I now have the tickets for everyone who paid early, though we are still working on a couple of late entries. I hope you all have your passports. I am going to overnight all tickets to you today so each group leader should have tickets in hand no later than Friday, May 4.

 Some of this info was posted earlier, but here goes.

Sample Visa Application Click this link for a sample visa application which will help you fill yours out.

After you have your passport–which normally takes three to four weeks–you must then send it to the appropriate Brazilian consulate or embassy, depending on the state where you live. Those who live in Kentucky must download and fill out a form from this page, then send it to the embassy in Washington with a US POSTAL MONEY ORDER (they do not accept any other form of payment!!!!) for $110.  Those who live in Tennessee must download their form here and send it to the consulate in Florida. Residents of Texas should download their form here and return it to the consulate in Houston. If you live in some other state, you can find out what consular service you must use by clicking here. The Brazilian authorities are arbitrary about whether or not they give you a five year or a 90-day visa. Most who travel with us get a five-year visa, but some get only 90 days. It only makes a difference if you decide to return someday.

 On the back of the form, be sure you check the “Tourism” box. Under “comments” you can say that you are visiting your friends Sergio and Marta Cohen, or David and Pennie Hatcher, or Harold and Marie Bratcher. Just choose one of those couples (but not all three) and write it in there. I don’t want all of us using the same name or address.

For address in Brazil, you can write any one of the following:

Harold Bratcher Rua Francisco José Furtado Nº 2
São Francisco 69079-200
Manaus, Amazonas

Hotel Tropical, Av. Coronel Teixeira 1320 | Estrada Ponta Negra S/N, Manaus 69037-000.

Paul Hatcher, 172 Avenida J. Carlos Antony
69000 Manaus
Amazonas, Brasil
011- (5592) 8802-6730

David Hatcher, Av. Djalma Batista 127, Chapada, Manaus, Amazonas 69000

You need to overnight this to the appropriate embassy/consulate, enclose a postage paid return overnight envelope. MAKE SURE YOU KEEP A RECORD OF THE TRACKING NUMBERS FROM BOTH ENVELOPES so you can see when it got there and see when they mail it back to you. YOU CAN ONLY USE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE EXPRESS MAIL. Do not use FedEx, UPS, or anything else. Use only USPS money orders and USPS express mail. Anything else gets refused.

 If you have any questions email me at hershaelyork@mac.com and I will try to respond ASAP.

David and Pennie Hatcher

The main missionaries with whom we work on this trip are David and Pennie Hatcher. David serves as pastor of the Chapada Baptist Church in Manaus. Though he did not become pastor of the church until 1997, the church is one of 70 churches planted by David’s father, John Hatcher. John and his wife, Alta, have been in Brazil for forty years and are still serving and planting churches today. David’s brother, Paul, serves as pastor of the Tabernacle Baptist Church, the largest Baptist church in the Amazonas. They have another brother, John Mark, who is a missionary to France, and a sister, Kathy, who along with her husband, Odali, administrates the Alpha and Omega Children’s home in the state of Sao Paulo. David’s other sister, Lynn, ministers in Nashville, TN, with her husband. Now the third generation of Hatcher missionaries are out winning the world to Christ. Some of them are in the Himilayas, others in France, another working on a PhD in science with a creationist viewpoint. Some of them have attended Boyce and Southern, I am proud to say.

The Hatcher family is one of the greatest missionary families the kingdom has ever had. One reason that is so evident is that, in spite of them planting well over 100 churches collectively, few people know about them. They are gospel pioneers, always seeking to plant the gospel in places where Christ has not been named.

David and Pennie are truly unique among missionaries. They are completely self-supporting. David receives no outside funding for his own income. What small gifts they receive from churches and individuals goes completely into buildings and an infrastructure that can spin off churches. I have never seen more missions actually accomplished for less money. Anyone who visits their work leaves truly amazed.

David and Pennie are proprietors of a language school. Pennie has a masters degree in linguistics and David has a PhD in linguistics, both of those earned at the University of Texas at Austin. They are creative, innovative, and hard working. David is one of the best preachers in Brazil and pioneered a marriage seminar that doubles as a church-planting strategy.

David grew up in Manaus, so the city is home to him, even though he is a US citizen. He left long enough to get his education at the University of Kentucky and The University of Texas at Austin. He asked Pennie to marry him in the states, and then he went back to Brazil. She accepted and came to Brazil to marry him there. They came to Lexington, KY, to work with me at Ashland Avenue Baptist Church in the 1990’s, but stayed only two years and their burden for Brazil took them back. Unlike most missionaries, Brazil is their home. They don’t take six-month or year-long furloughs, but remain in Brazil the whole year, taking time only occasionally to visit friends in the US and to take a vacation with me and Tanya.

When I was only three months old, my family moved to Manaus and we literally lived with the Hatcher family for six weeks, so there has never been a time I did not know David. He and Pennie are among our dearest and closest friends. I know them as well as anyone, and I know them to be two of God’s choicest servants. By helping the Hatchers and the Chapada church build this camp, we are making an investment in a ministry with a proven track record. As a direct result of what we do here, hundreds and perhaps even thousands will come to faith in Christ.

If you would like to see what the camp currently looks like, you can click on the links below.

