Oi veyyyyy!!!!! So much to tell in so little time lol! So to catch y’all up, I got to see my parents for the first time in six months which was the best and expected present ever! I had so much fun with them in Cambodia, needless to say momma is NOT a Cambodian woman hahaha! Never had I laughed so hard when my mom, with sweat dripping down her face say, “Ashley, I’m not woman enough for this country.”
The sad part was I had to say goodbye to them a week after they arrived but I know I’ll see them again in three months! A blog about that week will be coming very soon. Two days later my squad and I took off for Singapore for an 8 hour layover. After then we got into a smallish plane to head over to Athens, Greece for another 8 hour layover. The best part however, was the fact we got to go out and explore the city.
Then the final flight was from Athens to Tirana, Albania where my ministry host picked up my team and I from the airport. I have to tell y’all about this place where we’re staying for a month. We have BEDS!!!!! And the coolest part is we’re on a farm, specifically a goat and pig farm where I get to milk goats and shovel poop. So we’re teamed up with another team from our squad called talitha Koum aka Tiny team.
The reason why talitha Koum is nicknamed tiny team is because they are made up of girls about 5″0. But they are incredibly impressive with their work ethic and relentless humor. I am excited to have them working with us this month because they are an amazing group of God fearing and fun women.
But interestingly enough my theme from Cambodia that the Lord has been teaching me has been humor. Humor in Him and in my own life and I feel that this team will help me to have a fun outlook on life. They are full of life and spirit and full of God’s humor. They make any task (like shoveling poo) a funny experience. They dance and sing as they do tasks that aren’t fun and they make you join in their laughter.
People think that God is so serious and at times He is, but there’s so many times where he isn’t. God is so much fun and there are times in Albania that you can feel Him laughing along with you. He delights is our humor and our joy because He is joy and laughter. Today I said outloud to myself, “Whew, it stinks!” And all of a sudden when there hadn’t been a busy of wind for about an hour, a hard breeze blew piggie poo stench straight into my face. All I could do was laugh and say thanks God I needed that!
Always remember to have fun and try and find joy in places you don’t think it’s possible to find joy. There’s always a positive light in there somewhere!
