Help me pay my student loans and feed the homeless~

 God put a calling on my life to live in Mexico. I am currently living, working, tutoring and married in Mexico. Remember everyone I get paid in pesos! :) My student loans are overwhelming every month so I got an idea. I thought for every $100 dollars I raise towards my student loans I would have a meal with a homeless person and share with them the gospel. I will post pictures of course so you can see your money at work. Please be apart of helping pay my student loans so I can keep teaching the wonderful children of Mexico! Thank you in advance!  - See more at: http://www.youcaring.com/tuition-fundraiser/help-pay-my-school-and-feed-the-homeless-/137262#sthash.h1KEZhwP.dpuf

First year teaching!

Oh what a crazy adventure this has been so far. My 1^st grade classes are very different from each other. My green class is a very respectful class who try to use the English they know. They want to please the teacher and their parents. My red class is a crazy, energetic, and spoiled class. I can’t believe some of the things that these kids say or ask during class. You can tell they come from very wealthy homes where they don’t have much responsibility. There are times I just want to tell them to stop being babies. One little boy always says hello and good morning whenever he sees me which is a big deal because he doesn’t know much English. The other day before he left he ran up to me and hugged me and said good bye. Then to my surprise he jumped up and kissed me on the cheek. I had just been pretty upset with him 10 minutes ago because he wasn’t listening. He is so innocent and carefree! It made my day! It is a challenge for me to learn classroom management when most of my students don’t have much English vocabulary. I really can’t do the same thing I did in the United States but it is making me a better teacher in the end. I have already had meetings with moms which of course I have to have a translator during the meeting. It is such a different experience then teaching in the states but it is also very rewarding. I went to my first Mexican Independence day celebrations and parties in September.  I got to see all of my adorable students dressed in traditional Mexican clothing on Friday the 14^th and we got out of school an hour early. We also didn’t have school on the following Monday which was nice. Mexico’s Independence Day is September 15^th.  I have also helped teach one of the kid’s church lessons. I helped find activity pages and one of the other youth taught it in Spanish of course. I really missed Pachuca when I left last summer and I am so glad I am back!

I have been pretty sick twice since I have been here. The first time I went to the doctor and they said throat and intestine infection and gave me four different medicines. I started feeling better in two days. Then a week later I started getting sick again but I didn’t go to the doctor for three weeks. I just went to the doctor yesterday and I am sick again. I have four different medicines and one of them I have to take for a month. My blood pressure is low because I was dehydrated. I haven’t been able to keep food in my body. Today I ate a half of a sandwich and everything is still in my body!!! Praise the Lord!! Please continue to pray that this medicine will work and I will get better. I really miss eating the food here and I am sick of boring food like Jello.

God is so good! I still am amazed about His timing and plan. It is so much better than what I had expected for my life. I have so many amazing people in my life in Mexico that are taking care of me. The missionaries Greg and Vicki are always here to help with whatever and I get to watch their two boys.  That helps with having a little extra money. Another missionary Pam who is actually leaving in October has been so amazing! I live very close so I can do my laundry at her house and she takes me to church every Sunday. What a blessing!! Another Christian teacher I met at my school lives close to me and she drives me to school and back every day! She also is the one who translated for me at the doctor and brought the medicine to my house. Then there is my boyfriend Gerzahin who is amazing. He has helped me get to the grocery every week, take me to pay my bills, bring me jello and Gatorade when I was super sick, and is always making sure I am protected.  Thank you, God for surrounding me with people who are always there to take care of me and love you!  

  Thank you for all the love and support!
Ashley

My dream Job!

God is AMAZING! I have had the calling and passion to work in Mexico since the 8^th grade. I never knew how that would look especially with having A LOT of student loans. I am still praying about when all those payments come due at the end of the year but I am trusting God! I can’t even explain all the details of how God’s plan has unfolded for my life.  As many of you know I was in Pachuca, Mexico last summer working with missionaries and built some amazing relationships. I fell in love with the people here and even the city. I am not a city girl at all but I felt a peace when I was here.  So after I returned to Ohio to finish my one year of school, I started applying to schools all over Mexico. I applied from the border all the way down to Cancun in November and December. Pachuca was the first school who called me and interviewed me twice over Skype in February. I was hired before I even graduated college which is AMAZING and it was my dream job! Now I am here in Pachuca and still trying to get fully settled in but I know this is where I should be! I would like to get a VERY cheap car sometime in the near future but still praying about it.

