WOW, What a week this has been. It is hard to think that in only a week and a half the students will be arriving and training will begin!!! Man I can't wait! We had a staff retreat this last weekend and it was GREAT! Having time to relax in a hammock on the beach and not worry about anything was great!!! Well that was just friday afternoon, then saturday we had some amazing teachings on Trusting God. Which is a nice thing to remember when I am trusting God to provide everything. It has been a great time here in the aspect of seeing God continue to confirm his desire for me being here. For the past 5 weeks I have gotten a confirmed monthly supporter, so that is fun. I also got to make a screen door for my apartment, (that was fun) not really having much of an idea how to do it I got it finished and it actually looks pretty professional!!

With things winding down for the school things are getting even busier, there are still lots of loose ends that we must tie in a week. So that means lots of office time for me. It has been a struggle in that area because I don't do well making up all the details. I can do things but when it comes to organizing and all that I would rather do something else. Today in our meetings we did feel Haiti is where we need to go for our Mid-school outreach, so we'll be trying to put together an affordable trip for the last 2 weeks in Nov. We still aren't sure where our main outreach will be, we were praying about Cambodia but today we didn't feel that was where God was wanting us. We have come up with possible locations but nothing is set. Pray with us that God will give us clear direction. Today was our first sunny day in 5 days, we had a pretty heavy storm sitting over the island. It looks like it might clear up in the next few days!!!

I think I will be going into Christiansted this weekend for the first time. The island is rather small and it has 2 main towns, Fredricksted and Christiansted. My address says I live in Christiansted but I actually live directly in between the two towns. There is an awesome sandwich shop off the boardwalk in C'sted that is Divine, I have been craving it since I left here in march! So I think i'm due!! Other than that there isn't really going on, just busy office stuff. Things will be absolutely amazing when the students come! I know God has a plan for my time here and even if it's to just realize everything I do is worship to him then that's ok. I know he won't ever give me more than I can handle so I know no matter how difficult the office is for me I can persevere through it. I just keep reminding myself it will ALL BE WORTH IT WHEN THE SCHOOL is moving smoothly!

What an Amazing God we serve!!! This week has been crazy busy. Sitting in an office staring at a computer all day is not my life's passion. I have to say that I look forward to the moments I get to go outside and mow the lawn or do maintenance on the base because being confined to a small space drives me NUTS!!! I do however realize that if I didn't do the work now when the students get here it would be insane, crazy, and confusing! I am SO excited for the students to get here, we only have 6 students, so of course we are still praying for MORE because the more the better! I have taken up another area of ministry since coming here, I have stepped into heading up the sports ministry program. We have such amazing facilities here for basketball, volleyball, possible football but nobody willing to make things happen. It has become my desire to make our base available for REGULAR games to be played here. I started this last weekend going out to take the guys that play water and asking to play with them. I met 7 guys over the weekend that come fairly often, these guys are pretty stinkin good so I'm hoping that as I spend more time playing with them my skills will also improve!!!

I'm not quite sure what needs to happen in this ministry yet. I need to figure out how many people I am dealing with, first establish the relationships and move from there. A project that I am working on is getting new lighting for our court, we need new lights so we can offer playing time later. Since it gets dark at about 6:30 or 7 it makes it hard in the evenings to have enough time to play. Please partner with me in prayer for the funds needed to replace those!!

As for me..... I am doing well, I am pretty much all settled into my apartment, adjusting to the toaster oven and plug-in burner to cook with!! It is hard I sometimes walk across the lawn to the other people's house to cook because its so much easier with a real stove!!! Imagine that!!! God has already been teaching me new things about Himself and myself which is AWESOME. I have learned within the last few days to really appreciate the times I get to be with Him. I can freely access His throne and walk into His presence whenever I want and that is such an amazing thought! It is so great that He actually desires for me to come and be with Him NO MATTER what state I am in. It has become such a great revelation to me that in my past when I have classified my "God Times" as maybe GREAT, or just alright I am so off. I understand that EVERY TIME I am setting my world aside to Draw closer to God it is an AMAZINGLY AWESOME time. The only thing that could make it bad is not having enough time!!

This weekend we are having a staff retreat, a time to relax and hangout and have some teachings as a whole group. Then its only 2 weeks until classes start and the real fun begins!!! I am so pumped and ready to see what God has planned for this season.

Getting started

Well, what a crazy time it has already been since I arrived here in St. Croix on Sept. 4th. I been so busy trying to get everything put into its place, running around getting apartment Stuff and working that I have had very little down time. The other leaders and I have been reviewing applications, going over tasks that must be complete before school starts. It is a very time consuming process that I am so happy to have 3 1/2 weeks to complete.

As of right now we have 5 students and one applicant. We are praying God will send more. To comfortably pay for the airfare of the speakers we bring in each week, we need about 12 students. We are confident that God has a special purpose for this school and we are trusting in Him to speak to the hearts of students and bring them here.

As far as everything else, the weather is ok, because of the storms all around in the Caribbean it has been wet. Which in a way is nice because it cools down pretty good at nights which makes it easier to sleep. When the sun does shine through the clouds it is EXTREMELY warm.. I LOVE IT! I have spent 2 afternoons sitting on the beach writing some letters and filling out paper work and it was SO DELIGHTFUL!

We just received word today that starting in November our Staff Fees will be raised. I know it is not a surprise to God and so therefore I am not worried. I know he will provide all the finances I need on a monthly basis. Thank you so much for all your prayers, I know they are working because I am staying sane in all the projects that I am working on!!!