Well Ross just announced today that they will have a new campus in the BAHAMAS!!! It wont be until January 2009 so only the people who are currently in 1st semester can apply to go there. So we cant apply = (. It will be in Freeport Bahamas which is about a 30 minute flight to Miami. UGH!! Oh well. We just have to keep telling ourselves that for some reason God choose for us to be here. Even though were not sure why! We have not made great friends (except ONE – love ya Sarah!) (well and another girl who is in class with Justin so we don’t get to hang out – love ya Kelsie!) and don’t have much fellowship with other believers. We just don’t have the support system we had with our friends in Little Rock. But God is everywhere – even in Dominica! That is just what I have to keep reminding myself.

This past Saturday was the Intramural softball championship. Justin and I’s teams played against each other!! Heres the thing. Justin plays for his semester – 2nd. But I play for the 4th semester. Why don’t I play with his semester? Well because at the beginning of this semester a spouse who plays for the 4th semester team asked me to play with her. So I said yes. And Im so glad I got to play with them. They are a really great team and some of the most fun people Ive played with. We all got along great! I am going to miss them so much!! (Since their 4th semester they leave the island in August)

Anyway. We have played against the 2nd semesters twice before this past Saturday and won. But at the championship game they beat us. We really did play horrible. Almost everyone hit the ball straight to shortstop. Who played for a division 1 baseball team. So although the 2nd semesters think that they are the champions – theyre really not. Because we have beat them 2 out of 3 games.

So heres a funny story about the tshirts I hade made for our team when I went home. Justin calls me one day and says “We played 4th semester today and they beat us”. So I was like yay! We won the whole thing! And Justin did not correct me. So when I got our shirts made I had “Intramural Champions” put on them. Well when I got back I found out that we had two more games left!! One being the CHAMPIONSHIP game!! (which as yall already know we lost). WHOOPS!!! I will hopefully post pictures soon of my team (in our shirts!). I am waiting on someone to email it to me. So be watching out for it!

The above picture is of Justin and I’s anniversary dinner! I know – it shouldve been with the post that was done about our anniversary.

To the left is a picture of Justin speaking this morning. He spoke on encouragement. You cant really see it in the picture but behind him is a powerpoint presentation that I made for his talk!!

Also - in case you needed a laugh - check out this joke....

One evening, a family brings their frail, elderly mother to a nursing home and leaves her, hoping she will be well cared for. The next morning, the nurses bathe her, feed her a tasty breakfast, and set her in a chair at a window overlooking a lovely flower garden. She seems okay but after a while she slowly starts to lean over sideways in her chair. Two attentive nurses immediately rush up to catch her and straighten her up. Again, she seems okay but after a while she starts to tilt to the other side. The nurses rush back and once more bring her back upright. This goes on all morning. Later, the family arrives to see how the old woman is adjusting to her new home. "So Ma, how is it here? Are they treating you all right?" they ask. "It's pretty nice," she replies. "Except they won't let me fart."

Praises:

My brother Robbie has an eye disease called RP (Retinitis Pigmentosa). We have known about this since my 10th grade year (2000). He just found out Monday that it is NOT the kind of RP that will cause him to go blind! This is something we have been worried about ever since we found out that he had RP! Thank God for this good news!!!

 I had a spot on my arm that Justin made me get checked out while I was home. It was skin cancer but just a superficial kind – called basal cell carcinoma. So the only thing I had to get done was get it scraped off! Thank God that it wasn’t anything more serious!

Prayer Requests:

Justins Memaw was in the hospital for a little while and when she got out they had to put her in a nursing home. Please pray that her attitude toward being in the nursing home will get better and that she will be healed. She currently weighs about 90 lbs.

Justin speaks at our church service Sunday (tomorrow). Please pray that God will speak through him and his nerves will be calm. 

My friend Ashleys little cousin whose name is Joseph and is 4 years old was diagnosed with a brain tumor in November 2007 and after he had some treatments it was gone. But they just found out that the brain tumor is back and are now trying a research drug on him at St. Judes. Please pray that the new drug will work. For more info go to http://prayforjoseph.blogspot.com. It’s a blog written by the mother of the child and she is so awesome. 

We are still trying to sell our house. Please pray that it sells ASAP!!! 

Starting August 7th Justin has 9 tests. The last one is August 21st. Please pray that he will be extremely focused and will rely only on God during these tests and not on his own strength.

Please pray that we will find someone to take care of Ellie while we are gone for two weeks. August 24th – September 6th.

