See Ya Later, St. Kitts.

It’s been over four months since Grant and I left our St. Kitts home for the last time. I’ve procrastinated writing this post for a number of reasons:

1. I refused to admit that our two-year honeymoon is over.

2. I hate goodbyes.

3. I knew that no amount of words, no matter how eloquent, could accurately describe my love for the island and how much it changed us.

But I owe it to my future self to write it now — before all our treasured moments fade into a fond, distant memory. And maybe I can finally write this post without crying. But before I say all the goodbyes and sappy things, I’d be remiss not to touch on our closing weeks on the island.

Thanks to a girls’ trip of my mom and her friends, we crossed off the remaining items on our St. Kitts bucket list. The most rewarding check mark came after completing the strenuous hike up Mount Liamuiga, the dormant-but-not-extinct volcano that towers above the sea at 3,792 feet tall. I knew it would be a challenge, but nothing can really prepare you for hours of climbing up boulders with your hands, using tree vines to pull yourself up, trudging through mud and cautiously placing each step to avoid falling off a cliff. Needless to say, only three of us made it to the summit.

The peak typically remains hidden in the clouds, but we were blessed with a perfectly clear day that allowed us to see its fullest beauty — the luscious green of the trees seemed to pop off the blue sky. My photos don’t do it justice, but it felt like we were in a scene from Jurassic Park. The round trip usually takes up to seven hours, but we made it in dang good time — 1 hour 45 minutes up and 1:30 down. The descent was actually more painful than going up because of the pounding on your toes, knees and back! By the end of it, we were covered in mud, our bodies ached from head to toe, shoes and clothes were ruined, our skin was salty with sweat, we were parched and starving, and one of us even twisted an ankle. We were a hot mess. I am not eager to do it again, but man, it’s worth doing once.

Directly after hiking, we headed to bucket list item #2 — Bellemont Farm at Kittitian Hill. This 5-star boutique hotel sits on the volcano’s base but is still high enough to have breathtaking views of the mountainside, coastal villages and surrounding islands. We treated ourselves to a delicious and well-deserved lunch. Maybe someday Grant and I can return to the island and stay at this exquisite resort when he is a successful doctor 🙂

The girls’ trip would not have been complete without a catamaran to Nevis. I had been on three other cat trips before, but this one was unlike any other! What happens in St. Kitts stays in St. Kitts, so all I can say is we laughed the ENTIRE afternoon — and Grant should be happy he stayed home to study.

Other vacation musts included: soaking up the sun and getting massages at Carambola Beach, {too much} shopping in Port Zante, collecting sea glass, enjoying delicious seafood, playing with monkeys, watching every beautiful sunset and taking pics in matching outfits (so embarrassing). For proof of all the fun, go to the Photos page on my blog under “Girls Trip – April 2017.”

By the end of the trip, I’ll admit I was “vacationed-out” and actually ready to come home. But that feeling quickly vanished the next week when Grant and I spent our last few days on the island. Even though a rare stormy day dampened our plans, we still went to our favorite Shipwreck Beach Bar for a yummy lunch while listening to the rain and crashing waves. We wanted to go to Salt Plage for one final sunset, but completely overcast skies prevented that from happening. So instead, we got up early the next day to hike Timothy Hill for the last sunrise.

Standing on top of that hill, we said “goodbye” to our first home. I vividly remember when we drove up the same hill and gazed out on the island for the first time — full of nerves and excitement, but completely awestruck by the beauty of God’s creation. It seems like just yesterday, but a lot has changed since then…

Grant and I moved to the island exactly two years ago, newly married of just two months, and still trying to figure out the whole living-together thing. Our premarital counselor tried to prepare us for this hard time of life in a foreign country — being away from family and the comforts of home — especially for me, since Grant would be busy with school and making new friends, while I would spend most of my time alone. But being independent didn’t scare me, and I planned to master the “housewife” duties. Little did we know, the Lord had even bigger plans for us.

At that point, we both knew and loved Jesus, but He wasn’t the focus of our individual lives, so He wasn’t front and center in our marriage, either.

