And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name. Acts 22v16
I think today was my best day yet in San Salvador. Usually, the last day of a mission team’s week is spent at the beach, enjoying each other’s company and relaxing after a long week of hard work. But today was different. Today, the church filled a school bus with children and adults from Guayabo, a village on the side of a volcano where our first and largest Children’s center sits, and drove them to the beach to be baptized.
For most of the children, today was their first time at the ocean! Any beach is my absolute favorite place on earth, so to share in the childlike joy of the waves crashing into your chest and the sand squishing between your toes, well that, dear friends, would have been enough to sustain my happiness for weeks. But because God is working in all the nooks and crannies of His creation, I got to witness the joy of six people (three kids!) dropping their sins at the foot of Jesus’ cross and walking away drenched in salvation.
As soon as the baptisms ended, what had been a gray and cloudy morning became a bright, sunshiny day! It was truly as if God parted the heavens to let us know that He and His angels were rejoicing with us. (Luke 15v10)
After the baptisms, I walked the beach with some missionaries and played in the pool with the kids. Although I still believe wholeheartedly that God created me for Youth Ministry, there’s just something about a child yelling my name and entrusting me to carry them to the deep end of the pool that makes me wonder if God might just have something extra planned for me here.
Jesus tells us to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Today, I began to believe that I might just be able to obey that command (as long as they’re always beach baptisms 😉😎).
My first six weeks on Salvadoran soil have come and gone in a flash and I have so much to share! Vamos!
On April 30th, a mission team from New Life Church in Michigan came to San Salvador and I jumped right in with helping the team! Part of my job was to help support Sarah, our Mission Team’s Coordinator, with various activities throughout the day. I also got to take photos of the team working and update our Mission Team Facebook page every night with a summary from the day. It was super fun to be a part of a few people’s first experiences with San Salvador and encouraging to see the excitement from the people returning for their second, third (or more!) time!
One of my favorite parts of the week with the New Life Team was getting to go back to Ceren, a local private high school. Ceren is where, two short (but they felt really long!) years ago, I felt God calling me to Youth Ministry and life in San Salvador. I hadn’t been back since my first time there in 2014, so returning to where God first gave me my mission felt like I was right where I was supposed to be.
An added and completely unexpected wink from God happened on Wednesday of that week. One of the missionaries stayed back at the hotel for the morning, so right before lunch, our van driver, Roberto, and I went to get her. On the way to the hotel, at a stoplight, I happened to look at the intersecting street to my left and noticed a tall, white, scrawny red-head juggling in between cars in the street. Just as he turned around, our eyes met and he came running over.
Josué.
If you talked to me after my first mission trip, you got to hear Josué’s story. If you talked to me after my second mission trip, you got to hear Josué’s story. If you heard my pitch asking for support, you got to hear Josué’s story. Basically, If I’ve told you anything about San Salvador I’ve told you about Josué. But juuuuust in case you haven’t heard his story, here it is in as small of a nutshell as I can make it ;)
I met Josué at Ceren on my first mission trip. He stood out to me because he’s 6’ tall, has bright white skin and flaming red hair – not exactly the stereotypical Salvadoran. I asked some locals about him and they shared part of his story with me. Josué’s parents both passed away by the time he was 13. This left nowhere for he and his older brother to live. After months of being chased out of neighborhood after neighborhood by the local gangs, they learned that dealing drugs could be their ticket to safety and a place to live. Well, that solution didn’t last long, and both Josué and his brother ended up in jail. By the true grace of God, Josué was released and decided to get his life together. He got a room to stay in and began attending Ceren. Since then, life has been a rollercoaster for Josué. A few ups, but from what I can tell, some pretty steep dips.
Josué’s story is so very similar to so many other youths in San Salvador. I know that God was telling me, Ashley, you see this kid? He needs help, and so many other kids here do too. And I want to use YOU to bring them to me.
It had been almost a full two years since I had seen Josué in person when I moved here. Seeing him again and actually talking to him was a wink from God saying, Okay girl, you’re here. Now let’s get to work.
Consider this my promise to God, my friends, and my supporters: I will not leave this country until we see Josué lay his life at the foot of Jesus’ cross.
When mission teams are not here, I am continuing to help at the Children’s Development Centers. Because of the kids there, my Spanish is coming along rápidamente (quickly ;) )! Very few of them speak any English, and if they do, it’s very basic English, so I am forced to use only Spanish! Sure, there’s a lot of me telling them I don’t understand or to slow down, but they are patient with me! In exchange, I am teaching them English a few days a week! Ali will be developing a more formal English program, so in the meantime, we are having fun singing “Head, shoulders, knees and toes!” and I am using some of the techniques I learned in Colorado at Mission Training International to get the kids used to hearing English before attempting to speak.
As a more formal method of language learning, I now have a Spanish teacher! Sarah is a teacher at Victor & Silvia’s son’s school and she was more than eager to assist me in my language learning. We get together for about two hours every Saturday. Honestly, I think I initially surprised her with how much Spanish I can already speak!
Saturdays are for Language Learning! On Saturday mornings, I am now meeting with Malena and Lupita, two of Silvia’s friends from church who want to practice their English! They both learned English in college but have not had an opportunity to practice. So we are now getting together for coffee and English conversation on Saturday mornings!Both of these women are incredibly sweet and I am looking forward to building a friendship with them.
