Missionaries to Mexico | The Benedicts Blog

Weekly Update

2010-02-18T23:47:00.000-06:00

February 18, 2009

Good Morning Everyone,

Sorry it’s been so long between updates but we’ve been having lots of struggles with our internet service down here and we have been losing with great consistency. It has been a time full of blessings and struggles as usual. It’s been raining a lot, which is really strange for this time of year. Normally our rainy season is July/August, and then the rest of the year we don’t get hardly any.

In blessings, we’ve had two people accept Christ in the last couple of weeks, Lydia, our newest girl here at the children’s home, being one of them. The other is a young lady named, Yessi, whose mom Lola has been coming pretty faithfully for quite a while. One Saturday night after church was over and we were packing up the instruments and things, she came up and said she wanted to accept Christ. And then last Sunday we baptized six people! It was a lot of fun for that service, and Nathan, our son-in-law, got to baptize two of them. He doesn’t speak very much Spanish and all were a little nervous he might drown them while he was trying to remember the words, but he did great.

Another thing that was really exciting for us happened the other night. Azucena, our girl with the speech impediment, was in school talking to her teacher about what she believes. The teacher disagreed with her and said, “That’s not right, this is what the Bible says.” So Azucena replied, “Show me!” The teacher had no clue as where to look for anything to back up anything that she said, but Azucena knew what her beliefs where based on the Bible. We’re so proud of her that she didn’t let her speech impediment overshadow her ability to prove her position and be willing to stand up for it.

Our friend Shane E. from south of Guadalajara, brought his friend, Trevor, to the home to do some repairs for us. It was perfect timing as the starter had gone out on the Ford, and the Dodge was in severe need of a tune up. We had a broken water pipe, a broken toilet, as well as many other things, including Mary and Nathan’s car that needed repaired. They fixed everything, including setting up our generator so when we lose power (which happens quite often) we can go start up the generator and we’ll have lights in the house again. Thank you Shane and Trevor!

Now for the needs that you can pray about:

We need to waterproof the roof of the home. Whenever it rains, we’re having a lot of leaks and now we’re starting to have mildew growing on the walls. It’s going to cost around $400 to get everything covered and dry again.
We are working with the government of Jerez to pay our electric bill of about $500.
The Dodge needs a muffler as well as shocks.
The green Ford needs new tires.
Please pray that our internet starts working again!
Please pray for Nathan as he had two wisdom teeth removed yesterday and is scheduled to have two more removed today.

Please pray with us that God will meet each one of these needs quickly. I know that this is a lot, but we have confidence in your abilities to talk to God on our behalf. Thank you so much for all you do.

The Benedicts

Weekly Update

2010-01-13T10:05:00.000-06:00

Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Hello Everybody,

We want to start off with a huge thank-you to all who prayed and gave for the children's home over this past few weeks. Thanks to your giving and praying, the Children's Home is back in the black! We know that it was sacrificial giving because it was during the whole Christmas season, and you just don't know how much that means to us.

Speaking of the Christmas season, it was a wonderful time for the kids and us down here. We were able to enjoy tamales (a Mexican Christmas tradition) on the 24th, and ham and turkey dinner for the 25th (thanks Aunt Thelma). It was also extremely busy with the kids being out of school. Our workers had the time off, so for the most part it was just our family. We want to praise the Lord for Horacio and Fabiola, who were able to come out and take over the home for a couple of days and give us a much needed break. Thanks also to all of you who sent gifts for the kids. They had a blast and are still really enjoying what they got for Christmas. We had bought a few Christmas movies and thought that when the kids got tired of playing they could watch the movies instead. It was probably five days after Christmas before they watched the first one and they still haven't seen them all.

It has been cold! The cold snap that went through the southern U.S. hit us also. We didn't get any snow, but it's been hovering around 20 degrees at night. You might think, "That's no big deal", but keep in mind we don't have furnaces down here. During the day it gets up to about 60, and if you're out in the sun it feels nice. But at night, the kids are snuggling under two or three blankets and have to wear winter coats to school which, by the way was cancelled last week due to the cold snap. Strange, I think it's colder this week than last, but at least they're back in school. YAY!!!

The vehicles are all running, we're going to have to replace the shocks on the vans, but that's a minor detail here in Mexico. We are waiting on parts for two of our washing machines. We brought the machine back from our house so we still have two that are running.

We want to welcome back the Ibarra family to Jerez. Jesus Ibarra was born and raised here in the vicinity, and moved to the states many years ago. He and his wife Phyllis and two of their eight kids are back for a few months and we are so thankful to have them here. They're a blessing to us. Our daughter Mary, her husband Nathan, and baby Sam should be here by the end of the month. We're looking forward to having them here - actually we have plans to ask them to babysit for a couple of hours and then we'll sneak off and have a couple of weeks of vacation - shhhhhh, don't tell them. Just kidding.

There's a young man who has been coming to church named Armando. His mother, Lola, just got baptized this past fall. He has been coming now for about a month with his girlfriend and her two kids. He really pays attention and you can see the Holy Spirit working on him. Please pray that he'll accept Christ soon, and his girlfriend also.

Sorry it's been so long between updates, but it really has been a busy time for us. Thanks so much for all the prayers, for all the support, and for all you do to further the work here.

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-12-16T17:42:00.000-06:00

Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Hello Everyone,

We're writing today with heavy hearts. It seems like we'll never have a break. Our night helper, Chole and her family are having some problems and because of this, she felt like she needed some time off. Our day helper, Chela worked one day last week and hasn't been here at all this week. We're working day and night and it feels like we're dead in the water.

The finances at the children's home are running about a month behind. We have an electric bill due of almost $500. The Mazda is having some transmission problems to repair will be around $150 and we have no idea where this money will come from. If anybody would like to help out, but you think that only a couple of dollars won't help, just remember what Jesus did with five loaves and two fishes. For those of you who are regular givers, thanks so much for your faithfulness. You can send donations to:

TRRBC
Benedicts/orphanage
P.O. Box 1026
Branson West, MO 65737

We asked for special prayer for the kids here during the holiday season. This week, Juan (one of our newer kids) ran away from school. His teacher was scolding him for not getting his homework done and so he left. He came back later, but during his absence we were very worried. After talking with him his reason for leaving wasn't just about being in trouble, he was missing his family. He's better now, but please take seriously the kids' need for extra prayer support during this time.

