Oaxaca Report

Twelve of us set out on Friday April 3 at 1pm for a 24 hour drive to Oaxaca City.  Our purpose was to help missionaries Jeffrey and Sylvia Simons start up a youth ministry in an un-churched Zapotec Indigenous village called San Juan Guelavía, located thirty minutes outside the city.  As a team we wanted to “Serve, Give, and Connect.”  That was on our mind the whole time we were there, and our students did a great job of serving the Lord, the ministry, the missionaries, and the youth of San Juan Guelavía;  they did an excellent job of giving themselves to be used by the Lord and useful to the people; and they had a lot of fun connecting with others and made friends with students who don’t know Jesus.

Missionaries, Jeffrey and Sylvia Simons and Kaleb and Gracie (above).

Here are some pics of the Zapotec people in the day-to-day lives (below).

Saturday night we were able to spend some time in the historic downtown plaza.  Oaxaca is overwhelmingly full of culture and history.  We had our first taste of culture with the Oaxaca “tlayuda” (a huge flower tortilla with beans and anything else you want on it).

The next morning we shared at the Simons church, Torre Fuerte (Strong Tower). This church is involved in ministering to San Juan Guelavía on Sunday nights with a Home Group.  We got to share about how God is moving in our student ministry and why it is so important to intentionally minister to the younger generations, and we invited their youth to join us during the week to participate in the outreach activities.  That evening we went out to the village and met the people we have been reading about and covering in praying for a couple of months now.  Many of the families represented in the Home Group are receiving support from the government and the church in order to get a one room house to live in...the Judge called it a dream come true for many of them.  We would be working with one of them in the mornings for the next three days.

Our host family in San Juan Guelavia.

We were told to be careful with our Christian jargon because of the testimony of previous Missionary groups who have come to town to try to convert them.  As a result, they place Christians in the same disdainful category as Politicians and Drug Traffickers. Our goal was to minimize our “christianese” ways so as to prevent any further barriers from going up among the people. Right before we arrived at the home were the meeting was to be, a drunk man with a couple rocks in his hands came up to Jeffrey as he had just gotten into the van and sternly asked hum what his purpose was for being there.  After a few moments of Jeffrey calmly talking to the man, he apologized and told him, “I can see in your eyes that you come with good intentions.”

At the Home Group, we found out that the host is the Judge of the town and in charge of overseeing the house-building project that the government and church are helping with.  Most of the people who were present were people who are receiving help with their homes.  Many of them were Christians.  During the study, three of our students led a Bible story with the children while another student, Martin, shared the Word with the adults.  He shared about the two men who built homes -- one on the sand and the other on a rock -- and did a great job of connecting with the people because that is exactly what was on their minds!  By the way, he did not know about this beforehand.

Home Group and children's class pics...

Our schedule was basically the same for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  In the mornings our team split into two; a group of guys went to do some construction and our Student Leadership team led a Leadership Workshop with some of the more involved youth in San Juan Guelavía and a few others who came in from the Oaxaca City Church, Torre Fuerte (Strong Tower).

The Leadership Workshop was well done.  They spent the first day talking about the importance of having a personal devotion life with Jesus as being the foundation of our leadership.  The next day, they talked about service and set the example by washing the students’ feet.  The third morning they put into practice their service as a team, and we poured a floor in a room that was built for a family in need.  The construction team spent Monday and Tuesday preparing for the pour.

Leadership Workshop...Day One (above).

Pouring the floor (below).

In the evenings, we wanted to connect with the youth from San Juan Guelavía through what we’ve done in Cofradía: EL RETO.  Monday was dedicated to getting to know each other and finding their team identities by choosing names from Bible stories.  One team used the story of creation, calling themselves “Creation.”  Another team used the story of David and Goliath, calling themselves “La Onda” which is a play on words: it means “The Sling” and also slang for something similar to “Happening” (usually used to ask “What’s up?” as well as refer to understanding what’s going on or a person who is deservedly well-liked).  The final team used the story of Abraham’s calling, choosing to call themselves “Abraham’s Descendants”, which was another play on words since their team leader’s name was Abraham.

