I have gas today!

This morning, we had our first "balón de gas" delivered to our new apartment. This will be for our stove. Right before I left for the vision trip, Arnold and I made our first purchases for the new apartment. The apartment was totally empty so now it has a refrigerator/freezer, washer/dyer, a microwave and a stove.

Growing up, my family cooked with a gas stove but it was piped in through the city lines, here you have to call a company called Sol-gas and they bring you a tank of gas to your door. (AND IT WAS FAST!) Within 15 minutes of my call this morning, they were at the new apartment...good thing it is only a block from where we are right now. Today the service man is coming to hook up and install the stove and Refrigerator/freezer. So we are excited to finally be getting a few things in the apartment.

We hear that our crate should be here in a few weeks, so we have lots of shopping to do.....we still have to buy living room furniture, dining room furniture and light fixtures (probably ceiling fans because it is really hot here right now (it is summer) and there is no air condicioning argghhh!) We hope to have it all ready to walk in when the Weavers return home at the end of March or beginning of April.

Please pray for our crate to get here soon and that we have no trouble in customs with it. Also pray that it arrives and that nothing has been damaged. Also pray for prudent decisions on the rest of our purchases.

Love you all!
His,
Susie

A First in Peru.......

When I returned home from the vision trip last Friday Night, I had been feeling pretty poorly. My head felt like it was going to burst and I was throwing up (Arnold thought I had meningitis) but then on Saturday, my left side started hurting in the back....I had this problem in CR and they thought it was my kidneys but decided that it was an inflammed colon. (they gave me medicine and I eventually felt better)

Anyway, I was having the same exact pain as in CR but intensified by 100%. So after dealing with the pain all day Saturday, that whole night and then when I woke up and knew I couldn't go to church, Arnold knew I was serious. So, he made me go to the emergency room to be checked out. Our very first doctors/hospital visit in Peru.

They first hooked me up to an iv for pain and naseau because I kept throwing up. They took an ultrasound of my kidneys but it all looked good. When they recieved back the lab results from my urinalisys they said that it looked like I had passed a stone or two and there were probably a few more that I would have to pass. So I sit here, "resting" on some meds for pain and an antibotic and "waiting" on some more results to come back from a culture. I will revisit the doctor on Wednesday and see if the antibotics that he put me on are acceptable to whatever shows up in the culture.

I am feeling ok today. Just really hate that medicine head feeling but it is alot better than what I was feeling. Arnold keeps laughing at me though because my sense of smell has heightened for some reason and all these smells keep making me sick to my stomach so I am sitting here with my nose plugged anytime I smell the slightest odor (even coffee).

Please say a little prayer for me today as I recover. (And praise the Lord that this didn't happen a day or two earlier or I would be in the high jungle dealing with this!)

His,
Susie

The enemy WILL be defeated

I know that I have overwhelmed you today with new posts, just knew that you needed to know what is happening here in Peru. I hope you will pray with us as we do the will of the Lord here.

Yes, satan knows that something wonderful happened this past week. He knows that something amazing is about to happen in the area of Pachitea. He knows that he will be defeated.

On the way home, one of our vehicles was in an accident that totaled the truck. It was a pretty bad accident but no one was hurt. Our leader Larry of course was taken to the police station for questioning but all turned out fine.

We are not fooled. We know that the enemy is mad, but he will not steal our joy.

Please pray as this team goes into battle for the peoples of Pachitea Peru.

Divine Appointments

It is funny how we can plan and plan and plan, but things always seem to go a little different than expected. Or when something crazy or wonderful happens, we chalk it up to coincidence or luck. Well, let me tell you, this past week, there was no plan, no coincidence and no luck at all, we can only chalk up what happened to divine intervention because the Lord was just showing off all week.

The first day we set off to an area called Chaglla. We ended up at a church and had a meeting with the local pastor. The whole neighborhood came into the church to hear what was going on. The pastor was very excited about the potential partnership and he shared the main needs of the community....literacy was a main concern. We all walked away feeling like it had been a very good meeting.

We then went to visit a pastor in Molino. Upon arrival, the pastor greeted the group and we shared thereason for the visit and he shared his heart for his people and their needs. There was also another gentleman who is translating the bible into Panao Quechua. This gentleman was very excited as he shared with us how important he thought it was that local believers get involved in spreading the gospel. (He even told us how some people in the mountains have superstitions about white, blue-eyed people being a devil and that this devil would kill them, which is one huge reason that nationals need to be involved in the spreading of the gospel). The whole group left there once again fired up with a clearer vision.

