Words from Asher - Aria MacDonald

Words from Asher

IMG_3777

Daily prayer:
“Dear God thank you that Aria is in heaven and us in the world. Amen’

“Us not a family, we have no sister”

“I am alive, see my fingers move. Aria’s finger’s not move”

“I like Omaha, New Zealand is boring”

“Why we leave Omaha?”

Prayer request: We have all been fairly sick. Asher earlier this week. Me now and Hamish likely to follow. Bad colds and trouble adjusting to brrrrrrr NZ houses. And likely fairly average immune systems too.

28 Responses to “Words from Asher”

  1. Jess says:

    gorgeous photo. hope you all get well soon!

  2. fiona says:

    So much for a little head to take in. I pray that you will all recover quickly- and that as spring rolls on into summer- there will be good times together- and chances to be happy together- even though you are missing your darling girl. Bless you heaps

  3. Lisa says:

    I agree with Fiona. He is sorting it out in his head his own way. Poor boy. I pray each of you will be healed. Amen

  4. Lyaine says:

    oh how cute.What a beautiful photo of the 2 of them together. Praying that you’ll all get better soon.Its no wonder to have got sick your immune systems have taken a battering with all the stress etc that you’ve had over the last 5 years. Hopefully with summer you’ll improve. Love Lyaine from Sydney.

  5. iliganoa says:

    Hi guys!!! Im sorry Asher I hope you will get used to NZ again. Praying for good health and joy in your hearts for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Is it very cold in your new place??? I wish for warmth in your home and especially for lots of friends to cook something hot and nice for you. I know I have some red wine…it is biblical but not for you Asher, it did helped my immunity sssshh
    system. Get well soon guys, and help me count our fingers, thank God for beautiful fingers…….have some fun games guys please lol.

  6. Fiona McNair says:

    Do you need to change your residence? Is New Zealand the right place for you now? Lots and lots of changes to cope with, time heals……hope you get over your flu bugs quickly…..all the best

  7. Vikki Bland says:

    Oh boy. There is nothing like the NZ spring when it comes to flus and colds and viruses. And you are so right Anita, NZ houses are often cold. It is so lovely to hear from you again, and to hear Asher’s prayers. The photo is so precious. Praying for renewed health, for sun, for warmth, for peace and comfort for you all. With our love XXX

  8. EVE GILKES says:

    Dear Anita, Hamish and Asher,
    So good to hear from Asher, children are so open.
    Keep talking about Aria, she is still part of your family and always will be.
    Just lie back and let Jesus take the strain ……. it’s the best place to be at the moment.
    It will take some time to adjust from the last 5 years and especially the time in U.S, back to N.Z. time and ways ……. let it take its own course and just go with the flow.
    We are still very much with you …… thank you once again for letting us into your lives …… and for the up-date.
    With love and prayers ……. God bless you
    Eve

  9. Cary Farrington (GRC) says:

    Thank you for continuing to write. May God bless you with strength for each new day.

  10. Melissa says:

    Praying for you all to get better soon. It is amaizing what depth of thought children can have. I remember when my sister died and my mom told my neice that it was ok for her to be angry and even at God because he understands. She just looked at my mom and said ” Grandma it is not that simple.” At her age she knew that there was alot more that she was feeling besides angry. Ashur being able to express himself like that is just a beautiful thing. You two are amaizing people and wonderful parents. Thoughts and lots of love to you!!

    Melissa Rine

  11. Sherry Boyle says:

    Praying for renewed health and strength during this difficult time. May God continue to hold you close.

  12. Cheri Lazanis says:

    Praying for renewed health for all of you.
    How sweet to hear Asher talk about Aria. It seems like he’s thinking of Aria in the casket. “Aria’s fingers not move”. Do you ever talk about her new body?
    When my son went to be with Jesus, one of my greatest joys was that he was “walking and talking and praising God”. His body was no longer “broken”. Actually it’s the one thing that helped my unbearable sense of loss.
    Thank you for continuing to share where you are on this road.
    Continuing to pray.

  13. LeeAnne says:

    Oh sweet Asher and you are all missed here in the USA too. So very sorry your sweet sister ^Aria^ cannot be here playing with you…I know she will happily greet you all in heaven when it is the right time. For now you carry her sweet memory for always in your heart and she lives on in you. Prayers for all of you, for health, comfort and warmth!
    Love, hugs and prayers,
    LeeAnne, Sammi and family

  14. Tiffany Keller says:

    Poor Asher. Sounds like he misses Aria a lot, & rightly so. I continue to pray, that God will continue to comfort you, and give you peace. God Bless!

  15. Joan Marshall says:

    It isn’t easy for any of you, let alone Asher, and NZ winters are miserable. I am up at my son’s house and it is fully central heated and what a difference to our home! AND we have two heat pumps so our home is not freezing, just not as hot. I go along with the comments above and wonder whether NZ is the place for you? But do remember there is a lot of adjustment to make, not only the lossof Aria, but leaving a place where the love and caring was special, but coming back to a country which Asher may not remember and comingback to a winter. None of it good and I guess only time will help. Summer IS coming sometime. We do get glimpses of it – beautiful day in New Plymouth yesterday – today overcast and going to rain!

  16. chrissy Hallberg says:

    Hi there,thankyou so much for the email,soooooooooooooo real from such a lovely wee man,sorry to hear you have all been sick.This bug is going around and the cough hangs on for weeks.Stay warm and pray summer comes quickly.Blessings to your lovely family and Angel Aria too,chrissy Hallberg:)P.s gorgeous photo,what a treasure,how lucky we are to record precious times like those 🙂

  17. Josie says:

    So precious and so sad, it must be so confusing for Ashie, he’s not only lost his sister, but his best friend 🙁 Prayers and hugs to you all – and remember we are here when your ready. Violet and Milla would love to play with Ashie again and we’d love to see you. Praying for health for your family. Yay for summer!
    Love to you all xxx

  18. jen says:

    praying you all get better soon

  19. Celia says:

    Thinking of your family all the way from Texas!

