Cofradia Kitchen Kids 2022-10

Mati and Isabel continue to serve the kids breakfast each morning. Carmen and a number of other mothers have been helping them lately as this past week when there was no school due to Hurricane Roslyn, there were 40-50 kids each morning. Thank you for your contributions, you are reaching the current and future church by helping. Be Blessed...

Dental Clinic Ministry

I want to share with you the heart of someone who grew up in Centro Cristiano Cofradia since he was really small. He participated in our youth ministry as a student, as a leader, was a Capitan in our RETO outreach for a number of years, and was part of our worship band as well. He went to Tepic (the capital city of Nayarit) after finishing High School to study Dentistry and is now a practicing Dentist in Tuxpan, a town near Cofradia. He serves in Cofradia on the weekends to help many people who, economically, cannot afford to make the trip in to town nor pay the price Dentists charge in town.

Let me introduce to you someone I'm very proud of! Dr. Pedro Salaiza...

Hello, brothers and sisters. My name is Pedro Salaiza Vega, and I am the dentist in charge of the dental clinic ministry under the Christian Mission in Cofradía.

I want to thank you on behalf of all the people who have been blessed by the dental services that have been made availalbe to them over the years through this ministry. Those services are offered at significantly discounted rates and with the added benefit of not having to deal with the burden of travling to distant locations in order to receive exams and treatment.

For quite some time now many of the tools and aparatuses that were originally donated to the clinic have been deemed obsolete or simply no longer function. They are no longer useful, and it is time to replace them.

Therefore, I write to you today to request your help so that this ministry may continue being a blessing to the villages and towns that surround us. We need to update the clinic with good quality equipment in order to provide good quality dental services. The equipment we need is as follows (US DOLLARS):

·      Dental Chair ($3,050)

·      Sterilizer ($735)

·      Oil-free Compressor ($550)

·      High/los handpieces ($395)

·      Reamer for dental cleanings ($235)

·      Light curing lamp ($205)

·      X-Ray machine ($2000)

The estimated total for these clinic updates is $7,170. There are, however, more updates that will be needed to get the clinic tools and materials ompletely up to date so that we can provide the best service possible.

I thank you in advance for being a blessing in Cofradía. We love you, and you are always welcome here in Mexico.

May God bless you all. 

Mission in the Nayarit Mountains

Pastor Rodrigo and his wife, Annel, have been going up into the mountains of Nayarit for the past couple of years alongside the missionary movement "At the King's Table" to minister to an unreached people group called the "Cuares". They are a variant of the Cora Indians we've ministered to here and have their own dialect. The only information we have found on this people group is here in Spanish.

The team is preparing to head up to the mountains again this next month, November 2022. Their cost is $1,000 USD for their travel expenses. Join us in partnering with them in order to reach these people with the gospel. You can mark your contributions "Cofradia-Cuares" and we will make sure it gets to them. Click here for instructions on how to give.

Please read what Pastor Rodrigo has to say about their trips...

Cordial greetings to you, our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.

I am Pastor Rodrigo Romero. I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and at the age of twenty-two, I decided to travel as a missionary to Sinaloa, Mexico. Ten years later, together with my beloved wife Annel Sánchez, we are now pastoring a young congregation called The Lion and the Lamb in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa. In this letter we want to tell you about our hopes and desires in the Lord.

The Church is going through difficult times around the world in recent times, both in being persecuted and in the coldness we see in many of its members. It is the opportune time to return to the essence of our calling as the Body of Christ, the truth to which we were commissioned: the preaching of His Word to the ends of the Earth. We are motivated by that call to make missionary work a priority in the activities of our local church. Apart from being an influence in the community where we are planted, our goal is to reach into communities that have never heard the name of Jesus Christ.

For two years we have been traveling to the mountains of the state of Nayarit, Mexico, in partnership with a missionary movement called At The King’s Table, which assists migrants and people with addiction problems. There are many different indigenous communities living in mountains; one of them we have encountered is the Cuares. They descend from the Cora people group, but unlike the Cora, the Cuares have never heard of the Gospel of Jesus. Of the 11,000 Cuares only 1% of them have been reached. We are fortunate to have reached two towns (Ojo de Agua and Guacamayas), and during this time we have visited them three times. Apart from the preaching of the Word, we bring toys and sweets for the children and free medical assistance. Everything that is in our power to do, we do. The missionary group that we partner with in answering this call gives everything to fulfill the purpose of bringing the Good News of Jesus to unreached communities. We have friends and brothers in the Faith who live in the state of Nayarit who can follow up in the community. We are happy to collaborate as much as we can in the missionary work.

