Diligence

I always look forward to hurrying home on M-W-F, besides the benefit of coming home to a clean house and the smell of dinner well under way, I have the pleasure of visiting with Carlota. Many of ya'll may remember seeing her picture a few months back.
Well today, we had our usual hello's and how are you's and then she was silent for a while. She had gone to the back to iron and I was preparing our lunch. I began to speak to her and noticed that she was straightening a pair of pants with one hand and that the other was behind her. I thought it odd, but went on. I was a little curious so I went back to speak with her. As I did, she turned slightly and looked as though she was hiding something. She WAS! Poor thing, she broke two of her fingers and has her arm in a cast. She didn't want me to know and she still did all of her work around here without a single murmur or complaint. Her response to me when I told her that she needed to go home was..."I once saw a woman on tv with no arms and no legs, she wanted to paint so she used her mouth to hold the brush. If this woman can do that, I can surely sweep the floor and clean the house." And she did.
Please lift up my sweet, stubborn empleada Carlota in your prayers. She will have surgery on her fingers Saturday. May I be as diligent in my work for the Lord when Hurdles and struggles come my way. I've been taught a precious lesson today, May I never forget.
His.
Susie


[Edited by Arnold] I made matters worse. I noticed that the cast was on the left arm, so I wanted to ask her if she was left-handed (Zurdo), instead as she was eating, I asked her if she was a pig (Cerdo). Whoops!

I see myself as handsome.

I had to chuckle today when I returned home from the empleada bible study to find a construction paper booklet labeled "My Life" by Patrick Austin. It is a mother's treasure to read any of her childrens written works, but for me I greatly enjoy those that are so sincere that they make you giggle! I will share a few random quotes from the book "My Life" by Patrick Austin. (I guess you could call these the cliff notes!)

Chapter 1 Paragraph welll...the whole page is one paragraph...The last sentence. "I remember my sister choping off my finger in the door." Another story for another day!

Chapter 2 "I live with my mom, dad, sister and brother. Big, nice, fun and happy." (I hope the adjectives don't necessarily correspond with the order of people...mine would be Big! ha!)

Chapter 3 About his first day of school "I talked alot and got into trouble"

Chapter 4 "My best friend is Josh. We have been best friends since we were three months old."

Chapter 5 "I wish I had a cat."

Chapter 6 "I have a talent to make people laugh and different things"

Chapter 7 "God is the most important to me."

Chapter 8 "My favorite food is my mom's gumbo"

Chapter 9 "My dream house is a big fancy manchien"

Chapter 10 "I see myself as handsome"

Available in Paperback! Hope it made you smile, it did me!

His.
Susie

Save a little Memorial Day for us!

Happy Memorial day to one and all! We were able to attend a Memorial Day/ Birthday party via Skype Video with the Babin's and Dufrene's. What a special treat! We were able to see everyone's beautiful faces and hear their voices. We just weren't able to have any of that good ol Shrimp and Cake for Bill's Birthday! Happy Birthday Bill! I will miss our tradition!
The holiday's are the hardest knowing that all of our loved ones are gathering together and that we aren't there to participate. Thanks for thinking of us and including us in your day. We love you and miss you.

Philippians 1:3 "I thank my God at my every remembrance of you"

God Bless you all!

His.
Susie

Top Ten Signs You Are Living In Costa Rica

1. You bring an umbrella with you everywhere even though the skies are blue
2. When you go into a any type resturant and they have a whole "arroz con something" section on the menu
3. Your main reason for choosing a specific taxi is if the car looks like it Hasn't been in a wreck
4. When you realize that you don't need a reason to shoot off fireworks and cannons
5. Thinking that "Salsa Lizano" is the new "Tony Chachere's Seasoning"
6. When you just installed your 3rd clothesline INSIDE!
7. When you find yourself saying "Que Linda" or "Pura Vida"
8. You no longer look at the old guy pushing the shopping cart on the side of the road and think "Poor Fellow" You think "Lucky Dog, wish I had one of those!"
9. When the thought of razor wire comforts you
10. When you are serenaded to sleep by the party's Mariachi Band next door singing "Aye, Yay, Yay ,Yiah!"

