Yesterday, Friday June 22nd, my two dear brothers Drew Braun and Seth Gogolin were ordained priests for the Diocese of Duluth. I am going to say for all of the things that were hard to miss back home this was probably the hardest. I think that I had a mental block for the weeks coming up to the ordination because I was just going to be to depressed that I missed it. Drew and Seth have been such an important part of my life ever since I met them in late May 2009. Drew and Seth will both make amazing priests and I am so excited to see them in their ministries when I return home.
The church is in need of so many vocations to the priesthood and I truly feel grateful for their decision to spend their lives serving the church. They always inspire me to be a better person and help me to see the good in life. My friendship with the both of them has been instrumental into forming my deepened faith and self confidence before I departed for Guyana. I am blessed to call them my friends and my brothers. May God bless them during their priesthood and give them the strength to Shepard his flock.
A group of volunteers from Misericordia University had been in town for the past couple of weeks and on Tuesday night they had a dinner for all of the people who helped them during their short stay. As Mercy volunteers we had them over at our house last Saturday for pizza and a theological reflection. It was nice to have them in our house and show them a little bit of what our life was like. It was good for me to hear the questions that they would ask because I know that my friends and family back home will ask me similar questions when I return home. It was good to connect with them for that one last time on Tuesday night. Rosaline one of the Mercy Sister Novices helped to show them how to do some Guyanese dancing, although I don't think they really got a good taste it was at least a little peep. I am always grateful for people who come and do short term volunteer work, maybe not because they make a huge impact but because I know it will impact them when they go back home. I just pray they are mindful of the materialism of life in the states and that their experience in Guyana may encourage them to live a little more simply.
Friday our school once again went on the annual trip to the New Amersterdam Prison. This is the only female prison in Guyana. The trip is to help to encourage the students to see what life in prison is like so that they are discouraged from committing crimes in the future. Our tour begins across the street from the prision in the officers clubhouse where we are given an overview of the prison. After that we go into the women's prison and the girls are allowed to go in an talk with the female prisoners. Having been there the year before there was a couple of women I had spoken with the year before so I went over to see how they were doing. One of the girls who was incarcerated for capital offense was still awaiting her court date in the high court. She shared with me that while she was in prison her mother had died and that she had gone to the funeral just last week. They allowed her to go to service for half and hour and then they brought her back to the prison. She was the same individual who told me that one wrong decision can change your life in a matter of seconds.
One of the other teachers knew the girl from before she went into prison and she talked about how she was a really nice girl. One of the problems the teacher said was that people in the area she lives often carry weapons for the sake of carrying weapon. In the heat of an angry moment the weapon becomes something you just don't carry anymore... The girl had a knife on her and pulled it out to scare her partner which ended up starting a fight... Sometimes people forget that in moments of passion we do not think rationally - this is why we always encourage our students to not carry weapons because even if you tell yourself you would never use it you don't know what would happen in a moment of passion.
The day finished with a quick tour of the male prison that is adjacent and a session where five prisoners came up and told us their stories. I really enjoy when the prisoners tell their stories because they help me to remember that no one is immune from making a grave mistake. One of the girls reminded all the students that life can be fast but don't get caught up in the wrong things. There are more important things than sex, drugs and alcohol. Any solution to a problem that seems to good to be true probably is.
I really enjoyed spending the day with my students and hanging out with my co-workers. I sat next to my co-worker Ms. Oneika and we listen to Lady Gaga on my I pod. :) I really enjoy working with Ms. Oneika because we always are laughing about something. She really knows how to crack a joke and take the stress out of school. Sir Niall my other co-worker was also on our bus and he has a similar personality. Between the three of us there is always some joke being made. I thank God every day for co-workers who make the job bearable. No man is an island and it's important to be able to lean on each other.
I hope you all have a very blessed week. Praying for everyone in Duluth and the surrounding areas who were affected by the floods.
All my love,
Ashley Ann
Whatsoever you do to the least of My people, that you do unto Me.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
I have a little friend!
Another week down...
The other day I was walking down the streets of Georgetown and I saw a man wearing all orange. His shades, shirt, shorts, hat and even his converse were orange. I laughed to myself and said: "That is something I will miss when I am back home". I continued to walk down the street and make note of things that would be different from back home.
There is the constant honking of the cars and mini buses which seems like it will never end. You have people sitting on the side of the road selling all sorts of odds and ends. As I was walking down the aunt of one of my students from last year stopped me and was asking me how I was doing. She told me how the girl was now pregnant and that she was due in August. I miss my girls from last year and wonder what the rest of them are up to. At least the one who is pregnant was one who gradutated so she has her certificate.