I am also very much enjoying getting to spend time with my Salvadoran friends! I joined the church’s young adult Bible study! We meet on Saturday evenings for…you guessed it! Bible study and fellowship. One week out of the month, we get together just to hangout and have fun as a group. This past Saturday, we gathered at Adriana’s house for pupusas and a movie. This is giving me a great opportunity to get to know people better and develop lasting friendships.
my sweet friend Andrea & I
I have a funny little story to share with you! I have a Fitbit activity tracker and I love it. I’ve had it for about a year and a half. Over the past few days, it stopped holding a charge for longer than a few hours (normally, it stays charged for a few days!). So I figured I could call customer service and have a replacement sent to a friend in the states and they could then get it to me either with a mission team or in the mail (God uses EVERY situation in my life to teach me patience!). The following conversation ensued:
“Hey! My name is Ashley. I am having trouble with my Fitbit and need a replacement. I’m a missionary in El Salvador and I am trying to avoid spending money on a new tracker!”
Fitbit Customer Service: “That’s actually really funny because I am answering from San Salvador!” “Really??? Where do you work?”
“At the Plaza Merliot!” “Holy cow. That’s only like 5 minutes from my house!”
{insert conversation more about why I’m here, how long I’ll be here and my other friends here that work for call centers than actually replacing my Fitbit! Jaja!}
Eventually, we did talk about my Fitbit (turns out charging it in the wall outlet was a bad idea – the different voltage zapped my battery!) and he is indeed sending a replacement to a friend in the states!
Last weekend, a team from Rock City arrived in San Salvador and I was so excited to see familiar faces and talk about home with my Rock City and Salvadoran friends. This team has spent their time at both the Guayabo and Soyapango Children’s Centers. One of their projects has been working to repair the playground that was built at Guayabo on my first trip here! It has been very loved and needs some maintenance so it can continue to be loved by the children!
And to the handful of you that worked to send me stuff with the team: MUCHO MUCHO GRACIAS!!!!
Thank you for your continued prayer, words of encouragement and financial support. Because of you, I am adjusting well! You have helped me to allow God to work in the process of moving, the actual move and my life here in San Salvador.
By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. Exodus 13v21-22
To those of you that have emailed, FaceTimed, whatsapp-ed, Facebooked – however you have reached out – THANK YOU. I believe that my heart will forever be in two places (perhaps even more!), but because of your friendship, it is not broken.
Please keep in touch! It fills my heart with gladness to hear from friends and family back home!
For my health. My body is adjusting to Salvadoran food, bacteria and life in general, but it comes with an occasional bout of stomach grossness. I am currently recovering from my latest spell. FYI, Dad and all my surrogate Moms out there – I am on medicine and feeling much better! It’s nothing to worry about and is to be expected when you move to any new country. My prayer request is that I would be healthy enough to work with the Rock City team this coming week and that my body would adjust QUICKLY!
That my Spanish acquisition continues without frustration or discouragement. I have my moments of both, but I am reminding myself that it is only with God’s strength that I will learn and become fluent.
For God to work in me to fundraise for The Dental Clinic at the Guayabo Children’s Center.
For another opportunity to see Josué and begin to build a relationship with him. Also, pray for his safety and well-being.
For growth and strength in our Iglesia Gran Comisión Youth Ministry. Many students have been burned by judgmental Christians before. I am praying that they will be willing to open their hearts to a different church with a different way of thinking. We like to call it love!
For the Rock City Youth mission team headed to NYC to serve at the Dream Center! They leave on June 21st (just 3 weeks away!), and I know there are many students still in need of financial support. They will all need prayer support while they are there. I believe that God will change lives that week.
be cheerful no matter what // pray all the time // thank God no matter what happens.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5v16-18
Since the first of the year, I have been recording my daily gratitudes. It’s a practice that helps me to be thankful to God even on the hardest days. It’s so easy to allow myself to think just because one thing did not go according to plan (and you KNOW I love my plans!), everything else has gone to crap too. But remembering the good in each day helps me to dispel that belief. One bad moment doesn‘t mean a whole bad day.
Today, I am grateful for a quiet bedroom and a cool, morning breeze coming through my window – it makes for the perfect place to read God’s Word and listen for His voice.
I spent almost 11 months working my butt off to make my dream of moving to San Salvador a reality. Five of those months were spent having meeting after meeting with friends, loved ones and even strangers inviting them to share in my dream and be a part of the imperative crew of people sending me to San Salvador. One of those months was spent at Missionary Training International, learning how to learn Spanish and how to adjust to a new culture (#DifferentIsntWrong). Another one of those months was spent grieving the loss of Plan A – moving to San Salvador on December 23, 2015. The following three months were spent making lemonade (“When life gives you lemons…”) and learning everything I could about Youth Ministry and being in leadership. And the last month was spent trying (and failing) not to cry when I said goodbye to my favorite people and figuring out how to fit nine years of adulthood into three, 70 lbs or less, suitcases.
This is the best I could do…
And now Here I am, in San Salvador, literally living the dream. But this weird thing happened about a week after I got here – living the dream got HARD! I expected learning Spanish to be challenging, but it is one thing to know something will be difficult and it is a completely other thing to walk out that challenge and not give up.
I landed in San Salvador with what I would call “Kitchen Spanish.” Hola amigo! Que tal? Tengo treinta-un años! Donde estas mi pizza? But I figured what everyone told me was true – the best and fastest way to learn any language is by full immersion. And my Salvadoran friends have been super eager to assist in my full immersion program! But from Day One, that was the challenge – being fully immersed in a language I barely know. When I am one-on-one with my bilingual friends, our conversation is easy because we mostly speak in English. But add even one more person, and I feel like I’m living in my own telenovela! This is actually really beneficial though because a large part of learning a new language is simply listening.
But I can only listen for so long before trying to understand every word becomes not only exhausting but impossible. There is definitely a part of myself that has gotten lost in the language. I don’t feel like myself when I am in a group of people. I can’t share my opinion, spit out a funny one liner or contribute to the conversation topic (most likely, I have no clue what the topic of conversation actually is.)
