Sandra (see picture from previous post) did a great job sharing a Bible study last Friday night at our youth home group. She spoke about three different kinds of people; natural people, carnal people, and spiritual people. She asked the youth to identify themselves with one of those three. The natural person does not have an interest in the things of God; the carnal person has somewhat of an interest in the things of God, but does not live a life pleasing to the Lord (they like the milk of the Word); finally, the spiritual person has interest in God and is living the abundant life that Jesus came to give us (they are eating the meat of the Word). She challenged the youth who have been a part of the group for a while to let go of the bottle and start eating meat. It was very good and I thought that she had the right message for the group. Some of them need to take some steps of faith.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
Student Leadership Retreat
Chuy
Jose Luis
Martin
Sandra
We’re excited to do something new this year! On June 6 and 7 we plan to take four of our older and mature youth on an overnight Leadership Retreat. This has been on my heart for about a year and it’s great to see it coming to life.
Each student is at least 20 years old and has been part of the youth group for a while. On this retreat, we’ll be looking at the life of Nehemiah and his leadership skills; specifically his devotional life, the actions he took towards his vision, how he confronted opposition, and we’ll also look at the completion of his vision.
Our plan is to leave early in the morning to have a time of teaching, reflection, and sharing from God’s Word. We’ll stay the night in a hotel and before we return the next evening, we’ll challenge these four students to put together a “day camp” in July for the new seventh graders that will be joining our youth group this summer. This will give an opportunity for the new students to feel welcome and get to know some of the older students as leaders. It should be an exciting time!
We’re really looking forward to this and we believe that this is where God is taking us as our ministry is growing more into training others to be leaders. Just like Nehemiah received a vision to do something for God’s Kingdom, the passion and burden I personally have for this event is incredible.
In order to fight off the enemy and their tactics, Nehemiah equipped half of the people with spears, shields, bows and armor while the other half did the work. We would ask you please join us in prayer for this retreat and be one of those people that are “standing guard”.
Pray for…
· Safety in traveling to and from Mazatlán and safety while we’re there.
· Clarity of mind for the staff who will be leading this retreat (Steve, Geña, and Amber).
· Open hearts and minds for the students (Sandra, Martín, José Luís, and Jesús).
· Passion in all of us for the cause of Christ.
· Fruit
· And pray for whatever else the Lord puts on your hearts.
Thank you so much for being part of what God is doing in Cofradía.
Steve and Geña Silberman
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Ministry Update
Every month our staff puts together an update on different areas of our ministry here. This is our update from April...
Youth Update: Leadership
We are blessed to have leaders within the youth group. A couple of exciting things have happened recently that have brought to light how God is working in the students. Pastor Gollo’s third son, Julio, gave the bible study at our weekly Youth Home Group and did a very good job! He spoke on Respecting Leaders and it was thorough, thought-provoking, and complete. This was the first time he did an actual study and we were really impressed with how it was put together and presented.
Another exciting thing was at our monthly youth event. Martin, one of the older students who spent one year at a Bible school, has really done a great job of influencing the lives of the students in Arrayanes. He has been instrumental in bringing a number of youth to Christ, starting a rap band, and now he has put together a drama team. The eight participants did an excellent job with their skit. They portrayed four guys who were drug dealers and lived the party life, Martin came in to share the gospel and was rejected by the guys, but there were two girls that received the message. In the end, another “bad guy” came in and shot at everyone with at toy gun while another student was at the piano making gun-shot sounds. It was great! Martin shared the message of what happens when we reject God’s word and don’t live according to His will. It will be interesting to see what they come up with next!
Cofradía Church
Enjoy April’s update from Pastor Goyo!
“In family group we are arriving at the final stage of the Bondage Breakers study, and this past week we began with the seven steps to freedom. I had reviewed the material for the two previous weeks, and the content is very helpful for the individual and general growth of the church. My expectations were met the first day of study because when we began with the question of whether anyone had participated in activities that were not glorifying to God, it was suggested that we pray a prayer recognizing God as the only God that everyone knows, who is always present, and that we would depend on him and believe the truth that all authority in heaven and on earth is given to Christ, and that we would participate in that authority.
