I'd like to thank all my FANS!

Well we made it safe and sound to Managua, Nicaragua in only 11 hours.....11 really LONGGG hours! But praise the Lord that we didn't have any trouble. We could truly tell that you guys were back home praying for our safety.
We were met at the bus terminal by an IMB missionary who hustled us off to the mission housing and gave us the 30 second instructions before sending us off to bed. It worked out nicely because they had 3 available bunk houses and so we kinda split up into families.
Thank the good Lord for supplying enough fans for all of us to get a little relief from the heat. It was very difficult to sleep (and is tonight) with it being so hot and I can't imagine what kind of night we would have without the fans.
The compound here is beautiful. We have made some new friends...Rosa, Paco, Tic and Toc, these are some exotic birds in a cage outside our room (2 are toucans and the 2 others are Macaws ) One of the macaws named Rosa is very active and speaks about as well in spanish as I do....hola, como esta, adios. She really doesn't seem to like Arnold a whole lot and gets really upset when he is around. She'll hide her face and start saying "adios" over and over...maybe she has a crush on him.
Please continue to pray for us. We are scheduled to leave to head back to Costa Rica on Monday. Patrick and Ben have both been having some nasty stomach problems and Ben actually just threw up while I have been writing this. Please pray that they get well quickly and that none of the rest of the group gets whatever it is that they have. Please continue to pray for our safety and right now would be a good time to pray for a nice cool breeze for us.
For now, as I lay down to sleep, I want to thank the Father for providing us fans to cool the night and a place to lay my head.
God Bless you all. Your prayers DO make a difference in our lives!

15 Tickets for the Tica Bus por favor

Today our family and 10 other IMBers headed downtown to buy tickets on the Tica Bus (you must say it BOOse (kinda like moose)) for our weekend trip to Managua, Nicaragua. We all have to go to keep our passports current until the wonderful day that all of our paperwork is processed and we finally have our visas for Costa Rica in hand and then have to turn around the next week and move to Peru! Ha! We have to stay out of the country for at least 3 days so we will be staying in Managua at some mission housing.
We do have two guests coming with us though, which should make all of our time much more enjoyable. If any of you read the comments sections, you surely have seen the name "Grannie Rains". Well, Grannie and Papa Rains made it here this afternoon safe and sound and are already the life of the party. (They are Miquel's parents) We look forward to spending some time with them.
Please pray for a safe and somewhat enjoyable time during the 8 to 13 hour ride there and 8 to 13 hour ride back. Also please pray for a cool spell to head toward Managua because we hear it is sooo hot and miserable.
Love you all! We will post again probably Tuesday. If you haven't heard from us by Wednesday then send out a search party!!!

Wow, what a date!!!

Tonight Arnold surprised me and took me on our first date in Costa Rica. The kids stayed at the house and ate some yummy Arroz con Pollo while Arnold and I went off to a romantic dinner. When we got in the taxi, we had a bad feeling because the taxista did not reset the meter. Well, after taking a back road, we knew that something was about to happen when he pulled out into traffic and honked his horn to let the cars on the other side, that could not see him and that he could not see,know he was coming. All at once, he hit the side of a passing SUV. All we could do was get out and pay him what we thought was fair and catch another cab. Talk about an exciting way to start a date. No one was hurt thankfully.
We got to the resturant called La Princesa and ate seafood. We had heard that it was very good and that it was very reasonable. The food was delicious and we even had tres leches. (Arnold laughed so hard when I accidently asked for a " país de tres leches" .....In English, I asked for a country of tres leches) Hey that would work!!! YUMMY!
After dinner it was dark and we have never tried to catch a cab in the dark. Let me tell you that it was quite difficult. (And a little frightening at times crossing the street) But we arrived safe, sound and very full. Wow, what a date!

That Snot Funny

Okay, we are learning REAL Spanish today.

We learned how to say boogers from our empleada today. The word is Gallo or Moco. We like Gallo because our empleada makes Gallo Pinto (refried black beans and rice). We laughed with her asking WHAT ELSE was in there today.

The common phrase for someone eating boogers is this:

!Que Gallo! !te estas tragas! Literally What a booger you're swallowing.

Bet you didn't know that phrase!

