Missionary Ashli Blackwell just graduated college and is about to set off on an 11 month missions adventure around the world. Why? Her recent blog post explains a little of her heart and passion for the world:
"After praying for many days about what the heck to write, this is what I've decided you need to know: I am two people in one - USA Ashli and Missionary Ashli...
It seems I find myself constantly striving for this certain level of acceptance. But accepted by whom? And what makes us accepted? I feel most confident when I have on my favorite outfit, my cutest jewelry, and my pink lip-gloss. By the sounds of this, I feel most valued for things that cannot reach past my surface... literally. But pick me up and put me down in Haiti? Makeup isn't an option and who cares what you're wearing? There's work to be done and a Gospel to be told. I can't blame USA Ashli for wanting to hold on to the things she has grown accustomed to, for that's all she has ever known. But Missionary Ashli is screaming for simplicity. She dreams of a culture that is more concerned with what a person is saying than what they look like when they are saying it.
She craves a place that will drive you to your knees.
Y'see, the thought of giving up the things that make our life easy just sounds like that disaster that's waiting to happen. But can I just tell you, reader, that in those times I have experienced God like no other time before. Don't hear me saying the Lord can't speak into any situation He so desires. But when we deny ourselves of the distractions that we label as "life necessities" we become open to a whole new desperation for our Creator.
Because it's in those places that we find rest. It's those places that He tells me I'm beautiful with or without makeup and pearls. It's those places that we depend on Him to make it through this day and on to the next."
You can read the whole post and follow Ashli's adventure here.