I LOVE MY MAMA!!

I am so sorry for keeping you all waiting so LONG to see what happened in Haiti while my mama was here! She left today, and I would be lying if I didn't say I miss her already! I will see her in 4 weeks though!! Keep us in your prayers as I have another month left here, and Cierra leaves Thursday for Honduras for a month!

This week has been so amazing! First of all, it was so refreshing to have my mom here! This ministry is Empowering Haitian Moms, so it was such a blessing to have her be an example to these moms! The moms and kids LOVED meeting my mom! To the kids she was Lisa, but to the moms she was Mama Ashley!

Mom arrived last Tuesday along with a group of 5 women from Virginia. Our week was slammed full of ministry activities! We went to the community everyday to play with the kids and talk with the moms. It was SO HOT, but these ladies were troopers! God did so many amazing things in the lives of the EHM moms over this past week! One mom was blessed with a new house...originally all she wanted was a tarp to build a house with, but God provided so much more! Another family was blessed with bunk beds for the children to have more than a mat on the floor to sleep on. A grandmother who has taken in two orphaned children was blessed with bags of charcoal and sodas to sell to start her business. God showed up in a mighty way, and I know these families will forever be changed and blessed!

On Friday, the group of women from Virginia wanted to wash the womens' feet and serve communion. So, we sent the moms on a tap tap, and we all rode in our rented truck with four babies...I'm sure we looked like a bunch of white girls starting an orphanage! Between the community and the house, we passed the moms on the tap tap, and they all started yelling and cheering like they were little girls! It was so nice to see them beginning to form bonds. They spend time with each other, but when there is so much to do and children to take care of, it gets tough to really sit down and talk. The moms enjoyed every minute of getting their feet washed, pampered, and their toe nails painted! I'm sure they also enjoyed being away from their children for a while too! After everything, we sent them on their way on a tap tap, and they were smiling from ear to ear! It was so nice to be able to serve these women, and actually have the opportunity to do something for them. The moms are always blessing me as well as this group of women that came this week, so it was great to be able to give back to them.

On Saturday, we did an outreach at an orphanage! We enjoyed playing with these kids who don't have much at all...they were so excited to get new bouncy balls, and they went crazy over bubbles! Some of the moms from EHM and the older kids came to the orphanage to help with the outreach. The moms cooked, and the kids played with the orphanage kids. My favorite part was watching the EHM moms and kids love on the orphanage kids and provide for them. Fritznel told us later that the moms told him they were glad they could cook for the orphanage because they did not have money to give, but they could give of their time! It was so sweet! I also loved seeing how the moms interacted with one another after being together Friday night. They were beginning to form a bond amongst themselves, and it was so great to see!

On Sunday, we went to the beach! It was beautiful! The walk to the beach however was disgusting...we had to walk through so much filth, but at the end was this beautiful beach! As Stacie said, it's like life...we go through life seeing and accumulating filth, but once we accept Christ, we see Him and all His beauty!! What an awesome way to think about it! That night, we enjoyed fellowship with another missionary family. They grilled hamburgers and hotdogs for us, and they were delicious!!

Yesterday was probably my favorite day from the whole week! I chose verses from Proverbs 31 to teach the moms what being a Proverbs 31 woman is all about! At the end, my mom served as an example of a Proverbs 31 woman, and I was an example of what a Proverbs 31 woman's child looks like after much discipline, love, and my mom pouring Jesus into me! I am so thankful for her, and for the example she provides for me and Cierra!! We don't thank her enough, but she is truly a TREASURE and a HUGE ENCOURAGER for me!! :)
After the lesson, Fritznel told the kids we were going to the beach, and all the kids took off to find their bathing suits! I almost started crying watching the excitement in their faces when they found out we were going to the beach with them! They live right across the street from the beach, but no one ever takes the time (because they don't have the time after all their daily duties) to take the kids to the beach. We all had a blast! A few times I felt like I was going to drown because I had like 5 kids hanging on me, but it was so much fun! Mom's teacher side came out, and everyone had to take turns on the float!! They need to learn how to share, so she was a huge blessing! 
After we all had our fair share of swimming, we parted ways with many tears. I wasn't even leaving, but it was really sad to watch the goodbyes. Especially my mom's goodbyes with the little boy she got so close to over the week. He is a sweet boy named Clifford! He is very smart, and he just fell in love with mom! She played hand games with him, and he saved her seat for her everytime! He would help her translate what the kids were saying to the best of his ability! Throughout the whole week, he was like her protector! He was such a gentleman! He lives with his grandpa because he does not have any parents, and I think that's probably why he fell in love with mom! Because she is such an awesome mom! He does not respond that way to everyone, so that just confirms what I have always thought, my mom is something special! I don't know how I got so blessed!! It was hard to watch her say goodbye to Clifford, but I promise Mom I will take good care of him for the next 4 weeks!