We will be leaving Sunday afternoon to go to the border. Thankfully, Horacio and Fabiola will be staying with the kids so we will have an extra day and will be able to travel together. Please pray for no vehicle problems, safety on the roads, border crossing, meeting with others, etc.

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-12-10T12:51:00.003-06:00

Ephesians 3:20-21 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Hello Everybody,

Christmas season means Christmas cookies. Jacob baked and baked yesterday - roughly 250 cookies, then the kids spent the evening decorating them with Amber's help. Steve's part of the job was taste-tester and he gave his two-thumbs up.

Last Saturday evening we had the privilege of going to a small community about two hours away from here named Lobatos to participate in the 27th anniversary of the church. It was really good to see a church crowded. Steve was invited to be the guest speaker and afterward we ate gorditas with the congregation. Please pray for this church as they've been without a pastor for six years now.

Another urgent prayer request - please remember Horacio and Fabiola when you pray for the ministry here. They have a pretty big financial need concerning their house. The recession in the states has greatly affected the economy here also, and the price of everything has really shot up. We know that God is able and that He allows His children to go through these things to grow their faith in Him. Please pray for their peace of mind and that God will provide in a miraculous way to show them that He is their Provider.

Church services have been exceptionally enjoyable. We just finished up our study on l John last Wednesday evening, and had a wonderful time of discussion. We're changing our normal Wednesday night service on the 23rd to a Thursday night service for Christmas Eve. We're going to have a dinner (of course) and a piñata, and the rest is still in the planning stages. Hopefully our people will use the dinner, piñata and fun to invite their friends so that we'll be able to share a clear presentation of the Gospel with them.

Please remember to pray for us and all of our kids here. Christmas time can be very stressful as the families of the kids sometimes want to come visit, and that at times brings on a whole tidal wave of emotions for the kids and tons of stress for us! Please pray that God gives us wisdom in each and every situation. We're already exhausted, emotionally, physically, and mentally and sure do need the extra prayers.

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
México Division

Weekly Update

2009-12-02T11:08:00.001-06:00

Hello Everybody,

We're on day three with very, very limited water. It runs for about thirty minutes. Our cistern is dry and we still don't know when we'll be getting our normal water supply back. We had our pump break (that takes the water from the cistern to the tanks on the roof) so we had to move our laundry pump to replace it. Most of the day yesterday was spent trying to fix all of the water problems. Please take a minute right now to pray that we get water today. The dirty clothes are piling up, the kids can't bathe like normal and it's hard to justify making mop water when you can't even flush the toilets.

It's a cold morning, I had to scrape the windshields this morning and try to get the kids in jackets that are warmer (that's a big job). It's been a busy morning already.

Yesterday was the first of December so we put up the Christmas tree. We had a lot of fun. The kids all went through the line to get an ornament to put on the tree numerous times. The tree now has so many ornaments it probably qualifies for the heaviest Christmas tree in Mexico. We then had popcorn to top off the evening.

It looks like God has closed the door (at least for now) on us getting the new boy that we mentioned last week. Thanks for all of your prayer support on this as we know God doesn't make mistakes. We want to take this opportunity to thank you again for all of your prayer support. Knowing you guys are there lifting us up in prayer, keeps us going.

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-11-30T14:11:00.002-06:00

I Thes. 5:18 In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody,

While Thanksgiving is not celebrated here in Mexico, it doesn't mean we can't take a minute to tell you how thankful we are for all of you. We have some great prayer warriors out there and we know it and appreciate it. We want to thank all of you who give to this ministry also. We want to say we're thankful for our church family down here and the spiritual growth that we've seen. We're thankful for our family and all that they mean to us. We're grateful for our extended family (the kids here at the home). We're thankful that right now everybody's healthy! We give thanks that even in all the struggles and stress of day-to-day life, we have an eternal hope.

We had a group come visit from Lake Chapapla, which is a little south of Guadalajara to come do some odd jobs for us. Lake Chapapla is a mainly English speaking community, and we were so thankful for the help. They did some welding to repair our tables, which was so wonderful. Then, one of Jacob's skateboarding friends, who works at a welding shop, fixed a couple of seats for our tables, so all of our tables and seats are not only usable, but sturdier than ever. We went and bought some paint and they look great (even if we do say so ourselves). Praise the Lord for "fix-it" people.

We got a phone call yesterday about the possibility of us getting another 9-year-old boy. They we're getting ready to place this boy on behavior controlling drugs when Family Services from the state of Durango told them, "Before you do that, you might consider sending him to the children's home in Jerez. They've been having success without the medications." Praise the Lord for changing the lives of the medicated kids that we've received from them in such a way that we have this type of testimony with the state. Please pray for the will of God to be done in this situation.

December promises to be a very hectic month for us. We will be going to the border right before Christmas, and then, thanks to some wonderful folks in Alabama (the majority of whom we haven't even met) we will be coming back home to have Christmas with lots of presents for everyone here at the children's home. Please pray that God will keep us safe and sane throughout the holiday season.

Last, but not least, please really pray for the finances of the children's home. It is really struggling right now. We know God will make a way, He always does, and we don't want to appear as if we're begging, but if God lays it on your heart to give, please don't hesitate and lose the blessing that He has in store for you. Thanks again for all you do.

The Benedict Bunch
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-10-27T20:05:00.001-06:00

Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Hello Everybody,

Steve's mom and dad left today. Four weeks sure went by quickly! They are always such a blessing when they are here, willing to help out in any way they can. They did call to let us know they had made it back into the states at about 3:30. Dad was sick the last two or three days they were here, so please pray that he'll get better quickly, and that their travel goes well.

We want to praise the Lord for last Wednesday night at church, it was packed. We had to go find more chairs. Please pray for one of our members, Lola. She's the one who recently was baptized, and Satan is really wreaking havoc in her family. One of her daughters just got out of the hospital and another daughter is having problems as well. She's feeling a bit overwhelmed with all of this as you can imagine.

We had kind of a rough weekend this past weekend here at the children's home. We're not going to go into the details, but please really pray for our kids. And us.

We talked to Brother Sam Means the other day and they are planning on being down here between January and March of next year. Please pray that they will get all of their needed support quickly. We could sure use the help!

