*College Time*

Wow it has been awhile since I last updated my blog. So just a little to get you caught up... I am studying at Liberty University and totally love it sooo far. I have met some really awesome people and the Lord has blessed me tremedously with the opportunity to attend LU!!! Clarence and kitty are going to have their baby boy in less than 1 week, crazy isn't it. Well, I better go for now catch you later :)

God is amazing

So, I was just sitting on the front porch of the villa watching the sunset this evening,and it was like God just painted, right in front of me the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen!! You know what the crazy thing is... I have never seen 2 sunsets that are exactly the same. God is so creative and sometimes I am too busy to stop and admire His artwork!! I serve a Wonderful God and am so glad to be daughter of the King :) Thank you Lord blessing me in so many ways!!
Today is also Mother's Day!!! I would like to give my Mommy a shout out on my blog!!! I love her so much and wish I could be there in person today to tell you how much I love you :) You are the best Mother I could ever ask for thanks for setting such a godly example for me!!! I love you so much <3 Your daughter, Ashley Suzanne

Nicaragua

This week I was blessed with the chance to visit another country. We had the option whether or not we wanted to go to Nicaragua... so it ended up that only 11 people wanted to come. It was an all girls trip, which was totally amazing!! Well we did have SCORE reps with us Marlon and Manolo, they were a blast!!! We left Tuesday morning early and hit the border early that afternoon. It went pretty smoothly except for a few little things!! We arrived at the ABEM camp later that evening, it was absolutely beautiful!!
The next day we woke up bright and early to a wonderful breakfast and headed to the grocery store to buy some food for the orphanage which we visited later that afternoon. What a blessing the children were at the orphanage... we played games and shared the Word of God with them.
Later that afternoon we had planned to visit at an all women’s hospital and visit bed-to-bed sharing the Word of God with the women. However, when we arrived they would not let us in due to the flu so we had to change up our plans, and the Lord knew exactly what He was doing. We had the opportunity later that afternoon to go into the city of Managua and visit a site where families had be living and protesting for 2 yrs due to a pesticide within Banana Farms where they had previously been living and working. The pesticide caused the women to become sterile and created problems with the men as well. I have never been in a place as poor as what this place was. It was a very neat and humbling experience, because it made me realize how much the Lord has provided and blessed both my family and I. It was so cool to share Christ with those people, because they were so desperate physically as well as spiritually.
That was a wonderful day to just to share with the Nicaraguan people and show God's love to them. That evening all of us girls came together and shared with one another all that the Lord has taught us and it was a beautiful time in the Lord. I know it brought us girls closer to one another.
The next day we went to Lake Nicaragua which is the biggest, fresh-water lake in the world and is the only place where fresh-water sharks exist. We took a little boat tour on the lake and saw many beautiful islands throughout the lake. We later went to the ancient city of Granada and had lunch. After that we had a short time to shop and then went and visited with a missionary's family there in the city.
The next day was very CRAZY we got up at 4 am left and hoped to catch breakfast later down the road. We reached the border at 8 am and were all really sleepy!!! So we all get in the van about 11 am in hopes to head into CR!!! Well, there was a little problem... there were 8 miles of semi trucks blocking the exit of the border that were protesting their rights. So, we sat in traffic for hours with hundreds possibly thousands of people. Not to mention they were from tons of different countries and could have been infected with the flu. So, we were using hand sanitizer like every 15 minutes it was an exciting day.
We chilled in our van until about 5 that evening... good thing we had crackers because we had yet to eat breakfast or lunch!!! At 5 p.m. all the passengers including us formed a march up to the government building and argued the fact we could not get by the truckers. It was absolutely crazy; I was officially participating in a protest in Spanish on the border on CR and Nicaragua!! How exciting!! That lasted for a good 2 hrs until we began laying on horns and everyone was going crazy!!! Finally, they let us through about 7:30 pm. It was crazy to see 8 miles of semi trucks lined up!! We finally made it to a restaurant that evening about 9:45 it was wonderful to get some real food!! Then we arrived at the villa that morning at 1:30 am. What an adventure it was... I had never been so glad to make it back safe to the villa in my life!!! Wow, thank you Lord for one more adventure you allowed me to have in my life!!!

Dad and brother visit

Last week during Easter my dad and brother Troy came to visit me here in CR!!! I was so excited we had a great time with them and we even had the chance to celebrate Troy Arron's 15th birthday together!! We went zip lining one day and it was a blast. I had so much fun!! Thank you Dad and Troy for the wonderful time together... love you all very much!!

