The secret is out

I've been holding a secret from most of you for a while now. Our family was invited to record a greeting to Audio Adrenaline in a special fan version "Goodbye" to be released soon.

For now, to hear our message (and the song again), check out my MySpace, one more time.

Click Here

Back to School.........for the kids!

Today is the kids last day of their break. They start school tomorrow. I know that must stink for them because they really didn't have a summer. They went to school all summer long. I think that they have enjoyed their week and 1/2 off though and although they say they aren't ready for school to begin again, I know that they are ready to meet new friends.

Arnold and I have to return to school on the 5th , so we get a couple of extra days around here to try and remember what we have learned and forgotten over the past couple of days. Our tutor has been here this whole week trying to make sure we do not forget anything. Thanks alot! He is even giving me homework! WAHHH! Oh well, he knows what he is doing and HE can speak spanish and I can not. Well at least not good!

Arnold and I have several things planned before school starts again. One of which is packing up some more of our stuff for Peru. Time will be here before we know it. On Thursday I am heading with some girls for a girls day out. And on Monday, we were asked to do a skit for the incoming students. (Thanks for having surgery John! Just kidding!)

Please pray for our upcoming final trimester as we strive to prepare to tell spanish speakers about the most important thing of all. Our Lord!

His.
Susie

You Tube Test

First try to embed a YouTube vid. Hope it works for you.

Caribe

PLEASE BE PRAYING FOR JOHN GRADY. HE HAD HIS APPENDIX OUT WHILE WE WERE GONE.

Caribe. That's Caribbean in Spanish. It's also where we spent the last 3 days with the Rains, with Melissa and Matt, the Braweys, and the Michells.

It was such a great, relaxing time away from school. The beach had a coral reef just off shore. We spent hours each day gazing at tropical fish, lobsters, urchins, and of course the beautifully sculpured corals.

It was a great way to get to know Matt and Melissa better. we had heard so much about them and now have spent quality time with them.

We ended the day in a traditional Thursday way: introducing Matt and Melissa to Otero's.




The kids enjoyed finding coconuts and Arnold enjoyed cracking them open and drinking the coconut milk and eating the fresh coconut! Yum! We brought home 5!




The beach was so beautiful and on the last day we were there, there were tons of huge waves that we all were able to play in. They were so rough that it tore Ben's bathing suit up. He had to wear a towel on the way back to the room!

Quinceanera

The big deal in The States is Sweet Sixteen. Here it's 15th or Quinceanera. Alisha turned 15 on Saturday. She woke up to breakfast in bed. We took her to the mall to look around then ate lunch out. She wanted to wait until school started back to have her "big bash". SO we will.

Speaking of school out. We are heading with the Rains to the beach today. We are going to the Caribbean side. We finally met Melissa and Matt, Micheal's sister and husband. We will all get to know each other better at the beach.

Pray for a safe 5 hour ride today and Thursday.

Two down, one to go!

YEAHHH! We have finally finished our 2nd tri-mester (actually it feels now like it has flown by!) We began our two week break today after graduation. It is hard to believe that we are going into our last tri-mester and that we will soon be in Peru.
We have plans to head to a beach with the Rains and their Sister & Brother-In-Law (Melissa and Matt). They are on their way here today so please pray for thier safe travels. We will leave on Monday and hope to have some beautiful photos up soon after that.

SHHH! Tomorrow is Alisha's birthday! She will be 15. Send her a birthday wish at alisha@reapsouth.org .

Love you all! Gonna go take a long needed nap!
His.
Susie

School, OPI and Patrick Update!

We only have 2 days left of our 2nd trimester! Then we will be SENIORS! Bad thing is, I thought I would be smarter! Ha! We will have a 2 week break and then start back to finish this thing up. The kids will also begin school then as well. Alisha will be in 10th, Ben in 8th and Patrick in 5th! Please pray that we all adjust to our new teachers and work! (but only after a much needed 2 week break!!!)

