Eastern Washington Camping

We took off again; this time to Eastern Washington and we had a really good time. The first night we stayed at Diablo Lake which is on the North Cascades Highway and a beautiful place. We tried fishing and Geña got a couple nibbles, but that's all. We had a nice campfire, but it was cold!

The next day we headed towards Winthrop, and stayed at Pearrygen Lake State Park. As a kid, we used to stay there all the time and had lots of fun on the kids' toys and swimming out to the dock. Well, since the state bought the resort, they took all of that out. We ended up staying at the East Campground right on the water so that was nice. The girls got to go swimming in the cold water and we also did some fishing. We caught three the first day (Emma caught her first fish) and we caught 12 the next day (Rebecka and Emma both caught their first fish!). We also got to ride our bikes. A friend gave me a bike he was going to sell and I found a child seat on craigslist for $5; it works excellent.

We all had a great time...except for Pony--he was really cold and spent a lot of time in the tent.

Diablo Lake--fishing

Diablo Lake--Colonial Creek Campground Campsite

Bike riding

Diablo Lake--breakfast (Rebecka made pancakes)

Pearrygen Lake--fishing

Pearrygen Lake--East Campground Campsite

Kopachuck State Park

For some time now we have all been dying to go camping. It was a highlight for me as I grew up and wanted to be able to take the girls camping during the summer before school started. We spent three days at Kopachuck, just outside of Gig Harbor, WA along the water and we had a great time. Rebecka made a friend and had a great time with her at the beach, the playground, and running into her every once in a while at the campground. It's a small campground surrounded by huge Evergreens and it's nice a quiet. We had a VERY RELAXING time! Can't wait to do that again!

Rebecka and Emma at the end of the trail.

Kenneth and Rebecka on the way to the beach.

Madelyn, Rebecka, Kenneth

Mom & Dad coming up from the beach.

Pony...freezing!

Campsite

Goin' for a walk.

mmmm good.

Rebecka and her new friend with her brother.

See more pics on Facebook.

Rebecka's Birthday

Rebecka turned 7 years old on Aug. 13th. We invited some little girls she has known in the past to come over and also had some of the CMC short term missions' team come from this summer come over. It was a great time of fellowship and destroying a piñata! Felicidades Rebecka!

Final Stop--Silverdale, WA (Dad & Mom's)

After 15 days and 3,040 miles, we are glad to be home with my Dad and Mom!

Seventh Stop--Gaston, OR (The Meeuwsen's)

It was great to see Roxanne (college friend) again and meet her husband and family. What a blessing they all are! We had a great time chatting with them and checkin' out the farm! Thank you guys for your hospitality!

Sixth Stop--Lincoln, CA (The Gonzlez')

On Friday, we arrived at Geña's sister's place. She and her daughters work at Panera's and they brought home a doughnut cake, put candles on it, and sang happy birthday to me. We had a nice three days with them.

Sunday I shared a little at the spanish service of Harvest Time Church just down the road and we left on Monday morning...16 hours to Portland.

We didn't get a picture of them! :(

Underage Driving!

I got a little tired so I let Pony take the wheel on I-5!

Fifth Stop--Tracy, CA (the Diaz's)

We spent Thursday night with Geña's brother Luis' family. They had to leave early the next morning for a church function, but let us stay and rest until taking off for Lincoln in the afternoon.

Fourth Stop--Oxnard, CA (the Jimenez's)

Francisco and Teresa Jimenez are always a blessing to us. We stayed Tuesday and Wednesday nights and I shared at their church "La Casa Del Alarero" (The Potter's House). We had a great time with them.

Third Stop--Perris, CA (the Rivera's)

We spent Friday-Monday nights with Geña's sister, Julia and her four daughters. Running around, shopping, spending time with Abuela Rufina (Geña and Julia's mom) and speaking at Julia's church on Sunday. It was a good time!

JULY UPDATE

Greetings everyone! July was HOT/HUMID and busy! We pray that all are doing well wherever you may be this month! Thank you for your prayers. God is moving in the hearts of many!

