Justin and I on the beach after the Mini. Isnt the rusted trash can behind us so pretty?? 

Ashley, Andrea, Me, Katy, Marissa, Ralna, and Sophia (Ralnas daughter)

So sorry it has been so long since I have written!!! Let me try to catch yall up a little bit.

I have kinda sortof started back “school”. I am taking classes to become certified to be a travel agent. I choose to do this because when we go back to the states – no matter where we are – hopefully I can work from home. That’s our plan anyways. But as we all know our plans are definitely not Gods plans!! So we’ll see. But so far I have really enjoyed it. It has kinda become part of my morning routine. I get up, eat a bowl of cereal, and then go read my material. Ellie really loves it since I am outside with her more now.

Its times like those that make me love it here. Sitting on our patio in the hammock seat, listening to the river beside us, reading, living in the Caribbean. Sounds like weve already retired or something!! Then reality sets in….  

Justins mini was Monday. We got his official scores back today and he did really well!! I am so proud of him. He is studying so hard this semester. I know he did last semester but this semester feels even crazier!! Here is Justins average schedule:

8:00 am – 12:00 pm                 Lectures
12:00 pm – 12:45 pm               Lunch (with me!)
12:45 pm – 5:00 pm                 Lectures
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm                   Studying on campus
7:00 pm – 7:45 pm                   Dinner (with me!)
7:45 pm – 12:00 amish           Studying on campus

So – as you can see – Justin and I get about two hours or less together everyday. And on the weekends it’s the same schedule – just replace lectures with studying. I really don’t see how he keeps it all in his head. It seems like with all he has to learn it would go in one ear and out the other. So after the mini Justin was supposed to have Lab that afternoon. Well – it ended up being moved!!! So Justin got to spend the rest of the day with me!! I was so grateful! We live together but we MISS each other so much! Then that night we went to eat with about 18 other people for a girl named Ashley who is in my bible study. Above are pictures from Monday.

Tomorrow I am going into Roseau to try and stock up Justin for the three weeks Ill be gone (yes – Im attempting the drive again). It seems like the stores around here have been out of everything so hopefully Roseau will have good stuff!! I am going with another spouse named Katy. And guess where shes from?? Oklahoma City!! They are also Christians so it has been fun hanging out with her. Her husband is in his first semester. 

I go home in 5 days!!!! This semester has gone by so fast. I thought it wouldn’t since Sarah left but thank goodness it has! I will be in the states from June 24th – July 14th. I get back the day of the SECOND mini. Isnt that crazy? I cant believe Mini 2 is almost here and we just had Mini 1! Then Im only here for a month and we go back to good ol Arkansas for two weeks – TOGETHER!!!!! Im very excited to get to see Justins parents in August who I have literally seen for only 30 minutes in the last 6 months!! Its so weird not seeing our family almost every other weekend like we used too.  SEE yall in just a few days!!

The picture to the left is of what happens when it rains a lot in Dominica. That water is from out of our faucets!!! Our water comes from the river behind our house. Sometimes it will be brown even when it doesn’t rain. We are told that that means it has rained a lot on the top of the mountain. Its really gross. We learned early on to store lots of full water bottles in the fridge so when this happens we (and Ellie) have clean water to drink! Some mornings Justin cant take a shower its so bad. OK – so that’s only happened once.

Then there are days like today when the water is just simply off. OK – that’s only happened once too. Today was the first time that its ever happened. We figure its because people are building apartments behind us and they cut it or turned it off or something. 

Another weird thing that happens here is that the power randomly goes off about once every other week. We love it when that happens because we have a generator. Which means that when the power is off were not paying for electricity and since the generator is running – we turn BOTH our air conditioners on. Sunday the power was off almost all day. It was great. I took a very long nap in the nice air conditioning!! We are SO thankful for our generator. Not many places have them. 

Monday is Justins second first mini!! Did yall get that one? He had a mini 1 in first semester and now hes having a mini 1 in second semester!! He is stressing!! Please pray hard for him. Pray that he will keep his focus and that he does not get so overwhelmed! He is studying so hard. He gets home about midnight every night and then studies some more when he gets home. He has been in class from 8-5 almost every day this semester. The only time we see each other is for lunch and dinner – each time about 45 minutes. Some nights I will sit in the classroom with him while he is studying just so I can “be” with him.  

I have been up since 6:00 this morning!!! I went to the market in Portsmouth with three other spouses. It was fun!! Above are pictures pf the market. I don’t know if you can tell really by the picture – but that pineapple is HUGE!! I mean – its as big as my head! I got it for only $5.50!! I really don’t know how much pineapples are back at home but that seemed pretty cheap to me. Considering how big it was. It will also probably be one of the best pineapples in the whole world. They are soooo sweet here. Same with the bananas. Well – the small ones like you see above. Only as big as my index finger!