We got our results back from our Oral Exams and we both are well on our way! We have both hit the point that the IMB wants us to be before leaving Costa Rica. The next few months will be spent fine tuning and practice, practice, practice! Please pray that we continue to improve and speak with fluidity (is that a word??).

Patrick Update. Arnold took him to the Doc last week. The doctor said that it is very hard to determine exactly what it is because he is only having one tic at a time and that it has not been for more than a year. She gave them a prescription but told him to only fill it if his tics worsened. Over the past week, his tics have improved...we know it is from your prayers. Please continue to keep him in your prayers as his little body struggles to make sense of all this change.

God Bless you all!
Susie

Happy Mother's Day Again!

Well, I woke up this morning to sweet smiling faces bringing me breakfast in bed and greetings of "Happy Mother's Day!" What? Well, In Costa Rica, they do mother's day a little different. They celebrate it August 15 and everyone gets off work and out of school! Wow, what a way to celebrate! Back on the "other" Mother's day, we decided to celebrate it as the Costa Rican's do, so we waited.
After an omlet breakfast, we all got ready and headed downtown for the morning. We even ate at McDonalds! (I know what you are thinking but that is a BIG treat for us!) We decided to ride the bus back halfway and stop at a couple of more places then we walked home.
We have had a nice day. I feel like a queen with the best kiddos in the world. Hope all you momma's had a great mothers day too!
His.
Queen for the day!

Good NEWS!

I just recieved a call that we got our student visas. After many many many days of working toward it, jumping through hoops and bending over backwards and taking a trip to Nicaragua, we have it!!!! YEAHHHHH!
Please pray for those who do not have theirs yet and that the people in charge will treat thier applications with favor. Also please pray for us as we begin the process for our Peru visas!
His.
Susie

Stress

Thank you for your continued prayer support. Most of you are on our prayer letter and know that Patrick has developed successive habitual tics since arriving in Costa Rica. He started out sniffing, then snorting. We thought it was alergy related. Then in June it turned into a neck twitch, now it's become a shoulder twitch. We began wondering if it was Tourettes.

Watching him, you would never know it. He plays normal, has many friends, and his grades are high. It's obvious that his little mind must be preocupied with the cultural change and doesn't know how to express it other than these physical manifestations.

We go to a Pediatric Nuerologist today to determine if this is "transitional" and will disappear with time or is something long term.

Pray that Patrick is able to cope with this transition and that his tics disappear.

Will Power!

Ok now be honest, who could down a pound bag of m&ms all by themselves or find themselves munching here and there on a bag of candy, chips or cookies and then all at once realize that you have almost devoured the whole bag! Be honest! Cheetos are my weakness!
Well, I am so impressed with my kiddos.
MawMaw brought Ben a bag of mini Reeses peanut butter cups when she came at the beginning of July. He put them in the freezer and ate ONE (MINI cup) every day until PawPaw came at the end of July. No one else bothered his because they were his (even though it was tempting every time I opened the freezer). The same with Patrick. Maw Maw brought him some rice krispy treats and he has a schedule of when he will eat one and he sticks to his schedule, I think he eats 2 a week.
I don't know where that got that kind of will power from but I guess it is from knowing exactly how special that one thing is when you don't have very much of it and you might not have it for a long time. So you actually savor it and enjoy it.
You learn some of your best life lessons from kids. May I treat every day as a special gift. Savor it, enjoy it, cherish it and not waste it! Thank you Lord for this day and every day, may it be all for your glory.
His.
Susie

I don't know what is going on, but I like it!

Ever since Paw Paw came to Costa Rica on the 31 of July we have had SUNNY SKIES and warm weather. It has been absolutely beautiful. He complained about lugging the golf umbrella through the airport but we told him that he better be glad that he brought it because it rains literally EVERY day and he would definatey need it! Well, he doesn' t believe us now because it has not rained from the time he came until today.
BUT! He called tonight and told us that ever since he got back home to Baton Rouge on the 5th, it has rained non-stop! Sorry we didn't let you bring back your umbrella, you could have used it!
Anyway, we are enjoying the break in the weather! We hope it holds out for another couple of weeks because our 2 week break is coming up week after next and it sure would be nice to have some pretty weather!
Please pray for our final exams and oral presentations as we wrap up this tri-mester (only one more to go!.) Please pray for more of our missionary families as they leave very soon to go to the countries that God has called them to serve.
His.
Susie

