More Roof Pics

Raising the rafters is done! Here are some more pics from yesterday while they were finishing.

New Church Construction

A crane arrived on Monday to help hoist up the rafters of the new church. This is really, really exciting for us and a big, expensive job. The money came in, Dave reserved a crane, and the rafters are being welded up as I write. Here are some pictures of the first day and early this morning when they started...


Martin guiding one side

While Dave is setting and welding the other side.

They are over 35 feet in the air, sometimes standing on the very top of the scaffolding.

A number of guys came to help. Dave made some braces so the rafter wouldn't buckle.

The first day they put three up. The second day, they put four up. There are four left so they will probably finish today. This is a shot of the crane being connected to the first rafter of the day.

The crane maneuvering it up.

The guys guiding it from the ground.

This is pretty exciting for us. Please pray for safety as they continue today. It's not the safest job we've had to do.

Thank You For Praying (video clip added)

Thank you very much for praying yesterday over the Quinceañera. We went there excited and with great expectation that God would speak to not only the family, but the guests as well. I was overwhelmed with joy as I received numerous emails from many of you for prayer support over this. I believe that God is still working in the hearts of those who heard His Word. For the most part everyone was attentive and listening. I do not know what God has done or is still doing in their hearts as there were not many comments made after the message. One comment came from one of the former candidates for the Presidential Seat of the County we’re in as he gave the traditional Toast making reference to the message as he spoke. It will be interesting to see the fruit that comes from this, my prayer is that the Lord is still working in the hearts of the family especially; they were very appreciative at the end. The door has been opened, we went in, came out, and they left the door open…Praise God!

Congratulations and Happy Birthday to América Ruby Águila Costilla; she looked great!
Here she is walking in as her Grandfather receives her.


America with her parents, Juan Abel and Rosalva.


The Word.

The traditional Bals/Dance. Escorted by her "Chambelanes"--three brothers and a friend.

The cake!

There is a short video clip of the traditional tossing of the barbie doll where all the girls under 15 dance around her and at the count of three, she tosses her "past" behind her and gives her childhood "toys" away.


Thanks again for your prayers and please keep praying that the Lord would draw this family back to Him.

Please Pray Today

This afternoon I will be conducting a Birthday party for a 15 year old. This is a traditional cultural thing where they celebrate a girl turning into a Senorita. The family used to come to church and is now involved in what I believe to be demonic activity. The young girl was part of the youth group and worship band at one time and by talking with her I see that she feels "trapped" with what her parents are doing. We see this as an opportunity to bring the Word of God into their home, they have asked me to officiate. I would ask that you please pray for me this afternoon at 2pm MST while I bring the Word of God to this family. I will be talking about the transition of a girl becoming a lady and how it relates to the Isrealites crossing the Jordan River into a "new land"; I will wrap it up talking about how we in Christ are New Creations; the old has gone; the new has come AND because of America's (the girl) profession of faith, I will be affirming to her who she is in Christ. Thank you for your prayers and agree with me that there will be Angels from heaven surrounding this event. Jesus is LORD!

PRAY

"The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." As I read about Jesus and his disciples when they went into the garden the night he was betrayed, I can't help but imagine how frustrated Jesus might have been with his disciples. "Are you still sleeping?!?" Three times he went back to them; each time they were asleep. He asked them to pray, but found them sleeping instead. How many times do I find myself like Jesus, frustrated at people because of a simple unmet expectation? How many times does God feel frustrated with me...because of a simple unmet expectation? PRAY

ref. Mark 14:32-42

56 DEGREES!!

We broke a record this morning for 2009 and the 08-09 winter with a freezing 56 degrees on the thermometer! It has been unusually warm this winter and it's always nice to have to put on a sweater in the mornings. This is the coldest it's gotten all winter; during the day it's up in the 80s still. Hmm, I wonder what the summer will be like???

JANUARY NEWSLETTER

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

We have just settled down from a long winter’s…busy season. Since October, we have had a number of exciting adventures. In November, we welcomed back the staff to the mission base which was nice to not be the only ones here. However, the church has become more and more self-reliant (and on God) which really helps. We spent Thanksgiving driving 12 hours from Cofradía to Zacatecas for our first of three legs towards Houston, Texas. We were thankful for safe travel and the hotel (smile). The next couple of days, we crossed into Texas and made it to Houston on Saturday night to visit with some friends. We had an amazing time with Pastor Diaz and the Cosecha Final family. Our intentions were to go to be a blessing and the results were that we were blessed beyond what we could imagine…which describes the whole two weeks we were there. We spent a few days with them, and then headed up into NW Houston to visit some more friends and witness a freak snowfall. Rebecka made good friends with Camden (the daughter of our friends, the Pembletons) and we had a great time. It was one of the most relaxing times we’ve had in a while. Click here to see pictures.

