Peelings...

Ok, so I only have four major things to do yet for the school year, but they are going to get done by today and tomorrow. This is exciting, because at the beginning of the semester I had 20 major assignments! Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me along the way, especially mom, who wasn't afraid to tell me to step it up! Thanks so much! And God has been seeing me through, even when I thought it was an unreachable task. I got this in an e-mail from Nana the other day, and I wanted to share it with you. It shows how even in our negative thoughts, God is positive, and he holds us up.


You say: "It's impossible"
God says: All things are possible
(Luke 18:27)

You say: "I'm too tired"
God says: I will give you rest
(Matthew 11:28-30)

You say: "Nobody really loves me"
God says: I love you
(John 3:1 6 & John 3:34 )

You say: "I can't go on"
God says: My grace is sufficient
(II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)

You say: "I can't figure things out"
God says: I will direct your steps
(Proverbs 3:5- 6)

You say: "I can't do it"
God says: You can do all things
( Phil ippians 4:13)

You say: "I'm not able"
God says: I am able
(II Corinthians 9:8)

You say: "It's not worth it"
God says: It will be worth it
(Roman 8:28 )

You say: "I can't forgive myself"
God says: I Forgive you
(I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

You say: "I can't manage"
God says: I will supply all your needs
( Phil ippians 4:19)

You say: "I'm afraid"
God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear
(II Timothy 1:7)

You say: "I'm always worried and frustrated"
God says: Cast all your cares on ME
(I Peter 5:7)

You say: "I'm not smart enough"
God says: I give you wisdom
(I Corinthians 1:30)

You say: "I feel all alone"
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you
(Hebrews 13:5)


Thanks be to God for His everlasting love, his never-ending mercy, and his unspeakable joy!

I hope you all have a great day!

Love, Ash

Vision Trip Update #2

Dear Family and Friends:

I know some of you receive an e-mail with this update as well, but I something transpired since that e-mail tonight...Jessica was able to get our VISAS!!!! I'm so excited!

I hope this past week-end finds you all well.

Although exams and last minute assignments are approaching, it will soon be over before I know it! I can’t believe in three short weeks I will be in South Asia!

I have some more exciting news to share with you! Our flights are booked and confirmed!!! We fly direct from Toronto, on May 6 at 10:20 AM, to Abu Dhabi (in the United Arab Emirates) and then from Abu Dhabi directly to our destination. We will get there on May 8 at 7:35 AM. Then we depart on May 21 at 9:35 AM arriving in Toronto May 22 at 8:40 AM.

It is going to be a lot of traveling, and many things to do and experience once we get there, but I am POSITIVE that it is going to be an experience like none other!

I want to thank you all who are praying for this trip and those of us going on it. Your prayers are so important to me right now!
Please continue to pray for:
-spiritual growth of our team
-continued perseverance as the end of the school year arrives
-financial support and trust in God

I have a praise: God continually provides! Thank you to all of you who have contributed financially! As of last Thursday (April 10), the office in Calgary told me I had $2, 805.50. That means I only need $294.50 until I reach my goal of $3100!!! That is so exciting! Praise the Lord! If anyone was still interested in supporting me, my deadline is April 25th, at which time I need to have the full amount. Please e-mail me at: ashl5570@rogers.com if you need the address.

God has been testing me and stretching me so much this year, and I think this trip will be another big challenge. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to see what God is doing in the world! Thank you all for making it real for me!

Have a great week!
Love, Ashleigh

Happy April and Beautiful Weather...

Hi everyone. I hope that you all had a wonderful week-end! I was able to go home after not being home since February. I had a great visit with my family, and was able to speak about my trip at my church.

I would just ask anyone reading this to keep my Poppa in prayer. He is going in for his second surgery on Wednesday, and I know both he and Nan must be nervous. Thankfully we know that God has everything under control! I love you both, and I AM and will be praying!!

May God bless you and keep you. May He cause his face to shine upon you and give you peace.

Love, Ash

Vision Trip Update...

Dear Family and Friends:

Hello! I trust that you all have been keeping well since my last update for my trip to South Asia!

Preparations for the trip have been starting to come together. I have received my vaccinations, and have sent my passport to my team leader for the VISA. I am in the process of getting pictures done for the VISA application, which I will give to Jessica (my team leader) next week.

Yesterday I received a package in the mail from Jessica which is loaded with information about the trip, including our team biographies, introduction to cross-cultural ministries, the country profile, and spiritual preparation. I am looking forward to reading through all of this. Knowing the others on my team also have this makes me feel a sense of connection with them already. We are all preparing for this trip together, and we are all brothers and sisters in Christ longing to glorify Him in this stretching experience.