Guacimo

Last weekend I had the amazing opportunity to go with 4 other GAP students to a church 2 hrs. away and stay the night with a Tican Family!1! It was amzing, but I totally had no clue what to expect. Well when we got off the bus I started sweating b/c it was so humid compared to San Jose, and didn't stop sweating until the next day when we arrived back in San Jose LOL. I arrived at Guacimo and we had a guy named Carlos there showing us around. He just led us on this dirt road and dropped each of us off at our homes. Then when it came my turn to be dropped of at my home, Carlos said, "See that taxi over there, go get in it and your host family is in the car and will take you to your home." I am not kidding, for a few seconds I was scared b/c I had no clue where I was and no clue who was in the taxi. Once I got in I turned and looked and there sat a mother and 2 lil girls!!! I was so relieved!!! I loved my family so much and the lil girls and I had the best time ever. The mom was a single mother trying to support her two girls ( 3ys old, and 8 yrs. old) I got to be Jesus to this family and it was wonderful. Eventhough, this family had very little they offered the best of what they had to me!! When I first met the lil girl who was only 3 yrs. old I think she was scared of me b/c (obviously I looked like a giant compared to her) she kept saying to her mother in spanish, "We have a white girl living in our house!!" It was sooo cute!! That is one experience in CR I will never forget. Just to see where they live and what they have to do just to get places was incredible. I am so blessed to be a Daughter of the King. I wish everyone had the opportunity to go and stay with a family like this, it truly is unbelievable!!! Here are some pics from my weekend...

Time with my mom :)

The last month here in CR has been absolutely crazy!!! We have been so busy and had the opportunity to do so many cool things!! In March my mom came down and spent 5 days with me!!! I was so thankful that the Lord provided her with the opportunity to come and visit me!! We went too the beach for a few days then we went downtown San Jose a few times as well!! God is so good!!! Thank you mom for coming down we had the time of our lives LOL!!! Love you very much <3
Ashley

Panama <3

My Trip to Panama…
I left the villa at 9:45 pm on Sunday Feb. 22!! We were all set and ready for our mission trip. We took a few breaks every once in awhile, but at 2:45 am. we stopped at this gas station in a random lil town that reminded me of the town off of the movie Cars. The bus driver and Noel got out and propped the bus on a rock… then the next thing I knew it was 4:45 am and we were still all on the bus and still at the same gas station. So we had to wait till the station opened so we could buy a part for the bus. We ended up sitting at the gas station for 7 hrs. So we finally left about 10 am and headed to the border. When we finally reached the border it only took 2 hrs to get through. It was a great experience going through customs on a bus!! We made it to Chame, Panama which was the city were the Word of Life Camp was located about 10 pm. So basically we were all on that tiny bus for 24 hrs. We just tried to picture the trip as a time to bond with one another and get to know each other MORE than we really wanted too LOL!
We basically helped out at the camp on Tuesday as well as Wednesday. We helped clean, play games, zip line, volleyball, soccer, and many other different things. The theme was “A world of Adventure.” So they had a lesson that involved missionaries around the world. In the evenings that had a great speaker, and often did dramas to get the teens attention. It was very interesting and I really enjoyed my time there. The camp was for teens from 12-20 yrs old, there were over 200 teens and probably over 100 adults. At the camp there were these 2 lil boys by the names Jonathon and Rafael. They were precious and were 10 yrs old. Tracey, who was the director of the camp explained to us that after camp was over that these two boys no longer had a home to return to. It was heartbreaking to hear about their home life. So, those boys were a blessing and I know the Lord will watch over them and provide for them.
On Thursday our group went to Panama City and went souvenir shopping. The city was different than any city I have ever been to. They also took us to a huge mall in the city and spent a few hours there. Later that afternoon, we returned to the camp to help out with the bonfire that evening. I love having bonfires at camp!!! Friday was the last full of camp so we enjoyed spending another days with the teens before they had to leave. That evening they had a banquet and all of the guys had to ask a girl to the banquet. It was a lot of fun and a perfect opportunity to practice my Spanish.
Saturday was the last day of camp so we helped clean up the camp and said our goodbye to everyone. That afternoon all of the staff packed up and went to the beach. It was a blast to get to know the staff some more. The beach was beautiful and the waves were huge!!! That evening we returned to camp and had a cookout and slideshow for the staff. It was kinda sad that evening, because we built relationships serving the Lord with the staff and then after tomorrow there is a chance you might not ever see them again until Heaven. So, the next day the GAP group went to the city and attended a Bilingual Baptist Church called “Crossroads Baptist.” It was a great church and wonderful to here a english speaking pastor. The Spanish in Panama is quite different than the Spanish spoken in Costa Rica. It is spoken much faster and many of the words are not the same. So, it was a challenge to adjust to the way they speak!! That afternoon was really neat, we also went to the Panama Canal!! I got to see many different ships come through the canal and took many pictures. It was so cool!!
Monday morning was a very adventurous day. Some of the people in our group wanted to climb this huge mountain that we could see from camp. So, we did. We all woke up at 5 am and began our hike. It took 4 hrs total, but I am so glad I did it, it was so worth it when I made it to the top and could see the unbelievable view. The rest of the day we rested up for our 20 hr. bus ride home that evening!!!
On Monday evening at 10 pm we set off in hope to reach the border by morning. Well, about 30 minutes into our trip we stop to get snacks, then return to our bus to find the driver once again underneath the bus fixing something. I was like, “This is not a good sign guys.” So, then 30 minutes later Noel comes over and says a part broke on the bus and we have to buy another one in the morning. So, we had to go back to the camp and sleep there for the evening. In other words we didn’t reach the border until like 5 pm that evening. We also had a delay in the trip about 2 hrs into CR, we were traveling on a 2 lane road and a truck hit a man on a bike head on. The man died right before we got to the curve. So, we had to turn around and go the long way which involved a one lane dirt road with huge trucks passing one another. It is safe to say my trip to Panama and back was an ADVENTURE!!! The Lord taught me several things on my trip and one of the things was to be FLEXIBLE LOL!!! It was necessary for this trip or it would have been miserable. Thank you to all who prayed for my trip and please continue to keep me in your prayers. I only have 3 more months here and I want the Lord to do all He can in my life while I am here!!!

