October 2013 Prayer Letter

Dan Bennett

Dear faithful partners in the ministry,

With heartfelt gratitude, we want to convey to you our sincere appreciation for the part that you have in the work and ministry here in São Paulo, Brazil.  It is a tremendous honor to serve the Lord in such a needy place, and your prayers and financial support allow us to continue to work at the Igreja Batista da Bíblia (Bible Baptist Church).

Our family has experienced quite a bit of sickness over the past several weeks, and I (Dan) even had to take my wife and kids to the emergency room to try and get them some medical attention.  Becky was on antibiotics, but after the prescription was gone, she still was not at 100%.  The kids here have had cold-like symptoms for a long time, but the doctors told us that a virus is going around São Paulo.  With a city this size, that’s no small virus!

Even with sickness, Becky continues to homeschool five children.  Since we only have three children at home now, you may be wondering about the others she is helping.  Deborah (age 10) and Matthew (age 8) are doing well in school, and Christine (3 years old) likes to color and write her “letters” while the others do school.  Our recently arrived colleagues, Jon and Hannah Speights are going to language school Monday through Friday.  Their two children, Joanna and Jason, come to our house during the day to do school.  There is also a teenage boy that is coming over for Becky to help as he is doing his senior year of high school using the A Beka Academy curriculum.  Becky stays busy, but helping five kids with a good, quality education is worth it.

Our four oldest children are doing well at West Coast Baptist College, and they are having a wonderful time.  We miss them greatly, but we are thrilled that they have a desire to serve the Lord.  Please keep them in your prayers regarding their physical, spiritual, and financial needs.  Having four kids in college is costly, but we are trusting God to supply their needs as He has done in the past. Read more →

Obeying God

Dan Bennett

As I began reading Genesis 22 for family devotions this morning, Matthew informed me that they had heard this story of Abraham offering Isaac, “a thousand times”. What a valuable time we had as I reminded them that when God tells us to do something, we must obey, whether we understand it or not. Because of Abraham’s obedience, God said that He was going to bless all the nations of the earth through Abraham’s seed. Because of one man’s obedience, his actions have impacted people the world over. When you think that the decisions you make will affect you alone, you never know the outcome that your actions may have on others. As I preached yesterday, I said that, “God does not require you to understand, but He does require you to obey.” Be mindful today that your actions could make a lasting – if not eternal – impact on someone nearby. While your decision to obey or disobey may not be earth-shattering, if could have an impact in your little corner of the world. Let’s copy the example of Abraham, and even though what God requires us to do may be extremely hard and doesn’t make sense, know that He has a purpose in it all, and your obedience could have eternal significance.

The Gospel Still Works!

Dan Bennett

Important Birth Announcement:  IT’S A GIRL!  Her name is Laura Oliveira da Silva, and although I did not get her weigh or height, she was BORN-AGAIN at 5:41pm on September 9, 2013.  Her age at the time of her new birth: 78 years of age.

Mrs. Laura’s daughter, Edna, has been burdened for her mother for a long time.  Edna’s father made a profession of faith just a few weeks before he passed away, eight years ago.  Last week, Mrs. Laura was not doing well at all, and even spent one night in the hospital.  Edna was so afraid that her mother was going to die and go to Hell.  On Saturday, Edna and her husband (Sergio) were here at our house for the cookout, and Edna wept as she told us about her mother.  I called Mrs. Laura on Saturday morning to set up a time when we could visit with her.  Monday is usually when I TRY and take a day off, but I didn’t want Mrs. Laura to die and go to Hell, either. Read more →

Ministry Update

Dan Bennett

Update from Dan Bennett:

I didn’t get around to writing an update last week due to an unexpected “activity”.  We had 48 in attendance last Sunday, and that’s a good number for us.  After we arrived home from church last Sunday night, Becky was getting supper ready, but Matthew was feeling a good bit of pain.  A little concerned, I decided to take him to the Emergency Room at the children’s hospital.  To make a long story short, he was admitted for two days.  He had an infection, and some inflamed lymph nodes which caused the pain, but he is now better.

