Dear Family and Friends,
So much has happened since we arrived in the US and wrote to you last in mid-June. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here visiting with family, friends, supporters, and churches. In addition to visiting, we have stayed quite busy! Katy has been working on getting everything “baby” collected, sorted and ready for Vanuatu. Craig has been planning his next Hebrew course for VISTA and also planning lessons for his part of orienting our new teammates (the Kopke and Weldy families) who should be arriving in Vanuatu soon. Elijah has had no shortage of attention from his 4 grandparents, 3 great-grandparents, and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends!
On July 27 at 3:25 pm, Baby Bennett #2 finally decided to make his entrance! Josiah Carlon Bennett arrived weighing 7 pounds, 8 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. He and Katy are both healthy and continuing to do well. Thank you so much for all of the prayers that you have lifted up on our behalf throughout this pregnancy, you all have truly blessed us. We are so excited to have Josiah in our arms and we can’t wait to introduce him to you if we haven’t already!
Above is our very first family photo as a family of 4! Elijah is thoroughly enjoying being a big brother and is very proud of Josiah, who he calls “my baby.” On the bottom left is a sleepy smile from Josiah and bottom right is Elijah enjoying a water slide at a recent church activity. |
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| Travel Plans-Your Prayers Are Needed! |
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| As you may remember, our plan is to leave the US on August 30 and arrive back in Vanuatu on September 1, giving us 3 weeks to adjust to the 16 hour time difference before the next module of the VISTA program begins. However, we are experiencing some difficulties that will likely result in a delay in our return to Vanuatu and we very much need your prayers.
We have recently learned that there is a delay in the processing of birth certificates here in Tennessee, and we have been told that acquiring a birth certificate for Josiah will probably take another 9 weeks from now, or possibly more. After learning this, we tried to acquire a passport for Josiah without yet having his birth certificate, but we have been unsuccessful; we cannot get a passport for Josiah to go to Vanuatu until we have his birth certificate. We are now trying to find a way to expedite the process of acquiring a birth certificate for Josiah. Please be in prayer for us as we work through this process. Please also pray that if we are delayed, we will be able to change our plane tickets with minimal expense. Lastly, please be in prayer for our spiritual and emotional health; it is both stressful and exhausting to be unsure of what is happening with our return to Vanuatu. We know that God is in control of this situation and that he will get us back to Vanuatu in His time, but waiting and uncertainty are hard! |
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| The second module of VISTA took place in June and was a success! Our students have now drafted Genesis 1-20 in their four languages! Between the first and second modules, the students were tasked with explaining to some of their friends and neighbors about the important work of Bible translation they will be doing. One translator from the Sa language reported back that some representatives had come from a village where their chief had previously burned Bibles, calling them “white man’s trash.” These representatives reported that the chief has since died and that they are eager to read the Bible in Sa! Praise God that people are ready and eager to read His Word! |
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| Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. God has been generous to us through you, his people, and has provided one-time gifts to PBT to cover all of our expenses related to our travel and Josiah’s birth! Thank you so much to all of you who prayed and gave. As for monthly operating expenses, our ministry is currently funded at about 75%. We welcome monthly, quarterly, yearly, and one-time gifts to Pioneer Bible Translators to make our ministry possible. You can find out more information below about how you can contribute. |
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The Word for the Month
Psalm 119:12-16
“Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statues as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” |
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Pioneer Bible Translators is accredited by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.
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Follow the link above and select “Teams,” then “Ministry of Bennett, Craig and Katy”
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Send a check to our forwarding agents:
Steve and Debbie Leach
623 Charlie Hicks Rd
Jonesborough, TN 37659
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| Pioneer Bible Translators exists to disciple the Bible-less, mobilizing God’s people to provide enduring access to God’s word. Our vision is to see transformed lives through God’s word in every langauge. |
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