Help is on the way!

We have had much to do around Peru these last few weeks. Everyone has been so busy helping with disaster relief. Many are tired and wishing to sleep in their own bed, some have spent countless hours digging holes, passing out food, traveling to areas to research the damage, doing whatever has been asked of them. Some have had to stay back in Lima and have had to juggle phone calls, answered many emails, bag rice, beans and sugar. But one thing we all have in common is that we have been praying, praying fervently. Praying that God would be glorified in all of Peru during this difficult time.

Churches from all over the states, Christians from all over the world, have poured out their love and support and their willingness to come, to give, and to make a difference. Man, the Love of the Lord is so amazing!!!! It crosses over races, religions, cultures, languages and borders. There are several churches who have already made it here to the disaster site as well as others making plans to come and others who have shown interest in coming to Peru to do whatever the Lord needs them to do. Thank you all for your genuine love and concern for the people that we love so much, for the people that God loves so much, the people of Peru.

One couple, who has a new found heart and love for the people of Peru are my in-laws. They recently returned to the states after a visit here. My mother-in-law was able to come and visit for a month and then my father-in-law came for 2 weeks. During this time, they saw the reason why Arnold, Alisha, Ben, Patrick, and I are here. They saw our people, saw their smiles, felt their hugs and handshakes, saw where they lived, walked where they walked, worshiped where they worshiped, ate in their homes, and the Lord did a really miraculous thing, He allowed them to begin to love the people of Peru.

I say all this to say... My father in law will be returning this Thursday to help with the relief efforts. Some very special people in Louisiana saw his love for the people of Peru and they had great compassion for the areas that were devastated by this disaster. They have made it possible for him to return to help out our mission to help the helpless and the hopeless. He is coming knowing that the living conditions won't be easy, the work is going to be hard, he will see things that will blow his mind and break his heart, but he'll do it because this is where God wants him to be, in the big middle of the mess, and little by little, person by willing person, day by day, He will be making a difference and showing the love of our great and mighty God to the ends of the earth.

What's better than knowing you are in the center of His will as you lay down your weary head? Nothing!

His
Susie

It's the party (oops I mean song) that never ends....

We are getting close to hour 7 of Alisha's Sweet 16 birthday party. (I hope the invitation was correct and it didn't say that we are hosting a 16 hour party for Alisha's 16th birthday.

But truly. Alisha had 20 of her highschool friends come over (hey that is just about the whole highschool give or take 1 or 2) They all got here about 12:40 and we had a BBQ with Chicken, Burger and hot dogs. We also had bbq beans, mac & cheese and chips. For dessert, we had strawberry shortcake, yellow cake with chocolate icing, brownies and a bowl of Momma's mess....it was a candy that I was trying to make but it flopped (actually it was a favorite).

They seem to be having a great time, even though it started out with girls in the living room and boys in the den. Soon, they were mixing and mingleing and playing odd Highschool games. It sure seems like they have had a great time and have laughed alot!!! Well hey, like I said, they have been here about 7 hours, something must be keeping them around. We will see how long it lasts!

Wish you were here!!!

His
Susie

Trying to get things done!

I know it has been several days since my last post, let me just sum it all up for you.....BUSY! Arnold left once again yesterday for Ica to help set up the base of operations. Please pray for him, he is feeling under the weather and mix that with late hours, sleeping on the ground outside etc, he is just feeling pretty puney!

He told me that the trip to Ica this time was not as long. The roads had been patched with dirt and rocks in the areas where they were broken up. I am sure that this is just a temporary fix. He also said that it seems that the civil unrest is beginning to calm down a bit...not as much gun fire, looting, hooping and hollering all night. So, things are going better.

This morning, I will be helping to divide rice and beans into smaller quantitites in order to pass out during the relief effort. They are even allowing the highschoolers at Alisha and Ben's highschool to be a part of this. Hopefully we can get a lot done.