We want to thank all of you for your love and support for us and the ministry here. May God richly bless each and every one of you.

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-10-13T19:46:00.001-05:00

Luke 7:50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

Good Morning Everybody,

Another one of those Good News/Bad News weeks or two weeks as the case may be. We didn't get an update out last week as we were dealing with some issues stemming from a couple of kids running away. We had three who ran away, one of whom came back. That always creates a lot of stress, not just for us but also for the other kids in the home. However...

Out of that stress we had eight kids make professions of faith from little Brayan, age five, all the way to Alma, age sixteen. Alma was the first to ask if she could be baptized right away. Sunday we had our baptismal service and all eight of those plus Marivi, age 13, from the children's home were baptized along with a surprise. Steve announced all of those who are going to be baptized, please come forward and Lola, a lady who has been coming faithfully for six months, came forward also. She originally attended our home Bible studies almost six years ago and had made a profession of faith at that time but had fallen away. She has been very faithful since and it was such a joy to see her take that step of obedience.

In other good news, due to some extra gifts, we were able to get a new projector to replace the one that was stolen. Projectors have come a long way in the last few years and this one is only about a hundred times better than the one we had. God also provided a beautiful new guitar to replace one of those that was stolen. And to tell you how cool God is, Steve just happened to stop into a music store to ask the price of a case for the guitar when lo and behold right below the cases he saw one of the stolen instruments - an electric piano. He asked the guy where he got it from and informed him that it was stolen. After a quick look-see he also spotted the mandolin his electric/acoustic guitar and the other piano. The police came and confiscated the stolen instruments and hopefully Wednesday we'll have them back. No word on the other guitar, computer or projector, but God has provided for each one of those only way better than the originals that were stolen.

We have all of our vehicles running, all the washing machines washing, including one that we thought was unrepeatable, but after a few kicks (Steve's favorite repair method), laying on of hands (not very gently), several rinse cycles to get rid of built up soap, a few hours of frustration and many prayers it came back to life. We now have three large capacity washing machines that work. Makes getting things done much quicker.

Please pray for Juan, we've had him for a month. He's thirteen years old and in the sixth grade and after working with him for a while we discovered he couldn't read. After talking to the teacher, we put him back in first grade to learn to read and hopefully next year we'll be able to put him into a rapid-study home school course to get him back to his peer group soon. He was very embarrassed at first, but now that he's learning, he's much happier. He's also one that has gotten saved and baptized this week and we covet your prayers for this special young man.

Thank you to all of our faithful supporters without you this wouldn't be possible. Thanks to all who dug deep to send extra gifts to help replace those things that had been stolen. Many, many thanks to all of you who spend your precious time in prayer for us and these children who so desperately need it, you really mean so much to us.

Weekly Update

2009-09-29T10:31:00.001-05:00

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Hello Everybody,

A missionary's life might be a lot of things, but it's not boring! We just about changed the name of the children's home to the children's hospital last week. Out of thirty-six kids, we had three that didn't get sick between Wednesday and Sunday. Fever, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, … the fun never ends! We pulled all of the kids out of school the last part of last week to keep it from spreading further. Yesterday we had one who still wasn't able to attend school . We're still doling out Halls and cough medicine by the truckload it seems, but everyone seems to be doing a lot better.

So anyway, Monday morning we were feeling pretty good about ourselves. All but one back in school, life getting back to normal, until we got a phone call saying the church had been broken into again! This time they stole all the musical instruments, the computer, the LCD projector, and trashed the place pretty good. We went over to check it out and then got together with a couple of other people from church to discuss what we were going to do. We decided that it was time to get the police involved. But, you can't just go to the police and fill out a report. You have to go to the court house and make a statement to them (after standing in line for three decades). Thankfully, Fabiola, who is a lawyer, took it upon herself to get all the paperwork in order so that today Steve only had to spend two hours at the court house waiting to sign his name. We made a couple of phone calls and are very happy to say a computer is on the way to replace the one that was stolen. If anybody has an extra LCD projector, or any musical instruments (we lost two guitars, a mandolin, and two keyboards) sitting around and would like to donate it to a good home, let us know and we'll figure out how to get it here.

For those of you who know Azucena, we're happy to say she's now going to a new school that features speech therapy. She loves it, and we're just waiting (impatiently) for the results. Thanks to all of you who prayed for her.

Steve's mom and dad should be crossing the border sometime Wednesday or Thursday. Pray for traveling mercies for them and the dill pickles that they're bringing with them.

We know there must have been a lot of you praying for us last week because with all of the fevers, sore throats, vomiting, and the grumpy kids and the extra work, we didn't kill anybody! We winged a couple of them, but those little buggers are fast, even when they're sick. Thanks so much for all the extra prayers this week. We sure couldn't do it without you.

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-09-22T13:58:00.000-05:00

Psalm 34:22 The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

Good Morning,

Sorry about no update last week, we were running a little crazy. Lily had her big 15th birthday party, and we had basically one week to get everything together for it. To put that in perspective, try planning a wedding in five days... and getting thirty-five other kids ready to participate in it at the same time. The cake, the dresses, the clothes for the new kids, all the ironing, the haircuts, preparation of food, invitations, cosmetology appointments, all added into our normally "dull" schedule, it was a little hectic! But thanks to the help of some of our people in church, and the good spirits of our kids, it came off beautifully. We've posted pictures of the quince on our face book page. If you'd like to see them, you can add us as a friend if you haven't already. We are Steve-Amber Benedict.

We have been doing some studies on the "I Am's" of the Bible. When we got to "I am the Good Shepherd", it seemed like a great opportunity to study Psalm 23. When you really look at what is behind the theme, and all of the "pictures", it's an amazing depiction of our sheer helplessness without God leading us, protecting us, and providing for us. It's been really good.

The Dodge van is still in the shop, and will be there for at least another week it looks like. But, praise the Lord, the rest of the vehicles are all working! We were also able to purchase a new washing machine yesterday (a big thank you to those who gave for that) and it's a beauty. It's supposed to be a lot more energy efficient and use a lot less water, which is always a good thing. We're waiting on a part for the other big washing machine, which can only be found in the United States. Steve's mom and dad will be coming down with it sometime next week(please pray for their traveling). We'll not know what to do with ourselves having two big, functioning, washing machines.

