Happy Anniversary, Pastor and Mrs. Benefield and the Sequoia Baptist Church

My mom and dad in their early days of ministry at Sequoia Baptist Church

36 years ago my parents moved to Visalia, California, to start the Sequoia Baptist Church. They had four children ranging in age from infancy through 5 years old. I was three. This past Sunday, Sequoia Baptist Church celebrated her 36th Anniversary. My dad is still faithfully preaching the Word of God. My mom is still faithfully serving by his side. Their steadfastness for the Lord has been a great inspiration to me, and I count both of them among my heroes.

Year In Review - 2012

© Back_me | Dreamstime Stock Photos

I am trying something new. While I was thinking about writing a "year-in-review," I realized that I had already written a summary of my year...via twitter. And because twitter was written as the year happened instead of after it was over, I like the freshness of it. So I have taken selected twitter updates and repurposed them as a summary of what 2012 was like for our family and ministry. 

Those of you who use twitter and follow me may not want to spend time on this post, as it is all information you have probably already seen. On the other hand, for those who do not read our twitter updates, you may be interested in this "diary-style" perspective of our ministry. 

I am aware that there are many who do not use twitter, so let me give a couple of words of clarification. First, the reason every post is so short is because twitter limits the characters in a post to just 140. Second, when you come across symbols like @ and #, just ignore them. They are used by twitter users to connect with other twitter users. 

God gave us a wonderful year, and we hope our friends and family will enjoy hearing about some of the things they might have missed.

Help Us Choose A Furlough Vehicle

We've spent the first several weeks of our furlough looking for a vehicle to purchase. After chasing down numerous leads and driving lots of miles in borrowed vehicles (thanks to generous relatives and friends), it appears that our search is over. We have found a van that will meet our needs and hope to pick it up within a few days. Meanwhile, while downloading some pictures from our camera the other day, I had to laugh at how many vehicles I have taken a picture of this past month. I guess that's to be expected with vehicles "on the brain." So since we haven't given the van owner any money yet, I thought perhaps I should take a poll and see which vehicle you think we should get. After looking through my pictures, here are my five favorites:

Last week, I stepped out of our hotel room one morning to go and preach a Christian school chapel. I saw this limo waiting outside the hotel. I laughed inside and said, "Well, bless their hearts...look what they sent to fetch me."

The Hummer Limo

Emma Playing The Offertory

Here is Emma Grace Benefield (9 years old) playing "Fairest Lord Jesus" at our church last week. After a year with no piano teacher, it is good to see the girls back into weekly lessons, even if it is just for a couple of months. I'm proud of Emma and all of her hard work on the piano.

Candace Playing The Offertory

Our three older daughters are learning to play the piano. Yesterday our oldest daughter, Candace (who just turned 12 last week) played for the offering in our morning service. The song is "Always The Same" by Ron Hamilton. I hope you enjoy it. I know I did!

Grandma And Jesus

My daughter has been walking around saying something lately that I just have to share. There is no point or application to this story. It's just cute:)

Gabby with her doll that Grandpa and Grandma Benefield
sent her for Christmas

Several days ago while talking to her mom on the phone, my wife let our 2 year-old daughter, Gabby, talk to grandma for a minute. When she got off the phone, she spent the next several minutes telling everyone who would listen that she had just talked to "Grandma and Jesus". At first I didn't think anything of it, because she has been known to say some pretty interesting things "out of the blue". But over the next couple of days, she kept saying the phrase over and over. When relaying her conversation with Grandma to someone, it was "Grandma and Jesus". When talking on a toy phone, it was "hi Grandma and Jesus". When telling us something she forgot to say on the phone, it was "oh, I forgot to tell Grandma and Jesus". But she wasn't doing this when referring to both grandmas. Just my mother-in-law. (Sorry, mom!) 

It finally dawned on me why she was saying that.

A Tribute To My Best Friend

Warning: If you don't like mushy and sentimental stuff, don't read this. If you don't think it is right to lavish praise upon a person, don't read this. This post is simply the reflections of one very happily married man about the wonderful person that God gave him to be his wife. You have been warned.

Fall of 2009

When I was a teen boy and later a Bible college student I remember that many of the guys (including me) had Proverbs 18:22 as their life's verse. "Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD." Now as I approach 14 years of marriage I find that I believe that verse more wholeheartedly than I ever did before. Back then, I HOPED I could find a good wife. Now I KNOW that I have found one! As we celebrate 10 years on the mission field, I want to take a few minutes to pay tribute to my very best friend, my beautiful wife, Angela.

