Face to face

HI everyone!! (who still reads this)

WELL, this is my last blog post I do believe. So this week we are having a debrief week where we are just reviewing our whole 5 months here and giving closure to lots of things. It's been a challenging but very rewarding 5 months, and I am ready to come home. I will be sharing about my trip and things that I have learned here sometime within the month of March, so be looking and prepared for that day! As I will try to be too :P So, I won't ruin all the stories and suprises here and now, but save them for when we can talk face to face. I would be so happy to spend time with everyone at some point when I come home, talking and catching up. Can't wait to see you all.

Lots of love,

Ashley

Saa wat dee kah

Hello from Thailand,

So I have been here in Thailand for approximately three weeks and I'm really enjoying it. We are 13 hours ahead of you guys back home, so it's been a challenge communicating with people! So I will be filling you all in on what I've been doing when I get back, but I just wanted to give you an update on what prayer requests I have. So I think most of you know what's going on with my sister Melissa's boyfriend Matthew. If you don't, he's been diagnosed with acute leukemia and more tests are being done. I don't know all the details, but I do know that it's serious and has and will be on my heart while I'm here. If you could just pray for peace and that I would trust God with what to do and what's going on, that would be amazing. Also, the heat and long days are draining sometimes, so if you could continue to pray for energy and rest. Unity within our team is another thing. We have been together now for four months and are growing closer but we do have struggles here and there. Thank you all for your support, encouragement, thoughts and prayers.

Lots of love,
Ashley

My Heart Goes Out,

My heart goes out to the people in this city, to the people I have met along my journey. Here's only a few of those people...



We spent our second last week in Winnipeg volunteering at Union Gospel Mission, a christian organization that provides chapel services and hot meals to the people in the city. They also have recovering addicts in residence, an adult education program and other programs. If you'd like more information be sure to check them out on the world wide web.

http://www.gospelmission.ca/

So the first day we were there, Jenny and I helped in the kitchen most of the day! It was so much fun. We got to work with some raw turkey, preparing for the big turkey dinner on new years day. While we were doing that, we got to know the head chef, Jeff. We also got to meet many more volunteers and some of the residence during lunch time or other things that we were doing. It was just amazing to sit with them and talk with them.



The next day, we went to another building that is with UGM. It's a women's and childrens center that is just recently up and running. It still needs a lot of work, but right now it has 7 women in residence there while the rest of the building is being renovated and prepared for more to move in. We spent the entire day painting celings! It was a very exhausting day, but at the end of the day we felt like we had accomplished lots.



My favorite day at UGM would have to be the last day we were there. That day, they have a big turkey dinner and so they need lots of volunteers to help in lots of different ways. The job that I chose was to be in the drop in center, where the people would come in and wait before they could go into the chapel and then proceed to the lunch. So, I got to hang out with the people coming in while they had hot chocolate or coffee. I got to talk with them and get to know them. It was so cool and so encouraging to be able to share with them and hear their stories. I really enjoyed it.
Here's a picture of us with some of the gifts that were to be given out:

So this current week, we have been preparing to go to Thailand and then to Vancouver. We leave on Saturday!! That's in 3 days -- how crazy is that. It has gone by so fast. I thought today that I would leave one last blog post before I go. I will leave you with an itinerary of what we will be doing day to day. So, in the next month and a half, if you ever stop to wonder "what is Ashley doing today?" you can just come on here, and have an idea of where I will be. :)

(the time that is shown, is the time that it is in that place)

Jan 9 [Saturday]

-Fly to Vancouver at 8:00AM
-Arrive in Vancouver at 9:07AM
-Fly to Seoul at 1:15PM

Jan 10 [Sunday]

-Arrive in Seoul at 5:30PM
-Fly to Bangkok at 7:20PM
-Arrive in Bangkok at 11:10PM

Jan 11 [Monday]

-Thai cultural oroientation & scavenger hunt around Bangkok

Jan 12 [Tuesday]

-Bangkok Prayer Walk
-Travel to Chaing Mai

Jan 13 [Wednesday] - 25 [Monday]

-Ministry with the Life Development Center in villages near Chiang Mai

Jan 26 [Tuesday] - Feb 7 [Sunday]

-Ministry with the Ruth Center in Bangkok

Feb 8 [Monday]

-Rest day in Bangkok

Feb 9 [Tuesday]

- Fly to Seoul at 12:55AM
- Arrive in Seoul at 8:15AM
- Fly to Vancouver at 6:30PM

Feb 10 [Wednesday]

-Arrive in Vancouver at 11:00AM
-Restistration
-Kick-off event

Feb 11 [Thursday] - 18 [Thursday]

-2010 Olympic Games Outreach

Feb 19 [Friday]

-Fly to Winnipeg at 12:10PM
-Arrive in Winnipeg at 6:03PM

And that is my trip!! Thank you all for your encouragement, support and prayers.

My heart goes out to the people in Thailand, the people in Vancouver. The people that I will meet while I continue on my journey.

Please continue to pray for me during this time. God bless you. :)