Audrey Folkenberg, director of the Chinese Union Mission Development Department and Prayer Ministries, led a weekend getaway for 26 Adventist women in Hong Kong. This spiritual retreat, which focused on the power of prayer, was held at the beautiful Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Center on March 1 and 2, 2014.
According to Folkenberg, the importance of prayers can be summarized in 4 H’s, i.e. home, help, haven and happiness. First, prayers form a home for our weary hearts. Our Heavenly Father is always waiting for us to return home. Second, prayers give us timely help. Whenever we face dangers, physical or spiritual, we can rely upon prayers to get help from above. Third, prayers provide a haven for us to hide from storms in life. Fourth, prayers can bring true happiness to us. They strengthen our faith and calm our souls.
Folkenberg is good at using acronyms to help her audience remember many spiritual concepts. In one of the prayer workshops, she used the word BLESSas she talked about how to pray comprehensively. Each letter of the word stands for something that we need to remember in our prayers. BLESS stands for Body, Labor, Emotion, Social and Spiritual.
The weekend prayer camp was a much needed blessing to the Adventist women who live in a fast-paced modern city and have to juggle between family duties and careers.Each participant left with energized mind and spirit.
News article by Joyce Sham, Associate Director(CHUM Children’s/ Women’s and Family Ministry)
English Translation by Edmund Cao