EL RETO 2018.3

Week three was so far the most exciting week.  With 130 students to start, there was the ice-breaker at the beginning that allowed the staff to disperse to the locations they were to have their organized game.

First, at the baseball field in Cofradia, 

From there the student hopped in their trucks and headed to Arrayanes for a RETO classic, "Gladiators".  In Gladiators, one team is placed in the corner of the speed soccer court while all the other teams (team by team) have to run the course to get to the "goal."  As the students run through the course, the team in the corner is throwing water-balloons at them!  Such an amazingly fun game!  And it paints such an incredible picture of how lies get thrown at us daily.  Sometimes, we don't even realize they're a lie, but the hit us and, unfortunately, sometimes we believe them.

After everyone was soaking wet, they headed to the basketball court in the center of town for another RETO classic, The Fear Factor Banquet!  Not much to fear this year, but having to suck the innards out of a raw egg, then drink a small Pepsi.  Yuk!  The atmosphere was incredible and loud!  The students had so much fun!  The black team took barely took this one away from the green team.  What's the moral?  Well, sometimes we need to make sacrifices for the team!

The Refuge was electric with worship and a message to tie everything up.  Then, the votes!  After two consecutive weeks of being chosen to do chores, the grey team was free!  The white team had to do chores this week.

Here's the video for week #3:

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EL RETO

EL RETO 2018.2

Week two of EL RETO 2018 was packed with 170 students!  "La Caminata" or, "The Walk" was the activity.  This year, as the students kept together (or at least were supposed to) walked through the streets of Cofradia, extremely muddy back roads, and rising rivers.  Along the way, there were obstacles and games they needed to accomplish before continuing.  All of this happened in order for Luis to talk during The Refuge time about how life is a journey and sometimes we encounter difficulties, but it's easier if we have people around us to help us get through them.  Choosing Truth (this year's theme) will help us even more to make wise decisions and the path will sometimes be a little smoother.

A few students took a wrong turn, but in the end they were brought back with the help of some staff.  The power went out so some of the Refuge activities were cancelled.  It turned out to be an exciting time with a lot of teaching.

Here's the video for week #2:

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WHO CONTRIBUTE TO THIS MINISTRY.

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EL RETO

EL RETO 2018.1

The first week of the RETO (Challenge) was a success in terms of the turn out we had.  One hundred and thirty students arrived as they formed 6 teams.  About half of these students come from the cities of Rosamorada, Paramitas, and Tuxpan.

The theme this year is "Choose Truth".  We want to help the students know the truth.  We get bombarded daily with lies that are all around us and, unfortunately, they usually are formed in our mind.

After registering the students, there was a fun ice-breaker that many got involved in.  From there, the students went to three different locations (San Marcos town center, San Marcos soccer field, and the Cofradia High School basketball court) where they participated in a number of different activities.  Before heading up to "The Refuge" where all the teams come together for singing and a message, the teams met with a counsellor where they were able to engage in a small group talk about what we can learn through the activities of the day.

Finally, one by one the teams passed through a curtain into the voting room and selected another team to do chores.  Once they voted, they went back outside, down the stairs, and stood in the courtyard waiting for the verdict.

It was an exciting time!

Here's the video of week #1:

ADMISSION IS FREE

BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU

WHO CONTRIBUTE TO THIS MINISTRY.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO

EL RETO

SEPTEMBER MINISTRY UPDATE

Greetings from Cofradía, Mexico! We arrived on August 17th and got to work right away meeting with the pastors who form part of our ministry, La Cofradía United.  The girls are back in school doing very well and this is Emma’s first year participating in the annual youth outreach, EL RETO, which started on September first.

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

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

1. David Medina.  David is doing better, but could still improve. 
2. Pastors of La Cofradia United.  We had a good meeting with our pastors; a time of fellowship, planning, and accountability.  Here is a quick report.
3. The Final Leg of our Stateside Trip: Thank you for keeping us in your prayers.  Apart from spending an hour and a half at the border as we had to unload the whole truck and a small fender-bender in Hermosillo, we made it to Cofradía without any problems.  We are thankful for Gustavo and Cuca who took care of our house while we were gone; no break-ins! :) 
4. FREEDOM IN CHRIST CONFERENCE in San Vicente was cancelled, unfortunately, by the pastor of the church there at the last minute.  We will be doing another conference in Cofradía at the end of November. 
5. EL RETO 2018 started with 130 students from all over the area.  It was an exciting time as 40 of them had never been to EL RETO.  The captains spent some time with their teams explaining their team name, flag, and bible story before heading out to three different locations for some simple activities.  As they all came back to the church, the teams met with their counselors before entering “The Refuge” for worship and teaching.  The evening finished with the Grey team getting most of the votes to have to do chores...but, they also get the first clues to the four hidden treasures.  It will be an exciting year!

Here are some links to more:

• Last Month’s Update 
• Cofradía Dwellings Candidates 
• Pastors’ Perspectives: These are bi-annual reports from our Pastors.
• Quick Look into our Ministry: A two minute clip of some of the activities and more. 

This month, will you please pray for...

1. David Medina.  Continued strengthening in his body. 
2. EL RETO 2018 will continue each Saturday in September and finish up the first weekend in October.  CHOOSE TRUTH is the theme for this year.  Please pray for the students as many do not know Jesus as their personal Savior.  Pray for the captains and leaders to have wisdom in their responsibilities.  We do not charge these students to participate.  Throughout the year and while we were in the states, we received $2,080 for this outreach ($80 above our budget!).  You can start helping for next year by becoming a monthly sponsor now: $25 a month goes a long way for us!  Click here to become a sponsor of this event. Click here to see a one-minute promo video. Click here to read about EL RETO.
3. A group from Las Varas, Nayarit, is coming to participate in EL RETO and minister through music.  It’s always a special time with Pastor Ruben leading worship.  We led a one-day EL RETO in Las Varas a few years back and the students there loved it! (September 15-16) 
4. A group from Guadalajara is coming to participate in EL RETO and minister through drama and music.  Pray the Lord uses them in a special way to reach the students. (September 21-23) 
5. EL RETO FINAL will be October 6 with special speaker and author, Ernesto Ramirez, from Mexico City who specializes in youth.  It should be a really good time! 
6. Called to Freedom 2018.  Four pastors and their wives will be joining Geña and me as we attend a two-day conference in Mexico City with the Freedom in Christ ministry.  We are really looking forward to this as it has helped not only us, but so many here in their walk with the Lord.  Freedom in Christ ministries is paying our entrance fee, but we will have other expenses for which we need to raise money such as travel, hotel, and meals.  We estimate that this will cost us $700 dollars per couple.  If you would like to sponsor one or more of us, please do.  The couples are: Pastor Goyo and his wife, Mati; Pastor Luis and his wife Mari; Pastor Amado and his wife Lourdes; Pastor Abimael and his wife Martha; and Geña and I.  You can make a contribution online here and indicate it as “Cofradía Freedom” in general or the couple’s names.  --OR-- you can send a check to the address at the bottom of this page.  Please make sure you designate it specifically where you want it to go.  Thank you so much for always being so generous towards our ministry.

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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