March 31, 2014
Dear family, friends, and faithful ministry partners,
I want to start out by saying how grateful we are to each of you that have a part in our ministry here in São Paulo, Brazil. We stay busy in the work, and as with any ministry, we have our share of struggles, but the blessings far outweigh the difficulties.
I want to emphasize a few of our highlights we have had in recent months. Some of you are aware of a few of the things I will relate, but not everyone has received news of the latest happenings.
In November, Dan baptized three deaf people, and the Lord blessed with a good number of people coming to witness this event in the lives of these people. We also celebrated the 19th anniversary of the Igreja Batista da Bíblia (Bible Baptist Church), and we trust the Lord to continue to bless the church with spiritual and numerical growth for the future.
In December we had our Christmas Banquet, and we had a good number of people for that big event. On December 23, Dan & Becky celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. Almost fifteen of those years have been spent in Brazil. We also had our first Deaf camp on December 26 through 28. We had a great time as we emphasized the Christian Family.
We began a New Member’s Class the last week of January, which usually goes for about eight to ten weeks. There are two elderly ladies in the class. One of the ladies cannot read or write, and that makes it a little more challenging as Dan teaches her the very basics of the Christian life. She has been very faithful, and is excited about being baptized and becoming a church member. The other lady has about a second-grade reading level, and has a little higher level of understanding, but even the most basic things are completely new to these ladies. We will soon be having another baptism in the near future for these two ladies.
In February we had deaf BIMI missionary, Bruce Kelly, with us for a special Sunday. We had a wonderful day, and the deaf of our church warmly welcomed Bro. Kelly, his wife, and son. There were 87 in attendance, and we praise the Lord for the opportunity to meet some new deaf people.
We are seeing more visitors, as well as, having some others return that come from long distances, but have not been very faithful. The situations are different, from a backslidden husband, to health and financial reasons, and another just because of the time involved in getting to church. We are encouraged that these are putting forth an extra effort to get back in church. One deaf lady told us that she was going to a church that was closer to her home, but that she was not learning anything. God is blessing, and for that we surely praise His name!
We count it and honor and a privileged to represent you in Brazil. As you keep shining the Light in your “Jerusalem,” we will continue to shine the Light in the “uttermost part of the earth.”
That all may “hear,”
Dan & Becky Bennett