Just a Boring Life Update

See? Even the kid is bored! So we should get started ....

HELLO! If you can't tell from the dramatic, all-caps salutation, I am very excited to share some updates with you. But first, let's review.

Last time we talked, Alonso and I had just gotten back from our mission trip to Panama and we were watching God blow our socks off with His provision. He not only provided all the money needed for the trip but also used several of His people to bless us with extra support for our monthly expenses here. PEAISE GOD for you people. Your generous actions have been clutch.

At the time, we were waiting to pick up some of the final documents needed to start our visa application from the courthouse and were anxious to receive them. Also during that time, Alonso started his blog and let's just say he's been more faithful with his than I have with mine. (Ooops!) He has a lot of good stuff to say and you can read it all HERE!

Since then, we've gotten all the paperwork needed to send in our initial petition for Alonso's visa. We had to snail-mail them to our attorney in Mississippi and after sitting in customs for 20 days, they finally arrived safely. Our poor attorney, he's been such a trooper and put up with me blowing up his inbox. #blessit #iamtooimpatientforthis

On another note, Alonso has started drinking less coke and more water. Probably just because he got tired of me nagging him about. But hey, whatever works, right?

I recently told my kids that their last day of school (July 4th) is also my last day of school. It was hard, man. I love those little people like they are my own. But this point leads to my next update...

I'M MOVING HOME, sort of! Alonso and I have some ministry stuff to wrap up and take care of during July and then I'm flying home early August. My little sister graduates from William Carey with her MASTERS in Psychology (shoutout to her awesomeness) on August 9th. Then, in September my family is going on an Alaskan cruise! YAY!! With me on the mission field for the last two years and Lesley finishing school and working, it's been a REAL hot minute since we had a family vacation. Also, we didn't really throw down for my parents 25th wedding anniversary and this year will be their 30th so we're wrapping it all up in a cruise and calling it family vacay! Oh, also? Anyone remember Jennifer? My sister/exchange student from Ecuador? She's coming too!!! SCORE! So I will be home for .... well, who knows how long? before I come back to Costa Rica to be with my beau and help him with ministry here.

Speaking of him again, did I mention his band? Yeah - his band got back together and it's going really well. Not exactly my choice of musical genre but they sing unto the Lord and that's what is important, right? So they've been recording their newest album and getting ready for some gigs they have coming up. You can follow them on Instagram HERE! So as far as ministry goes, God has opened some crazy-awesome doors for their band to minister to people who may not otherwise listen to the gospel. It's fun for me to watch.


Alonso is also finishing school and doing some graphic designing. He's all sorts of talented at that so if you need some graphics for, I don't know, whatever you might need graphical design for, let me know! I'll hook you up ;) A website? A logo? A band? Branding? I don't know about all that jazz but it sounds important.

We still don't have a wedding date because, like I've said before, we depend on the timing of the visa - unfortunately. So one of the BIGGEST prayer requests we have right now is for God to move us through the system VERY quickly. Some people go through in 5 months, other go through in 8, and for others it takes years. We need and want to go as quickly as possibly while obviously acknowledging Who is controlling it all.

Well, I believe that's a wrap for now.

Leave a comment and update us on really cool things happening in YOUR life!

Mucho love,
Ashlonso 

To Mr. or Ms. Dissatisfied

Last night, as I was falling asleep, I scrolled through my Facebook newsfeed. When I saw a status my friend Jane* posted I thought, “Did she steal my diary?” Some of the things she wrote were the exact words I’ve written in journals, prayed, and said out loud to friends. As I wrote a response to her I realized this was much of what I’ve wanted to blog about for a long time but never could gather all the words.

How many words would it take to describe the journey of Truth that God has sent me to wildly on? How will I explain, in so many words, what He’s done in my heart?

So today I share with you, The Dissatisfied, my thoughts on leaving the American Dream.

Jane: "I have so much on my mind tonight. I don't really want to be here. My heart is in Costa Rica, but I'm trying to just focus on the fact that maybe God has me here for now."

