Jessica Hurst

Jess just chasing us with a stick, she thought
we were being mean to her...

What can I say about Jessica Hurst?

She's awesome, no I am serious. I swear everyone who meets her and wants to be friends with her.

She loves laughter, which is great because she often involved in events involving this sort of activity. Whether its because she has caused the laughter by her ridiculously witty or ridiculous comments. Jess has a knack for getting herself into these situations that just inspire laughter and memories. Laughter just surrounds her, its seriously her spiritual gift.

She also has the biggest heart, some of my fondest memories of Jess are of her yelling because her heart was breaking for others. I also have great memories of her crying on a plane because of a movie, or just crying because we lived a ridiculous life for a month which sometimes it got to be much to handle and we became too emotional over a situation (sorry Jeremy). Her heart is just big, its tender, and its fierce. She will fight to the death to protect those she loves, she is definitely a mother bear when her family is threatened.

Causing trouble and many laughs

Jessica also has this wonderful problem where she has inappropriate emotional responses to certain situations. True story not once but twice she laughed and laughed and laughed when two of our students passed out in the hospital (I must also confess I also suffer from this condition and I feel it was better that we laughed than cried uncontrollably which was definitely our only other option, trust me its a great story though).

Jess loves Babies. African babies however become confused and take a while to warm up to her.

I can't put what this look means in words
but trust me its a look I have seen
many many times. Its her signature look.

Why am I tell you all of this? Well Jess is going on the World Race in Jan, she is on route 4 which will turn into P squad. She needs to raise approx. $15 000 ideally before she launches. This girl walked through a summer I will never forget and so now I want to support her. So I decided to blog about her telling you about Jess's heart which longs to reach out to the broken hurting people in the world. It longs to radically follow the Lord where ever he sends her so long as she remains in his heart.
I am writing because I want to ask you to pray for my dear friend for the next year and a bit, pray protection, unity, faith, provision or whatever the Lord calls you to pray for her. I would also like to humbly ask you to pray about supporting her, check out her bloghttp://jessicahurst.theworldrace.org/ get to know her and there is also a link on how to support her here. If you want and live in America she is also selling t-shirts which are great and you should get one.

I know that this post was different but its my blog and I am going to do what I want with it. Today I wanted to write about a friend in need.

Thank you friends for reading.

Thank you Jess for being yourself, love you!

Ashley

Jess's Kelly face...

How to Deal with Conflict

If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him- work it out between the two of you. If he listens you've made a friend. If he wont listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest and try again. If he still wont listen , tell the church. If he wont listen to the church you'll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God's forgiving love. 

Matthew 18:15-17 (MSG)

This is what the Bible says about what do with conflict. I have to be honest and say that I would usually give up after taking along witnesses or to be even more honest I will tell you that I have even skipped the middle step, sometimes even the first and gone straight for the third. Its not pretty, I am definitely still learning about how best to deal with conflict, but these verses give me a framework to work within. These verses are also convicting, they seem to paint a picture in which we don't get to give up and live with conflict in our Christ family, in fact it seems that we have to keep trying, keep working on breakthrough until there is resolution. I will honestly tell you I have never walked through all these steps got to the end and started again because there was no resolution, I have given up. I have decided that obviously its not meant to be and moved on. However like I told you I am learning to grow in dealing with conflict and I will now have to go back and try to resolution, no many how many times I have to go through the steps to get there.

Stockholm Syndrome

Sometimes like now I feel like I have Stockholm syndrome.

How?

Oh Gelato, I love you

Well sometimes I feel like home, the world, North America is my captor. Perhaps that's why I always struggle with being at home because I view it as my enemy so that I can survive and not get swept up in the good things that are here. There are so many good things here, like hot showers (seriously yes this is at the top of my list, I LOVE hot showers), the ability to make money and earn a paycheck, to go to malls that have real stores, to have whatever food my heart desires, there is just so much choice and opportunity here. Its so easy to lose myself in this world, to fall in love with this world. I can feel my focus slipping, off of God, to a focus of all this world can offer me and how hard it is to always be the only one fighting.

You see in my head it would be so easy to give in and competly embrace this life of stability and safety. However I know that these things are all in my head and that life here wouldn't be any easier. It would most likely be harder because my heart cries out, it cries out for the lost, hungry, broken, alone people here on this earth. My heart cries out against a"normal" life, it yearns to hold people and spend my life pouring out everything God has given me on to them. My heart yearns to hold the broken girl in Africa who believes she's never been loved, I long to hold her hand, look in her eyes and tell her of a God who adores her, a God who loves her. My arms ache to hold beautiful children from around the world, they ache to hug them and whisper prayers over their beautiful little bodies, prayers of life and love. I long to run, jump, and laugh with people of all different ages and races. My heart longs to go where ever the Lord asks me to go, because ultimately my heart longs to just be with the Lord.

Sweet sweet children

Perhaps this is why I love Africa so much, for me when I am there I can do nothing except rely upon the Lord. I know from first hand experience I am literally helpless in Africa, I can't speak the language, I am white (which is occasionally a help but often makes me a target), the problems in Africa are enormous and they can be overwhelming. I can't feed every single hungry person I see, I can't send all the children to school, and I definitely cannot heal the sick by myself. There is nothing that I can do on my own and Africa makes this very clear. Whereas here at home its easy to forget God because I can do so much on my own, its easy to go to the store and not be worried about being ripped off, if people are sick they go to a doctor, life is not life and death here.

