Prayer Letters

Greetings from São Paulo, Brazil!

“For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.” (1Cor. 16:9)

Just as the Apostle Paul penned the above words to the church in Corinth, sometimes we feel that we could write the same thing. The Lord has been opening several doors of opportunity that have the potential to open more doors of ministry.

On February 4^th, Dan started teaching a sign language class in the city of Osasco. This is a city where we lived and ministered during our second term. Dan met the pastor of this church last year, and the invitation was given to teach a small group of people that want to reach the Deaf in their area. It’s a fun group, and they enjoy learning the Brazilian Sign Language.

Dan also visited another church nearby our house in the neighborhood called Guacuri. He had a good talk with the pastor, and the pastor is very interested in having us to go to his church and teach the Sign Language.

On Sunday evening, February 26^th, Dan was also asked to preach in the Indianapolis Baptist Temple. (This is a neighborhood in the city of São Paulo, not in Indiana.) This church has been a vital part in our church in that they allow us to meet in their building since we don’t own property or a building. Our church has been with them since the year 2,000.  There may be another door of opportunity opening in this church to teach Sign Language here, as well.

Although our church is still small, we have seen some slow numerical growth, as well as spiritual growth. Working with the Deaf is not a “sprint,” but a “marathon.” As the Lord opens doors of ministry, the adversary also takes notice, and so we must always stay “on guard.”

When Dan returned to Brazil after the wedding, Becky planned to stay for two more weeks. However, Becky’s mother had some serious health problems, and so Becky stayed to assist her mom. Becky’s mom, Mrs. Chris Walters, has made some slight improvements, but she is not back to “normal” yet, so Becky is still in South Carolina at the moment. Although many tests have been done, the doctors have not found the cause of her constant headaches. Please keep my mother-in-law in your prayers.

Finally, thank you for being faithful to pray and give toward the work among the Deaf in Brazil.

 That all may “hear,”

Dan & Becky Bennett

Dear Fellow Laborers,

Since our last prayer letter, we have seen five people make professions of faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. There have been three deaf adults saved, and two hearing CODA’s (Children Of Deaf Adult). We praise God for the working of the Holy Spirit in the lives of these people as they have been coming and learning the way of salvation.

On a not-so-joyful note, our youngest daughter’s Brazilian document (RNE) expired while we were on furlough. When she returned to Brazil in September, she returned with a tourist visa, giving her 90 days to renew her permanent visa. We tried to renew her visa, but were unsuccessful in scheduling a visit with the Federal Police. On December 22, Becky returned to the USA with our two children as that was the 90th day of Christine’s tourist visa. We have been keeping our eyes open for available dates and times to schedule an appointment, but each time we look, it says that there are no dates available and to check back later. If you would, please pray with us that we would be able to renew Chrissy’s Brazilian document as soon as possible.

On the same note, Becky’s Brazilian document will expire in March, but because of all the “red tape” that we have been going through with Chrissy’s document, it would be somewhat miraculous if we could renew Becky’s document before it expires. The problem is that, when these documents expire, that person is required to leave the country, even if it’s only for enough time to get the passport stamped. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated as we attempt to renew Becky’s and Chrissy’s Brazilian documents.

On January 2nd, my pastor/father-in-law retired from the pastorate of our home church. Although I was not required to go back for the retirement celebration on January 9th, I thought it fitting to return to honor Dr. Kenneth and Christine Walters, my pastor and his wife, giving honor to whom honor is due. My mother-in-law has also been faithfully serving in the deaf ministry all these years. It was good to be there and honor this faithful couple and servants of our Lord. My father-in-law is now lining up meetings, mission’s conferences and Bible conferences as he seeks to be a help to pastors and missionaries in the work.

Our home church, Southside Baptist Church in Rock Hill, SC, has called our former youth pastor to become the senior pastor. Pr. Tyler Donough has done an outstanding job with the youth over the past eleven years, and we feel confident that he will be a good fit as pastor of our sending church.

We would appreciate your prayers as we navigate through the turbulent waters of COVID, and in trying to encourage people to not be afraid to return to church. We are praying for revival in 2022, so please join with us in prayer for the Bible Baptist Church of the Deaf in São Paulo.

Thank you for your faithfulness in giving and praying for us.