I notice the people walking down the street selling different types of snacks. Green mangos that they have cut up that they would put hot sauce and salt on, a snack called chicken foot which is made out of flour and spices, a bag of freshly cut pine, platain chips and maybe even a tamrind ball. Tamrind is a sour syrup that they boil til it's thick and mix with hot sauce and then roll in sugar. Although it may not sound appetizing it grows on you and has even become on of Sarah's favorites.
I noticed all the garbage on the sides of the road and the cracks in the side walks. The fact that if you really stop and smell you can smell the dirty trench water flowing between the sidewalks and the street. It made me grateful for the fact that I have learned to overlook this eyesore and find the good amoung the rubbish.
As I was walking I reached the stoplight I looked across the road and I saw my boss with her grandchild. He 18 months old and absolutely loves me. His grandma pointed me out and immediately he began to laugh and smile. As soon as I was able to cross and go over her basically jumped into my arms and started laughing. I was grateful for the familiarity of people and common faces that I now see around the city. You really feel like you belong when you can't go out on the road without at least seeing one person you know or recognize.
It's the simple things in life that I've really been enjoying.
This week has been great because on Monday my boss brought her grandson to work because he had to go to the doctor. He really made me smile because as soon as he came into the office he ran and came to jump into my lap... Hmm if only I could bring him home!! He really is quite a handful so after he went to the doctor I spent a lot of the day walking around with him and keeping him busy. In fact I am pretty sure that he had me circling the yard about 100 times. :) In the afternoon he fell down and started crying, which luckily finally made him fall asleep. Unfortunately we really have no place to set him down so he had to sleep in my lap... :) By the end of the day my hair was a wreck, my skirt full of sprite and I had been fed a million biscuits because he wouldn't eat one if I didn't. :) Such a great day.
Two individuals who came to Guyana last year for a short term mission came back to spend another 10 days with the boys from the orphanage. Last saturday they had a fun day for the boys in which we spray painted t-shirts to look like they were tied dyed, played football, colored, blew bubbles and just had a overall amazing time. It really reminded me that there are so many people out there who are willing to help the orphans of the world. It gave me a second wind and a sunny disposition reminded myself that people do care, and people are still passionated about the world. Thanks Jeff and Meg for making me week! :)
Love and prayers,
Ashley Ann
The other day I was walking down the streets of Georgetown and I saw a man wearing all orange. His shades, shirt, shorts, hat and even his converse were orange. I laughed to myself and said: "That is something I will miss when I am back home". I continued to walk down the street and make note of things that would be different from back home.
There is the constant honking of the cars and mini buses which seems like it will never end. You have people sitting on the side of the road selling all sorts of odds and ends. As I was walking down the aunt of one of my students from last year stopped me and was asking me how I was doing. She told me how the girl was now pregnant and that she was due in August. I miss my girls from last year and wonder what the rest of them are up to. At least the one who is pregnant was one who gradutated so she has her certificate.
I notice the people walking down the street selling different types of snacks. Green mangos that they have cut up that they would put hot sauce and salt on, a snack called chicken foot which is made out of flour and spices, a bag of freshly cut pine, platain chips and maybe even a tamrind ball. Tamrind is a sour syrup that they boil til it's thick and mix with hot sauce and then roll in sugar. Although it may not sound appetizing it grows on you and has even become on of Sarah's favorites.
I noticed all the garbage on the sides of the road and the cracks in the side walks. The fact that if you really stop and smell you can smell the dirty trench water flowing between the sidewalks and the street. It made me grateful for the fact that I have learned to overlook this eyesore and find the good amoung the rubbish.
As I was walking I reached the stoplight I looked across the road and I saw my boss with her grandchild. He 18 months old and absolutely loves me. His grandma pointed me out and immediately he began to laugh and smile. As soon as I was able to cross and go over her basically jumped into my arms and started laughing. I was grateful for the familiarity of people and common faces that I now see around the city. You really feel like you belong when you can't go out on the road without at least seeing one person you know or recognize.
It's the simple things in life that I've really been enjoying.
This week has been great because on Monday my boss brought her grandson to work because he had to go to the doctor. He really made me smile because as soon as he came into the office he ran and came to jump into my lap... Hmm if only I could bring him home!! He really is quite a handful so after he went to the doctor I spent a lot of the day walking around with him and keeping him busy. In fact I am pretty sure that he had me circling the yard about 100 times. :) In the afternoon he fell down and started crying, which luckily finally made him fall asleep. Unfortunately we really have no place to set him down so he had to sleep in my lap... :) By the end of the day my hair was a wreck, my skirt full of sprite and I had been fed a million biscuits because he wouldn't eat one if I didn't. :) Such a great day.
