Tuesday, October 24, 2017

The Romero Carrillo Family Receives a House

The Romero Carrillo Family

PROFILE:
Alonso Romero of Cofradía and Karina Carrillo of San Juan live in Cofradía with their three children, Aaron, Ingrid and Carim.

This sweet couple met at a dance in San Marcos, six years ago.  Alonso asked Karina where she was from, and when she answered San Juan, he told her he had never been and would like to visit sometime.  They started talking, and soon Alonso went to Karina’s mom and asked her if he could visit Karina.  When Alonso lost his job, due to the business shutting down, he went to Karina.  He told her it might be a while before he had another job and the money to come visit her.  He then asked her to come to Cofradía with him and she did. 

The family of five shares one room in a house with Alonso’s grandmother and uncle.  For income, Alonso works in his uncle’s fields and feels obligated to work for free as rent payment for the house.  Therefore, Alonso is looking for a second job that would provide money to support his family.

For Alonso and Karina, a house will be a gift from God and a place of their own where their children will grow.

It is with great joy and excitement that we share with you that Alonso and his family received their house last night!


Alonso is a very hard worker and dedicated many, many hours to help with his new house.  It was very exciting to see his enthusiasm and gratitude for this gift.

Ephesians 2:8-10 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

This family received a free material gift that is only to last them a time here on earth.  The spiritual gift of salvation from God is eternal; it lasts much longer that the earth!  What we witnessed in the physical material world these past few weeks is a picture of what spiritual salvation is...a free gift.  All we need to do is RECEIVE the gift God has provided for us--SALVATION THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST.  Jesus paid for our sins when he died on the cross and rose from the grave, making it possible for us to be saved.

Much like what verse 10 says, "...we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works...", is the example that we saw in Alonso.  He already had received the gift (even though it was not yet completed) and worked really hard (not to EARN the gift, but because he had already RECEIVED the gift).

It was an exciting time.  Thank you so much to Marion and Loretta Sluys for their generosity and making God's love visible.

You can do this, too, by forming a team and coming down to build someone a house.  Here are some people who are waiting.  The only thing we require of them is that they have their own land to build on.

Future builds here in Cofradia are already being planned.  We will be pouring the floor to Pastor Abimael's family's house on Saturday and The Well from Salt Lake City will be joining us for this build which will take place in Tuxpan, Nayarit.

In January, Cy-Fair Christian Church from Houston, Texas will be joining us to build a house for Florentina from Cofradia.

Enjoy the photos of the House Dedication:
The front of the house.

The back of the house along the street.

The back porch with water cistern and bathroom.

Kitchen and dining area.

Living room area.

Bedroom #2

Bedroom #1






Monday, October 09, 2017

OCTOBER UPDATE

Greetings from Cofradía, Mexico! 

EL RETO 2017 is finished!!  It was a great year again as we saw many new students participate for the first time.  That usually means it was their first time in a Christian church and possibly the first time they heard the gospel!  It’s an exciting time as we REACH OUT to new students, RECOVER students who no longer attend, and LEARN whatever we can from the teachable moments that God puts before us.

This year, the biggest teachable moment came at the very end.  For the past 10 years, there has been a dynamic that allows a team who finds the hidden treasure to play against the winning team in one last challenge.  The Blue team won outright with a lot of points and was very confident they had this game in the bag when they found out that the challenger (the Black team) was a team that had been disrespectful during the event as they received penalties each week for their actions and words.  They didn’t have a reputation for winning.  However, during the final challenge, they shined!  The Black team beat the Blue team without any problems.

It’s interesting when you step back and look at what happened.  The Black team was a team that many would say did not deserve to win because of their behavior, because they constantly disrupted, and people were losing patience with them.  Isn’t that a great picture of us!  Who deserves to be saved?  Who deserves to go to Heaven?  NONE OF US!  The only reason ANY of us have a chance is because of what Christ did as he gave himself up on the cross as payment for our sin.  I’m really glad the Black team won (even though Rebecka was on the Blue team), because through this the Lord showed us his Grace and Mercy in real life!  It was exciting!

THE BLACK TEAM FINDS OUT THEY WON!

GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD, FOR HE IS GOOD; HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER!

In our last update, we asked you to please pray for...