“It was also suggested that, with all the authority of Christ, we command Satan and every evil spirit, in order to have freedom to choose the will of God, like children of God. Upon reviewing the list of non-Christian spiritual control, I was surprised by how some of the group members responded and after reading the list, the ones that impacted the most were superstition, saint-worship, and television. But the most impact came from the two additional questions which had to do with listening to or feeling the presence of spirits in your home and nightmares. It made me think of the scripture in Romans 12:2: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing, and perfect will." In this way, once we surrender our lives to God, there will be a total change of the believer in a general way, and although the time will come for this moment, I know God will make it arrive for every one who decides to accept him as Lord of their lives. Thank you for your prayers and for all your support of this town. May the Lord bless the work of His hands.”
General Update: STM
We have had a very busy but successful Short-Term Missions (STM) season so far this year. We have had 7 groups come down since January, and we are awaiting two more in June! So far we’ve seen the following outreach activities: women’s ministry, youth ministry, VBS, a youth leadership conference, construction on our central church facility, and meeting dental needs. In June our two teams will be focusing on the Cora village of Mojocuautla as well as more evangelistic outreaches into towns where we do not yet have ministry! It has been a very exciting season of short-term groups. Each one has made it’s own impact for the kingdom of God in Mexico, and we know that He will continue to plan and harvest the fruits of their labors and investment!
We have recently opened up an online photo gallery. If you would like to see photo albums from our spring groups and church construction, please go to: www.cofradiamexico.com.
General Update: Radio Ministry
Our radio ministry is another area for which we are quite excited. The Lord opened up doors in January for Gollo, the pastor of the Cofradía church, to begin ministering by radio. Since the Mexican government does not allow religious groups to operate radio stations, we rent air time from the local station in Ruiz. Each Thursday at 11:30 in the morning, Gollo hosts a half-hour show called “Restaurando Relaciones” (Restoring Relationships). He wants to show that we all experience the impact of broken relationships in our lives and that it is the result of living a broken relationship with our Creator. However, our Creator desires to restore us to a right relationship with Him, and as a result He will begin to restore the other broken relationships in our lives. Gollo’s desire is to be able to extend the show to three times a week. However, we are in need of funds in order to be able to increase the frequency of the broadcast. If you are interested in partnering with us in this ministry, please contact us and let us know! We would love your partnership in reaching more of this area for Christ!
New Church Construction Update
New Church Electricity on its way!
The new church construction is going well. We are presently focusing on getting the sanctuary walls to the 28 feet mark so that they will be ready to receive the roof. We are still hoping to start construction of the roof this coming winter, the Lord willing.
Good news! We have been working on the installation of electricity to the new church property since January. As it turns out we are outside the service area, which means that we are financially responsible for the extension of service area (posts, cable, and transformer) plus the hook-up to the church itself. We applied for a quote from the Federal Electric Commission, the only place one is available, and were told it would cost 28,480.03 pesos, which is about $2,7000 USD. Well, that seemed like a lot to us; however, in short order the Electric Commission offered to give us, free of charge, the transformer that would be required. This dropped the quote down to 15,361.14 pesos or about $1,450 USD. At the same time it was suggested that we should consider applying for assistance with the Municipal Government because the extension of service will be of benefit to the entire community. We took this advice and applied for assistance. Glory to God, an engineer from the Municipal Government stopped by this week and handed us a check for 10,000 pesos, which is about what we spend in two weeks in the construction of the sanctuary walls. Hallelujah, two weeks of free work!
This week we will go to the city to apply and pay for this extension of service and the new church electricity hook-up. Soon we will have electricity!!
But the story does not stop there. The Lord is definitely opening doors for us in this area. When the engineer came by to drop off the check, he mentioned that the Municipal President told him to say “hi” to us and ask if we could do other projects together. We talked about the possibility of building a re-habilitation house here in Cofradía or other similar projects. They very openly invited us to continue to involve them in community-related projects. Go figure!! Only God could get even the government working on His plans.
