Church Courtyard Cement Path

On Monday and Tuesday some members of the church got together to finish the Church's courtyard.  In January, we had a team come down to put in some pavers, but we left a section open to lay a cement slap in order for the vehicles to come in and load/unload to the library/storage room.  The church raised the money themselves and we all worked together to get it done.  A special thanks to Pastor Luis, Pastor Gollo, and Hugo for staying late and giving the slabs the finishing touch.  Lots of tiring work, but well worth it!  And, thanks to all of you who pray for and support this ministry.  The church is growing in spirit and in truth and maturing in ownership.  Here are a few pics...

AUGUST UPDATE

Greetings from Cofradía, Mexico!  We pray that all is well with our friends and family this summer.  Things are going well as we are excitedly awaiting the birth of our third child and look forward to another blessing in our family.  These past couple of weeks have been a bit tough in terms of damage to certain items caused by the thunder and lightning storms we’ve had.  One of those items is Geña’s Macbook; it was confirmed to us today that the motherboard has been damaged.  It was not connected to electricity, but happened through our USB Modem for dial-up internet (which was damaged as well).  A costly mistake, but we trust that we are in the hands of our Sovereign Lord.  As many of you have heard me say before, “It’s all gonna burn in the end.” LOL!

Last month, we asked you to pray for...

• Baby The Doctor says things are going very well.  We saw him this week and the baby weighs just about 7 lbs. right now and he says that it’s a girl!  We are looking forward to announcing the birth before our next update!  Stay tuned!
• SPECIAL NEED - EL RETO We are still in need of finances for this event.  Some of you have given already, THANK YOU!  We still need finances to continue.   The students are getting excited and our Captains’ Training Retreat is coming up soon as well.  We will be giving them some practical activities to do to get them prepared for leading a team, accomplishing tasks, and working with people.  It should be really exciting! 
• Graduation Emma graduated from Kindergarten and Rebecka finished 4th grade this year.  Click here for pics.
• Upper Room Project Geña’s brother, Hugo, has been working on the smooth-wall of our house.  The work has slowed down quite a bit has he is very busy managing other jobs as well.  We still need finances to complete this job.  For details on what’s next, click here and scroll down. 
• Youth Camp Our students had an excellent time in La Cruz for Summer Camp.  Five guys went along with Pastor Luis and a couple of them came back with answers to spiritual questions they’ve had and a deeper relationship with God.  Thank you for your prayers and concern for the next generation of leaders!  I’ve heard nothing but good things about this year!
  

Links to other news:

• Men’s Discipleship Read about an “experiment” we did with three other men.
• Cofradía’s Women’s Ministry Read about what’s happening with the women of Centro Cristiano!  
• Pics from Arizona in June 
• Alternative Missions Staff 
• A Lesson from Pony, our Chihuahua dog See what happened one morning as Geña took Pony for a walk.
  

This month, will you please pray for...

• Baby Please continue to pray for a smooth and healthy pregnancy.  If you would give a little extra this month, we would appreciate it as our health insurance does not cover maternity.  Thank you!  The due date is Aug. 29
• SPECIAL NEED - EL RETO Finances, wisdom, and for an incredible impact in the youth’s lives: 
• Upper Room Project Finances.
• CAPTAIN’S TRAINING RETREAT Please keep in prayer our six captains as they prepare for EL RETO: Alfredo, Jorge, Francisco, Andres, Jazmin, and Karolina.
• Rebecka Frances will be turning 10 on August 13!!
• Children’s Ministry We will be sending 9 of our children to Camp this week!  This is the first time our church has had the opportunity to send them to camp (Aug 2-4).  Thank you for your prayers over them!
  

Thank you very much for partnering with us through your prayers and financial support.
Click here to donate to our personal support.

