The day care in the mountains

So we packed up a bunch of toys and clothes and headed for the mountains, well all the girls did, along with our translator Anita and a pastor. I sat in the middle of the front 2 seats, on a pillow.

When we got there, the country side was beautiful! We entered in through a door with medal bars on the front. I was shocked when we went in. It was a a cement room, the floor was damp, and and the only decorations were some hand made crafts hanging from the dirty window. There were a few book shelves, they were bare except for a few broken toys. The children were all huddled on an old foam mattress. There was probably about 20 some little kids ages 0-5. They were all filthy,not like they had been rolling around in the mud, but like they had been wearing the same clothes for 2 months, and didn't wash their faces. There was dirt caked on them and some of them had horrible sounding coughs. They used plastic bags for diapers for the babies. It broke my heart. We were told that these were the children of farm families. This was where the children would be taken care of until they were old enough to help.

It was a little awkward at first. So I started to hand out beanie babies. The children didn't know what to do. I think that might have actually been the first gift they'd ever received, and they weren't sure how to respond.
but eventually they got the hang of it and were as happy as ever :)
we also handed out clothes, they were so excited. I gave a little girl named Elizabeth a pair of pink over-alls with a striped pink shirt and red tennis shoes, she was so excited that she went in the other room and wanted to put them on right away. so i helped her, and then she had to go show everyone her new outfit. It was so cute! I could hardly believe that a little girl could be so happy over a used pair of clothes that didn't even fit properly!
We are so spoiled. I can't even stand it.
And when I put a little crown on Genesis (age 3) I told her she was a princess, and her face lit up so fast I couldn't hardly believe it.
These children were so happy with just little toys and gifts, and the thing is, they weren't greedy about it either. They loved each other. It's hard to understand, but I wonder whose actually better off, us or them.

ecuador

Tuesday: First of all, I apologize that this post is so delayed.
Ecuador was amazing. Is amazing. I don't think I'm the same person I was when I left. We left for the airport at around 3am. it was ridiculous. And we got to the compound (the place we stayed at in Ambato) at around 11pm.!

Wednsday: The next day we kinda just chilled for a little bit. The men worked on the church building an alter, and the girls packed all the clothes and toys to get ready for the next day. Then the girls got to go to the flower market, where I bought 13 beautiful roses with babys breath for $2!! incredible! We did a little shopping downtown, and then we went to Mi Tambo orphanage, the same one we helped at last year. The kids loved to take pictures with our cameras :) We tried to organize some games with the kids, but it just didn't work too well, haha.

On Wednsday night we went to the mall, in a taxi that was only $1! and bought tea and jam at the super market, ecuadorian tea is absolutely to die for!

getting ready to change the world. almost.

So tomorrow is going to be a good day, actually it's going to be a great day. Because I'm going to Ecuador! Our flight takes off at 6:30 am.
I am SOOOO excited! We are bringing 3 totes full of toys, clothes, shoes and soap to give out.:)
So please pray for the people in Ecuador, and that God will prepare them. And that God would prepare us, and that even though we don't speak the same language that they will still see the love of Jesus. Because that's what it's all about :)
and also, maybe say a little prayer for my dog Buddy, because I really love him alot and he gets really lonely when we're gone. And he knows we're leaving and I can tell he's feeling sad :/
I will try to update my blog while I'm there, but I'm not sure if we will have internet.
remember, me and Jesus love you!
love ash

you are beautiful

"everything has beauty but not everyone sees it."
I read that quote today in Deb's office at church, and I just thought that I should share it. Because even if you don't think so, you are beautiful. In fact, your gorgeous ;) and I just wanted to tell you.

love ash

this wednsday!

so... I am geekin out here. I get to go to california on wednsday to visit shannon and carlee, two girls I met in guatemala and there basically the nicest people I know! ahhh :)
life is an adventure. I'm so excited to live it.

finally home.

well.. the last night in miami was fun. We snuck out the fire escape and sat on the roof of the embassy suites. It was pretty sweet cuz you could see the airport.
I had a hard time saying goodbye to everyone. The people I got to know this summer truly are some of the most amazing I've ever met. And I'm really happy that I can call them my friends.

