We're Here!

Hey Guys!
We finally made it to Virginia yesterday afternoon. We have moved into our new "home" and it is going to be really nice. We will be sharing our Quad with 3 other families. The kids have a great playground right outside our Quad, lots of room to run and a huge lake to fish in. There are 36 Quad Houses on campus holding about 4 families each. The campus is separated into parts of the world (We live in the America's). Our's is Quad 6 which is the fartherest quad from anything on the whole campus....I'll be getting my exercise. It is also right next to the barn (the chicken killing barn!!!!).
Wish you were here and we could take you on a tour. We'll try and post a picture soon. Love you all and miss you dearly.
God Bless!
Susie

Ringing In a New Day

I woke up this morning thinking my ears were stopped up from the swim at our Hot Springs hotel. They weren't. It was simply my ears ringing from the AudioA / Pillar / Superchic[k] / KITW / Sanctus Real concert last night. Call the McCutcheon house and ask for Joshua or Caleb, they have a few stories for you about their day with the bands.

For a last concert, it could not have been better. It ended with a surprise. Ben (drummer) stood on stage and told the story of "The Austin Family". After he did, he had everyone in the arena lay their hands on us, while he lead a prayer of commissioning for us. I don't even have words to further express the moment, so I'll stop now. Untold numbers of prayer warriors hugged us after the concert.

I'll end by saying after all these years, I got to go on the tour bus (something I've always wanted to do). I knew that the number one rule for the bus was You cannot DO DO on the bus toilet. So when Mark said, "Do you want to see inside of the bus?" My replay was, "Can I DO DO on the toilet?" His reply, "I'd kill ya!" The expression as he said it was priceless.

Until My Heart Caves In

It's been 40 posts or so since I've mentioned Audio Adrenaline, so I'm way overdue. Tomorrow we leave for Springfield, MO (a mere 4 hours from Fort Smith) to see our final (stateside) AudioA show. Hopefully we can still meet up with Ben for lunch. He still hasn't called back.

The show is going to ROCK. They've hooked up with Pillar, Superchic, Kids in the Way, and Sanctus Real. How awesome is that. If that weren't enough, the McCutcheons are going with us! Hope they can stand the noise!

We're not here, please leave a Massage.

Well, today we had a lunch meeting with a pastor in Hot Springs that was on our Trustee Sub-Committee. We had a wonderful meal at the church's coffee shop. During our 2 hour visit, Chuck commented that I needed to go to one of the bath houses and get a massage while Arnold and the kids went hiking. I agreed of course. As I was leaving, his wife said that she had a coupon I could use. When she brought it back, I was expecting a $5 or $10 off coupon. Well, she gave me a gift certificate good for a massage and whirlpool. WOW! I was so excited! (I even ran back to the hotel and shaved my legs!)
Well, when we got to the bath house, a sign stated that on Wednesday's that they closed at 11:00, it was 3:00.....argggghhhh! I left a little disappointed but I was able to walk around downtown with the family and ate some wonderful blackberry cobbler alamode!!! Yumm!
We are heading to Greenwood, Arkansas (near Fort Smith) to see my Symphony (Cynthia) early in the morning. Arnold is hoping that we will be able to see some of the changing follage. If we do we'll take some pictures.
I love you all!
Susie

Pop-A-Lot of Money!

Yeah, Yeah, we had to call Pop-A-Lock. I am not gonna point any fingers, but if the good looking guy WITHOUT keys in his pocket hadn't forgot them in the ignition then he would have $43.60 still left in his pocket! Ha! At least we can laugh about it....NOW!
We are on our 3rd stop on our trip.....in Hot Springs, Arkansas. We took the afternoon and did a little hiking and sightseeing after we left my dad's house this morning. It has been absolutely beautiful.
Well, I have said goodbye to all of my side of the family and a few close friends and it has been really hard. Almost too hard to yet process, but the Lord is comforting me moment by moment and ya know, tears need to be shed now and then. Continue to pray for me.
I love you all so much! See you in a little over 7 weeks!
LOVE ALWAYS!
Susie

On the road again!

Hey Guys!

We are on our 2nd stop of the Austin Family Adventure. We are at my dad's house in Nashville, Arkansas. We will stay till Tuesday. Actually, one of my very first Baton Rouge friend's moved to this same town in Arkansas at the beginning of the summer, so I will be able to see her before we head out.

It was so odd not being with "my youth kids" at Parkview this morning, I miss you all....but.....We were able to go to church this morning at First Baptist Church Minden and hear Brother Wayne Duboise preach. We had a few moments with him after and it was great to see him again. They offered for us to stay in their mission home at anytime that we need it. Boy, God continues to prove that he will always take care of us.

Miss all of you madly!

Susie

Happy Turkey Day!

Hey Everyone!

We have made it to our first stop on our new journey. We are staying at my sister's house (Cathy) in Shreveport until Sunday morning. Today we are busy preparing for our early Thanksgiving that we will have tomorrow. The house already smells like Thanksgiving. Most of my family will be able to come out and spend some time together before we begin the next step of our trip. My sister lives out in the country and the kids have had such a great time, riding the 4 wheelers, playing in the woods etc. Actually, they had Arnold out back bush hogging....I brushed off his hair and he resembled Pig-Pen from Charlie Brown. Ha!