"Creation"

"La Onda"

"Abraham's Descendants"

Each evening we had an event similar to pin the tail on the donkey where they had to tape together a whole body searching for the wall blindfolded and following the directions shouted by their team members.  The first day focused on the head with eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.  The next day was the torso with arms and hands, and the final day was the legs and feet.  After this was all finished, Luis shared a short message on how we are all part of one body and need each other.

Each evening also had a “Final Challenge” which determined some sort of punishment for the loosing team.  Monday night was “King of the Circle.”  It ended with one of our students winning, but because he had stepped on the line he was actually out.  We gave a trophy to Francisco from San Juan Guelavía who was the runner-up.  

Francisco (left) is a young man that is struggling with a number of difficulties, and everyone was happy to see him participate, especially his Aunt and Uncle who hosted us.

On Tuesday we had a number of active games such as the Olympics with javelin (toothpick), discus (paper plate), and shot put (balloon) events.  The winner of each of the three events also won a medal.  Following the Olympics event, we had relay races and brain teasers to keep it exciting.

Wednesday was the finals, and after a devotional by Luis, the #2 (Abraham’s Descendants) and #3 (Creation) teams participated in a balloon launch activity.  They had to throw a water balloon onto a bulls eye about 20 yards away, and they received a certain amount of points depending on where they hit.  Their team leader from Cofradía was standing at the top of the bulls eye, and they got even more points if they hit them!  

Abraham’s Descendants won and played the finals with the #1 team (La Onda) in a nose blowing contest: they had to stick an M&M in their nostril and try to shoot it into a bucket. 

The team that made the most shots won EL RETO.  Congratulations to...La Onda!

Thursday was our tourist day as Jeffrey took us up to see some ruins called Monte Alban and spent the afternoon downtown.  

Monte Albán

The Central Market downtown Oaxaca.

That evening we had a great debriefing time with our students, and it was really neat to hear how God spoke into some of their lives.  Here are a few testimonies of what they had to say about the trip...

Abraham's Testimony

Jesus' (Chuy's) Testimony

Martin's Testimony

Mily's Testimony

Ruben's Testimony

Sandy's Testimony

Abraham's Testimony

English:

Hello!

My name is Abraham Isaac and I want to share with you some of the many things that God did in my life when I was in Oaxaca.

I am thankful to God because He has always been faithful and because He provided everything I needed in order to go on the trip.

Also, I am impacted to see how God puts together everything; because on the road while we were driving through some of the cities, sometimes we didn’t know which way to go, we weren’t familiar with the roads, but God used some people we didn’t know to help guide us so that we can find the roads that led to Oaxaca.  He kept us safe all the way to Oaxaca and back.

When we arrived, missionaries Jeffrey and Sylvia welcomed us and it was a pleasure to be able to get to know them, they are a good example for us and I thank God for their lives.

Also, the days that we were in San Juan Guelavia were a huge blessing.  The first day we arrived at a house of a family that welcomed us with open doors.  They are such nice people and I was impressed to see the friendly way that they served us; they were very happy to have us in their home.

In addition, this family loaned us their house so that we could do “THE CHALLENGE.”  That was a great blessing because when we first arrived we didn’t have any idea of where we would do “the challenge.”  I’m thankful to God that this family was willing to loan us their house.

“THE CHALLENGE’ was an activity that many of the youth in Oaxaca enjoyed.  I even heard someone say, “I’ve never seen games like these”.  For me, the challenge was really cool because I got to meet new teenagers, new people, etc.

I believe we were able to complete our objective of “Serve, Give, and Connect” and all of this happened thanks to God.

I was also privileged to be able to participate helping pour a floor in a house of one of the families there.  They were living without a floor and I believe we were a great blessing to them.

During my stay in Oaxaca I had a good experience because I was able to try some typical foods they have there, some I have never tried before.  The city is also very beautiful, the people of Oaxaca are very kind, the landscapes that we saw on the drive was really cool.  There are a lot more things that I could say about what I experienced in Oaxaca but it would take me a few more pages to write them all down.  This is why this is “some” of the all the things that I learned there.

It was a great experience and I hope to return some day.  

Español:

Hola!

Mi nombre es Abraham Isaac y quiero compartir con ustedes algunas de muchas cosas que Dios hizo en mi vida cuando estuve en Oaxaca.

Estoy agradecido con Dios porque Él ha sido siempre fiel y porque proveyó todo lo que yo necesitaba para hacer el viaje.

