Urgent Prayer Request

We found out a few hours ago that Arnold's Grandmother, MawMaw Akee, had a slight heart attack. They had said that she would only be in the hospital for 2 or 3 days. Then a little while later we got news that she had turned for the worst and was taken to ICU and that she was going to be undergoing some tests on her heart to see what the problem is.
Please pray for her. Pray for her comfort. Please pray for us. We are so far away and this makes us feel really sad and helpless...especially the kids. Pray for our hearts during this time, for the doctors as they decide what to do, for Arnold's mom (this is her momma) and her brother as they have to sit back and wait and for MawMaw to be strong.
We have enjoyed remembering all the fun things we have done with MawMaw and we pray that we will have many more days to make memories but if the Lord decides to take her, then we will look forward to seeing her with PawPaw Pat and Aunt Hrt one day. We love you MawMaw Akee.
Thanks for your prayers!
His.
Susie

Blogging at the new apartment

Well, we now have internet at our new apartment. We actually now have everything we need to move in. We have all our furniture, utilities and all but a few things from the Weavers apartment. It looks like this will be home for us within about a week.
We have been blessed to have almost 3 months to prepare the apartment as well as shop for appliances and furniture. It was really nice to be able to have the time to "shop around" and get the best prices, better made appliances and comfortable furniture.
My very favorite thing that we have gotten is our dining room table. We had been told not to buy our furniture in town, but to go to an area right out side of Lima that makes furniture. Sure enough, there was a town that was full of furniture stores. The first place we went into, we ended up buying from but after a 3 day search. The lady, named Carmen, worked with us so well and gave us an unbelievable deal. She custom made one of our sofas to match the exact specifications that we needed for the space we had. She also went and looked at a table that we liked and had her guys make us one that is gorgeous. It is out of solid wood (and HEAVY) and a triangular shape and it seats 9. I will put a photo up of it soon.
Won't be long until I wake up here in my new house for the first time. I can't wait!
His.
Susie

They blinded me with science!

Since we arrived, the children have been working on their science fair projects. It has consumed many hours of our lives. Well today, all of that work and effort has been sent to school. (I am so thankful!!!)
This is the 2nd science fair project that Ben and Alisha have had this school year. They finished one right before they left Costa Rica and then as soon as they arrived, they found out that they had another one to do...and yeah, they did think about doing the same one but they didn't.
So here is what they did:

Alisha: "To Pee or Not to Pee" A study of diruetics. Alisha, Arnold and I participated in a 3 day experiment. We would drink the same amount of drink - 2 liters in about an hour (Coke one day, Gatorade one day and then water one day) and see what the urine output would be. We would have to go every 20 minutes to record what our output was. Well for some of us, we couldn't wait 20 minutes so that really made her experiment interesting. She did a lot of research and a really great job. (OH, and Ms. Studious....her research paper was 22 pages long! Lets just say she was very thorough!)

Ben: "Does Temperature Affect Air Pressure?" Ben conducted three experiments. He did an experiment with an egg that would be pushed into a narrow necked bottle from the air pressure, He did a boiling water in a milk jug experiment (the milk jug collapsed when it cooled down) and he also made a barometer that he placed in different temperature locations. He is a little bit of a procrastinator so he was working on it up until the wire last night but he did finish and his project looks good but Mom is sighing a sigh of relief that he is done!

Patrick: "What Factors Affect Your Pulse Rate?" Arnold and Patrick participated in this together. They would eat, drink or do the same activity and check their pulse before, 5 minutes after and 10 minutes after to see if chocolate, caffiene, sugar, exercise, large amounts of food etc, effected your pulse rate. We were surprised with Patrick's outcomes because all of his except two was actually lower after all of these. The only one that raised his was a big meal and exercise. Arnold's was affected by all except coke. His poster looks nice and I think he is ready. He was going to bring the blood pressure cuff that they used to measure the pulse rate but the dog we are watching, Maggie, decided she liked the taste of it and chewed it up and now it doesn't work anymore!

