I have been blessed here at BCIS. There is no other way to put it, no other explanation makes sense. I am someone that should probably not be working here, it is not by chance that I am here. I can't even give you a number to how many blessings I am greeted with daily. We have hard days, we have easy days--it is well worth it though. I am excited to continue to work here next year and to watch the kids grow, I am connecting really well with quite a lot of them!
We have been hit by Spring time in Shenzhen, which means epic thunderstorms. I love thunderstorms and lightning and heavy rain, one of my favorite things on this Earth. It has been great but I am seriously shocked that it can rain non-stop for 6 hours+ it is crazy! My favorite has been teaching in it, the kids freak out and then stare out the windows. I enjoyed my impromptu lesson on lightning and thunder and sharing why we have these things in the world. It has been fun :) But man when it rains, it is seriously pouring!
A lot has been happening, staying busy with teaching and summer camps. I am planning two different camps, yes two. I don't know how people do this for a living--seriously you rock. I am stressed, confused, discouraged and so many other things but I am so excited for these graduates to come and visit Shenzhen and to do His work here. I have been putting in "long" hours, getting up early and going to bed late--gotta love time differences. I have been making calendars, I have been making packing lists, budgets, so much! All you trip planners out there got so much more respect from me, SO much. I can not wait to see everyone at the airport, this summer. I am counting down the days to see some amazing groups!
This week is our Spirit Week. Monday-Crazy dress day. Tuesday-Crazy hair day. Wednesday-Character day. Thursday- Pajama day. Friday-Sports day/hat day
The kids are getting a kick out of it--which makes it fun. We had a rough start on Monday with not as many doing it, but they stepped it up today. We had all different kind of wigs, hair colors, hair clips--all cute. I look forward to field day and getting to play some sports with the kids--sports are the best kind of medicine. Plus I really just want some friendly competition with them :P
Other news is that I bought a ticket back to Calcutta, India. I feel like I am going home, it is such a weird feeling! I can not wait to walk those streets again. I am going with my friends Rebecca and Krista-Rae and it will be their first times to India. I hope I give it enough justice and can show them what I fell in love with, two years ago. I really do have a heart on fire for India and can't wait to see what I can do while I am there. I have missed it for way too long now!
I also have a study that I go to once a week. We decided to pick up the book Radical, I am excited to read it with a group of amazing ladies. Please pray for us as we dive into the book and into His work! I love this group :D
I love it here. I look forward to the last few weeks of school and to the summer. I am excited for the adventures with my friends and with the students coming to visit. It will be well worth it--I hope. :)
Highs:
Thunderstorms
Visa stuff went smoothly
future trips
Friendships
Lows:
a little discouraged with summer stuff
Prayer Requests:
That summer stuff goes smoothly.
For our future Head of School--that they pray hard about the offer and that it is His will
That I can find a new apartment soon, want to move before the summer rush.
Friends with different colds/allergies/sickness
For friendships
with love,
Ashley
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
The Philippines for Spring Break!
Hello everyone!
I apologize for being MIA from the blog world, it has been a hectic last few weeks to say the least. I have been traveling and teaching non stop...or at least it seems that way!
Where to begin...so I was offered a spot to join a service team that would be going to the Philippines for a week. It happened to land on my Spring Break and I had been praying that something would just fall in my lap--it did. I am now a heart on fire for the Philippines and absolutely loved my time there. I went with 7 other people and we got to work with an orphanage while we were there. We got to play with babies in the morning, lead a VBS type camp for street children in the afternoon and paint a room in our spare time. It was a fantastic adventure and it was so nice to get to know the people I interact with in Hong Kong more. I fell in love with one of the little girls there and if I could, I would adopt her. She was the cutest and had such a touching testimony at the age of 14 months old. I couldn't believe how happy and excited she was to see me every morning.