También estoy impactado de ver como Dios arregla todas las cosas,  porque en el camino  cuando atravesamos algunas ciudades a veces no sabíamos para donde ir, pues no conocíamos el camino, pero Dios usó a algunas personas desconocidas para que nos guiaran para encontrar el camino que lleva a Oaxaca. El nos guardó en todo el camino a Oaxaca de ida y vuelta.

Cuando llegamos nos recibieron Jeffrey y Silvia (misioneros en Oaxaca) y fue un gusto poder convivir con ellos y conocerlos, son un buen ejemplo para nosotros le doy gracias a Dios por sus vidas.

Además los días que estuvimos en San Juan Guelavía fueron una gran bendición, pues el primer día llegamos a la casa de una familia que nos recibió con puertas abiertas, son unas personas tan amables y me quedo impresionado de ver la amabilidad con que nos servían, ellos estaban muy contentos por tenernos en su casa.

Además esta familia prestó su casa para que ahí hiciéramos “EL RETO”, esto fue una bendición porque cuando recién llegamos no teníamos ni idea de donde íbamos a hacer “el reto” gracias a Dios esta familia se dispuso a prestar su casa.

“EL RETO” fue una actividad que les gusto a muchos jóvenes de ahí de Oaxaca, pues hasta escuché a alguien decir “nunca he visto juegos como estos”.

Y para mi el reto fue muy chido porque conocí a jóvenes nuevos, personas nuevas etc.

Creo que pudimos cumplir el objetivo que teníamos “servir, dar y conectar” y todo esto fue gracias a Dios.

También para mi fue un privilegio poder participar ayudando para que una familia tuviera un piso en su casa, porque ellos estaban viviendo ahí sin y creo que fuimos de mucha bendición para ellos.

Durante mi estancia en Oaxaca tuve una buena experiencia porque probé algunas de las comidas típicas de allá, las cuales nunca antes las había comido, también la ciudad es muy bonita, la gente de Oaxaca es muy agradable, el paisaje que hay por el camino es muy chido.   Y hay muchas cosas más que puedo decir sobre lo que viví en Oaxaca  pero me llevaría muchas hojas más. Pero esto es algo de todo lo que viví allá.

Fue una muy buena experiencia única y espero volver otra vez.  

Jesús' (Chuy's) Testimony

English:

What I liked best.

God did great things in Oaxaca. One of them was that he attracted youth for the CHALLENGE, and I think that for God nothing is impossible. Another thing was that I saw how the people of San Juan Guelavía treated us with such love and respect. they never deceived, and they always supported us in all the activities of the CHALLENGE. They never got annoyed; on the contrary, they rejoiced over having us there. Those three days were so cool, not just in my life but also in the lives of the others. I think that God had a great impact on that town, and what God taught me is that it doesn’t matter if you win or lose but rather that you have fun and enjoy those moments that you are living. When I arrived at that town, I thought that there wouldn’t be enough youth to make the teams, but I prayed to God asking him to bring in more youth not just for my team but also for the other two. And the next day my team was the one with the most people. In that moment I thought “God is big and He can do anything,” and I think that God will continue to encourage all those friends we left there to continue walking with Him.

Español:

Lo que mas me gustó.

Dios hizo grandes cosas en Oaxaca; una de ellas fue que atrajo jóvenes para el reto y pienso que para Dios nada es imposible.  Otra fue con la gente del pueblo San Juan Guelavia vi como las personas nos trataban con tanto amor y respeto nunca se enojaban y siempre nos estaban apoyando en todas las actividades del reto.  Nunca se enfadaron al contrario se alegraban de tenernos allí.  Esos tres días fueron bien chidos no solo en mi vida, sino en las demas pienso que Dios hizo un gran impacto en ese pueblo.  Lo que a mi me enseñó Dios es que no importa si ganes o pierdas, sino es divertirte y gozar en ese momento que estás viviendo.  Cuando yo llegué a ese pueblo pensé que no habría suficientes jóvenes para hacer los equipos, pero oré a Dios diciéndole que atrayera mas jóvenes no solo en mi equipo sino en los otros dos.  Y al día siguiente mi equipo era el que tenía mas personas y en ese momento dije “Dios es grande y todo lo puede” y yo pienso que todos los amigos que dejamos en ese pueblo Dios los seguirá animando a estar con Él.