Later that day, we walked around a market and of course, a multitude of people followed. At one point, Pastor Geoff called for my assistance. He couldn't understand what was being asked so I stepped in as translator. This conversation lasted at least 30 minutes and ended in prayer by Pastor Geoff for the community. I do believe that hearts were touched and that seeds were planted.

That evening, after dinner, us girls stopped into a shop to buy some water. One of the members of the group from the states felt the Holy Spirit lead her to ask the owner of the shop if she had a personal relationship with the Lord and if she knew for certain where she would go when she died. In the middle of a little store at 8pm with a huge group of on-lookers, this lady accepted Christ into her heart as she prayed with Ramona. This was indeed a wonderful moment. As we began to talk, we found out that this woman who had just become a follower of Christ, was a principal at the local school. The Lord opened yet another door for this group to become involved. She invited them to come and speak whenever they wanted to. This was indeed another divine appointment.

As we were leaving the store, a gentleman came up and told us that the Mayor wanted a meeting with us at 8:30 the next morning, we agreed. We had no idea if this meeting would be a positive thing or not but from the way the Lord had shown himself, we trusted that all would be well. We met with the Mayor and 3 representatives from the communities surrounding. We assured them that we did not come with money and that we were not interested in political issues but that we loved the people of Peru and were very interested in their spiritual well beings. The Mayor was very receptive to the meeting and willing to help in any way possible.

We also were greeted in the town square by a gentleman who was "over the airwaves" in this area. He offered any airtime, announcements or whatever needed completely free of charge. He also offered that at any time, that he would gather the town in the local arena if the pastor wanted to preach. This again, was another divine appointment.

During the whole week, we were so excited about the way that the Lord was moving. We could see Him in every place we went. We were greeted with such a positive reaction and the people were so friendly and loved us being there.

A hard life

The people in Pachitea Panao live a very different life than many of us. They get up very very early and most of their day consists of just trying to do what they can to survive. Potatoes are a main staple in thier diet. Peru grows thousands of varieties of potatoes.


The women in the mountains wear thier typical dress every day. A black pleated skirt with a colorful peticoat. You can tell thier wealth by how many pleates they have in thier skirt. They all wear a colorful shirt and a sweater or wrap. Many wear a hat.


There is no public transportation and definately no private vehicles, so everyone walks everywhere. Most of the women and girls spin thread as they are walking. Thier hands are never idle.




They usually have a sheet on thier back to carry a child, sticks for firewood, or whatever needs to be hauled. Some have to stop and take a rest under the weight of all that needs to be carried. This is not just the young women, it is the old as well.

Their faces tell stories without even saying a word, of a harsh life. Many have few to no teeth at all, but thier smiles are welcoming and loving.

Please pray for the peoples of Pachitea, Peru.

Hard place to be.......alone with myself

We stayed at the Hotel Cali, the nicest place in town. ( I know because we looked at the one other place.) This was by far so much nicer. My room had 4 walls and a bed...the bathroom was in the hall that I shared with the other clients. And wouldn't you know it, I had to go to the bathroom 4 times that night. And yeah, if you look closely, the foundation of the bed is concrete...(but surprisingly enough it was pretty comfortable)

I have to admit that I thought I had prepared myself...I am a missionary now, right?? But, when I entered my hotel room and closed the door, a set of emotions came over me that made me cry, pray and just ask the Lord to help me. I felt almost ashamed to feel uncomfortable. The room was smelly and dirty and I was scared to touch anything. I know this makes me sound like a spoiled North American and that is exactly how I felt....spoiled, unthankful and ashamed. Here I was, in a room that was by far 300% better than the people in this area lived in every day and I was battling with feelings of selfishness.

I know this might sound odd, but this might have been one of the most powerful moments of my trip. I had to deal directly with the Lord, I had to turn over all my selfishness and give total control to Him. As I read His word, I was comforted. Through wrestling with my feelings of inadequacy to even be a missionary, because of my ungrateful attitude, He reminded me that I was called and that He was sufficient and that through it all, that this experience would make me stronger and more effective.

Up on top of the World, Looking down on creation...

During our LONNGGGG drive up the mountains, at one point we were over 15,000 feet. One of our crew was very sick and throwing up because of altitude sickness. All of us could feel the affects because the air is so thin up there. When we got out of the vehicles, none of us could walk straight. It was such an odd feeling.

