Baptisms at the River

Last Sunday, we celebrated our church service with baptisms at the river, underneath the toll road's bridge.  We held our baptisms at the same place last year.  Seven people were baptized ranging from new converts to people who have been attending off and on for over 20 years.  One person was from the indigenous village of Mojocuautla where Pastor Horacio ministers every Thursday.  We enjoyed the fellowship with everyone as well as the welcomed congregation of La Iglesia Hermosa from Rosamorada who joined us and baptized two of their own.  We all sat around and had lunch together at the water's edge as we all continued to shift under the shade of the bridge throughout the afternoon.  Thank you for your continued prayers and support as we continue to make disciples and raise up leaders to extend the Kingdom of God in this area.

Geña's brother, Hugo, led us in some songs as we got started.  He has been slowly taking over for me leading worship more often on Sundays.  Praise the Lord!

The crowd continues to the left as they find shade under the bridge during worship.

Pastor Goyo gives a last minute word to the seven candidates for baptism.

Lencho Franco is baptized.  His wife suddenly passed away a year ago due to complications in surgery.  His family has been part of the congregation almost since the beginning of the church plant.  His daughter, Antonia, is our Children's Ministry Pastor and his son, Gustavo, works on our vehicles.  Praise the Lord!

Emma's 10th Birthday

Emma turned 10 years old on April 10 this year and invited all of her class and other friends to a mini-RETO birthday party at the house.  We had over 20 kids and divided them into two teams as usual.  It has been over a month since the event so I don't remember much, just that we had games after games and everyone had a blast.  It was the first time we had interaction with some of the kids from her class and it's a great way to open doors for the future.  They will someday participate in our big EL RETO event we do each year once they're in Jr. High.

Thank you for your prayers for our family and Emma Rose.  She is doing great!

Here's a video clip that our friend Macx put together for her of the birthday party...

Emma th10 birthday 2016 from macx on Vimeo.

MAY UPDATE

Greetings from Cofradía, Mexico! “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” (James 1:2)  I have had a couple of days this month that have lead me to stop and consider whatever I was going through as pure joy.  Thank you so much for your prayers over us and our ministry; we need you to pray.  Our hope is in the Lord and there is no greater joy than knowing that in Him, we are victorious!

GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD, FOR HE IS GOOD; HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER!

Last month, we asked you to pray for... 

1. Religious Association Status.  We are still waiting for the government to respond and finalize our paperwork; the financial need is still at hand. 
2. Bible School. Thank you to those who have responded to the tuition sponsorship request as we are down to only one person in need of finances before graduation.  The classes we have this quarter are excellent.  Jay TenBrink is teaching a Missions class and doing a phenomenal job and we are learning a lot from John Maxwell’s The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader’s Day in the other class. 
3. Drug Rehab Center: According to the town commissioners, there is no more land available to give away and they are unable to help Pastor Amado.  This means that he will have to purchase the land for the drug center.  There are a couple of options that have been presented to him.  We (Pastor Goyo, Pastor Luis, and I) visited with him a couple weeks ago and looked at the options he had and prayed over them.  After talking more with him, it has become aware to me that there is a bigger problem with drugs and prostitution than I was aware of.  Everyone he talks to (government officials, town leaders, and the townspeople) has encouraged him to keep moving forward because the need is so great.  With Rosamorada being the county seat, it is a prime location. 
4. Accounting: Thank you for your prayers as little by little we’re getting the hang of things as we continue to ask questions and explore the way other ministries handle certain situations. 
5. Internet. No word yet.  Please continue to pray for a better system to become available to us. 
6. San Diego.  Because of a death in Geña’s extended family, we were unable to visit the group last month.  We hope to see them this Month. 
7. Emma’s Birthday Emma had over 20 kids at her “mini-RETO” birthday party and everyone had a blast!  We will have a short video up sometime this month on our blog.  Be looking for it or wait for a link to it in the next update.

Here are some links to more:

• Last Month’s Update
• A Quick Look into our Ministry: A two minute clip of some of the activities and more.
• Pastoral Perspectives: Click here to read bi-annual reports from three of our Pastors.
• EL RETO 2015
• What is EL RETO?
• “Dwellings” candidates in Cofradia: Meet two families that are in need of a home.
• Cofradia’s Short-Term Missions Manual explains more of our mission in detail.

This month, will you please pray for...

1. Religious Association Status.  $2,000 USDollars. 
2. Bible School. Graduation will be on June 19.  All but one student has been able to finish his tuition fees.  If you would like to help Angel Martinez, “Niko”, send me a message and I’ll share with you how to do that.  He still needs ($340). 
3. Drug Rehab Center: Please pray for Pastor Amado as he puts together a proposal and seeks financial help from different avenues.  He will initially need $15,000 to $20,000 US dollars to purchase a piece of land (6 acres).  In the meantime, he is looking into renting a house in town for those who are coming to him.  If you would like to help him, please let me know. 
4. Internet. Continue to pray for a better system to become available to us. 
5. San Diego.  Pray that the Lord would continue to encourage the leaders in that Bible Study and that those who meet together would be impacted by His love and Spirit. 

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever!

Thank you so much for being part of our team as we work together to RAISE UP LEADERS IN RURAL MEXICO!!!!

Blessings,

Steve, Geña, Rebecka, Emma, and Mackenzie Silberman

Missionaries to Mexico

Alternative Missions

Cofradia Area Director

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