We're excited to have all of the staff back for the first time in 6 months! Most of them were only gone for the past couple of months and it has been great to have them here.
After THE CHALLENGE youth event, we have been trying to catch up on emails, reports, worship ministry, house projects, and trying to find time to rest.
A couple of weeks ago, we started doing homeschool for Rebecka and she's been doing very well. We spend about an hour and a half working in the morning and then goes off to Kindergarten in town. We're using the Abeka curriculum which is very thorough, advanced, and expensive. I've learned this week that we need to keep pace, not with the book, but with how she's learning. I've been told that the stuff for K5 is sometimes not even taught schools until 1st and 3rd grades! We're having fun, it's great family time as well.
Please continue to pray for us as we are all getting over little colds. The temperature continues to drop. A couple of nights ago it got down to 58 degrees and it's still October! During the day it gets into the low 90s and has been very nice.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Weather
It's been cooling off quite a bit this week. After a few months of hot, humid, muggy, yucky weather, it's been nice to wake up to a cool breeze and no mugginess. The past couple of nights have been around the upper 60s and we haven't needed our Air Conditioner! Thank you, Jesus!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
OCTOBER NEWSLETTER
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
October 2007
¡SALUDOS!
Greetings everyone! We pray that all are well and that Christ is continuing to make himself real in your lives. We have had a full couple of months with youth event after youth event. It has really paid off; the youth are growing together as a group and in the Lord. We are encouraged!
FAMILY NEWS
Rebecka turned five years old and started her second year of Kindergarten in August and is doing very well. She also helped staff one of the events for the youth in September. Emma has been a lot of fun and is a real goofball. It’s great to see the youth take our children under their wings and make friends with them. Geña and I are doing well as we try to find time to rest after the events of the past couple of months. One of the youth, Mili, is living with us during the week so she can go to the new High School here in Cofradía. She is from Arrayanes and there’s hardly any transportation between the two towns; it’s working out pretty well.
We are excited to let you know that we’ll be in Washington in November, arriving around Thanksgiving and we’ll stay for a couple of weeks. We’d love to see you and have a chance to visit.
OVER-ALL MINISTRY NEWS
Geña and I have been the only missionaries here for the past couple of months. So, many of the activities were either put on hold or are being run at minimal speed. Pastor Gollo continues his ministry on the radio and is doing a very good job with the church. The construction of the new church has been put on hold until Dave Elias gets back along with new staff members, Pete and Faye Klippenstein from Winnipeg who will be overseeing more of this project. If you feel led to help by bringing a team or sending donations, contact us.
STUDENT MINISTRY NEWS
As I have mentioned, we’ve had a full couple of months. In August, we took around 15 students to Summer Camp, two of our students came home from a five week Bible School, and we also went to three different villages closeby to do evangelism outreaches. I mentioned that in our last letter that they were planning it and it went really well. The youth really showed signs of maturity and they all went out to pray for the people who came to the outreach. In September, we had our third annual, biggest event of the year for the youth; THE CHALLENGE. This year we had a total of 70 students participate in at least one of the five Saturdays. There were 6 teams with student captains and we also had 17 adults and one Rebecka to help staff the event. It’s an outreach to new students and it definitely has many other benefits. I cannot express to you all the incredible things that happened not only among the youth, but the adult staff as well. Here are just a couple stories of things that happened…
One incident was between a team leader and member of that same team. They were really upset at one another; crying, saying bad things to one another, and ready to give up (the second week). We sat them down to talk along with a couple of staff members/student leaders and we saw that this was actually something that God could turn around for the good. The two individuals were really good friends and they had just graduated together from the year-long discipleship course we offer. They both were able to see that Satan did not want them to succeed and he was trying to destroy their friendship. In the end, they forgave each other and there has been no sign of animosity since. The Lord definitely received the glory for this one.
The greatest thing that happened was in the fourth week with two young students who were almost ready to fight each other. We pulled them aside to talk with them and when one realized he was wrong I asked him if he would be willing to ask for forgiveness. He mentioned he didn’t know how to do that because he’d never asked for forgiveness from anyone. What an open door! We got to share with him how to ask for forgiveness from Jesus and he ended up asking Christ into his life for the first time! There is VICTORY in JESUS!
I could go on and on. There were so many great things that happened and this has been a dream come true! The youth are growing and the Student Leaders are doing a wonderful job in setting an example for others. You can read more about what’s going on and see a number of pictures of the activities as you browse this blog site. It’s been a lot of fun and a lot of work.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY.
May the Lord bless you all,
Steve, Geña, Rebecka and Emma Silberman
Missionaries to Mexico
Alternative Missions
Written: October 9, 2007
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 at the alternative missions’ website under the “Donate Online” tag as you place the mouse over the “staff” heading.
· Thanks again for being part of our team!
