Christian Warfare

Today I studied Ephesians 6:10-20, which really spoke to me in this time in my life as this is the homestretch of my mission here in Mexico.

10) Be strengthened by The Lord and His might.
11) put on the full armor of God, so you can stand against the devil and his schemes.
12) The battle isn't against flesh and bone, but against the rulers, authorities, world powers of this darkness, and the evil spiritual forces in the heavens.
13) This is why you have to put on the full armor of God, so you can resist the devil and stand your ground.
14) Stand firm with the belt of truth around your waist, the breastplate of righteousness,
15) And your feet sandaled with the gospel of peace.
16) Also, take up the shield of faith, which will enable you to extinguish the flaming arrows from Satan.
17) Take the helmet of salvation and God's word as the spirit's sword.
18) Pray all the time in the Spirit with every prayer and request. Remember to be alert and always pray for all of God's people.
19) And pray for me that I will boldly and fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel through God speaking through me.
20) For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I be bold in Him to declare His message as I should.

 Lately I have felt a little discouraged and tired from all the busyness these past few weeks and its finally catching up to me. However, this passage renews my faith that though times are hard and the Devil is constantly nipping at our feet, God is here and He has brought me here for a purpose. His plan is great, and  even though I might not be able to see it now, I know my job right now is to tell others His message. I may get discouraged at times, but I have to put on the full armor of God to stand against the enemy. I know that no matter what, no matter what happens or how discouraged I get, that He will always triumph over evil. I know that we are soldiers fighting this spiritual war every day we breath, and that there is a reason for all these trials and tribulations that we face. My friend once told me, you may be the first person or the seventh person on the way to bringing someone to have a relationship with the one true God. We have to be willing to be that number. We may have the chance to see the end result and we may not, but we are here to give that person the same opportunity to have a relationship with Him. We have to be willing to be any of these numbers towards that person's spiritual walk with God. This passage about walking in God's strength is written by Paul while he was in prison asking us to pray for boldness. This takes us back to His prayer for power. And know that you can be victorious in Jesus Christ, but you are responsible to stay alert for the Devil is always there to watch us fall. To walk worthy of our great calling in Christ, we must rely on God's strength and protection. For without Him, we can do nothing. We can practically put on the full armor of God by possessing truth, righteousness (take your position in Christ), gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Bible are what we need to face Satan. We are His ambassadors to share His news.
I ask that you would pray for me that I would be bold and fearless in telling others about the wonderful and merciful God I know. Pray for unity with my team and the teams working here in Oaxaca, that He will open the people's hearts ready to hear His word. His word speaks truth. Also, pray for all the summer missionaries around the world and all of God's people that we will make Him known to the world and for boldness. Pray for health and safety, and also for strength to finish this race to the end that we be His vessel to save the lost. I continue to thank you so much for all the support and prayers you send me. I can do nothing without Him. God bless you. My challenge to myself this week and to you is to be bold and fearless and tell someone about the hope He brings us, I know there is someone in your life who needs this truth. We are ambassadors of His wherever we are in this world. Put on the full armor of God and Go!

Adventures in Oaxaca

Greetings:  

The Beautiful Mountains that we never get tired of seeing. 

My view from the apartment. 

The Amigos being adventurous while visiting the park where Nacho Libre was filmed. Loved it!!!! #EagleEggs

Some of the fabulous tacos that we are very fortunate to consume very often. Hahaha 

Más montañas!!!!

The Incredible Nutella Churro! #TasteslikeHeaven 

A Beautiful Fancy wedding at Santo Domingo Cathedral! 

Love the bright colors! 

A view of the missionary's home we're so thankful to housesit for. -Also, please pray for this family, they're going through a tough time with some health issues. #Livin'Hard4theLord

The inside of the Cathedral. One of several. So beautiful! 

The view from my room at the house! Nice! However, I accidentally locked myself out on the balcony but luckily had a roomie there to let me in. Hahaha 

Their beautiful garden! 

These are some pictures I thought you would like to see from my adventures. Today was a busy day. English classes, intercambios, grocery shopping, and more summer missionaries. Yay! I am tired, but I am refilled with energy just by getting a chance to serve The Lord on this wonderful journey. Blessings from Oaxaca! 

