October news and hurricane...

So, I'm sorry I'm not more consistent in updating this thing. I always have things in my mind to write about, but I don't usually get the chance to sit down and write them out to you. I think the rest of this semester is going to be relatively not-busy for me, so maybe I'll get better with the updates.

Life here has been changing and busy. Sam had his first mini of semester 4 and did really well!! He's really picking up the material well because its new and doctor-ly, so it keeps him interested. It was a huge relief to have this first mini go well though, because it takes off some pressure for the rest of the semester. Even though he has a bit of senior-itis and is having trouble staying motivated, he is enjoying this semester. He's been doing a lot more hands-on stuff through physical exams in class, as well as going through some clinic rotations at the hospital in Roseau. He's ready to head on to the the next step though and actually be in a hospital full time.

I finished my first set of classes for the semester, and am now enjoying fall break! It's been really nice to have the week off, I think I needed the break. I'll be starting my last round of classes and then I will have a degree in December (God willing)!! I know its going to feel really good to have this part done with.

The sad news for us is that our friend Mary left last week to go back to the states. She's about 5 months pregnant now, and needs to be closer to home for medical care. It was really hard to see her go and a little tough getting used to life without her here, but its good that she can be back home now. Continue to pray for her and the baby's health (everything looks good so far), also pray for our friend Ericka who's about 6 months along and has a high risk pregnancy. Before Mary left I got to put together a little baby shower/going away party for Mary. It was a lot of fun and turned out pretty well, even with our limited resources. The pictures of that are below.

In other news....there is a young pastor who just moved here as a missionary with his wife who is a student at Ross. He has been led to start a youth ministry in the town of Portsmouth near the school. One of the biggest problems in society is the youth, because most of them are raised in fatherless homes, and end up having children of their own at very young ages. Overall they are just kind of neglected by society here. So pastor Ryan has been led to minister to them! Its going to be a very exciting ministry, because it is obvious that God is with him and will use him to accomplish great things here in Dominica. I'm excited to see that God is working in the people here and am excited to jump in behind. So, next week, Friday Oct. 24th will be the first meeting of in-Light-in. We have no idea how many kids will come, but we have a place, we have some volunteers, and we have some ideas for how to reach them, and we'll see what happens. We would really appreciate you all praying for this as it gets started, because the need here is so great. We are relying solely on donations for food and other supplies, so pray that the community responds generously. We have no idea what to expect with this, so your prayers would be greatly appreciated!! If you want to check out Ryan's blog and get a feel for where his heart is at, check it out at: www.millertimejedidiah.blogspot.com

I think that wraps up most of our news! Actually, as I write this right now, we are experiencing our first hurricane! It actually didn't hit our island directly but passed a bit north of us, but it has definitely still affected us. The rain and storm surge were so bad last night that when we woke up this morning, pretty much the whole island was shut down. The prime minister told everyone to close their businesses and stay at home. None of the transports are running because near the water, the roads are blocked by boats and other debris that have been left in the road by the waves. There were also a lot of mudslides blocking off some of the other villages. It's pretty exciting. The doors are open in our aparment, and even from all the way up on the hill, I can hear the waves. The beach is almost a 10 minute walk from our house. So its pretty impressive. The water is completely brown, but we've actually had electricity for most of the day, for which I am very grateful for. I had to work still today (the owners make TONS of money when everything else is shut down), but tomorrow I'm hoping to go take some pictures of the water before it dies down too much. I wish everyone could have seen the rain we've had. It's just amazing to me coming from dry Colorado. If Grand Junction ever got as much rain as we've had here in the past 2 days, I think it would go back to being a lake instead of a valley! We've actually had rain every day for at least the last month. It's been pretty amazing. I'm actually not sick of it yet, although everyone else is, because I enjoy the change.

Ok, I'll wrap it up. That catches you up on our news! Oh, for all you who are wondering, we still don't know where we'll be living after Christmas. They keep telling us "you'll get an email this week," and then it becomes "oh actually it'll be next week." And that email is just to give us the applications for either Michigan, Miami or here in Dominica, then it will be a few weeks after that before we hear where we've been accepted. We plan on applying to all three places, but we're hoping to get into Michigan. The program and living conditions there seems to be the best option. So keep that in your prayers if you don't mind. You can be sure that we'll let you know when we do finally hear!!

Ok, that's it! Check out the pictures below, and send us an email to catch us up on your news if you get the chance! We love and miss you all....

Katrina