Car Wash!

Sunday, our youth held a Car Wash in the middle of the street as you arrive into Santa Fe from Cofradia. This was a fundraiser for our Youth Missions Trip to Oaxaca. It was a really fun time of team building and many more students came out to help. We washed a whopping total of eight cars, and made a grand total of just over $13usdollars. It was a blast and we have plans to do it again in the weeks to come.

If you would like to take part in the Youth Missions Trip to Oaxaca; you can donate online or see here for other options. Please indicate that it is for "Cofradia Youth Missions to Oaxaca" and it will get sent to the right place. We still need just over a $1000usdollars to reach our goal. THANK YOU!

The Missions Trip will take place on April 3-10. We will be helping a fellow Alternative Missions Missionary start a youth ministry in an Indian Village about 30 minutes out of Oaxaca City. Please keep us in your prayers.

Full of Beans

Last Friday I went out to Pastor Gollo's bean fields to take a couple pictures and some video. Before I knew it I was helping them as they were "desgranando"--taking the beans out of the pods. I thought it was a very interesting process so I stayed to help. Once they pick the dried up plants, they put them in piles so they will dry some more. Later, they put a big tarp on the ground and through all the piles of bean plants onto the tarp. Then, a tractor drives over them opening up the dried pods. After that, they whisk the flattened plants, sift out the plants and leave the beans on the tarp. From there they fill up buckets and pour beans back and forth between two buckets in order to get most of the garbage out. Pastor Gollo left with 11 gunny sacks full of beans that evening.

Little Helper

Last Friday morning, Emma hopped up on a little stool, looked at the sink and saw all the dirty dishes and said, "WOW, (cute-cute-cute-cute-cute,etc.)" and pulled up her sleeves and said, "Mommy, that"--pointing to the sponge. She didn't really say "cute, cute, cute". We don't know what she said, but it was cute!

Date Night

On Valentine's Day, our youth put together a Date Night for the couples of the church. This was a great opportunity for those who's spouses don't come to church to have them come, be part of a great event, and hear a message from the Word.

The youth decorated the new church, made and served a meal, and we even had couple games for entertainment. All of this took place in the midst of a weekend Family Conference with former Cofradia Staff members Doug and Jan Taylor as the guest speakers. It was an evening to remember!

One of the greatest things as a result is that there have been two couples since then go to the county seat to get married legally. It's very common here to just shack up and start a family and never really get around to actually getting married for whatever reason.

Amber has posted a great report about it on her blog with a lot more pictures. Click here to read more.

Just Interesting

For about a month and a half now, I've been meeting with four guys in our youth group on Tuesdays at 5:30am in my office to study the book of Mark together. It's been a real good time. The plan was to meet at 6am, but I told them if they wanted coffee to come at 5:30am...they came at 5:30am! So, I've been making them mochas with our tired espresso machine.

This week as I was meditating on Chapter one (we are only to verse 21!); I noticed something kind of interesting...

Chapter one seems to be all about Preparation. Preparation FOR Jesus, Preparation OF Jesus, and Preparation BY Jesus.

• There was Preparation FOR Jesus by John the Baptist (1-8).
• There was Preparation OF Jesus by his Baptism and the Temptation in the Wilderness (9-13).
• There was Preparation BY Jesus by establishing his ministry. Here are a few things he established: His Message (14,15); His Core Friends (16-20); His Authority and Power in three ways--1) Mentally (teaching), 2) Spiritually (casting out evil spirits), and Physically (healing) (21-34); His Purpose (35-39); and indirectly His Place in Society (40-45).

Just some interesting thoughts that came to mind this week. What kind of perspectives do you get from reading Mark 1? And what does this mean for us today? Those are things we've been talking about.

SKYPE

I've recently joined skype. It's great to be able to talk to my parents and others for FREE! I don't have a camera on my computer so it's just audio. Let me know if you are signed up for skype as well.
srsilberman

JANUARY MINISTRY UPDATE

Greetings everyone! Thank you for all of your prayers this last month. At the beginning of the year, we asked you to pray for…

* Jesús Hernández (Chuy) Chuy is back in Oaxaca and I had the opportunity to talk with him on the phone this past week. He said that the Lord has been blessing him even though it’s been a real challenge for him. They are constantly busy and are submersed in the Word. “It’s a lot of work, but I’m being blessed” were his words. Thank you for keeping him in prayer.
* New Church Construction The rafters are up! And everyone was kept safe. I posted some pictures on our blog here and here. Dave, as well, wrote a report about the three days it took to lift up and set the 11 rafters. You will find it very interesting coming from Dave first hand; he does a great job of making you feel like you were there, hoping no one falls off of the scaffolding! Read it here.
* Cy-Fair Ladies short term mission’s team came down to spend a week with the ladies of our church. They have done a great job connecting with the women here and it’s a group that they all look forward to every year.