Independence or Dependence?

Hello everyone!
This is my first update from Mexico. First off,  I would like to give a great big hug and a huge thank you to each and every one of you for praying for me, my team, and the people we have created relationships with and to whom we are ministering. I am doing wonderful! So far so good on health, culture shock and adjusting to this new life. We have been so busy building relationships with people and getting everything ready for more summer missionaries coming soon beginning this weekend. I love it here. I finally am familiar with my surrounding. It took a couple days to adjust to everything. Our schedule consists of lots of intercambio (half English- half Spanish) conversations with individuals and teaching English classes, also investing time in the Children's home here in the city. The kids are absolutely precious! Every Saturday we go out to a village and teach English to little children with Jenny, one of the missionaries we have become good friends with. We have also had plenty of time to go to the markets and try new foods. It is so different from Mexican food in the states, but yet so much better! No I have not tried the famous mole sauce yet, which is a chocolate spicy salsa, or the chapulines, which are fried crickets. YUMM, Right? At our last team meeting we were challenged to fast from sunrise to sunset, so I fasted yesterday. It was an amazing and humbling experience. God showed me that with Him by my side, anything is possible, but without Him, nothing is possible. Yes, I was hungry, but God gave me self-control to not fall into the temptation of yummy foods. He showed me just how much I need Him, and that was just for food! Sometimes I get so wrapped up in everyday life and I think I'm in control but in reality, I am so not. God is always there to hold my hand through everything. 2 Timothy 2:1-13 really spoke to me during my fast, where Paul is writing to Timothy to be strong through the grace given to us by God. This helped me to persevere through my hunger, and to lean on Him for strength. As a loyal soldier of Christ, We are to put on our armor and be a soldier for Christ against The enemy. We have to go through suffering to know God, and to know that He is always there for us, if we will just turn to Him. Although I was tempted to break my fast many times yesterday, I stood strong in self-control given to me by Him, otherwise I would have fallen. After this fast, I learned the lesson of how dependent I am on Him and His might. Remember, Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days without falling, so through belief in Christ all is possible. We are human, we sin, and on earth we endure suffering, but in Him we are free. We have to endure our sufferings and tell others about Christ so that they too can know of their opportunity to have eternal life. He is always rooting for us to make the right decisions, and when we don't, He is always there by our side. He never gives up on us. God will never give up on us, but if we continue to deny Him, then on judgment day, then He will deny us also. He will stay faithful to us, unless, we blatantly deny Him and what He has done for us to the point on judgment day when there is no turning back. I have learned so much from God during my fast, and am so glad I was challenged to do it. I do have self-control as long as I depend on Him. Philippians 4:13, "I can do all this through grace that gives me strength." This also reminded me of a quote by Audrey Hepburn, "Nothing is impossible, the word itself says I'm Possible." With God on our side, anything is possible. How inspiring is that! Thank you so much for all the love and support you've sent me! Love you all!

Creation

Hi, I'm starting this new Bible study where I will study a chapter a day. Today I began at the beginning with The Beginning of Genesis! I learned so much today. God created the world in 6 days! Can you believe it? He is so amazing. On day 1, He created the universe and the light and darkness. Now, the Sun wasn't created until day 4, so there was some other form of light. Day one was the beginning and there was evening and morning. The Hebrew day begins at sunset to sunset the next day, therefore, evening and morning in that order. Also, on this day, it says "the Spirit hovered over the waters," the "Spirit" can also mean "the Wind of God". On day 2, God created the sky. On the 3rd day, He created the land and the seas along with vegetation. The 4th day is when He made the stars, moon, and the sun as signs for time, and to light the Earth. On the 5th day, our Heavenly Father created the birds and water animals. Then on day 6, land animals and human beings were created. He created male and female in His own image. In this, we see that people did not evolve but were created by God in HIS OWN IMAGE! How incredible! We did not evolve from some monkeys! Also in verse 26 in chapter 1 of Genesis, God says "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness,..."; in that, we see the first mention of the trinity. "Us" and "Our" could be referring to God in three-persons: God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are made in God's image, therefore all men are equal and no one has the right to tell others what to do. God entrusted us to take care of the Earth and its resources and the creatures on it. So, we should use it and treat them responsibly. The 7th day was the last day of the week, and on this day, the Lord rested. In Hebrew, the word "rested" means "shabat" which is the basis for the noun "Sabbath". On this day, the Lord wants us to rest from the busyness of our lives on the other 6 days. We should rest and worship His Holiness. In chapter 1, the 1st dispensation is revealed. A dispensation is a period of time when man is tested in his obedience to God. The first dispensation is innocence. Genesis 1:28, God blessed man and gave them vegetation, responsibility to rule over the animals, and to multiply. God called man to "subdue it" meaning to acquire a knowledge and mastery over the environment. The dispensation of innocence is the innocent period of man before sin came into the world. Today, I have learned so many things. We are so blessed and don't acknowledge God for all He has given us and done for us. We should worship Him every minute of everyday for His creation, His beautiful creation! Today, I challenge you to really look at His creations and stand amazed in His presence.