Rebecka and Camden

On our drive back, we had loaded up our utility trailer with personal purchases as well as a number of items for other people; the trailer was very heavy. We had no problems crossing the border in McAllen, Texas. That is always something I dread because I don’t know what to expect from inconsistent border regulations. We presented the officials with the list of things to declare and the Lord had his hand on us as they crossed out a few items we thought needed to be declared. We were very thankful for their honesty. At about mid-day, a tire blew out on our trailer. Praise the Lord for the location with a shoulder to work on and a tire shop less than a mile away. We found an inexpensive hotel to stay at that evening and took off the next morning We made it to Cofradía after a long three days of driving.

Tire blow-out at mid-day.

Then, Christmas and New Years. It was one of the greatest Christmas’ we’ve had down here. Lately there have been a few families getting together after church for fellowship and food. In the two weeks of Christmas and New Year’s, there were a number of get-togethers and we can really sense more of a family atmosphere in the church. God is doing some great things here and it’s wonderful to be a part of. Our church services are packed out—we had over 70 people last Sunday (not including children). Our youth group meetings have been around 30 students the past few weeks. I believe this is happening because God is in control and the depth of the people’s relationship with Him has been growing.

Our new church construction is going well. We have most of the rafters ready for the crane to come in and lift them up. As soon as we get the roof on, we will be able to start meeting in the new church. With the growth we’ve seen lately, it has to happen soon. We still have about $3500 to raise to finalize the roofing costs. Please click here for more details.

¡GRACIAS!
Thank you so much for your prayers and support. We would love to hear from you! If you have internet access and would like to receive this letter by email, let us know! We love you and pray for you often!

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY.

May the Lord bless you all,

Steve, Geña, Rebecka and Emma Silberman
Missionaries to Mexico
Alternative Missions

Written: January 5, 2009

PLANS FOR MEXICO?
So, are you making any plans to be in Mexico? Let us know if you will be in or near Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, or Guadalajara. All three locations are within 4 hours of us; Mazatlan being the closest (3 hours). We would love to have you out for a night (or few) at our home and show you around Cofradía and the surrounding towns. Come see what it’s like and get a taste of what the REAL Mexico culture is like; a few of you have already done this and we would love to open the doors for others to do the same. If you have an RV, we have a hook-up on our property! Email us or call us directly 011-52-319-232-5172. We’ll see you here!

†MANNA†
Psalm 125:1 (NIV) says ““Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.” Isn’t it nice that in the midst of the global economic crisis, we have a God who is in charge and His economy if full of stability and success!

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. Please click here to see how.

STARBUCKS!!

We went to Tepic this afternoon to do a little bit of shopping and run some errands. We heard there was a Starbucks at the new mall near Sam's Club. Well, we went there and had to have a drink. I was so surprised a few years back when Starbucks showed up in Guadalajara, I can't beleive there's one in Tepic now...and packed! I heard they're closing a few stores in the states; well, they must be shipping them down there. A few months ago they opened one up in Mazatlan too. I wonder when they'll come to Cofradia???

Bunk Bed

The girls were thrilled about their new bed, thank you for helping us with this purchase. Now Mili doesn't have to sleep on the floor while she stays at our house.

Pics from our trip to Texas

We crossed from the West Coast of Mexico to the Northeast Coast.

The state of Coahuila had a pretty good sense of humor: "I have finally arrived in Coahuila"

"Oh well, what can you do? This is where Coahuila ends."

We went to the Children's Museum downtown with Brad and his son Brant. Rebecka and Emma are watching the puppet show.

Now it's Emma's turn.

We even go to inact a news cast!

The girls had a lot of fun playing in the back yard.

Rebecka and Camden became good friends.

Rebecka taking the traditional bite out of her mother's birthday cake.

Now it's Emma's turn.

And then Rocky's. Well, so he thought.

Tire blow-out...litterally.

New Church Roof Update

As you read this letter from Dave, please consider how you may help; the peso right now is over $13 pesos to a dollar. Once we finish the roof, we will be able to start holding services here.

It seemed best to order the new church roofing this year before the New Year. We are going with 1” blue polystyne insulation covered with multi-corregated aluminized sheeting. In addition to these products we will need to purchase a sealer for the insulation sheet joints and screws. However, only once we begin installation. I have already begun the purchase process because of deadlines in production and shipping for this year’s end. Simply by making the order this year we will be saving a little over $2,000usd. Plus the exchange rate is doing very well in which we again another $19,000pesos. Further with the acquisition of this product over the initial one piece design we save about $164.000pesos. These are significant numbers.