The pictures of the fish are how they sell fish at the market – they literally chop the head off in front of you – put the fish in a bag and hand it to you. Sorry if the pictures are gross (hence – the title). I kinda flinched (ok maybe I screamed just a little) when the guy lifted his machete and brought it down HARD on the fish – and off his head went. So if you think the pictures are gross – imagine being there. Another crazy thing – they do the same thing with a COW!!! I couldn’t make myself go see that one – I could barely handle the fish. 

Yesterday I went to visit an elderly person through HOPE Dominica. Her name was Gwendolyn but she said people call her Gwenny. She was a lot of fun. She couldn’t see very well. One eye was totally blind and the other she said was very blurry. Like she could see movements and colors. Get this – she is 97!!! She moves with a walker – and although she moves very slow – what do you expect from a 97 year old right? I was there for an hour and we just talked about nothing really. The following are a few of our conversations:

Gwenny: I forget a lot of things. You know like instant coffee? Im an instant forgetter!!


Liz: Have you ever been to the states?
Gwenny: Yeah – I been to Harlem. You know where that is?
Liz: In New York?
Gwenny: Yes!!
Gwenny: I think we drove from Florida. Can you drive from Florida to the United States now?
Liz: Florida is in the United States……

Liz: Do you go to church anywhere?
Gwenny: Im Catholic – what religion are you?
Liz: Baptist (even though I am non denominational – I knew she wouldn’t know that word so I said Baptist)
Gwenny: We don’t have those here. (Even though they do)
Gwenny: Where do you go to church?
Liz: On campus
Gwenny: They have your religion there?
Liz: All the religions go to one church. It is inter-denominational.
Gwenny: (stunned) They are all in one service?? Even the Catholics??

And those were just a few…. I cant wait to get to know more funny old people! They are just so real and they just are who they are!! No fakin.....

Above is a video of what happens when our car wont start! This happens about once a day on average – maybe a little less. 

Yesterday I DROVE to Roseau with two other spouses. We went to do some minimal shopping and to pick up Justin and I’s SIX packages!! We cannot thank everyone enough for helping with these so continually! Seriously – yall have no idea how much it means to us. It helps us out tremendously!! We do not have to buy a lot of groceries because of our monthly packages which allows us to do little extra things – like turn the air conditioning on at night! Or buying Ellie dog food – which is so expensive down here!! Thank yall so so so so much for being such a blessing in our lives. Above is a picture of Justin with one of the things we got in our packages – scuba gear!!! Although he might only get to wear them once – if that much – hes excited!! The flippers fit him perfect! 

If you don’t live here you don’t understand what a big deal it is to drive to Roseau. First of all – we drive on the left. Second of all – our steering wheel is on the right side of the car!! Also – the roads are a lot like the roads from Lake Ouachita to Hot Springs – but with way more pot holes and a little skinnier.  So when we made it there in one piece I was more than excited. Our last stop was the airport – to pick up the packages. 

Well – on the way out of the parking lot – I kinda ran into a ditch. WHOOPS!! The girl that was sitting in the passenger seat didn’t see it either! I think I was looking at my phone or something. Im not real sure what happened. (I wonder how many times my parents have heard that?). So as soon as we hit the ditch Im just wondering “How in the world am I gonna get out of here???” So this Dominican comes running at the car and saying “It’s ok, It’s ok, No Problem!!!” And four more follow him. They were so sweet. Let me paint this picture for you. Somehow my front right tire and back left tire were the only ones on the ground. So there objective was to get the tires on the ground. I wasn’t going to argue with free help. So two men sat on the front of the car above the tire and three men sat on the back of the car – above the other tire. They tell me to turn my air conditioning off and to easily put the car in reverse. So I did – and it worked beautifully!!! I jumped out of the car and gave the guy who first came to my rescue a huge hug. He tried to shake my hand and I said – “No way – Ive gotta give you a hug”!!

These pictures that are posted today are of Justins face when he gets the hives!! He looks like Sylvester Stalone huh?? You cant really tell in the picture but his bottom lip is really big. Kinda like Eddie Murphys lip in the Nutty Professor. Ya know – the part where hes skinny but is turning fat and the first part of him that gets big is his lip?! That’s what Justin looks like. We think we have found the problem. Aleve. But its just weird because hes never been allergic to Aleve before. Aleve has been the only thing that has been a common “ingredient” the last two times his hives have appeared.