Ok, I have to run, I am suppose to leave in 1 minute! Love you all and I will update more tonight!

His
Susie

Gathering the troops. Preparing to go out.

Over the past week Peru has been through a devastating trial. Please know that the IMB is steadily working to aid, support and Glorify the Lord through all of this.

I could tell you lots about what has been going on with plans, but maybe it is better to get it straight from the source. We have a Peru website specially designed to keep you up to date on what is going on. Check it out. www.reachperu.com/reliefinfo

Please take the time to read some of the accounts from their trip. There are several entries from the same trip, but all seen with different eyes and different hearts. It is amazing to see how the Lord touches each of His children.

Please continue to pray for Peru and for the relief efforts.

If you do not receive our newsletter and prayer updates and are interested in receiving them, please email us at arnold@reapsouth.org and tell us that you want to hear not just about what the Austin's are up to, but what God is up to in Peru.

God Bless!

His
Susie

Earthquake Update

Here are the important highlights from our trip:

A website is set up to deal with relief efforts by the IMB

www.ReachPeru.com/ReliefInfo

A designated fund is set up to receive funds that will directly benefit the people of Peru. You can send funds to the International Mission Board, designated as "General Relief Fund for Peru"

To see all the photos, click here

We visited Cañete, Chincha, Ica, Paracas, and Pisco. Below is a summary by city of what we encountered. We intentionally visited outlying areas because they would have less focus than the cities themselves. In addition to all other materials brought with us, we were able to buy water trucks for all areas that we visited that will last a few days.

Cañete We visited Santa Cruz of Cañete which had the least damage. 8-10 families had completely lost their homes and were living on the soccer field in a make-shift tent. The city was without power and water.Chincha Schools, businesses, churches, were all destroyed or damaged beyond repair. Virtually every home was destroyed in the poorest area of the city. The un-identlfied dead were lined up in the plaza. At one point, while waiting in line at a treacherous crosspoint, one of our trucks was robbed of some of the relief supplies we were bringing.





















Ica As we entered town, we passed procession after funeral procession. The church where we were to stay the night was in the same condition of most of the city...devastated. We were blessed to be able to sleep the night in the parking lot at a school that had been untouched. The people were unruly, looting areas that had been affected. In the poorer communities, such as Pollito, the houses made of adobe were leveled. People were sitting on top of their rubble, guarding it from the looters.

Paracas This seaside village hardly affected by the shaking, but had an inundation of up to two feet that entered the homes.

Pisco Pisco suffered flood damage, but also some destruction due to shaking. The level was not as widespread as in Ica or Chinca, but was definitely evident, primarily in the poorer sections.

Earthquake Lights

I am definately not an earthquake expert by far but they have definately peaked my curisoity and interest these last few days.

During the earthquake Wednesday as we were all huddled together, we all saw a huge flash of light. Being through thunderstorms, tornados and hurricanes, I just shrugged it off as a transformer blowing. Well, I was wrong....for one, we don't have transformers here and for two the lights we saw were called Earthquake lights.

Someone had told me about this yesterday and I was intrigued so I looked it up on Wikipedia and here is what it said "A earthquake light is an unusual luminous aerial phenomenon, similar in appearance to the aurora borealis, that appears in the sky at or near areas of tectonic stress, seismic activity or volcanic eruptions. They are especially visible at night."

Cool huh? I have learned so much in the last few days!

Arnold and the group are on the way home. We should have some pics up soon as well as a plan of action.

Love you all!
Susie

Sweet Sixteen and Never been Kissed

Well, I guess she still has a few more hours to change that.

Sunday, August 19, Alisha will turn SIXTEEN years old. (I'm too young to have a 16 year old!)

She has plans for a party next weekend and hopefully we can make things really special for her.

Please send her well-wishes if you can to make her know what an awesome young woman she really is!

Wow, time flies!!!

His
Susie

A New Day

This morning I just want to Praise God for a beautiful new day. I praise Him that He has kept our boys on the team to Ica safe and that they are out there doing what He wants them to do.

