No Mistakes

After praying daily for over two years about where Luke should attend medical school, God's answer was pretty clear when Luke was accepted to three Caribbean schools and no US schools. The amazing thing about this was that I had never even heard about the island where we live until about a year before Luke was accepted and we made the decision to come here. Two of Luke's brothers and a sister- in- law had come to St. Vincent with their church on a missions trip to a church here. They told Luke about the medical schools on the island, but Luke had already applied to them. When we decided to attend Trinity School of Medicine on in the island of St. Vincent, it was wonderful to know that there was a church of like faith there for us. 

Many of the baptist churches in St. Vincent are spiritual baptists. Thankfully, our church believes and follows God's Word and plan for the local church. It has been wonderful having a church here with a pastor who preaches directly from the Bible, leaving nothing out, and proclaiming the gospel, that we are all sinners bound for hell, but if we put our faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus alone, we can go to heaven. Grace Community Baptist Church has been such a blessing for Luke and I. There are many religious people on the island, including many students who follow man-made religions and ideas, so it makes us even more grateful for a church family who follows the one true God and His Word, the Bible. We have been privileged to meet a couple of saved students as well.
Moving to a different country to attend medical school is a faith-growing experience in itself, and having consistent good preaching from God's Word has been essential in growing our faith. We've loved hearing the solid, convicting preaching from God's Word and also having the opportunity to serve in the church. I've been assisting with playing the piano, and since we became members, I've been helping with the little children's Sunday school class. In the future, I may be helping out with the nursery and possibly the Christian preschool that the church is planning on starting. Luke will be assisting with ushering, music, and teaching adult Sunday school.

Although, the faith is the same, culturally church here is very different. I grew up in a quiet New England church. Our first Sunday in attendance here was quite different for me. First of all, even though the language here is English, there were quite a few people I could not understand. Even now, I struggle to understand some of them. When we sang choruses the people clap along and often add their own singing parts to the chorus. When it was time to greet everyone, I quickly realized that you greeted not just those in your general area, but everyone in the church. I set out shaking hands, but I soon discovered that the men shake hands and the ladies hug each other. Suddenly, I found myself being hugged by just about every woman in the church. They were all so welcoming. (Thankfully, the men in the church all give solid handshakes. I can't stand the weak fishy handshakes that some men give.) When there is time for testimonies or after a special reading or special music, everyone claps. It wasn't too long before we began recognizing people, understanding better, and putting names to faces. The people of Grace Community Baptist Church have been so welcoming and helpful. When we first arrived, Pastor Kirby or another lady would give us rides to and from the church. After a couple of weeks, Dr. Santhosh, a professor at St. James School of Medicine offered to give us rides to and from each service. She had recently purchased a larger vehicle and had been praying for a way to use it for God's glory. She has been a huge blessing to us! She and her son go out of their way every service to give us a ride, without allowing us to compensate them for it. This is just another example of God's provision for us.
The church recently began what is called a watch-care membership program. This creates a way for people like us who are only here for a couple of years to become members of the church. The only things we would not be able to do is hold a high office in the church or vote, but it gives us a way to be a part of a local church and serve God through it. Just a couple of weeks ago we met with Pastor Kirby and one of the deacons, and after the church voted, we officially became members.
One of the ways we have been able to serve with our church family was on a recent small missions trip to help start a church on the island of Bequia. (pronounced Beck-way) Bequia is one of the nearby grenadine islands. Early one Saturday morning, we got on the ferry and crossed over to Bequia where we split up into groups to canvas the area and invite people to the two weeks of tent meetings.

Bequia is beautiful, and we had a wonderful time serving with our church family. After handing out the flyers about the tent meetings, Luke and the other men helped put up the tent while the ladies handed out more flyers.

Our view as we arrived in Bequia

A little rest out of the sun after handing out flyers

The men setting up the tent. It was pretty windy that day, making it even more difficult.

 A few of the beaches near the fishing and whaling area were covered with conch shells, so Luke and I brought a few shells back.

The conch shell covered beach.

 I also had the opportunity to try some new foods. One sweet lady from church shared a sapodilla fruit with me, which tastes sweet like maple candy.

 Later, another lady gave me a piece of whale meat to try. It had the texture of beef in beef stew, but it was very oily. On the boat ride back to St. Vincent, we were able to see a bird catch some flying fish. 

Luke and a couple of friends from church ready for the boat ride back to St. Vincent.

Arriving in St. Vincent

Although it doesn't seem ideal to be attending a Caribbean medical school closer to South America and the equator than we are to any family, it is all a part of God's perfect plan for our lives. We could not imagine a better church or church family for us to be a part of at this point in our lives, and we are so grateful that God makes no mistakes!