Just another day in Costa Rica!
Pura Vida!
Susie

Bien. Es una acción completada

This has been a very difficult week for me. The area of spanish that I am in the middle of studying is really hard for many people. But, that has not comforted me much knowing that I will have a big test on "the past" tense Tuesday.

Today as I sat and literally struggled, the tears could not be stopped. The harder I tried, the less I have understood. So, after wrestling with my homework, I went to a website that I frequent to get extra practice. I was listening to Jeremy Camp "Walk by Faith" and was reminded once again that through every struggle and through ever tear, that I am on the road that He has prepared for me. That I am not alone in this battle. As I sat and prayed, I asked the Lord to take away those doubts, fears and feelings of inadequacy that only satan had placed in my mind. Through my tears, I looked up to see that on the computer, Praise the Lord I had gotten a question right, but the answer the computer gave me telling me it was right, was "Bien. Es una acción completada". In english it means "Good, It IS a completed action". Of course, the answer had to do with the past tense in the question, but I was given such comfort when this little phrase confirmed just one more time that what I am fighting for, what I am struggling through es una acción completada... the battle is already won, the race has already been run.
Please pray with me that we continue to stay strong through language acquistion. May I take every opportunity to see the Lord in every experience! In every tear, laugh, trial or triumph. May it be all about Him and none about me!
His.
Susie

O what a party at Oteros!

Today we had Patrick's birthday party at Otero's pizza. We decided to have it there because it rains most days and also because you can't beat the pizza. Every Thursday us IMBers make our way over there for our weekly fellowship time. Since quite a few of our IMB friends have left, we have begun inviting more of our friends from the school to keep up the tradition.
The guy who owns Oteros is a young guy who has to be one of the nicest Ticos on the planet. He gives our group an incredible discount each week. When we arrived this morning to set up, he was there to help. Patrick's party was a Saprissa Party (Soccer Champions). It was funny because Mr. Otero roots for thier rival LGA, so we had some fun with that. Arnold and Patrick had gotten a pinata (because we are in latin American and that is just what you do). Arnold told him that we could go across the street and break it open at the park, he refused...he went and bought a pully and rope and installed it in the ceiling before the party started! (Oh, he also thought that Arnold and Patrick had not stuffed the pinata sufficiently so he put a couple of more bags of candy in it!) Mr. Otero put in Star Wars Episode III and played it as loud as a movie theather on 4 tvs. The boys loved it!
Patrick had a wonderful birthday party with the best pizza in Costa Rica (actually the best I have ever had), coke and a HUGE Chocolate Cake from a place called Fresa's. He had some of his best buddies come and got some great gifts. We came home and he, Ben and our neighbors downstairs played in the rain for 3 hours with new water guns. He'll sleep well tonight!
I am so impressed by Mr. Otero's overwhelming kindness. Yeah, I know we bring him in lots of business, but I truly think that by the time we leave, we will consider him a true friend.
His.
Susie

Limon-Aide

This weekend Alisha is stretching herself in a very wonderful way. Last night she left with a group of teens to go on a mission trip to Limon, Costa Rica. They will be doing various projects around the community and holding a day camp today for children. The unusual part about this trip and where the stretching comes in, is that she is the only one in the group going that speaks English. She is surrounded by Spanish speakers which had her filled with mixed emotions. She was pretty nervous when she left last night but WOW what a great experience.
We have been immersed in a culture here that has given us such a great opportunity to meet Spanish speakers, learn to speak the language, and live right along side them, but yet still have a little bit of security of having those who do speak English to help us until we feel confident enough. (Plus Ticos understand a Whole lot of English! Even if they don't let you know it!)
So pray for Alisha this weekend. She is just the girl to go and make this a wonderful experience. Pray that she comes back telling us of all the ways that she witnessed the hand of the Lord.
We love you all and appreciate your prayers and support!

Fall?