I thought about doing an interview like I did with my kids, but that is just not her style. She doesn't like to talk about herself, and doesn't like public attention. So instead of an interview, I decided to just write from my own heart about who she is and what she means to me. So without further ado, here are a few of the reasons why I love my wife. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have never posted a video on my blog before, but I came across this today and just had to share it. The first few moments are a little slow moving and very corny, BUT at about the 5:00 minute mark this becomes a very awesome video. It brought tears to my eyes as I considered how good God has been to my family and I. I hope you enjoy it!

You Might Be a Missionary Kid If...

Missionary Kids (MK's) are unique! If you are an MK, you know that. If you have ever known an MK, you undoubtedly know it too! Without even trying, their life is just different from the norm. Some people seem to pity Missionary Kids for all the things they have supposedly given up. Yes, it is true that they give up some things when they leave America and go to live in a foreign land, but don't feel sorry for them! Missionary Kids have a life of adventure about which most kids can only dream. 

A few years ago I was introduced to a hilarious article called "You Might Be A Missionary Kid If..." I have since read many versions of this article in books, websites, and emails. I really don't know who came up with the very first one, but obviously many people have added their own wit and wisdom to the list over time. I want to share some of our favorites in the first half of this article. But even if you have already read these somewhere else, you need to read on to the end. Why? Because Angela and I (with a little input from the kids) have come up with our very own list of how to know if you are a Missionary Kid.

Seth Josiah Benefield

Over the last several weeks I have sat down with each of my children and interviewed them for our Anniversary Month. Angela and I have been blessed with awesome kids, and I want our friends and supporters to have a chance to know them better. Since Seth only knows a few words, I have asked the rest of the family to help prepare his article.

Riding in a tuk tuk to go get his first haircut, November 2010

Seth was our 4th child to be born at the Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. Seth is 15 months old, but none of our family in the U.S. has met him personally yet. He will be just a couple months shy of 2 years old when he makes his first trip to the United States. Can't wait for grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins to meet him!

Gabriella Faith Benefield

Over the last several weeks I have sat down with each of my children and interviewed them for our Anniversary Month. Angela and I have been blessed with awesome kids, and I want our friends and supporters to have a chance to know them better. Although Gabriella talks non-stop from morning until night, she is not quite ready to be answering many interview question, so I have asked the rest of the family to help put Gabby's article together.

July 2010

Gabby was born in Tulare, California, while we were on our last furlough. She was a beautiful baby, and has only gotten prettier over these last 2 and a half years. About a year ago when she graduated from a crib to a toddler bed, she used to love to get up in the middle of the night and go to mommy and daddy's bed. It was always a big production, sometimes taking two or three trips to get her whole entourage of teddy bears, baby dolls, blankets, and pillows into our room. She never cried or asked for help...just went back and forth bringing stuff in until she had everything she wanted.

Interview With Emma Grace Benefield

Over the last several weeks I have sat down with each of my children and interviewed them for our Anniversary Month. Angela and I have been blessed with awesome kids, and I want our friends and supporters to have a chance to know them better. I hope you will enjoy these interviews.

July 2010

First of all, is Emma your real name?

No, my real name is Emerald.

Which one do you like to be called?

(giggles) Ummm...I like Emma better. Well...I don't know which one I like better. But I think I like Emma better.

Okay, then Emma it is. How old are you?

I am 8 years old.

Where were you born?

In Thailand...Bangkok, Thailand.

Does that mean you speak Thai?

No. Well, I know how to say one word: sawatekaa (giggles)

Interview With Candace Hope Benefield

Over the last several weeks I have sat down with each of my children and interviewed them for our Anniversary Month. Angela and I have been blessed with awesome kids, and I want our friends and supporters to have a chance to know them better. I hope you will enjoy these interviews.

Teaching a lesson, October, 2010

Where were you born?

Fresno, California

How old are you?

I'm 11 years old.

What grade are you in this year?

I'm in 7th grade.

Do you have a favorite subject in school?

Yes, I like Science the best.

Why do you like Science the most?

Because it's interesting to know about electricity, molecules, planets, and other things like that.

You Are Invited...

November 9th will mark exactly 10 years since our family arrived in Cambodia!  We are excited about this milestone and will be having many special articles, interviews, pictures, and a few surprises on our blog throughout the month of November.  I encourage you to check in often.  I hope that you will read something that will make you smile, encourage your heart, or give you a fresh vision for the cause of world-wide missions.

Don't Forget!