Youth Update: Leadership
We are blessed to have leaders within the youth group. A couple of exciting things have happened recently that have brought to light how God is working in the students. Pastor Gollo’s third son, Julio, gave the bible study at our weekly Youth Home Group and did a very good job! He spoke on Respecting Leaders and it was thorough, thought-provoking, and complete. This was the first time he did an actual study and we were really impressed with how it was put together and presented.
Another exciting thing was at our monthly youth event. Martin, one of the older students who spent one year at a Bible school, has really done a great job of influencing the lives of the students in Arrayanes. He has been instrumental in bringing a number of youth to Christ, starting a rap band, and now he has put together a drama team. The eight participants did an excellent job with their skit. They portrayed four guys who were drug dealers and lived the party life, Martin came in to share the gospel and was rejected by the guys, but there were two girls that received the message. In the end, another “bad guy” came in and shot at everyone with at toy gun while another student was at the piano making gun-shot sounds. It was great! Martin shared the message of what happens when we reject God’s word and don’t live according to His will. It will be interesting to see what they come up with next!
Cofradía Church
Enjoy April’s update from Pastor Goyo!
“In family group we are arriving at the final stage of the Bondage Breakers study, and this past week we began with the seven steps to freedom. I had reviewed the material for the two previous weeks, and the content is very helpful for the individual and general growth of the church. My expectations were met the first day of study because when we began with the question of whether anyone had participated in activities that were not glorifying to God, it was suggested that we pray a prayer recognizing God as the only God that everyone knows, who is always present, and that we would depend on him and believe the truth that all authority in heaven and on earth is given to Christ, and that we would participate in that authority.
“It was also suggested that, with all the authority of Christ, we command Satan and every evil spirit, in order to have freedom to choose the will of God, like children of God. Upon reviewing the list of non-Christian spiritual control, I was surprised by how some of the group members responded and after reading the list, the ones that impacted the most were superstition, saint-worship, and television. But the most impact came from the two additional questions which had to do with listening to or feeling the presence of spirits in your home and nightmares. It made me think of the scripture in Romans 12:2: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing, and perfect will." In this way, once we surrender our lives to God, there will be a total change of the believer in a general way, and although the time will come for this moment, I know God will make it arrive for every one who decides to accept him as Lord of their lives. Thank you for your prayers and for all your support of this town. May the Lord bless the work of His hands.”
General Update: STM
We have had a very busy but successful Short-Term Missions (STM) season so far this year. We have had 7 groups come down since January, and we are awaiting two more in June! So far we’ve seen the following outreach activities: women’s ministry, youth ministry, VBS, a youth leadership conference, construction on our central church facility, and meeting dental needs. In June our two teams will be focusing on the Cora village of Mojocuautla as well as more evangelistic outreaches into towns where we do not yet have ministry! It has been a very exciting season of short-term groups. Each one has made it’s own impact for the kingdom of God in Mexico, and we know that He will continue to plan and harvest the fruits of their labors and investment!
We have recently opened up an online photo gallery. If you would like to see photo albums from our spring groups and church construction, please go to: www.cofradiamexico.com.
General Update: Radio Ministry
Our radio ministry is another area for which we are quite excited. The Lord opened up doors in January for Gollo, the pastor of the Cofradía church, to begin ministering by radio. Since the Mexican government does not allow religious groups to operate radio stations, we rent air time from the local station in Ruiz. Each Thursday at 11:30 in the morning, Gollo hosts a half-hour show called “Restaurando Relaciones” (Restoring Relationships). He wants to show that we all experience the impact of broken relationships in our lives and that it is the result of living a broken relationship with our Creator. However, our Creator desires to restore us to a right relationship with Him, and as a result He will begin to restore the other broken relationships in our lives. Gollo’s desire is to be able to extend the show to three times a week. However, we are in need of funds in order to be able to increase the frequency of the broadcast. If you are interested in partnering with us in this ministry, please contact us and let us know! We would love your partnership in reaching more of this area for Christ!
New Church Construction Update
New Church Electricity on its way!