I have some exciting news to share with you! I now have received $1170 of the total $3100 for my trip that is quickly approaching! I do have some financial deadlines coming up, however. I only need $830 by April 2nd, and the remaining amount of $1100 is due by April 25th. If the Lord has been leading you to support me financially in this trip, you may send a cheque to this address for a tax receipt:

Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada
Receipts Department
4316 10 St. NE
Calgary, AB
T2E 6K3

Thank you so much for prayerfully considering your partnership in this trip!

I do have some prayer requests:
1.) For focus and motivation in school in these last three weeks
2.) For our team to grow more in Christ this month as we prepare to leave
3.) For trust that God will provide all of our financial needs

Thank you to those who have been praying for me. Continue to keep me in your prayers as this next month is going to get busier with school and more preparations before we leave on May 4th!

God Bless!

Love, Ash

The End is Near...

I can't believe my last day of classes is April 11. I don't know what to do with myself. I have an incredible amount of homework that I have due, and VERY little amount of time to do it all. Need I say more? Incredibly, I am not stressing. I would like to say that it is because I can feel God's presence so near to me that I don't have to worry. Sometimes that is true. However, I feel the reason why I am not stressing is because I am choosing to pretend that the work doesn't exist. I believe that the amount of homework that I have due is all subjective. It is a figment of my imagination, and is all relative to my situation...*

Ya right. However, I have decided that it is better to start working away at one thing rather than focusing on the mountain that is before me. So, I chip away. And to amuse myself in classes, I write poetry. (for clarification, I haven't done this in a LONG time, and I actually was paying attention to the lecture WHILE writing...inconceivable!)

I want to run like a jaguar,
Swim like a barracuda,
Fly like the toucan.

I want to jump like a squirrel,
Walk like a lion,
Dance like the butterfly.

I want to laugh like a stream,
Cry like a waterfall,
Sing like the waves.

I want to scream like a howling wind,
Shout like the owl in the dead of night...

I want to be silent,
Then perhaps I will be heard.

-AshWin-

I hope you have a blessed day!

Love, Ash

*I blame the use of philosophical terms in this blog on my philosophy of religion class. It alters my mind...

MORE SNOW...

Ok, so just when I thought that spring was around the corner, what swirled around in the air today but MORE SNOW! I couldn't believe it, and although I was perturbed, I decided not to dwell on it too much. If God wants to ..."bless" us with snow yet again, I have to be thankful for every little unique snowflake that falls to the ground.

I was VERY thankful for my boss this morning. I was supposed to work a 3 hour shift, but she let me take it off so I could work on some, ahem, VERY late papers. It was so nice of her, and of course I felt obligated to do homework since that was the reason I wasn't working. I felt like I got a little more accomplished than I have been lately, so it was nice!

Tonight we talked about Islam in my world religions class. It was a great class, and it helped me understand a little bit more about Muslims, and how to talk to them about my faith. I hope it will come in handy when I go on my trip to South Asia.

I should go...I'm planning on working out with Katie soon, and I don't want her to have to wait for me.

I hope you all have a great night!

Love, Ash

Happy Easter...

He is risen...He is risen indeed!

I'm sure any of you who went to church this morning are familiar with this phrase we are so quick to greet one another with.

It was hard for me to get into the Easter season this year. I didn't have much time to reflect on Jesus' death and resurrection, and so I felt kind of rushed in church. It almost felt like a dream, where you move from one scene to the next without fully understanding what is happening.

Honestly, I doubt that I could ever fully and truly understand. Sometimes when I even try to contemplate, meditate, or reflect on how God sent His perfect Son into the world to die for humanity, to take all of our sins upon Himself, it is overwhelming. That is one thing I thought about on Friday during the Good Friday service. It's bad enough that I feel guilt over my sins, and cry out to God to forgive me for my weaknesses; I can't imagine how Jesus would have felt with the weight of the sins ALL OF HUMANITY taken upon himself. It wasn't just my sins that He bore, but it was the sins of everyone who has ever lived, and everyone who WILL ever live. When I thought about that, I had a new appreciation for what He did. He didn't have to die for our sins, but He did, because of His immense love for us.

The reality is, after He died with the weight of the world upon Him, He AROSE! Just when we think it is over, nothing more can be done, He rises from the dead 3 days later, and reigns victorious over the sin that enslaves us. He has won the battle over Satan, and that is truly something to rejoice over!!

I hope you all had a wonderful day, as you think about all of this. Perhaps you were able to visit family and friends today, and rejoice over the wonderful things God has given to you, be it physically or spiritually. May God bless you all!

Love, Ash

Easter...

I decided that since Good Friday is tomorrow, I would post a poem that I wrote which is appropriate for this somber day. Remember that Jesus died for you as you read it, and meditate on what His death means in your life.

Bodies.
Writhe around in pain.
Hiding in my shame.
I turn my face away.