                                                                                                         That all may “hear,”

                                                                                                         Dan & Becky Bennett

Dear faithful ministry partners,

Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;   Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.  (Matthew 9:37,38) This is our prayer, our theme, our motivation this furlough as we long to see God stir up people and call them to the ministry of seeing deaf people saved! Oh, how we need laborers among the deaf in Brazil!

Since our last prayer letter, it seems as if little has changed, and at the same time, much has changed.  Isn’t it interesting to see how God works even through what seems to be “tribulations?” The coronavirus has thrown everything out of order and shut everything down. Plans were changed, flights cancelled, borders closed, stay-at-home orders given, businesses shut down. “Order” has been turned into “chaos”, or, so it seems.  And, yet, we know that God never changes! Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” While the virus certainly changed our plans, and seemed to turn our lives upside down, we take great comfort in in the fact that, God, who is All-Knowing, was NOT taken by surprise! He still accomplishes His will through us if we are willing vessels. As of March of this year, 12 deaf people have been saved through video conference calls in spite of the COVID -19 shutdown!! My friends, God’s plans were not hindered. His plans were not cancelled! He is still God. He still works and He still saves! He will not be deterred! We hope this encourages you to remember that God is still in control and knows exactly what is happening.

After having been shut down for four and a half months, we returned to have our last church service in person before our furlough.  However, after just two Sundays, the mayor of São Paulo closed the churches once more as the Covid-19 cases rose again.  On September 6, our church opened again, but only two people were present as the media has caused great fear among the Brazilian people. Please pray for these Christians, that God would give them courage to be faithful and to not be afraid.

We thank God for our colleagues, Michael and Ruth Douglas, who are doing a great job in our absence.  God is using them, and they have personally won several of the 12 people to Christ.

As I mentioned in our last prayer letter, we have come to the end of our fourth term in Brazil.  We are now in the United States for our furlough. If you are interested in having us to stop in and give a report of the work and ministry among the Deaf in Brazil, please contact me as soon as possible.  My stateside phone number is (803)448-2127.  I have many open dates in 2021, so, if you could use us, please let us know.

Again, thank you for faithfully standing with us financially, and kneeling for us prayerfully.

That all may “hear,”

Dan and Becky Bennett

Dear partners in the ministry,

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”  Mark 16:15

We are living in challenging days.  In all my life, never have I seen anything like the effects of and reactions to COVID-19.  Like most of the world, we have been in quarantine, unable to hold regular church services in our usual location.  Our last Sunday service was March 15, and since then we have been using “Facebook Live” as a means of ministering to our deaf church family and friends via the internet.  When churches in São Paulo were required to close their doors, most churches with a Deaf ministry in Brazil also stopped having an interpreter for the Deaf.  For that reason, our services for the deaf in Brazilian sign language (LIBRAS) went farther and wider than we ever could have imagined.  Between the two of us, my wife and I had more than 150 new contacts/friend requests on Facebook, and more people have been tuning in to our live services.

Sometime last year, Joanne, a young deaf woman, visited our church.  Several months ago she contacted Anna, one of our church members, and asked for a Bible.  Anna told my wife, and so Becky got a Bible and wrote a little note in the front of the Bible.  The Bible was sent to a small city in the northern state of Piauí, some 1,870 miles from where we live.  Well, in early March we heard that Joanne was going to commit suicide.  Anna and Becky began to frantically try to get in contact with Joanne.  After several hours of not getting an answer to the messages that were sent, Joanne finally responded, praise the Lord!  Anna and Becky set up a time to have a videocall with Joanne, and after two hours of talking/signing, Joanne was gloriously saved on March 4, 2020!

Joanne has two roommates, a guy and another girl.  Joanne began to tell her roommates about what happened to her, so more videocalls were scheduled.  On March 9, our co-worker, Michael Douglas, and Anna led Aldair to the Lord, and on March 11,  they introduced Adelane to the Savior.  To God be the glory!

Sônia, another one of our deaf ladies, had been witnessing to her friends, a deaf couple.  Another videocall was set up, and on March 28, Sérgio and Tatiane accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.  Praise God!

We will continue livestreaming our services as we are still unsure about when we will be able to return to regular services.  Please be praying for us in the months ahead as the cold weather sets in.  At this time, both the flu and COVID19 are going around, so we ask prayer for our health and the health of our church family.