Wish ya'll all were here to have a piece of pecan pie and coffee. I'll definately be thanking God for each of you. Miss you all!

With a thankful heart;

Susie

There's no place like home!

My God is so faithful! As I drove home tonight from saying my good-byes at church, I was reminded of a time, 10 years ago. I remembered driving across the bridge into Baton Rouge as we were moving into town. I cried and cried and cried, asking God why He would send me to this place. I had been more than happy where I had been. I left all of my family and friends and was dropped into a place that I thought I had no business being in. It took YEARS and many prayers before I made friends and had finally felt like I belonged. Now I can say that there is no other place that I would call home.
So, I pray tonight as I sleep in Baton Rouge for the last time before my great adventure begins, that the Lord will comfort me as I drive over that big bridge into my new life. I pray that He will once again force me to be uncomfortable and to feel as though I don't belong, because through those years I learned to trust Him most. I pray that as my tears fall that I will recall the laughter, fun, love, pain and the tears. That each memory will be painted vividly into my heart.... that I can always recall the sound of my dear friends laughter and the warmth of their hugs.... That I can envision the faces of those near to me and those who have gone on before. And I pray that I never, ever truly feel at home anywhere until I am at home with my Heavenly Father. There is no place like home!
I love you all. Thank you for being a part of my life.
God Bless You!
Susie

Let's get moving!!!

Well, it is finally here. In about an hour, the movers will be here to pack up the things that will fill our "home" in Peru. It was really difficult at times to be patient and figure out what was going to Richmond, what could wait till Costa Rica and what would be packed away for a year and a half for Peru.
I am sure that once we get to Peru. we will laugh when we open some of this stuff wondering what we were thinking!!! You see, the IMB tells you to pack things in the drawers, box springs, etc and not to bring air. (we have 700 cubic feet, but no weight limit) Arnold and I did come really creative packing. Hopefully we packed tight enough and smart. (I'd hate to have some lotion christen my new dresser that I waited FOREVER to get.) After today, our "stuff" heads to Houston to sit until we get to Peru.
I guess it is almost time. Austin's let's get moving!

Call Me (Part two)

Ok, no one listened and signed up for SKYPE. At least they didn't say so when they did. Therefore, I've gone one step further: I have added a local BATON ROUGE number to my SKYPE account.

The number is (225) 341-3383.

You can call this number for free, or at least as free as you do calling any other Baton Rouge number. It costs me a flat rate of $36/year. This will ring on my computer, anywhere in the world. This is round two on the SKYPE plea. If you love us, test this out and call us and tell us!

Congratulations Margie on the Degree

Did you hear the news, I just got finished reading the Louisiana Baptist Message. There's a great article about our family, except two things. Susie hates to be called Margie and she didn't graduate from Bossier Parish Community College.

Kinda fun, we laughed.

Parkview Commissioning

We have been waiting for this day for a very long time. This morning Parkview Baptist Church, MY church, sent us off to serve the Lord in Peru in almost Acts 13 style. I say almost, because we made a slight change. We substituted the FASTING part for a great Mexican buffet at El Magey. I blame Bro. Dan for that. He talked about a waitress there from Costa Rica in the 3rd service, so we had to go see if we could get some tips from her. (See wasn't there today).

I want to take time to thank each one of you that came to support us this morning. You are all indeed the Bow, that is sending us as your Arrow from God, targeting Peru. Every prayer, every tear, every smile shared with you today will be the strength from God that will be there to sustain us in those times that we just want to pack up and go home.
==============================================
I also want to say that my dad truly rocked on Hands and Feet!

Call me

For those of you who REALLY love us, sign up for SKYPE. Skye is a way to talk over the internet (PC to PC) for absolutley free. All you need to have is a Speaker and a Mic. Both are really cheap and worth the idea of us being able to call you FREE from Peru.

Some of you have AOL AIM or Windows Messenger. Both of these will allow for voice (and video for that matter). We have signed up for SKYPE also because we've been told that it requires less bandwidth, resulting in a more real-time talking experience.

Please do us a favor and sign up. After you do, search for Arnold Austin or Susie Austin. We both have accounts. After you sign up, comment here so that we know that you are a SKYPE member also. We look forward to talking to you!

Consecrated

If you would have told me a couple of years ago that I would have been working with the youth at Parkview, I probably would have laughed. You see, Arnold and I have taught many of these young adults during their younger years....3 & 4 year olds, 2nd grade, 4th & 5th grade.....I had been locked out of classrooms, washed off hands that had been glued together, threatened to have talks with moms & dads and had, at times, swore that I would never teach another class again. Well, if I would have looked back instead of forward a year and a half ago when I began helping out with the youth, I would have missed one of the greatest blessings of my life.
Last Wednesday night, my family was highly honored to be commissioned by the youth of Parkview. It was a very moving and memorable service. To look at these young adults and to see how they have matured in so many areas, physically, socially and spiritually, amazes me. We were so touched that so much thought and effort was placed into this service for us, words can not convey how much it meant to us.
Parkview Youth, each and every one of you will be missed so much by the Austins. We will always be there for you when you need us, even though we'll be miles apart.....only an email away. (WE EXPECT YOUR EMAILS!) We love you and will be praying for all of you. Thank you all for the memories.
God Bless!