Blessings,
Steve, Geña, Rebecka and Emma Rose Silberman
Missionaries to Mexico
Alternative Missions Cofradia
Area Director
Facebook
SKYPE: “srsilberman”

Captains Training Retreat

"EL RETO 2012: CAPTAINS TRAINING RETREAT"

This year we will spend three days training the six captains and three co-captains preparing them for leading teams, working with people, and accomplishing tasks.  It will be an exciting time of fellowship, Worship, Teachings, and some very practical objectives for them to accomplish and learn from.  We are excited about this and look forward for God to do some excellent things in their lives!  Please keep Alfredo, Jorge, Francisco, Andrés, Jamín, and Karolina in your prayers.

Women's Ministry

Geña is the Women's Ministry Director and just finished using "Mother Wise" as a resource for their small group studies.  She has been meeting with leaders who lead small groups of women and as a whole they meet every other Saturday.  They just had their final meeting over dinner with barbecued hamburgers.  Around half of the 25 women who attended shared testimonies of how God impacted their lives and families through this study.  It was a blessing to see and hear how they are putting into practice what they learned through this experience.  Thank you for all of you who pray for the women of Cofradía Centro Cristiano and thanks to Cy-Fair Christian Church's women's team for inspiring them.

COMING SOON!!!

Men's Discipleship

Last night I just finished a 6 month Discipleship course with three friends of mine.  It started as a project to see what it was like using Gregory Ogden's Discipleship Manual base off his book Transforming Discipleship.  The idea is to disciple 2 or maximum 3 people and continue with the challenge when we finish of doing it again with 2 or 3 other people.  This was an amazing course that brought us four closer together and I cannot begin to explain the growth I saw and experienced.  It was an excellent time!  We finished last night making a commitment to continue meeting together (not necessarily each week) and continue this same course with other men.  We are all praying about who God will lead us to and it's going to be exciting to see how this takes off!!

Great stuff!

Pastor Gollo, Gustavo, Esteban, Hugo

By the way, around 8 years ago when I did a discipleship class with our students (Navigator's 2:7), Gustavo and Hugo were on my Evangelism Prayer list for them to be saved!  What a privilege to grow together as brothers now!

Kindergarten Graduation

Emma Rose graduated from Kindergarten on July 5 and Rebecka finishes 4th grade the next day!

Emma with her friend Gaby

Emma and some of her classmates with her teacher

Rebecka with her friend Evelyn

Rebecka with her cousin Luis who finished third grade this year.

Alternative Missions Cofradía Staff

Max, Rebecka, Steve, Geña, Emma, Jay, Faith, Elisabeth, Mati, Pastor Gollo, Sandy, Amber
Not pictured: Isaiah, Kai

JULY UPDATE

Greetings from Cofradía, Mexico!  After we returned from Arizona, we were plunged right into the rainy season!  It rained every day for a week, that’s the first time that I can think of the rainy starting with full force.  Many people’s roofs were leaking, including roofs at the base, the church, and our own.  It appears that we’ve been able to take care of the leaks, but feel sorry for and trying to help some people who are still struggling.

The last couple of months we’ve asked prayer for...

• Baby Things are going very well and the Dr. says that everything is normal.  Thank you for your continued prayers for Geña and the baby.
• Mother’s Day The Women’s Ministry headed up by Geña had their traditional pancake breakfast on May 10 (Mexican Mother’s Day) and it went very well.  There were almost 60 mothers in attendance!
• Cora Indian Outreach  The Agua Aceda Ministry Team kicked off ministry in that village with an open-air evangelistic meeting at their basketball/volleyball court in May.  It was a great time of music, drama, puppets, and preaching.  We closed with a time of prayer with the people of the town and many were blessed and eager for more.  The team has been following up each week and just last Friday they blessed a family with a lean-to roof at their house.  See details here. 
• EL RETO This is a huge special need right now as it is each year.  We have been planning for the past couple of months some details of this year’s event, “The Danger Zone,” and we need your help.  Please click here to see how you can be involved.
• Missionary Staff Retreat We had an excellent time in Mazatlan for two days talking about the direction of the Base’s Ministry.  Our primary function is to support Centro Cristiano Cofradía by means of Short-Term Mission groups and staff abilities.  We are also here to bless the community in any way we can.  Thank you for your prayers and continued support!
• Quick trip to the United States We were in Arizona for a couple of weeks with our friends, the Michers.  They were great hosts and we appreciate them very much.  While we were there, we visited an amazing church that made us feel more than welcome.  We are looking forward to the next time we get to visit our family at Grace to the Nations. 
  