Two individuals who came to Guyana last year for a short term mission came back to spend another 10 days with the boys from the orphanage. Last saturday they had a fun day for the boys in which we spray painted t-shirts to look like they were tied dyed, played football, colored, blew bubbles and just had a overall amazing time. It really reminded me that there are so many people out there who are willing to help the orphans of the world. It gave me a second wind and a sunny disposition reminded myself that people do care, and people are still passionated about the world. Thanks Jeff and Meg for making me week! :)
Love and prayers,
Ashley Ann
Friday, June 8, 2012
My football players*
This morning I woke up to the sound of a complete down pour. I laid in bed and thought to myself that I don't have to get out of bed because everyone else is going to be late to work anyway. I am going to miss the fact that rain is an acceptable reason to be a few minutes late to work.
I wore my boots to work this morning and it's a good thing I did because the entire hospital was flooded, again. I had to walk through the compound very slowly so that the water didn't come up above the top of my boots. I was quite frustrated for a while this morning and then I reminded myself just to laugh. There's nothing we can do about a flood so why raise my blood pressure over it.
I was talking with a patient this morning and as I was completeing a form for him I asked him about his past partners. He told me that she had gone home already and it stopped me as I was writing. He said it again: "She's gone home". I then understood what he meant and said alright. We continued to talk but what stuck out to me was the complete ease and confidence he had in the simple statement: "She's gone home". Always amazed at others confidence in God.
I was laying in bed thinking last night about an experience i've had in college that i've wanted to blog about for a long time but never got around to. My junior year of college I took an anatomy class and for this class we had a lab in which we had to discet a cat. My lab partner dropped out after about the third week of class and I was left alone. My proffessor told me I had the options to switch groups but that once I switched I wouldn't be able to switch again. I looked to my left and there were two girls who are both very hard work and I knew they were definately A students and then I looked directly in front of me and there were two football players who were struggling with their cat. I walked over to the girls but my heart went out to the two boys and after a few minutes I asked them if I could be their lab partner. They said yes. :)
We worked together all semester and even more than being lab partners we became study buddies. We would work together for hours the days and weeks before the different tests that we would have. I was wondering at first what I got myself into; I could have picked an easier group to be with but I'm never the kind of person to choose the easy way out. I now look back at my time working with Robert and Matt and I don't think I could have had a better semester. My junior year of college was not my favorite year of college and there were many days in which I was completely upset and stressed out at life. I remember walking to the library one day to meet the boys and almost being in tears. Robert and Matt came and they immediately made me laugh, and laugh, and laugh some more. By the end of our study time I had forgotten what I had been so upset about and felt really relieved.
Another time I was terribly sick and I knew that I was going to have a hard time working in the lab that night but our cat had to have certain parts labeled by the next day and I had to go in. I had a meeting so I told Robert and Matt just to meet me there and they said they would go in earlier because they didn't have anything. By the time I got to the lab they had already finished 90% of the work. I felt sooo relieved. All I had to do was help them find a few things that were tricky and we were finished. I looked over at the two girls who were A students and they had just begun doing their work because they had procrastinated. To me this was a reminder from God that I really shouldn't judge people in their ability to work hard.
The next semester I took a nutrition class with the same professor. One day we were working on a project and I was the only student around and the professor came up to me. He told me how in his eight years of teaching I was the students who had impressed him the most. He told me how it didn't matter that I may not have gotten 100% in his class but that I had gotten a good grade and help two other people to pass. He told me that without me those boys would have never made it through that class and that I had helped them more than any other tutor he could have thought of.
Although my professor told me all those nice things about myself I think Robert and Matt helped me more than I helped them. They helped me to remember that it's always worth helping people even if you think it might be a little bit more work. They reminded me that whenever you give you always recieve more than you would have ever thought. They made me laugh and smile on some of my worst days and that is something you can't put a price on. I don't even know if they knew I was going through such a tough time, but that was the great thing they didn't need to.
Don't ever pass up the chance to help a Robert or Matt - you never know just how much they will help you.
I know this story isn't about Guyana but the thing is it really is about Guyana. Guyana has helped me more than I've ever helped Guyana. I laugh and I am healed by the goodness that is around me. Sure the place may be flooded and the mini buses may drive fast but amidst every bad thing I could name I could name another ten good things. Never judge, this is my constant lesson
That is all.
All my love,
Ashley Ann
I wore my boots to work this morning and it's a good thing I did because the entire hospital was flooded, again. I had to walk through the compound very slowly so that the water didn't come up above the top of my boots. I was quite frustrated for a while this morning and then I reminded myself just to laugh. There's nothing we can do about a flood so why raise my blood pressure over it.
