Welllllll, my first day was pretty alright. There's only one other girl here who's with my school. Her name is Elizabeth, and she's from Denmark! It was really interesting to hang out with her yesterday. I'm learning a lot about her country and her culture, and it's sooo different from here in America! I'm going to visit her, and she's going to come visit Portland(: I also met a bunch of aliens! They're from the planet Canada (; They're here doing a three month intensive study of the Bible, but they're done in a week or two. Four more kids from our group are arriving today. There are only going to be ten of us student total this term, which is really nice(: OH! Also, I learned that training and outreach are both happening within this four month period, which means I need to raise another three thousand dollars. So... Help? Money, ideas, anything! Lots an lots of prayers, please please please! We have until tomorrow basically to ourselves because we got here early, which has been really nice. I'm getting acquainted with the situation here. My leaders, Johnny and Nina, are super cool. I'll tell y'all more when I can!

<3

Well, I'm at the airport, waiting for my plane to whisk me away to the City of Angels. So many emotions! Ahh. Be praying for my safe travels and that my luggage arrives at the same time as I do(: Lots of blessings!

-Ashley

Hey all!

First off, I enabled commenting for everyone, and I encourage you to comment as frequently as you like! You don't have to be a user- you don't even have to input your name or information. 

The worship tonight was absolutely phenomenal. God's Spirit paid us a lovely and powerful visit. If you didn't get a chance to stop by, you missed out! My mamma even got me a dinosaur cake, which, by the way, was DELICIOUS(;  God brought all the right people, though, and I'm really thankful to all of you who did get to make it. I was blessed with a new friend tonight, which surprised me greatly. God sends gifts in unlikely packages, and you really have to be open minded in receiving them. She and I connected on a crazy cool level and had the most incredible conversation after the night concluded. I'm so thankful for her and her beautiful spirit. It was so encouraging for me. I'm now only $585 away from LA! Thank the LORD; He has been so faithful!! 

As Friday draws nearer, my feelings get even more muddied. I'm so excited, but I'm terrified, as well. These next four months are undoubtedly going to be some of the hardest, most incredible, life-changing months of my life. Demons I didn't even know I had are probably going to come out even more ferociously than they ever have. I'm looking forward to letting God work through me, from the inside out.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me(: 

-Ashley

Well, the day of my departure is growing nearer, and I'm getting more excited by the minute. My donation total is up to $1570, which is so awesome! Thank you SO much to all of you who've sent in donations! This trip wouldn't be possible without you(: God is definitely a good God, and He provides.  I've been practicing for the worship night, which is still scheduled for Tuesday the 27th, and I was wondering if anyone had any particular requests. If so, leave a comment, and I'll see what I can do! I'm looking forward to seeing you all there! For those of you who can't make it, I'm trying to find a way to possibly broadcast it live over the web... Unfortunately I'm not super tech-savy so we'll have to see where that goes. If it ends up working out, I'll post the link where you can find it on here(: Thank you so much for all your support. Stay in touch! 

-Ashley

Hello!

Hi everyone!

 If you're following my blog, you probably know me, but just in case you don't (or in case we've lost touch and need to get reacquainted)-

I'm Ashley. I'm 18 years young and am currently residing in the beautiful state of Washington (not DC!). I love the outside, especially when it's sunny! I play guitar and sing in my free time, and like anyone else, I enjoy spending time with people I love. On March 30th, I fly out to Los Angeles, California to begin Discipleship Training School with YWAM (Youth With A Mission). I'm SUPER pumped! This blog is devoted to my adventures at this critical point in my life. 

So, just the schooling part of YWAM costs about $3,200. So far, I've raised just over $800 in donations, which is awesome! Obviously, I'm going to need to do a lot more to raise all that money. If you have any suggestions, let me know, please please, please!!! 

I'm really excited to see what kinds of things are going to happen at YWAMLA. I've heard really great things, but I know God has an adventure catered to me waiting there. Don't forget to check for updates, especially after I leave! I'll be on here reminding you about the worship night on March 27th and keeping you updated on my running total before I leave. Thanks for sharing this incredible experience with me! 

-Ashley