I would guess that 98% of my life in San Salvador is spent in confusion. Just last week, I was in the car with Silvia (the wife of the family I am living with) after our work day at the Children’s Center. Just like every day, we drove to pick up her kids from school. When we got to school, she informed me that we would have to wait about an hour for her son, Victor Raul, to get tutoring. Fine! No hay problema! I can nap in the car! After about an hour, Silvia and I walked into the school to retrieve Victor. He walked back to the car with us, but we didn’t leave right away. Curious… A few minutes later, his teacher joined us in the car! Ooookaaaay….maybe they invited her over for dinner as a thank you! About 10 minutes later, we were in a neighborhood I didn’t recognize. Turns out, we were taking Victor’s teacher home because she lives only a few minutes from our house! This is just one of about 10 days that have included journeys and adventures I had no clue were about to happen!
My first chocobanano! An after-work adventure I DEFINITELY wasn’t expecting!
Not being able to participate in Spanish conversations with a group of people has also had the effect of making me feel really dumb. Thoughts run through my mind like I’m so stupid! I will never learn Spanish! Why can’t I do this?? I have a college degree AND a Master’s degree! I should be able to learn Spanish! It’s like the easiest language in the world! But possibly, and most crushing to my spirit, I feel like everyone around me thinks I’m an idiot too.
Even so, not by my own strength, but by the strength of God, every day, I wake up and tell the family “Buenos días!” During the week, I go to the Children’s Center and ask my new friend, Kevin, “Ya comes? No? Quieres huevos? Siiiii! Y cuántos tortillas? Café con azúcar??” And some days, I even help with math homework! (math AND Spanish?? Si se puede! Yes, we can!) And with God’s Holy Spirit within me, I am learning. Words that escaped my memory, no matter how many times someone told me, are finally sticking. Thanks to the patience of my friends, their willingness to speak slowly, (and hand gestures) I am understanding way more than I can speak.
Girl Talk
I am also appreciating this season of listening. In the States, I am so quick to speak and slow to listen. I try really hard to empathize with what people share with me, but many times, how I can relate, and how I feel about their problem and what I am going to say next are the thoughts running through my mind as people open up their hearts to me. So perhaps God has purposely placed me in this challenge as a way to teach me to listen to understand, not to listen and respond.
I also recently found a Spanish teacher! Sarah is one of Victor Raul’s teachers at school, and she was eager to help me learn! We had our first lesson last weekend and it went really well! I am finally learning the alphabet, I learned that English “-tion” words are “-ción” words in Spanish, and I began reading the classic, El Gato con Botas (Puss in Boots)! Sarah is super friendly and willing to help however she can. Just today she messaged me reminding me she is only a text away if I have any questions “sobre español!”
My most important lesson in language learning isn’t that “perrito” is a completely different word from “pedito” (the tongue-roll on those R’s is suuuper important), or that although mostly harmless in English, “estúpido” is really pretty offensive in San Salvador. The most important thing I can learn and must remember is that God has called me to this place and He will give me the tools and abilities to bring glory to His Kingdom. He IS going to use me here. In Spanish. And you know how I know? Because Satan is working overtime to convince me He won’t.
There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.
Philippians 1v6 The Message
This is why I want to learn Spanish. Two days ago, two sweet girls, Lorena and Claudia, called on the name of Christ and trusted Him with their lives! And now what? These girls need someone to walk beside them as they begin to figure out just what it means to walk with Jesus. I believe God has called me to be that person someday soon.
(This is an update from my first week here! There will definitely be another one coming soon! Sorry for the delay in posting!)
Hola Hola, amigos!
Well, I have been living in San Salvador for a little over a week now and think I owe you guys a little update!
First of all, and most obvious, I am alive and I have internet! PRAISE BREAK!
This past week has been a mix of work, fun and relaxation. The Turcios Family (Pastor Victor, Silvia, Silvita and Victor Raúl) has welcomed me with open arms and I am settling into my new home very nicely. This past Wednesday was Silvia’s 50th birthday (I know, right?? It’s gotta be the heat or something that keeps Salvadorans looking so young and beautiful!) ! The family and I went to dinner at a local restaurant, La Pizzeria to celebrate! We had calamari and 3 different types of pizza! After a night of laughter and sharing stories, I am already beginning to feel like part of the family!
One of my biggest challenges has been and will continue to be my lack of fluency in the Spanish language. When I am with a group of friends, most of the time, I am able to generally pick up the topic, but I don’t understand enough to jump in the conversation…yet. I am listening to learn and speaking when I can. This often leads to one of two reactions: a cocked head and confused face or a fit of laughter. In Colorado, at Mission Training International, I learned that one of the perks of language learning is giving the locals a reason to laugh. So, here’s to bringing the joy!
I have had the joy of spending much of my week at the Children’s Development Center (CDI en español 😉 ) in Guayabo and one day at the newer CDI in Soyapango. The new Soyapango CDI is absolutely beautiful and barely recognizable from the single, open-air building it was the last time I saw it! There are fewer children at the Soya CDI, but one in particular has stuck in my heart since I first met him in June 2014, on my very first day ever in San Salvador. Cesar is now 12 years old, and I have had the joy of reconnecting with him each of the three times I have been to Soyapango. This week, when Cesar walked into his CDI and saw an (unforgettable??) tall, blonde girl sitting at his table, he shouted, “ASHLEY?!” What?? He remembered my name?? Man, I love these kids.
My days at the Guayabo CDI this week have literally been filled with precious moments. It has been a blessing to begin to build relationships with the sisters of Esmerelda, a sweet girl taken from us much too soon by cancer, last March 2015. Seeing that these girls have persevered through a loss too heartbreaking to conceive is pure, hard proof that God is working in the CDI.
