BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
It wasn’t the path Ashleigh Davis thought she’d be on after graduating from Bradford High School in 2011, but it’s the path she was meant to be on and the path she wants to be on, taking her from darkness into the brightness that is God’s light.
It’s a light Davis is eager to share after going through a life transformation at the Youth with a Mission (YWAM) Kona Campus in Hawaii, which has prepared her to go out into the world and help others transform their lives.
“I’ve been through a lot in life,” Davis said. “I just want nothing more than to share the love of God with other people.”
Davis, the daughter of Brian and Lori Davis, has participated in mission-outreach opportunities in Columbia and Mexico and will soon leave for another opportunity throughout eastern Europe.
She said what she’s doing now wasn’t even on her radar as a youth growing up in Bradford County, but then again, it really was in a way.
“I remember as a young girl just having this passion in my heart of wanting to change the world,” Davis said. “I remember vocalizing that, but I didn’t know what that meant until recently, really.”
She’s eagerly awaiting her upcoming trip, knowing that it’ll benefit her as well as others.
“I’m excited to see what God is going to do, not only in the people there, but in my life,” Davis said. “I believe that He has something special even for me on this healing journey as well.”
Out of the darkness
Davis remembers a time when she was standing in her kitchen crying. She had moved back home after living in Canada, where she was attending college, and was simply feeling helpless about the state of her life and the decisions she had made that brought her to that point.
“I fell into a lot of sin. Drug abuse, sexual immorality — all the things, really,” Davis said, adding, “I moved back home to Florida because of some of the choices I was making.”
She was seeking help.
Jesse, who’s a good friend of Davis’, kept in contact, asking Davis how she was doing and sending her scripture. One day, during a FaceTime chat, Jesse had her mother talk to Davis. That was the start of a mentorship that still exists today.
“I kind of told her briefly what was going on,” Davis said. “From that day on, we’ve been talking every day. She’s just been there for me, to help me along this journey and to ultimately point me toward Jesus.”
Jesse’s mother was the one who told Davis about YWAM.
A move to Hawaii
Davis moved to Kona, Hawaii, last year after being accepted at YWAM, which is a nonprofit. She participated in its Discipleship Training School, which consists of a three-month training phase, followed by a three-month outreach phase.
“The first three months, you’re getting to know God more,” Davis said. “They bring in a lot of guest speakers with different topics. It was really hard because it got to the root of some things that you didn’t realize were there, but it was also this growing experience, which is super fruitful in the long run.”
One of her favorite weeks during the training phase was hearing a speaker talk on “the father heart of God” and how He allows us to overcome difficulties through a personal relationship with Him and through the healing power of His love.
“I feel like that week really resonated with me,” Davis said. “I feel like there was some healing in my heart that took place that week.”
The outreach phase took Davis, as part of a team, to Cartagena, Colombia.
Davis also participated in a School of Worship at YWAM, which, like Discipleship Training School, consists of a three-month training phase and a three-month outreach phase. The School of Worship’s purpose is to train worship leaders, musicians, singers and producers.
As part of the outreach phase, Davis and a team went to Mexico.
Besides having her relationship with God strengthened, Davis’ YWAM experiences rekindled her interest in music. She said the School of Worship brought back a passion for songwriting she first exhibited at the age of 12. Davis believes she can use music as part of her future work in missions and sees it as being a part of her upcoming trip to Europe.
“I’m excited to get to do music and to even have the opportunity to write songs — to share those with the people there and just to bring hope.”
Unplanned trip
If Davis needed an example of how God works, she got it with the fact she’s going to Europe. Such an opportunity wasn’t even on her horizon as she was in the midst of her School of Worship outreach phase in Mexico.
“I actually ended up leaving that outreach a few weeks earlier than my teammates,” she said. “There was this big event coming up called Carnival. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to handle that stuff because I’m really sensitive to things like that, especially right now, because I haven’t really been walking with Jesus until recently.”
Though she felt it was in her own best interests to not be around that kind of environment, it wasn’t an easy decision to make. She enjoyed being with her teammates and didn’t want to leave them behind, but she felt like God wanted her to return to Kona.
She did, without any thoughts of what was next for her. That’s when she met Graham, who would become a friend. He mentioned that God had led him to take an outreach trip to Europe. Graham invited Davis to be a part of that.
“If I had never gone home early from Mexico, I probably never would’ve had this opportunity,” Davis said, adding, “Now, looking back, it’s like, ‘Wow. It is cool how God works.’ I’m so grateful that I was obedient. He honors obedience.”
This upcoming trip is to assist people who’ve been affected by the situation in the Ukraine. Davis and her team won’t actually be going to Ukraine, but she said they’ll get as close to the country as they can.
Ukraine will be just one area of focus.
“A team of four others and I are going to be touring the eastern side of Europe, going to places such as Romania and Poland just to help refugees and wherever there’s a need,” Davis said. “We’re going to be helping in the Red Light District as well.”
Davis said she looks forward to opportunities to help those who’ve been victims of sex trafficking, but added, “Ultimately, I just want to help wherever there’s a need. I just have a heart for broken people, in general.”
Going forward with all-knowing God
Approximately two years ago, Davis had no idea of the things she would do in life — how she would draw closer to God and eagerly seek opportunities to make Him known to others. However, God knew. It is His intimate knowledge of her life and His continual presence that inspires her, which is why Psalm 139 (New Living Translation) is such a source of inspiration for Davis. The first five verses are: “O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.”
Even when Davis was making the wrong choices in her life, God was there. As verses 11-12 of Psalm 139 read: “I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night — but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you, the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.”
Davis is thankful for the truth in those verses.
“I fell so far into darkness, it felt like there was no way out,” she said, “but here I am two years later by the grace of God. I’m so grateful for all that He’s done in my life and what else He has in store for me moving forward.”
One thing God had in store for Davis was a return to Canada, where she had the opportunity to finally meet her mentor in person.
“That was a really special moment,” Davis said, adding, “She is overjoyed at the work God has done in my life and is continuing to do in my life. There’s still a lot I have to work through, but it’s so cool she and her family are sticking by my side through the good and the bad.”
It costs money to be able to travel to places such as Europe in order to help people and share with them the love of God. Davis, who has complete faith that God will provide the means, said it can be hard asking others to help support her financially, but said it’s easier if she reminds herself that it’s giving people of like mind an opportunity to be a part of what she’s doing as a missionary.
If you’d like to support Davis, you can do so through Venmo (@ashleighedavis), PayPal (paypal.me/AshleighDavis749) or CashApp ($ashleighedavis). You can also write her a check, contacting her through Facebook (Ashleigh Davis) or Instagram (ashleighdavismusic).
Davis also welcomes the opportunity to chat with people and tell them more about what she’s doing.
