Dear faithful partners in the ministry,

O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people (Psalm 105:1). We have much for which to praise the Lord! He is so good to us and His grace is all-sufficient! We would like to share with you the great deeds He is doing with us and through us, here in the USA, as well as in Brazil.

We praise the Lord for Missionary Garry Tyler, with his wife, Pam, as they are keeping the work in Osasco going while we are here in the USA for furlough. They have re-started the teen meetings every other Saturday evening, and have had good attendance with even a few visitors. Please remember Rivaldo in your prayers as he has been coming, but has yet to trust Christ as his personal Savior. Adriano, a man that Dan led to the Lord a couple of years ago, has gone visiting with Garry on occasion, so pray that he and his wife (Kléia) will continue to be faithful to church and in making visits. Pam and our niece, Christa, have taken Kléia to make a visit with Sandra, her sister-in-law, who was very depressed after losing her baby. The Gospel was clearly presented to Sandra, and although she did not make a decision at the time, she is open to having more visits with Pam and Christa. Please keep Sandra in your prayers regarding her salvation.

Vacation Bible School is also scheduled at the Bible Baptist Church of Osasco, Brazil for July 22-25. Please pray that God will greatly use those involved in the preparation and teaching of the VBS, and that many Brazilian children will trust Christ as Savior. Also pray that we will be able to get into the homes of these children to be able to witness to their unsaved parents. In our next prayer letter I plan to give a report on the VBS held in July.

On Friday, May 7, 2010, Becky gave birth to Christine Ruth Bennett. Christine was born at 8:01 a.m., weighed 8 pounds and 6 ounces, and was 19 1/2 inches long. Everyone loves her, and Deborah and Matthew are constantly touching and kissing her. We praise the Lord for this new addition to our family. We plan to make a new family picture made as soon as possible so that new prayer cards can be made. 

The following Saturday on May 15, our oldest daughter, Rachel, graduated from the A Beka Academy in Pensacola. FL.  We praise the Lord for her completing this milestone in her life, and we look forward to seeing how God is going to use her in the future.

We had the privilege to be at BIMI on June 8 for the 50th anniversary celebration of our mission. We were able to see some friends, pastors and missionaries that we had not seen for a long time, and also witness the inauguration of Dr. David Snyder as the new president and general director. Dr. Snyder has been a missionary in Alaska and has served as the Far North director with BIMI. We praise the Lord for God’s direction in the selection of Dr. Snyder as president. We are also glad to see that BIMI remains a conservative, independent, fundamental Baptist mission board.

We are busy scheduling meetings for the remainder of 2010, and even into the first part of 2011. We praise the Lord for two new churches that have added us to their missions family since we began traveling! Please pray with us that we will be successful in scheduling meetings with other independent Baptist churches that will partner with us in prayer and financial support.

Thank you once again to those of you that have been a part of our ministry. Some have been partnering with us since the beginning, and others have “come on board” just recently. Each one of you is important, and the part you have in our family and ministry is vital. May God continue to bless each and every one of you for “holding the ropes” on our behalf.

O give thanks unto the LORD; make known his deeds among the people!

Your missionaries to Brazil,

Dan & Becky Bennett

HE IS SO PRECIOUS TO ME
Words & Music by Charles H. Gabriel

So precious is Jesus, my Savior, my King;
His praise all the day long with rapture I sing.
To Him in my weakness for strength I can cling,
For He is so precious to me.

Refrain:
For He is so precious, so precious to me;
For He is so precious, so precious to me.
’Tis heaven below, my Redeemer to know,
For He is so precious to me.

He stood at my heart’s door ’mid sunshine and rain,
And patiently waited an entrance to gain.
What shame that so long He entreated in vain,
For He is so precious to me.

Refrain

I stand on the mountain of blessing at last,
No cloud in the heavens a shadow to cast,
His smile is upon me; the valley is past,
For He is so precious to me.

Refrain

I praise Him because He appointed a place
Where some day, through faith in His wonderful grace,
I know I shall see Him, shall look on His face,
For He is so precious to me.

Refrain

Here is another song that tells of the PRECIOUS name of Jesus.

PRECIOUS NAME
Words and Music by Lydia O. Baxter, 1870

Take the Name of Jesus with you,
Child of sorrow and of woe,
It will joy and comfort give you;
Take it then, where’er you go.

Refrain:
Precious Name, oh, how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of Heav’n;
Precious Name, oh, how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of Heav’n.

Refrain

Take the Name of Jesus ever,
As a shield from every snare;
If temptations round you gather,
Breathe that holy Name in prayer.

Refrain

Oh, the precious Name of Jesus!
How it thrills our souls with joy,
When His loving arms receive us,
And His songs our tongues employ!

Refrain

At the Name of Jesus bowing,
Falling prostrate at His feet,
King of kings in heav’n we’ll crown Him,
When our journey is complete.

I love those two songs that remind us that Jesus is PRECIOUS! His name is precious. The Bible tells us that the blood of Jesus Christ is precious. (1 Peter 1:19 – But with the precious blood of Christ…)

The Bible also tells us in 1 Peter 2:7, “Unto you therefore which believe he is precious.” Those of us that believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, He IS precious to us. Jesus was precious to “Grandma.”

