Absolutely one of my all-time favorite scriptures is Romans 8:28,

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.”

And I know that God’s promises are ALWAYS true.

So, with this said, and this thought in our hearts and in our minds, I want to tell this reading audience and all our friends and family that as of today, August 9, 2008, Andrew is coming home. He should be home around the 19th of the month.

This last week has been the most incredible emotional rollercoaster for all of us Newton’s. We first found out, Saturday, August, 2nd, that Andrew was named “Honor Recruit”, then 2 days later, he called and told us that YES, he was going to Officer Candidate School, and had an arrival date of September 28th.

Then, a mere two days later, Andrew called us to tell us the Navy was discharging him because of the damage to his ear drums. We knew that his eardrums were damaged or scarred, but that they were both functional eardrums: he could pass an audiological examination, his hearing within normal limits. I was shell-shocked by this news! He passed 2 physicals before he joined, and one thorough physical after he arrived in Illinois. None of us understood.

But to make a LONG story short, God’s hand is in all of this. I have repeated aloud constantly the verse found in Proverbs – “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

We DON'T have to understand any of this. Our job is to trust in God.

Paul, Adam, Matt, Stephen and I have absolute peace about all of this, and we really do KNOW that God is in control, and that God is moving in a way in the life of Andrew that will soon be revealed and we all will sit back and marvel at God’s handiwork!!!

So, a mere 7 weeks after we said good by, we are now saying a whole-hearted -

Welcome Home!