The new church construction is going well. We are presently focusing on getting the sanctuary walls to the 28 feet mark so that they will be ready to receive the roof. We are still hoping to start construction of the roof this coming winter, the Lord willing.
Good news! We have been working on the installation of electricity to the new church property since January. As it turns out we are outside the service area, which means that we are financially responsible for the extension of service area (posts, cable, and transformer) plus the hook-up to the church itself. We applied for a quote from the Federal Electric Commission, the only place one is available, and were told it would cost 28,480.03 pesos, which is about $2,7000 USD. Well, that seemed like a lot to us; however, in short order the Electric Commission offered to give us, free of charge, the transformer that would be required. This dropped the quote down to 15,361.14 pesos or about $1,450 USD. At the same time it was suggested that we should consider applying for assistance with the Municipal Government because the extension of service will be of benefit to the entire community. We took this advice and applied for assistance. Glory to God, an engineer from the Municipal Government stopped by this week and handed us a check for 10,000 pesos, which is about what we spend in two weeks in the construction of the sanctuary walls. Hallelujah, two weeks of free work!
This week we will go to the city to apply and pay for this extension of service and the new church electricity hook-up. Soon we will have electricity!!
But the story does not stop there. The Lord is definitely opening doors for us in this area. When the engineer came by to drop off the check, he mentioned that the Municipal President told him to say “hi” to us and ask if we could do other projects together. We talked about the possibility of building a re-habilitation house here in Cofradía or other similar projects. They very openly invited us to continue to involve them in community-related projects. Go figure!! Only God could get even the government working on His plans.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
MAY NEWSLETTER
MAY 2007
The Silbermans
Home: 9403 Tracyton Blvd.. NW *Bremerton, WA 98311 * USA * 360-692-2054
Field: APDO #19 * Tuxpan, NAY 63201 * MEXICO * 011-52-319-232-5172
Support: Steven & Efigenia Silberman * Alternative Missions * PO Box 5835 * Goodyear, AZ 85338 * USA
¡SALUDOS!
Greetings everyone! We pray that this letter finds you in good health and passionate about Jesus! We are excited for what God is doing here in our family, the church, short-term missions, and in the youth.
FAMILY NEWS
Lots has happened lately in the lives of Rebecka and Emma.
Rebecka and her cousin Luis were King and Queen of the Butterflies for the Kindergarden’s Spring Parade in March. They got to dress up along with the other seven Kindergarden King’s and Queens. As we drove around Cofradía with them in the back of the truck, crowds came out of their homes to receive the candy the kids were throwing. They had a great time. In April, Rebecka participated in a “field day” running a 50-yard dash. She did a great job!
Emma Rose turned one year old on April 10th! WOW! Time is flying. She has started to walk all over the place. She keeps us busy and is loads of fun!
We also had the wonderful privilege of having some of my cousins take time out of their vacation in Puerto Vallarta and stay with us in Cofradía for a night. That was one of the biggest blessings we could receive, have family and friends come visit us! Please let us know if you’re going to be in the area (Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta, or Guadalajara) sometime so we can see you when you’re visiting Mexico. We are always honored to have you!
MINISTRY
The local church here has been growing a lot. We continue to have a number of Family Groups that meet weekly and various other activites that people are involved in, in order to build community and have fellowship. The local Pastor, Gollo Hernández, started to preach on the radio in January once a week for ½ an hour. This radio program can be listened to all over the world through the internet. Locally, the vision is to be able to use it to reach the Indian villages high up in the mountains where we don’t have regular contact.
We have had a number of short-term mission teams come down to help us with the mission these past few months. In February, a team came down to work specifically on the new church facility and they were able to finish a couple rooms and the platform. The next team came in March to work specifically with our youth and did a great job. We had a one-day Amazing Race for them to work together with our students figuring out the notes that were written in a mixture of Spanish and English…that was lots of fun! For their work project they started and finished the sanctuary/basketball court floor. Another team came to work with the Children and it was the first time that Rebecka was able to participate, she had loads of fun. For their work project, they were able to start the foundations of many of the classrooms and pour the floor for the library. We are excited for the progress. If you feel led to help by bringing a team or sending donations, contact us.