Suffer.
What do I know of this?
I, like Judas' kiss,
Condemned my Lord to die.

Feel.
Thorns pierced in His head.
See His skin stained red.
I drove in the nails.

Died.
Christ did it for me,
So I could be free.
How can I do less?

-AshWin-

Love, Ash

Speech...

I said my speech tonight, and it went fine(Praise the Lord!).

Today was Katie's birthday, so her boyfriend Andrew through a little surprise party for her and invited her close friends here at school. It was a nice little get together, and I know that Katie was really encouraged.

This day went by too entirely fast. I had chapel practice today, and realized that we're playing one of my favourite songs, which is "God of Wonders". I'm so excited for chapel on Wednesday!

I should go, but I hope you all have a great night!

Love, Ash

Emotional Speech...

In my communications class I have to present an emotional speech. I decided to post it here so that you all can read it. I know it won't convey the amount of feeling it would if you heard it, but that's ok.

Here it is:

Good evening. I hope that you all had a wonderful week-end, and were able to get outside yesterday to enjoy the sun!

Tonight I want to talk about a word. Not just any word. Not even an English word either.

There is a word in Portuguese that cannot be translated into any other language. It is used to describe the emotion we feel when we miss something or someone. This feeling of “missing” conveys an almost negative attitude of nostalgia, knowing that we may never get that person or thing back again.

Now, in English we can say that we miss someone, or we can show sadness in not having them with us anymore, but there is no word for that sense of “missing” we feel.

The Portuguese call it “saudades”, and it clearly describes that feeling of longing or yearning for the way things were when we had that person or were in a certain place. It gives a sense of futile “missing”, that no matter what we do, we can never have those moments in time back.

Have you ever felt this way? Do you miss something or someone so much that it hurts, and everything you see or smell or hear seems to remind you of them? I’m sure every one of you has “saudades” right now for someone who has passed away.
I’m grateful to say that I have never lost anyone close to me, but at the same time I am embarrassed at how naïve I am in this area. I don’t know what it’s like to lose someone dear. When that time comes, however, I will be able to better sympathize with those who have. If that’s you, I am sorry for your loss.

The “saudades” that I have are not for a person in particular, but for many people, and for a beautiful country in South America, a country so diverse, yet so similar. A culture in which the extremes of poverty and luxury live side by side. This country is Brasil.

In 2005, I went on a missions trip to Brasil with 9 other people from my church. We left in November and stayed in a place near the capital city of Brasilia for three weeks. It was my first time flying, and the trip there was quite the experience. The flight was only a tiny part of what happened during those three weeks. We went to a mission, called Voo Livre, which was run by a missionary who offered free ESL and guitar classes to the surrounding community. We helped teach some ESL classes, started building some classrooms, sanded and painted walls, and did anything else we could.

I never imagined that I would get so attached to that place. We spent almost every week-day at Voo Livre, and I got to know many of the children through playing various games of volleyball and soccer with them. They were so beautiful, kind, and helpful, and even though the language barrier was huge, they slowly won a place in my heart.

All too soon, we had to leave. When I came back to Canada, I couldn’t stop crying, and I couldn’t stop thinking about Brasil and the people there.

Through e-mail, I told one of the ladies I had met there how I was feeling, and she said I could come back and help teach at her English school.

Three months after I returned to Canada, I found myself in Brasil again, and I stayed there for 5 ½ months. I went by myself, and since only a few people knew English, I had to learn Portuguese fast!

However, if I thought that leaving the first time was hard, this time it was even harder. I had solidified some of my relationships, and I had grown to love this beautiful country and the people in it.

When I came back to Canada, I had the hardest time coping. They say that you can have culture shock going into a different country, but I didn’t experience that in Brasil; I felt the culture shock coming back to my homeland! The food was so different, and the people around me did not speak Portuguese. It just didn’t feel the same!

Most of the “saudades” I felt came in response to smelling things in the air that reminded me of Brasil, or seeing people that looked like those I knew in Brasil. I have cried so much in the past two years, and I felt like I was drowning in my memories of the people there.

Thankfully, my “saudades” have greatly diminished in the past few months, but there are still times when I get overwhelmed with a great sadness, and a longing to go back. The people and country have such a big place in my heart, and I will never forget them or that time in my life ever!

I know that God has a plan and a purpose for our lives. Even though at times I feel like I will never stop having “saudades” for Brasil, I have to remember that God knows why He allowed me to go there to experience the things I did.

If you are drowning in your “saudades” for someone or someplace, I just encourage you tonight to place your trust in God. Remember that He has a perfect plan for everything; He has a perfect plan for your life, and He will guide you through it if only you let Him. Give your “saudades” to Him, and He will take care of the rest!

Love, Ash