Last month, we asked you to pray for…

• Short-term Missions...Christ Memorial Church from Poulsbo, Washington was with us at the beginning of the month and their ministry time was divided into two phases: a youth volleyball tournament and a children’s VBS in a nearby town. We had a great time with the team and they were a real blessing to us. One of the neatest times came when the Holy Spirit’s presence was felt in the Sunday Service as the team prayed over people and we were able to pray over a team member with Leukemia. Click here to read about it.
• Student Leadership Retreat Thank you sooo much for your prayers during our Leadership Retreat. This is where we start to build in the youth group. We focused on edifying one another learned that as we humble ourselves, we’ll be able to work together as we look out for one another. Here is a report on how the time went.
• Speed Soccer Tournament Opportunity Time! This year’s summer tournament turned into a time of great opportunities for developing leadership skills and making new friends. It was a fun three days and the Lord was glorified! Here is a report about the tournament.
• Youth Summer Camp What an awesome time! Geña and I were not there for the whole thing, but we’ve heard some great reports that the students returned fired up and ready to be Warriors for Jesus! Here is a picture of the first night’s service.
• Visit to Washington We are on our way to Washington and will be there until late October. If we are in your area, give us a call: 360-265-4545—we’ll have a cell phone while we’re in the states. You can see a basic itinerary for the three months here. Also, you can see where we are currently as we are traveling. Again, let us know if we can see you! Here is our travel itinerary.

Vacationing in Mexico? We would love to see you as Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara are all 3 to 4 hours from here. If you are coming to any of those locations, let us know!! We would love to have you come and visit us in Cofradía to see first hand what God is doing and meet the people we get to spend time with!!

Links to something extra...
Facebook; if you’re on Facebook, I’d love to get in touch with you!

This month, would you please pray for...

• Visit to Washington Please continue to pray for us as we travel to Washington. Also, we’ll be doing some traveling while we’re there and speaking in different places. If you would like us to speak at your church, small group, Sunday School class, or gather some friends for a barbecue we’d love to share with you God’s goodness in Cofradía.
• RETO planning We’ve been planning for the past couple of months our biggest youth event of the year. This year, Geña and I are leaving everything in the hands of the Student Leaders and Youth Staff. It should be a great time of stepping out and learning. Please pray for clarity in the teachings and well thought-out organization in the games/events (starts August 29 and continues every Saturday in September). If you could help with donating towards this event we would really appreciate it. We need $2000 usdollars to fund it. Here is a flyer sharing a little more about the event.

Thank you very much for your prayers and continued support.
See how to partner with us and donate here.

Blessings,
Steve, Geña, Rebecka and Emma Rose Silberman
Missionaries to Mexico
US Cell: 360-265-4545
SKYPE: “srsilberman”

EL RETO 2009

Click on this link to see details of the biggest youth event of the year in Cofradía. You will click on "Free User" and then "Download."

Pray for the event and consider how you may give.

Second Night on the Road--The Michers

We stayed in Tucson, Arizona for the next couple of nights at the Micher's house. Some really great friends and very nice people!

First Night on the Road--Youth Camp

We spent our first night in La Cruz, Sinaloa as we took 19 students with three staff leaders to summer camp. I talked to one of the leaders on Saturday as they were headed back to Cofradía and he said everything went really well and that the Lord touched the lives of our students. I didn't get many details, but I know that God did some great things!

Summer Speed Soccer Tournament 2009

Opportunities! Opportunities abound in events like this within Alternative Missions Cofradía’s Student Ministry. This summer, the opportunities came with Intern Chuy Hernández organizing the tournament.

Chuy getting ready to hand out the trophies.

This was the first event the he put together after coming back from a Bible School in Oaxaca. He did a great job choosing team captains and giving opportunities for a couple of guys to experience leadership who haven’t yet. One of those, Carlos, does not come to church very often but in the past year has been coming around more and more. It’s notable in his face and eyes that when the Word of God is being shared, he is more than interested. Our prayer is that Carlos just doesn’t stay on shore getting his feet wet, but that he jumps into the River of Life fully committed to the Lord. He’s a great kid.

Carlos flying through the defense.

Another new captain this summer was Royer. He has been part of the youth group for a few years now and just last summer was touched by the Lord at camp. Chuy has been mentoring him as they read the Bible and hang out together. Royer did a great job helping lead his team to the Championship game!

Royer getting ready to score.

Gregorio has been part of the youth group for a number of years and has been a part of almost every event we’ve had. He has been a leader in the past in other events, but this was his first time as a Soccer captain. He did a great job.

Gregorio can handle the ball well.

The returning captains were two Student Leaders; Martin and Julio. Martin has stood out as a strong leader for many years in our youth group and has made a great impact in the lives of the youth in his home town Arrayanes. One of the reasons that the student ministry has grown is a result of his labor.

Martin getting ready to block a shot.

Finally, Julio has also been part of the youth group for a very long time and also stands out as a strong leader. He has been a great team leader in the past and this year, he, like Royer, led his team to the Championship game. In the end, Julio’s team won as they not only dominated the Championship game, but the whole tournament.

Julio has a strong foot!

The Champions "Deportivo Cerro".