The air was so cold and there was snow everywhere, it felt like we were up on top of the world. We actually even starting singing that song at one point.






I even made a snowball! (Notice the motion sickness bracelets (I felt like wonderwoman) and the bag of toilet paper, baby wipes and antibaterial hand sanitizer (all of it was needed!)

Have you hugged your toilet today?

Well I certainly have. I am not quite sure what I have gotten into but my head is pounding and I have been really nauseas with a couple of trips to love on the toilet. So this being said, just typing this is making me dizzy.

I guess we will see how the others in the group are feeling before I blame it on one of our meals on the trip or blame it on our mystery drink from a sweet ladies house. Her sister had found us in town and asked for our group to come pray with her nephew because he had been very sick. All 9 of us went and visited and prayed and then they offered us a drink. (Our interpreter told them that American's liked their drink REALLY hot...this was to purify the water) She told us it would be a little longer because it took a while for the fire to get hot...she doesn't have a stove so the fire was a fire made out of sticks. Anyway, she humbly served us all a drink that looked like a dirty water, but it wasn't, it was water with herbs (not sure what kind) and it was very tasty. We all drank every bit of it while sitting in a room the size of a bathroom that had a dirt floor and mud walls.

In this line of work, you drink or eat whatever is offered to you...one reason is, in honor or in thankfulness of your visit, they offer you their very best for and most of the time they will do without, like at this ladies house, we all had a cup full but none of them had any.

One of the missionaries prayers that I have learned since coming here is about such food or drink. "Lord, I will try to get it down, if you can please keep it down."

Please pray for me while I recover. Pray that it is only a passing sickness and that the whole team is not affected. More things to tell as the days pass on. Can't wait to share them but my head is begging me to be done.

Love you all!
His,
Susie

Geologist for the day???

Yep, well at least that is what the people in Panao, Pachitea thought. When we arrived in town, we were greeted with much curiosity. Even the mayor himself said that there was never a time that he could remember that people from the United States had come to their town. (One reason is because the town is 2 hours from where the paved road ended) The people were very very curious about us and our reasons for being there. We were asked by almost everyone if we were geologists or scientists. We found out that just a couple of weeks ago, a portion of the earth bulged, forming a volcano. Interesting huh, but that was not the reason we were there, but them asking why, gave us the perfect opportunity to share with them the real reason we were there.

I have many things I want to share with you but truth be told, I am slap dab tuckered out! We had a 12 hour drive and I just want to curl up next to my hubby, so I will share more stories and pictures later.
















This picture is of one of the trucks we took. It was so dirty and the kids in the town had written on it, "Gringos de Estados Sunidos" (It is suppose to be Unidos but this was how they spelled it) It means, "strangers" or "foreigners" from the United States. I thought it was cute.

Love you all.
Going to sleep.
Susie

Yo voy a ir....

On Monday, I (Susie) will go on my very first trip here in Peru with a volunteer team. This trip will be a little different than most mission trips because with the REAP program, churches in the states adopt a people group and commit that for 5 years, they will take trips to work, evangelize and plant churches. This trip will be a first for me as well as for the volunteer team. It is called a "Vision trip". We take them into an area of an "unreached people group" where the percentage of evangelization is less than 1 %, most times there are no believers in the area. The group will go into this area and prayer walk and see God's vision for the area and if they are to be involved. It is an exciting time as churches back in the states seek the will of God for their church.

We will be going into the "high jungle" from what I have been told. Apparently it is in the mountains but we will be able to see the Amazon jungle because it starts on the other side of the mountain. I have been told to be prepared for altitude sickness because we are going to be traveling in an area that is over 12,000 feet above sea level. The area or province is in the central area of Peru and is called Pachitea and the capital is Panao. There are supposidly 50,000 people, spread throughout this province specfically in rural areas. This is 50,000 people who need to know the love of the Lord.

Please pray for me as I make my maiden voyage. Pray that our 10 hour drive throughout the mountains will be safe and that the group will remain healthy. Please pray that the volunteer group will see the vision that the Lord has for this people group and that they will know the will of the Lord. Please pray also for the group to find a "man of peace" .

Also, pray for me. We decided that this is a perfect trip and time for me to be going. With Alisha and Ben being gone, school not being started yet and Arnold not traveling yet, this is a really good fit for my first trip. Please pray for my health and that I will learn what I need to and that I too, see the Lords vision not just for this area of Peru but for the beginning of my ministry here.

