Dear fellow-laborers in the ministry,
HAPPY NEW YEAR! We praise the Lord for all that we have seen Him do here in Brazil over the past year, but we also look forward with excitement and anticipation to see what He will do in 2016.
We want to thank all that sent us Christmas cards this year, and to all that gave an extra special and generous Christmas offering to us. It is encouraging to us to receive the cards and put them up in our house, and also to see how many others sent a little “something extra” to show your love to us, as well. We have a great group of financial partners and prayer warriors, and we thank the Lord for you.
Since our last prayer letter, we are excited to be able to report some good news that has happened. We mentioned that Becky had started an evangelistic class for several deaf people that had begun to attend church. While three of the five dropped out, two continued to come and learn, and on October 4, they both accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior! John Gabriel had been coming off and on since November of 2014, and had basically no spiritual background whatsoever. Wellington came for the first time in July of 2015 when we had a special day at church, and has been coming regularly ever since. After seven weeks, they both understood the Gospel message, and put their faith in Jesus alone to save them. On the day they were saved, Wellington told us, “I might be a preacher one day.” A couple of weeks later, he told me that he was going to start wearing a tie to church, without anyone telling him that he should. He then told John Gabriel that he should wear a tie, too, and now they both come to church every Sunday looking sharp. We had a new member’s class for them, but because of a work schedule conflict, John Gabriel had to miss a few classes. Wellington, however, has not missed at all, and Dan also began to disciple him at our house on Monday evenings. It is a blessing to see a young deaf man with the desire and excitement to grow in the Lord! This past Sunday, December 27, 2015, Dan had the privilege of baptizing these two young men who have a desire to be faithful to God, and His church.
Wellington has a lot of deaf friends, and he has invited some to church, and several have even come. One young man, Emanuel, has come a few times, and although he has been going to a convention Baptist church, he does not understand salvation. Becky told Wellington that she is going to give him his very own copy of the “Visualized Wordless Book” (VWB) so that he can take it and share the Gospel with his friends and loved ones. We believe that Wellington will start using the VWB with Emanuel, as he, too, has an interest in learning more about salvation. Please pray for the salvation of Emanuel.
In November, Dan’s brother, David Bennett, along with his wife, Vicki, came and were with us for the 21st anniversary of the Bible Baptist Church here in São Paulo. As some of you know, it was David who began the Deaf church back in 1994. The church people were thrilled to see them again, and we even had a high of 91 people on the closing day of the Prophecy Conference. They were happy to be back among people they had won to the Lord many years ago, and it was a joy to have them.
As we mentioned in our last prayer letter, we are going to begin our furlough in January of 2016. If you are interested in having us stop in and give a report, please contact me with a possible date in mind, and, Lord willing, we will fit it into our schedule. Also, please send all correspondence to our home church during 2016. The address is below.
We give God the glory for the victories of 2015, and we want to thank you for the part that you have had in helping us reap the harvest of the lost – hearing and deaf – in Brazil.
Your representatives in Brazil,
Dan & Becky Bennett