The sun will come out tomorrow*

Hello and Good Day Family and Friends,

I am glad to tell you that we had some sunshine this week! I was getting a little sick of all the rain. I am still sick of the rain as we still had some rain this week but I was glad we got some sunshine. When it is raining the water to our house, and therefore our shower, becomes VERY cold. This week the three of us would dread taking a shower. One day I even heated up some water on the stove and "bathed" (as the Guyanese would say), because I couldn't handle the constant cold water. One of my roommates made it three days without a shower... I was pretty impressed by this.

This week was a busy week at the hospital. It seemed as if all of the patients waited until this week to come in for their HIV appointments and counseling. I had many full days. Part of my job is doing HIV testing. One time this week someone came in to be tested right before I was about to leave for the day. I did all of the pre-test work with him and then sent him to the lab. Before I started this all I warned him that another counselor would be giving him the results. Before I sent him to the lab he kindly asked me if I could stay the extra hour to give him his results. He told me that he couldn't bear to hear them from anyone else, and since the man was old enough to be my grandfather my heart went out to him and I stayed. At the end when he was talking with me he reminded me to stay as sweet as I was. This was a moment that reminded me of why I came to Guyana. It reminded me that it is about going the extra mile. Its about willing the good of someone else above yourself to show them that even though you don't know them... you still love them as Christ did. The man thought I was doing him a favor but really he was doing me the favor.

School this week was quiet which is always a GOOD thing. My students are busy creating a PowerPoint presentation about anything that they want. Many of them have a hard time reading and writing so I pair them together to help each other out. I must admit that teaching children the computer when reading levels are extremely low can be quite difficult, but it has taught me much patience.

One of my students was exceptionally compliant this week and kind. He hangs out with a really rough crowd and often times I think he gets lost in the mix. I took him aside this week to thank him for all the hard work that he did and for the extra work that he did cleaning for me. Some of the other teachers even commented on his improved behavior. This has reminded me that the situations and the company we put ourselves in really do shape who we are. If we choose to hang out with a rough crowd, we will be associated with them even if we ourselves are not the same. If you look like, act like, and hang out with certain people it's easy for others to judge that you are the same. This can make it difficult to show people the truth and goodness inside of you. It takes a whole lot of courage to walk away from the people and things in life which we find familiar... but until we do the association will never be lost. So I guess this is my prayer for my students that they are able find the courage to make the correct choices. Sometimes its easier to choose the wrong thing and fit in rather than being the one to stand out.

I've really enjoyed lent this year because our community has decided to pray together every night. I find a lot of joy in our diverse ways of praying. At first I thought it would be difficult because we are all super busy. Then we just decided that why not take 15 minutes and do something simple. We all gave input on what we would do on the different nights of the week, this way each person gets input and yet there is still some type of routine. I often think of the phrase "The family that prays together, stays together". Our "family" is already seeing fruits of praying together as it helps us to focus our lives on Christ and improve our relations with one another.

I've realized that I have missed some important birthdays this month...

Earlier this month it was my cousin Nick's birthday. Nick and I have not always been close. When we were growing up I didn't see very much of him and when we did see each other although we got along I would never have considered him a close friend or anything. As time went on and the older we became the more I realized that I appreciated Nick. He started to spend more time with us and eventually we started having small conversations. Small conversations led to larger conversations and all of a sudden he wasn't just my cousin but my good friend. At one point while I was in college he made a suggestion that we just don't call each other randomly but rather that we make a point to call each other regularly. And then it was set that we would call each other every three weeks. Now - I am not going to say that it actually happened every three weeks but for the past couple years I would say that I talked to my cousin at least once a month or once every month and a half. Earlier this summer I went to go see him and spend the night at his house in Mankato. We ended up staying up and having a conversation that I never thought I would ever be able to have with anyone. It was great to have such an honest open conversation with someone and it really helped me to make it through my crazy summer of transitions. Its hard not talking to Nick and I miss hearing about his life. There are days here when I think of him and know that he could make me laugh or help me understand a situation. I will forever be grateful for the friendship that I have found in my cousin and I know that I will be close with him for a long time. Being close with family is a beautiful thing.

The second birthday that I missed was that of my friend Zach Roberts. Zach was my first close friend at UMM and he helped me make it through the some tough transitions from high school to college. It was during that first year that Zach and I realized we think very similarly. We now refer to each other as the "other half of our minds" because he always understand what I am trying to explain even if others are lost. However, it is not this connection that makes our friendship so beautiful but the fact that we were able to overcome some very huge obstacles together. Some people know this but Zach and I once were on bad terms for close to 7 months. We would argue and bicker over everything and there were times when we just couldn't stand each other. Many times I wanted just to give up on our friendship but Zach taught me how to forgive and forget. Before graduating UMM we had a discussion about that year and everything that went wrong and I remember thinking to myself that we wasted so much time mad at each other. I also remember how both of us grew so much from that experience. We both grew up a little bit as we realized the wrongs we had done against one another. Maybe that is the best part about our friendship, that we helped each other to learn some really important life lessons and although there was turmoil, in the end there was a beautiful result. I will always be grateful for Zach in my life. Zach has more strength than any other 23 year old I know. He is a great man of God and I know that his life will bear much fruit.

To end I would like to share with you a quote that I read in the paper this week from Martin Luther King Jr:

"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people"

Don't let yourself be a silent good person. Speak up for what you believe and for those without a voice.

Well, Tomorrow is a Hindu holiday and I am excited to celebrate and tell you all about it for next week... May God bless your week and please send me some mail! I have gone an ENTIRE MONTH without a single letter... so for all of those who read this - I'm asking you to send me some encouragement back. Even if you don't like to write go to target or walmart and find a funny or amusing card. Send me a picture or a sketch you do when your bored. Any and everything will be very appreciated!

Love and prayers,

Ashley Ann