I knew I would have an abundance of time on my hands, so I wanted to focus on my faith and relationship with Jesus. Reading the Bible from cover to cover was something I had yet to do, so I planned to do that during our 20 months on the island. After recommendations from several friends, I first read “30 Days to Understanding the Bible” by Max Anders. This helped me fully comprehend what I was about to study and put it into context. Knowing the Bible’s organization allowed me to see the bigger picture and its beauty.

And so my journey of reading God’s Word began. Although there are many reading plans to help conquer this massive text, I decided on a somewhat unconventional way — from beginning to end. This method isn’t usually recommended because it will test your perseverance quite a bit, especially when trudging through some of the Old Testament. But for my systematic way of thinking, it made sense. And I enjoyed seeing my bookmark slowly, but steadily, move through the pages.

I covered about two chapters a day — while also reading the corresponding notes in my Study Bible and  additional commentaries, writing my own notes and spending time in prayer. At this pace, I knew I wouldn’t finish the whole Bible while I was on the island, but actually understanding it was more important than speeding through it. After all, the Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint.

Nearly 20 months later and during our last few days on the island, Grant and I both experienced major milestones in our faith. Coincidentally on Easter Sunday, I finished all 1,249 pages of the Old Testament — praise God for that! All I can say is WOW… I didn’t know how much I didn’t know, until getting into the Word.

Two days prior, Grant publicly rededicated his life to the Lord! He always considered himself a “good” Christian, but he didn’t realize what being a true disciple meant until we moved to the island. Grant was baptized on Good Friday, following a beachside worship service. God’s presence was palpable as Grant walked into the cool ocean waters with a glorious sunset throwing shades of color across the sky. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Pastor Brandon immersed Grant among the waves of the Caribbean Sea. Grant arose with new LIFE, amidst the cheers (and tears) of our church family. We have so many beach memories from our time on the island, but this moment will always be the most special.

Feeling called to be in the Word more, Grant joined me in my daily reading. Together, we started the New Testament — and we are enjoying every discussion, question and lesson along the way. I don’t say any of this to boast, but rather to give glory to the Lord for providing time to study His perfect Word, and to honor His movement in our lives.

Our faith journey wouldn’t have been the same without some incredible brothers and sisters in Christ. God sure has a way of putting the right people in your life at the perfect time — namely Brandon and Wendi Grayson. The Graysons are missionaries from Indiana who moved to St. Kitts about seven years ago, started Caribbean Christian Fellowship and share the love of Jesus with everyone they meet. They are the ones who pushed me out in faith and gave me the opportunity to lead Kid’s Club, which was such a blessing (and man, I miss those kiddos).

In addition to the Graysons, we were surrounded by God-fearing couples like Nick & Carrie Mills, Garth & Andrea Slyz, and Aaron & Katelyn Comer. We look up to them as role models in so many ways — as individuals whose hearts are on fire for the Lord, as parents who are raising their children to love Jesus so much, and as the perfect picture of a Christ-like marriage. Because of them and our entire CCF church family, we left the island with a stronger marriage, we will be better parents (someday), we matured in our faith and we will continue to grow in that daily.

We miss the island and our friends every.single.day — the peace and quiet, the slow pace of life, and how quickly strangers become family. Of course, I don’t miss the questionable (and expensive) grocery store items, the need for wifi to communicate, or the humidity that makes you sweat constantly. #islandprobs

But OH, the things I would do to wake up with that gorgeous ocean view, hear the crashing waves, see the palm trees sway in the gentle breeze, smell the salty air, feel the sand between my toes, and watch the sun dip into the Caribbean Sea — just one more time. But for now, I will treasure the memories of the island’s precious gifts.

Looking back, it’s easy to see how God orchestrated each step that brought us to Saint Kitts. This beautiful little island will always hold a special place in our hearts as our first home together, and as the place where we found the Lord. It was the best two years of our lives, and the absolute best way to start our marriage. We thank God every day for leading us there and know that He will continue to guide us no matter where this medical school adventure takes us next!

It’s not goodbye forever, just “see ya later.”