Once again we have a new infirmity passing through the children's home - well, actually two. The first is, it's cold season. Amber's got it the worst and there are a couple of others who are battling it as well. Then, yesterday Azucena came home from school with a sore throat and fever and has now passed that on to Margarita. We are thinking that if we ever get the kids all healthy, we are going to buy a giant plastic bubble...

Jon decided this year that he wants to go to school with the rest of the kids, and so he has to do a bunch of placement exams over the next four to six weeks. Please pray for him as he has to learn eight years of Mexican history and lots of scientific terms in Spanish over the next few weeks. We're sure he'll do fine, what with all of his studying efforts and all of the extra prayer support.

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-09-09T08:11:00.001-05:00

Psalm 42:11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Hello Everybody,

Steve made it back home Sunday night. He took a train from New Orleans to Houston and spent the night there. He was going to take a bus from Houston back home but a good friend of ours who does a lot of missions trips, Dr. Silkey, was heading out to Guadalajara to do a missions trip and swung by and picked up Steve and brought him home. Brother Horacio took over preaching while Steve was gone, and his wife Fabiola cooked. We're so thankful for this family who are always looking for a way to help.

The Chicken Pox and the stomach virus seem to both be tapering off. At one point it seemed like everyone was either catching, in the middle of or getting over one or the other. Thank the Lord it seems like that is on the down swing.

Last week at one point, all the vehicles were out of service. Last week at one point, all the washing machines were out of service. We now have two vehicles in the shop and two that run (sort of, not real well). We have our big washing machine in the shop which is going to cost $120. We got one out of the shop that cost $40 to repair. Our personal washing machine (which we have been using here at the Home) goes to the shop next, as it only has one cycle that operates. Then, after that, we are going to have them look at a washing machine that has been out here for years to see if it is worth the money and effort to be fixed.

In good news, the van that was in the accident is only going to cost about $600 to get it back on the road again. The original estimate was $1,000 more, not including the parts. Thank God we checked around.

Sometime this week, Steve has to go to the house and break up the sidewalk in front to fix a leaking pipe. He plans on using the seemingly endless energy of some of the older boys. This falls into the category of "really-not-qualified-to-do", but we'll muddle through somehow.

With the Means family and Mary and Nathan planning on being here next January, we are contemplating taking a trip to the United States to promote the Children's Home, probably April/May time frame. Right now we can count on receiving $1,600-$2,000 per month. The problem is that it takes around $3,500 to run this the way we believe God would have it to be run. God has always provided and we're not doubting His ability but we feel like this is something that needs to be done. If your church would be interested in having us come and present the work, please let us know and we'll try to get a schedule together that will accommodate everyone.

We have another quinceñera (15th birthday party) coming up next week for Lili and we haven't been able to even get started due to washing machines, vehicles, etc. robbing us of both time and money. Please pray that this will go off as well as Mayra's. If anyone would like to give to this specific need (or any of the others) please send us an e-mail.

Please keep the prayers going. Sometimes it gets more than a little overwhelming (especially when it seems like everything is breaking or falling apart) but knowing that you are there holding us up in prayer is a huge comfort.

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

2009-09-02T12:36:00.001-05:00

Mark 9:36 And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, 37 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.

Hello Everyone,

I was beginning to wonder if we'd get an update out today or not. We just got our power turned back on about an hour ago. We had a storm in the evening and the lights were off. That meant we had to get everyone ready for school by candlelight. It's been raining since Sunday.

Last week we told you about our new kids Alma and Jose the siblings of Juan. By way of an update on them, they are doing wonderful. Juan is now off all of his meds and he is such a great kid, we really love him.

Steve is in Mississippi visiting with Alie and our granddaughter Cadence. Alie's husband left a couple of weeks ago for Afghanistan and Steve still hadn't had the chance to meet Cadence so he caught a ride back to the states with Mary and Nathan. Sunday, as they were on their way to Alie's, she had an accident (Alie and the baby are fine). She's having issues getting her insurance to take care of things so it's a good thing Steve's there in case someone has to get ugly.

Speaking of accidents, yesterday Jacob had an accident while taking Ricardo to school. As a result, our Dodge van is not in use. I'm not sure how long it will take to get the repairs done or how much it will cost, but by the looks of things it could be a pretty long time. Both of the boys are fine. The Mazda is still in the shop and the white Ford van won't start. Ahh, the life of a missionary. In all of this, we're learning to be thankful for what we do have (this is Jacob's sentence). I really don't like driving the green van, but I'm very thankful to have the green van to drive. It's the only thing that's drivable at this point. We really need a vehicle (or the finances to get one), preferably a small truck that gets decent gas mileage, it would be better if it were a club cab. Above all else, please pray that we can hold the fort, while waiting for the captain's return (this is Jacob's sentence also).

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-08-27T14:38:00.000-05:00

Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Hello Everyone,

We have a couple of big praises, their names are Alma and Jose Guadalupe. They were brought to us yesterday and are the siblings of Juan Antonio who we received last week. So far they've been all smiles. We had a few struggles with Juan (as we expected - thanks for all the prayers) but now he seems very content. As our pastor's wife put it, "I think your quiver is full". At this point, I would tend to agree with her.

So that was the good news, now onto the not-so-good news. We've basically been out of water for the last four or five days. The laundry has taken twice as long as usual and now the big washer is not acting very well at all. The small washer has had to compensate and I'm not sure how long it will last at that rate. Please pray the water and washing machine will start acting right and we'll have no more issues with it.

There seems to be a bug going around which has left us short on help a few days this week and now it seems that Steve has caught it. He was up all night and is still feeling miserable today... we'll spare you all the details. Please pray this will pass soon and that his electrolytes will get back into balance.

So far we have no word on the Mazda. It's still with the mechanic and he's still looking for the parts.

Please remember us in your prayers throughout the week we really need all the support we can get. Thank you ahead of time for this.

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-08-24T14:35:00.001-05:00

Psa 48:14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

Hello Everybody,

Normally we try to get our updates out a little earlier than this but we were still waiting for some information. It's been a week full of decision making, for which we feel like we're under-qualified sometimes.

