Skip and Betty Harkins

Wayne (Skip) and Betty Harkins arrived in Brazil on February 15, 1963. They began in southern Brazil with a riverboat ministry on the Paraná River, then in 1972 moved north to Maranatha Bible Institute, where Skip taught, worked in mechanics and supply purchasing, led music ministry, and pastored a small church. In 1982 they moved to Nazaré Paulista, about a hundred miles from São Paulo, to help develop a Bible camp, where they also planted a church and later developed a second camp at a nearby lake. They joined Tentmakers Bible Mission in 1996 after serving with two earlier missions.

The church in Nazaré Paulista is now led by a Brazilian pastor and his wife, Leandro and Juliana. With Skip no longer serving as pastor, he and Betty focus on the Bible camp, translating materials for Brazilian Christians, and writing Christian articles and Bible study materials. They also run Vacation Bible Schools and operate a mechanical and welding shop that serves other missionaries and national pastors, both a point of contact with the community and a small source of income.

Wayne (Skip) was born in Ekalaka, Montana in 1938. At six he received a New Testament in the mail, and with it his father led him to the Lord. In fourth grade, reading about the Amazon River in a geography book, he felt called to Brazil, and from that day it was his goal. He graduated from Sunshine Bible Academy in 1956 and Dallas Bible Institute in 1961.

Betty was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1936 and felt a call to missions at eight while watching a missionary slide presentation. Her Cajun French background helped her learn Portuguese, since the syllables of both languages are pronounced similarly. She graduated from Dallas Bible Institute in 1962.

Skip and Betty married in Dallas in 1960. They have three children and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.