La Playa Punta Leona

This past weekend I went with my group to a nearby beach resort for a day!! Here are some of the pictures from my trip!!! The beach was so beautiful... we all had a great time and wished we could have stayed :)

Dios es bueno

Today was unlike any other day of my life...
I woke up at the same time as usual 5:50 went running, then to spanish class. Then we came back to the villa for lunch and they announced we had a guest speaker for Bible class. I had never heard of the speaker before, but his name was Randy Ray, from Florida. His message was such an encouragement to me I have no doubt that the Lord was totally speaking through him,to me. Today I could feel the presence of the Lord in my life like never before. I cannot explain how it felt, but it was amazing. So, many times we (myself included) get so wrapped up in our daily routine we fail to recognize the Holy Spirit speaking to us and teaching us!! I just really ask for yall to keep praying for me, because prayer is powerful!! I leave for Panama in just one week and that trip is going to require patience, endurance, and the Power of Christ!! I am really excited and cannot wait to see what all the Lord has in store for me in Panama!!

Colosenses 4:5-6:
5 Andad en sabiduría para con los extraños, redimiendo el tiempo. 6 Sea vuestra palabra siempre con gracia, sazonada con sal; para que sepáis cómo os conviene responder á cada uno.


Colossians 4:5-6
5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

*Ashley*

Camp Brittney

So this week I started back with my classes but on thursday we went to help with a camp about one hour away!! It was Camp Brittney, there we basically helped out wherever we were needed and just played with the kids!! It was a great time, and their were 4 souls saved during the week!! Praise the Lord!! In less than 20 days I am going to Panama on a Mission Trip!! I am really excited, but I have a lot of spanish to learn between now and then. It is going to be very different than any other trip I have ever taken, because we are taking public transportation to Panama from CR, and it is a 20 hour bus ride. Please pray for me to be prepared and ready for my trip!!

Palabra de Vida Campamento: Word of Life Camp

I am now back in Costa Rica to begin my 2nd semester!!! I arrived here the 10th of January and then on the 14th I went to help out with a Word of Life Church Camp, with the rest of my group for 10 days. It was a blessing to help out with the camp. I had the opportunity to practice my Spanish with the campers as well as the other staff. I was faced with some challenges in those 10 days, but through those experiences I learned many new things… I learned how to cook like a Costa Rican because my job was to cook the food for everyone!!! I really am blessed to have had the opportunity to share the love of Christ with all the campers and staff  Several of the campers accepted Christ as their personal savior so that made all the preparation and hardwork worth while!! Here are some pictures of the camp! Please continue to pray for me as I begin classes again on Tuesday!!
Dios le bendiga (God Bless You), Ashley