Martin's Testimony

English:

Hello. My name is José Martín Garzón Solís. I thank God for permitting me to go on this missions trip. It was a good opportunity to learn more of what God was teaching us. It was a time where God manifested Himself with His presence in the place where we were holding the activities. Also, God used me to serve others, give, and connect with this indigenous group, or at least with the youth. I thank God because one morning God told me, “Trust in me, and I will provide.” We have to be firm in Christ always and wait on how He wants to use us (Psalm 32:8).

I thank all of those who were praying and those who supported us in taking the gospel to this place. And may God bless you.

Your friend, José Martín Garzón Solís.

Español:

Hola.  Me llamo José Martín Garzón Solís.  Doy Gracias a Dios por permitir ir a ese viaje misionero.  Fue una buena oportunidad para aprender mas casas que Dios nos enseñó.

Fue un tiempo donde Dios se manifestó con su presencia en el lugar donde estabamos haciendo las actividades.  También Dios me usó para servir a otros--dar--y conectar con  los indigenas--o con los jóvenes.  Le Doy gracias a Dios porque en una mañana Dios me dijo, “Confía en mi y o proveeré.”  Tenemos que estar firme en Cristo siempre esperar como nos quiere usar.  Salmo 32:8

Doy Gracias a los que estuvieron orando, a los que apoyaron para lelvar el evangelio en otros lugares.  Que Dios les bendiga.  Su amigo...José Martín Garzón Solís.

Mily's Testimony

English:

During this time I realized some pretty big things; well, really God showed them to me. At the beginning, ever since we began this trip, I was so excited, and everything about this new adventure was fantastic! The truth is that I settled -- or really, I was “comfortable” -- with every thing that was going on. I think that I wasn’t giving everything that God was asking of me just so I could maintain that box or “comfort zone”. Little by little I began to be discouraged, but even so at the same time God was moving His hand and power over the group in general. At least, He did so with me.

At that point, I began to feel tired, irritable, stressed by everything going on around me. Sometimes it was because of the CHALLENGE planning, and at other times it was because of the preparations for the Leadership Workshop. I was never satisfied by any of the results. I was so centered on “me”, and I didn’t realized -- or I wasn’t remembering -- for whom I was doing all this.

Serve - Give - Connect. Key words that helped me put into practice what God began to show me:

§     Learn to trust in Him, knowing that we depend solely on Him (Prov. 3:5-6)

§     Whatever we do will fail unless we are doing it for HIS glory.

§     God is a God of love, and his promises never fail. If he has said it, He will do it.

Well, now in this moment I am very content giving my all in order to put into practice what He taught me on this trip and praying fervently never to let my guard down. I brought with me the pleasant memory of all the wonderful people that God put in that town, but above all the sweetest memory is this: We cannot depend on others or on ourselves; we need to learn to recognize our limitations and that we will always be like children that depend on their Father. No matter how big we get, we do not have authority over ourselves: WE BLONG TO HIM.

Well, this is what the Lord did with me; it’s just a question of letting Him in, and He will do the rest!

Español:

Durante este tiempo me di cuenta de grandes cosas; mas bien Dios me las mostró.  Pués al principio desde que emprendimos el viaje yo estaba tan emocionada y toda esta nueva ventura era fantástico!  La verdad es que yo estaba conforme, o mejor dicho “cómoda” con cada cosa que pasara.  Sentía que no estaba dando todo lo que Dios me estaba diciendo, todo por tener ese cuadro de “comodidad,” poco a poco comencé a desanimarme, pero también así al mismo ritmo Dios movía su mano y su poder sobre el grupo en general, por lo menos lo hacía conmigo.

A este paso me comenzaba a sentir cansada, irritada, estresada por todo lo que pasara a mi alrededor.  A veces por lo del RETO y otras por la preparación para lo del taller de liderazgo, pero nunca me sentía satisfecha con los resultados, estaba tan centrada en el “yo” que no me daba cuenta o no recordaba para quién lo estaba haciendo.  

Servir-Dar-Conectar

Palabras clave que me ayudaron a poner en práctica lo que Dios me comenzó a mostrar:

*Aprender a confiar en Él, saber que dependemos solo de Él (Prov. 3:5,6).