On Friday, we had a grand day at the Guayabo CDI celebrating Silvia’s birthday with the kids! Marleni, one of the teachers, baked beautiful pink cupcakes for the morning class and got a GIANT cake for the afternoon class! We sang, laughed, and filled our bellies with delicious treats!
One morning, I was instructed to help a boy, Kevin, look through workbooks to find photos of natural disasters (volcanoes, earthquakes, flooding, etc) and assist him in finishing his poster board filled with hand drawn images and how to avoid each one. Needless to say, there was a bit of a language barrier, but sweet Kevin had patience with me, and as it turns out, I have quite a bit of information tucked away about where to live to avoid a landslide!
This past Tuesday morning, my dear friend and co-worker, Adriana and I met with Pastor Victor to discuss our individual job responsibilities and what we will be working on together. For the time being, my job will not be focused on youth ministry, but I will begin to work with the pre-teens (middle school) in the next month or so. In the meantime, my #1 priority is helping to raise funds for the church, the Children’s Center and the Total Health Clinic. I will focus specifically on helping to raise the remaining $30,000 of $40,000 to build a dental clinic at the Guayabo CDI.
As expected, one of my other responsibilities will include managing the social media pages! There are three Facebook pages (CDI, Total Health Clinic, and Mission Teams) and one Instagram page. Along with the social media outlets, I will also work with Adriana to update the blog twice a month.
Because another part of my job includes accompanying mission teams every day when they are here, the fun starts tonight when Adriana and I travel with the van drivers to the airport to pick up my first of many mission teams! This ALSO means that when any of you Rock City folks come on a mission trip to San Salvador, yours truly will be greeting you with open arms to my new home! I am really looking forward to spending time with my Rock City family when they come down!
This week was a smooth warm-up to what my future here in San Salvador will look like, and based on what I have done and seen so far, it will be an exceptional challenge that I am more than ready and incredibly excited to jump into! The only thing missing is my girl Ali Howard. She is currently raising support with the bold prayer to move here mid-November. It will be a beautiful blessing to have her here. If you are interested in her Salvadoran ministry, please check her out at alihoward.co! Help get my bestie to San Salvador! The CDI needs her and I want her here!
Thank you so very much for your continued prayers, financial support and outpourings of love. Each morning when I wake up in my bed with my Salvadoran family, in our Salvadoran house, I thank God that He is always and forever good and always comes through on His promises.
“Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” Habakkuk 1v5
Please keep in touch! It fills my heart with gladness to hear from friends and family back home!
That my Spanish would come quickly and that I do not get frustrated when I say something silly or can’t participate in conversations as I would like to.
For my ability to accomplish all the responsibilities entrusted to me and for the sunshine to keep my stress at a record low!
For overall culture adjustments. So far, so good, but I know a moment will come when something unexpectedly drives me crazy! Prayers for patience and calmness when it does!
For Ali as she continues her support raising journey!
For all the Rock City Youth students and leaders as they raise support to head to the NYC Dream Center for a week of serving!
be cheerful no matter what // pray all the time // thank God no matter what happens.
I know many of you (ok, anyone who follows me on social media) may be surprised and even concerned that I have not posted ANY photos since moving to El Salvador last Thursday! But the truth is, I haven’t TAKEN many photos! I’ve been enjoying reconnecting with friends I have not seen in 16 months and figuring out how to live life as a Salvadoreña! But, estoy aquí! I am here! And life is great! My new family (Pastor Victor, his wife Silvia and their two children, Silvita & Victor Raul) have welcomed me with open arms as their adopted (and MUCH taller) daughter! My friends have resorted to speaking only 5% English with me, so I am learning very quickly! I have visited both the Guayabo and Soyapango Children’s Centers and been given more hugs than I can try to count! I will give a longer update later this week, but I wanted to check in and let you all know that I am safe, I am happy, and I am home. 🇸🇻
Oh my goodness! Where has February gone?! It has been a whirlwind month for me! The month of love was filled with just that – support and encouragement from the people who love me the most. It has been truly sweet!
This month wasn’t a monumental month, although there were a few memorable moments, it was more a month of maintaining. By the beginning of February, my Development Plan was in full swing. I have been more involved in Rock City Youth, I am being challenged weekly in my discipleship lessons with Pam and by mid-February, my counselor affirmed that we were accomplishing what we had set out to do! My favorite part of each week has been spending a few hours at home with my two favorite guys – Dad & Dewey! Last, but definitely not least, are my Spanish lessons! I have a long way to go before I am even close to fluent, but speaking, writing and listening in Spanish is becoming more natural.
Being able to maintain my Development Plan means being able to trust that God has me in the palm of His hand and that He has already mapped out this part of my life. Somewhere right around the middle of the month, being in Columbus no longer felt like being stuck. It began to feel comfortable and I became settled in the situation. I was no longer panicked or anxious about not knowing when I will move to San Salvador. Any obstacle that has been tossed into my path, God has removed in His perfect way. I know that I will move there soon and that whatever happens between then and now, it is all part of God’s plan and His hands are all over my life.