Our plans are to travel on Thursday, November 17, from Culiacán, Sinaloa, to the Sierra del Nayar, arriving on Friday, November 18. We plan to spend two days with the Cuares serving both children and adults. We will return home to Culiacán, Sinaloa, on Monday, November 21, with a heart grateful to be able to serve in this way.

We are praying and preparing ourselves for this project. We share it with everyone who could partner with us, supporting us in every way. We count on your prayers and the knowledge that part of the Body of Christ is aware that the Gospel is growing in unknown places. It would also be a great blessing to have financial donations from those who can and want to partner in that way. To travel to the mountains, we will have to rent a van. Basic costs are $1,000 US Dollars, which includes the rent of the van and gasoline to transport a total of fifteen missionaries.

I once heard a phrase that said: “Missions are accomplished by the hands of those who give, the knees of those who pray, and the feet of those who go”. Be one of those who give, pray, or go; never stop participating in missionary work.

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14).

This is a video one of the team members made their last trip...

 Thank you for keeping them in your prayers this month and partnering with us with them.

When Words Hurt by Dr. Warren Bullock

A former professor and district leader of mine, Dr. Warren Bullock, just gave me a book he wrote, When Words Hurt: Helping Godly Leaders Respond Wisely to Criticism, in Spanish to give to some pastors and leaders in our ministry. This is a treasure chest of biblical truths about how to handle criticism. Each chapter had something to digest and meditate on. Dr. Bullock has a phenomenal way of writing truth with simplicity. As I read the book, I was reminded of different times in my life that I have had to deal with criticism. It was a very encouraging book and was exceptionally easy to read and follow his thought process. Spoiler alert...in the end, grace always wins!

On a personal note, one of the ways that helps me deal with criticism is knowing who I am in Christ and what God has called me to do. If I'm doubtful about my calling, I will doubt the way I do things and follow the direction of the critics. If I'm secure in my calling, no matter what is said or who says it, I can rest assured that I am being obedient to my ultimate Leader. This book exposes weather we should or shouldn't listen to certain critics and how to handle it when some of it is true. What a blessing! Thank you Dr. Bullock!

If you are a leader, this is an essential read!

I highly recommend this book and it can be found at Amazon here.

Hurricane Roslyn

Hurricane Roslyn hit northern Nayarit on Sunday morning, October 23, as a Category 3 storm. It scooted past Cofradía just 10 miles north of us. We had high winds early in the morning and an abundance of rain during the daytime on Sunday. That evening we found out that the most hit places were where we had friends. The next day Pastor Goyo and I went to visit them to see how they were doing. 

The town of Llano del Tigre looked like it had a crew-cut. No tree was left undamaged; either rooted up or cut in half. Many people use sheet metal to roof their houses or usually garages and porches; they were left in a tangled mess. The large metal covering that they just had put up in the center of town was crumbled to the ground. Next to that, the cell tower was doubled over in a knot. As a fishing town, most of the people have fishing boats/canoes called pangas. They are like a big 20ft rowboat, but with a motor. Most of them were either damaged or flung up the hillside hundreds of yards away. Praise the Lord for no lives lost in this town, but clean-up will take a while. The power poles and power lines were strung out all over the streets. I did not take any pictures, but our friend, Brother Nelson, took some the day before we got there. He and his family are all ok. Pastor Israel from the local AG church was working on his roof when we stopped by. All of his sheet metal was blown off. The storm did not respect anyone. All were affected in that town and others towns as well. Everyone will be fine, people here are hard workers and very resilient.

MISSIONS OPPORTUNITIES

COFRADIA UNITED MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL

We have needs for our US base non-profit as well as on the field in Nayarit, Mexico.

US based non-profit needs:

Bookkeeper/Treasurer This is an urgent need as we are inheriting an already functioning non-profit. Our friends at Family Renewal Ministries who have been overseeing our Pastors and Projects Ministry Funds are handing us their non-profit, but we need someone stateside to do our books. If you're interested, please do not hesitate on contacting Steve for more information.

