Provision : Not the Prosperity Gospel - Part 2

Ya know how we ask God for these things and sometimes in the back (or front) of our minds we're like, "Oh shoot I hope this prayer works!" Maybe it's just me. And maybe you think it's a lack of faith. Maybe you would feel better about my blogs if I said things like, "I'm believing God for big provision." Because that would make it sound like my faith is really strong and I would never, ever doubt that He's going to give me what I want.

Well, I'm here to write the truth and the truth is that sometimes I pray things to God and hope in my heart that He's actually going to do it.

So with worry on my mind and prayers in my heart, I began to tell the world about a mission trip to Panama that Alonso and I would go on this month.

What am I doing? I don't even have enough to live here ... much less travel to another country for a week to do mission work there.

But some little whisper in my heart told me to try anyway. To go for it ....



I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. It had been so long since I had fundraised. For the World Race I had lots of supporters and many of them were committed to monthly donations so I didn't have to 'beg for money' very often. But now with an upcoming mission trip I would need to, not only support-raise for myself, but for Alonso too.

{Just so you know, their culture is very different in that they do not do a great job of sending out missionaries. They don't send support letters and watch as the checks pile in. They don't mention their calling to someone at church and have church members beg to support their work. It's very different. So any and all of support comes from the States, with the exception of the pastries I sold at school.}

The more I thought and prayed about it all, the more I hoped the funds would come in so we wouldn't have to cancel our trip. I'll be honest and say there was this part of me that truly wondered what would happen with all of this. So on April 1 I posted a blog about our trip and the ministry we will be serving with .... hoping .... waiting .... wishing .... praying that donations would roll in easily.

April 1st ... nothing.

April 2nd ... nothing.



To read part 3 of this blog series, click here. 

Provision : Not the Prosperity Gospel - Part 1

Let me preface this post by saying that I do not support this "prosperity gospel" I so often hear preached by Christians who, I really do hope, mean well. We can go circles around the theology of it all OR we can just settle in on this: I've been to too many countries and seen too many people living with nothing - yet having more faith than many of the people I know preaching this idea. They have zero material things that we would term "blessings" yet they praise God with a fierceness. So if, according to this doctrine, strong faith = financial blessings, these people aren't getting it right. Something inside of me just won't let me believe that my love relationship with Jesus is conditional. If, I pray/have faith/give to a certain religious institution/etc. then, God will bless me financially. I just can't quite buy into that.

With that said, let me continue this post with you knowing where I stand on the sovereignty of God and the belief that He will have His way, regardless.
________________________________________________________________________

Let's begin.

It's been kind of tight around here lately. And by kinda tight, I mean extremely tight.

My two roommates just moved out and I've acquired about $250 extra each month covering their part of the rent and bills.

Alonso is not working right now because we need him to finish school before we move to the States to get married. On top of that, he's devoting much of his time to ministry.

I don't have a paid position at the school in which I teach so it's just me, Jesus and those of  you who support me financially. (Thank you so much, by the way. You're amazing.)

My stressful thoughts about money were affecting the rest of my life, the most concerning part being my relationship with Alonso. One night we were walking home and I told him, "When I was in college I learned in a class that the number one reason for divorce in America is financial stress. I don't doubt it one bit. I can totally see how that happens to people." You're probably thinking, "Geez what a great way to start a fresh engagement, Ashli!" But just hang with me, it gets better.

Worried about groceries and and budgets and finding ways to cut costs, I kept telling God this one line. All throughout the day or night, any time I thought about it I just said it. Sometimes in my head and other times out loud.

"God, please provide. Please give us what we need."

In the shower I would beg Him to take care of us. Walking to the bus stop I would remind Him how bad we needed Him to come through. Sitting in my classroom waiting for my students to arrive I would be all, "So God? I need You to figure out a way to help us."


To read the second part to this blog series, click here. 

#JohnnyRocketsCR

Today Honey Buns and I had to go to San Jose to get some documents needed to for our visa junk. It's quite the trek to get where we needed to go so if we must make the trip, and we do, then we might as well make it worth it. 

Enter: Plaza Lincoln. 

The mall nearest to me with things like Forever 21, Express, .... CHILI'S. 

Chili's. Need I say more? 

