Garage and Bake Sale:

Friday, Oct. 1 and Saturday Oct. 2 , 8:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

My church family will be holding a garage and bake sale on Friday, October 1 and Saturday, October 2 at Christ Lutheran’s Activity Center to start fundraising for my second year of mission work in Shongweni, South Africa.

There will be a lot of great items at the sale, so I hope you can come and enjoy some shopping while helping to support the mission work here!

If you have some gently used clothing, toys, books or household items* that you want to get rid of before winter or if you are thinning out your closets and drawers, we can use your donations at the end of September. We appreciate your donations!

* We are sorry, but we are unable to take individual computer components.

Christ Lutheran’s Activity Center is at 311 N. Hershey, Normal, IL 61761

Southwest corner of the church’s property.


Donations can be dropped off at the following times at the Christ Lutheran Activity Center:
Sunday, Sept. 26: from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m **We can use volunteers until 8 p.m.
**Monday, Sept. 27: from Noon to 7:00 on these days and Thursday,
**Tuesday, Sept. 28: from Noon to 7:00 Sept., 30 from 11- 8 p.m.
**Weds. , Sept. 29: from 1:00 to 8:00 1 or 2 hours or more is appreciated!

We need volunteers to help Sunday – Thursday until 8 p.m.
Want to volunteer, have questions or need something picked up? Call Marilee Wehrenberg at (309) 830-2563.

Baked goods can be left in the church kitchen or brought to the activity center on

Thurs. , Sept. 30 from 9a.m. to 3 p.m. (kitchen) or noon to 7p.m. (Activity Building)
or
Friday, Oct. 1 during sale hours (Activity Building)

No items to donate and no time to cook? Take part in our “bakeless” Bake Sale and donate what you would spend on the item(s) you might make. i.e.: Cherry Pie=$8.00


Regardless of whether you can help with donations and/or time, we appreciate the prayerful support of the mission work God has made possible for me to do through people like you!

To be added to my e-mail newsletter list, send an e-mail
message to:
Julia.Wehrenberg@lcms.org and put the word “ADD” in the subject heading.
It is a great way to keep up with the mission work going on in Shongweni and
get my prayer requests for the mission.

Thank you and God's blessings on your week!

Love in Christ,

Julia

August Picture Book

Jesus is our ultimate supporter as our savior! Jesus said, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” This is a picture from our first support group at the church community center. Shara and I assisted social workers Eldah and Primrose from Christian Social Services run the support group for the caregivers of orphans in the Shongweni rural community.

Shara, Bishop Weber, Pastor Thwala and I will continue to work together through the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa to do mission work in Shongweni for one more year! I am thankful that Shara will also be extending so that we can continue to do this work as a team. I would love the opportunity to share more about the mission work here in Shongweni with you and your church when I am back in the States!

Bishop Weber visited our class taught by Deaconess Grace Rao from LCMS World Relief and Human Care. These women came from Botswana, the Congo and throughout South Africa to learn about serving God in their churches and daily lives. It was a blessing to learn a lot from the course and very encouraging to spend time with these great women of faith!

Deaconess Grace Rao had each of the nine women that attended the ministry course lead a Bible study. It was great to learn from all of the women and be encouraged by their messages!

The support group enjoyed an exercise where they shared about themselves and learned how they are all connected.

Shara and I spent time at another crèche to learn more about how to run childcare programs in Shongweni.

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Greetings from sunny and beautiful South Africa! Another month has flown by that was filled with lots of opportunities to grow in my faith and service. I am happy to share that all of the paper work for the crèche has been handed in to the government, and we are on track for opening the crèche in November! I am looking forward to having the church provide a safe and caring environment where the children can be taught about God’s care for them daily. I also had the opportunity to learn a lot this month when I attended a two week course at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Pretoria about various ways women are able to support ministry in the church and community. Throughout this month it became very clear that learning never stops and that the more that we are able to learn the better we can be at
supporting one another.
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“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2 Corinthians 2:3-4)

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All of us support various people and things in our lives. We support our families and we support our favorite sports teams. Being a source of support can be a lot of hard work, but it can also be a lot of fun! Whether we show support by listening to someone going through a challenge or by decking out in our team’s colors for the game, we know that our encouragement is needed and appreciated. This month, my missionary partner Shara and I joined forces with local social workers from Christian Social Services to provide support groups for the caregivers in our orphan project and the local community. These groups are designed to help the caregivers address the challenges that they face, while also providing time to socialize and develop friendships. Over thirty of us gathered at our first meeting and enjoyed sharing a little about ourselves and what topics we would like to have for the group.