*Nada de lo que hagamos, sino lo hacemos para su gloria sencillamente no resultara.

Dios es un Dios de amor y nunca falta a sus promesas, si Él lo ha dicho Él lo hará.

Pués ahora en este momento estoy muy contenta echándole todas las ganas para poner en práctica lo que me enseñó en este viaje y orando fervientemente para no bajar la guardia.  Traje conmigo un grato recuerdo de todas las personas tan maravillosas que Dios puso en ese pueblo pero sobre todo el más grato recuerdo:

No podemos depender de otros ni de nosotros mimsos, necesitamos aprender a reconocer nuestros limites y que siempre seremos como niños que dependen de su padre, por mas que crezcamos no tenemos autoridad sobre nosotros:  le pertenecemos.

Pués esto es lo que el Señor hizo conmigo y solo es cuestión que lo dejemos entrar y Él hará el resto.

Ruben's Testimony

English:

Hello. I am Rubén. First of all, I thank all the people that supported this trip to Oaxaca. I had a lot of fun, but besides that what I learned is that when we follow the Lord’s paths everything comes out well. I also met people that were nice and grateful. The youth were so enthusiastic to learn about God. I thank God for what is taking place right now in my youth, being able to be a missionary to reach other youth.

It was the last day to hang out with them, and we were all praying when all of a sudden God spoke to me and said: “Tell this young man this: that there are people in this world that are going to tell you “you’re no good for anything”, but it is a lie from the devil to keep you from walking in God’s truth.”

I went up to him and I told him what the Lord told me to say, and he responded. He told me that was going through just that. I told him that God has a purpose, a plan for his life. I reached out and hugged him. He went away content.

There is so much more, but I’d have to write a longer report. Thank you to all the people who supported us. May God bless you. 

Español:

Hola, Soy Rubén.  Primeramente doy gracias a las personas que apoyaron para esta salida a Oaxaca.  Me divertí mucho pero apesar de esto lo que aprendí camino de Dios todo sale bien.  También conocí personas que eran amable, agradecida como los jóvenes que tienen entusiasmo por aprender de Dios.  Doy gracias a Dios por lo que está haciendo ahorita en mi juventud a ser un misionero para alcanzar a jóvenes.

En Oaxaca fue interesante lo que viví:

Era el último día en convivir con ellos.  Todos estabamos orando cuando de repente Dios me habló y me dijo, “a ese joven dile esto: ‘que la gente en este mundo que te van a decir “no sirves para nada” pero eso es mentira del diablo para que no camines en la verdad de Dios.’”

Fuí a acercarme y le dije lo que Dios me dijo y respondió.  Me dijo que él estaba pasando por eso.  Mas yo le dije que Dios tiene un propósito, un plan para su vida.  Le estreché la mano y lo abrazé y él se quedo contento.

Hubo mucha mas, pero para no hacerlo muy largo...doy gracias a las personas que apoyaron y que Dios les bendiga.

Sandy's Testimony

English:

This was my first missions trip, and it has had a great impact on my life. I no longer feel the same. Really this mission was, is, and will continue being a great blessing for my life. During the time in Oaxaca, God changed my way of seeing people; He made me understand that what really matters is the spirit, the feelings, the attitudes within them and not their appearance, culture, beliefs, or religion, especially since Jesus, when He died on the cross, He did so for everyone despite all of that stuff and without any exceptions (Luke 6:37).

I want to tell you that even though in the town where we were we faced opposition in some ways, Christ was always showing us His love and favor. He made me remember what it says in His Word. John 14:1 says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” And in trusting Him we find our reward! In my case, it was allowing me to get to know the people with whom I spent time in Oaxaca, especially the youth and their life stories. I was so involved with them…as much interpersonally as spiritually…that when it was time to return home, the deepest part of me wanted to stay there. But I had the hope of returning if it’s God’s will.

Now that I’m back at home, I continue to give thanks to God for the life of each person that was involved in this trip through prayer and financial support.  

Español:

Este ha sido mi primer viaje misionero y ha tenido un gran impacto en mi vida, ya no me siento la misma y no soy la misma.  Realmente esta misión fué, y seguirá siendo una gran bendición para mi vida.  En ese tiempo allá en Oaxaca, Dios cambió mi forma de ver a las personas, me hizo entender que lo que realmente importa es el Espíritu, los sentimientos y atitudes de si mismos y no su físico, cultura, creencias o religión, y a que Jesús cuando murió por nosotros lo hizo para todos sin importar nada de eso y sin esepción alguna (Lucas 6:37).