The weather is cool and the clouds fill the sky most days and every afternoon there is rain. This is a Costa Rican winter. I guess with so many clouds in the sky, my head is in them as well... because this morning, as I was crossing the large busy street (that we cross each morning) I wasn't paying attention and my foot went in a hole and I fell! My leg is scuffed up from ankle to knee and it isn't very pretty. The sad thing is, this is the 3rd time I have fallen in 2 weeks. Ok those of you who know me well know I am a bit of a clutz but this is ridiculous!
The roads and sidewalks here are pretty rugged in places. They actually call the holes and large drainage areas, "Gringo Traps" because all us "Gringos"(strangers) fall in them. If you are watching where you are walking, there isn't a whole lot of problems, but you all know me.....can't chew gum and walk at the same time!!! But I am pretty sure that the particular hole I fell in this morning wasn''t there before. This statement could be accurate because apparently there in a sink hole or a broken pipe underneath a spot in our street that we live on that someone keeps filling up with junk....broken pieces of tile one day, bricks one day, trash the next. So I must always be on guard. (Plus my family walks much faster than I do!)
Please pray for me as I walk these (dangerous for me) streets. This is our new way of life and my feet and legs must adapt with me!!!
Love you all.
His.
Hop-a-long!

Samson????

Ok, so Arnold has decided to grow his hair out. He has had this little idea in the past but has always come to his senses and gotten it cut. Well, his hair now is getting pretty long and I am just waiting for the day that he gives up and cuts it. Maybe we should get one of those football office pools going? Ok anyone wanting to pick a day?? How long will it take? How long will it get?
Mi esposo es muy guapo con pelo corto o largo! Yo lo prefiero corto!

His.
Susie

Ha, Ha, Ha. Guess What?

The IMB has hired a tutor for me. As it turns out, the woman testing my competency is not in favor of me having seminary and language school at the same time. She has a point, by the way...it's been rough.

Harold Mandoza started today. He comes two days a week for one hour each. We are paying for Susie to have 1/2 hour with him both days out of our own pocket. She is already glad to have him.

This reminds me of my favorite Far Side ever:

Tater Tots!

In my converstation class there are 4 ladies....all southerners. Our poor little teacher, with our accents she just doesn't stand a chance. The past few days we have been reading and discussing the Prodigal Son. She gave us a list of vocabulary words to look over and discuss. After looking over them for a few moments, one of the ladies, Kathi, said "When were there taters in the story?" I said "What?" She said that on the list was the word "taters". When I looked at the list it said "tatters"as in torn clothing. I just laughed. We all figured we must be missing our good old southern comfort foods. It made me miss tater tots! Funny!
His.
Susie

Hungry for more of you Jesus!

This afternoon I witnessed true hunger and thirst for Jesus. I was asked to be involved in a weekly Bible study with the empleada's (maids). It began today and will be each Tuesday. I wasn't sure what part I would play in the whole study, but I knew that God would use the fact that I was willing and eager to make new friends. What I didn't know, is that God chose today to show me what so many of his children are experiencing, hunger and thirst for more of the Word of God.
Since today was the first day of Bible Study, there was a small group. Many of these women have to take off of work early, pay for bus or taxi fare (which is expensive) or walk here in the rain and chance having to walk home in the dark which can be dangerous in some areas....but these ladies were all so excited to be there.
As they began to share a little about themselves, my heart was so full. Praise the Lord that I can understand quite a bit of Spanish now (even though I can not speak it), because I heard time after time about the greatness of God, His mercies and His kindness. I was humbled when one dear woman told of how she wanted to hear the Word of God so badly because she could not read. I was overwhelmed with her hunger just to hear what the Bible said, the way she told us of her desire was as if she needed it to breathe. Oh, Lord I ask for you to place that desire of hunger and thirst in me!
Please pray for this Bible study. Pray for the women to be open and receptive. We will begin next week with a study on Women of the Bible. We will lead it in a Bible Storying Format (This will help to reinforce the Word of God with those who can not read) It will be each Tueday from 2:30 - 4:00. Please pray that each life be touched and that each life be changed.
His.
Susie

A Great Big Gracias!