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The support group is now taking place the first and last Monday of the month and looks at how other people and local resources can help, but points first of all to our biggest supporter, Christ. Not all of the people who attend are Christians, but they still want to be a part of the group and are being shown God’s care by the other people. As the group meets in the church community center the members begin with praise songs and prayer. Pastor Thwala also comes down and greets everyone, so I am happy that these groups have become another opportunity for the church community to open its doors and invite people not just to the church building, but also to encourage them in their personal relationship with Christ.

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I want to thank you for the support you have given me throughout my time as a missionary. It is with great joy that I want to share with you that I have been asked to extend my time of service here with the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa. I have accepted and will remain serving under Pastor Thwala with the Shongweni Orphan Project for one more year! I have been blessed to develop many relationships in the rural community, and am thankful that doors have been opened to care for spiritual, emotional and physical needs during this next year.

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I will be coming back to the United States to fundraise in December and January and would like to ask you to prayerfully consider continuing to support me this next term of service. One of the upcoming ways of supporting the effort to raise the funds needed is to be involved in a garage and bake sale being held at Christ Lutheran Church in Normal, IL on October 1st and 2nd. Donations, volunteers and shoppers are all needed and greatly appreciated. I cannot thank you enough for your help and care as I prepare to serve again!
*
God’s blessings on your day now and always,
Julia
Hamba kahle!
(Go well!)

July Picture Book

July was a wonderful month! Enjoy the pictures and stories that show a few aspects of the culture and mission work going on here in Shongweni!

The kids enjoyed the story and song about Zacchaeus being a little man who Jesus cared about and forgave. After tracing a lot of hands to make the tree the kids drew Jesus coming to get Zacchaeus and celebrated God’s forgiveness and love for us too! During VBS the children enjoyed drawing and taking pictures home for their caregivers. I assisted in the seven year old and under classroom until VBS ended
July 9th.

In the Zulu culture the tombstone unveiling ceremony is a big celebration for the lives of the deceased. Here four tombstones had just recently been purchased for family members that had died in the last few decades. Tombstones are very expensive so how long a person waits to have this ceremony can greatly depend on the financial resources. Unlike a funeral, this is a very happy event!

Before the tombstones were unveiled there was a worship service with logs of singing, dancing and thanking God.

Once the tombstones were unveiled family members gathered around for pictures and talked about the life of their loved one.

There were several hundred people who attended the tombstone unveiling party, so lots of cooking was done in the large iron pots and on the open grill.
Shara and I joined social workers Eldah and Primrose from Christian Social Services in designing and creating support programs in Shongweni.

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July was a very busy and exciting month here in Shongweni. Although there were no big gatherings with fireworks and cookouts for the 4th of July, my missionary partner Shara and I have had a lot of experiences to celebrate! The month started out with a final week of Vacation Bible School where the children continued to learn about Christ’s saving love for them through Bible stories and activities. Pastor Thwala, Shara and I have also been progressing in getting the crèche registered and staffed for the upcoming months and have developed a lot of local contacts to help with this process. The sewing classes that we have on Wednesdays for ladies in the community also continued and one of the women has now become the main teacher! It is great to see the programs become self-sustaining and enjoyed by the people in Shongweni. Although each of these programs has various obstacles to work around, God has opened so many doors for this ministry. Thank you again for your prayers and encouragement!