First off, the Mazda, which we thought was repaired last week stopped working again. It needed a new fuel pump at the cost of $150 for the pump and the labor. We went ahead and got that done. We knew that that was going to be a problem, but what we didn't know was that after that the timing gear has a couple of teeth that are worn badly and now that needs to be replaced also. For all the parts and labor we're looking at about another $200. Every time we have a repair to make on this truck, we wonder if we've come to the point where it's more cost than it's worth. The motor has been pretty much rebuilt except for the timing gear, and now it has a new fuel pump and new tires, but we've also put $800 into repairs in the last year, not including the new tires. We only had it really available to us (because of all the repairs and waiting for finances to fix it) in the last year about three to four months. It's a huge asset because we have to take our own trash to the dump as well as hauling other stuff, not to mention the only other vehicles we have are fifteen passenger vans which drink gas like pastors drink coffee. We're just not sure, at this point, what the right decision is, but we told the mechanic we'd let him know tomorrow what we'd be doing with it. Please pray for wisdom for us, and if anyone has a suggestion, please feel free to send it along. We are definitely NOT mechanics.

In a chicken pox update, we've had a total of eight children break out, with the worst case being Mayra, whose face was completely distorted by them. She also had them in her mouth and throat. She's been basically bed-ridden since last Friday, but it seems like they're starting to clear up now. Margarita, who we asked you to pray for last week, has had no more fever. Thank you so much for praying.

We have had a real need for shoes come up. Over the summer it's not that big of a deal. They can wear sandals, flip-flops, etc., but with school getting ready to start next week, we have some kids who are in dire straights. And wouldn't you know, God sent along a man at just the right time who wanted to buy a bunch of metal that was just sitting around. We had no idea what the value of it was so we told him to give us a fair price. "Don't rob us, we won't rob you!" This was a guy who has known of us for the past six years since we moved down here. His house was just a few blocks from us. After talking about it, we decided if we could get $200 out of it we could use it to buy the shoes we HAD to have, as the children's home is broke. He called back a few hours later and said that he had the chance to go look at it with a welder and offered us about $600. We'll be getting some new shoes before the weekend as school starts Monday.

In other really good news, we have a new 11-year-old girl, who came to live with us Saturday named Lupita. She had been living with her abusive father (according to mom)who last week took her to the DIF in Zacatecas to renounce all parental rights. They got in touch with her mother, who has two more babies, and she decided she didn't want this added responsibility. Probably what happened is the father of the other two is a different guy who didn't want the daughter of another man in the house... a lot more common than you'd imagine. DIF gave her our contact information and she brought her to us. She told us, "This girl is very rebellious!", but so far, she's been just about perfect. She adjusted immediately to living with all the kids and has been eager to help, she's excited about going back to school, and we just can't wait until she gets saved.

DIF in Durango, a state to the north of us (who has brought us other children in the past) wants to bring over another child. He's fourteen years old and, according to the psychiatric reports, is is severely anti-social, has low self-esteem, a lot of depression, and acts out inappropriately. This is another one of those difficult decisions. After talking to the lawyer, and her talking to the boy, he said he'd like to try to start over, so we told them that he could come. Karina and Neftali both came to us as very troubled kids with these same types of problems and God has changed them to be absolutely wonderful. It's always hard to know what to do in a situation when the kids are a little older. You don't want to disrupt or endanger everybodyelse's life for the sake of a stranger, but when you look at some of the success that God has had with some of the older kids we have taken in it's hard not to give a chance to somebody who wants one. We have a pretty good idea of how the state run homes work... drug them up, if they're not compliant therefore the majority of the kids are on behavior controling drugs. Of course, with the drugs, comes bad side effects. All this is to say, we feel completely under-qualified to make this decision and would ask that you would pray that if God wants him here that He will bring him but if it's not in His plan that He will stop this. We're going to put out the "Welcome Mat" and wait for God to open or shut the door.

Lots of things to pray about, lots of decisions to make and all we're looking for is God's will. We'll also take advice if you have some to share!

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-08-12T11:50:00.002-05:00

2 Samuel 22:2-3 And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in Him will I trust: He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior; thou savest me from violence.

Good Morning Everybody,

Well it's been a week! We were able to get away for a few days thanks to the Means family coming down and taking over the home, giving us a much-needed break. We had most of our family here, Sam, Tom, Mary, her husband Nathan, and the baby, Jake and Jon and we went to Guadalajara for a couple of days. It was very good. Now Sam and Tom are back in the states preparing for school. We'll still have Mary, Nate and baby Sam for a few more days.

While we were in Guadalajara we received some phone calls that someone was making some threats against the home. We don't think it was serious, but please remember to keep us in your prayers. All in all, God is in control and we're content with that.

Ricardo has started high school already, as of the 3rd of August. He's really enjoying it, but it means a couple of extra trips into to town right now, which means more $$$ in gas. We just had to have the Mazda (the little truck) repaired, and both vans need fuel pumps. Brother Sam Means just had to have some work done on his truck while he was down here. Mexico can be hard on vehicles.

Chicken Pox seems to be making a nice leisurely tour through the home here. As soon as one gets finished someone else breaks out. Right now Margarita is the current victim and she is running a pretty high fever. Please pray that we will be able to keep it under control. She seems to run higher fevers when she gets sick. Last time we had to hospitalize her when her fever was around 105 for almost a whole day before they could finally bring it down. That's pretty scary.

Please remember the Means family in your prayers as they will be heading back to the states to continue their deputation this weekend. Carrie Means is also getting ready to take her mid-wife exam and could use tons of prayer support in that area. Mary and Nathan will be here a little while longer and then will return to Florida to get things in order to come back here as missionaries in January also. If your church is looking to take good folks on for their missions program, either one of these families we can vouch for. For those of you who are supporting us in this ministry, we want to say thank you so much. We have lost some support, more than likely due to the economy, but God is able. He still has all of His resources.

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-07-30T11:53:00.000-05:00

Matthew 5: 19 And He saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Good Afternoon Everybody,

It's been a good week, for most of us. We had only one minor incident with Cristian, an 11-year-old boy here in the Home who decided to go fishing. He took his line and hooks and everything down to the dam and planned to have a great time. He came back a short while later in tears with a fish hook hanging from his lip. Amber had to push it the rest of the way through and cut the barb off (thank God for Orajel). A few minutes later we threw him back with the rest of the kids (we're firm believers in catch and release). Now he has a new nickname,... Fish.

