Wednesday, October 25, 2006
[5:02 PM]
Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.
Good Morning Everyone,
I think you can all stop praying for rain for us down here. We've had our rainy season last... and last.... and last! It's still raining just about every day and the rainy season should have been over the beginning of September. Praise the Lord, the bumper crop is ready to be harvested.
Last week, Jacob and Jonathon were out skateboarding when a boy at the park fell and hurt himself. He didn't know where his mom worked so Jacob called us and we took him to the hospital. Cesar is fourteen and is now sporting a cast on his right arm. He lives very close to the mission and we're praying that God will use this contact as an opportunity to share the Gospel with him and his family. We want to say thanks to the faithful supporters and those who give as God leads, as we were able to pay for the vast majority of his medical expenses (the total cost was around $100).
Also on the medical front, one of the little girls in our mission had to have some dental work done. She was having a lot of pain when she tried to eat or drink, and the dentist found four cavities. We were able to get the worst one fixed and we'll be going back shortly to get the others taken care of.
Thanks for all of you who prayed for the Collins family during their most recent trip back. They ended up leaving the majority of their cargo at the border after spending all night in interrogation rooms. I believe everything is settled now, thanks to God! They're back home safely in Mexico.
And now the victory! We had all three of the baptism candidates show up, excited and ready to follow God. Plus, as we'd asked you to pray last week, we even had one extra. They all got baptized, we had tostadas, and everybody went home joyful! Thanks for doing your part.
We thank God for all of you. Every time that a need arises God has usually touched somebody's heart to take care of the financial aspect before we even know about it. By keeping your hearts "in tune" with God's promptings, you are an invaluable part of the team. Your prayer support is unwavering as we can tell by what goes on here. We can't say thank you enough. Even if it feels like your part is small, in God's eyes and our eyes, it's HUGE! God bless you all.
The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division
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Wednesday, October 18, 2006
[5:00 PM]
Psalm 96:8 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts.
Hello Everyone,
Want to read a great Psalm? Psalm 96 is an awesome day starter!
Last Saturday for discipleship, we were jammed packed full. We had a total of sixty people, half adults, half kids. There were thirty kids packed into an area 8'x12' (approx) space and happy to be there. We've discovered a character enhancing technique: when kids have no room to fidget, they behave very well. Hmmm, maybe we really don't need the other part of the building.... just kidding. Please pray with us that it's ready soon.
We should be picking up our brand-spanking-new, portable baptistry this afternoon. We are so excited about it, and not just us, but other pastors who have the same need as well. It's already been reserved for two other areas after we get finished with our own baptismal service Saturday. Praise the Lord for the faithful members of our home church who took up a special offering to meet this need. Pray for this to be ready today, and for it to be used many, many times in God's ministry here in Zacatecas.
Adding on to the baptism theme, please continue to pray with us for the three people who said they want to be baptized this weekend. We know that Satan will try very hard to dissuade them. Also pray that some of the others that are wavering about this decision will see them get baptized and decide that they also need to obey God in this step.
One of our faithful partners down here, Pastor Pepe, has had a spiritual break-through in one of the missions he has in a rancho. They'd been having problems with the "religious leader" in this area and that seems to have gone away. They had bought property and now they've constructed a temporary meeting place out of corrugated aluminum. They are anxiously waiting the use of the "brand-spanking-new, portable baptistry". We are planning on going with them the 28th of October for a (hopefully) baptismal service there.
As normal, it's not all high points here. This last week we had to break up a bunch of concrete to get at two water pipes about twelve foot long each that had holes rotted through them about every foot or so. But God is good. He has brought Brother Paul, a retired plumber, and Steve's dad, a handy-man that can do anything, to do all the brain work, and a lot of the brawn work. Then we had an old friend come over to replace the concrete. And, as always, God supplied the money needed to do this right on time.
We have some friends who are in a valley of decision right now. Sometimes our emotions and personal desires taint our decision making ability or cause our "spiritual ears" to go hard-of-hearing. Without mentioning their names, please be faithful in praying for them. Remember, "the fervent effectual prayer of a righteous man availeth much", and you do make a difference.
Thanks so much for doing your part for the work here in Mexico.
The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division
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Wednesday, October 11, 2006
[2:41 PM]
Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
Psalm 5:2
Hello Everybody,
We had a slower week again this week. We didn't have to travel to the border one time! In September we made three trips back and forth to Laredo.
Church went well this weekend. We have three people who have decided that they are ready to be baptized. That's exciting! Down here baptism is a HUGE step. It's not just being obedient to Christ, it's also slamming the door shut on the organized religion here. One of the girls was wavering, knowing she needed to be baptized but her father had told her that it was a sin. We reminded her that Jesus was baptized and asked her if He sinned by doing that. You could see the light bulb come on.
In other baptism news, Brother Jim was able to baptize eight believers this past Sunday in the church in Zacatecas. God is really moving here.
Tomorrow, Steve and Brother Paul, along with a national pastor and a deacon from another church will be heading to Durango, the state just north of us, to meet with a man who organizes church building projects here in Mexico. In the past, there was one missionary who told him we didn't need any of that kind of help here in Zacatecas. We are going to meet with him and try to share some of the vision and some of the needs here with the people that we work with. Right off the top of our heads, we know of five different works that need church buildings constructed. Please pray for us as we travel, and that the meeting goes as God has planned.
Steve's parents are heading this direction today. We're so grateful that they get to come down and spend some time. God is good.
The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division
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Wednesday, October 04, 2006
[2:53 PM]
Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. Psalm 119:90
Good Morning Everyone,
We had an interesting thing happen this past week. We went to our Bible study about three hours up in the mountains and had a baptismal service in a river. We were so happy about that, but that's not the interesting part. After the service we went to visit one of our people who couldn't come because of a big fair going on. We stuck around for a little bit and visited the fair, but that wasn't the interesting part either.
On the way out of town, the police were stopping everybody. They pulled us over and wanted our I.D. and wanted to know what we were doing there, etc. That's where it started to get interesting. The one policeman was suspicious and was giving us a difficult time when, out of the blue, another one came over. He looked inside the Jeep and saw Brother Paul (another missionary who is working with us), got a big smile and said, "Don! Que paso?" (Don is a term of deep respect for an older gentleman). It turns out that Paul had given him a Gospel and a tract the week before when we were over in Guadalupe knocking on doors and inviting people to study the Bible with us. Before that Paul had been a little unsure of his Spanish and was wondering if the people really understood him. This police officer told his partner that we were starting Bible studies in Guadalupe with hopes of building a church! He said, "Let them go, they're legit!" The other officer smiled and waved us on. Guadalupe is also about three hours from the point we met the officers. You never know how far things reach. Amen!
This week has calmed down a little bit for us. We were able to get some water pressure issues at our house resolved, praise the Lord!!! You can now take a shower upstairs without having to run around to get wet.
Monday we had to replace a window in the mission that was broken while our group was here. While there, our landlord informed us that the other part of the building should be available by the end of this month, two whole months ahead of schedule! In Mexico, this never happens. This should more than double the space we currently have. Right now we're having fifty-sixty people crammed into a place 12'x25' or so. It will be a blessing to allow everyone to breath as they will instead having to coordinate half of them inhaling while the other half exhales! Just kidding about that.
Thank you all so much for all that you do for the ministry here and for us. Thanks for praying, thanks for the encouraging letters, thanks for the financial support, and everything in between. God bless each and every one of you!
The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division
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