I heard from Arnold at 6am and then again at about 9am. They had a couple of aftershocks in the night but that they were up and out of there by the time he called me. He also said that when he called me at 9am, that he was in an area of Ica that was totally leveled. The people there are desperate. They have no shelter, no food, no water, and no hope.

I may be telling you all something that you already know, but it was something that I was oblivious too before coming to Peru. As well as having the Amazon jungle, the Andes Mountains and the gorgeous coastal areas, Peru also has a HUGE desert. It is a coastal desert. Miles and miles and miles of nothing but sand. Sand dunes higher than I could ever imagine. Sand of all different colors. People come to this city to go sand boarding (kind of like snow boarding but on sand) This is one of the main areas that was hit by the earthquake. A dry, very dusty, sandy dessert. Can you just imagine how important water is in these areas. And these people are without.

I tend to ask, How Lord? How with such a huge need can 8 men help? How could they ever bring enough supplies to help such a great need. And He gently reminds me that He is God and I am quickly comforted. He reminds me that so long ago, just one little boy had a couple of fish and a couple of pieces of bread and the Lord our God, multiplied it to feed a multitude.

Oh God, today I ask you to take the items that the group brought, the blankets, the medicines, the toiletries, the WATER Lord, and I ask You to multiply them. Please precious Savior, allow so many people to be helped, to be warmed and to have their thirst quenched by these things that the group brought. But most of all Lord, I ask that You be glorified in all of this today.

The group has plans to head to Paracas today and depending on how it goes, they will either head back tonight or tomorrow. Please be in prayer for their safety.

For a little more information. Here is a blog address of one of the fellow missionaries on the disaster team to Ica. http://swisa.blogspot.com/atom.xml

His

Susie

Update on Arnold's trip to the epicenter

We have been very fortunate to be able to keep in constant contact with Arnold and the team that went out to survey the damage in the areas of Ica, Paracas, Chincha and the other areas down that way.

It took them a while to get to Ica and they saw lots of destruction on their way but they have made it safe and sound. They had plans to sleep in a church for the night but when they arrived, the church had collapsed. (Praise the Lord that they weren't sleeping in it when it happened) So tonight they are on the floor in a school gym that has no ceiling. Please pray for protection.

We are still have earthquakes. We just had one a little less than an hour ago it was almost a 6. We felt it pretty strong so I KNOW that it must have shook up Ica. (28 and counting)

The team has given the supplies to the church to distribute beginning tomorrow. Please pray that these people not only receive some things to help them out, but that they receive some hope that only comes from the Father.

Working Together. All for Him.
Susie

You should've seen me run!

This morning about 30 minutes after the kids left for school, I was checking emails and all at once, another earthquake hit. You should have seen me run outside! I was in my pajama pants,with no shoes on!!!! Anyway, it was short-lived (Less than 5 seconds) so by the time I got outside, it was over. So, guess it isn't over yet. It was a 5.9.

Here is a picture of how much we have been shake, rattle and rolling the past few days. These are just the sizeable earthquakes (26 of them) (and there have been well over 100 aftershocks that have registered) We have only felt a few here. Please pray for Arnold as he heads to the center of the activity right now.
His.
Susie

Here's the Plan...

The death toll stands at 510 and 85,000 hurt following Wednesdays earthquake measuring 8.0 (they have re-evaluated and changed the intensity). We have all of our mission’s personnel accounted for, even the extreme team out in the jungle.

Following the meeting last night with the IMB and the Christian Civil Defense, it was decided that there is a need to scope out where exactly the greatest need is. Reports are that some cities have between 30% - 80% destruction. There are many dead remaining to be uncovered. Though the problem is very real, the TV stations tend to blow things out of proportion as they do in the US, so Arnold and 5 other IMB missionaries just left Lima to head into ground zero (Ica and Pisco) to assess the problem over the next three days.

