Wednesday, June 30, 2004
[10:04 AM]
Weekly UpdateHello Again,
Last week we told you about Margarita having her baby, we told you the weight and the date, but we didn't share the name. There's a good reason for that, here we are a week and 3 days later and the baby still does not have a name. I keep suggesting Steve for a name, but it just doesn't meet with overwhelming approval. Hopefully by this time next week we'll be able to share her name with you. Both mom & baby are doing well. We took food over quite a few times last week and yesterday she informed us that she would like to go to church with us this coming Sunday.
The missions group came and went, but the things they did will stay for a while. They had a two-day Vacation Bible School and built a shed/barn out at the children's home. They brought along their welding equipment and put us up a metal structure that should last for years and years. Hopefully, the teaching in V.B.S. will last even longer. A big thank-you to the Bedias Baptist Church from Bedias, Texas, for all their hard work.
In sports news, our soccer team played a great game Sunday and we were able to pass out quite a few tracts to the opposing team. We also went to see a baseball game, a real baseball game! A team from California came all the way to Jerez just to get whipped by our local team. It was very exciting, and then just a few hours later, we had our own baseball game which is always fun.
You folks must've passed a lot of Taco Bells this week, because your prayers sure were felt here in Mexico. Thank you so much for caring about the people here enough to pray for them and us. Keep it up! No time like the present to bring our name before the Throne of God.
Thank you,
The Benedicts
Missionaries to Mexico
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Tuesday, June 22, 2004
[12:50 PM]
Weekly UpdateGood Morning Everyone,
Congratulate us! Last week our "family" grew by two! Saturday, June 19th, Margarita gave birth to a healthy baby girl, 6 lbs. 6oz. We've attached a picture so you can see for yourself how perfect she is. We had to skip church Sunday evening to go and pick up them up at the hospital in Fresnillo, about an hour away. Amber got to hold her most of the trip home from the hospital as car seats consist of somebody's lap here in Mexico. After seeing the hospital in Fresnillo, we are very thankful for the cleanliness of the hospital here in Jerez.
The other addition to our "family" is Victor. He was living in Jerez with his mother until she moved another man in who refused to allow him in the house. He's 11 years old and has a servants disposition. He smiles a lot and is a good addition to the children's home. Now we have 22 boys and 8 girls for an even 30 children.
Thanks to all for the prayers for safety for our traveling. We only had one mishap. Mary was driving the Cavalier when we hit a rain storm. The Suburban handles all types of weather, no problem, but the Cavalier doesn't do well at swimming through the puddles. She hydroplaned, did a couple donuts down the interstate, went through the median, and ended up about a foot onto the shoulder of the on-coming traffic's lane. No one was hurt and a couple of the other kids even seemed to enjoy the ride (after it was all over, of course). The only damage to the car was some ground-effects in the front were partially ripped off. The insulting part of that was that she had just had them put back on the day before. It cost her $1.50 to have it repaired here, they want almost $300 to repair it in the states. Jacob volunteered the services of one of his shoe strings to tie it up so they could reach their destination.
Don't forget to take a moment to pray for us and the work here in Mexico. When you think of Mexico, when you see some Mexicans, when you pass a Taco Bell, let that be a reminder to offer up a quick prayer that God will bless and provide for His work in Jerez.
Your Partners in Christ,
Steve, Amber & Kids
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Tuesday, June 08, 2004
[9:19 AM]
Weekly UpdateGood Morning Everyone,
We'll start out with great news. This week we were able to take 6 first time visitors to church Sunday. We were missing a couple of our regular folks, but still managed to have 56 in attendance. One of our first time visitors was a lady named Anjelica. She brought her four children with her. She is a very poor lady, but praise the Lord she now has a mansion waiting for her in heaven and her new Father owns everything created! She went forward and accepted Jesus as her personal Saviour. And that, folks, is fruit to your account!
In other news, if you remember last week we told you about Miguel and his planning on going forward at the next church service. We told you that we believe he accepted Jesus that night because of changes we'd seen. He couldn't go to church with us Sunday night as his folks took him to visit at a rancho. But, praise the Lord, we continue to see changes in Miguel! Emmanuel says that he's making it his personal mission to make sure that Miguel comes to church this next Sunday.
