Home away from home...

     After spending the day in  a very, very long 18 hour car ride through Europe, we finally landed in Latvia, Europe!! It feels so great to be back!  After settling in, we had a team meeting with The Hargans about why we were here and what our job is as an intern this summer.  We are here to build bridges that connect young people to the churches and Nationals in Latvia.  Along with that we are to be as flexible as we are able.  It is great to hear some of the stories the Latvians have told about those who have been saved and connected with the church and are continuing to serve and be disciples to those around them who don't yet know Christ!  Such an encouragement!!  Tomorrow we break out into our two teams to work on lessons and your prayers and much needed!! Please pray for patience as well as clarity and wisdom in finalizing lessons!!  

New birth in a living hope!

When we got to the Josiah Venture training center here in Czech I opened up my bible to 1 Peter.  Why I did I still don't know, but I know God will use it for good.  Anyway I tried reading through it and I kept being pulled back to the first few verses.  No matter how hard I tried to move on my heart still felt pulled back to the first few verses.  So I read 1 Peter 1:3-5 over and over and over and then thought, well I can't seem to focus on anything else but this passage why not memorize it! 
     "In his great mercy he has given us new birth in a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in that time."   1 Peter 1:3-5
Every time I read this I still find something new!  I want to know your observations! Help me understand why this verse has been placed on my heart!!


As for another update......my heart is swelling with so many thoughts and emotions!  As interns we are all going through a study called the "Shift 1|9" and in it we get to stop and go deep into the gospel of Christ.  Instead of just reading a verse and closing our Bibles we actually read the verses and then sit and talk about what we see happening in the stories.  It is such an honor to be surrounded by so many people that see so many different things in the same scripture!  Recently we have been talking about sharing the gospel in a way that people will listen instead of shutting down.  While we were talking about it I sat there  convicted, wondering "How many times did I have the opportunity to share and instead made excuses to walk the other direction?"  I learned today that there are those who can walk into a spiritual conversation with extreme ease and there are those who fall into a spiritual conversation.  Both have Christ in mind, both revolve around love, regardless of how "together" their testimonies may seem.  It is going to be a process learning to approach people without them assuming I am judging or thinking I am better them.  I am so excited to see how God shapes my heart and uses me to expand His kingdom!! 

Specific prayer request:

Pray that Christ keeps us from distractions that Satan places in front of us
Pray for peace in our sleep.  Stephen has had a few extremely dark dreams that have happened to some others in the past as well.  
Pray that support will continue to come in not only for myself but also for those who have recently become a part of the JV Staff.  I have talked to a lot of people and support raising is a very big struggle! 

Love you all! Thanks again for all your prayers and support!    

Final Destination of the Amazing race!!!

We have reached our final destination in Malenovice, Czech Republic!!  We are staying in another Josiah Venture training center, right in the middle of the mountains!  I wish you all could be here to see this beautiful view! (Picture will be up soon!)  
Unfortunately Latvia's second team (my team) didn't do so well....we took 14th our of 15 teams!  So we didn't exactly loose but Latvia's first team picked up our slack by placing 5th!! Even though we lost we had a great time walking across the Czech bolder from Poland and continuing on to a club where we learned how to do a czech folk dance!! After that we had a few more stops and ended with a huge bang by piling 5 people into the smallest taxi ever!! All in all no dreams are broken and we all still have extremely high hopes for this summer regardless of taking 14th!  

The Amazing Race!!!

The Amazing Race has started here in Krakow, Poland!  They have split the Latvian team into two groups.  If any of you have watched the "real" amazing race on television you have some idea of how it works.  Someone hands you a sheet with a clue and you are to race to the next clue given only by asking those around you, who may or may not speak English!  Needless to say this entails miles and miles of walking!! Day one of the race team one entered the last destination at the hostel at 10pm and the second at 10:30pm. We are the 2nd team and took 13th yesterday out of fifteen teams....didn't do so well lol but we haven't lost hope!  Today we ended our journey at Josiah Ventures brand new H2O center here in Skoczow, Poland. It is a center built to train interns like myself as well as giving those in need a place to sleep, kind of like a hotel!  Our last challenge for the day, before we could curl up in a nice warm bed, was to eat blood sausage and sour kraut.  For those of you who have no idea what blood sausage is.....Google it!  Sour kraut is my least favorite food And on top of blood sausage it made for an extremely great gag reflex!  We are now ranking 10th and are slowly stepping up the list!! Please keep us in your prayers as we continue our journey into Czech republic! Tomorrow makes for the last day of the amazing race and will give us our final placement!!