We've had quite a few visitors over the last week or so. Brother Jim Collins, who was a missionary down here and is now pastoring a church in Alabama, came over here with a group who was putting on a VBS in Zacatecas City. This morning he and Pastor Bob Hodges repaired the starter on the old green Ford van. Now we just have three fuel pumps to replace and all the vehicles should be in pretty fair shape, for the shape they're in.

Brad and Penny Gathright came in yesterday... oops, news story... we had a foot of hail/snow fall yesterday between the airport and Jerez. Jacob had gone to pick up Brad and Penny and got caught in the storm. We saw pictures and it looked just like a snow storm from back home. There was a truck that had gone off the road and was burried up to it's axles in it. But we digress, Brad and Penny are (at this moment) painting OUR bedroom which was a hideous mud and red combination. We opted for something a little more nuetral in a shade of beige.

Sunday, Amber will be heading to San Antonio to return Tuesday with Jon, Thomas, Mary, her husband Nathan and baby Sam. Thomas will then be heading back to the states with big Sam in a week, and Mary, Nathan, and baby Sam will be staying for a couple of weeks after that. It'll be good to have them around.

Please pray for the Means family as they'll be coming down this weekend to stay for a couple of weeks to give us some family time. Pray that they'll have safety as they travel. This is the family that will be coming here in January to live and work with us.

Thanks for all you do for us. Thanks for the continued prayer support as well as financial support, as we couldn't continue here without you all.

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-07-22T16:02:00.000-05:00

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

Good Afternoon Everybody,

We got a facelift last week! Well, not us, but the children's home (don't look so disappointed, maybe Steve'll be next). We had two groups from Alabama come in and paint. Missy Caddis and the group that she brought down were able to come in and knock out the TV area, much to Amber's delight. Some of you have seen it, but for those of you who haven't it was painted a dark grayish/brownish color (like mud) and now it's blue. The other group was really two families, Eric and Wendy Carr, and Tony and Tanya Smith. They were here for a week and painted the kitchen and the other area opposite the TV. They also gave us a much-needed, two-day semi-vacation where we actually stayed at our own hous! I think that makes a total of ten nights we've spent in our own home in the last year. They did a great job, none of the kids died or anything! Maybe we should leave them in charge more often, as they didn't even have to make one trip to the hospital. We had a great time and are very thankful for all the painters and child care providers.

The kids are now enjoying their summer vacation, and at this moment Anna (one of our beautician friends) is cutting hair. It's quite a community thing, one gets a haircut and all the rest watch and laugh. You have to have thick skin and a good sense of humor when you're the one in the chair, but they always wind up looking great. We're so blessed to have folks from the area come in just to help.

Please continue to pray for Gizel. She still hasn't been able to come back to church but, according to her aunt and cousins, she's still happy with her decision. It's hard to see a fifteen-year-old go through the family persecution, but it's exciting to hear good reports about her. She told her aunt that she thinks it won't be very much longer until she's able to come back to church.

Amber made it back from Mississippi and her visit with the prettiest granddaughter in the world (according to her). It's too bad for all the rest of you grandparents out there as we have now cornered the market on the best looking grandbabies. Ever. In the history of man-kind. And, no we're not prejudiced, what would ever make you even think that?

On a serious note, we really want to say thank you to all of you who are so faithful. We know that the economy is tough and that lots of folks are going through rough times and yet through it, you remain dedicated to this ministry. Please know that you're in our prayers, that you will remain stedfast, umoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-07-01T15:43:00.001-05:00

Proverbs 17:6 Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.

Hello Everybody,

We are grandparents once again! Alison gave birth to a daughter, Cadence Elizabeth Monday at 9:15 a.m., weighing 7 lbs. 4 ounces, and 21 inches long. The baby is fine but Alie had a few complications. Everything seems to be back on track now. Amber will be heading out tomorrow night by bus to spend a few days playing keep-away from Alie with the baby. She'll be returning with two couples from Alabama. Please keep her and them in your prayers as they travel.

Karina is already out of her cast after only four weeks. God healed her up quickly, and she's already walking. She still uses her crutches as a security blanket, but we'll be weaning her off of those during the next week. Thanks for all your prayers for her.

Some of the older kids have been busy door knocking throughout our little rancho. They were giving out tracts and, when they had the opportunity, they were sharing the gospel. Yesterday, they had five people make professions of faith. They came back singing at the top of their lungs, happy as could be. Pretty cool. Hopefully we'll be doing some follow-up Bible studies here in the home.

Thank you so much for your faithful prayer and financial support. We couldn't continue to do the work here without you all. You are a blessing to us!

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-06-23T20:24:00.000-05:00

Psalm 112:1 Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in His commandments.

Good Morning Everybody,

Good news, bad news,... good news, bad news... which shall we start with? Let's start with the good news.

We had a good trip to the border and back again last week, thank you to all who prayed. Of course, no Benedict traveling is completely without incident. The gas guage on our van doesn't work correctly which is normally not a problem, we know that when it shows about 1/2 a tank it's usually empty. The van decided to play a little game with us, and when we were an hour from being home (the gas guage at 3/4 of a tank) driving along without a care in the world, all of the sudden the engine stopped. Being old hands at this (and with our discerning spirits, HA!), it didn't take but a few seconds for us to figure out the problem. In less than five minutes a taxi passed and Steve caught a ride to the nearest gas station and back. They had no gas cans, so he had to buy one-gallon water bottles, drain them, and then fill them up with gas. Taxi ride, a cut-in-half coke bottle for a funnel, water bottles filled with gas, and within twenty minutes we were back on the road. If that's the worst thing that happens on one of our trips, we do clap our hands and dance around like little kids. We brought back lots and lots of stuff, thanks to Missy Caddis and her church in Alabama.

About a week-and-a-half ago, after church service, a fifteen-year-old girl named Gizel came up to talk to Steve. She said she really wanted to be saved, but that her parents were dead set against it. He talked to her about knowing she was a sinner and that being a Christian is a decision you make in your heart and if she really believed that Jesus paid the price for her sin and was the ONLY way to Heaven, she said, "I believe all of that, and I want to follow only Jesus." Steve told her, "Then you've made the decision in your heart already the only thing left is to confess that you've made this decision." They talked about the fact that being a Christian isn't easy and it can cause a lot of friction in the families. Jesus said that would happen. She left the church very happy, secure in her salvation, and went home to tell her family. She hasn't been able to come back to church since. She was able to pass a letter to one of the girls here at the home stating that she was happy, and just waiting for her family to give her permission to go back to church. Please pray for Gizel that she'll remain strong and that through her her family will also give their lives to Jesus. Gizel has been attending church for over two years now, and when we have our church contests, she is always one of the top memorizers of scripture. She has close to eight hundred verses in her memory that the Holy Spirit can help her use in this battle.

