Sisters... by Lucy

Ashleigh with the girls in the aprons she made for them

Ashleigh with Aaron and Joanna and the photo boards she made them

Ashleigh and Joanna making pizza

Ashleigh teaching some youth from church how to make pizza

Ashleigh and Ana after swim lessons

Ashleigh helping Mark cut tile for our new home

Ashleigh goofing off with John and Ariel

Ashleigh serving in the kitchen on the EMMC in February

Ashleigh and Angie at the Hacienda

Ashleigh and I celebrating our birthdays with Aaron, Joanna, and Mark (taking the picture)

Ashleigh on the zip-line at Los Manantiales

Ashleigh and Mark enjoying their coffee on our campout

Ashleigh playing soccer with some of the kids

Ashleigh teaching Angie and Diana how to make pie

Ashleigh with her brothers, Daniel and Stephen in front of El Popo

Ashleigh throwing Ana high into the air, which she loves

Ashleigh and I making Italian sauce (50 jars!)

Ashleigh and the preschool class, Ruth and Bernabe

Ashleigh and Aaron at the Hacienda

Ruth and Ashleigh run at the Hacienda

Ashleigh and Danny playing at home

Ashleigh left for the United States yesterday. It was a very difficult day for those of us here at Refuge Ranch. We will all miss her a great deal, even though we know she is following God's will for her life right now.

We have been teasing her for quite some time that we were going to do a blog about her, and she was adamant that we were not. But now that she is not here, she can't do anything about it, so here goes!

Ashleigh became like a little sister to me when our family moved here. She was fun to tease, and could dish it right back out to you. She was like part of our family. She shared holidays with us, and movie nights and game nights, and she went out with us to Cuautla when we needed to have "family time." Our kids became very close to her, and she helped us all to adjust to the different culture with her words of wisdom and experience. She was our interpreter on the many outings to the tile store or local restaurant.

Ashleigh is young, but has had many experiences for her age. She taught me about cooking for a large crowd (which I'm still not really sure about!), and how to make great pizza in a tiny oven. She taught me about dealing with experiences that would normally leave me so frustrated, I would want to cry. One day she went to Office Max to get something for Julie, while I waited in the van. We ran some other errands, then went back to pick up the stamp she needed. They had not understood what she wanted, and we had to wait another half hour for it to get done. Ashleigh came back out to the van, and said, "I've just had another opportunity to smile," and proceeded to relate the story to me about why we were going to wait for the stamp. If that had happened to me, I might have been in a foul mood the rest of the day because things went wrong. But I couldn't be upset because Ashleigh made it into something different, "an opportunity to smile."

I will miss the way she sings when she pricks her finger with a needle. I will miss the way she called Mark, "Mark Anthony," whenever he was teasing her. Mark Anthony is her uncle, and that is what he was called when he was in trouble. I will miss her coffee addiction that she shares with Mark. Now he will have to drink coffee alone! Unless he gets one of our kids hooked on it! I will miss watching her with the kids when she was in charge when Victor and Julie had to be gone. She could be stern when she needed to be, but loving and giving the next minute, laughing and hugging them close. I will miss our talks about life and God. I will miss singing with her and going shopping with her (It just isn't the same with Mark!). I will miss making American meals with her when we were craving something more familiar. I will miss her smile and beautiful eyes that reflected the love of our Savior.

But despite missing her here, I know we will be together again, whether here in Mexico, in the United States, or in Heaven. And that is the joy we can all have when we love Jesus and allow Him to be Lord of our lives. We are never really apart when we have that bond that reaches beyond borders and barriers. Praise God we are His children, and I can call Ashleigh my sister!

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:3-5