Hey Long Lost Friends!

Hello long lost friends!

I am so sorry I have not updated you all in a while! Things have gotten busy, and the days are flying by so much faster now that I only have one week left. :(

Yes I am so sad to say that I have one week left. I do not know where the time has gone, and I do not understand why it seems to be speeding up all of a sudden!

The kids went to VBS put on by an American mission team on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. So, when we arrived in the community on Monday, we only had a few of the new moms and like 5 kids which was nice to spend that one on one time with the new moms and few kids! Don't get me wrong, I love having 15 or more moms and 45 or more kids, but it was nice to actually sit, chat, and play games without kids being rambunctious!! Cierra and I blew bubbles for the 3 little girls that were there, and they loved it! They were so cute chasing those bubbles and trying to pop them! Since there were not many people there, we all played a game with the ball! We stood in a circle and passed the ball around, and when the music stopped, whoever was holding the ball was out! They had so much fun playing that game!! The next round we tossed the ball to whoever we wanted, and they laughed even more! The winners got DumDum suckers (at the end everyone got suckers!!) which we used later to teach the lesson. The lesson for Monday was about how God says we are victorious! Stacie asked how it felt to win and get a sucker, and the winners said it feels good to win! The best part is...we win everyday!! We are victorious because Christ has won the battle over evil!! Each day is a new spiritual battle...satan wants to defeat us, but oh the joy that comes when we realize we don't fight the battle! God does, and He ALWAYS WINS!!! We need not fear; all we have to do is wake up each morning and give the day to Him because He is the only one who can fight our battles! Praise the Lord WE ARE VICTORIOUS!!!

Today's lesson was on how God grants us spiritual gifts! Romans 12:4-8 was our Scripture reference for today's lesson. Stacie asked one of the kids if he could write his name on the chalkboard with his feet...he said he could not. She then asked another child can you smell the chalk with your ear...she could not. She asked another child can you eat the chalk with your eye....he could not. Just like our body parts have specific functions, we have specific functions in the body of Christ. Every believer makes up the body, and we have our specific gifts! We explained the gifts to the kids, and we asked if they knew what their gifts were. Some of them did, but most of them did not. Some of the kids Stacie has knows for 3 years, so she has watched their gifts develop and she shared what gifts those kids had. After the lesson, Fritznel prayed for the kids to hear God speaking to them what their gifts are. Then, they kept their eyes shut and sat silently for a while to listen for God's voice. Once they opened their eyes, we asked again if anyone had heard what their gift was from God. A few more of the kids told us what they felt God told them their gifts were! We told them to continue to pray for their gifts to be developed, and that they would use their gifts to glorify God!! We explained that some people have more gifts than others, but that does not mean someone is more important than another. God uses each of us in His way, and for His Glory!! I encourage each of you to continue to develop your spiritual gifts and to use them to Glorify God!! :)

Tonight, we had a 4th of July party on the beach! One of the missionaries has property on the beach, so all the "Americans" got together for a 4th of July cookout! It was really nice to hang out, and it made it feel like we were at home celebrating the 4th with family and friends! We had grilled hotdogs, and everyone brought a side dish, chips, or dessert. All of the food was yummy! When we arrived, there were some nasty storm clouds heading our way, but none of us really paid much attention to them. There were a few sprinkles during our celebration, but no rain...yet!! Everyone was packing up to leave, and all of a sudden the "bottom fell out of the sky!" The rain just started pouring down! We were all soaked, but it did not matter, we were all laughing and having a good time!

At the community today, Cierra gave our cameras to two very responsible young men, and we have laughed so hard at the pictures and videos they took!! We both enjoy taking pictures, but it's so nice to actually be in some of our pictures!! Those boys got some really great action shots! We also had a dance party with the moms and kids today! That was tons of fun being able to "shake our booties" with everyone! We also had a photo shoot with our new baby Erika! She is just so precious!! She and Mama are doing great, so thank you all so much for your prayers! Before I left, I ordered some crafts for the kids, and my mom saw this cute kit for new moms. The kit is a frame that you decorate and it comes with a foam piece that you put baby footprints on! It is so cute! So, we got Erika's footprints today, and we are going to make the frame for her sweet mommy Jetride!

Until next time,
Blessings and Love!
Ashley

P.S. thank you all for your patience with me since I have not blogged in a while!