There has been a few students “stepping to the plate” lately in our Student Ministry. They have been involved in Bible studies, skits, musical bands, and preaching. One of the neatest things I get to experience is the one-on-one time with some of the students. We’ve started to pair off at our Friday night meetings for prayer at the end and it’s a great chance to get to know the students more and hear their needs. Also, a number of them come to my office for “mentor time.” I’m encouraged by what God has been doing in their lives!
Please continue to look at our blog from time to time, we try to update it weekly. Sometimes I’ll post testimonies of students and write in more detail of how God is impacting their lives.
AND PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY.
May the Lord bless you all,
Steve, Geña, Rebecka and Emma Silberman
Missionaries to Mexico
Alternative Missions
SUPPORT ADDRESS
Thank you for continuing to be part of our team and supporting our ministry. If you haven’t yet joined our team of supporters, please consider joining.
· Send to:
Alternative MissionsPO Box 5835Goodyear, AZ 85338
· Checks made out to ALTERNATIVE MISSIONS
· Send a note on a separate piece of paper indicating that it is for Cofradía Staff Members: Steve and Efigenia Silberman.
· You can also donate online by clicking on "Donate to the Silbermans" to the right of this message.
· Thanks again for being part of our team!
EMAIL
steve@alternativemissions.com
JOURNAL
http://thesilbermans.blogspot.com/
WEBSITE
http://www.alternativemissions.com/
†MANNA†
In Prayer that brings Revival by David Yonggi Cho, he says something that really helped me about hearing the voice of God. “It’s not that God is not speaking to us, it’s that we’re not listening to Him.” WOW! I hope this encourages you too!
Written: May 10, 2007
The Silbermans
Home: 9403 Tracyton Blvd.. NW *Bremerton, WA 98311 * USA * 360-692-2054
Field: APDO #19 * Tuxpan, NAY 63201 * MEXICO * 011-52-319-232-5172
Support: Steven & Efigenia Silberman * Alternative Missions * PO Box 5835 * Goodyear, AZ 85338 * USA
¡SALUDOS!
Greetings everyone! We pray that this letter finds you in good health and passionate about Jesus! We are excited for what God is doing here in our family, the church, short-term missions, and in the youth.
FAMILY NEWS
Lots has happened lately in the lives of Rebecka and Emma.
Rebecka and her cousin Luis were King and Queen of the Butterflies for the Kindergarden’s Spring Parade in March. They got to dress up along with the other seven Kindergarden King’s and Queens. As we drove around Cofradía with them in the back of the truck, crowds came out of their homes to receive the candy the kids were throwing. They had a great time. In April, Rebecka participated in a “field day” running a 50-yard dash. She did a great job!
Emma Rose turned one year old on April 10th! WOW! Time is flying. She has started to walk all over the place. She keeps us busy and is loads of fun!
We also had the wonderful privilege of having some of my cousins take time out of their vacation in Puerto Vallarta and stay with us in Cofradía for a night. That was one of the biggest blessings we could receive, have family and friends come visit us! Please let us know if you’re going to be in the area (Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta, or Guadalajara) sometime so we can see you when you’re visiting Mexico. We are always honored to have you!
MINISTRY
The local church here has been growing a lot. We continue to have a number of Family Groups that meet weekly and various other activites that people are involved in, in order to build community and have fellowship. The local Pastor, Gollo Hernández, started to preach on the radio in January once a week for ½ an hour. This radio program can be listened to all over the world through the internet. Locally, the vision is to be able to use it to reach the Indian villages high up in the mountains where we don’t have regular contact.
We have had a number of short-term mission teams come down to help us with the mission these past few months. In February, a team came down to work specifically on the new church facility and they were able to finish a couple rooms and the platform. The next team came in March to work specifically with our youth and did a great job. We had a one-day Amazing Race for them to work together with our students figuring out the notes that were written in a mixture of Spanish and English…that was lots of fun! For their work project they started and finished the sanctuary/basketball court floor. Another team came to work with the Children and it was the first time that Rebecka was able to participate, she had loads of fun. For their work project, they were able to start the foundations of many of the classrooms and pour the floor for the library. We are excited for the progress. If you feel led to help by bringing a team or sending donations, contact us.