On January 18th, Rock City Church began their annual 21 Day Fast. Rather than giving something up this year, I chose to add something into my life. I didn’t remove anything from my life because I feel like I have been in a season of God taking things from me. He took my plans for leaving in December and He took my control over knowing and deciding when I would leave. So instead of giving up even more when I am already in a season of deprivation, I added in daily, focused prayer time. Every morning at 6am, I crawled out of bed and fell (sometimes literally!) to my knees in an hour of prayer to God. I wanted to be in conversation with God before anyone had a chance to text me, like my Instagram post, tag me on Facebook, or otherwise distract me from my Creator. Some mornings were awesome and the hour would fly by. Other mornings, I tried and failed at praying while sitting up in bed (“I’m awake! I’m listening, God. I’m herrrreee….zzz…”). The fast ended February 7th and to be honest, I was thrilled to have my extra sleep back in the morning. Although I was slightly better rested, my days were less purpose-driven. Not having my morning time with God (even the failed prayer mornings) took away the conviction of knowing that whatever happened, God’s got it under control. So I am now adding that dedicated morning prayer time back into my schedule a few times a week.
One of my favorite nights from February was an evening at Youth Pastor Amanda’s home. The Rock City Youth Core Leadership Team gathered for our monthly Family Dinner Night. We got close & comfy on the couch, shared praises of what has been going well in Youth and what needs modified. But before we got down to business, Amanda’s husband, Josh, joined us to lead us in an acoustic worship session on his guitar. It was such a precious time, sitting with some of my closest friends, giving God all our praise. After a few songs, we each shared where we were feeling weak and could use some extra prayer and we prayed over each other while Josh continued playing in the background. With our hearts out in the open, we were ready for God to make moves through us in the Youth of Columbus. We spoke truth to one another, sang each other’s praises and laughed – a lot. At one point, I stopped talking, stopped laughing, and just took it all in. I have been so very blessed to be surrounded by people who share my heart for Youth Ministry. The leaders of Rock City Youth have been my family for a year and a half. When I stopped to appreciate the moment, I realized once again just how much I am going to miss these people when I move. I completely empathize with Paul when he wrote,
For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1v8
February held an especially sweet memory – Ali Howard returned back home to Columbus! She spent looooong 3 weeks away visiting San Salvador and attending Reliant’s New Staff Training so that she can begin building her ministry team! Ali will be moving to San Salvador full-time to serve at the Children’s Centers in Guayabo and Soyapango. It’s kinda cool to think that she will minister to the children while they are in elementary school and then she will hand them off to me when they’re old enough for youth group! My friendship with Ali was definitely unexpected but quickly turned into one of my most treasured relationships. There hasn’t been one day since we both confessed wanting to move to San Salvador full-time that I haven’t thanked God that we are going through this process together.
{…and yet, our friendship just works. 💜}
For over a year now, I have had the pleasure of being discipled by my mentor Pam. Two weeks ago, I began taking what she has taught me and pouring it into someone else. Many of you know of Olivia, one of the sophomore Rock City Youth girls that has permanently taken up space in my heart. Olivia loves Jesus with all of her heart and I actually got to baptize her last spring! She is now in a place of her faith journey where she wants to know all she can about God and His Word. This provided a beautiful opportunity for me to practice discipleship from the other point of view! Olivia and I are working our way through the book of Philippians, discussing how Paul’s words speak to us and what confuses us. We are also spending time simply being in awe of a God who can take a man who one was murdering Christians and the next, that same man preached the Gospel and wrote a huge chunk of the New Testament. I am really excited to see where God leads Olivia and me on this journey. I am even more excited to hear how Olivia will take what she learns from our time together and passes it on to someone else. The process of discipleship is truly neverending!
{Discipleship Devotional with Olivia}
It has taken almost three months, but I am finally resting in God’s plan and actually enjoying it! Until I move to San Salvador, I am continuing to lean into God’s sovereignty and trusting in His word when He tells me,
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8v28
Thank you all for your continued support! Each and every one of you is allowing God to work through you to encourage me to persevere on. The following verse from Hebrews speaks so clearly to me in this season of my life. Because I am surrounded by a cloud of people who love and support me, I am all the more able to banish from my life the evil one’s attempts to slow me down or stop me altogether. It is with your help and your love that I am able to focus on God’s purpose for me, no matter where in the world I am.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Hebrews 12v1
Please Pray:
For Rock City Youth as we travel to Canton, Ohio, March 3-5 for Love is Red, a Youth and Young Adult conference with the vision of “developing leaders and inspiring students to know God and to make Him known.” I got to go last year, and it is a beautiful thing to watch students from all over the country raise their arms in surrender to Jesus.
Friendships will be built and faiths will be strengthened. As my girl, Olivia Shank said when my departure got delayed, “Hey! This means you get to go to Love is Red, RIGHT?!” Right on, amiga!
Next week’s Rock City Youth Night! We will be hosting an anonymous Q&A with a panel of youth leaders!
For Ali as she begins building her Ministry Support Team! This season of ministry is one that requires much perseverance, but inevitably draws us closer to God. Sign-up to follow her journey here!
Rock City Church’s first mission trip of the year to San Salvador! Our Beyond Our Walls Director, Nate, leaves with a team of missionaries on March 5th to serve the people of San Salvador. Lives are going to be changed! Gracias Dios!
For continued endurance and the ability to “relax and enjoy the journey in God’s presence.” (Jesus Calling)
be cheerful no matter what // pray all the time // thank God no matter what happens.
Want a little sunshine in your inbox each month? WHO DOESN’T?!?
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Considering I started the month having no clue what to expect, January pleasantly surprised me! I moved into a new host family home, Rock City Youth came in like a wrecking ball, and my birthday was the highlight of everyone’s month!
January started out with a move! I am now living with Pam and Brad Boseker. Pam is my discipler (mentor). As part of my Development Plan from Rock City Church, she and I meet at on the couch once a week for a lesson on evangelism, how to study the Bible or we focus on one Bible theme. These lessons with Pam are changing how I view God, how I read the Bible and how I view myself in God’s plan. One-on-one mentor time with Pam is definitely something I would not be getting if I were in San Salvador right now, so I am appreciating that beautiful perk of being stateside! One of the greatest parts of living with my mentor is that I get daily encouragement and support for this unexpected life detour I’m currently in.