It was nice to come home and see my parents and Buddy and the cats. But coming back from a mission trip is kinda depressing. It's hard to explain. But it's like you go on this amazing trip and see these amazing things and meet amazing people. and then you come home and it's all over. and nobody understands. and nobody really cares.
I saw all these orphans, and homeless people, and kids that will never have an education.
And I want to help them, and the thing is that I know people that have the ability to help them. But they don't want to. and it kills me inside.
I remember reading a bumper sticker on the back of a homeless man's wheel chair that said "give a damn."
maybe the world would change if we did.

goodmorning :)
so yesterday we got up and drove to an orphanage that I went to last year. But we didn't go to the orphanage right away, instead we walked up this HUGE hill. I was so tired. But we did the drama in front of this little store on the side of the road. And then we hiked even further up the road and did the drama on the top on a mountain/hill where there were little shack houses and a big drop off that turned into a valley. There were cows there too..I tried to get a picture with one. That's where a little boy named oscar found me. He was hanging on me and so I taught him some dance moves, he was so adorable. He walked with us back down the hill to the orphanage, when it started pouring! So we were completely drenched by the time we got to the orphanage.
The kids there played there instruments in the chappel and they were soooo good! I was so impressed. There's somthing about seeing orphans that really breaks you. Because you know that they will never have what you had but yet there still happy.

crazy hair night.

so....today we got up and went to a hospital. We performed the drama in front of a lot of sick and hurting people and got to pray with them. Then we walked to a park in front of another clinic and did the drama a second time.
It was pretty good, but something hit me. I was thinking about how bold I am when I'm in another country. And how I can just love on the kids and randomly ask people if they know Jesus. I even walk around with dorky mime makeup on. But at home, I'm a different person. I would never do the things I do here. And I think that goes for most of us, and I don't think that is right. Just a thought, not trying to put anyone down..
so...then we had crazy hair night! which was super fun, danny teased my hair and she sprayed it pink and put a baby pony on top :) everyone looked so funny..
alright, buenos noches
-ashley

yesterday I got locked in the bathroom. seriously.

well.... spending the 4th of july outside of the states was a little dissapointing, because I actually forgot what day it was. But anyway on monday we went to lake atalan, which was super super fun! We got off the bus and I bought a ton of stuff because I felt bad saying no. So anyway then we took a ferry boat across this gorgeous lake in the middle of the mountains to the village. We performed the drama and talked with some people, it was successful.

so...then yesterday we went to the poorest place I think I've ever set foot in. It literally smelled like raw sewage, and the people lived in little huts of sheet metal, the roofs held down with rocks. So...some of my team members bagged rice sugar and beans to hand out. while the rest of us played with the kids. they were sooo cute, and it made me wish that a simple bottle of bubbles could make my whole day like it made theres. So then we did the drama, which I had a hard time with because we had to lay on the dirty ground. But looking back on my attitude I feel really embarassed, I was so upset that I had to get dirty and possibly come in contact with some foreign diseases. But there are people who wouldn't be in heaven if we hadn't have done it.
after the drama we prayed with some people, and got to play with the kids.
it absolutely BROKE MY HEART. I was kicking around a deflated volleyball with some kids. and they were wearing sandals that were falling off there feet, and crocs that had holes in the front so there toes were sticking out. some of the kids didn't even have shoes, and I remember that this one girl only had on one flip flop. I was amazed. And another thing that made me cry was this one little girl. She had on a shirt that said 'daddy's expensive princess' and the thing is, I'm almost positive that she dosen't have an earthly father. because she had blue eyes. You have to understand that there are NO blue eyed people in this community. And I'm almost positive that some of the women that were there were prostitutes. I'm almost positive that sex tourism is part of this community.
so anyway, then we went to a high school and performed the drama in front of about 700 students. This was super awesome, and some of them did accept the Lord!
but...it was a little awkward because all the guys were hitting on us. I mean, it's not a free meat market.

