Loretta Wang - Preach the gospel always, and if necessary, use words.

Swaziland Address

Wed, 4 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Better late than never! :)

And here is my Swaziland address:

Julie Anderson

Care of LORETTA WANG

P.O. Box 5526

Mbabane, Swaziland

AFRICA

Write the address EXACTLY how it is written. If you don't put AFRICA in caps, they might mistake the country for Switzerland instead of Swaziland. Also, if you manage to send a package, do not declare any value on it (unless they say you need to, just declare $5 or a really low value).

Last Night in J-Bay

Sun, 4 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hey everyone!

Today is my final day in Jeffreys Bay! The Swaziland team that has been staying in Africa over break will be sleeping at the Port Elizabeth house tomorrow and heading out to the airport in the wee hours of the morning (why did we chose 6 AM flights? I don't know). We will arrive in Johannesburg around 7:50 AM and wait for the rest of our teammates who will be flying in from America. The Swazi team (while the P.E. and J-Bay team disperse into their locations) will spend the night in Johannesburg, wait for our last teammate to arrive from America the following day and drive out to Swaziland! Hopefully the Swaziland border doesn't close before we arrive there!

And because I will be in Swazi for the next 4 months, this blog may not be updated as much (it hasn't been updated that much in the first place anyway) due to the lack of technology advancement & limited internet time. Please forgive me!

Also, please pray for safety while everyone is traveling! Thanks!

Aliens Perceiving Human Beings

Sat, 3 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hypothetically, if an alien were to visit and perceive us humans, this is how he would describe us:

"Humans, as a species, are constantly, and in every way, comparing themselves to one another, which given the brief nature of their existence, seems an oddity and, for that matter, a waste. Nevertheless, this is the driving influence behind every human's social development, their emotional health and sense of joy, and, sadly, their greatest tragedies. It is as though something that helped them function and live well has gone missing, and they are pining for that missing thing in all sorts of odd methods, none of which are working. The greater tragedy is that very few people understand that they have the disease. This seems strange as well because it is obvious. To be sure, it is killing them and yet sustaining their social and economic systems. They are an entirely beautiful people with a terrible problem."

"I get this feeling sometimes that after the world ends, when God destroys all our buildings and our flags, we will wish we had seen everybody as equal, that we had eaten dinner with prostitutes, held them in our arms, opened up spare rooms for them and loved them and learned from them. I was just another stupid child in the flow, you know; I didn't know any of these things. I didn't know it didn't matter what a person looked like, how much money they made of whether or not they were cool. I didn't know that cool was just a myth and that one person was just as beautiful and meaningful as another. Not all of us are as smart as aliens, you know. Not all of us run around naked like Adam and Eve. You can hardly fault me for this stuff, can you? Like I said, it felt important to climb the social ladder, it felt important to defend our identities, it felt as though we were saving our own lives."

Quoted from Donald Miller's Searching for God Knows What

How Man Is Wired

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

"Man is wired so he gets his glory (his security, his understanding of value, his feeling of purpose, his feeling of rightness with his Maker, his security for eternity) from God, and this relationship is so strong, and God's love is so pure, that Adam and Eve felt no insecurity at all, so much that they walked around naked and didn't even realize they were naked. But when that relationship was broken, they knew it instantly. All of their glory, the glory that came from God, was gone. It wouldn't be unlike being in love and having somebody in the store. All of the insecurity rises the instant you realize you are alone. No insecurity was felt when the person who loved you this way, but the second the relationship was broken they realized it and were ashamed. And that is just the beginning."

Searching for God Knows What, Donald Miller

Last Week of Ministry

Sun, 7 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This week will be our last week of ministry and then the team will be heading out to St. Francis Bay for debriefing from the 15th-18th! Will update more later!

P.S. This is totally irrelevant, but USC is going to the Rose Bowl again! Wooohoo! :) Sadly I won't be able to watch it though. Boooooooo!

(Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)

:) Good day.

God's Grace

Mon, 1 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

"I consider myself as the most miserable of all human beings, covered with sores, foul, and guilty of all sorts of crimes committed against my King; moved by sincere remorse I confess all my sins to him. I ask him pardon and abandon myself into his hands so he can do with me as he pleases. Far from chastening me, this King, full of goodness and mercy, lovingly embraces me, seats me at his table, waits on me himself, gives me the keys to his treasures, and treats me in all things as his favourite; he converses with me and takes delight in me in countless ways, without ever speaking of forgiveness or taking away my previous faults. Although I beg him to fashion me according to his heart, I see myself still weaker and miserable, yet ever more caressed by God. This is what I see from time to time while in his holy presence."