The government here has a tendency to provide for needs in populated areas, but the outlying cities are pretty much forgotten. Also, we have been told that based on past experiences, all the help that may be provided is a tent for temporary housing. So for the next three days I ask that you pray for Arnold and the other missionaries as they enter into the worst area to determine what is needed. They have loaded up all 5 trucks and are bringing drinking water, personal hygiene articles, blankets, and flashlights for 400 people. They realize that this is only a drop in the bucket, but what could be done in a short amount of time before they left.

The president of the Peruvian Baptist Convention is going with them. His church has started a new church in Ica and also in Cañete.

This is going to be a difficult trip. They will all witness something like never before. We are talking about a poor area of a 3^rd world country. There is need everywhere and has been for some time. Determining the need that is over and above what has always been there will be something we ask you to pray the Holy Spirit to guide them in.

Please pray for us wives and kids back home. There will be no further contact with our spouses until we see them on Sunday. Pray that the Lord comforts our hearts and calms our spirits while they are absent. Pray that we can be the hands and feet of Jesus to this community and to our own children during this time of heartache, suffering and hopelessness.

Here is a link to some photos published. Be warned, their are quite a few that show some of those who have perished.

http://media.elcomercio.com.pe/peruenemergencia/

Thank all of you for your emails and calls of support and encouragement.

His
Susie

His hands and His feet working here in Peru

This week is one of the reasons that we are here, not just in Peru, but on this Planet. May the things that we do and the things that we say, bring glory to our King and may we always strive to be His hands and His feet here on this earth. Here are some lyrics from some guys who mean so much to us and have inspired us to "Go".

An image flashed across my tv screen
Another broken heart comes into view
I saw the pain and I turned my back
Why can't I do the things I want to?
I'm willing yet I'm so afraid
You give me strength
When I say
I want to be your hands
I want to be your feet
I'll go where you send me
I'll go where you send me
And I'll try, yeah I'll try
To touch the world like
You touched my life
And I'll find my way
To be your hands
I've abandoned every selfish thought
I've surrendered every thing I've got
You can have everything I am
And perfect everything I'm not
I'm willing, I'm not afraid
You give me strength when I say
I want to be your hands
I want to be your feet
I'll go where you send me
I'll go where you send me
And I'll try, yeah I'll try
To touch the world like
You touched my life
And I'll find my way
To be your hands
This is the last time, I turn my back on you
From now on, I'll go, so
Send me where you want me to
I finally have a mission
I promise I'll complete
I dont need excuses
When I am your hands and feet
(Thanks for the song Audio A!)
So many people of Peru are hurting right now, well to be honest, so many people in this world are hurting. Make a difference today....share His love and His light to all those around you, even if it means getting out there, getting a little uncomfortable, or even a little dirty.
Be His hands and His feet!
His
Susie

The Morning After

UPDATE: They classified the Earthquake yesterday as an 8.0!!!

Some 17 or more earthquakes later, we are still doing ok. Just alot is going on here in Peru. Many lives have been lost and many are hurt and still many more are unaccounted for. Please be in prayer for the country of Peru and for the missionary force here as we prepare to advance and give much needed assistance as well as to minister to the hurting here in Peru. Below see an email sent by Arnold updating our AWESOME Prayer Partners as well as partner churches. (If you are not included on this email and are interested, please email us at arnold@reapsouth.org and ask to be added to the list) His, Susie

Prayer Partner,
Following the emails, phone calls, and blog comments that we have received; we are confident that ya’ll are praying diligently for Peru following the earthquakes and aftershocks from last night and this morning. There have been some 16 aftershocks ranging from 5.5 and 6.2 on the Richter scale. The tolls have risen to 377 dead and 829 injured.