This Journey

is right around the corner!!  The closer it gets to going overseas the more anxious I become!! I'm excited, scared, along with every other emotion you can think of!  Support has me extremely stressed out and I know that money will ALWAYS be an issue in life.  I am learning to trust God fully! Granted its easier said than done lol.  I have seen amazing support come in from people I have never even met before!  Right now I need roughly $6,000 raised by May 15th.  They would prefer by May 1st, but the 15th is the final date.  My fiancé Stephen is also struggling raising support and has roughly $4,000 left to raise.  We have sent out another wave of support letters this last week and are sending out another wave this week.  We grabbed the church directory and are sending out letters to those from our church body.  Some we know, but most we do not.  We are trusting that God will lay on their hearts the willingness/eagerness to, in some way support us.   If you would like to support us please write the checks out to Josiah Venture and in the memo line write our account #'s to be sure you can write it off in taxes.  Here is the info to send support to:

Josiah Venture
P.O. Box 4317
Wheaton, IL 60189-4317

Stephen Knoll
Account #: 67205

Ashley Portnell
Account #: 67202

Thank you everyone for all the prayers and support that we have received so far!! We are so grateful!!

An impatient lifestyle....

It's crazy how some things in your life can bring you to your knees more than once in your lifetime.  I thought I had dealt with my past and moved on, but now I stand in front of a man who wants to spend the rest of his life with me, and now I find myself face down-truly dealing with my past.  For the first time in my life I am able to understand why those around me taught me to wait until I was married to give away something so precious.  For the first time, I stand disappointed, facing the consequences of my actions.  Why? Because for the first time, he is the only one that matters.  It doesn't matter what everyone else has to say about me, just him, and now more than ever I cry out to the only one who knows my pain--Jesus.  Constantly, I find myself begging for Christs forgiveness, knowing I have His forgiveness.  I beg because I'm not sure I have completely forgiven myself yet-I'm learning.  As I learn I pray for patience in my own life and the life of those around me.  Patience--I have found I must learn through the trials of this life.  I want too many things, too much information in my life on my owm time and forget that God's timing is perfect.  Like so many of us I try to get ahead of the game and often find myself more frustrated than I was from the start.  At this time in my life I'm learning to step back and let God lead.  Although its easier said than done.  God never gives us more than we can handle and right now my life is at its peak...so I am learning to be patient and trust the only one who can save me! 

I Stand Amazed!!

I am amazed at the work God continues to do in my life.  So often I forget to be thankful for the little things in life and find my self scrambling under the stress of everything in between.  Regardless of all the stress God ALWAYS manages to show up on top!!  Right now Latvia support has hit a stand still, and in doing so God is showing me how important it is to be patient.  In my moments of doubt I have found myself weak at the knees begging my Maker for security.  God has clearly given me an open door to follow Him through and I have/am continuing to follow His steps in this next journey of my life.  God has opened my eyes to be thankful for my job, even when things don't go my way.  Without it I wouldn't be able to pay bills on top of putting money aside for Latvia!  He is opening my eyes to those around me praying for me, and encouraging me in my walk with Him!  My support for Latvia hasn't moved much but I will NOT be discouraged!  I now have $7,967 left to raise!!  I will continue sending out support letters and am thinking of having a "strictly donation" garage sale! If you guys have any suggestions please let me know!! I am open for everything! 

On a brighter note!! I am engaged!! Stephen Knoll proposed to me on March 4th!!  I said YES!  I am truly blessed to have such a loving man of God in my life!  His heart to do/be the best he can be in everything has been a huge inspiration in my life.  Without his encouragement and support for my decision to pursue Latvia my stress level would be ten times more.  God placed him in my life at just the right time!  I can't 

wait to spend the rest of my life with him.