Me to Jane: About 2 1/2 years ago, I was standing in my closet on the phone with my mentor and I'll never forget her words. In my complaining about how corporate America and the American Dream couldn't appeal less to me, she said, "Yeah, Ash. You just don't belong in the States. This just isn't where you're supposed to be."

Now, this was after MONTHS (maybe years) of me and God wrestling around with ideas about where I'm supposed to be and what I'm supposed to be doing. In 2010 I decided to follow Jesus with reckless abandonment and that was when He led me to the book Radical. That book shook me. I started questioning the American Dream and how to give it up. What would that even look like? What was I supposed to do? I remember sitting on my living room couch, looking around at all the cute home decorations and asking, "Am I supposed to sale all of this?" Now - I was still new at TRULY FOLLOWING Jesus so keep in mind that all of my questions during that time came from a very naive, "untrained" (if you will) heart.

So fast forward to early 2011 and I was horribly dissatisfied with life. I was happy, yes. I was still following Jesus and I had fun with my friends, ministry, and such. But I KNEW there was something more - something we were all missing. I still just didn't know where it was or how to find it.

I had just gone on my first mission trip (to Costa Rica, actually) and I was burning for more. Not even a good church service satisfied my hungry heart any longer. There was a part of God that I was not experiencing and it left me feeling shallow and superficial in my faith. Finally in February 2012 I took a step and applied for the World Race.

Ok pause there and let me attack this one, keeping the above information in mind...

Jane: "I also have my birthday on my mind. One month from today I'll be 28. And I'm single. That's crazy. It seems like all of my friends are married and having babies and all of their dreams are coming true."

Me to Jane: In college, I dated a guy for three years and in my mind I would never be with anyone else. I never even considered another guy being a part of my future because to me, when you date someone that long (no matter how unhealthy) you can just get stuck there. Therefore, to me, I was ready to marry him and then when we broke up that "ready for marriage" mindset just stayed with me. This isn't something I realized at the time but I now see in hindsight. So - any guy I dated after him I thought I would marry. I wasn't following Jesus at the time so I had a very worldly view of marriage. When I say worldly I don't necessarily mean sinful, I just mean that I was too young and immature to understand the TRUE values of a marriage.

Moving on... I think I could say that from that point on, I thought I could get married ‘any time now’. The next guy would be him. Then it ended. So the next guy would be him. Then it ended... and it went on and on. For years I watched my friends from all walks of life getting engaged, married, and having babies – and feeling like they were leaving me behind. Like they were in this club I had no way to be a part of.

Eventually that added to my dissatisfaction. Fast forward up to 2010. Now that I knew I was sold out for Christ, I thought I deserved a partner in ministry. A companion, a husband. It was my focus for a hot little minute and that's when God sent me into a whirlwind of studying and pursuing singleness with Him, my mentor, and a couple of other girls.

People would give me advice on how to "wait" and tell me analogies about how God put Adam to sleep to create Eve and how, when it's time, God will wake up my Adam and bla bla bla .... I've heard it all. Read all the books, blogs, articles, and bought all the t-shirts. There's no REAL advice I would give someone when it comes to waiting for their husband except this: it. is. worth. the. wait.

I cannot say that enough. People would tell me that, and I of course believed them, but it didn't become real in my heart until I met Alonso.

Click here to keep reading in this blog series!

To Mr. or Ms. Dissatisfied II

Jane: "Which leads me to this thought. Maybe my "white picket fence, American dream" plans aren't what God has in store for me?"

Me to Jane: It's probably not. You don't have these passions for Costa Rica just because you randomly went there once and liked the food. Your passions and desires aren't random. It's not by chance - none of it. So I would venture to say that no, God likely does not have a white picket fence in mind for you. And I LOVE that for you!!!

HOWEVER - if I can add this too... I've realized, with me at least, that God takes the passions He’s given me through seasons. Two years ago I could not get out of the U.S. fast enough. Now? I can't get BACK there fast enough. I won't pretend to know why God does what He does. All I know is from my own experience with Him and I know that He changes my heart on things all the time - but ALWAYS according to what He has planned for me next.