Brother Lawrence

Quoted from Michael Frost's Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture

You'll Come - Hillsong

Mon, 1 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Chains be broken
Lives be healed
Eyes be opened
Christ is revealed

I have decided
I have resolved
To wait upon You Lord
My rock and Redeemer
Shield and reward
I'll wait upon You Lord

As surely as the sun will rise
You'll come to us
Certain as the dawn appears

You'll come
Let Your glory fall as You respond to us
Spirit rain
Flood into our thirsty hearts again
You'll come
You'll come

We are not shaken
We are not moved
We wait upon You Lord
Mighty deliverer
Triumph and truth
We wait upon You Lord

As surely as the sun will rise
You'll come to us
Certain as Your word endures

You'll come
Let Your glory fall as You respond to us
Spirit rain
Flood into our thirsty hearts again
You'll come
You'll come

Chains be broken
Lives be healed
Eyes be opened
Christ is revealed

:(

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

I am incredibly homesick. INCREDIBLY homesick. The end.

Tis' the Season to Be Thankful

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I still vividly remember saying that Thanksgiving was so far away and now it is finally here. Too fast, too fast!

So, what am I thankful for since I have been in Africa? Well...let's see. I am thankful for:

-The team, of course.

-A class of thirteen obedient (in most cases) and sweet 4-5 year olds at Victory Christian School

-A great ministry team (Alene & Matt H.) that is constantly flexible and agreeable

-Aaryn, an amazing discipler to simply chat and hang out with!

-Fun, unique and respectable bunkmates: Jillian, Johanna, Kristen, Megan, and Sarah B!

-The Swaziland team that I will be with next semester!! Yeah, Swazi!

-Moments of peace and quiet

-Books, books, and more books to read

-Musilei (granola) & yogurt. Yum!

-Fruit, fruit, fruit

-Constantly learning and being challenged by the Lord. Mmmhm.

Of course I am thankful for so much more, but I don't want to bore you.

And of course, I'm still thankful for everyone back at America! I miss you all so, so, so, so, soooo much! I really wish I am able to play Ultimate Frisbee or Capture the Flag with the church kiddos or grab a drink at AU79, Phoenix, or Ten Ren and witness mobs of people intertwining and greeting each other. I even had a dream two nights ago with the whole Arcadia Class of 2006 in some huge restaurant having a reunion! It felt so real and it was amazing!

Anyway, that is all. Please have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving with family and friends! Remember to tell someone why you are thankful for him or her!

God bless!

A Holy Rage

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

"What is, therefore, the task of the preacher (or the church) today?
Shall I answer: Faith, hope and love'?
That sounds beautiful.
But I would say-Courage.
No, even that is not challenging enough to be the whole truth.
Our task today is recklessness.
For what we Christians lack is not psychology or literature, we lack a holy rage.
The recklessness that comes from the knowledge of God and humanity.
The ability to rate when justice lies prostrate on the streets...and when the lie rages across the face of the earth-a holy anger about things that are wrong in the world.
To rage against the ravaging of God's earth, and the destruction of God's world.
To rage when little children must die of hunger, when the tables of the rich are sagging with food.
To rage at the senseless killing of so many, and against the madness of militaries.
To rage at the lie that calls the threat of death and the strategy of destruction-Peace.
To rage again complacency.
To restlessly seek that recklessness that will challenge and seek to change human history until it conforms with the norms of the Kingdom of God.
And remember the signs of the Christian Church have always been-the Lion, the Lamb, the Dove, and the Fish...but never the chameleon."

Danish pastor Kaj Munk

Next Semester (Jan-May)

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Next semester I will be going to...

Swaziland!

That is all. God is good. :)

They Need You, Lord

Sat, 8 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

On Sunday, when the team did communion together in the UCSA hall, I started crying towards the very end of the session. I was reading through some scripture, prayed, flipped though some more scripture and then flipped to the very last page of my Bible. The page had a lime green post-it stuck in the center with 9 names written on it. Those names were 9 of my friends that did not know God or had fallen away within the past few years. Tears just burst out of my eyes. I can't believe I had totally forgotten about this list for a good month or so. I haven't been praying for them. I then thought about many of my other friends-those who also do not have a personal relationship with the Lord. Those I had been afraid to even mention the gospel to because I did not want to risk the valuable relationship I had already developed and cherished. In result, I was really convicted to write down all the names I could think of. With a long list of friends or even acquaintances to pray for, God led me to commit praying for every single person on that list until Christmas break, December 19^th. From now until then there are at least one or two people I can commit to pray for each day. I had come to this trip hoping to serve the Kingdom of God and make a difference in people's lives here as well as people's lives back at home.