It is a little sad when he gets them but truthfully its kinda funny too. Ok – its really funny. Especially when his lip blows up!! Its pretty much the same process every time. He goes in the bathroom to go to the bathroom, to brush his teeth, or something – and then he runs into the living room and is mad at ME because I didn’t tell him he “looked like that”. I don’t know why I never notice until he tells me. And then I notice and cant help but crack up and try to convince him to put itch cream on it. 

This afternoon I am in class with Justin. Sometimes I come to class with him because I am on the cookbook committee with RSO and this is the only time I will focus and work on it. Except like now – when Im writing for the blog!! Anyway – so I thought that the class he had at 1:00 would actually be interesting. It was supposedly on cancer/genetics. The class was BioChem. I should have known better as soon as I heard that word. So it had nothing to do with cancer/genetics. Well – not like I thought it would. It was about cells and a bunch of words I cant pronounce. So – as usual – I put my headphones on and listened to music. Trying to block out the man talking. Now I realize why Justin has headaches all the time!!

This week he has class from 8-5 every day!! That leaves him practically NO time to study. At least it feels like no time compared to the time he got last semester. His first mini is in two weeks. Please pray that he will get a better focus on everything and will find some kind of time to study!!!

On another very important note…… TODAY IS MY DADS BIRTHDAY!!! Happy Birthday Dad!! I love you!! Oh and by the way – he is 51!! Pushing 60 arent ya dad?

Above is a picture of dad, mom, and me on his birthday last year! (Love the hair mom)

Mom used to take me to school with her hair like that and it was so embarrassing to me – not its my time to get her back!!! HA!

Well Justin did GREAT Sunday morning!! He spoke on Hebrews 11 – the chapter all about faith. Thank you SO much for the prayers that were lifted up for him. After church quite a few people came up to him and told him what a great job he did and that they needed to hear it. He was nervous when he first got up there but that went away very quickly!! You could really tell that God was speaking through him. I was so proud of him! Who would have ever thought that Justin would be speaking to a group in Dominica about Jesus?? I am so proud of the man that he is turning out to be. 

Yesterday afternoon on the way back from church we realized that our landlord’s goat had just had a baby!! It seems like she has been pregnant for a while so we knew it would be soon. It was sooo cute! Our landlord wasn’t home so we called her to give her the good news and she was excited but we think she sounded a little disappointed because there was only one and not two!! We named it Wilson. Because all their goats names start with a W. And all their cats names start with a Z. Anyway – as you can see from the picture above – I got to hold it! It was so sweet. It fell asleep while I was holding him!

Yesterday (June 1st) was the first “official” day of Hurricane season in Dominica – well in the Caribbean also. It goes from now until November. Last year they had a pretty bad one hit but it was the worst one in like forever or something like that. I think they’re pretty rare – so not to worry!! If a hurricane does come this way though, we are staying here. Some people tried to leave last year and we’ve heard from quite a few people that they were stupid in doing so. We have some friends down the road that live in an all concrete house and they’ve already told us that we (and Ellie) can come to their house if one hits the island! 

Today has been one of the best days in Dominica!! I got to play softball this morning! Ross has their own little version of intermurals. They have football – which is the most popular – and softball. I think they might even have volleyball too – Im not sure. Anyway so one of the spouses plays on her husbands team and they asked me to join!! There are only three teams – so we just play each other all semester but I wouldn’t care if their were only two teams!! This morning I was the only girl on the team because Krista – the other spouse - was sick with an upper respiratory infection. I played first base and did pretty good. I was a little rusty I have to admit. But it was just so much fun! The bat they have is pretty horrible and we all have to share gloves – and the balls are weird. Its like they’ve all been soaked in water or something. Again – it was still fun! My team WON!!! I think the score was like 8-4 or something like that.

While we were playing there were a lot of little Dominican kids watching us and hanging out with us. They were so sweet. One little girl was very outgoing and she asked me my name. I told her Liz – which is a very weird name to them so I always have to explain to them that its short for Elizabeth. So when I said Elizabeth she said “oh – like the name in the Bible!!”. It was so cute. And then after rounding the bases one time I came in and sat beside her and told her I was out of shape. I asked her if she knew what that meant and she said “Yes – it means that your big – like me!! I weigh 115 lbs.!!” I tried to explain to her that she was not big and then I told her how much I weighed (which was A LOT more than her) and that made her happy.

The top picture is of Justin in our new “hammock seat”. We found it under our house (we have a small storage room under there). As you can see from the picture below it – its probably not the safest thing to sit in. The hook that its on has cracks all on the sides – like the roof is fixing to fall in our something. He said its pretty comfortable but Im not brave enough to try it out.   