Saying Goodbye Once Again

The Instituto de Lengua Espanola celebrated it's class of April 2006 graduation this morning. Many of our friends and fellow IMBers graduated and are heading off in several hours to where the Lord has led them to serve. It is hard to believe that you can make such dear and lasting friendships in a matter of 4 months, but we have. I guess it was yet another milestone in our journey as we said some tearful "good-bye's" once more.
Alisha, Ben and Patrick also had a handful of special friends that will be leaving within the day. I thank the Father for these wonderful friendships that He allowed during this transition. I pray that He protects their hearts as they attend classes tomorrow without thier "old" friends. I ask you to pray for these young people as they head out to new homes and new surroundings, that the Lord will provide wonderful friends for them quickly. May they all feel at home where the Lord has placed them.
Now we add these friends to our email, to our skype and to our "missing you" list.
Dios Les Bendiga nuestros amigos

Purple and Gold

I had to laugh Sunday morning as I sat in church and felt like I was right back in Tiger Country after a big win. You see, Saturday night, two rival soccer teams.... Saprissa and LDA (La Liga) played against each other here in San Jose for the Championship. Saprissa (purple) won. Sunday morning, our pastor walked up to the pulpit and took some sweet little purple pansies out of his glass of water and made a reference to the person who placed them there. (He must have been for La Liga) It just brought back so many memories of when LSU would win against Alabama and Bro. Jim Wallace would have to wear a purple tie. We miss you all and Sunday when we saw everyone in Purple, all we could think of was home...we still bleed purple and gold! GEAUX TIGERS!

No more Pencils, No more Books, No more Teachers....

Today ended our final day of our first trimester. We actually made it! We recieved our grades today and we both made all A's! I guess we made the honor roll! I can say that this has been one of the most challenging things at times and also one of the most meaningful times in my life. During these past 4 months, I have truly been tested and tried and have found such a closer walk with my Lord. Thank all of you for your prayers during this time.
We begin our second timester on May 10. Arnold will be working on his seminary papers during our time off and the kids will still be in school. I have threatened to head off to the beach with some friends but I am sure we will just head off to window shop in town. Please pray that Arnold gets all that he needs to done.
Also, during our time off we will be involved in a IMB seminar covering Chronological Bible Storying. This is something that we began learning at a conference with REAP in Atlanta and then in Virgina. It is used with illiterate people groups who have no way of reading the Bible. It should be interesting and informative and something that will definately be useful within our people group in Peru.
We have yet another snag in our student visa process. It looks like a whole group of us IMBers will have to head to Nicaragua for a few days to keep our passports current. Please pray for our safe travel.
We love you and miss you all and wish you were here with me to enjoy my homework free time off~(even though I have to keep studying!)
His.
Susie

Sticky Subject

Ok, many people have asked about some things that we have missed from the states. Although we can get so many things that we need and want here, there are some things that we just go......argghhh when we think about them.
Here is a couple we all agree on..... Krispy Kreme Donuts!!!! Canes Chicken with their Canes sauce and thier Yummy BREAD!!! & CRAWFISH!!! ( I don't know about the others but I miss Crunchy Cheetos (you can only get puffs here) and Diet Dr. Pepper!)
Something else I have had to get used to compromising on, is hair products. Especially hair spray. For those of you who know me well, you know how important hair spray is to me. The hair spray here is very expensive and you can pretty much only get the pump style and I just really like the aerosol kind. It is funny because I have resorted to begging (even my teachers that are going to the states) to bring me some back. My friend Micheal's Mother-in-law came in a week or so ago with 4 cans packed in her suitcase for me but apparently the airlines didn't like that and she only ended up with 1 can.
All in all, yeah, every day we think of things that we miss, but it's all just stuff that we can really live without.....Even if my hair suffers for it. Ha!
What we miss most is our friends, family, church and Audio Adrenaline concerts.
We love you all and miss you terribly! Call us, we would love to hear your voice!
His.
Susie

Willing???

I recieved this packet of Taco Bell mild sauce at the mall the other day when we took Patrick to the movies. I kind of chuckled because it states "Willing to relocate"...it struck me funny because just like us, it had been sent all the way to Costa Rica from the states.

