Japan!
We spent 3 weeks in the small fisherman village, “Ishinomaki” with J’s Café. While there we were able to partner with English Corner, Gakudo (Kids club), Bible Study, Prayer meetings, Church, Prayer walks, helping in the café, and more! I got to personally invest into a friendship with a woman from Peru who has not had an easy life. Sharing time with her, getting to know her story and speak life into her was one of the highlights of the month for me! While there we also hosted two concerts and 3 movie nights in order to connect with the community around us. While there the Lord spoke to me about what ministry is instead of what I had come to see it as. I had grown accustomed to a to-do list that I forgot about the important of presence and relationships. I started to see how my priorities the last few years had gone askew and He started to reveal what is important to Him.
Taiwan!
Our first two weeks here were spent in Taipei in debrief and training. Our mentor would provide a teaching in the morning and in the afternoon, we were able to walk out what we had learned that day. This included gifts in the Holy Spirit, prayer walks, evangelism, listening prayer and heaps more. God walked me through healing there and taught me how to say goodbye to many things. I learned more about seeing Him as my Father and how to rest in His presence as His daughter. Our last two weeks here, my team headed down south to Kaohsiung. Here we had a chance to do some ATL (Ask The Lord) Ministry as well as partner with a former world race alumni and her church. We spent our Saturdays helping the remodel of a restaurant they just bought to turn it into their new Children’s center. Here God started to reveal some deep roots in my past that were still holding me captive in some ways.
China!
This whole month is a crazy journey. The first day alone we ended up not having beds in the hostel we reserved and ended up sleeping outside of the train station! I truly learned a lesson in what we “need” and what we “want” that night. I was nervous but it ended up being a lot of fun! We spent 11 days in a town where we partnered with an English teacher. We were helping at kindergartens, teaching English in the evenings in private classes and loving on the families we were living with. I had the pleasure to live with a precious family of non-believers for that time and share my faith throughout our conversations. God taught me about honor and love through this family. I don’t know if I’ve ever been as busy and tired on the race as I did in those 11 days, but I’ve also never felt more blessed. Once we left (we were kicked out, but that’s a story for another time!) we spent the next few weeks taking trains up towards Beijing, spending a couple of days in the towns in between. We got to do more ATL ministry and train ministry! Because what else are you going to do when you are on a train for 30 hours where everyone is staring at you except talk about Jesus?! Our month in China ended with another debrief where I walked through deliverance and the Lord set me free from more spiritual strongholds.
Mongolia!
Welcome to the wild. Our first week was ATL and the Lord showed up! We befriended a 16-year-old boy who was homeless, met a 17-year-old girl who was the only believer in her family needing encouragement, and got asked to teach English at a University! Many divine encounters that gave us so much life. In this week we also made a connection in our hostel that helped us set up a home stay with some camel herders in the Gobi Desert. Our next week was spent learning how to love and interact with a family with which we had no means to communicate! We played games, a lot of charades and had a crazy adventure. I milked my first goat, rode on the back of my first dirt bike, herded sheep, lived in a ger, ate almost every part of a sheep and simply lived life. We came down with a Mongolian Bible that we were able to leave with that sweet family. This month God taught me about stating my desires and voicing the things that hurt me. He also worked deeper in helping me release my need for control. Our last week was spent catching up with the contacts we had met the first week and preparing to get to our next country.
Kyrgyzstan!
This was our first team change and it was time for gender month. All the ladies were together here while the men left for Uzbekistan. We partnered with another ministry that runs an English club as their level one connection point. Through time they move them into Bible study and then discipleship. We helped at the English Club 3 times a week but got to spend more time outside of that with the young ladies we were connecting with. We went on a picnic hike, got to do a food exchange, painted a mural, and hosted a Beauty For Ashes retreat for them! It was such a blessing to pour into these girls for 3 weeks. At the same time, God was doing a huge amount of inner healing in my own life. I face a lot of spiritual warfare where I couldn’t rest in my sleep for a few weeks and saw the enemy trying to attack my relationships with the women around me. We even got robbed during this time! I came out of this season much stronger and closer to the Lord.
Kazakhstan!
Here we had another team changed and I ended up on a team of all women! It took me by surprise, but I have come to love it and I wouldn’t want it any other way. We first traveled to a small town where for 4 days we taught adults with special needs in the morning and kids in the afternoons. We also got to spend a morning de-weeding the garden of the sweet grandmother who cooked for us every day. (Apparently, de-weeding is really relaxing and fulfilling! If you need weeds pulled, hit me up when I get home!) Next we traveled to a larger city where we partnered with an English teaching company. We helped in lessons, hosting speaking clubs and made personal connections with the young people in those classes. Having conversations with them while walking around the park and in cafes were some of the highlights of that week! The believers who ran the company were a huge encouragement to my faith! Our third week was spent in the capital doing some ATL ministry as well as learning more about how we were going to function as a team. I learned a lot about my own heart here and started thinking about how I wanted to choose to live my life upon returning home. Our last week was spent traveling out west. I experienced the hottest 30-hour train ride I could have ever imagined where I got severely dehydrated, got my sleep schedule totally messed up, but then ended it with traveling in a cargo ship across the Caspian Sea. Sometimes, I don’t know how we make it to our next destination, but the Lord always works it out!
Azerbaijan!
We are currently halfway through our time here. We are staying with a sweet family while doing some incredible ministry! We have sports ministry in the mornings, we’ve helped at a preschool, go to women’s meetings, and in the evenings, we go out and share the gospel in the villages. These villagers are typically unable to come into the city most of the time and have very limited access to the gospel. Having someone spend a few hours in their home answering all their questions about the gospel is incredible for them (their words!). We have already seen one woman come to Christ and many more who are curious and are asking questions. I am so excited for the rest of the month!!! The Lord is teaching me a lot of faith and trust in Him this month. It hasn’t been the easiest month spiritually by far, but I also know all things are in His timing.
If you have any specific questions about these places or ministries, please drop them in the comments below!
Love always, Ashley