so then we got on the bus... and that's when I got stuck in the bathroom, which was super embarassing. really funny, and a little scary. robert and levi were trying to rescue me...but it was really just my extra strong thumbs that saved the day. :p

Then today we went to an orphanage. The kids seemed to be clean and well taken care of. And I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to live there. I think it would feel like you are at school all the time. Someone to help you but they will never be your parents. But I was wondering...are the kids better off in an enviornment where they are clean and well taken care of, but they have no parents and will always have to deal with that that pain. or if the kids in the slum that we went to yesterday are better off without good physical conditions, but they know that they have a mother. It broke my heart, and I don't know the answer.

then last night me and carlee ended up putting face paint ALL OVER our bodies. and we wern't planning to go to dinner like that but we ran out of time, so we ended up going to dinner and the service after covered in paint. it was embarassing after a while. And we met the coolest girl ever, her name is Joy and she's so crazy! she's staying at a hostel in guatemala city and she was helping at one of the orphanages that we were at so she decided to come to service :) she was telling us all about her life story and how she went to school in lithuania, helped abandoned babies in romania, stayed in a hostel above a bar in england, hitch hiked in ireland, and did all this other crazy stuff

so... in conclusion... I know that it's hard for you to understand but these people here NEED your help.

I love you all.
-ashley

a good day.

Soo....today I woke up at 5am and I felt really really sick. So I didn't eat breakfast...

we got on the bus after we had team time and we went to an orphanage where there was about 39 kids, some of which were HIV positive. It was really neat because the man who runs it told us (through a translator) that they like to have a positive outlook on things. He said that the children believed and prayed that they would be healed of there sickness and God healed 4 of the children from HIV!!! God is so good :) The orphanage was a little christian place up in the mountians, absolutely gorgeouswas, where they teach the kids about how Jesus loves them, and they also attend school there. It was super neat, I have a brochure so you can ask me about it when I get back because they are trying to get sponsors so that other kids in the community can get a good education too. They said that as little as $8 a month you can send a child to school here!

anyway..then we did the drama and then we got to play with the kids. I got completely covered in drawings because I let them use my facepaint, I'm talking face arms legs feet hands..everything was covered!but I evjoyed it :) then it was time for lunch, which was peanut butter and jelly :) it started to rain so everyone was on the bus. But it was so stuffy so me and a few of my new friends ate under the bus in the storage compartments haha. AND I got to use my new mini mouse umbrella! which made me excited haha.

After lunch we got to go hand out gifts to the little kids in the orphanage. It was so amazing to see how happy they were with the little they had.

I wish that more people were like that.

anyway, then we came back to the hotel and I bought a super beautiful jade ring :) They are sizing so I'll get it tomorrow. I found out I'm a size 4, weird!

kay gotta go

love,

ashley.

the first day.

well, yesterday we arrived in Guatemala! Overall it was a pretty good flight, I got to sit by my room mates Joy and Laci. Once we got here we were all completely exhausted and went to bed sometime around midnight or probably later.

then this morning I had to get up at 6am to make the teams pb&j's for the day. Then we headed out for ministry. We went to a little town where a few members of our team bagged (some kids from callifornia tried to teach me how to say "bag" the right way and it completely failed haha) up some rice, beans and sugar to hand out to the people from the community. They did this inside a tiny tiny little church, I would say that it is about 3/4 the size of my garage, with a really uneven dirt floor. And it completely amazed and humbled me.

While they were doing that we got to play with the kiddos. We were in a big grass field.

The kids are soooo adorable! I brought out the two big things of bubbles that I brought and of course the kids wanted to keep them, and how could I say no?! haha so now all I have for the rest of the trip are those whimpy little bubbles but oh well. They had so much fun, and I got to play frizbee (which made me miss Buddy) with the cutest little girl.

