Mexico Mission Trip Prayer Letter #2

Victoria Yang

420 Park Creek Drive

Alpharetta, Georgia 30005

Home: (678)297-3833 //Cell: 404)993-1598

l.victoria.yang@gmail.com

Dear family and friends,

It’s hard to believe that in a couple of weeks, I will be at training camp and then in Matamoros, Mexico! I have been blessed to be able to serve at ministries and shelters these past weeks, and these past few weeks especially have been a testament to the phenomenal grace and provision of the Lord. To begin with, prior to my departure on June 16^th, I have the opportunity to serve on Whirlwind, another mission trip, with members of my youth group. We will be spending 10 days (May 29^th to June 8^th) in a low income apartment complex that arguably is in a culture of its own though is only 25 minutes away from my church. We will be spending these 10 days sharing the Gospel with the children that reside there through VBS, games, worship, arts and crafts; however, for the majority of the mission trip we will be exhibiting the love of Christ through us playing with the children.

Another testament of the provision of God is that both my Mexico and Whirlwind trip costs have been met. This is truly a work of God, because for a long time I feared that I would not meet my Mexico goal. I had found out that my fundraising deadline of $1300 had been pushed forward by 6 days, and that gave me panic. Through a lengthy Facebook message (and through other social websites) explaining my situation to supporters and friends, I asked for prayer and financial support if possible. Not only did I meet my $1300 goal, but by a week later I had met both my Mexico and Whirlwind trip costs. Praise be to God!!

Slowly and slowly, I have been bonding with my team members. We currently stand at 12 in total: 10 students (Anthony, Stephen, Sara Beth, Taylor, Nolan, Bethanie, Brendan, Emily, and Ben) and 2 leaders (Mark and Kayla). 8 of us (students) have been talking regularly with each other through Facebook (of course) and we have been sharing encouragement, prayer requests, and simply slowly getting to know each other. Our two leaders have also been appointed, through God’s grace: Mark and Kayla. Please continue to pray for our team as we prepare and we as a team finish fundraising for our mission trip, as well as for the other two students, as all we know are their names (Anthony and Stephen) and nothing else (and no way to contact them).

On Saturdays, I have also been preparing for the Whirlwind trip with my dear brothers and sisters. Each week, we study Scripture and learn essentials (such as prayer, what are missions, the Gospel) for our mission trip, keep each others in prayer, participate in grueling physical workouts so that we may not been out of shape in the ten days that we are in Whirlwind, and prepare for our various roles in serving. We are blessed to have two wonderful men of God, Sunny and Jonathan, to lead us and help us prepare.

I am extremely excited for both of these mission trips and for the work that God has predestined both of the teams to accomplish for His glory. Please continue to pray for our preparation (for both trips) and that we will enter into the mission field in the right heart and mind – the heart of a servant. In John 13 we see Jesus washing the feet of His disciples, a job that is usually filled by a servant. Jesus sets an example here of humility and servant hood. Pray for both teams, that we will enter with this mindset that our only jobs are to serve others humbly and to glorify the Lord in all that we do. 2 Corinthians 4:5 says that “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.” Here, Paul assumes the role of servant of others and brings himself to favor the needs of others before his own. Pray for us to be like this as will.

A thought that keeps recurring to me is how that in Mexico, my words will not reflect the Gospel and I will accidentally blasphemy if I have the chance to minister in Spanish, as well that when I meet someone, I will have no courage to share the Gospel, ask if they need prayer, even to speak. I suspect that this might be the thoughts of some of the other team members, and therefore please pray for boldness for our team as well that our actions will match the resurrection of Christ Jesus. Also, continue to pray for the tension in Mexico over the drug cartel and for all the injustice issues there.

When I am in Mexico, if I am able to obtain internet access, I will share updates of our ministry either on Facebook and/or my Mexico blog (http://matamoros-victoria.blogspot.com/). However, if you wish to receive updates via email, please tell me and I will try my best to send out a mailing list.

Please, please let me know of any prayer requests that you may have, and also if you have any questions, please let me know! Blessings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:8-11

Victoria Yang

Update (5.10.11)

Hi guys! Right now in my account, without any pending checks, I have $1295.25. With mailed checks from yesterday, it will be, oh geez I can't count, $1545.25. Without the money from my friends that I haven't wrote a check, it's $1595.25. I'm sure I probably did some math wrong. Anyways, I need less than $175 now by May 28th, and I'm sure that's definitely doable.

Here's a shout out to:

Abraham Wang

Carlin Doyle

Nana Huang

Finlan Yang (though her "donation" was what she gave me when she visited Georgia as a "present")

Fuling Chiang

Lian Lu

Christina Leo

Ida Lin

Xinwei Zeng

Roland Wen

Sophia Chen

Isabelle Zhang

Michael Lan

Li-Wan Hsu

Kevin Lam

An Ling Lam

Jasmine Ho

Rena Chang

Nana Huang

But of course if you want to help me raise the remaining money electronically, please remember to put “Liwen Yang” not “Victoria Yang” on the name box! They’re going to give the donation to someone whose official name is Victoria Yang even though there’s not other Victoria Yangs and then you will have wasted whatever money you donated. And remember, select Ambassadors under Choose a Program! Thank you!

https://www.adventures.org/give/donate.asp?giveto=partFund

Anon with +$25!

So I didn't get into Nashville, but that's okay. Fine, I admit I was angry for a few weeks, but I finally am forgetting about it and looking forward to the greater things that have yet to come (in Matamoros). I'm pretty happy becausee the new youth director, Jonathan, has such a passion for the homeless and I feel like through his help, the youth can truly be the light and salt of the world. Something that I have been trying (and failing) to get the youth group to do for years (outreach).