So I, Loretta Wang, commit and declare to set aside a portion of time every single day to pray for every single person on the list created so the Heavenly Father may be glorified and that each person may come to know and accept Him into his/her life.

They need You, Lord.

Victory 4 All & House Visitations

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

I've only been back from Somerset East for two weeks, but it feels like it's been a month! Since Beat the Drum, time has been flying by really quickly. I mean, I can't believe it's already November! That means there's only a month and a half left before the first semester ends. TOO QUICK! I'm just starting to settle in! :( But anyway, since there are no more scheduled events/programs the team is participating in, we will be staying in Jeffreys Bay and will continue to work in our own ministry groups and ministries until December.

I have the honor of working at Victory 4 All with two other teammates, Matt and Alene. It's a wonderful ministry that is constructed and programmed by a church in Holland, Victory Church. Every year people from Victory Church are called by God to stop what they are doing to move to South Africa to run this awesome program. Since they have planted the first school a few years ago, it has multiplied to more facilities like a foster home, another school, a health clinic, and more! It's amazing how much God has provided! My ministry group specifically works at the Victory 4 All Aftercare out in the township. We split up and help assist in three different classrooms. I have the smallest class, consisting of thirteen five-year-olds. They are so precious! They're full of energy, love, and have child-like faith, which is always an encouragement to be around. There is a set schedule everyday for these children which include:

1:00-1:30 Get picked up from school and transferred to the aftercare/play outside

1:30-2:00 Lunch provided

2:00-2:30 Homework time

2:30-3:30 Play time/bath time

3:30-4:00 Bible story/singing songs/snacks

After our ministry at Victory 4 All is finished, we walk around the townships to do house visitations. It's funny because when we had to list our ministry preferences in order from 1-9 back in September, I put House Visitations as choice #9 (because of past negative house visitation experiences), but it's beginning to be one of my favorites! We have encountered amazing families and individuals that have been so welcoming and encouraging to us. These people are also so broken and willing to share about what is going on in their lives. It's definitely a different experience from doing house visitations in the States just because these people are so vulnerable to us and willing to humble themselves (and even welcome strangers in their houses!).

Here are some of the families/individuals we have met:

Patience is a young woman with a newborn baby. Her husband/boyfriend is in jail and she has no source of income for her and her baby because she cannot find a job.

Silvia is a mother of three: Natasha, Nuweliekas (sp.), and Zandi. There are also other family members living in her little house. They struggle to survive, so the oldest daughter, Natasha works 40+ hours a week at a restaurant to provide for the family. Also, praise God that the mother also just started a new job as a domestic worker! The middle child, Nuweliekas was raped by her father (who is in jail for it) last year and has court this following Monday, November 3^rd.

Julia has had multiple stomach surgeries and her body is in constant pain. She feels like she is a burden to her sister because her sister has to pay and take care of Julia since she cannot find a job.

Nomachine lives with Julia. Her mother just died (had no legs), and since her death, she has had a bad relationship with her sister who lives in Port Elizabeth. She has no source of income and has a boyfriend that has another girlfriend and daughter. She continues to go back to him because he provides some sort of shelter and food for her (every once in a while).

Georgina is blessed with a loving, hard-working husband, Patrick and three wonderful boys, Gladman, Tekkie, & Shoney. God has provided her a beautiful, cozy house and food on their table every single day, but they are still struggling financially. Georgina volunteers at the local school by cooking meals for the students and tries to make a little income by freezing juice to make popsicles for the local street kids. For some reason, she is starting to feel pain in her legs. She does not know what caused this pain, but it has become a burden for her. She needs to stand up/walk around a lot, so it is really hard to have this pain in her legs.

If you could, please pray for these families! Prayer is powerful! Please, pray!!

P.S. My pictures are on Flickr! I know you guys are curious, but I haven't really taken pictures much in the townships because I don't want to offend the people living there, ya know? Anyway, enjoy!

Home Sweet Home

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

"If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

2 Chronicles 7:14

I am finally back in Jeffreys Bay! I must say, it has been an AMAZING week. Beat the Drum was just...truly a blessing. AIM, MXP, The Nehemiah, and LXP combined into one big team and all split up into one community team and five different school teams: Aeroville, Cookhouse, Gill, Johnson, and Pearston. I, along with 21 other team leaders had the opportunity to minister at Cookhouse Secondary School. *Just a little background: Cookhouse is a very small town and it is known to have the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in South Africa in relation to its population and people affected with the disease.