Thank you all for sending birthday wishes and prayers to Patrick. He was so shocked to open his email last night to find it overflowing with well wishes. There were personal messages, sweet e-cards, special e-games sent and also a video wish from his best friend Josh! It took about 45 minutes to go through them all! He was so excited. Thank you again for making his birthday a special day!
Saturday will be his party for him and a couple of friends. Please pray that all works out with nice weather (since it is rainy season...uh-oh just heard some thunder!) Wish all of you could come and have a slice of cake!
Love you all!
His.
Susie

Feliz Cumpleaños Patrick

Happy, Happy Birthday to my ten year old, Patrick. He has sent out invitations for his very first out of the country birthday party! He brought cupcakes to school today to share with his class of 7 and we have a small cake made for dinner. Tonight by his request, we are having gumbo! Our dear friend Harvine, sent us a couple of cans of okra (because they do not have it here in any size shape or form!) and it was saved for this special occasion. It isn't exactly the same as home because they don't have Manda sausage here, but we have found a suitable replacement. He is so excited. He asked if he could bring some for lunch, a snack and for dinner.
We took him to a couple of places shopping on Saturday because Grandma and Grandpa and Great Grandma and some aunts sent some birthday money. He couldn't decide what to get so he asked me and Arnold to go pick up his present that he selected. It is some little boats and a blow up track. We have it set up so when he gets home in a few minutes he will be able to play with it. Happy Birthday Patrick!
Susie

Mas Problemas

Arnold officially has our computer reloaded and ready to go as of this morning. Praise the Lord. We did not loose a single file. But, this afternoon, the power cord went on the fritz. Oh well, here we go again! Praise the Lord that he was able to order another one this evening so please pray that the mail system between there and our little mailbox will be efficient and quick!!!!

Speaking of efficient and quick! We still need your prayers for our visa paperwork to go through here without anymore problems. We still haven't heard anything about our most recent paperwork sent in, but we are praying that the hands that will touch it next, will deal with it in a rapid fashion.

God Bless you all! We love you and appreciate your support!

His.
Susie

Mother's Day??

Well, Happy Mother's Day to all you mother's out there. It is funny because before yesterday I had not remembered that today was going to be Mother's Day (I recieved my first email mothers day greeting and was shocked that I had forgotten!). Here in Costa Rica they celebrate it in August. Thank each of you for your sweet Mother's Day emails. It has been a big encouragement.
Dios les bendiga

His.
Susie

Still Here!

I have recieved a couple of emails from you guys checking on us since we haven't blogged in a few days. I just wanted to note that we are all doing well and that everything is fine here in Costa Rica.

After the computer crash, we have concentrated our efforts on retrieving all the files we could from the computer before Arnold wipes it clean and reloads it. Last night we were able to copy the last of our files. It was along process but Praise the Lord that we did not loose anything!

We started back to school on Wednesday and it looks to be a challenging trimester. Please keep us in your prayers! We do not have a fonetica class anymore but we have 2 hours of Grammer and 2 hours of Conversation. The children will be starting an intensive spanish course in a few weeks for the whole summer so they will be passing us up quickly.

We love you all and appreciate your prayers, your support and your encouragement. Each one of you are a part of what we are doing here!

His.
Susie

Encouragement

It must be the night for encouragement.

First, we got a call from Alisha Butler, her first. Our Alisha had gone to a party at a friends house, but will call again. It was great getting excited with her when she called. Thanks so much Alisha.

Then a good friend of mine called, his name is Jeremy Noble. He is a youth pastor in Alabama who is also an AudioA fan. I have not talked with him since his grandfather died 1.5 years ago.

The next time, it was Leslie Morris, my AudioA junkie friend. As soon as it was ringing, I remembered that AA was playing in Bham, AL tonight. I got to hear Hands and Feet live via cell phone.

After the concert, I thought Leslie was calling back. I amswered it and it was Mark and Tyler from Audio Adrenaline. They told me what a blessing we were to them and how we encourgaged them over the years. What a cool call.

Thanks to all who write us and call us regularly. Your support reminds us of why we are here.