It’s interesting to see the fruit that comes from events like this. You never know what will happen in the days or weeks to come. Students make relationships with newer students and those relationship lead to opportunities to share Christ’s love whether it’s through hanging out as a friend, listening to a message, praying for one another, or simply the way a student lives their life.

It is a blessing to be part of this ministry. Please consider how you may participate as well to become part of a winning team for Jesus.

Click here to see how to donate to “Cofradía Student Ministry”.

Travel Itinerary to Washington

We will be leaving for Washington on Tuesday, July 28 from Cofradia. Here is an itinerary of our trip. There may be some changes along the way, but this is to give you an idea of where we'll be. If you see that we're in/near your area, let us know so we can have a cup of coffee or something. Once we get to Arizona, we'll have a cell phone with us for easier communication.

July 28-La Cruz de Elota, Sinaloa (Youth Camp)
July 29, 30-Tucson, Arizona (Micher's)
July 31-August 3-Perris, California (Gena's sister's-Julia)
August 4,5-Oxnard, California (Jimenez's)
August 6-Tracy, California (Gena's brother's-Luis)
August 7-9-Lincoln, California (Gena's sister's-Esperanza)
August 10-Gaston, Oregon (Meeuwsen's)
August 11-October-Bremerton, Washington (Silberman's)

We look forward to hearing from you.

Student Leadership Retreat Report

OPERATION EDIFICATION

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds” was the verse from Hebrews that rang in the ears of 10 student leaders and five youth staff for three days. It suggests teamwork, edification, and a goal.

We spent the first day mostly getting to know each other more and developing a “team” atmosphere. Our first study was in the evening as we focused on what we build upon our foundation who is Christ. As a leader, it’s very important to not live a self-centered life infected with pride. The day ended with a very special time of prayer and adoration to God.

The next day was spent mostly in the classroom with three more Bible studies: Authentic Worship, Unity, and Being Freed to Lead. As an application to Unity we watched “Remembering the Titans”--in our leadership team this year, we are representing a rivalry between two towns and as we learn to accept and love one another, we should have some serious growth in not only our leaders, but the youth group as well. A highlight of the day for many was a hike up to the highest functioning lighthouse in the world as we experienced first hand overcoming a tough task--we did this in the hot sun in the middle of the day!

The final day we wrapped things up as everyone had the opportunity to share about each team member from a worksheet given out on the first day called, “My Team.” Each member was to write some positive affirmations about each person on the team. Many times we have an automatic pilot that focusses on the negative characteristics of others if they’re not “our favorite person in the world.” By affirming others, we are forced to see the gifts God has given them. It was a great way of “edifying” one another.

To keep the tradition of the Student Leadership Retreat, we went to a big water park in Mazatlán for some much needed free time after sitting and absorbing for two and a half days!

This was the third year in a row that we chose some older students whose leadership and commitment to God stand out amongst the others. We are excited about the year to come as it will bring freshness to the youth ministry. This year Chuy Hernández joins our youth staff as an intern. He is taking some giant steps of responsibility after spending 10 months in Oaxaca at a Bible School.

Chuy Hernández

Returning as Student Leaders are...

Martín

Sandy

Mily

Joining us either again or for the first time are...

Ricardo

Cheche

Julio

Rubén

Verónica

Abraham

and Chuy Corrales.

Thank you so much to those of you who prayed for us during this time and those who gave donations to make this possible. This is the most important time in the Student Ministry of Cofradía. THANK YOU!

Click here to see how to donate towards this ministry.

June Update

Greetings everyone!  Wow, the weather sure warmed up here.  We pray that all are doing well wherever you may be this month!  Here is a quick report about June and some things to pray for in July.  Thank you for including these items in your time with the Lord.

Last month, we asked you to pray for…

• Short-term Missions...Canyon Hills Church from Washington did a great job while they were here working on the new Church building and ministering in different towns in the evenings.  We were able to go to a couple of towns that we don’t normally go to; Minitas and San Vicente.  God has opened doors for more ministry opportunities.  Would you like to come down and serve?
• Men’s Conference...four men went to the three-day conference in Mazatlán.  The reports are that it was phenomenal!  Thank you for praying and especially for my brother-in-law Hugo who attended; he had a great time!
• Student Ministry...we are planning for our three-day retreat with our leaders.  Please pray for the Lord’s direction as we lead people to lead people.  For me, this is the most exciting part about this ministry.  We received the funds needed for the retreat and we look forward to reporting about it next month.

Vacationing in Mexico? We would love to see you as Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara are all 3 to 4 hours from here.  If you are coming to any of those locations, let us know!!  We would love to have you come and visit us in Cofradía and experience the “Real Mexico”!!