At first, Cookhouse had a series of unfortunate events. Not all the students showed up on Monday to watch the Beat the Drum film because the head mistress (principal) released them to go home first (of course, most students stayed home), students that did attend to watch the film were late, the film was defected during the last 20 minutes, the head mistress was angry with our team because we were supposed to lead a prayer meeting that we did not know about, and many, many more.

BUT, praise the Lord for He is good! On Tuesday, we were favored by the head mistress and were able to show the whole movie to all 300 students in 3 tiny classrooms. The following day, I taught roughly 20 grade 11 girls with two of my teammates, Faith and Ntombhongo. It was wonderful. God's spirit was definitely there guiding us. Bhongo shared her testimony to the girls and they were all so touched and started crying. At that moment, all of their hearts opened up and they were able to share their own testimonies through written letters. For the rest of the week, I had half of the girls to myself and I must say being with them was such a BLESSING. These girls are beautiful and smart. They know their morals/values and just want to change their old lifestyle. All of these girls wanted to live their life God's way and 7 of the 9 committed to abstain from sex until marriage. On the last day, 6 decided to get tested for HIV/AIDS and all of them were negative! Praise God! It was so nerve-wrecking when I was waiting with them and I wasn't even getting tested! Anyway, I just pray that these girls continue to pursue their commitment to God. I have hope in them.

To conclude, this week was good. God is amazing! All the hard work was for His glory!

Prayer requests:

Grade 11A girls I taught by name: Ntombizodwa, Nokubonga, Nelisa, Vuyokazi, Thembakazi, Xolelwa, Buyiswa, Thembisa, and Tabhitha.

P.S. My personal website with two links to this blog and my Flickr for pictures!

It's Tomorrow!

Thu, 9 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Tonight, the leadership team will be congregating together and watching the Beat the Drum movie.

Tomorrow, we will be leaving for Somerset East.

Saturday is training all day.

Sunday is... a mystery. Church?

Monday through Friday will consist of the Beat the Drum program!

Saturday, we will return to Jeffreys Bay.

Please continue to pray for the team, the program, the people at Somerset East, everything! God bless!

Beat the Drum

Fri, 3 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Next upcoming major event:

BEAT THE DRUM

SOMERSET EAST, SOUTH AFRICA

OCTOBER 9^TH-18^TH, 2008

Adventures in Missions is joining with other Jeffreys Bay organizations, churches and friends to bring Beat the Drum to Somerset East and WE NEED YOUR HELP.

HISTORY OF BEAT THE DRUM
Millions of souls in Africa are currently under the curse of AIDS/HIV. The movie "Beat the Drum" is the catalyst to our response. A multi-faceted approach was developed that continued with a massive campaign to train young people in AIDS prevention, mobilizing people, volunteers from Africa and the US to break up into teams to go into high schools to train the learners in biblically-based AIDS prevention under a brand new project called, Beat the Drum.

MISSION
To serve the Somerset East community by primarily bringing the message of abstinence through the Beat the Drum project and giving them hope through meeting-felt needs in the community.

PURPOSE
To educate on HIV/AIDS
To prevent and STOP HIV/AIDS in the community
To care for our community

EXPECTATION
To see the movement of God
To see believers, Churches and ministries join hands in unity to serve the community

PRAYER NEEDS
Continued prayer for community outreach week.
Families of the community
Finances
HIV/AIDS positive people in the community
Home visitations
All volunteers
Curriculum facilitation
Lasting impact and real value
For God's spirit to be poured out on the people attending
Opening of their eyes to the knowledge and truth with understanding
The Truth of the Word of God
For the overall smooth running of our programs

FINANCIAL NEEDS

Vehicle rental/Gas for transporting teams from J-Bay to Somerset East (100 people/3 hour drive)
1,500 25-paged AIDS/HIV booklets
Any additional food that is not donated by the community (a little harder for you guys to give back at home)

**Basically, we need a minimum of $2,000 USD

HOW TO GIVE

Write a check out to "Loretta Wang" and all the funds will be transferred from my personal account to the AIM account under Beat the Drum.

Last day to donate is the last day of the Beat the Drum program, Oct 18, 2008!!

Thanks for reading. I can't wait to tell you all how God will use this program to change His people!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Upcoming Events:

Sept 25-29 UCSA September Camp

Sept 27-Oct 1 Shell Festival

Sept 29-Oct 3 Victory 4 All special holiday program

Oct 9-18 Beat The Drum program

I shall update about them when I get a chance!

Greetings from Jeffreys Bay, South Africa!