†MANNA†
I’m reading Joel right now and one of the things that really jump out at me is not the theme of the book, but the simple fact that God has chosen us and will protect us. We are called to repent and follow Him. The verse I love is, “But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.” (3:16; NIV). Israel was a nation chosen by God to show His glory through. We, as Christians, can identify with them because God has chosen us to be a light in the darkness. Christ lives in us! The Lord will be a refuge for his people. To Him be the Glory!
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
October 2007
¡SALUDOS!
Greetings everyone! We pray that all are well and that Christ is continuing to make himself real in your lives. We have had a full couple of months with youth event after youth event. It has really paid off; the youth are growing together as a group and in the Lord. We are encouraged!
FAMILY NEWS
Rebecka turned five years old and started her second year of Kindergarten in August and is doing very well. She also helped staff one of the events for the youth in September. Emma has been a lot of fun and is a real goofball. It’s great to see the youth take our children under their wings and make friends with them. Geña and I are doing well as we try to find time to rest after the events of the past couple of months. One of the youth, Mili, is living with us during the week so she can go to the new High School here in Cofradía. She is from Arrayanes and there’s hardly any transportation between the two towns; it’s working out pretty well.
We are excited to let you know that we’ll be in Washington in November, arriving around Thanksgiving and we’ll stay for a couple of weeks. We’d love to see you and have a chance to visit.
OVER-ALL MINISTRY NEWS
Geña and I have been the only missionaries here for the past couple of months. So, many of the activities were either put on hold or are being run at minimal speed. Pastor Gollo continues his ministry on the radio and is doing a very good job with the church. The construction of the new church has been put on hold until Dave Elias gets back along with new staff members, Pete and Faye Klippenstein from Winnipeg who will be overseeing more of this project. If you feel led to help by bringing a team or sending donations, contact us.
STUDENT MINISTRY NEWS
As I have mentioned, we’ve had a full couple of months. In August, we took around 15 students to Summer Camp, two of our students came home from a five week Bible School, and we also went to three different villages closeby to do evangelism outreaches. I mentioned that in our last letter that they were planning it and it went really well. The youth really showed signs of maturity and they all went out to pray for the people who came to the outreach. In September, we had our third annual, biggest event of the year for the youth; THE CHALLENGE. This year we had a total of 70 students participate in at least one of the five Saturdays. There were 6 teams with student captains and we also had 17 adults and one Rebecka to help staff the event. It’s an outreach to new students and it definitely has many other benefits. I cannot express to you all the incredible things that happened not only among the youth, but the adult staff as well. Here are just a couple stories of things that happened…
One incident was between a team leader and member of that same team. They were really upset at one another; crying, saying bad things to one another, and ready to give up (the second week). We sat them down to talk along with a couple of staff members/student leaders and we saw that this was actually something that God could turn around for the good. The two individuals were really good friends and they had just graduated together from the year-long discipleship course we offer. They both were able to see that Satan did not want them to succeed and he was trying to destroy their friendship. In the end, they forgave each other and there has been no sign of animosity since. The Lord definitely received the glory for this one.
The greatest thing that happened was in the fourth week with two young students who were almost ready to fight each other. We pulled them aside to talk with them and when one realized he was wrong I asked him if he would be willing to ask for forgiveness. He mentioned he didn’t know how to do that because he’d never asked for forgiveness from anyone. What an open door! We got to share with him how to ask for forgiveness from Jesus and he ended up asking Christ into his life for the first time! There is VICTORY in JESUS!
I could go on and on. There were so many great things that happened and this has been a dream come true! The youth are growing and the Student Leaders are doing a wonderful job in setting an example for others. You can read more about what’s going on and see a number of pictures of the activities as you browse this blog site. It’s been a lot of fun and a lot of work.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY.
May the Lord bless you all,
Steve, Geña, Rebecka and Emma Silberman
Missionaries to Mexico
Alternative Missions
Written: October 9, 2007
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 at the alternative missions’ website under the “Donate Online” tag as you place the mouse over the “staff” heading.
· Thanks again for being part of our team!
†MANNA†
I’m reading Joel right now and one of the things that really jump out at me is not the theme of the book, but the simple fact that God has chosen us and will protect us. We are called to repent and follow Him. The verse I love is, “But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.” (3:16; NIV). Israel was a nation chosen by God to show His glory through. We, as Christians, can identify with them because God has chosen us to be a light in the darkness. Christ lives in us! The Lord will be a refuge for his people. To Him be the Glory!
Friday, October 05, 2007
EL RETO FULL REPORT OF WEEK #5 (scroll down to see previous week's reports)
SEPTEMBER 29, 2007 (Cofradía Basketball Court)
EL RETO FINAL—The Final Challenge! It has been an event full of learning opportunities. After a busy week of planning, Saturday’s RETO FINAL went well. A number of things slipped through the planning cracks, but we were able to pull it off with the Lord’s help.