I remember the day after Arnold and I realized that we were both called to "Go", the next day Arnold had an annual review with his boss. During that interview, Arnold told him that he would like to change his preference status of relocation to "Willing to relocate overseas". What a major step, but one that we have never regretted.
So just like the Taco sauce, we find ourselves here in Costa Rica, being willing to do what we were sent here to do, and to go wherever we are sent to go. Here am I, send me!
Hey, have you ever thought about relocation??? Are you willing?? Will you GO?
Love you all!
His.
Susie

Easter in Costa Rica

The Austin family has had a glorious Semana Santa ending with a wonderful Easter day. Alisha and Ben spent most of the week in the mountains at a retreat for Missionary teenagers. They participated in many extreme activities and Alisha even slept in a tent while Ben lived high on the hog in a warm cottage with a fireplace. Arnold had lots of papers to write for Seminary, so Patrick and I had a great time just goofing off.
Saturday we got up early and went with our neighbor Erica to observe the Semana Viernes Procession which reenacted the death of Jesus. That day, no buses ran, no taxis and most businesses were closed. The odd thing is, on Easter Sunday, the celebration of life....things were back to business as usual. When we returned, we hid easter eggs with all the neighbors and had a great time.
This morning we headed to the Easter cantada at Church. It was a beautiful service. We headed home to have a new twist on an old favorite....Pork Pot Pie. (It was suppose to be Chicken but Arnold set out the wrong thing) After another couple of Easter egg hunts in the park we spent quite a while on the computer phone with Arnold's family. This evening we went back to church for a drama. It was a very good program and we all understood so much of it.
Tomorrow we go back to school. We will be ending our 1st tri-mester this week with many exams. Please be in prayer for us this week.
***For those of you who were wondering...the Easter Bunny did make it all the way to Costa Rica last night and Patrick was bouncing off the walls from all the sugar by 6 am!

Surprise in our Easter Eggs!

When I opened our package of eggs this morning, a got a big surprise! A pretty little feather. I laughed so hard and loud!!!! I guess the Easter Bunny has a little help with his eggs!

Bad Bill Burn

Well, everyday we learn something new! Today was a very good lesson that we learned but it came at a price. I had gone to the supermarket with a friend and she paid on the way there and I paid on the way back. When I gave my bill to the taxista, he told me that it was a bad bill (counterfeit!!) Sure enough, when we placed it up the the other 5 mil bills, you can tell. (It isn't even a real good counterfeit either!) I guess we will watch more carefully. The funny thing is (I guess funny isn't the word) but when our empleada, Carla was comparing the bad bill to hers, she realized that she had a counterfeit one too. That is so sad! We joked and said that we were glad that she had looked and saw that she had a bad one before I paid her today because she might have thought that we passed ours off on her. She just laughed! Lesson for the day, Check your bills or it might just cost you....it cost us about $10!!! Love you all!
His.
Susie

Susie the Grouch!

This morning I was abruptly awakened at 3:15 am by a horrible sound. Noise here in San Jose, Costa Rica is a normal thing. At all times of the day you hear birds, dogs, cats, sirens, car alarms, etc...so we have kinda gotten use to the noises but this was different. I got up and looked out the window of our bedroom and all I could see was a flashing red light. I went into the living room thinking maybe something was happening outside so when I looked outside the window I was surprised at what I saw. It was the GARBAGE TRUCK!!! At 3:15 AM in the morning! Well, that would have been weird in itself, but it stayed there making noises for 20 minutes. We didn't have that much garbage! I think they brought the whole neighborhood's garbage back to our house before crunching it up. Laying there not being able to sleep I began to think that I had Never seen the garbage people before, so maybe this is normal here. I pray that it is not!!! I also began to think that today is a national holiday here in Costa Rica and that maybe they are trying to get all thier work done before the parades. The funny thing is, Arnold was abruptly awakened from his sleep about 3 minutes before they were finished. Go figure! Love you all!
His.
Susie

Gimme a Break! Gimme a Break!

Today begins our first holiday week off here. I guess you would call it our Spring Break. The school usually only takes off Thurs and Friday for the Easter Holiday, but since one of their National Holidays (Juan SantaMaria Day) falls on Tuesday, they said "let's just take the whole week off". I must say that makes me VERY HAPPY! Yesterday, some of the teachers and 3rd tri students re-enacted the battle that they get Juan Santa Maria day for. Robert....you would have loved it!!! They had fake blood, pistols, firecrackers and most importantly, they set a small structure full of people on FIRE! (on purpose!) It was a great learning experience about the history of Costa Rica.
Thursday begins Semana Santa which is Holy week. This week is filled with lots of traditons and rituals. There will be parades throughout all the streets. Many people use this time to leave on vacation and go to the beach or the mountains. Alisha and Ben are headed at this moment up into the mountains with their International Youth Group. They will be at a camp roughing it. Alisha CHOSE to sleep in a tent!!! They will be gone until Wednesday. Arnold has some seminary papers to write this week so Patrick and I are on our own!!! Who knows what adventures we might have.
Please pray that we all have a great time of refreshment and renewing during this week. Pray that Arnold gets all his seminary course work done. Please pray for safe travel and a good week for Ben and Alisha. But most importantly, pray that none of us forget the real meaning of this season and pray that we may share that news effectively with the spanish speakers here and that we can be a light in this dark world in everything that we say and do here.
God Bless and Happy Easter!
Susie