But since we are suuuuuper tight on funds right now, I sacrificed my craving of chips and salsa and compromised with Alonso to grab a bite at Johnny Rockets. We have these in the States so maybe some of you are familiar. It was SO. MUCH. FUN. and just what I needed after having quite the day at school. It reminded me of my high school best friend having a birthday party at Xan's Diner. It was the best hula-hoop contest ever. 

I really wish my parents and sister could be down here because they would love this place. 

We danced and sang and ate yummy burgers.

They play all the best 50s songs on their jukebox and every 15 minutes everyone who works there does a little dance out front so the shoppers can see. 

Every time they played a new song I couldn't help but do a little jig myself. One time, Alonso caught me on camera. But I didn't mind, everyone needs to let lose every now and again. 

Hooray for an afternoon well spent. 

What did you do today? Have you been to a Johnny Rockets or something similar? 

Ashlonso's Going to Panama!!

Tonight we received some really awesome news and confirmations that I couldn't wait one more little second to share with you. Here's the thing: From April 13 to April 20 in Central and South America its Semana Santa - probably better known to you as Holy Week. Because Catholicism is the predominant religion down here, the whole latin world shuts down and everyone flocks to the beach by the herds. This year, there just so happens to be another holiday on the Friday before Holy Week, giving me 11 days off from school. 

Can I get a HALLELUJER? 

So what will I do with all my glorious free time, you ask? I've contemplated several options but my favorite idea was to lay in my bed for a week straight watching movies and eating cake icing and brownie mix. Because I care so much at least a little about my figure, and the fact that I might get bed sores, I've decided to go another route. 

And by another route I mean bus route. 

That's right, people. #Ashlonso is going to San Felix, PANAMA!! 

We are more than excited to partner with this really cool ministry there called ICJesus. They are near the Costa Rica/Panama boarder and they work with .... well, like many missionaries ... they do a number of things. But one thing we're SUPER STOKED about is that they work in local villages with deaf children and Panamanian Sign. 

Ooooo weeee!! I can't wait to get my hands back on some Pana-babies!! 

Another thing Danny and Heather (the missionary contacts) do is work in conjunction with a Pastor and Missionary named Alex in supporting 12 local indigenous churches. They equip them with the Word of God and material resources in order for the local pastors to better minister to their people and reach unreached people.  
 

We've been asking God to show us what to do with this week and how to spend it serving Him better. Yay for heavenly answers, amen? I cannot tell you how excited we are about this mission trip. 

Another really cool thing about this opportunity: Last month Alonso and I got really close to the Passport team who was serving at our school. The girls helped Alonso propose to me, remember? Yeah ... those girls. Well, we get to see and spend time with them while we're in Panama! How great is this? 

Now I know you're just dying to know how you can help us get there ... weren't you? ;) So I'll tell you. 

1. We need all sorts of prayer. 

(A) Boarder crossing is never fun, easy, or safe. So we need protection for    traveling from here to there. 

(B) We are trusting that the Lord has gone before us and prepared hearts and minds to receive our message. 

( C ) Prayers of provision. This mission trip will, obviously, take money. So we're believing God to provide exactly what we need to make this happen. 

(D) Prayers for the Holy Spirit to lead us in every conversation and interaction - that HE would be glorified above us. 

2. You can help us financially.

We've estimated this trip to cost us a total of about $480. We're rounding high because we want to be able to bless the heck out of some people while we're there so we're believing God for His provision. 

So this is how it breaks down:

Transportation costs: $180

Lodging costs: $100 

Food costs: $100 

Misc. costs (boarder taxes, offering to the churches we're serving, etc): $100 

If you feel like you want to help us out (in ANY way) please send me an email at ashliblackwell@gmail.com or feel free to Facebook message me. 

Can't wait to blog about our time there and show off some pictures of ultra-cute- kiddos! 

Catch ya on the other side, 

Ashli 

How I Made a No-Sew Sink Skirt in 5 Easy Steps

Since it's Saturday and I don't have to go to school, I decided to be productive and do very important things like sleep late, cook a big breakfast that I didn't eat all of, and waste a lot of time online looking at wedding planning websites. Once I was bored with all of that and decided to shower, I couldn't handle another second of my bathroom not being spotless so I started cleaning it. I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned longer and harder than ever before. I cleaned spots I never even knew existed in my bathroom - only to discover that I have a really, really ugly pedestal sink. Something had to change.