On the field needs in Nayarit, Mexico:

Here is a list of different ministry opportunities we have in COFRADIA UNITED. Some "positions" can be overlapped, but these are the ones that are most needed and are in no particular order.

Our heart is to Raise Up Leaders in Rural Mexico. That means that we, as missionaries, are discipling believers to be followers of Christ and willing to lead and take ownership of the ministry.

VISION: 

The unified body of Christ working together (Romans 15:5-7) “…be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus…with one mind and one mouth glorify God…receive one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.”

MISSION: 

Raising up Leaders in Rural Mexico (2 Timothy 2:2) “And the things you have heard (me teach) among many witnesses, the same commit to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”

All "positions" require:

-A genuine love for God and people

-A consistent, growing relationship with the Heavenly Father

-Grasping the vision and mission of the ministry

-Working under the supervision of the Mission Base Director

-Using and continually developing leadership skills

-Financially supported through a donor support team for personal fundraising (no paid positions)

-Consistent communication (monthly) with that donor support team

Please contact Steve here for more information.

______________________________________

Mission Base Director Assistant

-Shadow the Mission Base Director

-Be willing to offer general counseling, teaching, conference speaking, and mentoring.

-Be available to local Lead Pastors, who form part of this ministry, for pastoral care and mentorship 

-Over-all Ministry Oversight and Supervision in Director’s Absence

-Spanish Speaking Required

Property Manager

-Live on Mission Base

-Keep grounds clean and looking good

-Keep buildings clean and looking good

-Oversee vehicle maintenance and usage

-Oversee/Fulfill maintenance responsibilities (water, gas, electricity, etc.)

-Oversee properties in other locations alongside locals

-Teach/train others to do what you do on the mission base

-Spanish Speaking Highly Recommended

Short-Term Missions Host

-Ability to communicate well with and in front of people

-Recruit and prepare stateside teams for a 7 or 10 day mission trip

-Work along side the Short-Term Mission Coordinator for stateside preparations

-Come along side the vision of the local church on the field

-Be responsible for hosting and leading short-term missions teams on the field

-Make hotel/travel arrangements on the field for the teams

-Spanish Speaking Required

-Stipend Available

Projects Manager

-Ability to work along side locals teaching them skills and learning from theirs

-Ability to prepare accurate project budgets

-Ability to communicate project proposals with current and potential partners

-Ability to coordinate and fulfill the steps to complete a construction project

-Facilitate and delegate responsibilities among locals and guests

-Be responsible with Mission Base tools

-Construction skills necessary

-Spanish Speaking Required

Sound Technician

-Oversee the local Church’s sound system’s maintenance and usage

-Teach others to run sound and maintain system

-Coordinate the use of the sound system for outreaches

-Spanish Speaking Required

Videographer

-Oversee the local Church’s Livestream services

-Oversee the local Church’s in-house projections

-Make video productions for promotional use and reports

-Teach others to make videos

-Fundraising skills highly recommended

-Spanish Speaking Required

Student Ministry Volunteer

-Serve the Student Ministry Pastor

-Coordinate events alongside Pastor

-Lead bible studies, games, conversations

-Fundraising skills highly recommended

-Spanish Speaking Required

Children’s Ministry Volunteer

-Serve the Children’s Ministry Pastor

-Coordinate events alongside Pastor

-Ability to lead bible stories, games, crafts

-Fundraising skills highly recommended

-Spanish Speaking Required

Rehabilitation Center Assistant (Rosamorada, Nayarit)

-Single Male

-Live at the Restoration House

-Serve the Director of the Restoration House for drug and alcohol addicts with humility and transparency

-Grasp the vision of the Restoration House

-Have a love and calling to Drug and Alcohol addicts

-Be willing to adapt and follow the in-house rules, showing an example

-Respect the schedule and work towards completing the goals

-Spanish Speaking Required

Keyboard for the Church

Thank you so much to some friends from my home church, Gateway Fellowship in Poulsbo, who provided the finances to purchase this new (to us) keyboard for the Cofradia Church! It's a Yamaha DGX-230 and plays really nice.

 

Cofradia Kitchen Kids 2022-09

Mati and Isabel continue to do a great job feeding the children in the mornings before school and sharing God's love to them...