There has been a few students “stepping to the plate” lately in our Student Ministry. They have been involved in Bible studies, skits, musical bands, and preaching. One of the neatest things I get to experience is the one-on-one time with some of the students. We’ve started to pair off at our Friday night meetings for prayer at the end and it’s a great chance to get to know the students more and hear their needs. Also, a number of them come to my office for “mentor time.” I’m encouraged by what God has been doing in their lives!
Please continue to look at our blog from time to time, we try to update it weekly. Sometimes I’ll post testimonies of students and write in more detail of how God is impacting their lives.
AND PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY.
May the Lord bless you all,
Steve, Geña, Rebecka and Emma Silberman
Missionaries to Mexico
Alternative Missions
SUPPORT ADDRESS
Thank you for continuing to be part of our team and supporting our ministry. If you haven’t yet joined our team of supporters, please consider joining.
· Send to:
Alternative MissionsPO Box 5835Goodyear, AZ 85338
· Checks made out to ALTERNATIVE MISSIONS
· Send a note on a separate piece of paper indicating that it is for Cofradía Staff Members: Steve and Efigenia Silberman.
· You can also donate online by clicking on "Donate to the Silbermans" to the right of this message.
· Thanks again for being part of our team!
steve@alternativemissions.com
JOURNAL
http://thesilbermans.blogspot.com/
WEBSITE
http://www.alternativemissions.com/
†MANNA†
In Prayer that brings Revival by David Yonggi Cho, he says something that really helped me about hearing the voice of God. “It’s not that God is not speaking to us, it’s that we’re not listening to Him.” WOW! I hope this encourages you too!
Written: May 10, 2007
Friday, May 11, 2007
Radio Show
Since January of this year, Pastor Gollo has been on the radio. Since the Mexican government does not allow religious groups to operate radio stations we rent air time for the local station in Ruiz. Each Thursday at 11:30 in the morning he hosts a half hour show called Restaurando Relaciones (Restoring Relationships). He wants to show that we all experience the impact of broken relationships in our lives, and that is the result of living a broken relationship with our Creator. However, our Creator desires to restore us to a right relationship with Him and as a result He will begin to restore the other broken relationships in our lives. His desire is to be able to extend the show to three times a week. You can listen online here. Click where it says, "XESK La Costeñita de Ruiz Nayarit en VIVO". You will need Winamp to listen. In order download that, click where it says, "Descargar Winamp."Photo Gallery
One of the missionaries has set up a photo gallery of the short-term mission teams and the construction of the new church here.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Friday, May 04, 2007
LEADERSHIP AMONGST THE YOUTH
As I mentioned in my last post, Julio gave the bible study on Friday night. Another exciting thing was at our monthly youth event on Saturday. Martin, one of the older students who spent one year at a Bible school, has really done a great job of influencing the lives of the students in Arrayanes. He has been instrumental in bringing a number of youth to Christ, starting a rap band, and now he has put together a drama team. The eight participants did an excellent job with their skit. They portrayed four guys who were drug dealers and lived the party life, Martin came in to share the gospel and was rejected by the guys, but there were two girls that received the message. In the end, another “bad guy” came in and shot at everyone with at toy gun while another student was at the piano making gun-shot sounds. It was great! Martin shared the message of what happens when we reject God’s word and don’t live according to His will. It will be interesting to see what they come up with next!
The Silbermans in Mexico!
I was so excited to see my cousins in Mexico! Bill, his wife Christie, Doug, and his wife Carol. I haven't seen them in a long time and it was such a blast to be able to chat a while. Doug and Carol were able to come out and visit us in Cofradia on Wednesday and we barbacued some Tuna they caught the day before. We walked around as I showed them the town and the next day I took them to see the church and town of Arrayanes. We then had grilled beaf for lunch and a scenic trip along the water back to Puerto Vallarta. It was so much fun and I can't wait until we can do this again. For all of you who haven't been able to come and see us, we're still here and we would love for you to come! Thanks, cousins, for your visit!