Links to other news:

• Upper Room Project We are still in need of finances in order to continue after we finish the smooth wall stucco, which we are very close to doing.  Please check out the link and scroll down to see what’s next and how you can help either by a one time gift or a donation spread out among six months.
• A Lesson from Pony, our Chihuahua dog  See what happened one morning as Geña took Pony for a walk.
• TenBrink Update
  

This Month’s requests:

• Baby Please continue to pray for a smooth and healthy pregnancy.  The due date is +/- Aug.29
• SPECIAL NEED - EL RETO Finances, wisdom, and for an incredible impact in the youth’s lives.
• Graduation Emma will graduate from Kindergarten this week (July 5) and Rebecka will be participating in a dance for the Elementary School graduation (July 6)
• Upper Room Project Finances
• Youth Camp Our students are gearing up for their annual youth camp they’ve been invited to near La Cruz, Sinaloa. (July 24 – 28)
  

Thank you very much for partnering with us through your prayers and financial support.
Click here to donate to our personal support.

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

Facebook
SKYPE: “srsilberman”

Arizona pics

Here are a few pics from our Arizona trip...

Swimming in the pool was the absolute funnest for the girls.  A little cold for Emma, but they sure put their hours in!

We took a trip to the Tucson Zoo!

And drove up to Mt. Lemon; I had no idea it snowed in Tucson!

Cora Indian Ministry - Agua Aceda

Last Friday our Agua Aceda team took a small group of people up to the Cora Indian Village called Agua Aceda to serve a family in need of a roof.  Members of Centro Cristiano Cofradía got together and donated their time and the finances for the supplies.  It was a great success and a huge blessing to Josefina and her family!

Special Need - Student Ministry

We are two months away from kicking off our annual "Challenge" event with our student ministry; also known as EL RETO!  This year's theme is "La Zona de Peligro" (The Danger Zone).  It's a very exciting time not just for the youth, but also for the adults who help staff the event and children who dream of the day they can participate in it.

We need your help.  Would you sponsor this event with a special gift of any size?  We will need to purchase props, shirts, team accessories, banquet supplies, promotional materials, and prizes, as well as provide gas money for transportation.  In the end, we need at least $1,500 dollars.

Donate here to Ministry Location: Cofradía and make a special note that it's for "Students".

If you are unfamiliar with this event, you can click here to see more information including videos of the past couple of years.

Thank you in advance for your partnership as we reach students together for God's Kingdom.

-Steve

TenBrink June Update

Jay and Faith TenBrink are missionaries with us at Alternative Missions Cofradía.  They did an excellent job sharing about our ministry and more specifically of things they are directly involved in.  Please enjoy their informative update!  You can click on the page to zoom in.  At the bottom are links to slide shows to different activities we've had.

Mojocuautla Outreach Slideshow
Agua Aceda Outreach Slideshow
Cobblestone Road Project Slideshow
Paver Stone Project Slideshow
Roof Project Slideshow

A Lesson from a Chihuahua

As Geña left the house this morning to go on her walk, our Chihuahua, “Pony,” wanted to go with her.  Without a leash, they started to walk.  Two blocks from the house some bigger dogs started to chase him.  Immediately, Pony races back to the house faster than he’s ever ran leaving a trail of dust behind as the dogs take off after him.  Geña returned to the house to find Pony frightened and scared for his life.  Grabbing the leash to venture out once more, Pony willingly let her put it on him and at once felt safely connected to his protector.  Off they went walking together back into the dangerously scary world where the enemy awaited to attack.  When they came closer to the threat of trouble, Pony looks up at Geña with humble eyes that would say, “Help me.”  She reaches down to cradle her hand under his belly and gently picks him up and carries him through his fear.