We had a late start out at the basketball court to start with the last leg of the race which led them to the mission base where we had a complete service with worship, skits, testimonies, preaching, prayer time, a final challenge, and a video of the past four weeks.
After taking roll call, the students had their final devotional time with their teams and soon began the last leg of the race.
They were to hop on these little bouncy-ball things for children from one end of the court to the other, then trade with one of their teammates. Six players had to participate, then they got a message that sent them to one of the staff houses. Here are a few great shots of the students bouncing around...
EL RETO FINAL—The Final Challenge! It has been an event full of learning opportunities. After a busy week of planning, Saturday’s RETO FINAL went well. A number of things slipped through the planning cracks, but we were able to pull it off with the Lord’s help.
We had a late start out at the basketball court to start with the last leg of the race which led them to the mission base where we had a complete service with worship, skits, testimonies, preaching, prayer time, a final challenge, and a video of the past four weeks.
After taking roll call, the students had their final devotional time with their teams and soon began the last leg of the race.
They were to hop on these little bouncy-ball things for children from one end of the court to the other, then trade with one of their teammates. Six players had to participate, then they got a message that sent them to one of the staff houses. Here are a few great shots of the students bouncing around...
Gabriela
Francisco
Jose
Julio
David
From there, they found a balloon of the color of their team with a note inside giving them directions all over town to finally arrive at another staff house. From there, they found the same thing, but the directions were very direct, sending them to the base for their final destination. In each clue, there were individual letters. With those letters, they had to form a certain word with one letter missing “S-I-?-U-E-L-O”. It was actually pretty easy—SIGUELO “Follow-Him,” was the theme for the event. It has a meaning of continuing on in the race of Christian life no matter what comes your way. It will be hard at times, but be encouraged to continue and “Follow Him.” 
Once all the teams were at the base, we grouped together with a worship song, and then each team began to present their skits. They were very good this year and I was impressed with their creativity and ability to make the story of their name funny. All but one had proven that they spent a lot of time on this in preparation. Here are a few pictures of the skits...
Once all the teams were at the base, we grouped together with a worship song, and then each team began to present their skits. They were very good this year and I was impressed with their creativity and ability to make the story of their name funny. All but one had proven that they spent a lot of time on this in preparation. Here are a few pictures of the skits...
The Crucified Ones' story was about Abraham taking his son Isaac up to the mountain to crucify him as God had told him to.
(I HAVE REMOVED THIS PICTURE BECAUSE OF NUMEROUS HITS AROUND THE WORLD INTERESTED IN IT: I DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE THE WRONG IMPRESSION).
This was really hilarious when, instead of a lamb, God provided a cat to take Isaac's place. NOTE: Nothing bad was done to the cat!
The Persecuted Ones' story was when Pharoah's Army persued Moses and the Isrealites. This is a picture of when God parted the Red Sea.
The Wise One's story was about King Solomon. This is a clip of when two women who have babies come to the King. One of the babies was dead and it's mother stole the live baby. King Solomon said, "cut him in half" to find out who really was the mother. As soon as he said that, the real mother pleaded to let the other have it.
We continued with sharing some testimonies about good attitudes we saw in others during the whole month. Then, we went to the Word. I invited a pastor/friend from Mazatlán, Noe Espinoza, whose wife, Martha, I met the very first time I came to Mexico in 1989. It was so good to see them again and Noe shared his testimony of when he was a teenager and how God really turned his life around. It was so appropriate for our youth and when he was done, many of them came forward for prayer and were touched by the Lord.
Pastor Noe Espinoza
In the end, we had the RETO FINAL and then a 10 minute video of the whole month. I was unprepared for how the final challenge was to be played out. I remembered that I wanted to do it different from the questions we did last year because it all ended so suddenly. So we did it differently, but it still ended suddenly…no suspense to see who won. I’ve already got ideas for next year’s RETO FINAL and I think it will be better.
Two teams were very close in the end; Los Crucificados, and La Visión. Los Crucificados (The Crucified Ones) led by Martin won with just over 300 points more than La Visión (The Vision) led by the very young leader, Pedro. I was very proud of Pedro for doing such a fine job with his team. He has huge potential for being a phenomenal leader. The other four teams were at least 3,000 points behind both of these teams and didn’t have much of a chance in the Final Challenge.
One of the neatest things through all of this was being able to see the youth group coming together in unison. Many of them made friends with new students, no matter what team they were on. It was great to see four of the 12 students we picked up in Santa Fe and Las Pilas during the month continue to participate. One of them never missed a week and started to come to church on Sunday. He was the one I had mentioned before about who received Christ into his life!
Thank you so much for your prayers. This year’s event was successful in many ways. We are ready to be done and put these activities on the shelf until next year. It’s time to work on some debriefing of leadership skills, challenges we’ve faced, build upon the good and bad experiences, and regroup for the weekly Home Group meetings. It will be an exciting year!
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