However, of the $210,000pesos we will be paying for product and delivery, we have $175,950pesos, a difference of $34,050pesos. Further, once we do the actual installation we will need a few addition, local products amounting to nearly $10,000pesos. So that leaves us short about $44,050pesos, or $3,349.00usd. I am very excited about this, that seems very little that we have left to raise; let’s call it $3,500usd.

Please click here to donate to "Cofradia Church Construction"

Quick update

Merry Christmas!

We are in the process of a number of busy activities this week. My plan was to send out an update and newsletter by Christmas; I may not get to it. We are anxious to share with everyone about what has been going on the past couple of months; the arrival of the rest of the staff, a border trip, seed sowing, and visitors for Christmas. We will be having our anual Soccer Tournament on Friday and Saturday; this year we have added a Volleyball Tournament.

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. We are getting the house ready to have a Student Leadership dinner--our first Turkey!

Blessings everyone!

RETO Video

A while back, Amber added some English sub-tiltes to the video we made after the RETO youth event in September. Here is a link to that video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6011895147089999175

Revolution Day Parade

Today is Revolution Day here in Mexico. Every November 20 is the day that it is commemorated. Each year the town has a parade featuring all the students from all the schools in Cofradia; from Kindergarten to High School. In addition to the students, some of the men of the town trail behind either walking or riding their horses. This year there were a lot of people in the parade and lots of colors. Here are some pics.

At the very beginning, everyone gets together at the center of town to salute the flag and listen to a quick history lesson of the Revolution.

These are the student who led the pack for the High School group. Karla is on the far right, she comes to youth group from time to time.

The High Schoolers made a pyramid; Ruben has the red hat, Mili is on the right in the third row (she's the one that lives with us), and Laura is on the top. They are all part of the youth group.

The Jr. Highers

Elementary School

Kindergarten--Rebecka's cousin, Luis, is the Sergeant on the left in the front.

The rest of the Kindergarteners rode on a trailer dressed up in culture.

Right before the parade finished, Hugo (Gena's brother) set up his trampoline and Rebecka and Emma were the frist one's on.

It's getting cold....

Just thought some of you might be interested...

This morning I looked at last night's low of 65 degrees! That's the lowest its been all season. Two days ago was the first time it reached the 60s at 69. Once December and January roll around, it will be in the 50s in the early morning. The lowest I've ever seen it get was two January's ago at 41 degrees! Even though it gets cold in the early morning the days are still in the 80s.

Living Beyond the Possible

Living Beyond the Possible by Wayne Myers

This is a great book! It challenges us in our complete faith in God and how we manage our finances. I was given this book a couple years ago and was just now able to sit down and read it. It's an easy read with lots of great stories of how God's economy works. A great message for today with the way things are going in the world; a great challenge to depend on God. The subtitle reads, "Trusting God with your finances and your future."

Wayne Myers was raised in Mississippi and joined the navy where he met the Lord. After that, he dedicated his whole life...whole life to God. He and his wife Martha were missionaries for many years in Mexico and helped plant many churches throughout the world. He did a number of conferences on how to trust God with your finances.

This book is filled with nuggets that make you stop and think about where we put our trust. One comment he makes that I really like is, "Give according to your income, lest God reduces your income according to your giving." What a statement!

Are you nervous about the stock market? Are you worried about the global financial crisis? This book is for you! Amazon.com has a few available.

November Prayer

This month, would you please pray for…
* Special Need Emma is 2 ½ years old and is still sleeping in a travel crib. We need a bunk bed for the girls and I project it to cost around $500 including mattresses. Please let us know if you can help us with this. You can send a financial donation; click here to see how.
* LIFE Night youth meeting. An event that includes worship, games, and a message. This month, one of our students will be presenting some Rap Music he’s written. (Nov. 22)
* Direction for youth ministry. We are continuing to move right along with change. For the past few months, we’ve had an Intern, Luis Vazquez, helping us and he’s done a great job. He will continue to help with the youth group as well as many other areas in the church. We have a number of great student leaders and it’s exciting to see that there has been so much growth in the past couple of years. My role continues to move towards an overseer instead of “Youth Pastor”. I’m really excited about what God is doing. Please continue to pray for this ministry.
* Worship Ministry. I have been praying for a long time for a worship leader to be raised up. We have had a few students lead for a while, but consistency depends a lot on maturity. Please pray with me as I believe the Lord has something around the corner for us in this area!
* 8th Anniversary. Geña and I will have been married for 8 years on November 18. Thank you so much for your prayers over our marriage and family!