"Asi que Dios creo al hombre a imagen suya, a imagen de Dios le creo, macho y hembra los creo."-Gen.1:27

Words cannot describe Him!

Ok so wow I didn’t realize I havent written on here in a long time! My life has just been so busy right now! But I have to get better at writing this blog lol! :)

Ok so yesterday was my 19th birthday, and it was amazing! I had a wonderful day! Also Thursday night my family and I stayed up late watching the Perseid meteors or something like that. It was spectacular!!! I saw at least 10 shooting stars! I was awestruck gazing at all the beautiful stars in the sky and and the meteors passing by, and just thinking about how amazing God is! That He created everything, the universe, and me, and yet He sent His one and only son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross for my sins and the sins of the world. Because He loves me so incredibly much words cannot describe. I mean how amazing is that! A God so big and mighty that can do anything still loves each and every one of us! God created a universe that is so big and vast, and yet He still cares for a little ole me! We are so blessed.

Much Love Ashley! :)

Whoa!! I haven't written on here in a loong time!

Goodness gracious, I haven't updated you all on what has been going on in my life in a while! Ok well, let me start at the beginning. Let me take you back! I was sick with the flu all week during Thanksgiving, I don't know what flu, but it was the flu. Therefore, I wasn't able to go anywhere during Thanksgiving-no fun at all! So I went back to college, and my granny wasn't doing to well. At like 4 am Thursday morning, my mom called me at MC and told me that my granny had passed away that morning. I was so sad, I cried in my bed before I had to get up for my classes to start for the day. Then, I finished with classes and I headed home. Her funeral was Saturday morning, and had snowed that day also so we didn't think that a lot of people were going to be able to make it, but a lot of friends and family came and paid their respects. My granny grew up in West Virginia, and she loved the snow. The service went well. I loved my granny, I just wished I could have seen her before she passed away because I hadn't seen her in a while because I had been sick. I will miss her terribly. She was a one of a kind person. Christmas was good, but it wasn't the same. Mom and uncle Andy have had a hard time dealing with it also. I am back at school now in my second semester, and am taking 18 hrs...busy, busy. I am doing good. Well, I will update you again later, now I must go to bed. TTYL

Muy Frio!! (spanish: very cold)

Hey everybody!
Omgoodness, it is sooo cold outside! I can't believe I haven't written on here lately. Ok well let me get you up to date. Thursday, my granny passed away and so I am home. The funeral will be tomorrow (Saturday) at 2pm. I am so ready for Christmas and for school to be out. Finals are coming up and I am stressed about all of that coming on. But I only have like 3 more days of classes to go to which is good. My goodness I have been busy with everything. Thanksgiving was good, but I was sick with the flu. So, that wasn't much fun..haha... but at least I got to rest and get better and didn't have to miss class. I am so excited about seeing all of the Christmas lights and decorating! They say it is suppose to SNOW tomorrow!!!! I hope it does, because I really want it to snow and it is already cold outside. But I don't want it to for granny's funeral tomorrow. I miss my grandmother, she was a wonderful person and I am just so glad that I was able to know her for so long and I know that she is in a better place. Well, I better go, Sydney is suppose to be coming and we are going to go see New Moon again and eat and shop!! Something I love to do!! Bye