(OH, and if anyone was wondering, I did clarify that I CAN bring my curling iron and my clothes iron. Praise the Lord! But, they only have water (cold not hot of course) and electricity for a small percentage of the day so I have to make sure that I schedule my various ironing needs around the times available. Ha! I will take pictures while I am there, but if the whole ironing thing doesn't work out, don't be looking for me in any of the pics! HA!!)

Love you all!
His.
Susie

NACHOS Anyone?

Last night we had a small get together with some "journeymen" and "journeygirls" (these are young people who have graduated from college and committed to serve for at least 2 years with the IMB). There are several in the country of Peru and we have gotten to know them in this past month.

Well, while getting to know some of them, we realized that we all loved the movie "Nacho Libre" a really silly movie but hilarious to me now because of living in a latin american country. So last night, we had nachos and watched Nacho Libre. It was such a fun night.

I thought having nachos would be easy, but it was a little difficult. I couldn't find half the things we needed and the other half I had to search and search for. They all seemed to really enjoy them and then after the movie we had cinnamon toast "Good Toast" as a tribute to the movie.

Please pray for these journeypeople. Most of them work in remote areas of the jungle or mountains with little support system. Pray for their hearts to be comforted and for them to focus on their calling even in the darkest night & pray for the work of the Lord to pierce the darkness of their people groups.

Wish you could've been here to laugh, eat and fellowship with all of us here!
His.
Susie

Leaving on a jet plane!

Well, in a few minutes, Alisha and Ben will be boarding a plane here in Lima, Peru and heading off to Paraguay. Can you believe what a life they have???? Heading off to a foreign country without thier parents! They will be traveling with one of our collegues and 2 other teenagers to go to THEIR annual MK teen meeting. They will spend time with about 60 other teens in a special weeklong program.

They were a little tired from this past week (because they attended a mini-program at our AGM) and they were also a little aprehensive to fly without one of us, so please be in prayer for them. Pray for thier safety, for them to build lifelong friendships, for them to make some wonderful memories and for them to grow spiritually. Please specifically pray that during this time, that they will hear a special word from the Lord.

Love you all and miss you already Alisha and Ben!
His,
Susie

Home, rested, relaxed and ready to run!

This past week all of the missionaries from Peru and Boliva gathered together about an hour from our house at a resort to attend an annual meeting called an AGM. Every day we gathered together for breakfast at 7:30, then at 9 we had worship and Bible Study and then following the Bible Study we had meetings until 1:00 then lunch. After lunch we had free time (aka, pool time) and then some scheduled special meetings, dinner was at 6 with worship and Bible Study at 7:30.

It was a busy week but we had the priviledge of meeting lots of missionaries serving in our country and Boliva. We made lots of new friends and lots of memories. The minister that was preaching the bible studies did a series on Ephesians. He did a great job and we all walked away having recieved a word from God.

We returned home today and are ready to get started. We will be starting our 2nd year of language school tomorrow and then on Friday we will begin our 1 year mentoring program. We have been learning lots of logistics of how REAP works so we are getting excited and raring to go.

We love you all and ask for your prayers as we begin this new chapter in our lives. May we work daily as unto the Lord.

God Bless you all!
Susie

On the road again!

Today we will travel with a group from the IMB to go to the annual meeting for all IMB missionaries. It will be held for 5 days at a hotel/resort and all the missionaries from Peru and I think Bolivia will be there. How exciting! This hotel is in Lima but it takes over an hour to get there. Lima is HUGE!!!!!!!!

We will be meeting everyday for conferences, fellowship etc. (Actually I have never been to one so I have no idea what to expect but I will tell you once I get back what it is all about!)

We will return home on Thursday, wash Alisha and Ben's clothes really quickly and then at about 8pm, they will fly out to Paraguay. They will be attending another Annual Meeting but this one is for MK Teens. Isn't that neat. Lucky guys, they get to go to a country that none of the rest of us will be able to say that we have been to.

Please pray for all the missionaries that will be traveling to the meetings, for our safety and for the safety of all the MK's teens as they travel to Paraguay next week.

I will blog as soon as I can. Not sure if we will have internet or not.

His,
Susie

We're definately not in Kansas anymore, or Louisiana,Costa Rica or Mexico!