Justin is speaking this Sunday!! But he still doesn’t know what hes going to talk about! Please pray that God will show Justin what He wants him to speak on and that He will prepare Justin for it. 

Above are some pictures of my time at home. I had so much fun!!! The first day I was in Ft Smith mom surprised me with a trip to the spa for a massage!! It was great. We were in Wal-Mart a lot (mainly printing pictures). And we went out to eat at some great places of course but my favorite meal was at home when my dad fixed steak and homemade mashed potatoes!! I got to see a lot of family and was so thankful for that. Thankful to mom for clearing out her whole schedule for two weeks to spend every minute with me! I learned how to play tennis – it’s a workout! One night just mom, dad, Robbie, and I played doubles. It was so fun! Mom and Robbie won unfortunately. But they had an unfair advantage – I wasn’t on their team! We went to Oklahoma City for a couple of days to see Robbie and Jessica and to eat at the Melting Pot – my new favorite place! Then we drove over to Tulsa to meet everyone for Grannys surprise birthday lunch! She thought she was eating lunch with only Aunt Patti, Mollie, and John. But when she walked in there were about 16 of us there! She went crazy. 

Then the day came to come back to Dominica. I was supposed to leave at 6:00 am on Monday morning. Well Delta called our Dominica house at about 10:00 pm Sunday night to tell us that all my flights were changed because of some weather in Atlanta. So originally I was supposed to go from Ft Smith to Dominica in one day and not have to spend the night in San Juan. But there are no runway lights in Dominica so the last flight out to Dominica leaves at like 4:00 – or 3:00ish. So since my flights left later then I had to spend the night in San Juan on Monday night. Well my cousins wifes family lives in San Juan. So my mom gets the bright idea that I could spend the night with one of them. I just couldn’t hold in my excitement when I heard this from her (please note the sarcasm in my voice).

So Josh works it out to where I was able to stay with Raquels (his wife) aunt and grandma. Josh called and told me that her grandma speaks no English and that his aunt speaks a little but yet she understands it better than she speaks it. So although I was very grateful for the free place to stay – I truthfully wasn’t very excited about being with people that I couldn’t communicate with. So when I get to San Juan, Ivonne (the aunt) picks me up. And she was great! She spoke English pretty well! I think Josh was just trying to scare me.

So I finally get to Dominica – which was an hour late - and only about 5 peoples luggage got there. I was not one of the five people. So we had to wait another 45 minutes for another plane to bring our luggage. Then I rode the windy hour drive to the house and finally got to see Justin and Ellie!! FINALLY!!!

Well today is our two year wedding anniversary!! Please enjoy the pictures from our beautiful wedding which I love to reminisce about often! I would just love to post the whole album but I do realize that not everyone likes to look at my wedding pictures like I do!!

We celebrated Sunday night by going out to dinner at a nice restaurant call the Waterfront in Roseau – which is about an hour drive away from here. They have sweet tea! That’s one of our favorite things about the place. And they have steak – decent steak. Nowhere else on this island have we found a decent steak! Justin eats fish everytime we go out to eat. But I don’t like fish so I cant hardly ever find something good to eat whenever we go out.

I was going to wake up this morning before Justin left for class and fix breakfast but I just couldn’t make it. Im just not used to waking up at 6:00 in the morning!! Anyway… since I didn’t wake up in time to do breakfast at breakfast time I cooked breakfast for lunch!! And when Justin came home for lunch he brought me a surprise!! Two of my friends make cakes for special occasions so Justin asked them to make a cake for our anniversary. They did somewhat of a replica of our wedding cake! It was octagon shape – just like ours and had our initials on it – like ours! But Justin told them to do it in pink and purple so it was a littttle different. Above are pictures!!

I had bible study tonight so I couldn’t cook anything for dinner. So when I got home from bible study Justin had cooked spaghetti and hot dogs for us! (Ball Park ALL BEEF hot dogs that I brought home from the states!). Those hot dogs tasted like steak to me.

I know what your thinking – hot dogs in spaghetti?? YES!!! That’s the only way we like it! Justin wont eat it any other way ever since I introduced him to the great concoction! My granny fixed it for my dad, he fixed it for me, and now I fix it for us! 

So last year we went to a Rangers game for our anniversary. It was our intention to go to a different major league ball park every year for our anniversary. Well – obviously that new tradition wont be continuing this year. But I guess theres always hope for next year!  

Below are some pictures of Kristens wedding that was June 28th. I have had such a BLAST being back home and will write more later but for now enjoy the pictures!