Quiero decirles que aunque en el pueblo en donde estuvimos había opocición en algunas maneras mínimas, Cristo estuvo siempre mostrándonos su amor y su favor.  El me hizo recordar lo que dice en su Palabra Juan 14:1 “No se angustien, confían en Dios y confíen también en mi dice Jesús.  Y después de eso (de confiar en Él) viene la recompensa!  que en mi caso fué permitirme conocer a las personas con quienes conviví, especialmente los jovenes y sus historias de vida.  Tanto me involucré con ellos...tanto física como espiritualmente, que cuando era el tiempo de regresar a casa, lo más profundo de mi ser quería seguir en ese lugar, pero tengo la esperanza de regresar si es la Voluntad de Dios.  

Hoy que estoy en casa sigo dando gracias a Dios por la vida de cada persona que estuvo involucrada en este viaje en oración y apoyo financiero.

Emma's Birthday

Yesterday, we celebrated Emma's third birthday (Friday the 10th).  I tried to upload a short video but it was too much for my connection.  Here are some photos...

Oaxaca Update...

It is after 1:00am in Oaxaca and we're really tired, but very fulfilled!  We had an awesome time with the youth in San Juan Guelavia and our youth did a great job!  The morning leadership workshops went really well and the evening RETO was a lot of fun.  Our goal was to Serve, Give, and Connect.  It worked.  Many of the townspeople are very closed to Christians and do not want anything to do with us.  The major support we had in town was the main Authority.  He's not the Mayor, but he's close to second in command...kinda like a Judge.  We did everything on his property and his two teenagers were part of the events.  We had probably around 10-12 students from the town participate which is a pretty good turnout.  Durning the morning workshop, some of the guys went out to work on someone's home; Wednesday we all went out there to pour a floor at the home as "putting into practice" their service of leadership.  Everything went really well.  We had our debrief time that just ended about an hour ago and as always, it was the best part of the trip!  One of our students was impacted that "we came to serve, but we were served."  I love our kids!

Please pray for us as we'll be driving all day Friday and into the wee hours of Saturday morning.  

Oaxaca...Day Three

We have been very busy and do not have much opportunity to get on the internet as we spend most of the day in San Juan Gelavia.  I will post a report as soon as I can of yesterday's activities.

Oaxaca...Day Two

“Torre Fuerte” is the church the Jeffrey and Sylvia attend in Oaxaca City.  The Pastor gave us the opportunity to share some testimonies and a little bit of why we want to reach out to the youth.  We showed the video of EL RETO from last year and I shared about why we chose the theme “Decide Your Destiny.”  The most important decision one can make in their life is who they will serve.  Just as Joshua challenged the Jews (Josh. 24:14) to decide who they will serve, we challenge the youth and congregation to decide who they will serve.  

In the evening, we went out to San Juan Gelavia where we will be reaching out to the youth of the town during the week to share at a home group that meets weekly.  San Juan Gelavia is an Indigenous town of the Zapotec people.  We have been told that there are three types of people that the townspeople despise:  Politicians, Drug Dealers, and Missionaries.

We got a taste of that reality after visiting someone’s home who is in need of construction help.  After getting into the van, a drunk man came up to Jeffrey with a rock in each hand and with a forceful voice said, “Can I help you with something!?!”  This man was not happy with us; Jeffrey calmly responded to his questions and helped him understand the situation.  After about five minutes, the man apologized for being wrong about us and said that he could see in Jeffrey’s eye’s that he comes with good intentions.  The night before I had just talked to our group in a short devotional about how Nehemiah received favor with the people because, “the hand of the Lord was upon him.”  The hand of the Lord was upon us today!