My big classroom is a work in progress!! I do have one of the biggest classrooms!

I am on my second week of orientation and the students arrive on Monday the 20^th. I am excited, nervous, overwhelmed, not ready but ready at the same time. J I am so excited to meet my students on Monday. As of right now, I have 14 students in each class. I am very thankful for student teaching in a half day kindergarten because it was preparing me for this year. My classes are classified as verde (green) and rojo (red).  My students will have schooling in English for half the day and then Spanish class for the other half of the day. That gives me a very short amount of time with my students and they are all English Language Learners. Some of them have been exposed to English before and others not very much at all. I have high expectations for my students but I would like prayer for how to handle students who are struggling with learning English. I know how frustrating it can be to learn another language as I am learning Spanish very slowly. I hope this allows me to connect with my students though! I also have a teacher’s aide who is bilingual. I have met her and she seems really great. She has already started organizing my classroom and asking me what I would like her to do. I have been a teacher’s aide so I want to make sure my students know she is to be considered a teacher with as much respect as me. I would love to utilize her in the best possible way like tutoring or working with students in groups. It is so awesome because she can give me a different perspective than mine because she has lived here her whole life. I have also heard from other teachers that she is very creative which is so good since I am not. I can find the idea but I can’t do it. Haha I pray that I can build an awesome relationship with her.

Ok about life here. I have been walking to school which is about a 35 to 40 minute walk. This walk each day has been very interesting. I have been whistled out by many different guys, stared out, honked out, and attacked by dogs. I get stared out EVERYWHERE I go because I am a young white female and that is not very common here. Today I had three guys yell at me saying with total respect you are beautiful. It was quite flattering but I have to say I don’t like all the attention. I love my apartment still. I have walked to the grocery a couple different times because you can’t get everything in one trip when you are walking. I am such a country girl because I am not use to buses and taxis. I have been on a lot of different buses here and they really don’t bother me like they bother some of the other foreign staff that is here. They are very crowded, dirty, bumpy, and the drives don’t slow down. I have stood so many times because there are no seats. I already have friends here from the church I worked out before in Pachuca. I love going to church and then going to my boyfriend’s family’s house and eating good Mexican food that doesn’t compare to the USA at all. I really love being able to connect with Mexicans and not just hanging out with the other foreign staff. I love people and kids! I am excited because I have already babysat for a women’s breakfast at the church. God’s plan is far better than what I have ever expected. I am glad I waited on His timing and not my own. More to come soon once school starts J

Thank you for the support in prayer and encouragement I receive from so many of you!

Ashley

A new Adventure

I arrived to Pachuca on Sunday after a long travel experience. My parents and I went through customs and found my vice principal. He got us a SUV taxi (because of all of my luggage) and we were on our way to Pachuca like that. They took us straight to my new apartment. Well, we got a little lost first and then got to my apartment. My apartment is in a very nice neighborhood and was so much more than I expected. You open a gate and walk up the stairs where there are two doors. My door is on the right and another young Mexican girl lives next to me. My apartment is all white even the couches! If you know me I need color so I will be adding color somehow. It is a two bedroom apartment with a nice big closet. All this space for just me but I am sure all of my friends here will enjoy coming over. The vice principal told me my address, his phone number, what time to be at work on Monday, how to light my water heater, and to follow the railroad tracks south to my school. Then he left! What now??!! I have no phone, no money exchanged, no food, and no idea exactly where I am! WOW! I used my mom’s USA phone to call my friend Gerzahin who came and got us. I feel bad for the teachers who come in and have never been here. We went to the mall and I got money and we ate at Taco Inn (ten times better than taco bell). Then we went to Wal-Mart and the adventure began. I had to get things like food, shampoo, hangers, trash can, and more. My friends from last summer, Gerzahin and Lalo, drove us there and were helping me get everything. After buying everything we went back to my apartment and started organizing. My friends left and I still didn’t have phone or internet. My parents and I were very tired so we got ready for bed and were almost asleep when my mom heard something. She jumped out of bed to look out the window and see Gerzahin, Sandi (his sister), and Gerza (His dad) at my door. This is the family I stayed with a year ago when I was here. I hurried and changed clothes and ran downstairs to let them in. I opened the gate and greeted everybody. Sandi gave me her phone and charger to use so I could be in contact with them until I got my phone. I invited them in to see my apartment. They were so nice and helpful. Gerza told me I could use their car tomorrow and Sandi would be our navigator. WOW!! I felt so blessed to have people watching out for me and my family.

