Tuesday, September 28, 2004
[1:44 PM]
Weekly Update
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 2 Corinthians 4:17
Hello Everybody,
How do you explain this verse to a brand-new Christian? Angelica has been so faithful in church attendance and discipleship classes but her husband is not very happy with her. He doesn't understand her desire to attend church and classes. He's probably seen lots of other changes in her also. He's not saved, and like a lot of unsaved Mexican men, he drinks a lot. Please really lift her up in prayer this week, and that her husband, Mario, will not only allow her to keep attending, but that he'll get saved.
Saturday was a dreary, drizzly day, but it cleared up right before discipleship classes started, which was a huge blessing. We had 16 adults and 22 kids for classes this week. You can imagine how much easier it is if we can keep all the kids outside while the classes are going on inside.
You should have seen the rain Sunday! Of course it was right before church that it started pouring. We went to pick people up, driving down muddy, pot-hole filled roads, with water streaming across them. When we got to one house, the road directly in front of the house was flooded up to the bumpers. Angelica waded through to go get people (that's dedication!) and we picked up 6 people there. The sad part about it is that the house these people live in is lower than the road so all that water was flowing right into their home. It didn't dampen their spirits a bit. They were very excited to be heading to church. On the way home, everywhere you looked, people were "bailing out" their houses. Praise the Lord our house sits higher than the street!
In last months News Letter, we highlighted a little girl from the children's home, Maria Louisa, and asked you to pray for her. Guess what? Saturday, she came up to Alison and said, "Can you tell me more about the Bible?" Alison took her in the office, went through the plan of salvation several times to make sure she understood it, and Maria Louisa asked Jesus into her heart. Don't tell me that your prayers don't make a difference! Isn't God great?
Today, Alison is going to have her wisdom teeth removed. Please keep her in your prayers. Next week, Steve and Jon will be traveling to the border to pick up the grandparents. They are bringing 3 of our nieces with them. Please pray for traveling safety for all of them.
Thank you all so much for praying for us and for the Mexican people, and thanks to all of you who give financially to support God's work here. May God richly bless each and every one of you.
The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division
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Wednesday, September 22, 2004
[8:20 AM]
Weekly Update
And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: Isaiah 58:10
Buenas Dias,
Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you, to those of you who prayed for the discipleship class this past Saturday. We had two people saved and one more that just needed some assurance. Angelica's sister, Erica, and Margarita's step-mother both asked Jesus into their hearts. Arturo just wanted to make sure that he did things right. Praise the Lord, He's working in these people's lives! I have a feeling that there will be quite a few that "just want to make sure" of their salvation. They're learning brand-new things every week and I'm sure they're concerned that since they didn't know everything at the moment of salvation, they want to make sure that they've done things right. The next booklet will be on Eternal Security. That should help things out tremendously. No telling when we'll get there though, as we've only made it half-way through the first book in our first three lessons. It's necessary to go slow, as this is all new information to them. However, I firmly believe when we are done with all sixteen booklets, we'll have the strongest Christians in Jerez or even in the surrounding area.
Trying to keep the kids occupied, who come with their parents to discipleship class, is a big job! This week we printed off some coloring sheets with Bible verses at the bottom and let them make projects for their parents. It worked well, and it kept them from running in and out of the class where their parents were trying to learn. We also handed out cookies and Kool-aid, and let them roll around in the grass in our yard a real treat to kids that don't have grass or a yard to play in.
Church services went real well Sunday night. We had two young men baptized this week, as well as five salvation decisions and two assurances. We had 15 first-time visitors, and that's always exciting. We're running out of chairs!
In other church news, we've had $1000 given towards the church building fund! We praise the Lord for the way that He works, and thank His children for the way that they give. Please pray with us that God will richly repay and bless these people for their sacrificial giving.