Finally, we are coming to the end of our fourth term here in Brazil.  Lord willing, we will be leaving on July 28, 2020 for furlough.  If you would like for us to drop in and give a report, please contact me as soon as possible.

Again, thank you for faithfully standing with us financially, and kneeling for us prayerfully.

                                                                                         That all may “hear,”

                                                                                         Dan and Becky Bennett

October 11, 2018

Dear Faithful Co-laborers in the Ministry,

We have good news to share with you so that you can praise the Lord with us.

On Sunday, September 30, we had a special “Blue Sunday” to commemorate Deaf Awareness during the month of September. We had seven first-time visitors, and four other visitors that had come some time ago. There were 67 people in attendance, and one hearing eleven-year-old girl named Emily, that comes with her deaf grandmother, made a profession of faith. It was a, “Glory, Hallelujah,” kind of day!

A couple of months ago, a young family started attending our church because they found us by doing a search on the internet.  Alan is a very nice hearing man, married to Danielle, a precious deaf lady.  This sweet couple has a three-year-old boy named Miguel.  I had been trying to schedule a time when Becky and I could go and make a visit with them, but for one reason or another, we hadn’t been able to schedule anything until October 2.  At church, Alan told me that they liked our church, and they were interested in becoming members.  When I asked about their salvation, they assured me that they were saved.  When we arrived at their house, we were graciously received, had some small talk, and then began talking of spiritual matters.  Alan gave a clear testimony of salvation, but Danielle was unclear regarding why Jesus came, and how to be saved.  When Becky explained to Danielle that Jesus suffered and died in her place, it was as if the “light” came on, and Danielle began weeping when she understood that Jesus took her sin upon Himself.  With tears running down her face, Danielle repented of her sin, confessed her sins to God, and asked for God’s forgiveness.

On Saturday evening, October 6, we visited in the home of Ewerton, a single deaf man that lives with his hearing parents.  Ewerton has been coming to our church for months, is saved, intelligent, and has a hunger for God’s Word.  However, his parents are Catholic, and Ewerton has a burden to see his family saved.  On that night, we went over and spent four and a half hours at their apartment, and much of it was spent talking about spiritual things.  We showed them Bible verses, but their Catholic teachings were hindering them from receiving the Truth.  We left without seeing them saved, but we made a friendship with them, and were invited to go back next month.  Please pray for the salvation of Luiz and Magali.

On October 7, the presidential election was held in Brazil.  A person is declared the winner only if he/she receives 51% of the votes.  Since no one received 51%, there will be a runoff vote for only the top 2 candidates on October 28.  Your continued prayers would be greatly appreciated.

On October 21, 2018, a new church plant will begin in Arujá!  This will be a daughter church of our church in São Paulo.  Our co-workers, Jon and Hannah Speights, will begin holding Sunday services in their home each week.  Please pray for the Speights as they teach, preach, evangelize, and disciple the Deaf in this new church in Arujá.

The harvest among the Deaf is plenteous, but the laborers are VERY few.  We need some EXPERIENCED people that are surrendered, and that have a burden to teach, win, and disciple deaf people.  We ask that you continue to pray with us regarding the need for more laborers among the Deaf of São Paulo.

Thank you for partnering with us, and for allowing us to be your representatives in Brazil.

That all may “hear,”

Dan & Becky Bennett

July 26, 2018

Dear Faithful Co-laborers in the Ministry,

What an honor it is to serve the Lord in Brazil!  We have much for which to praise the Lord.

First of all, we would like to start off by conveying our utmost gratitude to those that have given toward our vehicle fund.  We have found and purchased a 2006 Hyundai H1 Starex, a twelve-passenger (diesel) van in good condition, and with low miles/kilometers.

Thank you for praying for our co-workers, Jon and Hannah Speights.  They returned to Brazil on May 9th, and have found a house to rent in Arujá, the city where Jon began the Bible studies back in September of 2016.  The Deaf out there are excited about a new church being planted in the near future.

Update on Fran…You may remember reading about Fran, the lady who was watching our services via Facebook in the state of Acre. She and Becky began communicating over Messenger and finally began talking over Skype with video. Becky began talking about church and salvation. She asked Fran if she was saved, and she said, “yes,” so Becky asked her how she knew and what she did to be saved. She told Becky that she had been baptized and became a member of her church. When Becky told her that, according to the Bible, baptism could not save her, her mouth dropped open!  Becky then invited her to do a Bible study over the internet via Skype.  She was very interested, so they began meeting on Skype three times a week. On March 30^th, the Friday before Easter, Fran was truly saved!!