The next day on Monday, I called the missionaries I know here in Pachuca and Vicki said she was coming to pick me up. Vicki took us to her house and fed us breakfast and talked with my parents. It really helped my parents know that people are watching over me here. God has placed amazing people in my life. After breakfast we went to get me a phone, internet, see my new school and back to Wal-Mart. My school is so nice. I got to see my classroom. It was very big and I even get a smartboard. J I was told that I will have 15 to 16 kids per class. I will be teaching 1^st grade to two classes. The way the school works is kids go to English or Spanish schooling and then after lunch they switch to the next. I found out I will be using Harcourt curriculum which I am familiar with so I was excited. I start orientation on Monday at 8 in the morning. I am excited to begin. I got a prepaid phone and the internet said it would be here in two days. That is incredible because some people it took a month to get internet. After all our shopping we went to Gerza and Reyna’s house for lunch. Reyna made a wonderful meal that was so good. My family got to meet the family that I lived with last year and see where I stayed. Then we went back to my apartment to relax for a little bit. Another missionary I know her lives very close to me almost on the same street. She invited us over so my parents could meet her. We went over there for about an hour. Then Gerzahin called me and said his sister and him were coming over to my apartment and then we could eat. We couldn’t decide whether to eat at my apartment or go out. I was trying to explain that I needed a cookie sheet to make food in the oven. Well, Gerzahin can speak very good English but didn’t know cookie sheet. It is not something they use down here. I could tell he didn’t understand and thought he might bring me a skillet or pan. They get here and I go open the gate. We decide to go out to eat. Gerzahin says, we will need to take the microwave out so everyone can fit. I said microwave???? He brought me his mom’s microwave instead of cookie sheet. We laughed for ALONG time about that one. Oh language barriers! After my dad moved the microwave we went to get Taquitos. They were delicious!  

It is now Tuesday and my parents have to leave. It was a very emotional day filled with tears. Vicki picked us up and we took a bus to the airport. I watched my parents walk through the security after hugs and tears. I knew this is exactly where I should be but it was still hard to say goodbye to my parents. Then Vicki and I got back on the bus to Pachuca. Once I got back to my apartment I was very drained from the emotions. I found on my bed a journal that my mom and I used to write to each other when I was younger. My mom had left me a message J I also found little notes in the bathroom and refrigerator. I would not be who I am today without my amazing family!!!!

Wednesday, the missionaries came over with another Mexican couple and we ate breakfast. The internet guys were coming today but nobody knew when. The missionaries already had a marriage counseling meeting set up so they had it in my apartment. I just watched movies in my room. The internet guys came and I got fiber optic internet J That night I talked to my family! I got to show my little brother my apartment. I am so thankful for things like skype and facetime. Then Thursday was filled with movies and talking to family. Gerzahin came to my apartment around 7:00 to show me which bus I will take to school since my vice principal gave me no information. It took a while to figure it out and we weren’t sure if we took the easiest way either. Then we went to Aro which is a young adult cell group here that Gerzahin’s oldest sister and husband do. It was nice to see people that I haven’t seen in a year. Then we went to Gerzahin’s house to get a car. Then he took me home. Today is Friday August 3, 2012 which is exactly one year since I had left Pachuca last year. I am so happy to be back! I am ready to see where this adventure takes me. There will be more updates coming!

What a week!