So, I am relieved that these projects are out of the house and hopefully we have a year until the next one is due. (OH, Arnold has been asked to be one of the judges for science fair so he wasn't really able to help or give any type of advice...that's bad because he is the good one in science!)

What's new pussycat?

As many of you know, we had a promise to fulfill. When we decided to become missionaries, Patrcik said he was ready to go to Peru, but only if he could have a cat when we got there. Well, here we are, and today, I'll add, promise fulfilled. Thanks to the help of a wonderful new friend of ours, Sulam, we now are proud owners of a new 6 month old kitten.

Patrick has long awaited the naming of our new cat "Toby Cat" after one of his favorite artist (Toby Mac). This cat happened to be a girl, and he wasn't sure how Toby Mac would take having his gender changed in our cat's name. The kitten came with the name Kati, which is Kathy in Spanish. He wasn't sure how Kathy Weaver, our boss would take to a cat named after her, so he kept thinking. Finally he settled in on the perfect name.

His good friend from Parkview Baptist was a little girl named Rachel Walters. He cried so much the last time he saw her at church. Her name translates well into Spanish (Raquel), so he decided to name the cat after his good friend from Louisiana. Rachel Walters have lovely blonde hair, so it's befitting that such a lovely cat be named after her. Bloggers, I'd like you to meet Rachel Austin. As is fitting when families unite in Latin American culture, her offical name in Spanish is Raquel Austin Peña. Here she is:

It's not easy being green

Here's a picture from the St. Patrick's day Scavenger Hunt

If the mold fits, wear it

Living in a megacity is not too bad. Living next to the ocean in a warm climate without air condition makes it a bit challenging. We now know why our boss tells her cleaning lady to brush her shoes weekly. We also know why most missionaries have $600 dehumidifiers. Here's what happens without proper shoe (or any other object) care.

So what do you think? I have at least three years here in Lima. Should I invest in a dehumidifier?

Dental Work in a third world country? You better rethink that!

I thought having a mammogram in Peru was really bad but I must say that I think the dental work that I have had to have here has been REALLLY BAD. To begin with, my cleaning alone, left my mouth sore for a week (the whole family had the same experience). I had a filling that needed redoing so the dentist began taking care of it and when she had it opened she decided that it probably needed a root canal, so she put some medicine in the tooth and patched it up to see if it would help. Well, it didn't and my tooth starting hurting really bad. The dentist set me up an appointment with a dental surgeon. So today, I had a root canal in Peru.

It was not a pleasant experience at all!!!! OF course it is hard to speak when you have hands in your mouth but to try to get your point across in Spanish with someone elses hands in your mouths is really tough. When he began working, I could tell that I needed more numbing med, so he put some in, then began working again. All at once, he hit a nerve and I almost came unglued, He then injected some med into my nerve....OUCHHHH! It only hurt for a second but boy it hurt!!! During the whole time he had a hold of my chin bone to use as leverage. I am sure I will have a big bruise.

I did laugh at loud once though. I looked over and saw that the nurse had a cigarette lighter. I watched her as she used the flame of it to STERILIZE the doctors equipment!!! Then she lit a small oil candle (like something my grandmother used to use for a lamp). Then the doctor used the flame to heat up his tool (pick) to work in my mouth. I just had to chuckle.

And the even funnier thing is.....it hurts more AFTER the root canal than it ever hurt me before! Word to the wise, have your dental work done back in the states!

His,
Susie

1st annual Wearing of the verde!