In Children's Home news, things continued as normal. Last week, Kiko the dog, killed a skunk and stunk the place up pretty good. The boys had a good time washing him with tomato juice, which helped out tremendously. This week, they were out of school for a couple of days for Mexican Independence Day. We took the smaller kids hiking a couple of times, exploring the river. The older boys went off on their own hike, and exercised their hunting abilities. They killed a three-foot-long diamondback rattlesnake while on a walk. They sold it to one of the ladies in the local rancho for 30 pesos (about $3) which allowed them all to have a snack from the local tienda, and her to have a good supper. They spent the rest of their free-time going hiking, looking for more money-making opportunities (more snakes).
We also had some visitors from Fresnillo come over Saturday. Miguel, one of the national pastors, brought a group of fourteen hungry people with him to the children's home. We enjoyed them very much, they're always a blessing. Please pray for Miguel and his church. He also has a mission work that he's establishing there in Fresnillo. To see these local pastors doing so much with so little, it's very encouraging.
Brother Alejandro was able to go preach last Thursday night at one of the other churches in Fresnillo. There was a lady who had been coming to the church for a little while, but still hadn't received Christ as her Saviour. Praise the Lord, her name was added to the Lamb's Book of Life that night. You'll get to meet her someday. She'll be in Heaven with the rest of these Mexican Christians, waiting to shake your hand and say thank you for caring for the people of Mexico.
Please remember to pray us as we continue to seek God's will, direction, and provision, concerning a new church building! And please continue to pray for the discipleship classes on Saturday evenings. . . it really does make a difference!
The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division
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Tuesday, September 14, 2004
[4:22 PM]
Weekly Update
Hello Everyone,
Another good week has come and gone. We set a new attendance record again, shattering the previously held record of 75 with the 87 people in attendance. With having both the van and the Suburban running, we were able to transport 43 people to church, also a new record.
This Sunday was special for another reason - we had our first baptism. Berenice, a 14-year-old girl from the children's home, was baptized. What a blessing it was to see her take this first step of obedience.
During the invitation, an older lady came forward for salvation. Praise the Lord, the angles were singing! Anjelica, the lady who got saved earlier this year, loved her step-mother enough to invite her to hear the gospel. Now they're related through their heavenly family as well as their earthly family.
Brian, the young man who was saved last week, was also there this week. We've told you before that it's not hard to get people to raise their hand and pray a prayer, but what we look for is a changed life. Alison said that during the Children's church, he was like a brand-new kid behavior wise. When you see the outward changes so quickly, and it's not because of "training", you know it's because there's been an even bigger change made on the inside.
Discipleship class grew this past week! We went from 4 last week to 11 this week, we also had about 25 kids which we were really not expecting. Please pray for us as we attempt to come up with a special program for them. There were some problems as the teacher was late due to car trouble. This is good news and bad news. The bad news is, Satan is fighting hard to keep these classes from happening. The good news is, Satan is fighting hard to keep these classes from happening! If you're not having to fight Satan, it's probably because you're not doing anything for the Lord. We've found any time you try to do something for God, Satan rears his ugly head and that's as good a sign that you're on the right track as anything.
In other great news, we had mentioned to some of you to please pray for a trailer for us. When Brother Rick was here, we saw how valuable a trailer can be. Praise the Lord we now have one! It'll be coming here, loaded down, in early October. Part of the load will be tracts and John/Romans. If you have anything that you'd like to send down, get it to our home church in Branson West and they'll see that it makes it's way to Mexico.
Please pray for us today and continue to pray for us throughout the week. When school starts, our normally busy schedule pretty much doubles. It's easy to get frustrated and discouraged when you have 28 hours worth of stuff to do in a 24 hour day. I'm sure a lot of you can sympathize. Please remember to pray for the discipleship classes as well as the ever-growing church services.
We love you all and appreciate all you do so that we can be here serving the Lord. Thank you.
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Tuesday, September 07, 2004
[10:32 AM]
Weekly Update
Romans 16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Good Morning Everyone,
We're praying that God's going to bruise Satan before he has time to bruise us. We've had a lot of great things happen this week and we know how Satan hates that and fights against it.
