Thursday, April 29, 2004
[7:43 AM]
Weekly UpdateHello Everyone,
Sorry there was no update last week, we were extremely busy. We were able to go to a preacher's meeting in Conway, Arkansas and were really blessed. This also opened up a new ministry opportunity that we would like you to pray for God's leading for our family.
Mary's graduation went real well. She had a surprise visit from some of her cousins as well as both of our parents. It sure was good to be able to spend some time with lots of family. Thanks to all who made this ceremony possible and for all of you who were able to attend. Please continue to pray for God's guidance in her life as she endeavors to make plans for her future.
We made it back to Mexico safe and sound last night and have spent most of today trying to recover from all the travel. Thanks for all of your prayers for our safety on the roads. No flat tires or anything! We had a lot of the neighborhood kids just about follow us into the driveway. We barely got ourselves unloaded and they were there to say hello. It felt great.
We will be getting back into the swing of things over the next few days so again, please keep us in your prayers. It seems there is always some type of hardship when we first get back.
Your Partners in Christ,
Steve, Amber & Kids
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Wednesday, April 14, 2004
[8:14 AM]
Weekly UpdateGreetings Everyone,
We're back in the states again for a short trip. Thank you to all who prayed for our safety on the roads, we needed it. We had two flat tires, both times with no spare. The first one we managed to limp into a town that had a tire repair place. Unfortunately the tire couldn't be repaired as the belt was broken. They did have some used retreads the right size, so we bought one and took off again. We made it about 35-40 miles before that one went flat. This time we were in the middle of no where. No stores, no houses, nothing. Steve took off to see what he could see over the next rise and God was so good that he sent a Taxi along at just that time. The next closest town was Saltillo which was about 50 miles away. We knew there was no sense in returning to the previous tire place so Steve and the Taxi driver set out for Saltillo. Two and a half hours later, we were ready to be on the road again.
After we had all passed through Saltillo, the truck started running badly. We had just stopped at a gas station to fill up the tank and, as lots of times we get water in the gas, we thought that that was what the problem was. We put a couple of bottles of water remover in the tank, but it made no difference. It was running like we needed a new fuel pump. We drove all the way to Killeen, TX, most of the time no more than 50 miles and hour. When we woke up the next morning, we were expecting to spend $200-300 (money we didn't have) to get the necessary repairs, but guess what? Praise the Lord, it was just a completely clogged fuel filter, repaired at the cost of $6 and the labor of Brother Larry Townsend.
In addition to the mechanical problems, we had two sick kids. Joshua and Jacob were having stomach problems and needed frequent (and extremely quick) stops. However, even with all the excitement, God really took care of us. He took care of all of our repairs and met every one of our needs. We still arrived where we needed to be when we needed to be there. We have new tires and the truck runs better than it has for quite some time. Even through the bad times, the scary times, and the frustrating times, God is still so good to us.
We arrived in Kokomo, IN, on Saturday and will be here through Amber's dad's scheduled eye surgery. Please be in prayer for him and the doctors as he undergoes this procedure for macular degeneration.
Again thanks to all of you so much for your fervent effectual prayers. They have availed much.
Your Partners in Christ,
Steve, Amber & Kids
the Benedicts
Missionaries to Mexico
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Tuesday, April 06, 2004
[9:59 AM]
Weekly UpdateHello Everyone,
We've blessed to be able to spend more time at the Children's Home this past week.
Last Wednesday night there was a missions group at the Children's Home. The pastor was bi-lingual and preached in both languages, which is a lot more difficult than it sounds. However, God really blessed his efforts. We saw 8 or 9 kids (sorry, we lost track) make salvation decisions that night, praise the Lord! I believe that the kids who came on the missions trip had their lives changed forever. Mexico will do that to you. I believe there was revival in most of their hearts also.
Steve got to teach Sunday School (through an interpreter who was only 12 years old) and had a good time. Then Sunday night, we were able to take two of the teens from our neighborhood to church with us also. Yesterday, we were going out to do a small repair on a door frame. When we arrived, however, a church group of about 50 people, from the neighboring town of Fresnillo, had shown up earlier. Of course they needed to be fed, so we got to be chefs and waiters (not to mention busboys) for a while. We had a lot of fun and the kids out there are so helpful and good.
We went to check in with Jose last weekend and he said they were busy doing a study of Revelation. He saw on our list of videos that we had two tapes on the study of Revelation and he asked if he could borrow those. So we took them back over to him and he was very happy. He told us these tapes are very good and that they even teach you can lose your salvation! We were a little taken aback but after a few questions, realized he meant to say they teach that you cannot lose your salvation. Ahhh, the joy of trying of learning a new language. We know that God is going to use Jose in a very big way.
Please pray for us as we will be heading back to the states tomorrow for Mary's graduation. She finished her last chemistry test this past week and is officially done with school. Her graduation will be held at our church on the 25th of April at 6:00 p.m. You all are invited to attend! Please pray for her as she seeks the Lord's will in her college plans.
In Christ,
Steve, Amber & Kids
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