Now the bad news The church was broken into, and while they left all the instruments and electronics, they did know exactly where we kept the money locked up. They cut the lock and got away with around four thousand Pesos (aprox. $400 American dollars) Please pray that God will provide as the rent and the electric bill are both due. Please pray that in some way God will use this to reach the theives, and that He'll help us teach the church members that He's still in control and that this didn't take Him by surprise, and that He has a plan for the church through all of this. Thank you!

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Crist,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-06-12T11:07:00.001-05:00

Psalm 121:8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Good Morning Everyone,

As the verse above indicates, we are going out and coming in (again!) in the next few days. We will be leaving Sunday to go to San Antonio, with plans to return Tuesday. We will be meeting Missy and Collins Caddis from Alabama, who are bringing a load of goodies for the Home, as well as saying good-bye to Jonathon for a month-and-a-half or so. He'll be flying to Florida, then later on to Michigan to visit with Grandma & Grandpa. Please pray for all of us that God will grant safety and security, and that there will be no problems, vehicle, border, or otherwise. Thanks in advance.

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-06-03T11:57:00.004-05:00

Colossians 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him.

Good Morning Everybody,

It's been a crazy week again. Karina was in the hospital last week until 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, so Amber had hardly gotten any rest. Thursday was spent preparing for Mayra's Quince on Saturday. Friday we had to go to Zacatecas city, about an hours drive, because the home was running out of everything and we had to go to Sam's club. Amber and I got up bright and early, after our night help (Chole) agreed to stay a little later that morning, to head out. Samuel was going to pick up Chela (our day help), drop her off at the home, and take Chole home. Unfortunately Chela couldn't come to work that day (of course), so Sam headed out to the home to help Chole. Thinks never go as planned here. The truck broke down about a mile from the home (of course). He called Jacob, who took off on the three-wheeler to go rescue Sam, he got there fine, and when they turned around to come back to the home, the three-wheeler died (of course). So they got to push it up on the hills and straight-aways and then hopped on to coast on the few down-hill parts.

Saturday, the day of the party, Amber got up early and took the girls in to Anna's house (a friend of ours who volunteered to do their hair). Amber had spent the past few days (that she wasn't in the hospital with Karina, or in Zacatecas) gathering clothes for our kids. It was really cool the way God provided the dresses for the girls and the suits for the older boys and everything else that was needed to dress the kids properly. She had left the dresses for the girls at our house in town, so that they wouldn't get stained up, wrinkled, or be a temptation to be touched too much. The plan was they would get their hair done, go to the house to get into their dresses, and then Samuel would take them to the party (piece of cake right?). Then comes the glitch. Karina, upon arrival at Anna's house, said she was sick to her stomach and needed to throw-up. Amber quickly looked around, spotted a bathroom, and asked Anna if Karina could use it. Nope, doesn't work (of course). Karina had at this point a little over two days of practice using crutches, and had to make it up two flights of stairs to the other bathroom (of course). She made it, yippee! Afterwards, she started coming down the stairs, got dizzy, fell backwards and rode her backside all the way down the steps. That made her stomach, which apparently wanted to be the star of the show, decide to get into the act again and she threw up all over the place (of course). There's nothing like kids to keep you humble.

Amber had to take Karina back to our house to get her all bathed and cleaned up again. Karina was so out of it that she would fall asleep for ten or fifteen minutes, wake-up, declare she felt fine, throw-up, and go back to sleep. The party was supposed to start at 4:00 p.m., the boys were there, the majority of the guests were there, but Amber had to take Karina to the doctor. Samuel took Amber and Karina to the hospital, put the rest of the girls in the van, and went to pick up a couple of more people. When he stopped to pick up the last guest, the van overheated (of course). Jacob (our version of the Lone Ranger/Batman/Rin-Tin-Tin) to the rescue again, and this time they didn't even wind up having to push their rescue vehicle.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Amber had Karina and Wendy (our little three-year-old) with her. Karina was feeling lousy, and Wendy was mad. She sat there and wouldn't say anything. Amber finally realized she had a mouthful of candy that Anna had given her and that she didn't like. She didn't want to swallow it and didn't know where to spit it out, so she just held it in her mouth for at least 30 minutes. Amber took her to the bathroom to spit it out and as soon as her mouth was empty she announced she had to use the bathroom. She wasn't a split-second to early. Finally, a disaster averted! Things were looking up. She asked why she was so mad, and she informed Amber that when Sam had left her at Anna's house to get her hair done, he had told her that he'd be right back. It took him over and hour to return, which in three-year-old time is equivilent to about three months apparently.

We had decided we'd wait for Amber because she had an important part in the ceremony and we had the room rented until late that evening. When Amber and Wendy exited the bathroom, Karina announced that she really was better this time and she looked better and hadn't vomitted for a while so we decided to risk it. At about 4:45p.m., Amber called Sam to pick them up at the hospital and they arrived at the party (only about an hour late, which in Mexico is "No problem"). Sam apologized to Wendy (don't even try to explain vehicle problems, vomit problems, etc. to a three-year-old, they don't want to hear it!), and they made up.

The celebration was wonderful, the service part went off perfectly. The food was delicious with only a minor preoccupation as to the quantity, as we had planned for between 80-100 people and had around 140 show up. But everybody ate, we had cake, and most importantly, Brother Horacio was able to share the gospel with all during the service part.

We get to do this all over again in September. Are we ever looking forward to that (dripping with sarcasm)! Thanks to all who gave for this, prayed for this, and to those of you who support every part of the ministry down here. May God richly bless you. By the way, anybody know where we can get a good "Help Wanted" sign? Long hours, low pay, and you get to clean up vomit, who wouldn't want a job like this?

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

P.S. All the vehicles are running again, even the three-wheeler which had only run out of gas!