What a picture of how being connected to our Protector creates a sense of security and faith that He will carry us through our fear!

Cobblestone Street for Church

The neighbor in front of the church has contracted some men to lay cobblestone on the streets surrounding his house.  The men are getting ready to set the rocks on the street that passes the front of the church soon.  That means that we need to come up with $1,200 dollars to pay our half.  We have been taking up special offerings in the church for a month, but we are a long ways away from our goal.  Will you help us with a generous donation?

Click here to safely give an online tax-deductible donation.  Designate the donation to the ministry location "Cofradía" and make a special note for "Church Street."

Thank you for your partnership with this ministry!

Blessings to all!

Grading the street in preparation.

Neighbor's house with his front street finished.  Our church is on the street to the right.

Almost ready with the loads of rock waiting.

MAY UPDATE

Greetings, from Cofradía, Mexico!  The weather has been getting a lot warmer lately; that’s usually what May brings.  Things are going well and there continues to be lots of activities.  Please keep us in your prayers as we serve the Lord here in Mexico.  We pray for you often.

Last month, we asked for your prayers concerning:

• Baby Thank you for your prayers!  The Doctor continues to say that everything is going well and the ultrasounds are showing good health.  We had hoped to go to Washington to have the baby, but it looks like we’ll stay here in Mexico for the birth.  
• “It Is Finished” A great evening of remembering what Christ has done for us.  Not only did he die for us, but God raised him from the dead!  Many people came forward to be ministered to that night.  Click here for more.
• Emma Rose She was so excited to turn six!  We had a great time with her and her friends on April 10.  Click here to see pictures.
• Mom and Dad Silberman 44 years and doing great!
• Cora Indian Outreach  Our local body of believers went on an Evangelism Outreach to the Cora Indian village, Mojocuautla.  A lot of the town came out to the center of town to see the dramas, music, testimonies and be prayed for.  Click here to see more.
• Leadership Classes Martin is doing a great job sharing with the Leadership some things he learned in Oaxaca.
• I preached on April 29 and May 6 It went really well and I had a lot of fun.  Click here for the short report.
• Marriage Class Leaders Abraham Aguilar and his wife, Graciela, have been doing a great job.
• Evangelism Outreach Our students had the opportunity to participate in a mini youth conference.  The original plan was an evangelistic outreach, but it turned into a youth conference with other surrounding churches in this region.  Click here for more.
  

Links to other news:

• Upper Room Project We are still in need of finances to finish.  Please check out the link in order to see how you can help either by a one time gift or a donation spread out among six months: 
• Praying for Our Children  Each Sunday parents and teachers come forward to lay hands on the children before they go to their classes.
  

This Month’s requests:

• Baby Thank you for your continued prayers for a healthy baby.  The due date is +/- Aug.29
• Mother’s Day The Women’s ministry will be holding a breakfast for all the mothers that can come on the Mexican Mother’s Day, May 10 (It’s always on May 10 here).
• Cora Indian Outreach  Our church will be kicking off another outreach to the Cora Indian village, Agua Aceda.  The purpose is to maintain a consistent presence in the towns of Mojocuautla and Agua Aceda.  Please pray for open and receptive hearts to the good news of Jesus. (May 19)
• EL RETO We are beginning our planning for our major Survivor, Amazing Race, Fear Factor Youth Outreach called, “The Challenge.”  We need $2000 for this event.  Please help.  Click here to see how.
• Missionary Staff Retreat Please pray for continued guidance as we seek the Lord for this ministry (May 25, 26)
• Quick trip to the United States We will be heading for Arizona on May 30 and will be away for about 10 days.  Please pray for travelling safety and an opportunity to rest.
  

Thank you very much for partnering with us through your prayers and financial support.
Click here to donate to our personal support.

