1 month away from a year

I realized the other day that I will be hitting the 1 year mark in China--give or take. The first time I came to China was on June 9th, so I will count it as a year of being in this country. WEIRD. I forget how fast time flies, but didn't even notice it happening. I have been truly content and happy this semester and love everything I am doing.

I am in the process of finding a new apartment for the next year! A place to call home, I am tired of all this moving around! I am preparing like crazy for summer camps and figuring out what everyone is doing! It is tough work, yet so rewarding. I am counting down the days until they all arrive! It is going to be so exciting seeing them all at the airport! (if I cry, be warned! I just get so excited to see people from the states!)

I have found a community here, something I searched so much for last semester. It puts a smile to my face and I really enjoy this group of people. They are fantastic. It is nice having people that feel like family, when family is 9,000 miles away.

Here are some pictures from our field day we had a couple weeks ago that I talked about during our schools spirit week :P It was a lot of fun and I think the kids really enjoyed it. They really liked tug-of-war!

Rachel, Krista-Rae and I after our field day.

Big things are happening. My trip to Mongolia with Mary is coming up and I could not be anymore excited than I am to see her. It feels like I just saw her in Hong Kong in October but that has been months! Counting down the days till I pick her up from the airport and we start are really unplanned, adventurous trip up north. I still laugh at the though of about a year ago we were laying on the couches at our apartment watching a documentary on Mongolia. We made a promise to each other that day, we would not go there without the other. Weird that it is happening so soon!!!

I am really excited for the opportunity I have been given with these summer camps. I hope they are successful. My worst fear is that they will fail miserably, but I am being hopeful and enthusiastic about all of it. It is weird to think that me, the 23 year old, is in charge of a whole summer program. I guess this big kid life is actually happening. :)

I got to go to Huaiji, China. It is a small village a few hours away. We are teaming up with the school to help them and working with CWEF in the process. It was a lot of fun to go out there and meet everyone. I forgot how pretty China can be--the city life is rough in that way. I miss seeing the green countryside...those rice fields are gorgeous! Here are some pics from my recent trip up there!!

So what have I learned in this year? I am determined in so many ways and learning to accept failure. I am stronger when I actually pray and listen and put God first. I appreciate the simple/easy things we have back in America--so much more. I love service--any type of service. I love saying good morning to great friends everyday at work. I love teaching. I am starting to enjoy math (don't tell my old math teachers that). I think I am supposed to be abroad, for how long? who knows. Just taking it day by day and couldn't be more excited about another year here. The adventures continue and I will keep on smiling during it all--even when it sucks.

Thanks for reading!

With love,

Ashley



Highs:
Good friends in SZ and HK
relationships
family
service trips

Lows:
end of the year slump
unmotivated
finding a new apt

prayer requests:
That I can go out with a bang these last three weeks.
Summer camp stuff gets done, the program goes smoothly
That the Huaiji trip next week is amazing!
That communication with people here and back home continue to be strong.
That I am doing His will.