Alaska Bound! Update on Ashley

I sometimes forget that there are a couple of people who read this blog who are not on facebook, and I have been asked to update about my children. On my old blog, I talked about them all the time, but that has been a few years. I'll start with a post on Ashley.

Ashley left her job at Camp Ba Yo Ca (a big, scary step) in May last year. She spent June serving in a few different churches at VBS, and in July went back to be a camp counselor for a week~ a job she hadn't done in a couple of years, since she's been on staff. Mid July, she left for Kenya for 14 days, working again with The Orbit Village Project, mostly with the children and young women in the orphanages. She flew directly from Kenya to Bod, Romania, where she spent another 10 days doing children's ministry with Operation Mobilization. She had an amazing, awesome, growing summer, and made lots of new friends from all over the world. The mission team in Romania was comprised of people of all ages, though mostly young adults, from Romania, Switzerland, Poland, UK, and Holland. The fall was difficult for her, not knowing where God was leading her next, but in addition to going to a Christian Camp conference in San Diego, being on a 2 person interim worship team for a church in Knoxville, and doing a couple of retreat weekends at camp, she has also been a tremendous help to her Daddy and me while I am still sick, especially the last couple of months.

Her big announcement came about 3 weeks ago when she accepted a camp staff position and is moving to Alaska in April for 5 1/2 to 6 months. It started at 5 months, and keeps increasing!! She will be working at Echo Ranch Bible Camp about 40 min. from Juneau. ...out in the middle of nowhere! :) They drive to the end of the road, then hike for 2 miles into the camp. When I searched for images of the area online, up popped one of hunters with a ginormous grizzly bear whose paw was much bigger than the man's head. Okay. I'll stop looking. :) Thankfully, they don't have bears in camp...that they've told me. She will have no cell phone service, and only have internet "sometimes". It's not very dependable. However, I'm more optimistic about hearing from her via internet now than I was a couple of weeks ago. It does sound like she will have SOME, at least. Yay, for mom and dad!! ...and daughter, too, I think. ;) 

This is a great opportunity for Ashley, and we have watched God work it out step by step. It is, for sure, a step of faith for her. She will be a fully self/other supported missionary, and being a short term position, she struggled with feeling a responsibility to get a long term "job". But, she continued to feel a call here, and God has opened up the doors and given her the answered prayers, connections, and peace. We will miss her terribly, but we are so excited for her.

Ashley will meet up with 2 other Echo Ranch staff members in Ohio the week of April 7th. On April 15th, they will fly out to Alaska, getting to spend a full day in Seattle on their 21 hour layover. They're all excited about that. The first week they are in Alaska, they will spend traveling to the outlying communities to connect with the children in those areas. This is something new for even her immediate boss (Program Director) and should be really cool. The rest of April will be spent cleaning and preparing the grounds. May and Sept. will be full of group retreats, and rumor is that Ashley may be on kitchen staff for those retreats. When you work at camp, you learn to be flexible and work whatever job you're needed in, no matter what your title is. :) Ashley has cleaned many a toilet, even as office manager.

June-Aug is actual summer camp time, and she has several jobs that she is excited about. All of those jobs will be on program staff and that will involve helping the program director with activites, programs, games, etc. with the kids. She loves working directly with the children. She has also been asked to help lead worship and campfire songs with her guitar. One guy has had to do it alone in the past, so they will split it to give him a break. Ashley has also been asked to be prepared to write devotionals for some of the weeks, which is one of her gifts. And, probably not lastly :), she will be one of 2 girls' Counselor Advisors. These 2 will be the ones that all the girls' counselors report to and come to with any needs, concerns, or advice. If the counselor is having a rough day or is burnt out, Ashley may step in for an hour or 2, or a night, to give the counselor a break. She will also assist them if needed with their cabin devotions. 

It will be a very full and stretching, but I know very awesome, 6 months for her. Summer camp staff and counselors work from sun up to sun down...or in the case of Alaska, sun up to ...sun up? Actually, they work from sun up to sometimes 11 or midnight. It is not easy work! It is one of the most exhausting jobs there is, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Think 3 month mission trip, going non stop.



In this area, 50%-75% of the children are from unchurched homes. It is a great mission field, as these children take what they have heard back into their homes. Last year around 850 children came to Echo Ranch. Please pray that these children and these families are reached for Christ, and that God will have His hand on Ashley, and the rest of the staff and counselors, as they serve, renewing their energy in all areas each day.