But now I want to change my focus a little to something else in the Scriptures that is said to be “precious”. The Bible says in Psalm 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”

It’s interesting to note that the same word is used of Jesus, His blood, and the death of His saints. We can understand that Jesus and His blood are precious, even essential, to our salvation, but how is the death of a Christian precious in the sight of the LORD?

Let me try to explain it by using a simple illustration from the airport. We have been to airports and many times have seen it when one person is about to enter the line that reads “EMBARKING”. There is a circle of friends and loved ones around the person that will soon be departing. They are hugging, crying, and kissing the soon departing loved one. It is truly a sad time as they say their goodbyes.

However, at another location, perhaps half-way around the world is someone else anxiously awaiting the arrival of the aforementioned person getting ready to embark on his trip to a new and different place. The people in this place are excited about the arrival of the traveler. Everything has been prepared. They can’t wait for the long-awaited loved one to arrive as they count down the days, then the hours, and then the minutes. This excited waiting party is at the airport early with flowers in hand, checking the flight status on the computer monitor in the terminal. They eagerly watch out through the window, wondering if THAT’S the plane he is on, wanting to see when the plane lands, and then whispering a prayer of gratitude when the plane has safely landed. Then, as excited children on Christmas morning, the arrival party practically runs to the “DISEMBARKING” area to be the first to get a glimpse of the one arriving.

But wait: the traveler left a group of sobbing loved ones just a short time ago. It was a tough trip, both emotionally and physically. Now he is anxious to see the arrival party at the airport. It was a long, tiring journey, and the traveler is ready for the journey to end, and to finally get home.

As our weary traveler nears the end of his journey, he sees HIM. The ONE who loves the traveler with an everlasting love. The One who gave His life for the traveler. The One who had prepared a place for the traveler. Everything is ready for the traveler to arrive. As the eyes of the weary traveler makes visual contact with the One waiting, he sees Him running toward him with tears of joy streaming down His face. As the two embrace, the tired traveler hears, “Welcome Home, My child.” The journey has ended.

As we return to think of the departure of our dear mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, grandmother-in-law, and great grandmother, we can rest assured that her arrival on the other Shore was a grand reunion with her Savior. As we on THIS side weep over the departure of our beloved one, there was joy on the OTHER side upon her arrival. The LORD was there to take her in His loving arms, and not only did He say to her, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” but He also said, “Welcome Home, My precious child.”

The Home-going of a precious saint of God is precious in the sight of the LORD. And since it is precious in the eyes of God, it should be precious to us as well.

“Grandma, you will be missed, but we know that you are in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, and surely it must be precious!”

That is how the death of a Christian is precious in the sight of the LORD.

Now THAT is PRECIOUS!

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

We had 6 deaf in church this past Sunday (05/17/09) – two from the deaf church in SP that came to help and four others!

We had Renata back again, but this time her (common law) “husband” brought her who is also deaf whose name is André.  Becky scheduled a visit with Renata for this Saturday at 3pm.  André and Renata have a hearing boy named Luis Eduardo who is nine years old.

Giovana (ten years old) came again also, but arrived late.

Becky and I made a visit with Cristiane on Friday, the deaf lady that was saved a few weeks ago.  She showed us her Bible where she had copied Renata’s spiritual birth certificate that David made for Renata.  We found out that Cristiane’s mother became pregnant with her when she was only 17 years old, and tried to abort Cristiane, but instead of coming out dead, she came out deaf.  Now, 30 years later, a girl that should have died by abortion was born again on April 26, 2009.  Becky will start a Bible study (discipleship) with her beginning this coming Friday.  Cristiane is married to a hearing man named William, and they have an 11-year-old daughter named Amanda.

Edson and Sonia came also from the Igreja Batista da Bíblia in São Paulo (IBB-SP).  We actually had more in the morning (40) than we did tonight (36).

(Becky speaking here)

Our deaf class on Sunday went very well. I still am amazed (and reminded) of all the things they don’t know being deaf. You forget these things when you work with only hearing. With André being there, we started (again) on the Wordless Book. I have already taught this twice now, but since André came we started over. We talked about the first 2 colors. André is really, deaf deaf! If we were in the USA, I would say he was ASL deaf! His signs were so P(ortuguese)SL! He was a lot slower to understand the things we talked about, but the ladies went right along. We sang and Sonia and Edson helped with prayer and leading the singing. The second hour we began a study on the Christian’s armor. We began on the first piece, the belt of truth. We talked about the truth, where the truth came from (God and His Word), that our authority for life is the Bible because it is His Word, and the fact that the Devil is a liar and the Father of Lies. They all paid attention very well. It is very enjoyable to talk with people who have never “heard” these things. I look forward to Sunday mornings like never before!

Giovanna was also excited to see everyone again and she really warmed up to André. He really took to her, teased her a little and she respects him. She was better behaved than ever before in our class! Praise the Lord! In fact, after church was over, she only left church after the other deaf had driven off!

(Dan)

Thanks for your prayers.  Becky and I have been talking recently about what would have happened – or what would NOT have happened – had we left for furlough in December of 2008.  Would Giovana have returned for VBS after the first day?  Would she be coming to church now?  If not, Sonia would not have come to our church, nor would Sonia have invited her friends to the church in Osasco, and possibly Cristiane would still be unsaved.  There are a lot of “What ifs” that will only be answered in Heaven.  We can honestly say that we praise God that we did NOT return for furlough back in December.  I’m glad that God is in control, and not us.  His way is perfect!