I'll give you one example on that: When I moved here, I wasn't against a relationship but I definitely was not looking for one. And certainly not one with a native. Although Alonso and I were very good friends and he honored me and respected me so well - I was NOT interested in settling down. At that point I was fresh off the race, twenty-six years old young, and more independent. In my mind, I had a lot of life to live and wasn't ready to be slowed down by having to sacrifice and compromise and all those things you have to do when you get married.

I started praying about it. Asking married women around me questions like, 'Exactly HOW MUCH do you have to sacrifice in marriage? Cause I can be pretty selfish." Within a weekend, God had completely changed my heart and I saw Alonso through different lenses. The really cool thing about the power of God is that things can change in an INSTANT. One second I was walking down the street of Heredia, CR without a marital prospect at all and the next second I was being introduced to the man who would become my husband. It's that fast. And it will be that fast for you too! (By it* I mean, the thing God uses to change your life in that instant. Be it a mate, a move, a whatever).

Jane: "I've often felt like God forgot about me. But what if it's really that He just has something different in mind?”

Me to Jane: YES! Exactly. I can’t tell you how many times God has told me that He had something different for me. That what He had planned for me, no one else would do. That the people who’s lives I envy, He has something else for them. That they would never do the things He was calling me to do and vise versa. That He was setting me APART. Apart from everything I knew and was confortable with. APART from everything I thought my life would be. Because He had things ready for me that were beyond anything I could ever dream up. Which leads me to the last part of what I want to say:

Jane: “How cool is it to know that my future is in the hands of the person who created the whole universe? I have complete faith that He is in control. Even when I feel alone. I'm so glad that He didn't let me pick my own plan. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I would have picked wrong. I am so excited to see what is in store for me in the years to come. I know that it will be better than any dream I could have imagined.”

Me to Jane: I have literally said (and prayed) those exact words. “Thank you God for being in control so we don’t have to be. Because I would mess it up every time.” This can be a very lonely time if you allow it to be. To an extent God needs to de-attach you and disconnect you from things you will need to let go of. And to that same extent He needs to get you alone so He can speak directly to your heart without the noise of the world (friends, family, distractions, etc). But at the same time, I will say, surround yourself with people who are in your corner. Everyone won’t understand, and many will think you’re crazy. But surround yourself with those who CONSTANTLY, (and I do mean constantly) will speak LIFE over you. Those who believe in the vision God has given you and tell you to go for it. It will be important for you to be around people who are as radical and like-minded as you.

And the last piece of advice I want to give you is this: Just do it.

If we sit around in cruise control waiting for everything to fall perfectly into our laps, we’ll be waiting forever. Now, what I’m NOT saying is that God won’t line it all up for you. We both know God is previous. He goes before us and prepares everything for us. But it requires action on our part. And the only way to really get in the water is to dive in headfirst. If you’re finding yourself in the place I was in, itching for more, then go find more. No one else is going to do it for you so it’s time to act. Don’t waste any more time sitting around wondering, “What is God’s will for my life?” --- that will just slow you down. Ask God simple, yes or no questions and follow what He says. “God, do you want me to move to Costa Rica?” – if He says yes, then move. “God, do you want me to start this orphanage?” – No. “Ok, God do you want me to start this school?” No. “Ok, God I feel like you’re calling me to this city. Do you want me to go there?” Yes. Then go.

You know what I mean? One step at a time and GO for IT!

I love you and I want to see you thrive in what God is calling you to. Use me for a soundboard or a prayer warrior or at times, and example of what NOT to do, haha. We all mess it up at some point, right?

So Readers, does this conversation from Jane and I resonate with you at all?

Are you dissatisfied with chasing a lifestyle that won’t fulfill you? Do you feel God has called you specifically to Corporate America for reasons of ministry? 

Someone once said, “Where there’s people, there’s ministry.” So at the end of the day, it’s simple:

Listen. Then respond accordingly.

There’s a reason we don’t all have the same call.

Panama for Holy Week

Our mission trip to Panama was AWESOME. For several reasons.

But I feel like it would be redundant for me to write about it here .... given that I've written about it all over Facebook, Alonso has written two blog posts about it, and I've created a newsletter all about it.

