In His Grip.....

Our whole perspective changes when finding ourselves in a hard place , we realize the Lord has placed us there or allowed us to be there, perhaps for reasons presently known only to himself." - Robert Morgan in Red Sea Rules

Hope this email finds you well. I cannot believe that we are already in April. First of all, I am writing to tell you what love and encouragement you have been to me both financially and prayerfully over the last 8 months as I have been in Albania. What I am about to tell you comes with a heavy heart. As most of you know, I have been having trouble with health issues most of the time I have been in Albania.

The following was written by my team leaders, Peter and Melodye Bowers:

"As of Thursday a decision was made that Ashley VanDeburgh will be returning home within the month, earlier than originally anticipated, because of some medical issues. She has caught everything that has come around, as well as lost her voice for the last several weeks. Because she came to teach, as you can imagine, it's been hard to do this with no voice! We have been praying and hoping that her voice will return to a capacity that she can teach unhindered in the classroom. But it seems that God has other plans. After talking with Ashley, the school administration and Dr. Guy, a consensus has been reached that the best thing physically, spiritually and mentally for Ashley is to return home. Our prayer is that God will use this stumbling block in her life to further prepare her for ministry in the future---stateside or missions worldwide. We see this as a temporary setback from a human perspective---yet God knew before Ashley came what was in her future and will use this for His glory. "

As you can see, I will be coming home a little early from my assignment in Albania.

Here are some details :

* My scheduled departure date is Thursday April 29th. I will be arriving in Columbia, SC.

* I am working part time at the school so that I can finish my time in Albania

* I will be going to some medical specialists to try and nail down the problem with my voice.

Answers to prayer:

I had already booked my ticket home back in January, and to change the ticket only cost $ 5.00! Praise God!

Prayer Requests:

This has been a hard decision to make and I am feeling drained, so would you pray that these last two weeks would be a good time of closure for me here in Albania.

Thank you again for your friendship and encouragement! :)

See you all very soon!

IN HIS GRIP,

Ashley

P. S. For those of you who support me financially, I am still waiting to hear from the Christar Home Office in regard to financial support. I will let you know as soon as I hear, so you can plan accordingly