So Loved!!

We wanted to share with you just another example of how amazing our friends are down here... and how loved they make us feel!!

Check out Ryan & Ashley's blog at http://lifeonthenatureisle.blogspot.com/. And find the entry titled "Sad to Say Goodbye."

Ashley took the time to make a slide show of our whole time down here. And though she feels like God brought me down here as an answer to her prayers - as she says, He presented me to her as if I had a big bow on my head! - I had prayed for our friendship after the first night we met. Praise God that he answers prayers, because we have developed such a sweet friendship, one that we know will last beyond our time in Dominica! And we have been so blessed to know the Pearmans, and can't stop praising God for them! (Don't even get me started on how much we'll miss them... no worries, we're planning a trip to Disney World in 2009!)

(If you are having trouble finding their blog, or the slide show, click this link.)

Indian River

For my birthday, Kyle told me he wanted to take me on a tour of the Indian River. Well, we wanted to wait until after the Step to go, and this weekend we finally made our way over to Portsmouth to the river.

We decided to walk to Portsmouth, which took about 15-20 minutes, but it was nice to once again look around, and be reminded of how beautiful the island is! As we got into Portsmouth, it wasn't long until someone yelled over to us, "You wanna go on a riva tour?" Well, we hopped in a boat owned by a Dominican man named Lawrence, and we were off!

As Lawrence did all the work paddling us down the river, we took some time to sit back and relax. It was so peaceful, because no one lives along the river. Our guide was sure to point out all the different kinds of plants and birds.

Further down the river, Lawrence pointed toward the shore, and we saw so many huge crabs! Well the next thing we knew, we were on the edge of the river and Lawrence was grabbing at the crabs and storing them under a piece of wood on the floor of the boat. He got dinner, and we enjoyed the show of him catching them!

Next, we stopped at the coolest bar, that is accessible right from the river. The whole place was made out of wood. And even though it was only about 12:30, we decided to try the local "dynamo" rhum punch and a pina colada. As we lounged back and enjoyed our drinks, we thought, "Now this is the way to live in Dominica!"

We got back in the boat, and enjoyed a relaxing ride back - which seemed so much faster than the ride there! It was a great chance to enjoy Dominica during our last few days on the island!

This is the life...

Many of you may know, but some may not... so I thought I'd give you some good news:

Kyle passed Step 1 (and he did SO great!!)

God definitely answered all of our prayers, and even exceeded them. Kyle did better than he thought! I have to say, both of us were nervous wrecks checking his score! Kyle couldn't sleep the night before - he said he felt like a little kid trying to sleep on Christmas Eve! We we're definitely raising it and praising it to God when we got his results back!

So excited for Kyle!!!

So since then, we've been living the life, let me tell you. We've even been able to spend a few lazy days at the beach. One day we planned a cook out, and grilled hamburgers and chicken skewers, and we even make s'mores! It was a blast!

And just this past weekend, some of Kyle's friends were able to come from Roseau to hang out. We all set up tables on campus and had a little "garage sale" to get rid of some of our stuff before we leave the island. After a hard days work, we headed to the beach for some more fun! Let me tell you, this is how you should live on an island! I'm just happy Kyle's had time to get out of the library and enjoy it!

Kyle flipping off the dock!

Kyle helping Dan up after he got a little stuck in the pier!

Andrea floating away in her tube!

We're going to miss these guys! Sean, Kyle, Greg & Dan

I'll have more of our Dominican adventures to share, but I probably won't update this until after we're back in the U.S. That's right!!! We're leaving the island in just two days!! Our flight takes off at 6:50am on Monday. We are getting all packed up, and though we are excited to get back the States, we will definitely be sad to see our extended honeymoon on the island end!

Can you see the rainbow?

The BEST Surprise!

Last Saturday, we thought we were going out to dinner with just Ashley and Ryan. Well ,we were in for a big surprise!! Ashley made all the plans and reservations, and they even picked us up, so all Kyle and I had to do was be ready on time!

We went to Blue Bay, and as we turned the corner to walk into the restaurant, we saw about 12 of our close friends holding signs that said: "We'll miss you, a lot!" We had no idea Ashley had planned all this. And I'm sure most of you know we love surprises, so we can't tell you how loved we felt!!

Dinner was great, of course, and it was so fun just to have a night to relax, hang out with friends, and not worry about school and studying!

The whole gang: me & Kyle, Ryan & Ashley, Lisa & Rabbi, Chris & Katy, Craig, Ralna, William, Sophia & John Walker, Justin & Liz, and Sarah

As we finished our meals, out came another surprise! Ashley made us the cutest cake!! It had the map of Dominica on it, and Numbers 6:24 - "The Lord bless you and keep you" was written on it. She also put "Ovwa Morgans!" She did such a great job - and it was absolutely delicious!! :)

Well, that wasn't the end of the night either. We headed back to the Pearman's and played the game Smart Ass (it's a really fun board game, and I even won the first game and Kyle won the second. If you know how into games Kyle can get, you can imagine how excited he was about that!) And then we ended the night with a game of Garbage.

We can't tell you how loved we felt that our friends would plan such a fun night for us. It meant so much to us! We definitely went to sleep that night with big smiles on our faces just thinking about the night! We can't believe our time here on Dominica is almost over, but it's memories like these that we will always treasure from our life on the island!

The Wade family!

Kyle & I with Justin & Liz

Ashley & Ryan - I don't know what we're going to do without them!!

Bye Bye Dominica! Come Again Soon!