I was talking with a patient this morning and as I was completeing a form for him I asked him about his past partners. He told me that she had gone home already and it stopped me as I was writing. He said it again: "She's gone home". I then understood what he meant and said alright. We continued to talk but what stuck out to me was the complete ease and confidence he had in the simple statement: "She's gone home". Always amazed at others confidence in God.
I was laying in bed thinking last night about an experience i've had in college that i've wanted to blog about for a long time but never got around to. My junior year of college I took an anatomy class and for this class we had a lab in which we had to discet a cat. My lab partner dropped out after about the third week of class and I was left alone. My proffessor told me I had the options to switch groups but that once I switched I wouldn't be able to switch again. I looked to my left and there were two girls who are both very hard work and I knew they were definately A students and then I looked directly in front of me and there were two football players who were struggling with their cat. I walked over to the girls but my heart went out to the two boys and after a few minutes I asked them if I could be their lab partner. They said yes. :)
We worked together all semester and even more than being lab partners we became study buddies. We would work together for hours the days and weeks before the different tests that we would have. I was wondering at first what I got myself into; I could have picked an easier group to be with but I'm never the kind of person to choose the easy way out. I now look back at my time working with Robert and Matt and I don't think I could have had a better semester. My junior year of college was not my favorite year of college and there were many days in which I was completely upset and stressed out at life. I remember walking to the library one day to meet the boys and almost being in tears. Robert and Matt came and they immediately made me laugh, and laugh, and laugh some more. By the end of our study time I had forgotten what I had been so upset about and felt really relieved.
Another time I was terribly sick and I knew that I was going to have a hard time working in the lab that night but our cat had to have certain parts labeled by the next day and I had to go in. I had a meeting so I told Robert and Matt just to meet me there and they said they would go in earlier because they didn't have anything. By the time I got to the lab they had already finished 90% of the work. I felt sooo relieved. All I had to do was help them find a few things that were tricky and we were finished. I looked over at the two girls who were A students and they had just begun doing their work because they had procrastinated. To me this was a reminder from God that I really shouldn't judge people in their ability to work hard.
The next semester I took a nutrition class with the same professor. One day we were working on a project and I was the only student around and the professor came up to me. He told me how in his eight years of teaching I was the students who had impressed him the most. He told me how it didn't matter that I may not have gotten 100% in his class but that I had gotten a good grade and help two other people to pass. He told me that without me those boys would have never made it through that class and that I had helped them more than any other tutor he could have thought of.
Although my professor told me all those nice things about myself I think Robert and Matt helped me more than I helped them. They helped me to remember that it's always worth helping people even if you think it might be a little bit more work. They reminded me that whenever you give you always recieve more than you would have ever thought. They made me laugh and smile on some of my worst days and that is something you can't put a price on. I don't even know if they knew I was going through such a tough time, but that was the great thing they didn't need to.
Don't ever pass up the chance to help a Robert or Matt - you never know just how much they will help you.
I know this story isn't about Guyana but the thing is it really is about Guyana. Guyana has helped me more than I've ever helped Guyana. I laugh and I am healed by the goodness that is around me. Sure the place may be flooded and the mini buses may drive fast but amidst every bad thing I could name I could name another ten good things. Never judge, this is my constant lesson
That is all.
All my love,
Ashley Ann
Friday, June 1, 2012
Birthday Week
Well i've officially entered the 24th year of my life. I always hate turning another year older because I always feel soooooo old. I always have to remember that 24 isn't old and I have an entire year before I turn a quarter of a century. Sometimes I worry because I'm still not sure what I want to do with my life. I always thought by this age that I would have everything figured out but the older I get and the more people I talk to I realize that no one ever really seems to figure everything out. :)
I had a great pre-birthday weekend. We really had a fun party at the house and I couldn't of asked for anything better. I've never really been one to celebrate my birthday rather I always try and help others celebrate their birthday so it was nice to have a party thrown for me instead. I have to thank my friend Kathy who helped do almost everything! I also have to thank Sarah who helped clean and decorate the house! Thanks to everyone who donated food or drinks to make sure we all had a great time! :)
The week was spent celebrating my birthday as it always should be when your birthday is in the middle of the week! On Tuesday I went to visit my friends Sanya and Hormazd. We ate pizza and they made me a dessert called dream pie for my birthday. It was a really fun night and we even watched the disney movie tangled. It is such a cute movie and I would definately recommend that you see it if you never have. I love hanging out with Sanya because we always have such great conversations and she brings so much joy and truth into my life. We may come from completely different faith backgrounds but even though we have different religions our faiths have many similarities in which we can discuss. :) God really is everywhere and He keeps showing me himself through different people of different faiths.