Yesterday, our crowd was down a bit with just 38 people in attendance, but we did have one young deaf man visitor (Sergio), and also an elderly deaf lady (Maria) made a profession of faith.  This lady has been coming for a while, and yesterday she showed up for the Baptism and New Members class.  I showed a DVD entitled, “Good News for Deaf People” put out by Silent Word Ministries.  You could almost see “the light come on” as her understanding was opened in a very simple way.  She is very “low verbal”, but she seemed to understand as she watched Ronnie Rice on the DVD explain about sin, Jesus’ sacrifice, and salvation.  I asked Becky to take some time with her, and during the break in between services, Becky took her aside and was able to lead her to the Lord.  She came out of the room after she prayed to receive Christ very excited, and was anxious to tell me about what she did.

Thank you for your prayers on behalf of the Dan Bennett family in São Paulo, Brazil.

Ministry Update

Dan Bennett
Below is an update from Sunday that Becky posted on Facebook. She and I spent two hours on Saturday with a couple doing some counselling. One young woman is coming over on Thursday, and then we have another couple needing some marriage counselling,which we have scheduled for this coming Saturday morning. A deaf lady that has recently started coming to the church told me on Sunday that she is getting spiritually fed. The Holy Spirit was at work on Sunday, but we are also seeing that the enemy is also at work. We are praying for 50 people in next Sunday’s services. A few people told me that they will not be in church next Sunday so that they can be with their dad for Father’s Day. However, I still believe that we can hit the “50” mark. Thanks for your prayers!
“Rejoicing in a good day yesterday as God is continuing to work in people’s lives. We had 45 yesterday and have several counselling sessions scheduled for this week. Baptismal/New Members class begins next week and next Sunday is Father’s Day here. Burdened to see our people strong and serving the Lord and faithful to Him in every area of their lives. Please pray that the Igreja Batista da Bíblia will make a difference in São Paulo for eternity.”

Important Update

Dan Bennett

Yesterday was a day that I was not really looking forward to.  Last Sunday, my colleague informed the church that he was leaving, and yesterday was his last day as pastor.  Word got around during the week, and as church was about to begin yesterday, we saw two couples on their way in to church that had left four years ago.  I was saddened, hurt, frustrated, and aggravated that they would show up on my colleague’s last day as being pastor.  What was their purpose in showing up on this day?  I had a hard time not having a bad attitude toward them.  The NERVE of them!

Well, the service went without a hitch, and when it was over, I was able to make some small talk with the foursome.  Another person “wrangled” me into a corner, so I was stuck talking with him.  I was finally free from this other man, and when I went into the “break room”, the other four were not there.  However, neither was my colleague or his wife.  I didn’t think too much of the disappearance of the four former members, thinking that perhaps they had left.

It wasn’t until almost time to start the business meeting that I heard what had happened.  My wife posted this on her FB page last night:

“Praise the Lord for smooth transitions! Dan was officially voted in as pastor of Bible Baptist Church (Igreja Batista da Bíblia – IBB) tonight….things went very well. Had around 50 people tonight and had 2 couples that had been in our church some years before, come back and ask for forgiveness…They want to come back and be restored as members! Praise the Lord for how He is working in hearts!” Read more →

June 2013 Prayer Letter

Dan Bennett

June 26, 2013

Dear partners and friends of the ministry,

Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”  This verse has helped me recently as we have had many different physical, emotional, and ministerial changes in the past several weeks.

In March, we returned to the States for thirteen weeks for various reasons.  The main reason was that our children, Nathan and Anna, would be graduating from high school through the A Beka Academy home-school program.  There was a good number of graduating home-schoolers from around the world that descended upon Pensacola, Florida for those two days, and we congratulate our children for their hard work and accomplishment.

Second, we were also in a number of new churches to present our ministry, and to try and raise some additional needed support.  We are grateful that three churches took us on for financial support in South Carolina, Texas, and Iowa.

Finally, since this would be the first time for Nathan and Anna to be out “on their own”, we felt it necessary to be with them in this transitional phase of their lives as they said goodbye to the family.  All four of our oldest children are involved in summer ministry at the present time.  Joseph (age 20) is traveling with Neighborhood Bible Time, a good organization with which I served when I was in Bible college.  Rachel (age 22) and Anna (age 17) are serving with a Summer Jewish Ministry Outreach in Miami, FL, and Nathan (age 18) is doing the same thing in Downer’s Grove, IL.  Leaving four of our children in the States was a very difficult thing to do, but we praise the Lord that they are serving Him, and they have a heart for ministry.

