Snow Adventure

What started out as an innocent shopping trip yesterday morning became a really exciting and slightly nerve wracking adventure that lasted over 3 hours.

Cari and I went shopping early yesterday morning. For the record, there was no snow on the ground when we left around 9:15am, and the weather people were saying we were only supposed to get less than 1 inch of snow that day. So we figured we could go out, shop for a couple hours, and come back around lunch time and be fine. I mean really, this is GEORGIA, people!!!

Well, it started snowing pretty good around 11am, so we started heading home. We were only about 45 minutes away, but after seeing two bad wrecks within a span of 5 minutes, we were crawling along the highway very cautiously. We made it back to our town fine, and drove through on a salted road, but by the time we got to the roads outside of town that we had to travel on, they were covered in snow, and they had already been packed down to ice. We pulled over at a gas station to wait for my dad and Clint to come pick us up.

It took them at least a half hour to drive the roads, which normally takes about ten minutes. And apparently, there were cars off the road everywhere because of all the curves on the road and all the hills. Thankfully, they made it fine, picked us up, and we took off back home. At first, the police wouldn't let us through, because it was so dangerous. Finally, they started letting people through after a salt truck came through. We still got stuck on the way back and had to get out and push the car. We made it about 2 miles from home, but then encountered a hill that was too steep to go on, so we had to leave the car and walk home.

All in all, I think we got about 3 inches, and it's slick stuff. It was definitely a bit scary to see what happens when you get a bunch of Southern drivers on a set of curvy roads without any snow chains or salt on the roads. What fun!

We did have a lot of fun playing in it yesterday afternoon (we went sledding down our driveway and down the road that leads to our house!).

But I guess I am just really grateful for God's protection and provision for us yesterday. If Cari and I had tried to drive all the way back on our own, I'm pretty sure we would've ended up in the ditch. I'm so grateful for God getting us home safely and for having a warm house with lots of food to keep us until the snow melts.

Snow! It doesn't look like much because we were sledding on the driveway yesterday and made it all icy :)

Little House in the Woods

As we've been settling back into life here in Georgia, Clint and I have been searching for a place where we can live after we get married. Just yesterday, we found the perfect one! God had it just for us! It's a little log cabin out in the middle of the woods. It's a one bedroom, one bathroom deal, which is perfect for the two of us. It even has a wood burning fireplace! That made Clint's day. :) It's about 45 minutes from my family's, so not too close, but not too far either.

It's amazing how God provided it at just the right time and in just the right way. The lady who is renting it to us is super nice. The price is within our range. It's just so cool to see God at work!

Pictures coming soon! :)

Just a Heads Up...

Since my name will be changing in 37 days, my blog's name will be slightly outdated. So, in the interest of everyone, I wanted to make you aware that I will be changing my blog's name sometime in late February or early March. It will no longer be http://ashlynfarrell.blogspot.com. Instead, it will be http://teeletribe.blogspot.com.

So, if one fine day in the next month or so, you find that my blog has disappeared, please try typing in my new blog address, and you should find it again. :)

Thanks to all of you for your continued support and prayers! I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for them and for all of you!

Carianna May

It's hard to believe that 19 years ago, a little baby was born who would forever change my life. I was one and a half, and thrilled to death to be a big sister. From home videos, I can tell that I was pretty disappointed at first that this new little person would just sit there and cry when I wanted her to come play with me, but I guess I was still excited to have someone in the house around my size. I mean, seriously, all those big people running around doing things... it's hard to be so small.

Sometimes I would ask my mom if I could wear a diaper and drink out of a bottle to match Cari.... *embarrassed*

Over the years, Cari and I did so much together. It was fun having a cohort with whom to play games, build vast legos creations, make forts outside, be crazy, play dolls and dress-up and other girly things, and talk with. It was so much fun!

As we're both moving on in life to the places where God wants us to go, I will miss the fun days of childhood when we had so few cares and could just have fun together. But I will always carry those precious memories in my heart!

I've so loved seeing you grow up into such a mature and beautiful woman. I am so excited to get to see where God takes you, even if I may be on the other side of the world.

Love you, sis! Happy birthday! I'm glad I get to spend it with you this year! :)

Why Take so Long?

I’m signing my life away. I’m giving up a comfortable, American lifestyle for something that might very well be the most difficult job on earth.

One question I’ve encountered and had to personally deal with myself is, “Why does it take so stinking long to plant a church???” Or maybe the question is, “Why does New Tribes take so long to plant churches?”

I’m so glad you asked…

New Tribes requires missionaries to fully learn the culture and language of the people they go to. This process can take anywhere from 2 to 7 years. But why? Seriously, do we really need to learn all that and take all that time?

Imagine someone from another country came and learned a bit of English and tried teaching you the deep teachings of Islam. They have a thick accent. They stumble over their words. They are committing all kinds of cultural blunders, including using idioms that don’t really fit. They dress in a strange manner with a long, flowing robe and turban. How long would you listen to them? Probably not very long. They don’t have any credibility. You would be frustrated and thinking they don’t really care about you. They only want you to raise your hand saying you believe and then they’ll go on to the next people.

Come on. Really??? Do I really want to have that kind of ministry among the people I’m working with? Do I really want to just say words? Do I really want to present information in such a way that they are confused for the rest of their life and simply mixing their beliefs with Christianity?

I don’t want them to think they are a project. I want them to see me as a friend. As a comrade. As one of them. And that requires knowing as much about them as I can. After all, I want to build relationships that are going to impact them at a heart level. That are going to change the way they view life. And that takes time.

I want them to fully understand the deep, wonderful truths of God’s Word, and that means I must learn how to communicate in their heart language. In a way that they can truly understand and appreciate.

And then after they get saved, I want them to grow into mature believers, strong in God’s Word and in their faith. That also takes time. Think how long it’s taken you to get to where you are in your relationship with God. It takes years!

I want to also give them the Word of God in their language, so they can understand it and study it for themselves. I can’t even begin to imagine not having the Bible to study. How would I grow as a believer?

I’m not going to plant a New Tribes Mission church (in fact, New Tribes never puts their name with any of the churches. They are not a denomination). I am going to see people believe in the true God and His sacrifice on their behalf and have their worldview changed.

So yes, it will take a stinking long time. I am signing my life away. But honestly, I can’t even begin to imagine something more worthwhile than this. 

The last few weeks have been hectic but fun! Clint and I flew out to visit my grandparents, and we spent five days with them. It was a lot of fun for Clint to get to know them and see where they live. We got to visit a couple really neat places while we were there, including an outdoor zoo that has desert animals from the Americas and Africa. It was really cool to see the diversity that God has created and how He designed each animal to live in such a harsh environment. My grandparents also had a celebration for us for our engagement and upcoming wedding, which was really special. We definitely enjoyed our time with them!