Wednesday was my actual birthday and I spent it busy at work! After work I went up to the orphanage because one of the boys named Lenny also has his birthday the same day that I do. I took him some chocolate chip cookies to help him celebrate the day. The boys all came running up to me and giving me birthday hugs and i'm pretty sure I got my work clothes full of all sorts of mud. :) The boys really are something else. After that I just hung out at home with a few of my close friends where we ate churches chicken and pixie sticks that my sister had sent me a month ago. :) I know it's a weird combination but well it was still pretty amazing. I was very happy just to sit around with my close friends and laugh about different things that had happened throughout the year. We must have laughed til our sides hurt.
Thursday I went by my friend Andrew who made chili pie for me as per request for my birthday. Unfortunately I had been under the weather all day thursday but I still tried to enjoy my pie the best I could! :) My friends Venus and Anisa came out to eat some of the chili pie with me and we watched the movie "This means war". It's a movie about two men who are in the CIA and go after the same woman. They make it into a competition and well you'll have to watch it to see how it ends. It is actually one of the best movies I've seen in a long time I laughed a lot and really enjoyed it.
Having my birthday this week made me really remember how loved I am. Life isn't always easy and sometimes we have to make hard decisions that will hurt someone because in the end it will be best for them. I feel like I've made a lot of decisions like that recently and it kind of left me confused and upset. Life isn't easy but the love of others always helps you to remember not to give up.
I am thankful for all those who have been with me during the last year and I look forward to all the adventures of my 24th year of life. I have to remember not to take anything for granted because we never know how much time we have or the time of our loved ones. My goal for this year is to learn to forgive quickly and never let yesterday hold a shadow over today.
Love and prayers,
Ashley Ann
I had a great pre-birthday weekend. We really had a fun party at the house and I couldn't of asked for anything better. I've never really been one to celebrate my birthday rather I always try and help others celebrate their birthday so it was nice to have a party thrown for me instead. I have to thank my friend Kathy who helped do almost everything! I also have to thank Sarah who helped clean and decorate the house! Thanks to everyone who donated food or drinks to make sure we all had a great time! :)
The week was spent celebrating my birthday as it always should be when your birthday is in the middle of the week! On Tuesday I went to visit my friends Sanya and Hormazd. We ate pizza and they made me a dessert called dream pie for my birthday. It was a really fun night and we even watched the disney movie tangled. It is such a cute movie and I would definately recommend that you see it if you never have. I love hanging out with Sanya because we always have such great conversations and she brings so much joy and truth into my life. We may come from completely different faith backgrounds but even though we have different religions our faiths have many similarities in which we can discuss. :) God really is everywhere and He keeps showing me himself through different people of different faiths.
Wednesday was my actual birthday and I spent it busy at work! After work I went up to the orphanage because one of the boys named Lenny also has his birthday the same day that I do. I took him some chocolate chip cookies to help him celebrate the day. The boys all came running up to me and giving me birthday hugs and i'm pretty sure I got my work clothes full of all sorts of mud. :) The boys really are something else. After that I just hung out at home with a few of my close friends where we ate churches chicken and pixie sticks that my sister had sent me a month ago. :) I know it's a weird combination but well it was still pretty amazing. I was very happy just to sit around with my close friends and laugh about different things that had happened throughout the year. We must have laughed til our sides hurt.
Thursday I went by my friend Andrew who made chili pie for me as per request for my birthday. Unfortunately I had been under the weather all day thursday but I still tried to enjoy my pie the best I could! :) My friends Venus and Anisa came out to eat some of the chili pie with me and we watched the movie "This means war". It's a movie about two men who are in the CIA and go after the same woman. They make it into a competition and well you'll have to watch it to see how it ends. It is actually one of the best movies I've seen in a long time I laughed a lot and really enjoyed it.
Having my birthday this week made me really remember how loved I am. Life isn't always easy and sometimes we have to make hard decisions that will hurt someone because in the end it will be best for them. I feel like I've made a lot of decisions like that recently and it kind of left me confused and upset. Life isn't easy but the love of others always helps you to remember not to give up.
I am thankful for all those who have been with me during the last year and I look forward to all the adventures of my 24th year of life. I have to remember not to take anything for granted because we never know how much time we have or the time of our loved ones. My goal for this year is to learn to forgive quickly and never let yesterday hold a shadow over today.
Love and prayers,
Ashley Ann
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