Dying Easter Eggs "Tico" Style

We had a nice surprise when Carla left today. She had started dying eggs for easter!!! Not really, but there were 2 peeled boiled eggs in the pot of frijoles (this is a new addition!) When we stirred the pot, you can see what we saw....a half and half egg with white spots. We laughed and laughed.
Arnold's mom and a friend of ours sent us some easter egg dye....we were really excited until Patrick said "Can you dye brown eggs?" I guess we will see! There is one store in town that has white eggs and they look so wierd after buying brown eggs for so long!
His.
Susie

This "OPI" is not from Mayberry

When you say "OPI" (OH-PEE) it strikes fear in the hearts of many first term IMB'ers here in Costa Rica. The OPI is the Oral Proficency Interview that is given to us every trimester here by the IMB, not by the school. It is an oral interview at the end of each trimester to see how much you know and what level you are at. Arnold and I had our appointments scheduled for Friday at 1:30 and 2:30. I had already begun to get apprehensive about it earlier in the week as people began to show up for their appointments. (The interview takes place in the apartment next door)
Well yesterday the phone rang and it was my friend asking me to trade appointments with her. I hesitated and then asked the BIG question..."When is your appointment?" she told me "today at 4:30pm" she had just got back from the dentist and her mouth was numb and it wasn't a great combination...a very important exam and a numb mouth. So I agreed. I only had an hour until this test that I had been dreading. I prayed alot in that hour!!!
When I went in, I met 2 of the nicest ladies from Mexico. They made me feel so comfortable and really encouraged me. The interview was a taped 45 minute conversation covering a wide variety of topics. All in all I feel I did my best. (Although my best at this time is about the level of a 3 year old...on a bad day!)
I am very thankful that it is over and that I only have 2 more to go until I head to Peru. Please pray for all of the others as they go through these interviews. I must say that once again the IMB has impressed me with their commitment to the Great Commission to send us out fully equiped in the language to reach to the ends of the earth. God Bless you all!
His.
Susie

You know your turning "Tico" when......

You know your turning "Tico" when you begin buying frijoles and arroz in bulk! I hope this picture fully relates just how much rice and beans this really is. We went to the Price Smart, which is a Central American "Sam's", after church Sunday. We always know that we are gonna spend a chunk of change because we only go once a month. (This is the only place that we can purchase a full gallon of milk too!) We bought 10 kg of rice which is 22 lbs and 8 kg of beans which is almost 18 lbs. After living in latin America I will probably NEVER eat rice and beans again, OR maybe I will really turn "tico" and eat them for every meal!

Just another manic Monday

Now it's time to peak into my typical day

Hugs before class starts. (Alisha in background).

Morning Adrenaline
Rush down "The Hill"


Studying during break
First Class: Grammer

Pizza at Otero's (Thursdays)

Homework during the
Boy's futbol practice.
(Tues/Thur)

GEAUX TIGERS!!!

GUESS WHAT??? After thinking all day that we were gonna have to listen to the game online, I got a phone call from my very excited friend Brenda stating that the game was coming on another channel. We are in the process of watching the Florida / George Mason. Sorry "Fox" I gotta root for the Gators! YEAHH!!

April Fools? Nope!

I awoke this morning to my telephone ringing. On the other end was my friend Brenda in a state of panic. She told me to turn on Channel 23 and to see if we had reception. I asked why, she said because she had been told that the CBS station would not be working after last night because they had become a digital station. The reason that she was so upset is because she is my LSU friend that was coming over for our big FINAL FOUR FIESTA tonight. Thinking she was surely trying to put an April Fool's over on me, I went and checked the tv and sure enough, NO CHANNEL!!!! What a horrible day for CBS to decide to go fully digital! ARGGHH Arnold is trying to find out if there is a way to watch it through an internet hookup or maybe one of the other stations here may be broadcasting it, so we will see. GOOOOOO LSUUUUUUUUUU!!!! I guess worse things could happen on April Fools but dis ain't no joke!!!

His.
Susie