February 8, 2012

Dear partners in the ministry,

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31. We praise the Lord for the privilege to serve the Lord in Brazil. Sometimes we do get weary, and sometimes we feel faint, but we are thankful for the renewed strength that the Lord has given to us.

We returned to Brazil for our third term on December 6, 2011. We have been back for two months now, and we are somewhat settled in temporary housing. Some dear, long-time missionary friends of ours, Terry and Wendy Broyles, have bent over backwards to help us in this transitional time of getting re-adjusted to the Brazilian culture, something that has been especially important for our younger children. They have an apartment on their church property that they have graciously offered for us to use at a very low rental cost, and have also loaned us their car while we search for a vehicle.

We were privileged to have Rachel and Joseph, our two oldest children, here with us in Brazil for Christmas. They have finished their first semester at West Coast Baptist College, and are already back in Lancaster, California, for their second semester. They love it there, and we were thrilled to see and hear what God is doing in their lives already just after one semester. With two in college, we all would appreciate your prayers for them as we are so very far apart, and we cannot just hop in the car and be there in a couple of hours. Please pray with us regarding their school bills, as well.

Last month, our family helped with Vacation Bible School at the Bible Baptist Church in Jundiaí. I have also had the privilege to preach and go to Bible studies during the month of January.

We are also going into São Paulo most weeks to attend and help in the deaf church. I have preached there on one occassion, but my Portuguese sign language is a little rusty. The Brazilian pastor with whom we are working has separated the hearing from the deaf for Sunday school. He teaches the deaf while I am now teaching/preaching each week to a hearing group that is mostly made up of teenagers, with a few adults.

We were able to get all of Christine’s paperwork turned in for her permanent visa at the Federal Police, and are thankful for all the running around we did regarding this process before we left the States. It would have been a great deal more complicated, not to mention, time consuming, if we had not done this before we got here.

I also had to renew my Brazilian driver’s license recently, since the one I had expired while we were on furlough. This also was a complicated and time-consuming ordeal as I had to go to Detran, Brazil’s rendition of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). I won’t go into detail here for lack of space, but after having received instructions from various people that had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, I finally was able to get everything done and turned in, and I am now waiting for my license to arrive. Because I am a foreigner, I don’t just pick it up at the DMV, but will wait for it to be sent to a neutral location, and when it arrives between 14 and 30 days later, I will then be able to pick it up there.

We are still looking for the right vehicle, at the right price. Full size vans that can accomodate our family are rather expensive here. The older models that are more reasonable have high mileage, and often have been abused by the passengers. The newer vans with less miles and in better condition, are pretty much out of our price range. We are looking to possibly buy an older vehicle, with less miles, but also in our price range. Thanks for your prayers in this regard.

In my next letter, I trust that we will be able to let you in on some exciting, unexpected news concerning the deaf church. However, since the idea has not been finalized, I don’t have the liberty to mention it right now. We would appreciate your prayers for wisdom as some important decisions will need to be made in the near future.

We can’t thank you enough for the part that you have in our ministry. We don’t have any ministry partners that we consider less significant than another. Each of you is important, and each one of you are a valuable asset to the work and ministry of the Bennett family in Brazil. May God bless each and every one of you in a great way as you serve the Lord right where you are planted!

Your representatives in Brazil,

Dan & Becky Bennett

That all may “hear,”

Dan & Becky Bennett, and family

Dear Praying Friends,

We greet you in the precious name of our wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Not only that, but we greet you from our home church, the Southside Baptist Church in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Yes, we are back in the United States for our furlough. After five and a half years we have made it back to the States for a much needed furlough. On Sunday night, December 6, we had our farewell service. It was encouraging to see a good number of people there to send us off. There were people there that we have led to the Lord since the church was started, people whom we have discipled, baptized, and are now faithful church members to this day. We also had people there that we have worked with over the years, but have not yet trusted the Lord as their personal Savior. While we rejoice to see what God has done in Osasco, we still know that the work is not done, and it was tough to leave the people with whom we have worked and grown to love. There was a going-away party for us after the service, and many tears were shed as we said our good-byes. We left Brazil on Tuesday night, December 8, arriving on Wednesday the 9th.