Someone put $25 in my Matamoros account 2 days ago. I'm pretty happy about that $25. Shows that people haven't forgotten about my trip.

Another girl is part of our team now. We're finally balanced between boys and girls! :) Her name is Sara Beth and it seems like we have a lot in common. I was happy that she likes John Piper, and she knows about the Joshua Project too!

Street reach on 4/16. I'm excited! Perhaps I'll get Jonathan to join me. And some youth. I'm sure the Nashville team would want to do something. I just hope that since they have such a tight-knit team, they're not focusing on fun and bonding time instead of service, like what happened my second year (only a few people took it seriously, and some of them came back this year).

So in total I have...794.25 + the $40 that Wendy's and Rebecca's mom gave me but I haven't given to AIM yet. So $834.25.

Thank you so much anonymous(es) for supporting me!

I can't believe I didn't bother to check my account until today.

So I want to go to Nashville too...another mission trip

I don't even know how this is gonna work, but here's my application essay (Question: Why do you feel you should be able to go to Nashville?)

Nashville Essay- Victoria Yang
I’ve learned to find delight in serving, mainly in urban ministry/outreach capacities. One of the themes of the student ministry I work with around here is to “love humbly, serve radically”. Maybe it’s not a good idea for me to go on Nashville a fourth time, to give those who have never gone to Nashville a chance (and the troubles of fundraising for both Nashville and Mexico), but the people of Nashville calls out to me. I remember last year when I went to find Rico and how he remembered me, as well as Rebecca Leo and Kally. Through doing ministry downtown these past couple of months, one of the most important things that I have learned is to keep at it and make bonds. Bonds are how you gain your trust among the homeless, who often have a hard time with trust. Of course, that is hard when you go to a city every year and that’s it, but I don’t want to be a part of some of the people’s lives for one day and then disappear from their lives forever, though that probably has already happened. But to go back to those that I have formed relationships with in past years and be like, “Hey, what’s up?” and conversing with them shows that indeed I have not forgotten them.
I remember Albert from Samaritan Ministries, whom I met the second and third years and perhaps the first year as well. He works in the soup kitchen but he lives in low-income housing, and is probably the case for all those who are near to but not homeless. I remember just talking for a while every year, and when he showed me his books. I remember Rico and his slam poetry (in a sense) and how he was full of wisdom. I remember one that I met in Safehouse Outreach in downtown Atlanta that was just like him, named Faze (Faith) who was so wise and you could simply see the fire of God spurting out of him. I remember the cold policemen, such as the one we met the first year, and then another one I met in my second year who told a musician on 2nd Avenue to “get lost” because he was on “public property”.
I guess that no matter where, my heart burns and aches for those that are overlooked by society. And then we head into the streets of Nashville, sometimes determined to bless someone’s day, and they are just overwhelmed because we have take the time to not only give them a meal, but also spend the time to talk with them and hearing them out That’s what many homeless and low-income all throughout the world lack. They are often given food but that’s it. Rarely do people stop and talk with them for a while and offer to pray for them. Rarely do people offer to help them in ways other than getting them food because of how we perceive the homeless.
Maybe my heart really is in downtown Atlanta and not Nashville or foreign lands, but I feel a calling once again to go and serve. To be the voice for the lost, and bring back stories of the oppressed, and to give them a voice so that they’re not homeless. To lay my life down and humbly serve the people of Nashville. To answer Isaiah 58, 61, 65:17-25, Micah 6:8,and Matthew 28:19-20. To learn how to discern God’s voice and learn to live radically and pursue His command as one with nothing and in an unfamiliar city. To learn the joy of serving and of abandonment to the world.
I read a book about two college guys who decided to take a semester off from their comfortable lifestyle and live homeless for 5 months, traveling the streets of 5 cities with only the clothes behind their back, a backpack for essentials, and a guitar (for worship and panhandling). In it reaffirmed what I had previously learned through Atlanta homeless ministry and Nashville, of the public attitudes of homeless. Of how even churches forced them to leave and say that “you’re not welcome here”. Of the cruel spontaneous ordinances of public and commercial buildings (i.e. coffee shops), like the McDonalds last year where we “blessed others' mornings”. God has given me a heart for the homeless and for many of the major cities, has called me a servant for the poor, and I want to obey Him.

$422 more to raise if I go..plus the $1375 for Mexico

$450 Mark

This $50 was really surprising. Someone left me an envelope with no stamp (so it was hand delivered) and no address and no name today in my mailbox.

I have 30 Hour Famine tonight. I actually am going 60 hours. But more on that later.

$400 mark/.update

Still at $400 mark :D

I planned on doing this in audio.....I have the audio post, but I haven't figured out how to embed it....

BUT, I am going on another inner city mission trip with Flood (of course) this Saturday. They're short.

‎-[prayer request]- doing two separate homeless ministry outreaches on saturday (trying to do some outreaches each month to prepare for next summer's mission trip: simply going to downtown with a group of people and just preparing snacks and then handing them out to whoever comes to us and talking/getting to them.....then in the evening going to a day shelter called Safehouse Outreach: preparing dinner, leading worship that night, and sharing testimonies. pray for humility, boldness to preach (if appliable), for what we say to be glorifying, team unity...yeah :D

If you see this prior to Saturday, please pray for my team.

This worship song is phenomenal:

In Christ,

Victoria