Last night we had a St. Patrick's day party with our English Class. It was alot of fun but I was surprised that none of them knew anything about St. Patrick's Day. Actually it was a little funny when we were telling them about it before the party, because several people came up to me after class and asked if they needed to bring a present to Patrick's party (while he nodded his head in agreement). We weren't sure if they fully understood that they were suppose to wear green so we were surprised when everybody except 1 person showed up wearing green. I was so proud. (There were at least 30 people that showed up, maybe more)
We had a scavenger hunt for them. Each group was armed with a digital camera, an English Group leader who could not speak or help and a list. Heather and Claudia came up with some items that each group needed to find and then take a picture of (they could only speak english the whole time too!). They all had one hour to complete and be the first group back to the office. Everyone seemed to have a great time. Not only was St. Patricks day a new thing for them but this savenger hunt was also. I think they really enjoyed it.
There were three funny stories from the savenger hunt that I heard. One item on the list was to take a picture of an old lady with a dog. One group had trouble with this one...they said that 2 different old ladies began running away from them because they were afraid of them and didn't understand why they wanted their picture. They finally got a picture of a lady with a dog but the lady refused to be called old. They said she looked 70 but that she kept telling them that she was 40 and NOT old!
The next story was from Alisha. She said that they were looking for a specific restuarant. They couldn't find it so they asked a taxi driver. He said that he knew where it was and that if they helped him push his car to start it, that he would give them a ride for free. They did it and he did take them there. (but their team didn't win)
The third story was from Arnold's group. One of the items was to find our "hidden" missionaries, Kyle and Shayla. It was a guy and girl that just arrived in Lima the night before. They were dressed in green and were somewhere near the ocean. This was a hard one to find for several of the teams. But Arnold said it was really funny when one of the Peruvians named Jr. tapped on a guy and girls shoulder while they were making out and asked "Are you Kyle?" Needless to say, It wasn't.
Heather, Claudia and Nick did a great job planning, preparing, and hosting the party. And Heather even made a Paula Dean dessert with green food coloring that was sooooo yummy! We are having lots of fun here in Lima, you all need to come on and join the fun!
His,
Susie

Party Girl

When Arnold and I were dating, I took a job as a McDonald's party girl. I would go in on Saturdays and host the birthday parties. Sometimes we would have up to 24 kids for one party. And I loved it!!!!!!!! Who knew that a job like that would prepare me for the mission field! Why? Well, last night, Arnold was bringing the volunteer group from Misouri over for pizza after they came back into town. I had invited Heather, Claudia and Nick (our other REAP members) to come to meet the group and hang out. Well, Alisha asked if some friends could come over after school, so she had 4 in her group. This totaled 22 people. But then the doorbell rang and it was our other REAP guy Brad showing up with his group of 11 from the Naval Academy that had just returned from their mission trip. Needless to say, we ordered ALOT of pizza and the house was very lively. It was really neat hearing all their stories and how excited they all were about what the Lord had done and shown them over the past week. It was such an encouragement to me. It was amazing the connection everyone seemed to feel just having experienced God in such a close and intimate way.
This brings me back to parties. That is what it is all about. Celebration. Celebrating what the Lord has done, who He is and how He changes us. We should always live a life of constant celebration, because just as all the people in this area knew we were having a celebration in the apartment, they should be able to tell that my daily life is a celebration of the Lord. So make today a party. Celebrate what the Lord has done in your life!

Call me!

Today we got our phone hooked up. Of course they were almost 2 hours late, but hey, they came right? The funny thing is, even though it is hooked up, I can't make calls for 3 days, but the really funny thing is, my number for the next 3 days is different than what my permanent number is. How odd is that? We will see how it works. Sure enough the first number works and I get my answering machine and when I call the new permanent number it isn't a working number. I have no idea how it will work itself out, but we will see! If you want the new number just email me, or call me on the new number that will only work for 3 days and then I will give you the number that I hope will work after 3 days and then we will wait 3 days to see if it really works! Ha!

Tonight, the Peruvian Tooth Fairy, named Raton Perez will come make a visit since Patrick lost a tooth. I wonder if he will leave cheese or money (cause he is a mouse)

Pray for Arnold and the groups safety on Friday because they will be returning to Lima!