I was planning to write a prayer letter in October, but I was waiting on a reply from a colleague about the possibility of being our replacement. While he was seeking God’s will about being our replacement or not, we were also praying that God would send the right person to take over for us so that we could go on furlough. In October we were told that we would be given an answer in November, so we anxiously awaited a response as we began to pack a few things to put in storage if we received a positive answer. When we finally heard that our friend and colleague would take the work, we began to frantically pack up all of our belongings to put in storage, and then to prepare the house to turn back over to the Realtor. We also had a missionary retreat the first part of November, and after we returned from the retreat a couple of our children came down with ear infections and viruses. With all that going on, our van decided to break down, first with the starter, and then the alternator went out. Even as we were running around trying to finish last minute items on our “to do” list, our alternator went out again on the Friday before we left Brazil. I took the van to the mechanic on Saturday and picked it up on Monday, the day before we left. Also, we had been looking for someone to look after and care for our two dogs. The day we left Brazil, the children and I took the dogs to some friends’ home. We had trials and setbacks up until time to leave, as the van that was carrying our family to the airport broke down about fifteen minutes from the airport. It was a relief when the van (that had the luggage and had dropped two of us off at the airport) had returned with the rest of the family about 45 minutes later on that rainy night. After a long flight and a short plane change in Washington DC, we finally landed in Charlotte, NC, tired, but safe and sound. We were greeted at the airport by Becky’s family, and then taken to Cracker Barrel for lunch.
We have been back about three weeks now, and are still in the process of getting adjusted again to being in the United States. We are living in the mission house of our sending church, and we even were given a “food pounding” before and after our arrival. A dear couple in our home church have given to us the free use of their van for a while.
We are happy to announce that around May 10, 2010, Becky is expecting our seventh child! She has had two miscarriages since the birth of Matthew in 2005, but everything appeared and sounded good during the ultrasound she had on December 11. Please keep Becky in your prayers regarding this pregnancy.
We will be visiting churches in 2010, so if you have a desire for us to give a ministry report, please contact us via email (danbennett@bimi.org). Please make a note of this email address since our other email address is no longer valid. You may contact us directly at (803)207-6910 (Verizon wireless). You may also call our home church and leave a message, and I will return your call as soon as possible.
Thank you for the special Christmas cards and gifts that were given so generously, and for your faithful prayers and support in 2009. Have a wonderful and blessed Christ-honoring 2010!

Your representatives to Brazil,

Dan and Becky Bennett

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Prov. 3:5

We praise the Lord that He is trustworthy and omniscient, and we don’t have to depend upon our own weak, finite understanding. God’s ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best, no matter how, or when, or where they may lead.

We had our annual Faith Promise Missions Conference in April, and we praise God that we were able to increase the support of the five missionary families we now support.

As you may remember, we had Vacation Bible School in January when we had our first deaf person come to church from the neighborhood. As a result, we began our deaf ministry. On Sunday morning, April 26, Becky had the joy of leading Cristiane, a deaf lady, to the Lord. Becky has begun to disciple her, and it is so refreshing to see her desire to learn and grow spiritually. Recently, one of the lessons was regarding the Church, and as Becky was teaching Cristiane about tithing, she became real quiet. When Becky asked her what was wrong, she was noticeably convicted and embarrassed at the same time when she said, “It looks like I have been robbing God.” What a marvelous thing that would be if every Christian got convicted about stealing from God by not tithing!

On June 16, Becky and I went to Cristiane’s house for a Bible study, and just as they were finishing the lesson, Cristiane’s eleven-year-old daughter, Amanda, came in from school. She had asked her mother about how to be saved, but as a new convert herself, she didn’t quite know how to explain it to her daughter. That day, Becky showed Amanda how she could have her sins forgiven and go to Heaven, and with tears in her eyes Amanda trusted Christ as her Savior. Since then, Becky has begun to disciple Amanda.

On Sunday, July 5, we had Friend Day at our church with eight visitors in our morning services, and eight deaf people. One deaf couple that has been coming, André and Renata, have a hearing son named Luis Eduardo. After the morning service, our children’s Sunday school teacher, Clara, came up to me with Luis at her side. She told me that Luis had something to tell me, and very shyly Luis told me that he was saved.

A couple of weeks ago, a young deaf man and his girlfriend came to church at the invitation of another deaf man. During the Sunday school lesson, the question was asked, “Who were Adam and Eve?” These two deaf visitors had no idea who Adam and Eve were. They guessed that they were possibly friends, but had never before heard the biblical account of Creation. We were amazed that two people in their twenties knew nothing about the creation of man, the fall of man, and the way of salvation. Please remember William and Carina in your prayers regarding salvation, as well as André (mentioned above) and William, Cristiane’s husband.

We want to say thank you to those who have responded to our last prayer letter concerning our financial need. The dollar, for now, is steady and one church has increased our support while three others have started supporting this work. Thank you very much! While we are still “feeling the pinch,” it has eased somewhat.

As of now, we still do not have a furlough replacement, nor do we have any idea about when we will be returning to the States. Please pray that God would send the right person to come and take over the work in His perfect time. Thankfully, we have the promise of God in Proverbs 3:6: “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”

Thank you for your faithfulness to give and pray for us as we reach the hearing and the deaf with the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ

That all may “hear,”

Dan & Becky Bennett