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

   I am finally in South Africa! After spending Monday and Tuesday (34 freaking hours) in an airport for overlays and multiple flights, I am finally here. Sweeeeeeeeet!
*Some cons: One of my team members had to be deported back to her country, Canada because she lost her passport sometime between landing and lining up for Customs to get our passports/visas checked. Twelve other members had their luggage lost, but they finally received it today (Praise God!).
      So, a recap of training camp. I am going to be totally honest and say that it was brutal. I felt like a soldier (for Jesus!) in boot camp. No joke. A lot of physical activity such as obstacles; of course to force the team to work together, get to know each other, etc. Everyone lived in cabins (some, tents) and did not have electricity and plumbing- that means... dark pathways, portable bathrooms, and hoses for showering (freezing water). Mmmmhmm. I know, it may not sound too bad, but it was pretty grungy in comparison to the kind of lifestyle I live back at home. But, of course, worship, messages, and QTs were awesome. Lots of personal time with the Lord.
      Now, let me give you some background about my team. FYM Africa has a total of 55 members; 14 of them being leaders. Almost all of my teammates are from different states + Canada. Texas, Washington, New Jersey- you name it, we (almost) got it! It's pretty cool congregating a bunch of followers of Christ into one location and just having the same vision from God. Sweet, indeed.
      I would love to tell you guys about the little town (Jeffreys Bay) I'm in, but I've only been here for 1 whole day. I'm trying to settle in and get to know the area a little more. Once I do, I will share!

Prayer requests:
-This coming week as we will be figuring out our ministry projects and teams
-More unity. It's only been a week and a half and there's 55 of us!
-The 4 other teams out in other countries: India, Swaziland, Kenya, and Nicaragua
-My health. I am sick. Boo.

P.S. So, I have come to a conclusion that I absoloutely CANNOT write short updates. I just can't. I write too darn much. Sorry! You'll just have to bear with me.

Until next time (hopefully with some pictures, too!). Have a wonderful day!

Support Letter

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

But the people said to Joshua, "No! We will serve the Lord." Then Joshua said, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord." "Yes, we are witnesses," they replied. Joshua 24:21-22

To my dearest family and friends,

First of all, I just have to say that God is gooooood! Lately God has been revealing more of myself to me and my greatest desires as a servant of Christ. I have discovered that I have a heart for youth (especially in third-world countries) and a love for those desiring to grow in Christ. I have been blessed continuously in my own life and the very least I can and should do is shower others with blessings and Gods love through my actions.
So, in response to Gods calling, I obeyed, began researching for a program and was excited when I found an opportunity to join Adventures In Missions in the Next Step Program! I applied and have now been accepted to serve! I plan to devote 9 months (9/8/2008 to 5/15/2009) to minister the Gospel alongside with local missionaries, pastors, and ministries in South Africa. Part of Next Step, FYM is the specialized ministry I will be involved in. The FYM program has two major components during the year: The Awakening, and the outreach. The Awakening takes place in South Africa from September - December and focuses on teaching, training, and discipleship. As I build relationships in the local townships, I will have opportunities as well to disciple those God brings my way. During the second component of the FYM program from January - May, the team of 50 will split up into teams of 10-12 and will re-situate to specific ministry locations (Swaziland, South Africa, Botswana, or Mozambique) and serve together in the local community. Several outreach ministries will include ministry in the townships, in hospitals, at day care centers, orphan ministry at care points, etc.
I thank God for this opportunity that is before me and trust He will meet all my needs. Ultimately, my prayer is that He will do that through you. I would be honored if you could partner prayerfully and financially with me in this ministry. I hope you will commit to pray for me each day until I return. Also, I must raise at least $9,950.00 to cover all expenses. The total cost includes 9 months worth of housing, food, discipleship materials, and local transportation, airfare (travel arrangements are from Los Angeles to Atlanta, GA to South Africa, back to Atlanta, GA, and then Los Angeles), and other misc. expenses such as medical shots. I know you may not be able to help financially, but prayer is just as important. If you are able to give financial support or are willing to pray for my ministry, please complete the attached form and return and/or contact me before May 4, 2007 for further direction. Checks are payable to Adventures In Missions and please include my name on the memo line on the bottom left-hand side. Whether you feel led to contribute financially, through prayer, or both, all of your support is appreciated.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and for considering my needs for prayer and financial support! I am very excited about how God will use me and what He will teach me through this experience. I hope not only to be a blessing to those I serve, but also to you. My desire is to go as your representative of Jesus Christ! I hope you will prayerfully consider being part of my ministry!

Thank you so, so much and God bless!
Loretta Wang