This is Rachel my new little best friend in the Philippines and she has stolen my heart. Of course that is me and my weirdo self :)
The street kids were a great opportunity to open up to them about vulnerability and what it is like to live where they do. Most of them live in squatters, another name for slum, and have a family with more than 5 kids in it. A lot of them told me they had at least 11 other siblings, I couldn't even imagine that! We did a lot of games of interacting and talking about our favorite things and what they like to learn about. My favorite was getting to pray with them at the end of the day. These are some special kids with big dreams, I loved it. Continue to pray for them as I am! They were sweethearts and I miss them a lot and hope I can go back in the future to interact with them again!
Here is a group funny shot of us all.
We also got to be tourists for awhile and go see different things that the Philippines had to offer. We went to the only WW2 memorial in all of Asia and it was absolutely beautiful. I love going to cemeteries and this is definitely in my top 5.
Don't even get me started on the food. This is the first country I have been to where I have loved every single piece of food I ate. I was raving about the food and I am slightly obsessed. It might be because the food was pretty much just seafood :) I can't get enough seafood so this was the perfect place for me to visit!
One of the prettiest sunsets I have ever seen!
after the rest of the group left I got to fly to another island and spend a couple days on the beach. A nice little break before coming back to teach, the water was beautiful.
just a little taste of paradise....now to plan the next time I will visit there :)
Highs:
Meeting some amazing people that are changing my life
God.
Traveling
Lows:
A tad homesick
Prayer Requests:
I have a nasty sunburn and just pray that it heals nicely and that the peeling is not too bad.
Get through these next few weeks, just getting a little tired.
We are hiring a new head of school so pray that He guides everyones decisions and that the process goes smoothly.
With love,
Ashley
I apologize for being MIA from the blog world, it has been a hectic last few weeks to say the least. I have been traveling and teaching non stop...or at least it seems that way!
Where to begin...so I was offered a spot to join a service team that would be going to the Philippines for a week. It happened to land on my Spring Break and I had been praying that something would just fall in my lap--it did. I am now a heart on fire for the Philippines and absolutely loved my time there. I went with 7 other people and we got to work with an orphanage while we were there. We got to play with babies in the morning, lead a VBS type camp for street children in the afternoon and paint a room in our spare time. It was a fantastic adventure and it was so nice to get to know the people I interact with in Hong Kong more. I fell in love with one of the little girls there and if I could, I would adopt her. She was the cutest and had such a touching testimony at the age of 14 months old. I couldn't believe how happy and excited she was to see me every morning.
This is Rachel my new little best friend in the Philippines and she has stolen my heart. Of course that is me and my weirdo self :)
The street kids were a great opportunity to open up to them about vulnerability and what it is like to live where they do. Most of them live in squatters, another name for slum, and have a family with more than 5 kids in it. A lot of them told me they had at least 11 other siblings, I couldn't even imagine that! We did a lot of games of interacting and talking about our favorite things and what they like to learn about. My favorite was getting to pray with them at the end of the day. These are some special kids with big dreams, I loved it. Continue to pray for them as I am! They were sweethearts and I miss them a lot and hope I can go back in the future to interact with them again!
Here is a group funny shot of us all.
We also got to be tourists for awhile and go see different things that the Philippines had to offer. We went to the only WW2 memorial in all of Asia and it was absolutely beautiful. I love going to cemeteries and this is definitely in my top 5.
Don't even get me started on the food. This is the first country I have been to where I have loved every single piece of food I ate. I was raving about the food and I am slightly obsessed. It might be because the food was pretty much just seafood :) I can't get enough seafood so this was the perfect place for me to visit!
One of the prettiest sunsets I have ever seen!
after the rest of the group left I got to fly to another island and spend a couple days on the beach. A nice little break before coming back to teach, the water was beautiful.
just a little taste of paradise....now to plan the next time I will visit there :)
Highs:
Meeting some amazing people that are changing my life
God.
Traveling
Lows:
A tad homesick
Prayer Requests:
I have a nasty sunburn and just pray that it heals nicely and that the peeling is not too bad.
Get through these next few weeks, just getting a little tired.
We are hiring a new head of school so pray that He guides everyones decisions and that the process goes smoothly.
With love,
Ashley
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