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“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2 Corinthians 2:3-4)

*

In addition to the continued programs, this month has also been filled with a lot of firsts. I attended my first Zulu funeral, and went to my first tombstone unveiling ceremony and family party. As I am becoming a part of the community I am being invited to more events, which helps me to better understand some of the Zulu traditions. I have had many unique experiences that have already allowed me to talk more about how faith plays a role in the traditional customs here.
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Another exciting first occurred when Shara and I met with all of the social workers and helped to plan a support group for the caregivers of the orphans. We are looking forward to hosting these programs at the church community center as another way to reach out to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the families in the orphan project. Throughout the old and the new aspects of the mission work here, God has been faithful in providing opportunities to witness about Christ, and to work as His hands and feet with wonderful local partners.

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One church that we Skyped with this month asked what Shara and I do as missionaries here that they could do in their community. The answer was that they could do the same things. Perhaps the culture, population or location is different, but the need for all people to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior is the same all over the world. You do not need to leave your world to impact the world of someone in your life. As you go into your week find strength and encouragement in knowing that God calls all people to be missionaries in their daily life. Whatever experiences you have God will help you use in your witness. From one forgiven sinner to another, I can say that perfection is not a quality God requires of us by ourselves. The perfection of Christ is our hope, our strength and our salvation message. Please know that as you pray for me I am also praying that you would be in God’s Word, in prayer and being shown how God is with you and leading you in His will. Dearly loved sibling in Christ, thank you for your ministry and blessings on your work as a missionary.

June Picture Book

All hands in! After making beaded salvation bracelets the kids and I joined in for a team huddle to celebrate being on God’s team. Each color represents the story of our salvation, from our separation because of sin, our forgiveness by Christ’s blood and finally our eternal home in heaven with God. The kids loved wearing them and saying what each color meant!

One of the main goals of the Vacation Bible School was to equip the volunteers to lead so that the camps can become self-sustaining. The children loved to answer questions about the Bible lessons and Nonhle was one of the helpful members from the church that taught the Bible lessons in Zulu for the seven and under classroom.

I was able to continue to build trust and friendships with the children while having a ton of fun working on crafts and doing games.


The children seven and under started out each day with singing Sunday school songs and fun learning activities.

After learning about the three men in the fiery furnace the children made angels to remind them that God cares for us.

On June 11, 2010 it was South Africa’s time to shine as the month long FIFA World Cup began and brought people here from all over the world. There were 32 countries represented in the World Cup and although they spoke different languages and had different cultures they all shared the same vision and goal; to watch their team take home the title as the soccer world champions. It has been a wonderful time to be in South Africa and to experience the pride and joy that the Africans have in their ability to share this beautiful country and their culture. In a country that is still recovering from strong racial discrimination, it is exciting to see nearly every nationality and race standing together cheering and celebrating. Isn’t it great how passion for a common goal can break down barriers that once seemed impossible?

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During the World Cup, God opened opportunities for members of the Lutheran church, volunteers, and my missionary partner Shara and I to create and run a three week long Vacation Bible School. Since the schools closed for the entire month of the World Cup, we were able to use the time with the children to share Bible lessons and give the children a safe place to learn and play. We had 60-100 children each day ages 2-14, so we were able to build many more relationships with the youth in the community.

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Throughout this time the youth learned about God’s power by his creation and miracles, Christ’s love for us in the way he treated people and taught during his life, and ultimately about Christ’s power as God when he took away our sins on the cross and then rose from the dead on Easter. Many of the children are not familiar with commonly shared Bible stories, so it was great to see them learning, acting out the lessons and taking home crafts to share with their families. Daniel in the Lion’s Den as well as the parables of the lost sheep and Good Samaritan were among some of the children’s favorite parts of the Bible to learn about and helped the children to see how God has always been faithful throughout time. We also learned about Christ’s baptism and how the Holy Spirit helps us and several of the little children wanted to know more about how to get baptized!

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No matter what challenges these children face our goal is to always show them how incredibly valuable they are to Christ. Whether or not they have been orphaned, face discrimination or other challenges due to poverty, they are God’s dearly loved children. By grace through faith these are our brothers and sisters in Christ and how awesome it is to share with them that they are victorious, because Christ won the battle over sin, death and the devil for us. Even when we go away from that truth God calls us back because God is faithful.
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When we unite around the passion of sharing God’s love, forgiveness and salvation we get to celebrate the fact that we already are victorious and our prize will be celebrated throughout eternity. May our churches look as diverse as sports stadiums, and our passion to share salvation through Christ, give us even more excitement than the winning goal of the World Cup! Thank you for your continued prayers and support throughout my time here. I am very blessed to have you as a partner in this ministry!