After a month long hiatus, Rock City Youth came back in 2016 with a night of killer worship and a solid message from our Rock City Church Lead Pastor, Chad Fisher. Not only had Youth been on break for a month, but I was in Colorado for the month of November, so it had been since the end of October that I had seen my Youth comrades! Being back with the students laughing, catching up on life and praising God was just what I needed in the midst of my season of uncertainty. Turns out they weren’t so disappointed that I’m still around. 😉
A few weeks ago, Amanda, the Rock City Youth Pastor, and I decided that part of my uneasiness of being in Ohio was that I no longer had a schedule. Fortunately for me, Amanda is one of my more ingenious friends!
We sat down and figured that as a full-time employee of Reliant Mission, I should be working about 40 hours per week. So what am I doing with those 40 hours? My Development Plan from Rock City included:
Weekly counseling appointments
Twice a week discipleship meetings with Pam
Weekly Spanish lessons
Rock City Youth Leadership
Intentionally deepening my relationship with Dad before leaving the country
We scheduled out the appropriate amount of hours for each of those activities and I was left with about 13 hours to fill.
When I began serving with Rock City Youth, I was put in the position of the 9th-grade girls’ LifeGroup (small group) leader. I absolutely loved this job and it solidified my passion for youth ministry. Since then, I have been moved around a bit to fit the needs of Youth, but I have always been a LifeGroup Leader. Pastor Amanda decided that it was time to up my game and strengthen my building muscles.
{a few of our 9th (now 10th!) grade girls!}
In Rock City Youth, I was a leader, spending time with the students and committing much of my schedule to connecting with them. I was now going to become a builder. I love being a LifeGroup leader, and honestly, I’m pretty good at it. But the next level, administrative stuff was where my skills were weaker. As a builder, I am building up new leaders to be able to go out and reach the students of Columbus.
I am now the Rock City Youth Leadership Coordinator! Youth is fortunate enough to be rapidly growing with students AND potential leaders. In the past, when someone has expressed interest in leadership, we’ve welcomed them aboard, background checked them and threw them in the pool! But as a growing organization, we need a more official and thorough process of onboarding new leaders. It is now my job to develop that process and implement it with oncoming leaders.
Yeah…I really had no clue how to do that, so this was going to be a challenge. I’m more of a people person – I can convince a brick wall to be my best friend! But coordinating all those friends into a well oiled Youth Leadership machine…?? I didn’t even know where to begin, but I was ready and willing to learn!
Amanda introduced me to a few of the web apps she has been using to organize her Youth Leadership Team. Using these apps, leadership requirements and my own experience as a leader, I got to work developing a process.
This has been a challenge for me because as much as I love being organized, getting organized can often be difficult for me to initiate and maintain. I also know very little about what requirements there are for a person in leadership at Rock City Church and how to accomplish those requirements. I also wanted to make sure we were developing a very clear process so that when I do move to San Salvador, whoever takes my place can simply step in and pick up where I leave off.
Amanda and I have a pretty good system worked out that includes a thorough system from a person’s initial interest to shadowing a Youth Leader Pro to placing the applicant in the best fitting leadership position.
Stepping out of my comfort zone of LifeGroup leadership and into a new, more administrative role isimperative for my future work in San Salvador. A year ago, Jorge, the Iglesia Gran Comisión Youth Director, told me that the leaders of the church had been “praying for someone to come and help with our youth ministry!” With my small group leading abilities and my leader-building skills, I will hopefully be God’s answer to that prayer. Whatever need is the greatest, I will be able to step in and begin to help.
Another immediate need is for someone to help update sponsors of the children in the Development Centers of El Guayabo and Soyapango. We are blessed to have over 200 children sponsored, but that means that there are over 200 people in the States wondering how their child is doing and how their money is helping. I am eager to jump in right away and begin connecting the sponsors to the child they help to support.
I’m spending more time in the Rock City Offices working with Amanda, still accomplishing my Development Plan, and enjoying life with my friends. It’s definitely not the ridiculously, crazy schedule I was maintaining over the summer and it’s not the blank canvas I was struggling to fill last month.
Call me Goldilocks, because this schedule is just right. (ha! I slay myself sometimes!)
OH! The greatest part of the month was my birthday! DUH! On January 21st, I solidified my position as a woman in her thirties by successfully turning 31! WOOOO!!!! As a Christmas gift, Dad and Cathy gave me some money to spoil myself with, so on my birthday, I did just that. I got a massage and a manicure, watched 2 hours of Law & Order: SVU and for the 19th year in a row, the fam went to Fujiyama Japanese Steakhouse for dinner! The following night, Dad was kind enough to host a birthday party in his home! I think the last birthday I celebrated with that many teenagers was back when I WAS a teenager! We had a selfie wall (a background for selfies – NOT a wall of selfies of me. Although that would have been clever), Chick-Fil-A chicken and the loveliest cupcakes I think I’ve ever seen! The night was filled with the people I love. It was the perfect end to a perfect birthday.
{ahhh…the massage waiting room – complete with mimosa!}{my loves}{Dad, Cathy & I at the Selfie Wall!}{BFFs 4EVA…somethings never change 😂}{sweet treats}
So. When am I leaving?
I still don’t know anything yet. And believe me, as soon as I do, the entire world will know! There will be a Facebook post, email, blog, cloud writing…believe me, you will know! But here is what I do know, to borrow a snippet from my previous blog post:
“Yet” means that I am still pursuing an answer, that what I am praying for will happen at the right time and that I still have hope. I rest in the truth that just because God is silent on the matter does not mean He does not hear me. God hears my cries and He will answer my prayer of moving to San Salvador. He just hasn’t…yet.