The Countdown Continues

In most childrens lives, birthdays are really important events. I can recall in each of our children's lives, a special birthday that each of them just really anticipated. I vividly remember when Alisha was 4 1/2 she began planning her 5th birthday party and even started inviting friends 6 months early. (I even recieved a phone call from a parent wondering when the party was and had to tell her that it was a very long time away as I laughed!)
Well, this must be an important birthday for my youngest! Patrick will turn 10 on May 15 and he has been counting down the days for what seems like forever. He has been counting them down so long that I have actually let it slip up on me without thinking a whole lot about a Costa Rican style birthday party so I have many plans to make in the coming days.
Since many of you can not be here for his party, I am asking that you send him a birthday wish email. He only checks his email about once a week now and I know that he will check it on his birthday and what a wonderful surprise it would be for my 10 year old to open his email and it be overflowing with birthday greetings. That would mean so much to him. His email address is patrick@reapsouth.org .
We love you all and happy birthday Patrick in 10 days and counting!
His,
Susie

Slow Going

Well my genius spouse has figured out a way to retrieve most of our documents from the crashed computer. It is a very slow and tedious process but it seems to be working. God is so good! He was able to get back all of his seminary papers, our quicken and budget and also our crate inventory that must be sent to immigration. He is hopeful that once we get everything off the computer that we need that he can wipe it clean and reload everything and start over. Thank you for your prayers.
Arnold and I along with our other IMBers here have been in classes this week for Chronological Bible Storying. It has been very helpful and informative but we aren't use to being in class ALL day. We are used to getting out by noon or so and we have been going from 8-4...so it has been some long days. Tomorrow will be the conclusion.
We begin our second trimester on Wednesday, so please begin praying for us now because it is supposidly a very HARD 4 months . (Please also forgive if my blogs are few and far between). We all recieved our OPI's back and did very well. Thanks for your prayers!
Gotta go prepare my story for tomorrow! Hey! That reminds me of a story (that's for you Kristi and Miquel!)
His.
Susie

I was thirsty, and you gave me drink.

"For I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in." Matt 25:35
How easy it is to become so complacent in our lives that we forget that there are those so much less fortunate than ourselves. Well, this became all too evident during our trip to Nicaragua this past weekend. Nicaragua is a very poor country. To see the “houses” (this term being used very loosely) that these people live in is a sad sight to behold. And to realize that every day is a battle for sheer survival is overwhelming.
One day we visited the market at Mesaha. It is a large, very nice outdoor market catering to tourists. You can get any kind of souvenier there that your little heart desired. That day was so very hot and right before we left, Arnold had bought two really cold orange Fanta's for our family to share. They tasted so good in the heat. As I was about to climb into the van, a dirty little boy asked me for a drink of my fanta. Well of course, I just gave it to him. The bottle was only 1/4 of the way full but, he smiled so big and then proceeded to share it with his 3 other friends. Arnold immediately told Ben to give them the other drink as well. I hurried into my seat and scrabbled for my booksack ladened with snacks that I brought. I fished out some packets of cookies for them before we drove off. Those poor little boys looked like they had just been give life itself. Hmm....something to think about.

Home sweet Home in Costa Rica

It is weird to think that I actually live in Costa Rica. This is where my house / apartment is...this is were we work and our kids go to school. This is where we go to church. This is where we now call our home. I realized this on our way home tonight that Costa Rica is my home...however temporary it is.
We made it home safe and sound just about 15 minutes and a shower ago. It was such a long hard trip. It took about 10 hours to get home and it was just so very hot. We were able to get our passports validated and now we are good to go for another 90 days starting now. Please begin to earnestly pray for our visas because this is a trip we would really rather not take again.
I have one more prayer request. As many of you know, Arnold has been working really hard to finish all his papers for his seminary class (for 4 months). The past few weeks he has been working on his very last paper on a people group and was able to get alot done over the weekend. This afternoon he tried to boot up his computer to work on it while we rode on the bus and his hard drive crashed. This means he has possibly lost every paper and all the research that he has done for this class that is due in 8 days. Please pray that Arnold will be able to retrieve some if not all of his work from the computer.
Side note. Thanks for your prayers of safety during our drive, for the boys health (they are feeling much better now) and for your prayer for a breeze...every time I felt a gentle breeze, I thought of our many prayer warriors. Wow, you guys are great and we love you all!
About to head off to bed in my nice, cool, clean bed. I am a very fortunate girl!
His!
Susie