I knew I wanted a sink skirt but I don't have a sewing machine and even if I did, I wouldn't know the first thing about using it. (I'm remembering back to the World Race when, in South Africa, my best-race-friend Amy taught me how to sew and we helped young girls produce more purses to sale. Thanks, Amy!) Regardless, that was like 80 years ago and I remember nothing. So... I needed to find a way to make this bad boy without a Singer.

I googled it up and read several articles but it basically came down to a combination of a few. It was SO SUPER easy but only because I had a hot little assistant helping me through the whole thing. So here we go... this is how it went down.

1. Alonso and I went downtown to the fabric store to choose a material that would match my bathroom.

(Yay for no makeup days!) 

 2. We measured the sink area to know how big we needed the skirt to be. 

Then stretched out our materials on a hard, flat surface. For me, my living room floor. 

3. While down there, we cut the fabric to size and hemmed each side with this little miracle worker ....

(Life saver for a non-semstrist like me!)

4. We stuck our sticky-back velcro (that we bought at a local crafty store) to the edges of the sink and then the other half of it to the skirt. 

(Oh hey there, newly placed engagement ring!! ;) 

5. Finally, we stuck the skirt to the velcro and VUALA! 

My bathroom took a turn for the better. More colorful, more neat, and more hiding plungers and toilet bowl cleaners behind the skirt. Can I get an AMEN for hiding the gross stuff?

        

So... drumroll please! My first DIY project in Costa Rica presents:

The Final Project 

And it matches perfectly with my presh shower curtain!

What DIY projects are you working on these days? How did you do it? And was it cheap enough for a broke missionary like me to take on? :) 

FAQs About Our Engagement

** Click HERE to read the story of how he proposed and click HERE to watch the video of it ** 

Since Monday, the day Alonso asked me to spend the rest of my life as his wife, many of you have asked a lot of the same questions. So I thought it would be easy for me to answer all of them here so you can hear all of the juicy parts ;) Just kidding, I’ll have to write a whole blog series on our story but for now, here are some FAQs about Alonso and I:

Frequently Asked Questions

 1.    Have you set a date?

No. For one, we’ve only been engaged three days. I need to soak this in a little more and savor the moment. But also, we have to go through the legal process of getting a fiancé visa. Until that ball has been rolling for a few months, we won’t know a general season to start planning for.

 2.     What is a fiancé visa and why do you need one? In other words, what the heck are you talking about, Ashli??

Because Alonso is a citizen of Costa Rica, he needs a visa in order to enter the United States. There are several different types of visas including tourism, fiancé, and spouse. The fiancé, or K-1, visa allows us access to get married on US soil which, for many reasons, will be better for us in the long run.
*** Our plan, as of now, is to MOVE TO, MARRY IN, and LIVE IN the States for a season. We want to do whatever God says. So for now, the idea is to move (to my) home and set a foundation there. Grow some roots and whatnot. Maybe have a kid or two, who knows?? Maybe God calls us out - maybe He doesn't. We shall see. *** 

 3.     Why are you always saying you need prayer through the visa process? Isn’t it just some applications and an interview or something?  How does this process even work?

If only. It’s piles and piles of paperwork, a lot of red tape cutting, vaccinations, medical physicals, document copying, interviews, and more. (The hand of our sovereign Lord is with us. HIS time is more perfect that we can fathom). Here’s how the process works – We mail in an application along with a big fat filing fee and documents upon documents. That begins the process. After that, the tape cutting, copying, shots, etc. happens and then, around 5-6 months later, a final interview. On the day of the interview we will find out if we’re approved or denied. In Jesus name, we will be approved. From that point, Alonso's visa will be valid for 6 months to enter the US. Once he lands on US soil, we have 90 days to tie the knot.

 

 4.     Are you nervous about the visa process? How are you feeling?

To say the least, yes. We have mixed emotions. It’s an exciting time and we know we are working toward an end goal of becoming ONE. But we know from experience with governments and immigration as well as from other couples we’ve talked to that this is a rollercoaster ride of big ups and big downs. However, we’re ready for the ride because we know WHO determines the route of the rollercoaster.

 5.     So then why don’t you just get married down there, in Costa Rica?

Well, it’s not that simple. For many reasons, it will be better for us to marry in the US. For one, if we marry here first, we will need to apply for a “Spouse Visa” in order for us to come back to the US. It’s a much longer, more expensive, grueling process. We prefer the shorter, less expensive one.  For two, his US residency is much more valuable to us than my Costa Rica residency. Because I’m a US citizen, I can come and go from from Costa Rica whenever. It’s not that easy for him to go in and out of the US.

