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.