So instead of me just blabbing on and on about things you may or may not already know, I'll just direct you to the places where you can know more! How's that?

1. Alonso is a great writer and the fact that he's expressing himself through his second language says a lot. He is so wise and I love the way God speaks to him. With that said, you should really subscribe to his blog. He's got a lot of good things to say and he ain't afraid to say them. You can click here to go to his blog and check out the goodness over there.

2. I try to write a newsletter when big-ish things happen to keep everyone informed. You should subscribe to it so you won't be left out of the ballgame. Don't worry, I'm not overly ambitious when it comes to creating newsletters so you don't have to be concerned about me flooding your inbox with SPAM. You MIGHT get one once a month ... and that's "on a good day." You can click here to subscribe or click here to view the latest newsletter about Panama.

3. PHOTOS! Everyone loves a good photo albumin detailing the events of life, right? So you can click here to view my Facebook photo album of all of our Panama pictures! Enjoy!

Until then, I'll give you a sneak peak! 

See ya on the other side, 

Ashli 

Provision : Not the Prosperity Gospel - Part 3

April 3rd ... I started thanking Jesus for the small ways He's helped us lately.

Thank you Jesus for sending Mrs. Lena by my apartment this morning who gave me a free ride to school.

Thank you for the microwave.

Thank you Jesus for having Jonny ask if I needed a ride after school. Another free ride.

Thank you Jesus for the $88 flight refund. And so on...

{Several days ago I made a silly post about not having a microwave and it being #firstworldproblems and how #idontliveinafirstworld. It was online for no longer than 5 minutes when I got a message from an old college professor of mine wanting to buy me a microwave. "Before you agree to this you should know that the cheapest one I've been able to find here is $50 and that's for a used one," I told him. He said he has too many luxuries not to buy me a microwave and that he was sending me $200. "Buy yourself a new one. Not used, new. And use the rest for popcorn."}

{When I flew home in January for Poppy's funeral, my flight from Houston to MS was canceled for days and a friend of the family had to drive me half way to Ellisville to meet my sister who came to get me. Soon after, I applied for a refund for that leg of the trip that I missed. It took them a hot minute but I got that refund on April 3rd. Why did it take so long? Who knows ... but the timing of the Sovereign One is pretty impressive.}

• Also on that day, I received a message from a family in Natchez wanting to financially support our mission trip. 
• A couple days later I received a message from a lady. She's the aunt of one of my World Race squad mates and said she loved following my blogs during the race. She wanted to support us and sent a check the next day. 
• After a conversation with her, she informed me that she was sending another check (apart from the mission trip donation) to help with our needs here in CR. 
• A friend of my parents who followed my race wrote me saying that when I was on the race she could not support me financially but now she has a little extra and she wants to help so she sent us a check. 
• The next day, a very sweet lady from my church back home sent me message asking how to send me a donation for our mission trip. 
• On April 7, I got an email from my Internet company saying I would receive a 25% discount on this month's bill due to an outage last month. It saved me $20. 
• That same day, I got a message from an old friend who I have not talked to in years. He and his wife wanted to donate to our mission trip but I told him we actually had JUST met our financial goal and thanked him for wanting to help. He then told me that they wanted to help anyway and asked how they could donate.
• Alonso used to work in sales for his dad's company. A commission from one of his sales came in late and his dad gave it to him yesterday. The sale was MONTHS ago but we are just not getting it because ... God's time is brilliant. 

Now remember that I'm not sold on the idea that IF, I do (__fill in the blank__)  THEN, God will provide. So I'm not trying to tell you that my thanking Jesus made anything happen. I am, however, saying that something happens in your spirit when we make the choice to praise Him for the small, daily things that are easily overlooked.

I think we get it backwards sometimes. It's not that we have much faith, therefore God provides. It's quite the opposite.

God provides, therefore we have much faith. 

Every time He blows my mind, my faith grows more and more. He is the author of my faith. He is the perfecter of my faith. I need not be concerned with what I can do or give to make myself worthy of His provision. I need simply to just be.

Be with Him.

Be his daughter.

Be with all His is, and share that with the rest of the world.

To read this blog series from the beginning, click here. 

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.