As an answer to prayer, the van at the Children's Home is running, the paper work is finished and it is now in use. We took it and the Suburban out to pick up people Sunday for church and it was a good thing we did. We transported thirty-three people to services, fourteen of them were first-time visitors. We were missing one of our regular families and still had 70 in attendance for services. Praise the Lord! Most of them asked if we could pick them up again next week. Margarita and Anjelica both brought quite a few of their family members. It's fun to watch young Christians grow.
In even better news, Alison was able to lead one of our first-time visitors to the Lord. A little boy, who thought that he could get to Heaven by being good, and was very concerned when he found out that he couldn't get himself to Heaven, now has his name written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Folks, be thankful that we've all heard the whole truth. Many people here in Mexico haven't had that opportunity yet, and many never will.
Discipleship classes in Spanish have started! We are so excited about this new aspect of the ministry and are very pleased with the teacher Josi. He did an outstanding job. We had four adults (not counting us Gringos) show up for the first class and expect to have more this next Saturday evening. Whatever else you aren't able to remember, please don't forget to pray for these classes every week.
In more wonderful news, this next Sunday we will be having our first baptismal service. We got our portable baptistery constructed and are all ready to go. We will send you pictures next week.
In Children's Home news, we have three more new faces out there. One little girl and two little boys, ages four and under. They have been a tremendous blessing already. The boys are full of energy and the little girl is full of kisses. They have blended in so well already, you wouldn't be able to pick them out as the "new" kids.
Brother Bob and Miss Leatha left for the states early Sunday morning, and will be traveling for the next three months. Please keep them in your prayers as they travel, that they will have safety, and that they will be able to effectively share this ministry with the people that God sends them to.
As always we really want to thank you for holding us up in prayer, and would ask that you continue to do so. Thank you also to those of you who have given towards special needs, and those who give on a regular basis. We couldn't do our job without you! And God promises to bless you for it;
Proverbs 28:27 He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.
The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division
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Thursday, September 02, 2004
[2:52 PM]
Weekly Update
Proverbs 8:17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
Hello Everyone,
Let's start this out on a high note, shall we? Heres a note from Josh, our 14-year-old;
This past week we had a visitor, Brother Jim Foster, who was a missionary for over 30 years in Honduras. He preached Sunday evening in Spanish. I don't know that much Spanish, but God was speaking to me during that service. I understood a lot of it, and while he was preaching, I could feel God calling me to Honduras. I was going to wait until we got home to tell someone, but I couldn't. I went up and told Brother Jim and asked him when he was going to take another trip back down there. Then he and I went to tell my Dad. This is to let you know that I have surrendered to be a missionary to Honduras. So now what I'm asking for is your prayers that God will show me how to prepare for this calling. ~Josh
This took place this last Sunday evening. We had a tent service, our first actual service at the new property. We also had a young lady, Theresa, accept Jesus as her Saviour. She's one of the girls who have been visiting services for the past month, or so. All in all, not a bad service, wouldn't you agree?
While our visitors were here, we were able to visit several mission churches in the Fresnillo area and take supplies to them. Brother Rick Toney and Brother Jim had a chance to preach over in Fresnillo also. We had a great time with them and much was accomplished. We are also going to be looking into the possibility of a radio station here in Jerez, thanks to the wisdom and knowledge of Brother Jim. Please keep this in your prayers.
Oh by the way, we forgot to mention in last weeks update that we had set a new record of 75 for church attendance. That means we've seen the attendance nearly double since we started meeting out at the Children's home last April.
This weeks prayer requests: Brother Bob and Miss Leatha plan on heading to the states for a couple of months in the very near future. Please pray for their safety and God's direction for them. This also means we'll be short-handed at the children's home so please pray for our sanity (Alejandro's & Juanita's also). Seriously though, being short-handed is never easy. Please pray that God will take care of all the situations as they arise. We've also seen that having a church service on church property seems more like a real service than meeting in someone's home. Please pray that God will provide the necessary funds quickly for us to put up a building on the property.
Thanks for all your prayers and for everything you do for us. A big thank-you to all who were involved in collecting school supplies and other items on the wish list, they are greatly appreciated.
The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division
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