Weekly Update

2009-05-27T12:02:00.000-05:00

Galations 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Good Morning Everyone,

Thanks to the wonders of socialized medicine, Karina, who broke her leg Friday and was scheduled for surgery on Monday, finally had her operation late last night. They had to go buy the pin, and then wait for the doctor to make it to the hospital. She did come through it fine, but is in a lot of pain this morning. If they can get the pain managed she'll be home tonight.

Please pray for Amber as well. She has been at the hospital since Karina was admitted Monday afternoon. Someone has to stay with the patient at all times here, to help them to the bathroom, get them drinks, etc. She got to sleep in an unused bed in the ward Monday night, but last night had to sleep on a small cushion on the floor. They won't let us bring in a blanket or pillow for her, so she gets all bundled up in sweatshirts and jackets to try to stay warm (it gets pretty cool at night), and then gets to doze in between the nurses coming in to check blood pressure, IVs, pulses, and so forth. Monday night, there was no one else in the ward, but of course they moved a brand new baby in yesterday. He was crying on and off the whole night. Needless to say, both Amber and Karina are anxious to come home.

The Children's Home keeps taking hits. We lost our oldest boy, Daniel, this past weekend. Girl troubles, mom came back to Jerez after 7 years, little brother on drugs and flirting with gangs, and just being almost seventeen years-old. He feels like he can make things better for them if he's there, and at 17, he thinks he knows everything about everything. Please continue to pray for him. He was a real leader and took on a lot of responsibility here, and we will miss him. The first day after he left, things were really quiet around the home, but yesterday was wonderful. Everyone was happy, content, and you can feel the new-found peace in the home. God always knows what is best and works things out.

Saturday is the big quinceniera (15th birthday celebration) for Mayra. We want to say thanks to all who gave for this event, and next week we'll try to send pictures. The church people are also so excited, and many are really going to be involved in making this day special for Mayra.

Thanks to all of you for all you do for the ministry here. I want you to know that we pray for you also, and expect God to richly reward you for your labors and sacrifices, if not here, then when you finish your work here and get to go home to be with Him.

The Benedict Bunch
Co-Laborers in Christ
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-05-19T10:29:00.001-05:00

Psalm 104:31 The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.

Good Morning Everyone,

It's been a little bit since our last update so lets take a few minutes and fill in. The kids were off of school for the past three weeks for this swine flu thing. During those three weeks, we had to take one child to the hospital for a super high fever (not the flu), one for stitches in her heal as she stepped on a sharp stone while wading, and one little boy decided to play with a field rat that he'd found which promptly bit him on the finger. They finally went back to school yesterday and were very happy about it and we're happy too. Hopefully life will get back to normal soon.

Our oldest son, Samuel, made it in last Friday. He will be staying with us for the summer and will be helping out both at the home and at the church. The kids have had him out playing soccer every day since he's been here and he's learning about some muscle groups that he had forgotten he had. It's good to have him home.

We had to take one of our kids back to live with her grandparents last week. She was twelve years old and said she just couldn't live with the rules of the home. Most of the rules were okay, but she thought it wasn't fair that she couldn't have a boyfriend living in the same home with her. It's sad when something like this happens, but the spirit of the home has improved since she left.

Please pray for us today, we have a very difficult decision to make concerning one of our workers. She doesn't seem to want to support our rules and has been encouraging the kids to do things they're not allowed to do when we're not around. We gave her a week off without pay to think about things, but during this time we've learned about some other things that she's doing to undermine the stability of the home. We'll be talking to her this evening and unless God leads in another direction, we'll be letting her go. Pray that God will make our path perfectly clear and that through this the ministry will become stronger.

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-04-22T10:26:00.002-05:00

Job 13:16 He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.

Hello Everyone,

It's been a while since we were able to send out a regular update as one of us has been traveling and the other one has been swamped for the last four weeks. We're back together now, safe and sound, although I'm not sure how sound mentally we are. Steve got home Friday morning, and Saturday we got to spend the night at the hospital with our ten-year-old, Margarita. Here in Mexico, when you go to the hospital, someone has to be with you 24/7. It's quite different than in the states. She was released Sunday evening.

Today, our friend Brother Paul came out to the home and hooked up our hot water heater to a pump. We have fabulous water pressure now! It was so slow that it wouldn't come out all of the holes in the shower head before. The kids are the cleanest we've seen them in quite a while. They're really enjoying it.

Next month we have a huge celebration coming up. For teen-age girls, when they turn fifteen, it is like their entrance into womanhood. They have a celebration that rivals most weddings with fancy dresses, flowers, specific gifts, and food for family and friends after the ceremony. It's going to cost quite a bit, but culturally it is extremely important. We don't want our kids to lose their culture or to feel like they're not important enough to have this luxury. If any of you would like to give towards this special event, please respond to this e-mail and we'll let you know how you can be involved in making Mayra's biggest day into something really special and memorable.

Today we lost two and gained one. Two boys who got their first visit from their family yesterday ran away. It's a lot of pressure and a lot of stress every time that they see family, and it was just too much for them apparently. But, on the brighter side, we took in 13-year-old Mari. She seems to have a very sweet spirit and it appears that she has already found her niche with the other kids.

Thanks for taking time to meet with us through these updates and thank you for all the prayers and support that you so graciously extend for us.

The Benedicts
Co-Laborers in Christ,
Mexico Division

Weekly Update

2009-04-02T14:21:00.001-06:00

Hello Everyone,

Just a quick update to ask for prayer support for Amber, Jake & Jon as they travel back home today and tomorrow. They should be crossing the border sometime in the morning on Friday. Please pray that they will have no problems and for their safety on the road.

Also, tomorrow morning I will be leaving to go see my grandson. Please pray for me also.

My mom & dad have been helping out at the home and it sure has been a blessing to have them here. They will be staying until I get back in two weeks. Mom has been baking cookies, cinnamon rolls, she's been helping keep the place clean and playing with the kids. Dad has been working on lots of projects, one of them was to connect hose to the washing machines and running it underground out to the back of the property so it can disperse. It sure smells a lot better without having the standing water up close to the home.

Please pray for the church services while I am gone also. Daniel (16 y/o) is going to be preaching Wednesdays, Jon (13, my son) will be taking the Saturday services, and Horacio (a man in the church) will be taking Sundays. Please pray that the people will be faithful.

Thanks for all you do for us down here.

Steve