Walking in front of a Chalet

inside a chalet

another inside view

Bathroom

The Main Hall

Fellowship hut and the main hall

Steve Hart inside the main hall

The Swimming Pool with an island

The Lake

Just to the southeast of Manaus, right where the rivers join, is a place they call the encontro das aguas, the marriage of the waters. For Seth’s 16th birthday, he and I and John Mark, my nephew, went right to the middle of the river and jumped in off the top of a three-story boat.

Last year, at almost that exact spot, local fisherman made a significant catch.

A 350 pound CATFISH!

But my favorites are tucunare, better known as

Peacock bass on display

If you have Google earth on your computer, you can go to the coordinates you see at the bottom of this image and find it on your computer. Pull back and see how close the camp is to Manaus. Notice the confluence of the Rio Negro and the Amazon just southeast of Manaus. The Amazon water is brown and the Rio Negro is black. They run side by side for miles before the Amaon finally overwhelms the Rio Negro and the black water is subsumed. If you enable Panoramio pictures on your Google Earth you will see lots of photos of the city that others have uploaded.

The total cost of the trip includes nearly everything–all food in Brazil, transportation, lodging, and tips. $1000 of that is due immediately so I can make airfare arrangements. TAM airlines has a single flight direct into Manaus from Miami every day. It is the only direct flight to Manaus. The main alternate route is to go via Sao Paulo, which adds at least twelve hours to the trip, which is why we want to grab those TAM seats ASAP. So as soon as I have your deposit, I will get your ticket. The $1500 is due by May 15.

If you do not have a passport, you must secure one ASAP. After you have your passport and I have purchased your ticket, you will need to send your passport and your flight itinerary (on official travel agency letterhead) to Brazilian authorities to obtain your visa, which is why you cannot wait to get a passport. You can learn how to obtain your US passport at the State Department web site, but the main thing is that you must apply in person, most easily at a post office. Read all the instructions at the previously linked site and follow them exactly. After you have your passport–which normally takes three to four weeks–you must then send it to the appropriate Brazilian consulate or embassy, depending on the state where you live. Those who live in Kentucky must download and fill out a form from this page, then send it to the embassy in Washington with a US POSTAL MONEY ORDER (they do not accept any other form of payment!!!!). I will post further instructions on filling out the form in a separate post, because it can be tricky. Those who live in Tennessee must download their form here and send it to the consulate in Florida. Residents of Texas should download their form here and return it to the consulate in Houston. If you live in some other state, you can find out what consular service you must use by clicking here. The visa costs US citizens $110 ($100 fee plus a $10 “handling” fee) and the Brazilian authorities are arbitrary about whether or not they give you a five year or a 90-day visa. Most who travel with us get a five-year visa, but some get only 90 days. It only makes a difference if you decide to return someday.

If you wish to have travel insurance you will need to purchase that separately and on your own. Shots are not required, but you might talk to your doctor about shots for hepatitis A and B, tetanus, and yellow fever. Tetanus shots are important and a good idea no matter what country you are in. You might also discuss with your doctor whether you want to take a simple malaria prophylactic in pill form. If you do take it, you cannot give blood for three years. I have never had any serious illness from the 20+ times I have traveled to Brazil, but it is a tropical country, after all, and that is your personal decision. Again, talk with your own physician about it.

While in Brazil we will drink bottled water and soft drinks. Manaus is easily accessible from the camp, so we have no danger of running out of supplies. The food in Brazil is excellent. They serve lots of meat–especially beef–and fish.

I admit that I am partial to the beef, which comes in huge slabs at restaurants called “churrascarias.”

On or around June 22, 2007, members of the Buck Run Baptist Church and the Franklin Baptist Association of Frankfort, KY will join with members of the Sand Spring Baptist Church, Lawrenceburg, KY, the Red Bank Baptist Church, Chattanooga, TN, and President Jerry Johnson and students from Criswell College, Dallas, TX, and travel to Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, S. A. In the following week we hope to work at the “Recanto” of the Chapada Baptist Church. Formerly a meditation center run by two new age psychologists, the camp was claimed for the cause of Christ when Chapada’s visionary pastor, Dr. David Hatcher led the church to purchase the porperty and turn it into a badly needed Christian camp and retreat center.

Though Chapada has used it for nearly a year, the camp is in need of additional buildings and badly in need of landscaping and repairs. The spiritual fruit of this trip will be harvested for years to come as young people who attend will be won to Christ and discipled. The camp is used several times during the year, but especially during Carnaval when sensual activity dominates the culture. Churches get their youth out of the city and use the time that Satan intends for fleshly indulgence and bondage for evangelism and edification instead.

The Chapada Baptist Church is one of the most creative and innovative churches in Brazil. They continue to plant congregations all over Brazil. When one of their members moves to another state where no strong church exists, they plant one. The church’s Sunday School functions both as a seminary and a church planting training center. I have traveled all over the US and to many parts of the world, but I have seldom seen a church with as great a vision as Chapada. Partnering with this great church is a great opportunity both for learning and for serving.

The members of Chapada are warm, vibrant Christians who have a heart for their city, region, and nation. Serving with them will be a great experience our team members will never forget.

Welcome to Mission to Manaus, the information station for the 2007 trek to Manaus for the purpose of building Recanto da Chapada, the jungle retreat of the Chapada Baptist Church. Come back soon for more info, pictures, and an invitation for you to participate.