. I do know that there are 27 churches in the Acre Baptist convention, but 24 of these are charismatic. Almost all of those churches are in or near the capital, Rio Branco. Anyway, I want to see first hand, so we can make our mission plans for the rest of the state.
Well I finally got my Dad back down for a few weeks. He hás been preaching to our church and our chapels. He Will, no doubt, tell you the details. The folks here are really enjoying. Actually, I am, too, a little!
Besides the camps that I told you about in my last letter, we have had 3 more. One was a training camp for leaders, another was for couples, and the other was the annual ladies camp. This particular couple’s camp is also done each year, but is different from the regular one, in that everybody goes on motorcycles. We had 40 couples. I can’t get Beverly to saddle up, but I went along anyway, all by my lonesome. Don’t you feel sorry for me? All the other guys had their wives hanging onto them. Poor little ole me! I had to ride up to Salém for 2 hours and ride back without my love hanging on for dear life! Come to think of it, maybe that is why she won’t ride with me anymore. Anyway camps have been great this summer season.
Crowds have been just average at church these past few weeks. There have been a number of folks saved. We had one o four newest preacher/pastors, Ezi Lopes to preach on a Sunday night a couple of weeks back. He had preached several times on Wednesday, Friday, Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon. Sunday night is pretty intimidating for most first timers. Ezi felt the pressure. It was great though and there were 8 professions of faith that night.
God bless all of you. Thanks for all of your prayers and support. Hope you can get over the financial crisis so that you can get back to giving as before. Since the regular offerings have been down we have taken a hit on average of $500.00 the past 2 months. I will pray for you, too.
In Christ, Mike Creiglow
Richard Bennett, Converted Roman Catholic Priest
We are pleased to announce that Bro. Richard Bennett, a former Roman Catholic priest, will be with us for Sunday services on October 25th. For 22 years, Bro. Bennett was a priest of the Dominican Order. At the age of 48, he was converted to the true gospel of Christ and began a dynamic ministry of witnessing to Roman Catholics. He is now a staunch defender of the faith and a truly remarkable witness.
Bro. Bennett will speak in our Sunday School hour on the subject of evangelizing Roman Catholics. In the morning and evening preaching services, he will give an adaptation of his message entitled, “The Mindset of Catholicism Permeating Evangelicalism.” This was delivered recently at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. We are truly blessed to have this opportunity to hear Bro. Bennett.
More information about Bro. Bennett’s life and ministry can be obtained from his web site at www.bereanbeacon.org . There are some great articles that are well worth your time. Don’t miss this exciting, intriguing Sunday with Richard Bennett!
Proverbs for Parents
Discover why discipline is a requirement for children in this sermon by Pastor Enrique Castro.
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God and Country
God and Country Power Point presentation by by Bro. Doug Gamble
Click here to download this Power Point presentation
Which Version is the Bible?
To The Reader – The Sounding Of An Alarm
In the King James Bible, Isaiah 14:12, 15 reads:
How are thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!… Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell.
However, the New International Version pens:
How you have fallen from heaven O morning star, son of the dawn…but you are brought down to the grave.
Indeed, the New American Standard and all the modern versions read almost exactly like the NIV (except the NKJV). Yet historically Isaiah 14 has been cited throughout the Church as the singular biography and identification of Lucifer [G.A. Riplinger, New Age Bible Versions, (Munroe Falls, OH: A.V. Publications, 1993), pp. 40-55]. In verse twelve of the King James, Lucifer is in heaven; in verse fifteen Satan is in hell, and the continuing context establishes that Lucifer and Satan are one and the same being. The new versions have removed the name “Lucifer” thereby eliminating the only reference to his true identity in the entire Bible – yet the change in these versions is not the result of translation from the Hebrew language….
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The Failure of Fundamentalism
Transcript of a Lecture by Phil Johnson
During this hour we’ll be talking about the failure of the fundamentalist movement in the 20th century. Just from the title of this seminar which, by the way, I did not choose; someone else made that title I thought, some of you are thinking I’m going to come in here so hostile to fundamentalism that I thought maybe I should wear a Kevlar vest and a plastic raincoat. But I opted not to do that, so please don’t throw anything; I’m not protected…
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Calvinists Pesticides or Innocuous Drivel?
In response to a poorly thought through article that attacks the principles that Baptists have historically stood upon, Pastor Smith’s paper defends the doctrines of grace and God’s sovereignty.
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A Generation Lost
By: Dalton A. Abshire, Sr.
Why are we losing so many of our Baptist youth today? The answer to this question can be stated in one word; THEOLOGY. And, of course, the system of theology to which we acquiesce determines our doctrine. And our doctrine greatly influences our conduct as Christians. The system of theology we follow determines things such as: what church we attend, what philosophies our children are taught, what colleges they will attend, who they will marry, etc. Knowing this to be true, we can accurately link the problems of our youth today back to theology.
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