Missionary Friends Spotlight: Ashley Lightfoot

Meet my cousin, Ashley.

She is 17 years old and lives in Senoia, Georgia. You may remember her from my last blog post. I met Ashley when my mom married her uncle when I was about 5 or 6 years old and she was probably 4 years old. Okay, so she is not technically my cousin anymore, but even though we were only related for a few years, we've always considered each other family and claimed one another as such. I remember screaming at her when she was at my house for a sleepover and telling her to go home because I was tired of her... I remember teaming up to play jokes on my brother... I remember wishing I didn't have to go to her house to play. I have a lot of memories with Ashley from when we were little and I look back now and cherish all of them. I have watched her grow up for the most part and now looking back and seeing the awesome young woman of God she has become is such an awesome thing! We got to spend a week together when I was home for Christmas... she came in from Georgia to stay at our house with us, and it was definitely a fun week full of laughter, shopping and inside jokes! I wish we could spend more time together, for sure!

Ashley is taking her first EVER mission trip to Romania in the Summer to work with an orphanage. I am SOOOO excited for her! I love that she is stepping out in faith and doing what God has called her to do, and I know that she will return from her trip a better person than she already is. She has an awesome story about how God got her attention turned to Romania and you can read that story on her blog. It is one that gave me chill bumps for real! Our God is just so overwhelmingly AMAZING! It is great to see young followers of God taking up their crosses and following Him with everything they have.

**A Romanian Orphanage background:

Under the rule of Nicolae Ceauşescu, contraception and abortion were illegal, which led to an increase in birth rates... which led to an increase in children being abandoned on the steps of orphanages or worse, the streets to fend for themselves. Images of Romanian orphanages were released after the fall of the Communist government in 1989, and the standard of living for the orphans is still horrible, despite huge improvements. The children have no access to medical treatment or proper food and clothing and are often subjected to physical and mental abuse in the orphanages. There are some, obviously, more poor than others and some where the children are not treated totally horrible. The number of orphans in these state ran homes are increasing and the amount of care providers is not, so this leaves many children without the comfort of having someone wrapping their arms around them and being nice.**

What is Ashley going to be doing in Romania? Here is her story below: 

I am going on a mission trip this summer to the country of Romania. I am going to be part of a team of people from Crossroads Church who will hold a summer camp for orphaned children, ranging in age from 8 to 18. I am very excited about this opportunity and I would like to ask that you prayerfully consider supporting me through prayer and giving. The dates I will be traveling are June 29-July 8 and the cost is approximately $2,800. I’d like to share some information with you about the children we will be serving.
There are approximately 125,000 orphaned children living in Romania. Many of these children have grown up in state run orphanages from the time of birth. Some have been left on the doorsteps of these institutions by family members or parents who suffer from poverty, addiction, and mental illness. These children grow up suffering physically, emotionally, and psychologically. They are regarded as unwanted and undesirable and are treated as outcasts in their society. The care and education they receive is substandard and sets them up to repeat the vicious cycle of dysfunction.
For the past 10 years, teams from Atlanta, California, and Colorado have gone to Mures County in Romania to minister to the "least of these." These teams have held week long, overnight camps that focus on sharing God's love and His hope with these children. These teams have built play structures, provided dental care, and transported medical supplies, clothing, and school supplies to various counties in the western region of the country.
I believe that God is calling me to join Him where He is already at work and be a part of this year’s team. I want to share His love and His hope with these children at camp and remind them that they are cherished and valued and that their lives have purpose and meaning.
Please pray that our team will be knit together and that God will speak through us during our week with the children in Romania.

These children need someone to hold them and tell them it will be alright. They need to find some kind of hope, and the hope that will get them through these tough lives they have can only be found in Jesus. It is our job, as people who are not able to attend these trips ourselves, to send workers out into the harvest as Jesus says in Matthew. Mission trips, especially foreign ones are so expensive. There is the passport expense, the visa expense(if she needs one) the travel expenses, and of course the base expense of the trip as listed above. The first $100 is due at the end of this month(in 2 days!!) and then 75% of the remaining balance is due by March 15 which is $2,025 if my math is correct, plus anything else that needs to be bought or paid for as this trip winds closer. I fully believe with all of my heart that we should support missionaries both monetarily and prayerfully. Ashley is going to receive the funds she needs to get to Romania, because the God of Creation is on her side. I totally believe that this is what God wants for her life in this moment, and if it is... He will make it happen! Please join me in prayer for her and her team and all of the people the team will encounter on this trip. If you would like to help support her trip in any way, send me an email at breannarains@gmail.com :) 

*photo credit: Blog post*