Dear faithful ministry partners,
Much has happened since our last prayer letter, so I will try and give just a few highlights of what has been going on in our lives.
In April we traveled back to the USA for Rachel’s graduation from West Coast Baptist College. We picked up a ministry vehicle from Baptist Missionary Transportation Ministry (BMTM) in Harrisonville, MO, and then made our way to California over the next few days. We were blessed to be able to see Dan’s uncle and aunt in Colorado on our way out west, and even stopped again on our way east to pick up Dan’s suit he left there by mistake (whoops). However, we stayed with a precious couple in Utah, and when the man heard about the suit that we had left, he took Dan and bought him a (much needed) new suit. We were only able to visit a few of our supporting churches while in the States since our time was very limited. However, while we were in California it was a blessing to be able to have had our whole family together- all seven children for the graduation! Becky’s parents also were able to fly out to California for the graduation, and we were able to spend some good time together.
After Rachel’s graduation on Wednesday, May 6th, our youngest child, Christine, celebrated her fifth birthday on May 7th. She is growing so fast, and is looking forward to starting kindergarten in a few weeks. On Saturday, May 9th, we began our long trip toward Kentucky and Ohio since Rachel was hired on at the Creation Museum. It was a long, hard trip, but we sure enjoyed the time in the van with Rachel. Joseph and Nathan are working in Ohio, and it was good to have spent some time with them again as we helped them look for an apartment for the three of them to share.
After we left Ohio, we made a whirlwind trip to South Carolina to see Becky’s family, then over to Georgia to see Dan’s dad and oldest brother & family. It was short, but oh, so sweet, to see loved ones again, and we can only imagine the joy we will have in Heaven of never having to say, “Goodbye” ever again.
We returned to Brazil on June 9th, and the following Monday a group from Valley Bible Baptist Church in upstate New York came and spent twelve days with us. This church supports our colleagues, Jon and Hannah Speights. They were such a blessing as they came ready to work. They helped in literature distribution, and also helped with our Valentine’s (June 12) banquet where we had fifteen couples in attendance. Pr. Shawn Foster preached several times while here, and a good number of our church people told him that they wanted him to come back and preach again.
Next week on July 9th we will have a special get-together at the church to celebrate this Brazilian holiday. Please pray with us about this time with the deaf, as we will be having food, fun and fellowship. There will also be a short message preached to the deaf on this day, so please pray that we will see some saved as a result.
On Sunday, July 19th, we are having “Friend Day,” encouraging our people to bring in some first-time visitors.
We are grateful for your faithful prayers and support, and we thank God for you.
Your missionaries in São Paulo,
Dan & Becky Bennett