There were a few other events that took place this month that are worth mentioning. Especially the Quinceañera that I was involved in and asked prayer for in the middle of the month. Many of you responded and said you would be praying and would continue to pray for that family. My intentions were to use this opportunity as an open door to reach out to this family and I believe that is still happening. As Christians, we believe that what they are involved in is demonic activity. They have left the church and started to attend wholeheartedly a meeting where they do not use the Bible because it’s considered a legendary book instead of the Inspired Word of God. They are wrong. Instead, they get their teachings from an actual spirit that shows up at their meetings called “father jesus” who teaches to them in parables things that are not found in the Bible. If you would like to know more about this, I would be glad to share with you. In the meantime, please keep praying for a spiritual breakthrough for this family. I had the opportunity yesterday of talking with Juan Abel (the birthday girl’s dad) about what he believes and tried to shed light on some of the false doctrine he now has. I really, really appreciate your prayers over me and others as we attended/officiated this event. A lady in the congregation who was at the event said she realized how powerful God is and the significance of the special opportunity it was to hear the Word of God at the event as she saw a bright white glow right where I was standing while I was speaking—she did not know that so many people were praying until after she shared her testimony at church and I had a chance to talk with her. Thank you!

Also, Geña and I and the girls, as well as the youth and student leaders along with a few students are going to Oaxaca City on a Missions trip! This is our first Short-term missions trip as a youth group and we are really excited about it. We are still in the planning stage, but the purpose will be to help a Missionary who lives in Oaxaca City start a youth group with a “Young Life” or “Youth for Christ” flavor; there is no church in the village where he wants to do this. This is an exciting opportunity for us and the youth! Oaxaca City is about 17 hours south of here.
Finally, there is a team here from His Place church in Mount Vernon, Washington working on smooth-walling all of the classrooms and there are a couple of people helping Dave weld the cross-beams on the roof. They are doing an excellent job as they always do when they come.

This month, would you please pray for…

* Student Leadership Conference Every year the youth pastors of Cy-Fair Church in Houston come down to share with our students on a specific area of leadership. This year they will be focusing on what motivates service using Mark 10:45 as a text. This is always a great time! Please pray for open hearts in our youth, clear understanding through the Interpreters and that the students would “get it.” (Feb 5-8)
* Family Conference Doug and Jan Taylor will be sharing with Couples, Youth, and the congregation. They will be talking to the youth about purity, so this should be very good! Pray again for open hearts in the church body and clear understanding through the Interpreters. (Feb 13-15)
* Winnipeg Team There will be a team of electricians here to accomplish quite a bit in the classrooms and putting street lights up outside the church. Pray for safety. (Feb 12-19)
* Juan Abel and his family Please continue to pray for this family. They have allowed America (the birthday girl) to come to church; she has been attending ever since the party. Specifically agree with me that the Holy Spirit will disrupt their meetings and not allow the “father jesus spirit” to have anything to do with them anymore. Let’s pray for their rescue!
* Oaxaca Missions Trip Pray for…
-- Safety in travel.
-- That the right people will go.
-- Protection of the Holy Spirit.
-- That the hearts of the youth in Oaxaca will be open to the Gospel message.
-- For finances—each team member needs to come up with +/- $120 usdollars. Geña and I will need $360 to $400 for this trip, click here to see how you can help.
-- For finances—in general, we will need around $1,200 usdollars for extra expenses: ministry projects, construction projects, emergency, etc. Click here to donate to “Cofradía Youth Missions”.
-- Anything else the Lord leads you in.
-- **The dates are April 3-10**

Thank you very much for your prayers and continued support.

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

PS-Amber Crafton, a missionary with us, has a blog as well and I recently noticed that she posted about our Christmas Dinner with the Student Leadership. She has some great pictures and does a great job in sharing about the evening (I think it’s the only picture we got of our Christmas tree this year!).

Dave's Rafter Report

Praise the Lord! The roof rafters are on. Once again God has shown His kindness and provision among us. I mean to say that the job went so smooth it was a joy to be a part. We want to thank everyone who played a part in this step. Thank you for working with us, we successfully completed a big job.

The task went smoothly from the first rafter to the last. We started Monday morning with everything on the ground, including our feet. A lot of nervous energy and anticipation walked in that morning; mixed feelings, concerns and questions. There were a lot of "how’s" flying around. But this morning there was a plan, so we started to work, one step at a time.

We finished Wednesday afternoon as the sun was cooling off with everything up in the air, including our spirits. We were tired but so excited that a soccer game of pure joy broke out.

I too have to admit that I was a bit nervous as we began to set the first rafter. "Is this really going to work," "can we pull this off," were just some of my random thoughts. But as the day progressed the nervousness was replaced by excitement as we bore witness to God’s provision rafter after rafter.

As many of you know this has been a process for us all. As a team we have accomplished a major step in the completion of this central church for the area of Cofradía.

We had a great group of church guys to work with and an excellent crane and operator.

Really I should have here a picture of hundreds of people who donated time, money, prayer, counsel, and encouragement. From all over God put together a group of servants that have made this step possible. We have done this together!

There is so much that one could imagine could have gone wrong, but it didn’t.

The provision of God was overwehlming.

In this last picture you can see the crane opperator standing just behind Dave holding up a piece of square tubing. What is he doing up there? Well, no one else wanted to stand there in the middle of no where holding that tube as it was being welded. At the office, as we were making the contract for the crane, the office manager stated in no uncertian terms that the opperator would stay on the control platform and opperate the crane. It was not to be expect that he would exicute any other labor of any sort. "Of course," we said. "We would not expect him to do anything more," and we didn’t expect more. But did he ever do more! He chipped in like it was his church. Whenever he saw us struggle, he was there lending a hand or advice. Seriouly he was like an angel. God provided for us a true servant without whom I don’t know if we could have pulled it off. God thought of everything.

We love you all and want to thank you for your generousity and support without which I know for sure none of this would have taken place; we indeed have a great future in Chirst.

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.