Monday, April 30, 2007
Forgiveness
In today's devotional from Neil Anderson, he talks about forgiveness and says this...
"Forgiveness is agreeing to live with the consequences of another person's sin. " WOW! Christ agreed to do this, are we willing to do it to forgive others?
"Forgiveness is agreeing to live with the consequences of another person's sin. " WOW! Christ agreed to do this, are we willing to do it to forgive others?
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Abundant LIFE
We had a good meeting last night at our Student Home Group. I asked one of our students to give the Bible study and he chose to speak about how we should respect our leaders. He did a VERY good job. It was organized, it thought-provoking, and it was complete. Please continue to pray for Julio as he grows in his gifting and continues to walk forward in the Lord.
Field Day
Thursday was a Feild Day for Rebecka's Kindergarden class. There were a number of events; footrace, bicycle race, soccer, shot put, etc. Rebecka participated in the first heat of the footrace which was the first event of the day. She didn't really know what was going on, in fact, when the called out "go" (spanish--"fuera"), the other three girls took off. Once she saw them running, she started to run. In spite of that, she made a photo-finish for third. I was proud of her because she did her best! I was really dissapointed that I kept pushing the button on the camera as they were running and NO pictures came out! I did get one while they were waiting to start though...
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
"Just Thinking"
Just Thinking is a radio broadcast by Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and it has been a real blessing to me. I encourage you to check out the archives of messages. They are less than 13 minutes long and have lots of meat.
Blessings!
Blessings!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Prayer the Brings Revival by David Yonggi Cho
Our friend Hazel Doan-Reeh loaned this book to me. It has been one of the most, if not the most, inspiring books I’ve ever read (apart from the Bible). Ever since I was in High School I’ve had a desire for a life of prayer. I was able to experience a hint of that in college and I got to see God move in ways I had not seen before. In the past few years, I have had a prayer-life, but I have not been motivated to live a life of prayer. My deepest desire is to have communion with my Lord. I want a life of prayer, not just a prayer-life.
Pastor Cho has set such a good example of how one can have deep communion with God. Throughout the book, he uses scriptural truths to make important points and shares experiences of his life and others to show that when we take the Bible seriously, we will have results in our prayers. I do not know what else to say as for a review of this book except that I highly recommend it. It will not take long to read, I don’t care for reading much and I finished it in a time span of less than a day. It is full of meat and it definitely will motivate you to pray. My prayer is to have a deeper desire, strength, and discipline to pray more.
Pastor Cho has set such a good example of how one can have deep communion with God. Throughout the book, he uses scriptural truths to make important points and shares experiences of his life and others to show that when we take the Bible seriously, we will have results in our prayers. I do not know what else to say as for a review of this book except that I highly recommend it. It will not take long to read, I don’t care for reading much and I finished it in a time span of less than a day. It is full of meat and it definitely will motivate you to pray. My prayer is to have a deeper desire, strength, and discipline to pray more.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Ministry Resource
One of the things that I've really been noticing that is effective in our youth ministry is having discussions--we talk about a story or truth of the Bible and have some question and answer time. One of the things that I've noticed that really catches the youth's attention is video. Last year when I was talking about being responsable with our finances, I used a clip from "A Bug's Life" to make my second point of "saving money for times of need." I think they got it. I was directed to the website, The Source for Youth Ministry. I have found it to be very helpful, they have movie clip ideas and whole discussions about them. There's also sections on games, activities, events, etc. Maybe this can help you also if you're working with young people.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Dinner with the Staff