During language school we learned so much. We were warned that in our different countries that there would be slight differences in the dialect and that it might take a little while to tune your ear to it. Well, I had gotten pretty secure in my listening and understanding of Spanish in Costa Rica, but the moment we touched down in Peru, I felt like a baby all over again. I have been told that the people in the city where we live talk extremely fast....I must agree. But, talking on the phone (actually listening) is the worst!!!!!

Well, out of all of the Spanish grammer, nouns, tons of verbs etc that we learned, we were told that some words would be different too in our new countries, like the word avacado in English...in Costa Rican spanish it is aquacate....easy enough.....well here in good ole Peru it is palta. WHAT??????? Ok, another thing is Chinese Food....in Costa Rica "Comida China" Comida is food and China is well, China.....but here in still good old Peru the word for Chinese food is Chifa. In Costa Rica the word for Fried Rice is none other than arroz frito (rice fried) Here in Peru it is Chaufa. WHATT Again!

Ok, so we have had plenty of words to relearn here and a bunch more that we will encounter just tomorrow I am sure. But there is one really wierd thing that I have learned here that I was not prepared for....

At a going away party for the Bushes at English classes, we had brought cake, cookies, chips, salsa and sodas. We noticed that most of the food was gone, but the salsa had not been touched. Then one lady came up to me and asked me what it was. I thought she just was unfamiliar with the brand but she said no, and asked again what is was for. We learned from this group of Peruvian people that they have never even seen salsa!!!!!!! Now HELLOOO! We are in a latin community, we are a speakin a spanish, but they don't eat salsa. I just thought everyone who spoke spanish as thier first language was brought up on it in their baby bottle. Guess that is a little bit of a stereo type huh?

Boy do I have a lot to learn!

Not believing that I am living in PERU!

His,
Susie

Home Sweet Home

I know many of you are anxious to see what the new pad looks like. We signed the apartment lease and are looking for appliances to fill it. This is home for the next 3 years.

The Dog Days of Summer

We are well into the dog days of summer here in Lima. I had been wishing for an air conditioner until I realized that the light bill was $150 without it.
Here's what Patrick has found to do with his dog days

New kind of shopping

Arnold and I are still pounding the pavement trying to find the best buy on appliances. We have learned that no matter what brand is listed (GE, Frigidaire, Etc) that you have to research where that particular model or that actual appliance was manufactured. Because apparently that makes a huge difference on how long it will last. So even though we thought we knew what we liked, when we found out this information, we had to reaccess everything.

While we were out today, Arnold wanted me to look for a shirt or two. The water, detergent and just daily wear and tear of our clothing in Costa Rica over the past year has taken its toll on much of my wardrobe. So, he had noticed a few clothing stores. Boy, do I have some learning to do here. In the first store there where about 15 bins piled over my head with clothing. No, not folded and stacked, they were wadded, thrown and even if you found a shirt you liked, there was no way you could find a different size in the same design. And there were a zillion people looking through the same stack. The second store we went to was a little more organized as you looked around and I actually purchased 3 shirts in this store. They have old navy labels and I paid about $2 for each. Hopefully they will last. (From the looks of it, Old Navy and Walmart send alot of thier extra stuff here)

After shopping in the first two stores, Arnold asked if I wanted to do a little more shopping in a few more stores. Those of you who know me really well, know that I do not delight in shopping...so when I say I was a tad bit overwhelmed with the whole thing, you would know that I was REALLY ready to be done. You do know though, that I LOVE a good deal, so seeing a pile of clothes with a sale sign for $2 sent a chill up my spine! So, little by little I will adjust to the shopping here and then before you know it I will be in the middle of all of them picking and throwing until I find just the right shirt. (Just to clarify though, there are other stores and malls that have order and stacks...this just happen to be an area of town where they didn't and the prices certainly reflected it)

I am really ready to be done shopping, so please pray that we find all that we need REALLY soon so I can be done! Miss you all!

His,
Susie

Happy 2007 from Lima, Peru

Guess Arnold and I are getting old because the only reason we knew that the new year had arrived was because of the loud fireworks. No, we didn't have big plans which is a far cry from every other new year. The boys really missed having fireworks because there are no firework stands here but somehow it seemed that all of our neighbors knew where to purchase them from. Some must have even had a war cannon or two because I was sure at one point that a war had just begun. New Years eve did give us chance to remember the traditions and memories from the past and thoughts of what we will do in the future.

What an exciting thing to know that God gives us daily new chances to begin again. What do you plan to do with the new year God has given you?

His.
Susie