Links to something extra...
Tuesday mornings' “Coffee Time 0530”: <http://cafe0530.blogspot.com/>
Facebook; if you’re on Facebook, I’d love to get in touch with you!: <http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=651334882&ref=name>

This month, would you please pray for...

• Short-term Missions...Christ Memorial Church from Poulsbo, Washington is here right now.  We had over 40 students arrive for a three-day volleyball tournament and they will continue to minister to children this week.  Please pray that there would be fruitful results of their ministry (July 2-11)
• Student Leadership Retreat Please, please pray for a special anointing over this time.  We have 11 student leaders this year and there will be four of us sharing the speaking times.  Pray for open and ready hearts in the students and guidance for the staff (July 13-15).
• Speed Soccer Tournament We’ll have our annual Speed Soccer Summer Tournament July 21-24.  This is a great way for reaching out to students and allowing our leaders to put their leadership into action.
• Youth Summer Camp Pray for students to be transformed during this time (July 28-Aug 1).
• Visit to Washington We will be arriving in Poulsbo Washington around the 10th of August.  Please pray for safe travel, relaxing family time, and opportunities to share Christ’s love.  We will also be available for giving reports in churches, small groups, Sunday Schools, special meetings, or over dinner.  Click here to see our itinerary: http://thesilbermans.blogspot.com/2009/07/stateside-itinerary.html

Thank you very much for your prayers and continued support.  
See how to partner with us and donate here: <http://thesilbermans.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-to-donate.html>  .

Blessings,
Steve, Geña, Rebecka and Emma Rose Silberman
Missionaries to Mexico
SKYPE: “srsilberman”

Stateside Itinerary

We will be heading to Washington soon for three months and we would love to give reports in churches, home groups, youth groups, Sunday Schools, special meetings or over dinner.  Please contact us if you would like us to come share. 

Our itineration will look similar to this...

Arizona (last week of July)

California (first week of August)

Oregon (early second week of August)

Washington (mid August to late October)

We are also hoping to make a trip to Idaho and Montana during our stay.

Oregon/California/Arizona (last week of October/first week of Nov.)

Contact us by email or Facebook:  steve@alternativemissions.com

Sunday Service

We had a great service yesterday morning in Church. Christ Memorial Church from Poulsbo, Washington has sent a team of eight here to work along side us in the ministry this week. I am especially excited about this because this is my home church! They are a great group of students and young adults and I have really enjoyed the four days theyʼve been here so far.

Saturday, I received an email from a good friend and member of the congregation back home about a dream they had of the team praying for us and that God was doing some great things. In turn, one of the team members who has been diagnosed with Leukemia was prayed for by us and was healed. That was the dream.

So, in church we allowed God the opportunity to work in this way. At the end of the service durning our normal prayer time, I mentioned to the Americans what the first part of the dream was about and encouraged them to pray for the people. When I interpreted what I said into spanish, I asked for anyone who was sick or had a family member who does not know Jesus and it seems an impossibility for them to accept Him, to raise their hands and the Americans would go around and pray for them. We continued to sing “Mighty to Save” (in Spanish), and as we proclaimed what the chorus says, “Savior, he can move the mountains.” Just about everyone raised their hands asking for prayer! It was amazing to see God using the team in this way.


When the team had finished praying for everyone, I continued to explain what the rest of the dream had included...us praying for their team member. I asked the young lady come forward and about 80% of the people in the church came forward to hands on/towards her as we asked God for healing in her body.

It was definitely an amazing time! The Holy Spirit in his own gentle way directed us as we prayed for one another and as I looked out I saw a number of people weeping and being touched by God. Maybe we wonʼt see any immediate physical obvious signs that God has healed someone, but I do know that He touched many lives yesterday. I believe thatʼs what he likes to do. Just as the leper in Mark chapter one asked Jesus to touch him and He did, so it was today. We asked God to touch us, and He did!

JUNE NEWSLETTER

Click here to see our June Newsletter.  You will have to click on "free user" and then "download."  It is safe!

Answers to Jehova's Witness Friends

"Respuestas a Nuestros Amigos Testigos de Jehová" by Thomas F. Heinze

The english title would be..."Answers to Our Jehova's Witness Friends."  This was a very good book!  I haven't found it in English, but I imagine that it is.  Each of the twelve chapters bring light to doctrinal issues that do not coincide with what the Bible says.  Many things in the religion are taken out of context to share a "truth" that really isn't Truth.

My heart breaks for the people who are being deceived in this religion and my prayer is that their hearts and eyes will be opened to the Truth.

