Another month has just FLOWN by us! March was filled with Mission Teams and fun with friends! To change things up a bit this month, I am giving you MY FRIDAY FAVORITES!
FRIDAY FIVE
Five of my Favorite March Moments
- My visit from Becke – She is a sweet friend from home who came for a weeklong visit! We enjoyed (SO MUCH) coffee, movies in bed, (SO MUCH) girl talk, and a sweet time of prayer before she left. I have been more homesick than usual recently and Becke was a breath of fresh (Columbus!) air!
- Beach day with the Rock City Teams – That’s right – I said, TEAMS! Plural! We had a team from Rock City (my home church) here a few weeks ago, and at the same time, there was a Rock City team in La Libertad, the beachside city to the south. We got to put both teams together and enjoy a day at the beach on their last day! It was so much fun to see friends from home. It was truly rejuvenating.
- Outings with our youth groups – Last Saturday night, our lifegroup got together for a night of basketball! Needless so say, none of us are very good, but it was great fun being silly with my friends! The next day, Sunday, the Soyapango youth group got together and spent the afternoon at a local park playing soccer, basketball, eating junk food from the local vendors and just laughing together! Their leader, Dani, shared about unity and how God created us to live and work together with our different talents and abilities. We finished out the day with a pupusa dinner! OF COURSE!
- Bay Area Team – Oh my goodness! This was a HARDWORKING team! They spent 3 days at the Volcano Development Center helping with the beginning steps of creating a soccer field! Basically, it required A LOT of digging in the dirt making trenches. I’ve never seen a team so dirty!
- Birthday Dinner with Adri – Adri celebrated her 24th birthday on March 16th! She got to celebrate her day with the Rock City and Bay Area teams and the following week she and I went to dinner to continue the festivities! I am continuously grateful for our friendship and am learning from her as a professional in ministry and as a woman of God.
FRIDAY FIFTEEN
Fifteen of My Favorite Things in San Salvador
- Popsicle Flavor: Nutella + Banana. We now have a tradition with mission teams of going to this delicious popsicle place after our pupusa dinner! They have all kinds of amazing flavors!
- Pupuseria: The 3 pupusas for $1 place! Now that I can afford! They’re delicious AND the owners gave me a mug for Christmas for being a regular customer!
- Pupusa Flavor: beans + cheese. Pretty standard. Pretty delicious. (ps…Kristen – frozen pupusas ARE NOT real pupusas! #sacrilege!)
yup…this should be enough for the four of us! 😂 - Non-Pupusa Restaurant: LacaLaca! It’s a Mexican restaurant and OHHH MYYY GOODNESS….the nachos are SO GOOD! You get a plate as big as your head (and are expected to share it with your friends… -_-)
- Salvadoran Dessert: Semita Alta made by Pastor Victor’s family in La Libertad! It’s a pastry filled with different flavored jam and the Alta means it’s THICK! And when it’s fresh from the oven?! Que rico!
- Nail Salon: Salon Ramirez, jaja! A friend from church and her daughter often offer to paint my nails! Hey, even a missionary wants to have nice cuticles!
- Worship Song: Cuan Grande Es Dios. It’s the first song I learned (and understood) in Spanish!
- Movie Theater: Multiplaza – they have a candy gummies section AND caramel popcorn!
- Place to Work on the Computer: The Coffee Cup at La Skina shopping center. I can walk there and they know my order! I’m a regular!
- Coffee Shop: Ben’s Coffee on the Volcano! They can make all kinds of designs in your coffee and there’s a gorgeous view of the city.
- Drink at Ben’s Coffee: I know I’m in the land of AMAZING coffee, but I will always be a chai tea girl!
- Beach Resort: This simple little place close to the Atami beach resorts. Some friends and I went there for the Christmas morning sunrise and it was beautiful!
- Salvadoran Dog: CACHUN! He’s a Boston Terrier that belongs to my friend Lelys! She lets me pretend he’s mine.
- Salvadoran Slang Word: Puchica! It basically means DANGIT!
- Place: Anywhere on the beach. The beach will forever be where I feel most connected to God and most at peace with His presence.
“I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the Message has actually prospered. All the soldiers here, and everyone else, too, found out that I’m in jail because of this Messiah. That piqued their curiosity, and now they’ve learned all about him. Not only that, but most of the followers of Jesus here have become far more sure of themselves in the faith than ever, speaking out fearlessly about God, about the Messiah. Philippians 1v12-14 (The Message)
FROM HER BINDER PROJECT MARCH DEVOTIONAL:
Walking along the beach, you may find treasured sea glass. Some pieces are big, some small, and each is a different shape, size, and color…Each piece has one thing in common: they are all broken. Tossed in the ocean, they have experienced rough waters, storms, and rough sand. All of which has smoothed and re-shaped the piece of glass into a treasured item…We are also like the treasured piece of sea glass. Broken, we have experienced storms, rough waters, and heartbreak. We are also treasured in God’s hands…Our stories can also be used to point others to God’s healing grace. Our scars and storms are a part of our story, an intricate piece that brings us to where we are today. They reflect the love, redemption, and healing power of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Friends, who can we share our brokenness with today? Who can we encourage? Who can we assure that they are not alone?
Please stay in touch! There are a number of ways to contact me!
Email: ashley.arend@gmail.com
Facebook: facebook.com/AshleyElaine85
Skype: ashleyelaine85
Mailing Address: Condado Santa Rosa, Condominio Aclaraban, Pasaje Pacún #42. Santa Tecla, El Salvador (simply stop by your local post office to purchase a Global Forever stamp, only about $1.25! Just give it about 2 weeks to arrive!)
As always, thank you for your continued prayers and support! And an extra HUUUUGE thank you to those of you that sent care packages with the Rock City team! Your letters and cards and gifts have spoken such love to me! My heart smiled as I opened each package! My heart is filled with jewelry, beef jerky, lemon Oreos, and SO MUCH peanut butter (that’s an odd food combination! ha!)!
Please Pray:
- For our mission team coming from New Life Church in Michigan tomorrow. They will only be with us for two days before heading to La Libertad for the rest of the week. This is much shorter than normal! Please pray that in those two days, God would speak to them and they would hear His voice!
- For our church family as we drive to San Pedro Sula, Honduras on April 12th for the annual Great Commission Latin America Conference! Please pray for safe travels, lots of learning, and quality connections!
- For ongoing fundraising for our Dental Clinic at our Volcano Children’s Development Center. In 2016, we were blessed to be able to raise $40,000 to build the clinic above our current Total Health Clinic. Now, we need $18,000 more to purchase dental equipment. The need for dental care, hygiene and education is great at the Volcano.
- For my relationships here – that they would continue to grow and always be God-honoring.
#LivinLaVidaRamirez 