The National Civil Defense is in charge of the disaster relief in Peru, but partners with an organization called the Christian Civil Defense Organization (CCDO). This organization is allowed access to disaster areas in an attempt to help the Peruvian Civil Defense Department by filling in the gaps that the government cannot cover. Today at 2PM EST, I will be a part of an IMB (our mission organization) /CCDO meeting to determine how we, with the IMB and you as committed, caring individuals can be a part of restoring order to the chaos that we have. I will update ya’ll following the meeting.

For those of you interested in following the unfolding story of the devastation to update your prayer partners, please follow this link http://www.elcomercio.com.pe/ediciononline/onlineindex.html. Most interesting to some of you is the one of the four video articles to the right of the home page showing the cave in of half of the northbound Pan American highway (which most of our partners utilize to reach their adopted areas).

All IMB missionaries, except the Xtreme team (for obvious reasons) have been accounted for and are safe. Pray for this meeting today and that we follow God’s plan for our involvement in helping the hurting people here in Peru and that His name be glorified and His gospel be extended through this tragedy.

For those of you wishing to communicate with us, both our local and Skype (Baton Rouge VOiP) phones are sketchy at best. For now, email is the best way to get in touch with us. Look for an update from us this evening.

Regards,
Arnold R. Austin, Jr

It's the big one...Fred G. Sanford

New Orleans always talks about the big one...they had theirs

We did not have the big one, but the big 3 tonight. We had two 7.7 and one 7.5 earthquakes here in Peru. They are still investigating damage, but all is fine here. We shook violently for more than two minutes having one of the 7.7 just 30 minutes away. Power and phones are out in areas, but we are safe. Paul Smith from Mandeville, LA was the first to call (within 2 minutes) to tell us that they were praying.

Chaplips, Chapstick, & Things like Chemistry

This is one of my favorite songs by Relient K and reminds me that one of my friends, Jon Shneck (aka Frodo) from Relient K is not only having a birthday this week, but is just now announcing the good news that he will be a father soon. Congratulations to you and Lindsay!

In honor of your birthday and fatherhood, I wanted to show you one of the guys that went on a recent vision trip with me who was determined in his belief that Chapstick is addicting, in that your lips start to require it after continual use.

All I have to say is that after being gone a week in the high Andes (and personally using chapstick, daily), my wife was kissing all over me. How about yours, Jason?

(In)Security of the Believer

It has been a LONG LONG time since I have blogged. I have been lazy, letting Susie do it, but I'm back.

I have a funny story to tell you about a recent vision trip that I went on with the guys in this picture. They are from a church partnership that is considering adopting an area here in Peru to reach with the Gospel.

For the non-Baptists following the blog, let me preface this by saying Baptist doctrine includes security of the believer (once saved, always saved) as opposed to others, including Pentecostals that believe that one can lose their salvation (fall from grace).

When in a pueblo called Cordova , we (as Baptists) were invited to preach at a Pentecostal service. Jeremy, a pastor on the vision trip spoke on the Great Commission, while I translated the message into Spanish for the Pentecostals that had invited us to speak.

As he preached, he mentioned that "All have fallen short of the glory of God" which translates into Spanish as "Todos son destituidos de la gloria de Dios" (All are destitute of the glory of God). I used the word "Caer" meaning "to fall", instead saying that "we all fall from God's grace". Being a pentecostal church, I received many Amens, but I immediately started restating my translation error, only making things worse. The guys in our group who were bi-lingual were having a hay-day, knowing my embarrassment and frustration I was having searching for the right words.

It was funny in hindsight, but not at the moment.

From the heart and pen of Alisha

wow...thanks for prayers. i really felt them surrounding me and God's hand on me and my team. well, where do i begin to tell you about it? first off, God totally translated through me. I give all the glory to HIM because i know my spanish could not have been what it was without God.