Blessings,
Steve, Geña, Rebecka and Emma Rose Silberman
Missionaries to Mexico
Alternative Missions Cofradia
Area Director
Facebook
SKYPE: “srsilberman”

Healthy Growth

I had the opportunity to speak the last two Sundays in church.  As I'm normally leading worship, this was the first time in a really long time that I was able to preach to the congregation.  This year Pastor Gollo has been focusing on our Spiritual Growth and I thought it appropriate to share "Signs of Healthy Growth" inspired by my late Pastor Marc Pearson's messages of 25 Signs of A Healthy Christian.

I've never before felt the excitement of not being able to wait through the Worship time to be able to speak.  It was pretty exciting and I had fun.  Most importantly, the people I prayed with at the end came forward because of doubts and hurts.  One gave his life to the Lord!

Unteaching Marriage

Unteaching Marriage is the title of our Marriage class that Abraham and Graciela have been teaching on the first Sunday of every month.  It has been a great time and an excellent opportunity for the married couples to receive some correct teaching on Marriage.  "Unteaching" because some of us have been taught incorrectly and we need to relearn some things.

Student Ministry to El Tigre

On May 5, our student ministry had the opportunity to participate in a mini-youth conference in the church at El Tigre about 20 minutes north of here.  There were many youth there from Pescadero, Tuxpan, El Tigre, Cofradía, and Arrayanes.  It was a really fun time as our youth opened up with worship, there was a special song from a local, an excellent message from the Tuxpan Pastor, and a lively closing with Worship from the El Tigre band.  Many of the students went forward and it was evident that they were receiving a touch from the Lord.

"Templo Cristiano" in El Tigre, Nayarit

Our youth getting ready for worship.

Ministry in Mojocuautla

Mojocuautla is one of the closest Cora Indian villages that we have spent over 15 years visiting and ministering to on and off as the Lord directs us.  The ministry has fluctuated in the past ranging from a really great response to a dry lack of interest.  Missionaries Jay and Faith TenBrink lived there for a while and are the Indigenous Ministry Leaders for this ministry.  They have recently formed a team of leaders who are dedicated to visiting and evangelizing this town and another one called Agua Aceda.

In April, our local church body in Cofradía took the gospel message to this village after months of not having the opportunity to visit as the Student Ministry shared a drama and music along with some special testimonies and music from others.  At the end of our time there, we had the opportunity to pray with many villagers.  Horacio will be be leading the evangelism along with Angel "Niko" after this "kick-off" event.  Next month, we do the same in Agua Aceda.

Missionaries Jay and Faith TenBrink.  Indigenous Ministry Leaders.

Horacio our greeting and inviting people to the center of town. 

Students and adults inviting the people of Mojocuautla

Angel "Niko" getting ready to start everything.

Prayer

Prayer

Praying for Our Children

Months ago we started to take a little more interest in the children of the church as we call them up after worship time and the parents and teachers come forward to pray over them each Sunday before they head off to class.  It was been a wonderful time for all of us to remind us that while we're receiving the Word of God in the service, there are children that are being nurtured by God through their teachers in the classrooms.  This has also made a better connection with the congregation and children. Thank you Sunday-School Teachers for all you do!

YOU can participate with us each Sunday by remembering to pray for the Children's Ministry in Cofradía led by Antonia Franco.

Emma's Birthday

Emma Rose turned 6 years old on April 10.  We celebrated her birthday as she invited many of her friends over for hotdogs and tamales.  She was dressed in her stylish butterfly outfit as all the kids enjoyed hitting three different piñatas and eating cake.  Emma was soooo excited!

It Is Finished

"It Is Finished" was a special service on Good Friday.  We had a special speaker, Pastor José from Rosamorada, a drama performed by the youth group and a special video edited by Jay.  It was a great time and many people came forward for prayer in the end.

APRIL UPDATE

Greetings, from Cofradía, Mexico!  We’re in the first week of a two-week Spring Break here in Mexico.  The girls are home so we’ve been doing home school in the mornings.  Monday we went to the beach; Rebecka and I had an extremely fun time riding the waves on boogie boards, Emma and I had a great time jumping the smaller waves near the shore, and Geña visited with the friends that went with us.  The weather is getting warmer during the day, but it still stays around 60 in the early morning--burr! Thank you for your prayers this past month as there has been lots of activity.

