June 13, 2024
Greetings from São Paulo, Brazil!
We want to say a big “THANK YOU” to those of you that have been praying for the requests that we mentioned in our last prayer letter. We had a men’s cookout in April at the home of one of the deaf men from the church in Arujá. We encouraged the men to invite their deaf friends, but only one deaf visiting man showed up. Luciano is a deaf man from the church, and he invited Emerson, the visiting deaf man to go to church on Sunday morning. Emerson said that he couldn’t go to our church because he was going to another church to see a baby get “baptized.” Luciano asked him what the meaning was of baptizing a baby, but Emerson didn’t know. Luciano began witnessing to Emerson, and since Dan was beside Luciano he asked Dan to “take over.” After a few minutes of talking, Dan asked Emerson if he knew why Jesus came to earth and died on the cross. He didn’t know. Dan began to simply explain the Gospel message to him. As he was talking, one of the men got up and went inside to get a small “Wordless Book.” When Dan started explaining the meaning of the colors, it was as if a “light came on” in Emerson’s mind and heart. After nearly 45 minutes of Luciano and Dan taking turns in explaining the Good News to Emerson, he bowed his head and asked the Lord to forgive him for his sin and save him! Praise the Lord!
For Friend Day, we had a family of four that came as first-time visitors. The couple is deaf, and they have two hearing boys. When the service began, the lady, Ellen, had a huge smile on her face. She had never been to a church where there was someone who focused on the Deaf. Her husband, Junior, was more reserved, but he seemed to enjoy it. When I asked them to come again, he said that they might, but Ellen jumped in and said that they would definitely be back! Their boys, Ryan and Bryan, also seemed to enjoy being there.
Several weeks ago, Becky began teaching “The Wordless Book” after the church services. There are several children in the class, and some of the deaf adults stand around to watch the lessons. On May 26th, two hearing children (CODA) Ryan and another girl, Alice, trusted Christ as Savior. On the same day, Gustavo, a deaf boy made a video of what he has learned so far, and he is so excited about the things that “Mrs. Rebecca” is teaching. Gustavo is not yet saved, but we believe that it won’t be long. Please pray for Gustavo’s salvation.
Please keep praying that God would send two men (and their families) to become pastors for these two deaf churches. One young Brazilian pastor visited the church in Arujá in May. He is praying about God’s will about becoming the pastor, and he said that he would give us an answer by the end of June. Your fervent prayers would be greatly appreciated!
That all may “hear,”
Dan & Becky Bennett
Sent out by Southside Baptist Church, Rock Hill, SC – Pastor Tyler Donough