Out of the Light: Our Move to St. Thomas, VI: Better

So, it's been a five days since my last post. A LOT has happened since then:

Sunday, we went to church. It's a decent sized branch with wonderful people. There is a nice variety of people who attend there, some who are locals and many who come from other places. There are people our age (in their 20's) as well as quite a few children and some elderly members, too. Most of them are here for work or school or just visiting. Going to church helped me so much. It was a calming experience and I received a clearer view of my situation and impressions as to how things can be better. A sister in Relief Society shared a lesson about the blessings of reading the scriptures. She shared how she hasn't been the best at studying, but when she got out her scriptures (instead of just reading them from her phone) and got a nice journal to write in, she felt more excited about it. I feel like since the year began, that is the lesson I am hearing all the time and I love it!
After church, we visited some of the beaches. The nicest one was too loud (they play lots of music with a heavy beat here) but the water was beautiful.

Monday, we started the process of getting health cards (or food handler permits) for work, as well as finalized the lease agreement on our apartment, made keys, got a P.O. Box, and got membership cards for PriceSmart, the VI version of Costco. Casey was the only one able to get her health card. Trent forgot some critical i.d. information in California and had it overnighted. Monday night was our last night with Cherie and her mom. We are so blessed to have gotten to stay with them. They were the nicest people to stay with! We may not have relatives on the island, but I consider Cherie, her mom, and the church members to be our family.

Tuesday, first thing, we went and got our police reports (or background checks) from the police station. we moved into our place. We spent much of the day buying things for the house, including a surprisingly amazing queen air mattress (almost as tall as a normal sized bed!), cheap shower curtains, eating utensils, and cleaning supplies. A lot of it was purchased at the dollar store and Kmart, but the mattress came from PriceSmart for $56. (I would share a price breakdown, but Trent has been keeping track of all of that.)

Wednesday was Casey's first day of work. She walked just down the street to McDonalds at 8:30 am our time and stayed 'til 4:30 pm. While she worked, Trent and I did laundry at the laundromat in the mall (because most people don't have washers or dryers in their homes), set up WiFi at our house, and shopped for a few more necessities at Kmart. We visited Casey at work and she looked like a pro! When she came home after, she told us that some people thought she was a main manager and kept asking her questions she didn't know. Trent got his i.d. info in the mail, too, which is really good. We went the ReUse Emporium in Red Hook to look for cheap furniture, but didn't find what we were looking for. We did get a microwave, though, which is better than nothing because we don't have a stove or a fridge. In the evening, our landlord, Al, and his wife cut up coconuts for us. The water was delicious and the meat was tasty! Our first taste of fresh coconut was for $3 outside of a store. It was salty and the meat was like jelly, so our excitement for fresh coconuts was put out. But Al told us that most of the coconuts sold to tourists are too young and it is sad because it gives most people a poor taste of what a fresh coconut is like. But the ones he gave us were amazing! The water was fresh and clean tasting, and the meat was crunchy. I really want to get a dehydrator so that I can save a whole bunch to snack on! Our dinner that night consisted of coconut and ramen noodles.

Today, Thursday, Trent and I went back to the hospital for Trent to begin the process of getting his health card. We had to return our rental car at 8:30 am, so we took a safari bus back to Tu Tu, where we live. We were excited because we were told it only cost $1 to ride, but to be aware that they often take advantage of people who look like tourists (a.k.a. white people like us.) When the lady asked us for $2 per person, and we literally only had $2 cash, we thought we were getting ripped off because we looked like tourists. We felt bad after we found out from our landlord, though, that it is actually $2 to and from town or the airport. So now we know!

So, tomorrow, Trent starts work, Casey will be at work, and I will be job hunting! I have a few good leads, and cheap transportation so it should all work out just fine.

I know my last post was very emotionally charged and I'm sorry if it offended anyone, but I was blessed with so many kind and helpful words of admonition and encouragement that would not have come any other way.
Sunday, everyone's testimonies seemed to be centered on how trials come before blessings. I know this, but I needed to hear it again. I do believe now that Trent and I are meant to be here, but I'm not so sure it's for all the reasons we can see. I have already seen some of the things I needed to learn from this experience. The people here are SO POLITE! Everyone says "good morning/afternoon/evening", even the kids. It's amazing to me how people on the mainland (I'll probably be using that phrase a lot) are so privileged and yet so standoffish and here it is the opposite. This is also the first time in my life that I get to really experience being a minority; I stand out like a bright light in the dark, haha! I really love the people here.
My first impressions of this place were miserable, but as I have been blessed with so many things -like a very kind hostess, a very down-to-earth, well-rounded, friendly landlord, jobs for Trent and Casey, helpful members of the church, and the location of our apartment (seriously, it is right near EVERYTHING we need, we can walk nearly anywhere, work, church, post office, bank, grocery store, Kmart, laundromat, library, etc., etc.) I have felt better and better and feel more at home here. I always hoped to feel this way. We still have things to work on but I believe that no matter how hard things may get, if there is forgiveness and trust, anything can be fixed.

I would love to thank all of you who have prayed for me and reached out to comfort and lend advice to me. You have helped me more than you know.

Coki Beach. Very loud, but very beautiful.