Love and blessings in Christ now and always,
Julia
Sala kahle!
(Stay well!)


“However I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”
(Acts 20:24)

Picture Book Of May

Sometimes pictures speak louder than words. It has been a very busy and great May, so I hope that by sharing these pictures and captions with you you'll get to see the awesome ways God is working in Shongweni. It has been such a joy for me to serve here in South Africa as well as get to see people back in the U.S. during my time there. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement! What a blessing it is for me to know that I have such great brothers and sisters in Christ!

This is the playground called a Sonke that was put in by a team of American volunteers this month. It was great to have their assistance and the children loved having them here! I had the joy of introducing the playground to the children and helping the younger ones work their way around the tires and balance beam.

Shara and I have had the pleasure of getting to know many more children in the community and were able to hold after school programs while there was a short term team of volunteers here from the U.S. In this picture the children are working on making prayer rocks with the Bible passage, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." This went along with the Bible account of the day where David beats Goliath with only a stone, because God was the one in control.



These are children who attend Shongweni Primary School. This is the school that many kids from the church congregation and the Orphan Project attend. Pastor Thwala has been asked to share a Christian message with many of the local schools. This has been a wonderful way to reach out to the community with the message of salvation in Christ and for the children to know they are always welcome in our church and community center.

This is the inside of one of the first grade classrooms in Shongweni Primary School. The teachers are very caring and do their best to help the children with the limited resources that they have available. In this classroom there is one teacher for 63 first graders, making it challenging and essential for teachers to be creative and resourceful in their classrooms.

Our sewing teacher Gori came back for a session to teach the women how to bead by hand on clothes and other materials. It has been very interesting to learn and great to see the ladies improving and learning new skills regularly.

Throughout this month stronger relationships have been built, more Vacation Bible School programs have been developed, and the community center has been put to use. Even our dirt soccer field has seen a lot of play. As Pastor Thwala, Shara and I work together to provide holistic care for the people in Shongweni Village it has been encouraging to see that people are curious about what drives our love for the community. Please continue to pray that God would open the door for conversation as we open the doors to our community center and church to them and reach out to them where they are in the community. May the assurance of Christ’s life, death and resurrection for your salvation give you peace and hope now and always.

Love in Christ,
Julia

Day Camp at Shongweni Lutheran Church

Day Camp Begins!

Who is your hero? This week Shara and I were able to be involved in a day camp for the children in Shongweni Village during their two week break from school. With the help of several confirmands, and ladies from the church we have organized a day camp similar to a VBS based on the heroes of the Bible. God has been so good in providing for this! It is quite humbling to walk into a room full of children with the hopes of sharing the love of Christ in a fun and safe environment knowing that you struggle to communicate even the simplest messages in their language. This camp is for the children and we want it to be self-sustaining, so it is better for the strength of the program if the children can see one of their own fellow Zulu neighbors leading events instead of only seeing us. What a privilege it has been to already see so many of the youth and young adults willing to share their time and talents with the children.

In addition to this one short term camp, our hope is to encourage and support people in the community in their efforts to reach out to the children with the saving message of Christ. We will now focus the next several days on the miracles of Christ, and His ultimate gift of salvation won through His death on the cross and victory over the grave. It is this God that the children hear about and praise during the day camp. I wish I could share the voices of the children with you as they pray and praise our Father in heaven. It is beautiful. For all of you that have prayed for this camp or will be keeping it in your prayers I am so very grateful. It can be very hectic, as the number of children joining us is growing daily, but it’s a great problem to worry about running out of chairs or juice at snack time.

I have been doing well and learning about God’s great mercies and presences daily. It is a great God that we serve and I thank you for your support! You are the hands and feet of Christ to these children as you pray and encourage the ministry, and this journey would not be the same without it. Thank You. May the love of Christ find rest in your heart, as you see that nothing could have taken Him off of that cross on Good Friday. He would rather die for you than live without you. You are so valuable.

Love as your sister in Christ,
Julia