Don’t forget – Justin speaks tomorrow in our church service!! It is at 11:00 am – which is 10:00 am central time.

The cruise was fun. It was a smaller boat and we just “cruised” to a beach called Secret Beach. It is called Secret Beach because you can only get to it by boat. The boat couldn’t go all the way to the shore so it stopped a little ways out into the ocean and we jumped off and swam to the beach. We hung out there for a little bit then headed back. We were gone for about 2.5 hours. Another girl took lots of pictures but hasn’t emailed them to anyone yet – but I will post them when I get them (well – if I look ok in them). 

Today we had our first meeting for HOPE Dominica - the organization that I am in that does hospice work. The goal of the organization is to befriend elderly people who are in hospice, find out their basic needs and try to help them. We also raise money to help with their hospital bills. Last semester they raised enough money to buy a morphine pump for the hospital in Roseau!! I am excited to get started!! 

Tonight we had game night out on the Subway Deck. I won PHASE 10!! I have to admit Im pretty good at that game. One of the girls that was there had her 1 year old daughter with her. She was on the floor beside me playing in my purse. Her mom was like “Im sorry” and I said jokingly “oh its ok as long as she doesn’t puke on it”. And then she was like – oh she doesn’t do that – ever. Not one minute later – she puked on my purse!! Not a lot though. It was funny. 
27 days till Im in the states!!!!!!!!!

Our cable has been out for about three days now so my nights have been pretty boring. Justin stays at school till about 11:00 pmish and I usually clean up from dinner during that time and watch tv. Well – now I can only clean due to the horrible system of getting things fixed around here.  

This week Im actually somewhat busy (not what yall consider busy – what I consider busy) Which means I have at least one thing planned during the day.
The organization that I am Secretary for is kicking off this week with two meetings! The point of the organization is to raise money for older people who have cancer and to go and visit them and get to know them. Im excited!
Bible Study is tomorrow night. We just started last week and that group consists of eight girls – all spouses. RSO (Ross Spouses Organization) is having game night Wednesday night and I LOVE to play games. Tomorrow afternoon some spouses are going on a “cruise” around the island. We will be on a catamaran type boat. I think it might be a sailboat – Im not sure. But that will be fun – to lay on the boat all afternoon. And there is a Bake Sale Thursday – which the spouses do. I am baking Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies. Probably some of the best cookies ever. And then Friday night is movie night which is my favorite because those are the two hours I get to be with Justin – like our date night I guess!!  

 Also - don’t forget that Justin is speaking at RCF this Sunday!! Please pray that God will speak through him and that he will not be nervous. Also pray that he finds time to prepare for it!

 That’s all Ive got for today. Sorry its not very entertaining. Hopefully I will take some pictures this week so yall can have something to look at!

Thursday morning I went snorkeling with nine other spouses. It was so much fun!! When I was 15 I went snorkeling in Hawaii with my family. We took a catamaran to the middle of the ocean and jumped off and snorkeled. I lasted for about 10 minutes – MAYBE. I saw a sting ray and flipped out and went back to the boat – and stayed there. So everytime during the last five months of being on this island, when someone asked me to go snorkeling, without hesitation I said NO!! Well – I finally gave in when Heather called me yesterday. Mainly because since Sarah left I have been bored out of my mind. So bored I even went to class with Justin a couple of times!! I almost chickened out this morning but I went!!

We snorkeled for 2 hours!!! The girls I went with said that we didn’t really see anything and that there are much better places to snorkel on the island. But I thought we saw a lot! We basically just saw a lot of pretty fish – nothing crazy. Well we did see a puffer fish! That was cool! And we saw some zebra fish, pencil (trumpet) fish, and neon blue fish. I think we are going to start going every Thursday – but to different places. Right now I am having to bum snorkel gear off other people – but Mom and Dad are sending some in our next package!!

I leave for Kristens wedding one month from today! Im so excited! Mom and I are throwing her bridal luncheon with two of her aunts. I will be getting there the Tuesday before the wedding so I will get to spend more time with Kristen and her family and the other bridesmaids. ALSO I have to get my dress fitted in three days!! Maybe it will fit? Yeah right – bridesmaids dresses never fit perfect.

THEN I will be going back to Fort Smith and will be leaving to go back to Dominica around the 14th of July. Mom and I hope to take a little road trip to go see some family. I hope it works out!! The timing that I will be gone will be so perfect. It will be the three weeks before Mini 2 and I will get home the day after its over. It was really a God thing how everything has worked out so far!

Also - the above picture has nothing to do with this post. Just a cute picture of Ellie in the river behind our house!!