Today was interesting! It was emotional saying goodbye to my mommy for 4 more weeks, but praise the Lord He has been preparing us for being apart by me going away to school! Even with the preparation, it's still tough because we are SO CLOSE! I LOVE MY MAMA!! I am definitely a Mama's girl, and no matter how old I am or where God takes me, I will always need my mama! I miss her already, but God's Strength is going to carry me until I see her, Cierra, and dad in 4 weeks! I am so blessed to have a mom like I do!
After dropping everyone off at the airport, we drove all over Port Au Prince...it was nice to see everything, but the houses are almost on top of each other, it smells, and trash was everywhere. We also went to the National Museum of Haiti which was really neat to learn the history of the country. Then, we were trying to get back home....however, our transportation had other ideas! What should have taken us like an hour and a half to get back home took like 4 hours! We had to stop every 10 minutes to fill the radiator with water because the poor van was running hot...all I could think was Praise You Lord for letting this happen on the way home instead of going to the airport because everyone would have missed their flight! We were a little over halfway to the house when we stopped and waited for someone to come tow the van back here! Needless to say, it took us all day to get to Port and back! We finally got back to the house around 7:20 which was about the time Mom should have arrived at the Jacksonville Airport!

This week has been tough living with 7 extra people, but God did amazing things this week! If you could not already tell, yes I miss my mommy (and prayers for strength are well appreciated), but God is not finished with me here yet! I miss my family (and American living!), but the thought of saying bye to all these moms and kids in a few weeks makes me tear up! I have fallen in love with this country and these people, and I don't know what God has in store for me and Haiti in the coming years, but I will trust Him and obey Him in whatever He says! I know for everyone 4 more weeks seems so far off, but this Saturday marks ONE MONTH of me being here, so 4 weeks flies by! Be praying for me over the next few weeks as God prepares my heart to say goodbye. Pray that I will not fight the emotions that come with saying goodbye!
I know I am in for a waterfall of tears because this morning as we walked out of the door (mom and I were last), Millie (Stacie's 2 year old goddaughter who lives here along with her mom) started crying because she knew my mom and the 5 women were leaving, and I started to cry and so did mom (but I wasn't even leaving)! It just breaks my heart!

From here on, I will be back to normal about blogging! I am so sorry for leaving everyone hanging for a week, but it was CRAZY BUSY!! Mom and I took TONS of photos, so be sure to check those out on Facebook! Thank you all so much for your continued prayers...they are being felt! Pray this week for recooperation! We are so exhausted, and I know my mom and the other women are too! So, keep us all in your prayers that we would be able to get some much needed rest! Thank you all!

Blessings and Love!
Ashley

I LOVE YOU MAMA! Thank you for giving of yourself (like you always do) to come stay with me for a week in Haiti! I know it was definitely different, but you blessed me and these moms and kids SO MUCH! I look forward to MANY MORE missions trips with you! You are such an awesome mommy, and I know I don't tell you that enough! And if this were a written letter, it would be filled with my tear stains! :) I do miss you already, but I know God is going to give us the strength for the next 4 weeks! Then, have your debit card ready because we are going to go crazy over American food!! :)
I LOVE YOU!! :)