  1. Wisdom as we continue to deal with the break-in of our house while we were gone.  We are very grateful for all of you who have generously pitched in to help us financially recover.  We are so very thankful! 
  2. EL RETO 2017 Thank you for your prayers!  Apart from what I’ve mentioned above, you can view pictures and videos at our blog here.
  3. The Restoration Center.  Pastor Amado has had a couple of interns this month.  One is doing well as he helps around the rented house and the other lasted just two days and went back home.  Things are beginning to move; thank you for your prayers. 
  4. Dwellings Build #13 in Cofradia for the Romero Carrillo family.  The floor has been poured and the water cistern has been built.  Building will continue for the next couple of weeks.
  5. Dwellings Build #14 in Tuxpan for Pastor Abimael and his family.  The blocks have been made and the floor will be poured as soon as the other house is finished.  We are excited about The Well Church from Salt Lake City to come and participate in the construction of this house in November as the sponsors of this house. 
  6. La Cofradia United International is the name of our Civil Association.  Please continue to pray for wisdom and that the Lord would provide us with someone who can help us in the accounting department. 
  7. Summit Bible College Nayarit Extension.  We are working on finishing up those who have just a few things left in order to graduate with the College.  As of now, there are no new students.

Here are some links to more:


This month, will you please pray for...

  1. Dwellings Build #13 for safety over the workers and open hearts of the recipients as we have an opportunity to share God’s love. 
  2. Dwellings Build #14 as we continue the preparations and get ready for the team. 
  3. Restoration Center There are a couple of trips that Pastor Amado is needing to make to Guadalajara as he continues to prepare for more interns.  They have not done well financially as of yet.  Pray for wisdom as he prioritizes his time and God’s provision over his ministry. 
  4. La Cofradia United International accounting help. 
  5. Interns.  We are looking for a couple of interns who would like to come down in January and February to help with teams as we will be understaffed during that time.  Pray for provision and let people know of this opportunity.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever!

Thank you so much for being part of our team as we work together to RAISE UP LEADERS IN RURAL MEXICO!!!!

Blessings,













Steve, Geña, Rebecka, Emma, and Mackenzie Silberman
Missionaries to Mexico
Alternative Missions
Cofradia Area Director

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EL RETO 2017...What happened?

EL RETO 2017 is finished!  

It was a great year again as we saw many new students participate for the first time.  That usually means it was their first time in a Christian church and possibly the first time they heard the gospel!  It’s an exciting time as we REACH OUT to new students, RECOVER students who no longer attend, and LEARN whatever we can from the teachable moments that God puts before us.  

This year, the biggest teachable moment came at the very end.  For the past 10 years, there has been a dynamic that allows a team who finds the hidden treasure to play against the winning team in one last challenge.  The Blue team won outright with a lot of points and was very confident they had this game in the bag when they found out that the challenger (the Black team) was a team that had been disrespectful during the event as they received penalties each week for their actions and words.  They didn’t have a reputation for winning.  However, during the final challenge, they shined!  The Black team beat the Blue team without any problems.  

It’s interesting when you step back and look at what happened.  The Black team was a team that many would say did not deserve to win because of their behavior, because they constantly disrupted, and people were losing patience with them.  Isn’t that a great picture of us!  Who deserves to be saved?  Who deserves to go to Heaven?  NONE OF US!  The only reason ANY of us have a chance is because of what Christ did as he gave himself up on the cross as payment for our sin.  I’m really glad the Black team won (even though Rebecka was on the Blue team), because through this the Lord showed us his Grace and Mercy in real life!  It was exciting!

Lain did an excellent job wrapping up the final evening at his blog.  You will see a number of pictures and explanations as you read.  He even takes you through the excitement of the final challenge!  Read it here.

Reports of each week:
Week #1 Report  Video below


Week #2 Report  Video below


Week #3 Report  Video below


Week #4 Report  Video below


Week #5 Report  Video still unavailable


DUE TO A LOW ECONOMICAL STATUS IN THIS AREA, WE DO NOT CHARGE ANYONE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS EVENT IN ORDER THAT THE STUDENTS MAY BE ABLE TO ATTEND.

IT IS PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHO HELP MAKE THIS HAPPEN.


THANK YOU

EL RETO 2017 CHAMPIONS!