In our discipleship class this past week, we discussed baptism. God's timing is impeccable as one of our young men had just come up with some questions about baptism. They haven't decided (or if they have, they haven't told us yet) that they're ready for baptism, but I don't believe it will be long. Please pray for them as they contemplate the first step of obedience in their walk with the Lord. Every week we have a brief over view of the previous lesson and they are really soaking up this new information they are learning.
It's travel time for us again so please keep us in your prayers. We will be leaving Wednesday morning at 5:00 a.m. for the states. Mary will be taking her ACT test on Saturday the 12th of June so please remember her in your prayers also.
Please take a moment right now to pray for us and the ministry here in Jerez. Thanks.
Your Partners in Christ,
Steve, Amber & Kids
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Tuesday, June 01, 2004
[1:06 PM]
Weekly UpdateHello Everyone,
Time for an update again, where has the week gone? It seems like this week has been busier than last week and we didn't think that was possible.
The missions group arrived here Friday, after traveling 35 hours straight. Needless to say, they were a little tired. Brother Doug Evans headed up a group of 11 people from Tennessee. We greeted them with a meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, rolls . . . the works. Friday evening we sat around, sang some songs, shared some testimonies and just had a really good time. They spent most of their time here doing repair work on vehicles. We sure do appreciate their efforts. They are back on the road today so please be in prayer for them.
Also on the road are Brother Bob and his wife Leatha. They are heading back to the states for a couple of weeks and we sure will miss them. Please pray for their safety and that they will be able to relax as they spend some time with family.
Our Saturday this week was unusual. Usually we get up early Saturday morning, head to the children's home before breakfast and stay there until about 2:00 in the afternoon. Then we come home and get ready to leave for baseball by 4:00. Saturdays are busy days. This week, however, Emmanuel's family invited us to go with them on a day trip. We looked at this as a way to show them that Christians are just regular folks and for us just to get to know them better. We've been praying that God will somehow bring them to Himself and this seemed like an open door. Besides that, we were going to have a picnic lunch and we heard that Emmanuel's parents were good cooks. Just kidding. They've seen positive changes in Emmanuel's life and I think they are a little bit curious. Please pray for Emmanuel's family's salvation.
Last week we asked you to pray for Miguel. We have an exciting update on him. He was in church last Sunday night and God was really speaking to him during the message. After church, he told Emmanuel that next week, if Emmanuel will go with him, he wants to go forward. I believe he's already saved, that he made that decision right there in his seat. Yesterday he rode his bike all the way to the Children's home, just to hang out with the people there (Christians). His whole demeanor was different. Since we couldn't play baseball Saturday, we played yesterday. Normally Miguel gets irritated over the smallest things when we play ball, however, yesterday he had a silly grin on his face the whole time. Even when he was declared out, he was happy. He hasn't admitted it to anybody yet, but we see the same changes in him that we saw in Emmanuel and others that we've had the opportunity to see accept Christ. We'll keep you updated on Miguel and please pray that he has the courage to come and talk to somebody, Sunday or before.
Margarita's time is getting close with her baby (June 15th) and she has some needs that we thought we'd pass on if anybody would like to help.
* Money for the C-section, transportation and lodging (approx. $150)
* Baby clothes (not sure what she's having)
* A baby bed or bassinet-portable crib or playpen would be ideal.
(Carlos slept in his stroller until they recently got a bed.)
* Diapers & Wipes for new baby and Carlos (19 months) as well.
* Baby bottles, blankets, etc.
These items do not need to be new, but do need to be in good condition and clean. We will be returning to the states for a very quick trip the second week of June and will be able to pick up any items at that time. If you'd like to donate, items can be sent to:
Talking Rock Road Baptist Church
P.O. Box 1026
1126 Talking Rock Road
Branson West, MO 65737
Please take a moment right now and pray for these prayer requests as well as these needs. We appreciate you allowing us to share these prayer requests and needs with you. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16b
Your Partners in Christ,
Steve, Amber & Kids
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