This is a great informative book to help those who have limited knowledge of what the Jehova's Witnesses believe.  I recommend it to anyone who knows Jehova's Witness believers; has them coming to their doorstep...invite them in, share this book with them; and I also recommend it to Jehova's Witnesses.

There is also a "sister" book to this one about the Mormon religion by the same author at amazon.com.

Student Leadership Retreat

We are gearing up for our third annual Student Leadership Retreat.  This is where our Student Leadership Team find their identity as a team and is the most exciting part of this ministry for me.  I do not ask the students to be part of paying for the expenses of the trip so I am asking you who believe in what we're doing to make a $50 to $100 donation towards this Retreat.  We will need $1000 US dollars total.  Click here to see more, you will need to click on "free user" and then "download" to see the file.

THE ROOF IS COMPLETE!

Dave Elias has just finished his report on the new church's roof.  Thank you to all who have helped!  You can download the pdf file here by clicking on "free user" and then "download."

MAY UPDATE

Greetings everyone!  Again we want to say THANK YOU for your prayers!  Please do not stop praying.

Last month, we asked you to pray for…

• Mother’s Day...just because we love them! We served a breakfast for the Mothers in the congregation that 37 women came to and they drank 80 (EIGHTY)-yes, EIGHT ZERO...cups of coffee!  We’re going to need a Starbucks in Cofradía soon!!  The report was that they all enjoyed themselves and the women’s ministry is doing really well!!
• A trip to La Cruz, Sinaloa...to visit Pastor Héctor Robles and speak to the congregation.  We had safe travels and a great time.  I preached on Saturday night in San Ignacio (a sister church of La Cruz), Dave preached Sunday morning in La Cruz, and Pastor Gollo preached there on Sunday night.  We really enjoyed ourselves and thank God for the relationship we have with our brothers there.  Some of you may remember that I spent a year in La Cruz with Hector to help him get started in that Church.  It is very fulfilling to see that the vision we had for the church has been being realized more and more.  Ten years ago when I was there, we had our sights on a big abandoned movie theatre for the future sight of the church which was then only about 20 people.  The Sunday we visited, Hector and some of his leaders met with the owner of the building who wants to sell it!  They need around $170,000 usdollars to buy it.  I was brought to tears as we walked into the place and almost couldn’t believe it was true that our vision was that close.  We called it “20/20 VISION”.  For Healthiness and the place where we wanted to see the church in 2020.  We’re half way there and the only thing they need is to buy the place and renovate it, and move in.  WOW!!  God is good!
• Church roof construction...Dave Elias is amazing!  He has done a great job finishing up the Church Roof Project.  They completed in about one-half the time expected.  I uploaded a couple of pictures and a short 12 second video here.
• A Worship Leader...I am still praying for someone responsible and dependable to work along side me in the area of Worship.
• Student Ministry...we are really excited for the next round of leaders we get to train up in our Awesome Student Ministry.  We have invited 11 students and all of them have accepted the invitation to join us on our Student Leadership Retreat.  It will be a three day retreat on July 13, 14, and 15.  Thank you for your continued prayers for this ministry!
  

Other things that have happened this past month were

• Lots of home school!  We have been working hard doing two classes a day to finish before the short-term mission teams show up.  Rebecka is doing very well!
  

Vacationing in Mexico? We would love to see you as Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara are all 3 to 4 hours from here.  If you are coming to any of those locations, let us know!!  We would love to have you come and visit us in Cofradía and experience the “Real Mexico”!!

Links to something extra...
Tuesday mornings' “Coffee Time 0530”.
Facebook; if you’re on Facebook, I’d love to get in touch with you!

This month, would you please pray for...

• Short-term Missions...Canyon Hills Church from Washington will be joining us in ministry for 10 days doing general evangelism as well as working on the new church building. (June 20-29)
• Men’s Conference...some men of our congregation will be going to a weekend Men’s Conference...the first time they’ve done something like this.  Pray for open hearts and a willingness to hear God’s voice. (June 26-28)
• Student Ministry...we are planning for our three-day retreat with our leaders.  Please pray for the Lord’s direction as we lead people to lead people.  For me, this is the most exciting part about this ministry.  We need $1000 usdollars for this retreat.  Thank you for helping us.  Will you commit to a donation of $50 to $100 dollars?  Please let me know and I will give you information on how to make specific donations for the retreat. (July 13-15).
  

Thank you very much for your prayers and continued support.  
See how to partner with us and donate here.

Blessings,
Steve, Geña, Rebecka and Emma Rose Silberman
Missionaries to Mexico

Alternative Missions Cofradía