Last month, we asked for your prayers concerning:

• Homeschool Thank you for your prayers. We are almost all caught up with projection to finish in June.  The girls are doing well.  Please keep this in your prayers as you pray for our family.
• Baby Each month we’ve gone to the doctor for an ultrasound.  This past month the Doctor continues to say that everything is going very well; the baby is healthy and active.  Our next visit is in a couple of weeks.
• Pastor Gollo’s Son Gollito has been recovering very well.  If you were to see him, you wouldn’t know that anything happened.  Four of the five teeth that need to be replaced have yet been supplied, he’s had some provisional teeth in the meantime.  Thank you for your prayers.
• Youth Ministry Awards Night This was an incredible night that brings the students together.  Inspired and started by a short-term missions team, our student ministry decided to keep the tradition in the team’s absence this year.  This has become one of the most influential annual events we have for the students as we honor those who have stood out in leadership and growth.  Read the report here.
  

Links to other news:

• Upper Room Project If you’ve been following our updates, you know we’ve been working on finishing our house.  With what have have saved and raised, we are over half way to reaching our goal.  Please continue to keep this in your prayers and if you can help, we’d appreciate it.  We’d like to have it ready for when the baby arrives in late August.  Please check out the link in order to see how you can help.
• Xtreme Kids We took 12 of our children to a concert in Tepic with the Xtreme Kids band.  All of them loved it!
• Vision Juvenil 20 of our youth were at a youth conference in Tepic where over 1,000 people attended.  Many people were saved and touched by God.
• Pastors Unite Some Pastors in the area are saying, “Let’s set aside our denominational differences and Praise God together.”
• March Newsletter 

This Month’s requests:

• Baby Thank you for your continued prayers for a healthy baby.  The due date is +/- Aug.29
• “It Is Finished” is the title of Good Friday’s service as we have invited other churches to attend and be part of what God is doing here.  Please pray for open hearts and freedom through the cross. (April 6)
• Emma Rose will turn 6 on April 10!
• Mom and Dad Silberman will celebrate 44 years of marriage on April 12!
• Cora Indian Outreach  Our church will be kicking off another season of outreach into the Cora Indian villages that are in our backyard.  We are planning an evangelistic outreach with the purpose of maintaining a consistent presence in the towns of Mojocuautla and Agua Aceda.  On Saturday, April 14, we will be visiting Mojocuautla.
• Leadership Classes In working towards the goal of giving a healthy structure to the church body, Pastor Gollo has been meeting with his leaders once a month.  One of the young adults who has been to two years of bible school will be starting a Leadership class for our leaders on April 15.  We are looking forward to Martin’s teaching. (3rd Sunday of each month)
• I will be preaching on April 29 and again on May 6 for the first time in the new church building during a Sunday Service (I’m usually leading worship).  I’ll be continuing with Pastor Gollo’s theme of “Growth” as I speak on Signs of Healthy Growth.
• Marriage Class Leaders Abraham Aguilar and his wife, Graciela, have been leading a Marriage class on the first Sunday of each month.  This month we watched the movie, “Courageous.”  Please pray for wisdom as they continue to teach and for the marriages of the brothers and sisters in Centro Cristiano Cofradía. (1st Sunday of each month)
• Evangelism Outreach in a nearby town called El Tigre.  Our youth band has been invited to participate in an evangelistic outreach with our friends/brothers in El Tigre.  Please pray for the Holy Spirit to touch our band as they have been performing lately.  (May 5)
  

Thank you very much for partnering with us through your prayers and financial support.
Click here to donate to our personal support

Blessings,
Steve, Geña, Rebecka and Emma Rose Silberman
Missionaries to Mexico
Alternative Missions Cofradia
Area Director
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/srsilberman
SKYPE: “srsilberman”

written 4/6/2012