WE SURVIVED!!!!

The worst is over!!!! The hurricane and the Austin's garage sale. The Lord is so good to us. Baton Rouge geared up for a very rough storm and were spared the brunt of it. We got LOTS of heavy wind and a little rain. We stayed with Arnold's parents and they lost power. When we returned home, we found we had lots of debris, but no damage and we had NOT lost power. Praise God. Please pray for all those affected by this tremendous storm.
The Garage Sale was a success! We began setting up at the church on Friday at 9:30am till 9:30pm. I CAN'T BELIEVE WE HAD THAT MUCH STUFF! We had people stopping on Friday and sold about $400 worth just that day. Arnold spent the night at the church with the 6th grade lock-in kids (They had 1/2 the church and we had 1/2) and I went to my friend Pam's to get a very good nights sleep. I got to the church at 6am and there was already someone shopping. We sold about 80% of our "stuff" Praise God!!! We had a jambalaya lunch that was fantastic!!!! But let me tell you the best thing about it....we had so many friends and family come out and roll up their sleeves to help, take out their pocketbooks and load up our junk to help our family prepare for this adventure. Boy are we blessed.
When asked what was the most emotional part about Saturday, I said that other than getting rid of my Christmas stuff and rocking chair....It was seeing so many people who truly cared and loved us come out. Even a family we haven't seen in 5 years came. Thank all of you who prayed, who came and who helped. We love you all!
(Cynthia....I laughed when I saw a lady with one of our suitcases with the multicolored pom-pom walk through the door!)

It's Just Stuff!

I find myself saying that over and over to myself lately. Not sure if I am trying to convince myself of it or if I have really grasp the idea. I think I have finally got it, cause I am thinking it sure would be nice if someone would just offer to haul all this "stuff" off and I would be done with that.
Well, the weekend it quickly approaching and it will be time to test my new slogan "it's just stuff" How will I handle it? I have thought that it would be really nice not to even be there. Guess that is the chicken in me....but I am so fortunate to have wonderful friends and family that are lending me their support both in helping set up and selling, but also in prayer and as a shoulder to lean on if necessary.
My thoughts, lets just leave that weepy stuff for....lets say....NEVER.....lets have a great day makin' some memories and hopefully a little $$$........cause ya know "it's just stuff" (remind me I said that)

Pray for Survivors

A plane leaving Lima for Pucallpa made an emergency landing in a storm. The plane split in two, but there were some survivors. Pray for these and the family of the dead.

Garage Sale

Our BIG garage sale is this Saturday. Pray for sunny skies over Baton Rouge.

We will hold it at the Parkview Baptist Church Student Center. Stop by and take a piece of our life home with you. It'll make a great reminder to pray for us whenever you see it in your home.

Also, my dad is making a huge pot of his famous jambalaya. Plates will go for $5 each. The money raised will be used to help buy the luggage we need.

Comment Spam

I've received 10 SPAM comments since Friday. To keep this from happening, I have added a word verification to the comment process. When you leave a comment, it will ask you to type the word that you see on the screen. If you do so, the comment will be accepted, otherwise, we don't need to know how the banking/logging/other industries are doing around here. Sorry for the inconvenience, but this will thwart "other" industries from commenting on this blog.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALISHA

Today my baby girl turns 14. Has it been that long? Wow! She's no baby anymore. She's a beautiful young lady who loves the Lord.

Making the Moblog

After all the shows, we finally made it on the Moblog while supporting Mark's Ride. Continue to pray for him as he crosses the country raising money for the orphanage. He's at the KLOVE station near Dallas this morning.

MOBLOG

I also want to shout out to Jon Schneck aka Frodo. Happy Birthday man. I pray regualarly for you, your new marriage, and your new membership with Relient K. God Bless you.

Hands and Feet Across America

For as little as $30, you can help Audio Adrenaline build an orphanage in Haiti and for that donation, you'll get a free copy of the new record coming out next week. They make great Christmas gifts!

We drove to the New Oreans seminary to pray and support Mark during his interview at the radio station. I talked to Mark about a need for an orphanage in Arequipa. I received an email from a Pastor who knows that the need does exist there. Pray for the Orphanage in Haiti, because more may be coming in other places following it's success! If you want to be a part of that success, follow this link:

Haiti Orphans

New REAP Family

Hey Everyone,
The Austin's just returned from Atlanta. We attended our first "REAP" training workshop. If you are wondering what "REAP" is....well, it is the mission program that Arnold and I will help implement in Southern Peru (including Chile, Argentina and Boliva). The slogan is "It's more than a mission trip" Check out the website. It is a great approach to reach the uttermost parts of the earth.
Anyway, we got to meet our new leaders Mike and Kathy Weaver. They live in Lima which will be about a 14 hour drive from us. We all hit it off so well.....Arnold says that Kathy and I are already 2 peas in a pod. I had an allergic reaction to some antibiotics when we were there so they saw me at my definite worst (1/2 of my face was swollen and Kathy had to take me to the Doc)
It will be so hard to wait more than a year to see them again. I know it will be worth the wait.
Love you guys!
Susie

Welcome to Diversity

Hey NOW!

Arnold got home Friday from North Dakota. He had been there for a month working on a project. So what did we do the next day.....well, we headed to New Orleans to go to the Toby Mac / Skillet concert at Six Flags on Saturday. It was a really hot day but we had a blast. The Babins met us down there and we had a great time visiting, riding the rides, and then jammin at the concert. Toby puts on a great show.

This morning we headed out to Atlanta to go to a REAP training week. We'll get to meet Mike and Kathy Weaver from Peru. (Or Tio Miguel as the kids call him) We are so excited to get a big hug. Please pray for our week.

God Bless you all!
Susie