On June 21 we returned to Brazil with our three youngest children.  We were anxious to get back here and back into the ministry.  On June 23, our very first Sunday back, the Brazilian pastor informed the church that he is leaving the ministry, and will no longer be pastor of the church.  It took a while for this announcement to sink in since he has been there for 17 years.  He said that Pastor Daniel (me) would stay there to continue the work.  While we knew this was coming, we didn’t expect it to be so soon.  Over the years, there has been a dramatic decline in the attendance, and I would like to see an increase in the church again, as a thriving, growing church.

We appreciate so much our faithful prayer and financial supporters.  While we are thankful for the three new churches that took us on for support, we don’t take for granted those of you that have stood with us through “thick and thin” over many years of ministry.  You all are a vital part of our ministry, and we know that we would not be in Brazil without you.  The harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few here in Brazil.  Keep praying that we could see more fruit harvested for our Lord, and fruit that may abound to your account.

That all may hear,

Dan & Becky Bennett

Your “thorn in the flesh”

Dan Bennett

As we have been traveling quite a bit these past two months, it has been interersting to meet people that have told me that they could never do what we do, and then proceed to tell me why they would be inadequate. I have been recently studying of Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”, in Second Corinthians 12:7-10.

1. It was to keep him humble.

2. He prayed for God to remove it.

3. In our weakness, God’s grace is sufficient, and His power is evident.

4. Paul was able to glory in his weakness (feebleness, frailty), that the power of Christ may be upon him.

Because of God’s grace and strength being made perfect in Paul’s weakness, he was able to say in verse 10, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

Do you take pleasure in your infirmities (feebleness), reproaches (insult), necessities, persecutions, and distresses? You should, for in your weakness, Christ’s strength will rest upon you, and you can, and will, become strong.

We need to remember that we must take our eyes off of our own selves, and keep our eyes upon God. He knows that we are inadequate indeed, and we must rely solely on Him in all that we do. If we do that, His power will be evident in our lives, and He alone will receive the glory due unto His name.

Don’t allow your thorn in the flesh to be a reminder of what you CAN’T do, but rather let it be a reminder of what God CAN do in you, and through you.

 

Recent Humorous Anecdotes

Dan Bennett

I found it humorous that, while walking through the Philadelphia airport yesterday, I was alerted by a loud “beeping” sound as a golfcart-type airport terminal vehicle approached from behind. I stepped to the side to get out of the way, thinking that an airport employee was shuttling a handicapped passenger to his/her departure gate. As it slowly passed me, I noticed that it was an airport police vehicle. There was a female police officer driving the extended airport patrol golfcart, and a male police officer was on the passenger side. Shortly after they passed me, the vehicle slowed down, then stopped, as the male police officer got out of the cart, only to stand in the line at Dunkin Donuts.

Then…

After a 3 & 1/2 hour delay in Philadelphia while waiting for the windshield to be replaced on the airplane I was to fly on, the passengers were finally able to board the plane. Due to other minor things, we waited another half-hour as the plane was refueled, and for the air traffic control tower to give us clearance to takeoff. On board was a “balloon lady” that went up and down the aisle making animal balloons for the children. One tall young black man said that he wanted one, too. She asked him if he wanted something special, and when he said that he did, she blew up a brown balloon, and then made a few twists and turns of the balloon. It was not evident as to what she made until she reached up and placed the balloon up and over his head, and then lowered it to cover his mouth. She then said, “You asked for something special, so here it is,” just as she reached up and gave him a great big kiss on his balloon lips.

February Prayer Letter

Dan Bennett

Dear faithful ministry partners,

Let me begin by saying how grateful to God we are for each and every one of you that have an integral part in our ministry.  Thank you for “holding the ropes” so firmly and faithfully!  We do not take you, or what you do for us for granted.

As the first month of 2013 is already history, we thank the Lord for what He has done, and we look forward to seeing what He will do in the remaining eleven months of this year.

Regarding the church property, some time ago, an elderly deaf couple passed away and left a portion of their “estate” to the deaf church.  After being tied up in legal matters, their property is now free to be sold.  Please pray that it will sell quickly.  We don’t know for how much it will be sold, but the sale of this property should help with the initial cost of getting started on the construction of a building.  Read more →