A Challenging Thought From Psalm 106

While reading in Psalm 106 recently, the Lord impressed a powerful truth upon my heart.  I noticed how many action verbs there are in the chapter.  I mean verbs that are not good.  We are told that the Children of Israel lusted, tempted, envied, despised, murmured, provoked, etc.  I preached a message tonight out of Psalm 106 entitled "10 Dangerous Verbs".  The very first of the "dangerous verbs" though, which kind of started off the whole downward spiral and sad story that is the history of the nation of Israel is the verb "forgat".  Verse 13 says, "They soon forgat..."  A few verses later (vs 21), the indictment is repeated:  "They forgat..."  Of course, there are some things which need to be forgotten, but I believe one of the most dangerous things we can do is to forget things which should be remembered.

I want you to notice WHAT they forgot.  It does not say the same thing in both verses.  

How Long Is Your Spiritual Attention Span?

My son came to me the other day and said with a slight whine in his voice, "Dad, can you make church not so long tonight?"

  

"Why?" I asked.  

"Because I always want to fall asleep!" was his honest reply.  

I answered, "Well, son, the people who come to church come to hear a message from the Bible, so I cannot promise that church will not be long."  Of course, "long" is a relative word anyway.  Our service lasts from 6:00 to 7:30 on Thursday nights.  Shorter than a movie or a ball game, but nonetheless to a 4 year-old, it's long!

About an hour later, he came to me and said, "Did you decide yet, dad?"

"Decide what?"

"If you could make church not so long tonight."

"Well, I already answered you, son."

"Oh."

But apparently he heard what he wanted to hear and not what I said.  Later in the day he told his sisters, "Daddy is going to make church not be so long tonight."  One of the girls said to me, "Is that true, daddy?"

"Is what true?"

"Stephen said you're going to make church shorter tonight."

"No, that's not what I told him."

Friends, Food, Fellowship, and Freedom

Have you ever wondered if there is a 4th of July in Cambodia?  Well...you don't really think the calendar jumps from July 3rd to July 5th, do you?  Seriously, for the Baptist missionaries in Cambodia (the ones from America), the 4th of July is our big, annual get-together.  This year my family had the privilege of hosting.  On Monday, July 5th, we had 66 Americans at our house, representing 14 different families.  What a great time we had!  Pictured above is Stephen Benefield with his buddy, Ethan Mau.

In keeping with tradition we had a BBQ and potluck and sparklers for the kids.  We also did a couple of new things.  We had an award for the Most Patriotically-Dressed family, an award for the Most Patriotic Hat, and a pie-baking contest.

We also had a program with singing, special music, poems, and some fun competitions.  When we got ready to start our program all of the attendees were told on which side of the auditorium they were to sit, then we asked who could look around and determine what criteria was used for the seating arrangements.  Mrs. Anna Johnson caught on more quickly than anyone...we had seated folks according to which part of the US they call home, the north or the south.  At the end of our program, and after several rounds of American trivia and other fun competitions, the south was the clear winner!  However, the north provided far more of our program entertainment than did the south, so that should count for something!  (At least, so they said!)

The selections of vocal and instrumental music and poetry were very stirring.  Candace and Deborah Benefield did a good job on their piano solos, and the Schrock children and the Wood children sang beautfiul songs ("I'm Thankful To Be An American" and "God Bless America").  David Stephens blew everyone away with his own arrangement of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".  The Ruppel family gave a stirring poem honoring our men and women in uniform, and then had us looking for the recruiter's office after their "Armed Forces Medley" (complete with Bro. Ruppel on the snare drum!).  Bro. Ruppel also gave a great poem about an old veteran standing up for "Old Glory".  Tom Johnson was a hit with his trumpet solo (with his back-up musicians, Rodney Ruppel on the snare drum, and yours truly on the piano).  A few people were seen throwing money into a basket, but we aren't sure if that was to get us to play more or to stop immediately!  Bro. and Mrs. Snyder provided comic relief with their modern day George and Martha Washington skit.  Megan Mau brought a southerner or two to their feet when she played "Dixie" on her flute, and then she brought the house down with her rousing-rendition of "The Stars and Stripes Forever".

Why I Love America

I love the freedoms we hold dear,

Seeing friends and family far and near,

At celebrations year by year.

That's why I love America!

I love the trees so strong and tall,

Which explode in colors in the Fall,

And my favorite sport, which is football.

That's why I love America!

I love the mountains, vast and great,

The towers of the Golden Gate,

Plenty of food upon my plate.

That's why I love America!

I love the unending Kansas plain,

Nostalgic drives down Christmas Tree Lane,

An old red barn with a weather vane.

That's why I love America!

I love the majesty of our land,

And building castles in the sand,

The rhythmic sounds of a marching band.

That's why I love America!

I love white steeples rising high,

Old Glory waving in the sky,

Honor due when soldiers die.

That's why I love America!

written by Stephen Benefield

copyright - 2007