I got a pickle, I got a pickle, I got a pickle hey, hey, hey, hey

Not Really, I just really like that song! But I do have my crate, I got my crate, I got the crate hey hey hey hey! Yep, this morning the moving truck showed up to the new apartment about 9:20am and so did 11 helpers!!!! It was so wonderful! They were all so helpful!
It didn't take too long to unload the crates and my back doesn't even hurt...there is a reason for that....they made me stay at the door and direct everyone where to put stuff. When the crates were empty, the guys took them apart so we can use the wood for whatever we need to build or use it for. It all happened so fast, that everything was done within an hour. I was ready to get busy as soon as everyone left, and was surprised when everyone started helping me unload all the boxes and put together the beds! Wow! I definately didn't expect that.
After many jokes about the 1000 rolls of toilet paper, gillions of bags of popcorn, enough tabasco for a lifetime and my really heavy bedroom furniture...I realized their real motives, they didn't care about helping, they just wanted to rifle through my stuff to see who the Austins really are! HA! HA! Well, ask any of them and they will tell you, it's nothing new, just a first timer and I am sure they will have bets if we will EVER crate again!
It was lots of fun though. Kinda like Christmas, kinda like a family reunion or watching old family videos. It was full of lots of surprises and memories. And my new bedroom suit is gorgeous and really heavy and best and most important of all....IT FITS in my bedroom!
It looks like we only had a little damage to a few things. Really nothing much if you think about it being in this crate for a year and 1/2 and it traveling from BR to Houston and then to Lima Peru. It seems like we are only missing a few things like the slats to 2 of the beds and a mirror that is suppose to attach to Alisha's vanity. I have no idea where it could have gone. Anyway, it was really minor stuff (except the mirror, but it will be fine)
The kids were really excited and hurried home. Alisha loves her new room and the boys can't wait till Arnold gets home to hook up the Ninetendo.
It's beginning to feel and look more like home everyday. I will take pictures soon!

His,
Susie

YOU are one of our greatest weapons!

"We have seen evidence that wherever God's Spirit is moving, missionaries can expect an inexplicable series of circumstances that seem to hinder the harvest," says Foreign Mission Board President Jerry Rankin, who himself served in southern Asia and the Pacific for 23 years. "If missionaries are to walk in victory and if a hedge of protection is to be sustained around their life and family and ministry, it is essential they have a strong base of prayer support."

Thank you for covering us in your prayers daily. Our family and our IMB family is under constant spiritual attack. Please continue to fight with us in this battle because You do make a difference, and as Jerry Rankin states "the prayers of God's people will break down the strongholds of Satan and provide protection" Thanks so much for for standing with us!
(Quotes taken from Spiritual Warfare by Avery T. Willis. Jr. )

Prayer Focus

Arnold, Derek and the volunteer team from Misouri have been busy this week I hear, prayer walking, sharing in the schools (they were even invited back a second day) and sharing the good news throughout the community. I spoke with Arnold yesterday and the group had made some posters to place throughout the town to tell everyone about their Wednesday Bible Study.
Please focus your prayers today and tomorrow for many to show an interest in studying the word of God and they will show up to the Bible Study. Pray for wisdom for them team and that they can convey the precious message of Christ to these people. Pray that seeds will be planted and that the people will yearn for more knowledge and that these studies will not stop when the team leaves, but that God will touch someones heart to continue the work in the area. That some brave man or woman of God steps out in faith and decides to lead their community in prayer, study and devotion to the Lord. Please focus your prayers on this especially.
God Bless you!

On the road again!