Tom Hackett, the director and founder of Alternative Missions, came to have dinner with our staff last night and I am very encouraged. Ever since I first met Tom in 1988 on a Short-Term Missions trip as a youth with my home church, I have always loved to hear him share his heart. When I first met him, I said to myself, “I want to work with him.” I first came down to Mexico as a “full-time” missionary in January of 1996 to serve here in Cofradía. Now, almost 20 years after meeting him for the first time, his enthusiasm and heart for missions and reaching the world impacts me even more today.As he was sharing his heart, I was thinking of a chapter in a book I was reading in the morning. The book is called “Worship: Rediscovering the Missing Jewel” by Ronald Allen and Gordon Borror. Chapter 2 is called, “Art and Heart in Worship.” It talks about how we are to combine Art and Heart in our worship to God. As we respond to God, which is what Worship is, we all have different talents, gifts, interests, and ways of life. All of those things would be our “Art.” But if we do those things without a Heart for God, that’s all it is…Art. On the other hand, some have discouraged others saying that being “artistic” is not “Christian” because it’s “weird” or we could get wrapped up in our art, losing sight and time of “serving” God. Here is a quote from the book,
“While it is not our purpose to judge heart motive, we can but wonder why one could not dedicate his art to the glory of God as an expression of worship. This is a fulfilling of the godly attribute of creativity. Art form need not dominate heart condition; it simply must come under the control of the Holy Spirit and support the heart in the praise of God.” (pp.22-23)
So, the point is to combine Art and Heart in Worship. Art without Heart is just Art. Heart without Art is doing away with the creativity God has placed in each one of us. Years ago, I used to think that art was drawing, painting, sculpting, etc. But it’s not just that, it’s the creativity that God has given each individual whether it be in any of those or music, song, dance, technology, service to others, helping the little old lady cross the street, etc.
Since Worship is not just a service we go to on Sundays but a way of life; how, then, can we reach our world in our Worship to God? Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (NIV). God is in control, not us. We live our life for Him the way He has made us and gifted us and He will be glorified. In John 15 Jesus says, “I am the vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he trims clean so that it will be even more fruitful” (NIV). So, since Jesus, we are in a Vine Age. And this is what Tom was talking about last night at dinner.
Vine Age-or the Alternative Church- is a ministry of Alternative Missions that Tom and some others have started through a Think Tank called the Innovative Missions Group in order to reach the world through the internet. We live in a day that the internet is crucial (unless you live in a place like Cofradía) for many people. It’s the means of communication; emails, text messaging, etc. This is creative, this is using “Art” to worship God and reach the world. This has been Alternative Missions’ motto since it was founded; “Creative Ways to Reach the World.”
There are many things that VineAge/the Alternative Church has to offer you if you are a Christian, have a heart for God, a desire to reach the world for Him, and internet access. There is a lot more to this than what I have explained, you can go to the site for more information and I have added a link at the right. Let’s work together in our creativity to glorify God and reach the world for Jesus! What is your “Art”?
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Emma Rose-One Year Old
Today was Emma's Birthday. Gena made a great cake and Emma was able to stick her hands in it; she still doesn't have down the traditional face-in-cake bite they have here in Mexico, so Rebecka demonstrated for her as she nibbled the side of the cake. Emma is taking steps now and has her two bottom teeth coming in. The top ones are barely breaking the surface. She hasn't said much that we can really understand yet, but she sure is trying.
If you look real close, you'll be able to see her bottom teeth.
Emma and her birthday cake (consider the heat and humidity, we had to take the picture before the frosting melted).
Rebecka's demonstration.
If you look real close, you'll be able to see her bottom teeth.
Emma and her birthday cake (consider the heat and humidity, we had to take the picture before the frosting melted).
Rebecka's demonstration.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Abundant Life Meeting
Last night was our weekly youth meeting in our house. I decided to put on the movie The Passion of the Christ and have some discussion time afterward. The discussion time was goood; I would have liked to hear from more students, sometimes it's really hard to get them to share. After the discussion time we had communion and sang a song. Please pray for these students to have PASSION to serve Christ. This is something that has been on my heart the past few weeks and it troubles me. On the other hand, there are a few students who "get it" and that is very encouraging. Thank you for your prayers.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Just To Let You Know
We're still here. I find it hard to write about things sometimes when things are pretty much the same and don't change. We're all doing well, we have another team here from Washington and they're working in the morning at the church and in the afternoons they have a VBS with the children. The weather is starting to get warm...the sun seems to be getting hotter and hotter each day. Blessings to everyone who reads this. We love you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)