    We attend the Hollandsworth’s old church near Dallas, so there are many of us who have prayed for your family for years and still do so today.

    Thank you so much for the updates. We wonder about you like we would any of our close friends even though we’ve never met you.

    Please know that never a day goes by that we don’t think of Aria and your dear family. What a precious, special girl she was! But how could she have been otherwise because she has such wonderful parents and such a sweet little brother?

    Dear Asher, Aria is just as alive as you! Her broken little body has been made perfect and she is happy and warm and safe in the arms of Jesus in the paradise that is called Heaven. She will never be sick again and she will never cry again because she is so happy in her new home. I’m sure your mummy and daddy have told you all about the wonderful place she has gone to live.

    Of course I know you’re all sad that you don’t get to see her every day as you were able to when she was living here with you, and it’s okay for you to miss her and cry for her because that is honestly the way you are feeling many times. I’ll bet you laugh sometimes too, thinking of all the good fun you had when she was living here. I loved the youtube video where you were dancing to The Eagle Rock. You and Aria were having so much fun!

    I’m sorry to hear that everyone’s been sick, but soon there will be more and more pretty days in NZ until before long summertime will come and you will be able to play outside with your friends. Won’t that be fun?

    Dearest Anita and Hamish, may God bless you both and give you good minutes and good hours and good days. My goodness it’s no wonder that your emotions can suddenly be all over the place with all of the trauma and changes that you’ve had to endure these past years.

    I work in a hospital, and if there’s anything I know about chronic pain, it’s this–it may never go away, but you will learn to manage it and live with it and you will thrive and prosper and be happy despite everything that has happened. That’s not to say you will forget Aria, of course she will always be with you.

    There is a family here in our little town who lost their dear little daughter and sister. Her mother recently discovered a passage written by C.S. Lewis that I had never heard: “And suddenly at the very moment when, so far, I mourned her least, I remembered her best. Indeed it was something (almost) better than memory; an instantaneous, unanswerable impression. To say it was like a meeting would be going too far. Yet there was that in it which tempts one to use those words. It was as if the lifting of the sorrow removed a barrier. Why has no one told me these things?”

    I know this really spoke to her heart and gave her something to look forward to at a time when she was struggling. I hope you like it too.

    Please know our family is thinking of you–I’m sorry but I laughed when I heard it was cold in NZ–we’ve had 80+ days of 100F or above. Seriously we had so many days of 108F or 109F I just lost count. Sure wish I could send a few puffs of it your way!

  20. Samantha Sutherland says:

    Oh Bless your sweet boy. How unbearably challenging it is for you all to adjust to this new life, new country, new everything when you just want the old back. Sending you all our love, Sam Ham Jake and Lara xxx

  21. Kiwi Hannah says:

    Bless you Asher. Love the photo. Praying for you all xx

  22. susan says:

    Even us adults don’t like adjusting to change sometimes. Poor Asher. i will be praying you get better quick from your colds,

  23. H Wilkie says:

    Much love to you all xxx

  24. Sam Seccombe says:

    Dear Hamish and Anita and Asher,

    We continue to pray for you often that the Lord himself would carry you through this dark and sad time in your lives. We really sympathise with you as you move and try to unpack- what a difficult job, without Aria. As you wrestle with the Lord and pour out your hearts to him we pray that he would help you hold on to your faith and that in your pain you would know His loving hand resting on you and that you would be convinced that He hears your prayers and will answer you.
    He is willing and able, our God is mighty to save!!
    We keep praying for you and trusting in our wonderful risen Saviour!!

    With our love to you all

    Martin and Sam

  25. joyce says:

    A day does not go by that I do not think of your family. My prayers for you all is that God will give you strength to meet each day’s needs. I cannot imagine what all this change of life style and moves have put on you. Praying for warmer weather and all those nasty flu bugs go away. Just know that those who us who have been touched by Aria and her family will never forget your courage and faith and what it meant to us. ‘ONE DAY AT A TIME SWEET JESUS’

  26. Coralie says:

    Thinking about Aria today and missing her and her family. Love you all so very much.

  27. elaine says:

    dear, dear friends…. we continue to pray for your family! we have started our weekly trips to the zoo, so of course, isaac and i are really missing ashy! they are doing a ton of construction at the zoo, so we are weaving between consruction workers. we go to the zoo and isaac just wants to watch the bulldozer. ugh.
    just tell ash, that “omaha” misses him! it misses all of the macdonald family!
    i know that the LORD will comfort you and strengthen you.
    this week karis is the exact age that our micah passed. you can pray for us as we are weak and feeble in our faith. karis was baptised today. we vowed to give her back to Him if He saw fit. we said yes through tears. knowing that God would uphold us, but would never want to go through that trial.
    ok, friends. we love you. am just starting to do some checking about our 25 wedding anniversary trip. new zealand is in the running!!!! what info do you have for me.
    oh, i have a website for my mitties now.
    upcycledsweatermittens.com
    must scoot now. love you!
    E

  28. Mel Bird says:

    Hi Anita, Hamish & Asher

    Sorry to hear you have all been sick, get better soon & stay safe.

Leave a Reply

Support Aria

There are many ways that you can support Aria.

  • Bank deposit
  • Cheque by post
  • Contact us directly
Subscribe to updates

Delivered by FeedBurner

Fundraising progress

Aria's support to date:

Progress meter: 75%

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”- Jeremiah 29:11