“Because He bends down to listen I will pray as long as I have breath.”
Psalm 116v2
Please Pray:
That God would continue to guide the days, weeks, and maybe even months that I am still in Ohio.
That people would continue to support my ministry, whether I am stateside or abroad.
That Rock City Youth would continue to grow! I recently discovered that “Make Out Calendars” are a thing, so it is evident to me that this generation is desperate for unending love and the only place they will find it is in the arms of their heavenly Father. This world needs youth ministry.
For growth in the Iglesia Gran Comisión (San Salvador church that I will be working for) Youth Program! The needs of youth are not specific to our country. The Salvadoran youth are just as desperate for love and acceptance and the church’s youth ministry is working diligently to point them towards Jesus.
That my Dad and I would continue to have quality time together and that through it, our relationship would continue to strengthen.
I would also love to pray for you! Please text me or call me letting me know what your prayer needs are. Rock City Church is on Day 12 of a 21 Day Fast. Rather than taking something away, I am adding something in to my life. Every morning at 6am, I am waking up before the sun for an hour of pure prayer. No devotional, no journal, not even my Bible – just me and God in the quiet stillness of the morning. It would be a privilege to include your prayers and praises in my new morning ritual.
be cheerful no matter what // pray all the time // thank God no matter what happens.
Want a little sunshine in your inbox each month? WHO DOESN’T?!?
Click this link to get signed up for my monthly email updates ➳ You’ve Got Mail!
Please consider giving. You can get set up in five minutes by clicking the “Give to the Cause” button under my photo or by going to reliant.org/ashley.arend
Tuesday started out as a perfectly lovely day. Granted, it was 6am and I could barely actually see the day, but I knew it was going to be good. I had woken up early to join a few close friends at church for an early morning prayer meeting. Corporate prayer, people praying together, is a mighty powerful thing. It’s one thing to know the prayers that I am praying, but it is a whole other level of beautiful when someone gets down on their knees and echos my prayer. So even if it means waking up before the sun, it’s worth it to start my day in conversation with God and His people.
Another reason I wanted to begin my day by handing it over to God was because Tuesday was shaping up to be a very good, but very busy day. I needed to know that the day was God’s and He had His eyes on me. When I got back home after the prayer meeting for a few hours of Bible reading, I received a message from my friend Brittany. “Let me know when we can reschedule for!” Umm…what? Our 2:30pm coffee date had been in my calendar and confirmed for a week! I wasn’t cancelling!
“Let me know when we can reschedule for!”
“Why are we rescheduling?”
“You sent me an email canceling?”
“No? I didn’t mean to! My calendar has been acting up! But I’m still available today if you are!”
“Oh seriously!!?!?! Nuts!!! I told my cousin I could pick her up from school at 3pm because I thought you cancelled!!”
I had been noticing that Sunrise, my iPhone and Mac desktop calendar app, had been on the fritz lately. My phone would have certain events scheduled while my computer had ruthlessly deleted them! #rude
I reached out to Amanda, my super cool, techy friend who introduced me to Sunrise, to see if she was having similar problems. She was, so we both began to Google their website to send Sunrise a strongly worded Tweet. Simultaneously, we stumbled across this headline of horror:
Microsoft Announces Plans to Discontinue the Popular Sunrise Calendar App
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
WHY GOD, WHY?????
DO YOU EVEN LOVE US????
Ok. Let me quickly explain why this was just devastating news – Amanda and I, and many of our friends, LOVE that app. Number 1, it’s pretty. And we’re all about the pretty. It’s easy to use. It syncs your calendars from iCloud, your Google account, Facebook, all of ’em. It allows you to quickly and easily invite people to appointments. It had an iPhone app AND a desktop app. Most calendar apps only have one or the other. It only cost a few bucks in the App Store. And dang, it was pretty!
For the time being, my Bible time had been pushed aside in favor of finding a new calendar app, because if I don’t have a working calendar, how will I even know when I have time for Bible time?!?
Amanda and I Googled. We Pinterested. We found ugly calendars from 2013. We found ovulation calendars. We found Make Out Calendars (side note: THAT is why we need Youth Ministry!). After almost 2 hours of searching and coming up empty-handed, the question remained:
Well, isn’t that just the story of my life the past 2 months?!
“Hey Ashley! Soooo…you’re still here! Why?”
“No Answers Yet”
“Hey Ashley! It’s been 2 months, when are you headed to San Salvador?”
“No Answers Yet”
“Hey Ashley! Has anyone given you any idea, even a ballpark, of when you’ll be able to move?”
“No Answers Yet”
But that is just how God works sometimes. We pray and we pray and we pray, but God is silent. I have begged of Him, God, please! Just send me already! I’ve done everything I know to do! When is it my time?Silence. Ok, God, fine. Make me wait. I will wait. But can you just tell me how long I have to wait? Please don’t leave me in this tunnel! Give me a light at the end! Silence.
So I wait in the tunnel. But what’s that noise?? Hello?? “OH HEYYYY FRIENDS! You brought me a present? I LOVE presents! It’s a flashlight…That’s actually just what I needed! Now I can see in this darkness! And a To-Do list? You know I love a project and a plan! What’s that? Oh! A cozy, little nook in the tunnel for me to live in! I guess I’ll just cuddle up here on the floor…A bed! Oh…that’s niiiice! Well, it’s still kinda dark in this tunnel, but now it’s kinda livable! Thanks guys!”
