First Laundry Day!

Before I share with each of you about laundry day here in Haiti, I have to tell you that this morning the Lord convicted me. As soon as I woke up this morning I came to my laptop, and I got online to make sure I did not have any new emails or Facebook happenings. The Lord spoke to my heart, and said the first thing I need to do is get up and head straight for His Word. I tried to justify getting online because of the craziness with the power, but the truth is, it should not matter about the power because that stuff can wait. After pondering this, it hit me....I should have the same (and MORE) excitement for getting in God's Word first thing in the morning than I do for checking Facebook or email.

After 5 days of being here, today was laundry day! And I needed it!! SOOOO....most of us have the luxury in the states of throwing everything in the washing machine, and then tossing the clothes in the dryer! This is NOT the case in Haiti! I felt like a pioneer woman today! The process of washing clothes Haiti style goes as follows....step one, fill 3 big tubs full of water. Step two, add detergent to the first tub and fabric softener to the last tub (the middle tub is for rinsing). Step three, separate all clothes into lights, darks, and whites and separate towels and sheets too! Step four, begin to wash clothes BY HAND in the first tub (making sure that you scrub the dirt and stink out of the clothes!). Step five, toss the washed clothes in the rinse bucket and let them sit for a few minutes. Step six, rinse out the clothes in the rinse bucket, and place them in the last bucket. Step seven, after the clothes have sat in the last bucket for a few minutes, rinse them out and then step eight, hang them up! This process went on and on for probably 3 hours!! The sun was beating down on me and Stacie, but thank the Lord, He did not give me a complaining spirit...even though I wanted to a few times!
Washing clothes by hand is a hard job, but I can understand how some women enjoy it because it gives you a chance to communicate with whoever you are washing clothes with. Stacie and I had a great 3 hour spiritual conversation, and it was so nice to not have to be in a hurry to go somewhere or get something done! It was also empowering to know that I helped wash ALL those clothes by hand! :)

Again I just want to thank you all so much for praying over this mission trip!! God is doing amazing things! One of the things I asked specific prayer for was the language, and it is really cool to see how much I am picking up! I have been here for only 6 days, and already I have learned a good many words as well as some phrases! The power of prayer is amazing!!
Continue to pray for Empowering Haitian Moms' vehicle situation.

If there is anything any of you would like for me to be praying about, please do not hesitate to send me an email, Facebook message, or leave a comment on here!

Blessings and Love!
Ashley

P.S. I did take pictures of the clothes washing today, and I will be posting pics soon!