XOXO,

Mrs. Kelsey Ralston

Current life update: After Grant finished his basic science courses on the island (with a cumulative 3.89 GPA, by the way), we moved to Portland, Maine. Grant continued clinical classes, had a preceptorship with a cardiologist and took a Kaplan prep course for Step 1 of the board exams. Once getting over my initial post-island depression, I fell in love with this new city, its perfect summer weather and ALL the lobstah.

It saddens us that our time in Portland is already over — but I was glad to get out before the harsh winter snows. We just made the 25-hour road trip home and moved to the Ralston’s lake house in Oklahoma. We will be here for a few months, while Grant intensely studies for the Step on his own with no distractions. Since Grant will basically be a zombie during that time, please pray for his sanity (and mine).

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (Psalm 46:1-3)

Acadia National Park in Maine

Marchin’ to the End.

The “lasts” have already started — like “our last time of this” or “the last day of that.” We started off the month with the last SunFest, which is a school-sponsored party at Reggae Beach with free food for students to celebrate finishing the second block exams. (I’m sure KU Med School does the same thing, right?)

Grant also helped organize and participated in his last AMSA Health Fair, which is held in a different village each semester. He and 25 other volunteers woke up bright and early to travel to the opposite side of the island — to provide services such as blood glucose testing, blood pressure reading, vision testing and BMI calculations. About 115 people came to the Health Fair that day! I know Grant truly enjoys interacting with the locals and making a difference in the community.

Shortly after that, we welcomed the Ralston family for a week-long vacation, which means Grant and I got to do and see most of our favorite island things! And as happy as I was to be doing all of them, it made me sad thinking it could be the last time for some.

But that didn’t stop us from having lots of fun with Grant’s family. From a catamaran trip and beach-side church service to exploring Brimstone Hill Fortress and watching March Madness basketball games — not to mention visiting all the best beaches — we had a great week. It reminded me how thankful I am for family, our island home and aloe vera (hello sunburn!). Check out the Photos page on my blog under “Ralston Visit – March 2017” to see some photos from the trip. Between Grant’s mom and sister, I think we have nearly every second of the week documented 🙂

Despite not studying nearly as much as he would like, Grant still managed to get an A on two quizzes and a presentation while his family was here! Now, he has once again buried his nose in the books (well, iPad) as he prepares for the LAST block exam. That is definitely one “last” we all can cheer about! After that, only a couple of finals stand in his way from finishing the Basic Science portion of school. Our next stop will be Portland, Maine, where Grant will take a prep course for the board exam, continue clinical classes and participate in a preceptorship.

Grant is so ready to get to this next step of his education, but I’m over here dragging my feet because I don’t want to leave the island! All good things must come to an end, I suppose.

One of those good things was my Thursday afternoons spent with third graders at Beach Allen Elementary for the Good News Kid’s Club. Even though I still have a couple weeks left here, the school has a long Easter break. So, I said my first of many “goodbyes” to the little ones who’ve touched my heart this past year. We had a fun last day full of worship, games, candy and gifts. (Thanks to my mother-in-law Celia for sending Philippians 4:13 bracelets for all the kiddos and two beautiful Bibles for a special prize!) It wasn’t always easy managing a classroom of 20+ rambunctious kids, but I’m so blessed that God gave me the opportunity to share His love for them.

Even though I want each of the 19 days we have left here to last forever, I am anxiously awaiting my mom’s visit next week with her friends — a much needed girl’s trip! We will gladly let Grant tag along whenever his schedule allows, just so he can enjoy the island as much as possible. I’m also thankful to have Momma here to help with packing! 😉

I’m not ready to say any more goodbyes or wrap up our time on the island, so I will have one more final blog post once we return to the U.S. I’ll surely be writing through tears, which might explain any spelling mistakes. But enough about that for now!

XOXO,
Mrs. Kelsey Ralston

So Much To Do, So Little Time.

The countdown has officially begun — and it’s already down to double digits! In 76 days, we will be leaving the island for good. It is definitely a bittersweet feeling. We miss family, friends and certain things about the States, but life here is pretty great — peaceful, simple, easy, quiet.

I don’t always realize how relaxing it is on the island until we go back home for break. Our three week Christmas break really wasn’t a “break” at all! But we still had fun spending time with family and friends in Kansas and Arizona. And of course, a trip home isn’t complete without seeing a crazy basketball game in Allen Fieldhouse. Thank goodness our Jayhawks pulled off a win!

