God's ways are PERFECT

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." - Romans 12:2

This past Sunday at RCF was "4th semester Sunday". We do this every semester. It basically gives the students who are leaving the island an opportunity to stand up and tell what God has done for them on the island and to encourage students who will be staying on the island longer. Ryan did a wonderful job. The majority of his talk was just about being thankful. He emphasized I Thessalonians 5:16-18: "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.". Ryan talked about how God wasn't punishing us when He sent us to Dominica, He was giving us a wonderful opportunity. Our time here has been perfect. Let me clarify...our time here has (at times) been terrible, lonely, exhausting (mentally, physically, emotionally), and has seemed never ending. Our time here has also been a time of spiritual growth. We have also grown closer as a couple than I ever thought possible. When we left to come here almost 16 months ago we were a husband and wife who loved each other. Now we are a family. We have had to lean on each other so much more than we would have if we were still in the great state of Tennessee. We have learned how to completely trust in God. Neither us of has ever doubted that God wanted us to come to Dominica and that this is exactly where we are supposed to be right now. Maybe someday I'll tell you the whole story and all of the reasons why it was so crystal clear to us that we were supposed to push pause on our life in the U.S. and move down to this island in the Caribbean we had never heard of before. God came before us and prepared our way and He has stuck right by our side the entire time. I was telling Ryan the other day that I hope I don't forget how much I need God when we leave here. I don't want something awful to have to happen for me to remember how much I need Him. Just tonight I had dinner with my Bible study girls. Oh, how I will miss them! They are like my family now! Well, family, therapists, you get the idea! Anyway, dinner lasted 3.5 hours and by the end of the night we were laughing hysterically sharing our horror stories on the island. Stories about eating a chocolate bar and then (after taking a few bites) noticing a few worms crawling out of it! One girl said she had heard that ants didn't like pepper so she blew a little bit of pepper under her cabinets. All of the sudden millions of tiny ants came pouring out of her cabinets, carrying their eggs and started crawling up her cabinets! Another person told about weevils. We talked about hand-washing every single dish we own 25 times a day...in our teeny-tiny sink that only has cold water. We talked about days when we have no water at all. We told stories about walking a mile to the grocery and carrying 50 pounds of groceries on your back in the burning up heat/rain all the way home. More stories about getting to the grocery, noticing an overwhelming smell (similar to human poop) and trying to grocery shop while holding your breath. Another girl says her water smells so bad that when she washes her face it's like washing your face in a big fart. Then we really got to laughing about the fact that we will all be taking de-worming medicine with our Christmas dinner. (Not that we have worms. It's just a good idea to take in case we have a parasite. Who knows though...we probably all have worms.) I think you get the drift! And you know what? I would do it all over again! I've never felt such a mixture of emotions in my life. On the one hand, all of the things/people we've been missing for so long are only 24 days away. On the other hand, all of the friends, memories, experiences we've had here can't be traded for anything in the world. I can remember crying on the last day of church camp when it was time for everybody to go their separate ways. Now it's like we've had 67 weeks of church camp! Isaiah 55:8 keeps ringing through my head: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord". If I'd had my way, we would have gone to medical school somewhere in the South and we would be living very close to our family and friends. We would be going to a big church and hopefully have a house. Instead, we are in the Caribbean, thousands of miles from family and friends, at a small church, in a 1 bedroom apartment. God didn't give me my way, but as I said (and He said), His ways are perfect. One of the 4th semester students mentioned that Luke was a physician and quoted a verse from Luke 8:39: "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." That is exactly what we plan to do! See y'all very soon!!!