I went to a place called Santiago inside of a place called Huaytara Bajo which was in the mountains of Peru. I was really nervous at first because 1) i was going with a church group that i had never met before and everyone knew each other but me. 2) i was staying a week with that group of 9 plus 5 more...the 5 in which i knew that I would stay another extra week with and the 5 that had spent all summer together...and i would be the new one. i had a fear of fitting in and i prayed hard for acceptance. well, the group of 9 and i got to know each other and grew to love each other like we had been friends forever through the trip to Santiago. we were in the car for about 10 hours instead of the normal 7 hours because we didn't know the exact way, we had two trucks that had to stay together, and one of our guys got altitude sickness and had to stop and throw up a few times. but this was a good time of bonding none the less. when we got to the hostel that we would be staying in, my team (the 5 others) met me outside and said that i was a blessing from God because they really needed a translator...and surprisingly, this need for me did not scare me...i had a total peace from God the whole time about being depended on to translate. I was humbled when i went to my new room and the two girl teammates shared a bed while they gave me the second one. every morning we woke up and had devotions as a group and then headed out to evangelize. to my surprise and my teams surprise, God jumped out of the little box I put HIM in (of saying that I thought HE would only do so much on this trip) ...and HE jumped out of this box more than once a day. The team had seen one person come to Christ in two months and three more the week before i came...by the end of my two weeks, 35+ came to the Lord and we were able to baptize one. two Bible study groups (daily) were started...it was hard to leave not knowing if the studies would continue after we left but i rest easy knowing that it all is in God's hands now. We did tons of hiking and i got worn out fast. endurance while hiking and not putting God in a box and not ignoring God were the three hardest challenges on my trip. Me and my group had a blast and had many nights of laughing hysterically. many times that i felt weak and tired, i wanted to pass up or ignore opportunities of witnessing that God told me to go after. when i listened, i was totally blessed and saw seeds planted and people saved. and when i disobeyed, i either felt a heaviness and even the thought that the blood of that person on my hands. But God was merciful and allowed me to witness to that person anyways by that person coming to me and asking me about the Bible~ these instances were times that i was able to look at God and thank HIM and these times encouraged me to listen to HIM the first time and to not have the guilty blood of that person on my hands. i remember one time that i decided to follow God despite my tiredness. it was a time that i was really blessed. these two 9 year old girls had been coming on their own every night and they would ask us to teach them about more Bible stories. this one night they came over and we had planned the night before to play volleyball and then read. well, i was walking up to the hostel and they were there...but i could have got to my room without them noticing. i decided that God was more important than rest and i went and i hung out with the girls(one a new believer and one not a believer). after volleyball, we began to read and we eventually began talking about the ten commandments...i don't know how. but while we were reading, the cousin of one of the girls (the cousin is my age) came and sat down and started to listen intently to one of the little girls read. taking my chance...and following God, i began to try and witness to her. by the end of the night, her and the other girl became followers and believers of Jesus Christ. our last night there we got to see the older girl again and she wanted to know how to witness to someone...so we gave her verses and taught her how at the best of our ability.
another story that isn't so happy is about a girl named camen. she is 14 and this situation just about broke my heart . we were trying to witness to her and she just didn't get it. she was blinded to the fact that she has sinned even after explanation of what a sin is and explaining different sins and her telling us that she had done such and such...but in the end denying that she is a sinner. this blindness hurt me and i hated that i couldn't help. but then God spoke to me through a friend and told me that i wasn't there to save and salvation isn't through anything i say...but i was there to plant seeds in the hearts of people and God would grow those seeds and HE saves those people in HIS timing...for HE knows when people are ready and can understand. if i get a chance to see someone become a believer, great...that is a big blessing from God...but if i don't, that's ok because i was just called to follow God and obey HIM and plant seeds...no guarantee of seeing fruit.
i also learned how to evangelize and that the are many ways to go about it. i need to memorize some verses and get down a good way that i think God wants me to share HIS word.
well, i have many more stories but i don't want to talk your ear off. i had an amazing time. God taught me a lot and grew me more that i imagined. I wish i would just remember daily not to put HIM in a box.
thanks again for everything and for your prayers!

HIS child,

Alisha