During the Home Group, Mili led a class for the children and Martin spoke to the adults and youth.  Martin's message hit "home" as he spoke about the two men who built their houses; one on a rock and one on sand.  There are a number of people who have been in the states and built themselves a very nice home.  However, there are some very poor people in the town as well and the government is supplying materials for them to build a small room.  The owner of the home is the Authority of the town which could be the equivalent to a Judge or Sheriff.  He has invited the church to help build these homes in the town.  He said that for many of them, this is their dream to be able to have a small room to live in that doesn't leak or flood when it rains.  Many of the people who come to Home Group are people who have been helped or are going to receive help.  After Martin had finished, they kept talking about their homes and the situation at hand.  It's interesting how God laid that message on Martin's heart to share; he hit "home."

Home Group...

Children's Class...

The fence of someone's property. 

A typical shack that many people live in.

Oaxaca...Day One

We made it after 25 hours of lots of driving, stopping, driving, resting, driving, eating, driving, and driving and driving, etc.....thank you for your prayers.

We rested a bit this afternoon after we got settled and had a great time getting to know the missionaries Jeffrey and Sylvia Simons over a very good "Mole Negro" for dinner.  

We're about to have a team meeting to orientate ourselves here and take a quick trip to the Center of town then off to bed!

We are excited to be here and know that the Hand of the Lord is upon us.

March Update

Greetings everyone!  Thank you for all of your prayers.

Last month, we asked you to pray for…

• A Visit from Pastor Rafael Gradilla of Hosana Asamblea in Bellevue, Washington.  This month, the church started out with a treat having Pastor Rafael here.  He spoke Saturday night and Sunday morning as he encouraged them to continue to grow in their faith.  We had baptisms on Sunday afternoon and PRAISE THE LORD! My brother-in-law took that step of obedience.  A number of others were baptized as well.  On Sunday evening, Pastor Rafael spoke at an open-air meeting in a neighboring town called Las Pilas.  Many people were prayed for and the town seems to be pretty receptive of the gospel when we go there.

Prayer over Hugo after baptism.

Preaching in the street in Las Pilas.

• Cy-Fair Missions Team We had a great week with the team here this year.  I have written about it here.
• Southside Missions Team They did a great job this week reaching out to the children.  They had games, a story with drama, and a craft for each day.  The final evening they made hot dogs for all the kids and rented some inflatable toys (jumping, etc.) and a mechanical bull for children.  In the mornings, they worked hard on a number of projects.  One big one that will speak to the whole town is cleaning up the dump area.  It was really, really bad, now it’s really, really good!
• Oaxaca Missions Trip Please continue to pray for this trip.  We have the roster completed with the right people and ALL of the financial needs have been met.  THANK YOU!

I joined Facebook this month and it has been great to be able to get reconnected with a number of different people.  If you have Facebook, it would be great to connect with you that way.

I have also started to blog about a meeting on Tuesdays at 5:30am with four guys from our youth group.  You can follow along our bible study at http://cafe0530.blogspot.com/

The invitation will always be available for those of you who would like to come down with a team or just for a visit and experience the Real Mexico.  It is nothing like the media-hyped crisis at the border.  It is very safe here...more safe than many places in the states.

Links to something extra...
Coffee Trip
Youth Night with Sandy

This month, would you please pray for...

• Oaxaca Missions Trip Twelve of us will be leaving Friday, April 3 at 12:30pm PST for a 17 hour drive to Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico.  We’ll be working with another missionary to help him start a youth ministry in an Indigenous village nearby.  Pray for…
  
  • Safety in travel.
  • Protection of the Holy Spirit.
  • That the hearts of the youth in Oaxaca will be open to the Gospel message.
  • For wisdom in our Student Leaders as they will be leading most everything on the trip (Sunday home group—children and adult bible study; Mon-Wed—morning leadership workshop and evening RETO event).
  • Anything else the Lord leads you in.
  • **The dates are April 3-10**

Thank you very much for your prayers and continued support.  
 
Blessings,
Steve, Geña, Rebecka and Emma Rose Silberman
Missionaries to Mexico 

OAXACA MISSIONS TEAM

Please be praying for us April 3 through April 10.  We'll be helping a missionary start a youth ministry in an Indigenous village about 30 minutes outside of Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico.  The drive is around 17 hours...through the night due to vehicle circulation laws in Mexico State and Mexico City.  We'll try to keep you updated on this blog as the week continues...

Blessings to Everyone!!!

Team members left to right:

(top) Rubén, Martín, Pastor Luís, Jesús, Abraham

(bottom) Sandy, Mily, Amber, Rebecka, Geña, Esteban, Emma.