This past February, as a distraction from Carnaval, we held a special day at church with food, games, and a devotion.  Marlene, a deaf sister of one of the men in our church, came to our get-together. On that day, Becky was able to talk with her and invite her to a Bible study.  She began coming the middle of March and began learning the Wordless Book.  On April 22, Marlene became a child of God!

We love how God is using the ministry of Facebook Live around Brazil. Toward the end of March, some Christian ladies in Curitiba, a city six hours south of us, began commenting on our services. We later found out that one of the ladies had taken a sign language course in her seminary up in the northern part of Brazil, and through our Facebook livestream ministry, God had touched her heart to do something with what she had learned.  She began a sign language class at her church on Sunday nights after the service.  She recently showed a video of her class signing a special music presentation.  There were 26 people signing!  God seems to be lighting a fire for the deaf and deaf ministry in Brazil.  Pray that the fire would burn long and that God would bring us new families to Brazil who are burdened to see the deaf saved.

We appreciate the birthday cards that some churches send to our family.  However, our four oldest adult children, Rachel, Joseph, Nathan, and Anna, are living in the United States now, so it is no longer necessary to send birthday cards to Brazil for them.  Deborah, Matthew, and Christine are still with us in Brazil, and they love receiving cards, letters, and small packages in the mail.

Thank you for the opportunity to come to Brazil as your representatives in this vast, needy harvest field.

That all may “hear,”

Dan & Becky Bennett

March 29, 2018

Dear co-laborers in the harvest,

What a privilege it is to serve the Lord!  Greetings from São Paulo, Brazil.  It is now the Fall/Autumn season in Brazil, so we are seeing some cooler temperatures (lows in the mid 60’s) and rain almost every day.

I would like to start off by conveying our utmost gratitude to those that have given toward our vehicle fund.  We are looking and praying for the right one, so please pray with us about that.  We would love to be able to include a picture in our next prayer letter.

Back in January two deaf men started coming to church.  Ewerton, is a deaf man that was saved in 2005, but Eduardo was not saved.  Ewerton is a friend of Janine, the deaf lady that we told you about in our last prayer letter, and who was saved in December of last year.  Janine told Ewerton about the church, so Ewerton brought Eduardo to church so that he would get saved.  After a few weeks and much prayer, on Sunday evening of February 4 we spent two hours explaining the Gospel to Eduardo.  What a joy it was to see Eduardo pray to receive God’s forgiveness on that special day.

Thank you for praying for our co-workers, Jon and Hannah Speights.  They are on furlough now, but have purchased tickets to return to Brazil on May 9.  They could still use some additional support before returning to Brazil.  I spoke with Jon a few weeks back regarding their return, and he told me that they plan to look for a house in Arujá, out where he began the Bible studies back in September of 2016.  We will be going to Arujá on March 31, and the Deaf out there will be so excited when we tell them that the Speights will be moving there in May.  Please join with us in prayer about their need for a reasonably priced house to rent, spacious enough so that they could begin to hold services there, and in a quiet neighborhood. The last house where they lived had some noisy neighbors that had loud parties, sometimes until 5:00AM.  I know they would appreciate your prayers.

Last Monday, a deaf lady by the name of Fran contacted Becky on Facebook Messenger that lives in the city of Rio Branco, in the state of Acre in northern Brazil, about 30 miles from the northern border of Bolivia.  Fran told Becky that she was watching the preaching that we show via Facebook Live, and really seemed to enjoy it.  Rio Branco in Acre is almost 2,200 miles from our church.  Just for reference purposes, that is about the distance it is from New York City to Salt Lake City.  Although I’m not a big fan of Facebook, I’m glad that we can use social media and modern technology to preach the Gospel in other parts of Brazil, and the world.  Fran said that she wants to read the Bible, study, learn, and watch the preaching.  Please pray for the salvation of Fran.

Thank you for the opportunity to come to Brazil as your representatives in this vast, needy harvest field.

That all may “hear,”

Dan & Becky Bennett