A life of Goodbyes

When I followed God's call to be a missionary, I expected tough times. In fact, I had a three day session on Spiritual Warfare to help prepare me for what was coming. I also knew it would be hard leaving friends/family that I loved so dear. What I didn't expect was the perpetual cycle of saying Goodbye, over and over again. It was not prepared for or anticipated, never-the-less, it is our life.

That said, my friends of Audio Adrenaline are saying a few goodbyes of their own, with a release of their final album this week. The lyrics to the following song will go down as the "Friends" by Micheal W. Smith of this decade. These words ring true more often than not for us.

To hear this great tune, click here.

You’ll be fine tomorrow
The sun will rise again
It’s never easy to say goodbye
You know I’ll always love you
You know I always will

Chorus:
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
My old friend (my old friend)
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
We’ve reached the end (we’ve reached the end)

I don’t cry with sorrow, I cry with joy
The memories we made can’t be destroyed
You know I won’t forget you
You know I never could
And when I said I loved you
You know I meant for good

Chorus:

You know I’ll always love you
Goodbye

Christmas in July and Birthdays in August!

When MawMaw came in July, she brought Christmas and Birthday presents from her and PawPaw and from Jenny and Karen's family (Arnold's 2 sisters). She decided that one day we would celebrate Christmas in July and then when PawPaw got here that we would all have a big birthday celebration.
Last Thursday night at Otero's, we celebrated everyone's birthday. We had a big ol Chocolate Cake and a pinata. It was PawPaw's first time at Otero's and I think he really had a great time.
When we got home, we all recieved birthday gifts! How fun is that!!!!
MawMaw also made a Coconut cake for PawPaw's birthday with fresh grated coconut that she, Alisha and our neighbor Aaron cracked open and grated! We ate it on Saturday when Kristi and Micheal brought dinner over to the house. She even brought brownies! All of it was so good.
Now I feel like I have been eating for a solid month and had to go back to the gym today. The bad thing is, there is still a little bit of coconut cake whispering my name in the kitchen. Pray I don't listen to it!
Oh yeah, today is Marta's (temp empleada) last day. We are hoping that Carlota can come back on Wednesday. Her hand is just about completely well. Please pray for work for Marta. We are thankful that many new students will be coming in town in a few weeks and that she will probably have more work than she wants. Please pray for her provision!
His.
Susie

Goodbyes are never easy

Yesterday we had to say good-bye to MawMaw and PawPaw. It was once again such a hard thing to do. When I looked at Patrick, I knew it was going to be difficult. He just cried and cried as they said good- bye. Alisha and Ben were so strong but as soon as MawMaw and PawPaw walked out of sight they began crying. It was a difficult drive home. When we got home, it was weird thinking of putting things back into their pre-MawMaw order of rooms etc and it made Alisha really sad to realize that we would only have 5 at the dinner table instead of 6-7 now. She asked if we really had to return the chairs we had borrowed. Anyway, we had a wonderful wonderful time making memories and we will miss them so much.
Also, before PawPaw and MawMaw left yesterday, we recieved a call from the states. We were told of the death of one of PawPaw's dearest friends. Mr. Tony you will be missed. This was one of the most generous men that we have ever known. His wife is in the hospital with cancer and his daughter is an IMB missionary serving at the office in VA. When we had our garage sale to get rid of all of our stuff before coming here to CR, Mr.Tony bought a box of light bulbs for $500. This was just the kind of man he was. You will be dearly missed!
Please pray for his family and for ours as well. Goodbyes are never easy, but they sure do place things into perspective knowing that none of us are guaranteed tomorrow and we have lots of work to do while we are still here!
His.
Susie

Arnold, Arnold, Arnold of the Jungle!