It's so funny how they love it when you take there picture, if someone did that to me, I definitely would not be okay with it. ha

so then we performed our drama and it seemed like quite a few people said the prayer.

Okay so Glenn just sat down next to me in the computer lab and he told me that they went out to one of the poorest areas he's ever seen and there was a woman who came up and said she felt that she was supposed to talk to one of the leaders. They grabbed a translator and prayed for her. She was unable to stretch out her arm and her elbow didn't move. She definitely couldn't reach her hand about her shoulders. Then after they prayed for her she had complete mobility of her arm! AMAZING! God is so good.

okay so anyway then we hopped back on the bus, had lunch and then performed the drama one more time in a park. I believe the final count was 17 who accepted Jesus!

Then back at the hotel I went swimming and now I'm headed to dinner. It's storming really bad and the lights flickered a little bit. :)

well I love you mom and dad. mom I really miss you like crazy.

ttyl :)

maimi florida

well I am in miami :) we did our drama training and met our teams and now we're headed out for guatemala tomorrow! I am super excited! well...I don't really have anything exciting to share. except that people keep making fun of my accent...even though I really don't think I have one! okay well I'm so hungry that I'm shaking a little while I'm typing, so I think I'm gonna go buy some microwave mac n cheese in the gift shop haha.
p.s. I love you mom and dad!

today is saturday

well so far my day has been quite successful!
I got up and went to the farmers market in minneapolis with my mom this morning. It was really fun, I bought her some flowers and we got some fresh squeezed limeade! it was delicious. I also got Buddy some special dog treats :). I took a TON of pictures, I just love the atmosphere there and I think the average ordinary are beautiful, maybe it's because they are all so different.
Then I went out to my Aunt Tina's and Uncle Jeff's. My dad wanted to get our boat that's been broken since I was like 10. And I wanted to see Missy and give her her birthday gift. Her birthday was on monday and she turned 14! she is so adorable :) So that was fun. I also got to see my older cousin Jeremy and meet his girlfriend Leah. I put some pictures up of the farmers market, and of Missy. :) I gotta go pack for guatemala now! I'm leaving on monday morning.
can't wait!

shaniquwa

I don't expect anyone to be reading this. but if you are, I want you to understand that YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! today I was having the most aweful day, and then I stopped at target after my shift at caribou. I was stuck behind some lady who's merchendise wouldn't ring up right and I had to wait a few extra minutes. I could have been a jerk about it, but that happens to me all the time so I just made casual conversation with the cashier while she was ringing up my stuff...like a normal person should. and she was just so sweet. She didn't even do anything special, but she was really nice. She was just herself, and I guess that was kinda refreshing. On my way home I realized I was smiling (like Buddy the elf haha) and I have no idea why but she just made my day. I just thought that I should share that with you, because even though shaniquwa will never know that she turned my day around, she made a difference. And even when you don't think that it matters if you smile, or ask someone how they are, it might really be more important then you will ever know. I know sometimes it's hard, but keep fighting the good fight. :)

goodnight
love ashley

!

So...I was thinking a while back that it would be really cool if I could change my last name to an exclamation mark. then my name would just be ashley ! just thought you should know.

greetings

hey, this is my first blog so give me a break if it sucks.
so...some background information about the author.
At first glance I look like your typical american teenager. I don't have any distinct features, excessive piercings or colored hair. I don't really even have very much style. But I'm not complaining :) I'm no good at sports, even though I gave them an honest try. I work 3 jobs. I have the 2 best parents a kid could ever dream of, and a red border collie, he's the prettiest boy I ever did see. the fact is, I blend into the world pretty easily, but I am different, because I know that God has a plan for my life. I'm not sure what it is, but I can't wait to find out.! read Jeremiah 29:11. "for I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I hope you take that to heart. :) and have a great rest of your day. or night. or afternoon. depending on when you read this