I guess I didn't completely think this getting a Peruvian Drivers License thing through! When Arnold left to go on this mission trip, I was left here alone with the kids.... nothing new, been there done that. But that means, taking them here and there, ball practice, church, dr's appointments etc. and all this by CAR!!!! Now, if you have ever been to Lima, Peru, you know exactly what I am talking about. Driving here in the city is by far one of the most dangerous things you could do in your life....talk about extreme sports. Well, I had only driven 3 times before Arnold left. Twice to church on Sunday morning, while all of Lima was asleep and once to the grocery store about 3 blocks from here when my sprained ankle was healing. That is it!
Friday afternoon I picked the kids up from school and they said, "uh, you're driving mom?" I said "Shall we pray?" and they laughed! I told them, "no really, we better pray, or we just might not make it home!" As I drove to a few places, I gained their vote of confidence and felt a little easier with it.
Well, Saturday morning, I had to drive Ben to softball practice which is near a mall called Jockey Plaza. I had made sure that I paid attention the last time we drove there because I knew I would be doing it the next week. I did fine and was feeling pretty confident until I was in the ovalo (round about) and was in the middle lane, switching to the outside lane to take the next street and a car in the inside lane decided to take the road that we just passed up!!! My defensive driving took ahold and I all but missed a pretty bad accident. The car was jerked so hard that it felt like we had been hit. But praise the Lord, He protected us!
And another thing to Praise the Lord about is that I haven't gotten lost YET! Which is really good for me and for living in Lima. BUT, I almost got DISPLACED today while driving to church. Yeah, driving to church. I just didn't remember that the street we needed to turn onto was so far down the road, so I turned around to see if I had missed it. When I realized that I hadn't I had to turn back and sure enough, 2 more streets up, there it was. (and we weren't even late!)
Well, the rest of the weekend driving was cake! I have even gotten to where I will honk the horn at just about anything, just like the Peruvians. I am getting a little more brave with cutting in and out of traffic because you are actually safer doing that than driving normal because they expect crazy behavior! BUT I still don't think I will ever be able to turn left from the far right hand lane though! Pray that I will never try that one.
His.
Susie

Mission Trip to San Pedro de Pilas

Arnold will leave with a group of 7 from Missouri on a week-long mission trip at noon. Please be in prayer for their safety. They will travel by bus about 5 to 6 hours from here and then participate in various activities in that area. Please pray that seeds will be planted and that many will come to know Christ as well as for the encouragement of the local believers.
Also, pray for us as Arnold is away. We will be busy unloading the crate and finishing Science Projects. With him gone, I will have to drive a little more than I have, so pray for our safety on the roads of Lima as well.
Love you all and we appreciate your prayers and support!
His,
Susie

A different day than I had planned

This morning I woke up and got ready to do my work and run some errands for Arnolds upcoming mission trip. As I ate my last bite of cereal, the phone rang and it was Ada from the office saying that it was time to go review our crate at customs. This was a day I had been dreading for over a year. I was comforted knowing that Arnold's name was on the crate and surely as picky as customs is, I could not be a part of it. Boy was I wrong. When we found out that it was possible that Arnold would be gone when we had to go through the crate and when it would be delivered, I just laughed. The one thing that I feared the most was about to happen. They obtained clearance for me to be in charge of going to customs while they riffled through our stuff.
So this morning it was my turn to go. The cool thing is, this morning I was filled with peace about the whole thing. When we got there, I was ok because I knew Ada would be with me. BUT when we were at the gate, they would not let her go back with me because she had on sandels. So I had to go back there by myself. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't afraid. I got to the crate area about 10:00 am and they had already taken most of the contents out of our 3 crates. Everything was still wrapped up though. The guy that brought me back to where the crate was asked me if I had any shoes in my crate. I told him yes, so he allowed me to find them and he brought them to Ada and she was able to come back there with me.
All the horror stories I had heard were nothing like reality. When the customs lady came out, she was very stern and not friendly with lots of questions, so I knew that I needed to get her comfortable with me, so I began a little small talk. It worked. She became alot more soft spoken and not so intimidating. She quickly looked over the rest of the stuff (without opening a single drawer or container) except 2 rubbermaid boxes. She was in and out within 15 to 20 minutes. It was so easy I couldn't believe that was all!
After she finshed, the guys started packing the crates back. All in all it took about 3 hours. About a fourth of what I had expected. I was so excited to see our stuff (and all the toilet paper ha! They thought we were crazy having so much!) And yep, we packed 3 years worth of Tony's and Tabasco! All in all, the only bad thing about the process was that I got a BAD sunburn~~~OH well!
Arnold leaves tomorrow on his trip to San Pedro de Pilas with a group from Misouri. While he is GONE, we will recieve the crate at our apartment. Please pray that all goes well with unpacking also pray for Arnold and the teams safety and that they can spread the good news with many Peruvians.
Thank you Lord for a postive experience with customs and that it looks like all our stuff is in one piece (at least it was when we left it today!)
His,
Susie
(Now I will have beds....so come for a visit!)