On Tuesday morning we were picked up about 6:00 am and started our drive. It was a beautiful drive and it was a way that none of us had been before. We drove through the mountains and stopped for a typical Costa Rican Breakfast of Gallo Pinto (beans and rice) with alot of extras! Yum! We finally ended up at a jungle boat cruise about 9:00. After paying 100 colones each to go to the bathroom in an outhouse, we set out on a 1-1/2 hour lazy boat cruise. We saw crocodillos, caymens, Iguanas, birds and of course Monkeys. This was not a zoo or a wildlife park or refuge, this was just Costa Rican. It was beautiful and alot of fun!
After the ride, we drove over to Pozo Azule and went Zip-lining in the jungle. MawMaw decided to stay back and enjoy a coke in a rocking chair while watching the white water rapids flow by and read some more on her book. We all had a blast on the zip-lines including PawPaw. Patrick was so brave. He was the first to go every time. EVEN one time UPSIDE DOWN! We could have stayed there all day!
BUT, after zipping we were all hungry so we enjoyed a nice buffet lunch there and then hit the road again. On the way home we saw and walked behind a HUGE waterfall and stopped at an out of the way hole in the wall that had 100's of hummingbirds of all sizes and colores (I even touched one!) And from this place there was a great view of another HUGE waterfall.
It was a really great day and our guide was really terrific. He hit it off with MawMaw and PawPaw and he is interested in Deaf Work, so this made a really great combination. Today he took them out sightseeing just as a friend. How wonderful!
Wish you could have been there! God Bless you all!
His.
Susie

A Stranger in my house

When I woke up yesterday, I heard some racket going on in the kitchen. I put on my robe to see who it was, when I entered the kitchen, it was a stranger. I almost screamed until he turned around and kissed me and I remembered that I had given Arnold a big haircut and he looks like a different man. Ha! Yeah, on the night of the 1st, after a day of play, I cut Arnold's hair. Our camera is not working properly (strangely this occured after taking the last pic of Arnold with long hair ha!) so I can't place a pic right now but let me assure you that he is muy guapo! (handsome!) Thanks Grannie Rains for reminding me!
We finished our OPI's and could feel all your prayers for us. Thank you all. We won't find out how we did for a while but we all feel as confident as we can at this point. After my exam I was talking with the 2 ladies (Wilma and Gloria) about writing and they told me that both of them had published devotionals in the book "Voices of the Faithful" a new IMB daily devotional book. If you haven't got one, I suggest you do because it is very inspiring. If you have it, look for Wilma and Gloria in the Middle America Region. I believe that Gloria has 3 devotionals and a very touching testimony. All the proceeds from this book go toward foreign missions.
We had a house full of guests yesterday, just like I like it...literally busting at the seams! (especially after dinner) Our friends from church came over for jambalaya and then our OPI ladies came on up when they smelled the good cooking. WOW, PawPaw can sure cook some cajun food! I sure do miss that! But it felt like a little bit of Lousiana down here in CR.
We miss you all and love you. We thank you for your encouragment and prayers. You all are truely treasures to us!
His.
Susie

OPI's, Arroz y Amigos

Today is our 2nd of 3 Oral Proficiency Exams administered by the IMB. This will be an oral interview (in spanish...por su puesto) just to gage where we are in our learning. Please be in prayer as we and all of our IMB friends here strive to do our very best. My test is at 3:00 and Arnolds is around 4:00.
Today Paw Paw and Maw Maw are making arroz (rice) cajun style, Jambalaya, to show Costa Rica what else they can make with rice. They have 3 large pots (one borrowed) that we have hopes of them filling. YUMMMM
We are having some tico friends over for dinner tonight for jambalaya. Hope they will like it!
We will update on the opi's and our day trip to the jungle later when I have more time. Until then, pray for us!

His.
Susie

Election Day

Okay, On May 18th, I had gone a month without a haircut. At that point, Susie posted that I was letting my hair grow out. I have not had my haircut since late March. Below are the results:

Today, you, the readers decide if I go to school tomorrow with long or short hair.

We are going on a jungle cruise today, when I get back, I'll count the votes.