This week has been a little on the crazy side...everything from setting mice traps to putting paint thinner in the car to TRY to start it.Guess what it didnt work. haha Oh Mexico! Well this has been a very emotional week for me also. The sad part most of the emotional part has to deal with drama going on back in the United States. I have an amazing mom though who is always there when I need her even if we are in different countries. I know that Satan is really attacking this week but I have the One and only on my side...so I am not going to let it bother me. I am asking for prayer for my future decisions especially once I get back home. I know God is moving in my life right now and has amazing things planned but the steps to get there might not be fun or easy. Prayers for wisdom and strength would be greatly appreciated.        
 Last Sunday I got to pray in Spanish for the childrens offereing. I had help with preparing and rehearsing my prayer. The kids thought it was cool to hear me pray in their language.Some of the kids even came up and gave me hugs and told me I did good. I cannot wait until I can communicate more in Spanish. One of the little boys said my prayer was too short. I think he is four and didnt understand how hard just that short prayer was for me. haha I love kids.
 I have been working on some scenery for the upcoming Vacation Bible School or as they call it in Mexico Curso de Verano. I am not very creative so I found some ideas on the internet and have two very creative people helping me. Maximo gets to draw and design the taxis and me and Jacqui worked on stop lights. The theme this year is Adventure in the Big Apple which is kind of hard since we are in Mexico. I think we have decided just to do a big city theme. That means lots of tall buildings, taxis, and some roads. I am so excited to see how it turns out. Everyone knows I love kids so VBS is right up my alley.
Well this week has also been the week when a lot of youth took exams to see if they get into the university or some graduated high school. I got to go to a graduation ceremony and then to the girls party afterwards. They made me dance which was just interesting haha Then yesterday I went to a graduation party for another girl. The family I live with have two kids who took exams to see if they get into the university.There was lots of preparing and praying before hand. It was amazing to see a church come around the youth and lay hands on them for these things. The daughter Sandy found out today that she passed!! Everyone is so happy for her and it made her parents very proud. Now they are waiting to see if their son passed. He keeps putting off checking though. He could have found out yesterday but found every excuse not to look. I think I convinced him to find out today. Why wait!!! This is such an exciting and nervous time for the youth of the church but amazing to see them drawn together from it.
I cant believe the summer is half over because it has gone by so fast. Thank you supporters for giving me this opportunity!!! It has been life changing so far and I still have more changing to do.
Ash

Prayer

This week is prayer week for the church here. You can sign up for an hour and people are always praying at the church for the whole week. We made papers with our pictures and prayer request or praises. We were suppose to leave room for people to write encourgaments. On Sunday I got to help set up the stations which followed the Lord´s prayer. Some of the youth here are so creative. Well I am not so I tried to set things up like tables and organize some of the boys who werent doing anything unless you tell them to. Well Maximo and I set out on a search for a cross that they had had before. After awhile we found it in three pieces so then we went on a search for a hammer, nails, and a new piece of wood. Maximo is one of the guys I live with whose dad is a carpenter and preaches at the church sometimes. Well I hammered the nails in and fixed the cross haha Everyone who knows me knows that I like to do boy things :) Well then comes Monday and there are many spaces that are not filled so guess who got to fill them..the slave (intern) as they call me :) I got to pray for a total of three hours but not all together. I was nervous about praying for three hours but it turned out amazing. Just me and God...life changing! Today I had to pray for one hour but tomorrow is another day.
The people here are so amazing but so broken at the same time. I found out one of the ladies that I ate lunch with got pregnant at 13 years old. She now has that daughter and a 14 year old and a 12 year old. She met her husband at a bar and now they are both Christians whose lives are turned around. She said her side of the family is all a mess though. Amazing what God can do. I have heard so many bad stories of people coming to the church and then messing up big time. Reminds me of some of my experience with foster care. You pour your life into someone who turns around and rejects it. I think God is teaching me and has put me through experience to figure out how to deal with these issues. No one will ever be ok with someone rejecting them but with God in the picture it is different.
Please continue to pray for me and wisdom for the future. Also for the people of Pachuca! 

what a journey

Well I had to go to the doctor this week because I had an ear infection. I am so glad I did though because the doctor gave me some meds and in two days I was feeling fine. The meds made me dizzy and not be able to sleep very well...but everything is back to normal now. I have got to eat at different Mexican family´s house this week for lunch. I was a little nervous about that at first because my lack of Spanish but it has been amazing. Trying all these different foods and practicing Spanish and usually helping them learn new English words. They love to learn English words which helps me learn the Spanish words. I also got to help plan kids church for two Sundays. It is kind of weird not actually teaching them but I cant since i cant speak their language. I have got to attend so many different bible studies each week. Some for adults and some for my age which is neat. I have been doing a lot of talking with the youth who are my age. It is so nice because they know so much English which then can help me learn my Spanish. I have sooooo much work to do. Everyone keeps saying that I understand so much but still cant really speak it. I am trying though. I have been praying about my future and where God is going to use me. I want to be in Mexico but there are a lot details that God is going to have to work out. That is what faith is for ...right haha. Well tomorrow USA plays Mexico in futbol tomorrow for the finals. This should be interesting..I am torn on who to root for because the whole country of Mexico loves soccer. Usa not so much. Plus for my best interest since I am in Mexico I think I should root for them haha. Well I hope I can write more later please continue to pray for guidance and wisdom. Thanks for the support everybody