 6.     Wait, so just how expensive IS this whole thing?

Hmmm. More than we care to think about. The number one advice we’ve received from other couples who have gone through this was: HIRE AN IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY. Anyone can do this on their own but having an immigration attorney has endless benefits. One slip of the pen on paperwork and your case can be set back months. Therefore we intend to retain and attorney. (No, my dad cannot do it because he does not specialize in immigration and therefore knows very little about it. Thanks anyway, Daddy!)

So to hire an attorney is about $2000 before filing fees and those little bad boys can total about $1000. So we’re looking at 3K just to get Alonso to the States. Once we’re married we’ll need to apply for residency. That’s about a two-year process in which will cost us a sold 3K more.

So by the end of this thing, we’ll be spending about $6,000 on attorneys and fees.

We’re both missionaries. So yes, donations are welcomed.

 7.     Have your parents met Alonso?

Yes and no. My mom has had the pleasure of meeting him in person when she helped me move here. My dad and sister have met him over FaceTime. Praise God for technology. We FaceTime my parents and sister all the time.

 8.     So where will you get married? Do you know a general time frame?

WHEN the visa process runs smoothly (keep the faith), we should be able to start everything around mid-May.  That would put us in the States this fall, having 90 days to get married. So yeah, we would love to get married this fall/winter but again, we have a process to get through. As far as the location, we are EXTREMELY excited about an AMAZING new venue that shall remain nameless for now. Mostly because they are still building and want us to be the FIRST WEDDING in the venue so I can’t very well give away all my secrets, now can I? ;) Stay tuned to hear about the awesome new partnership we’re starting with this venue.

 9. What is this #ashlonso thing I'm seeing everywhere?

Well, Ashlonso is obviously a combination of our names. But when someone posts a picture or anything with the hashtag #ashlonso, it saves all those posts together. So anytime I want, I can click on the hashtag and see all the pictures and posts with that has tag. If you're going to post about us - be it a photo or words or anything - we ask that you join the hashhtag club and stick an #ashlonso on it! ;)

10. Do you and Alonso speak English or Spanish to each other?

Both. While Alonso speaks perfect English, I do not speak perfect Spanish. So naturally, English comes out more. We speak Spanish to Ticos and English to Gringos. :)

Well, I think that about covers it. What am I missing? What questions do you have that I have not answered here?

** Click HERE to read the story of how he proposed and click HERE to watch the video of it ** 

He Asked, I said, "Yes!"

I went to school like any other day. I noticed my students were acting really weird. They really love Alonso and ask about him often but today was different. They kept asking if he was "coming to see us" and asking to call him. Why would they want to call him? So weird. I went to talk to the Passport team who is serving here this month and they were weird too. Their door was locked and they were talking to me through the door - which was odd. I told Callie, "Stop being a weirdo today!" 

Later I went downstairs to print something in the office and Dot (another team member) came with me. Little did I know, it was to supervise me. I saw some ladies from the office standing in the hallway whispering and they acted funny when I walked up. I was going up to my classroom to text my mom saying, "Either I'm super paranoid or people are being really weird with me today." I opened more door and found a classroom FULL of little people holding signs and screaming "WILL YOU MARRY MR. ALONSO??" 

Alonso then walked forward, said some stuff that I still don't remember, and got down on one knee. He was shaking so much that he dropped the ring and a student had to pick it up. I was freaking out and didn't even notice he dropped it until I looked back at the pictures. Seconds after I said YES and hugged Alonso, someone handed me a cell phone and said, "Here are your parents!" He thought to Skype them in so they could see the whole thing!

Then later that night, Alonso had planned a surprise engagement party at his mother's house. There, he gave me a scrapbook full of letters from close friends and family from home. He knew how important it was to me that they all be involved but since we live in Costa Rica and we can't fly them all here, he included them by having them send letters and pictures. He's amazing, and so are they.

I'm the happiest little girl in the world. I thank Jesus so much for being in control of my life. If I were in control I would have messed it up a long time ago. But thankful He saw a much bigger, better picture than I ever could and now I’m going to marry the most godly, incredible man that could have been created for me. I imagine God looking at me years ago saying, ‘Oh girl. If you only knew what is yet to come.”