Now I know what many of you are thinking is that I should get over myself and learn to rely on the Lord here in the land of opportunity too, and I agree, I am learning slowly but Africa has definitely been instrumental in my  instruction. However I think it important to not forget that there is a reason that my heart aches for Africa. So I will continue to remember this ache in my heart because it has saved my life, this ache reminds me why I live, it reminds me of God's overwhelming love for me and for the world. It reminds me why I do everything that I do, it reminds me that I am in the midst of war against the world that I am fighting for something.

So Presh!

What am I fighting for?

I am fighting for the church, I am fighting to see it rise up, to stop ignoring the hurt and pain that surrounds us no matter where we are in the world. I long to hear the end of the #firstworldproblems and I long to hear the church talking AND taking action against the problems in the world. Actually I long for us to forget the word problems and instead see the people instead of labels, like poverty, hunger, trafficked. I want to see the world set on fire by holy love, to see the church reaching out to the world in love without expectations. I want to see the church set free so that it can in turn be instruments that the Lord uses to set the world free.

So Lord don't let me be to comfortable at home, let me enjoy the blessings that surround me but don't let me be too confortable. Abba strengthen me to continue to say no to the world and take away some of the lingering fear I sometimes feel when saying yes to you. Thank you Abba that I have been so blessed by your love, thank you for choosing me. I love you my Abba.

Ashley

Happy Anniversary

My team at training camp. Oh the things we didn't know

Five years ago today my life changed.

Five years ago today I started my journey to Swaziland.

Five years ago today I unknowingly walked away from a old me, a old life and started a new one.

Five years ago today I met my team which would soon become family.

Five years ago today I didn't know it but I started a journey to figuring out who I am.

Five years ago today everything changed.

Two months later at the BEST thanksgiving dinner EVER!
We picked those turkey's clean with our fingers

BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!

Five years ago today my life was changing and I didn't even know. I didn't know that the next three months I would experience so much joy and pain. I didn't know that I would fall in love with Swazi, or that the Lord would welcome me home when I stepped off the plane onto African soil. There was so much I didn't know, but I am thankful for that because honestly I don't think I would have gone if I had the same knowledge I have now.

This is a day I celebrate and remember all that God has done and will do. This is a day I am thankful for, because on this day five years I got to know a God who moves, a God who heals, and a God who calls me beloved.

The start of the most ridiculous travel day ever...

Execution Rock Band Photo....

I am writting this today so that you can celebrate with me. I also want to encourage you to remember and celebrate milestones or life changing moments. We remember birthdays and anniversarsies with earthly people so don't forget the spiritual ones either, they are important too. It doesn't have to look like mine, I know a girl who has a anniversary with the Lord which is the day they started dating. Its between you and God but its good to remember these things so that during all times in life, the good and the bad you have a specific time to look back on and remember who the Lord is. Today I remember my journey and I celebrate all God has done with me.

A true representation of our team. Crazy.

Precious babies, I love you more than you know.

So happy Anniversary Jesus, Happy Anniversary Swazi team. I am blessed to know you and to have gotten to spend three months of my life with you. You will be with me for life.

Love you
Ashley

Christmas arts and crafts threw up in our house

First night in Swaziland

Safari

This one time in Africa...

When we were in Kenya we sometimes liked to play this game called 'this one time in Africa', it was a great way for us to laugh at our trials and remember some of the great things that happened.

So this one time in Africa...

1. Emily broke a bridge

she said the cuss word.

2. Jeremy talked about what being in the second year of university was like
3. Jessica threw her dinner out the window of the hospital
4. Jessica threw her dinner at pastor
5. Jessica ran away from her doctor
6. Regan puked the size of a quarter
7.Grace was happy she passed out at the hospital in Africa.
8. Grace almost got tackled by an african nurse after she passed out
9. Emma almost punched a african nurse
10. I almost punched a african nurse
11. There was THE mean nurse
12. I got a needle in the butt and she missed.
13. Jess kept falling asleep while talking to the doctor
14. Katelyn passed out and Jess and I laughed hysterically. Emily cried.
15. Jeremy threw up for the first time
16. I punched Jeremy because he wouldn't throw up.
17. I told Emily that I hated her because she wouldn't let me lie down
18. Katelyn sat up in her sleep and stared dancing in bed surrounded by multiple people who also slept through it
19. We got attacked by crazy painful African ants
20. Regan publicly uncovered peoples sin

21. Jeremy was drilling holes in Emily's finger. While Emily was trying not to scream or move, Jess and Regan  were crying and trying to not pass out at the other end of the bed

22. Jess was a Olympian

23. People were set free
24. Jeremy attacked me in his sleep in the middle of the night.
25. We got to hold beautiful african children
26. I got chased my those beautiful african children (good times)
27. Jess and I snuck out of church
28. the Internet didn't work
29. There was never a bathroom or squatty around when you really needed it
30. Jess saw kitchen spelled out in bushes and everyone thought she was hallucinating
31. The students worshiped until the bled
32. Jeremy giggled. a lot. it was weird. and fascinating. 
33. Everyone got sick
34. We went on Safari

Real picture of Jess and Regan
this is during Emily's
procedure

35. I plotted the murder or injury of a driver (it was justified, trust me)
36. We went to the hospital or clinic  every day for a week
37. We ate pizza and more pizza and more pizza
38. We slept or laid on airport floors
39. There was the cuss word (chic-fil-a)
40. We learned to worship Jesus in all things

The day we snuck out of church. It was a long hard day.

There is more, but that's all for today. I hope you enjoy.

Are you using the correct password?

"Knowing the correct password- saying 'Master, Master' for instance- isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience- doing what my Father wills. I can see it now- at the Final Judgement thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking' And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here'" (Matthew 7:21-23, MSG).

Are we missing the boat?

Am I?