One of the highlights of the break was attending our first Indian wedding! Our friend from UMHS, Anooj, invited us to his brother’s wedding in Arizona because he knew we were visiting my dad there at the same time. We gladly accepted the invitation, and the weeklong celebration was unlike anything we had seen before! It was so fun dressing up in the traditional Indian clothing, getting a henna tattoo, eating their cuisine, learning about the customs and experiencing a new culture. (Thanks Auddie and Mitesh for hooking us up with the wardrobe!) We definitely have UMHS to thank for this unforgettable experience by introducing us to so many people from different ethnicities, religions and places.

It’s hard to believe Grant is already in his 5th semester! This one will be a doozy, but he ended 4th semester on such a high note that it motivated him to finish strong. He currently has a 3.85 cumulative GPA and scored extremely well on the Pathology NBME (the standardized exam for U.S. medical students).

This semester, he’s excited to get more clinical experience and learn information that he will use on a daily basis. Next month, he starts rotations at the St. Kitts hospital, and he will no doubt have some interesting experiences. And I’m sure it will make him appreciate the medical advancements and technology that we have in the U.S. (For example, the island doesn’t even have an MRI!)

As for me, I’m trying to keep myself busy, and Kid’s Club is one of my favorite ways to do that. Before the break, we had a Christmas party at the school and it was so much fun! We sang Christmas songs, played holiday-themed games, made crafts, ate snacks and candy, gave away some prizes and acted out the story of Jesus’ birth complete with costumes and all. Most importantly, FIVE precious children accepted Jesus for the first time! It is such a blessing to help share the Gospel and spread Jesus’ love. The club will start again soon, and I’m sad that this will be my last semester with them!

With the end in sight, Grant and I still have some items to check off the bucket list. We’re dreading hiking the volcano, but it’s something we HAVE to do! Luckily, we have two sets of visitors coming later this semester, so that will give us an excuse to cross off some more of the must-do items.

We already did one bucket lister last week, and it involved two or my favorite words — sushi and buffet. Everyone close to me knows I love sushi, and I also love to eat in general, hence my love of buffets. SO when you put these two words together, it’s basically a little piece of heaven on earth. Unfortunately, the sushi buffet at Carambola Beach Club is only the last Friday of every month, which means it’s usually a couple days before Grant’s block exam. But this month, it fell the week before, so it was now or never!

A couple of our friends love sushi almost as much as I do, so we devoured the buffet while Grant ordered off the regular menu. I’ve been to several sushi buffets before, but none have been quite like this. It had 20+ specialty rolls that they constantly restocked, so you never had to worry about them being not as fresh. Of course, I had to try one of each, and then went back for seconds (and maybe thirds) of my favorites. Needless to say, we ate our body weight in sushi — but we had to get our money’s worth, right?

Once we were so full that it was hard to walk and breathe, we went out to the beach, listened to the crashing waves and gazed up at the dark sky scattered with twinkling stars. You can’t help but feel incredibly small when you think about the infinite universe, and it no doubt points to a Creator. Our friend said it best when he quoted Einstein, “The more I study science, the more I believe in God.” I feel like Grant can also relate to that as he studies the complexity and perfect design of the human body.

As we enjoy the few months we have left on the island, Grant and I are already looking forward to the next stop on our journey — Portland, Maine. We will be living there from May through August while the students takes a prep course for the board exam and do preceptorships at a local hospital. We have never been to the Northeast, so we are excited to explore a new part of the country and eat even more lobster! Portland is supposed to be beautiful in the summertime, but living there during tourist season means housing is expensive. If you have any recommendations or connections for things to do, where to stay, places to eat, etc., please let us know!!

In the meantime, Grant and I will soak up every last minute (109,224 to be exact) of sun and fun in paradise. If I don’t come home in April with a super dark tan, you’ll know I did it wrong! Grant, on the other hand, should be more pale — or else he didn’t study enough. Please pray that this semester is his most successful one yet!

XOXO,
Mrs. Kelsey Ralston