Game's up

The answer you are all waiting for:

This

is Dr. Ho

Truth be known, I am now wishing it was a Dr. Pepper

What do you need?

How many times has this question been visited by missionaries. The temptation to want things is much higher for missionaries that live in cities than for those live in small towns. It's as simple as what is available to purchase where you live. You guys are bombarded with this daily in the states, and it's not that much different in Lima, Peru. It's a question that is constantly being revised as I live within my misionary means. It arises now for two reasons.

The first is that we are buying things for our apartment with which we will cook, relax, live. It is a very stressful experience as we gave away our refrigerator/freezer, washer, & dryer back home and sold the stove with the house. All of these are new items that we must buy again here.

The second is that our crate has arrived! We spent three hours last night translating each item description into Spanish: each roll of toilet paper, each ink pen, each pair of underwear. Susie and I burst into laughter when we saw some of the things. The most hilarious entry: A "Dr. Ho". There's 25 bonus points awarded to the first who can tell me what that means.

Our many new fans!

Saturday, Arnold went down to the new house to finish waxing and buffing the floors to get ready for our crate to arrive (we have heard a rumor that it is "in country" (I'm just not sure WHICH country! Ha) Anyway, it looks like this will be something that will be an ongoing thing in this apartment. It has hardwood floors and because we live so close to the ocean, it doesn't take lo ng for the wood to look plum pitiful! But luckily, the polish perks them right up.
Well, he had been taking a while to get home so after I finished making my gumbo and visiting with my friend Amy, I went down there to bring him a sample. When I walked in, I caught him!!!! He wasn't waxing the floors, although our friend Derrick was....He was installing our first ceiling fan. Well, he is an engineer but not mechanical and not electrical so I was a little worried. But when he was finished, it was beautiful and it WORKED! So I got busy helping him since he had 4 more to go. (Just to clarify, this IS our air conditioning) We had bought 2 of the nicer models for the living and dining room area and 3 smaller cheaper models for the bedrooms. As Derrick and I were putting the 3 fans for the bedrooms together, we noticed lots of differences in them and the ones that were a little more expensive. We had to "rig" several parts together to make them function and then when Arnold and Derrick tried putting them up, they didn't work. Upon further inspection, there were things IN the motor not connected (that we weren't suppose to connect or fix), there were wires that were too short, One fan blade had the holes for the connection plates so far off that it was lop sided and the sockets for the bulbs wiggled so bad that I had to try to stablize them with pieces of cardboard. Long story but we quickly decided (not quick enough) after all this that we had bought a piece of junk and that there was no way that they would work. We decided to take them back apart and take them back to ACE hardware. (Yep we have an ACE hardware Praise the Lord) We were pleasantly surprised that they gladly exchanged them for the model that costs a little more but will last sooo much longer.
So, we have 3 fans up and 2 more to go. You wouldn't believe the difference that they make in the house. It makes it so much more comfortable and it looks fabulous! I am so grateful that Arnold knew what he was doing! (He saved us a lot of money on installation and now we are cool!)
His.
Susie