There is a big, over-arching part of my life that is uncertainty. Darkness. But God has not left me alone in that darkness. He is fighting for me. He knows what I want and He knows what I need. Obviously, I want to know when I will move to San Salvador! But do I need to know? Well, since God hasn’t told me yet, I guess I don’t. God doesn’t show us His love for us by giving in to all of our wants. Like a good Father, He shows his love for us by making sure our needs are taken care of first and then He tackles our wants. Can I trust the God of the Universe, the Creator, the One who knows all and sees all to know which of my wants are best for me? Well, when you put it that way…yes, of course. But do I also get frustrated when I cry, pray, and plead for a timeline and instead of opening the clouds, tapping me on the shoulder and yelling, “ASHLEY! Hey! Yeah! It’s me! That date you wanted to know? April 3rd! Ok, talk to you later!” God remains silent on the issue? Of course.
While I was at Missionary Training International in Colorado, I learned the importance of the word “Yet.”
“This culture doesn’t make sense to me…yet.”
“I haven’t learned how to do my new job…yet.”
“I don’t know how to speak Spanish…yet.”
“Hey Ashley! It’s been 2 months, when are you headed to San Salvador?” I don’t know…YET.
“Yet” means that I am still pursuing an answer, that what I am praying for will happen at the right time and that I still have hope. I rest in the truth that just because God is silent does not mean He does not hear me. God hears my cries and He will answer my prayer. He just hasn’t…yet.
Because He bends down to listen I will pray as long as I have breath
Today was my day. Well, today was supposed to be my day. The day everything changed. The day I left Columbus, Ohio with tears of sadness for the people I would leave behind. The day I stepped onto Salvadoran ground with tears of joy for the people God would touch through me. Today was going to be the day I changed my Facebook country of residency from The United States to El Salvador (because we all know it’s not really real until it’s on Facebook).
Today is not my day. Today, I sit in on a couch in Columbus, Ohio. Today, I long for my Salvadorans. Today, I meditate on what the apostle Paul preached and I practice walking by faith and not by sight.
Today is not my day.
One month ago today, November 23rd, I purchased a one-way plane ticket to San Salvador, El Salvador. I found the perfect ticket with the perfect departure time (so long as I didn’t mind kissing friends and family goodbye at 5am!), the perfect landing time, the perfect window seat and the perfect amount of free checked luggage. But if I am being honest with myself and with all of you, it didn’t quite feel perfect. But nevertheless, leaving at the end of December was the plan! I’d be in San Salvador for Christmas, I’d make it to the youth conference with the Salvadoran youth and I’d finally have my dream beach birthday in January! Nevermind that something felt a little off, the plan was coming together!
My plan.
Since the beginning of this journey, I pleaded with God to stop me in my tracks if moving to San Salvador to become a full-time missionary was a road not meant for me. I prayed, God, open the doors that will get me to San Salvador. But if this is not Your plan for me, shut the doors. Slam them. Lock them. Holy Spirit Super Glue them closed because (like He didn’t already know,) I will knock DOWN a door if what I want is on the other side. Father, make ithurt so that I learn my lesson.
Proof that God hears my prayers: This hurts. I believe with my entire heart and spirit that God will get me to San Salvador. But I was on a road of my own planning and my own paving. And just as I asked, God gave me an obvious and painful detour. Telling my Salvadorans that I am not sure when I will be moving broke my heart. Explaining to supporters that my plans had been shaken up and that “this happens all the time in missions!” felt like slowly pulling off a scab each time it happened. Shouting at God in my moments of despair and frustration felt like an act I didn’t have the right to do.
I don’t have any concrete answers yet as to why God still has me here in Ohio, but what I do have is healing. What was initially an excruciating pain is now a dull ache. The initial shock has worn off and I have settled into this new phase of my journey. The truth is, I may never know until I see God face-to-face why He has me on this particular detour.
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.’ Lamentations 3v22-24
Because I know that God loves me beyond measure, I do not let my feelings of uncertainty and frustration overtake my spirit. Of course, I have moments when I wonder if God even knows what He’s doing up there. In these moments, I must make it a practice to close my eyes, envision God’s hands tenderly cupping my face and hear Him lovingly whisper, Little girl, didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see my glory? And I do believe. Even when it doesn’t make sense, I believe. God’s compassion for my weak spirit will never fail. He will continue to whisper His truths to my heart and the glory of His plans will be revealed to me.
My motto this month has been “I don’t ‘Be still and wait!'” I am wonderfully made by God and He made me a planner. I love a good, solid plan. Most of my plans are set in stone because it’s pretty dang difficult to erase stone carvings. Knowing that God has purposely placed me in a season of “Be still and wait” doesn’t exactly go along with my plans. But what choice do I have other than to do as I have been told? Bitterness against the people deciding when I can go to San Salvador will only cause me regret. Dreams of what could have been only wound my heart deeper. And making my own plan, outside of God’s will, certainly is no longer an option.
Because God is all I need, I will wait on His timing.
Because God bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath.†
And because He saved my soul, I will give Him all of my days.
Today is not my day.
Whatever plan for the day I come up with pales in comparison to the plan that God has already written for me. I trust that He knows my heart, knows my desires and as long as I keep my eyes on Him, whether I am seated on a plane headed to San Salvador or cuddled up on my best friend’s couch in Ohio, today is God’s day, and I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Tuesday started out as a perfectly lovely day. Granted, it was 6am and I could barely actually see the day, but I knew it was going to be good. I had woken up early to join a few close friends at church for an early morning prayer meeting. Corporate prayer, people praying together, is a mighty powerful thing. It’s one thing to know the prayers that I am praying, but it is a whole other level of beautiful when someone gets down on their knees and echos my prayer. So even if it means waking up before the sun, it’s worth it to start my day in conversation with God and His people.
#LivinLaVidaRamirez 