DDR a Big hit in the Austin house!

Ok, so I have never been real big on video games and things of that nature like my husband and children have been but let me tell you, I have taken a liking to DDR.

Our dear friends, the Terrell's who are North American missionaries (check out their blog at http://www.stevenspointtapestry.org/blog/ ) sent us their old x-box. We hid the fact that we knew it was coming until we received it the day after Christmas from a group from the states who brought it to us. Well, as imagined, the kids went crazy (except for Alisha because she still has no idea because she is gone on a mission trip) They sent games like football, baseball (which has proven to be a favorite around here) Star Wars and DDR. Now what is DDR. Any young person probably knows but me, I had no idea. It is Dance Dance Revolution. It came with a dance pad that has arrows that you have to step on according to what you seen on the screen. It has lots of songs including some I even remember.

The kids got me to try it out the first night and we all, including Arnold played until past 11pm. The word is out and even though Alisha isn't here, her friends keep popping by to say hey. I would like to think it is because she has such cool parents but I am all too aware that the DDR has drawn them in. We even had 4 guys from Florida come in yesterday and pass time here in the house before their flight to Cuzco who heard we had it and wanted to play.

So Terrell family, thanks for making our house the most popular house in Lima this week! It has been so much fun ( and hey, I can say it is part of my workout with it counting the calories for me!) Your family was so generous and we are overwhelmed. Thank you sooooo much for EVERYTHING! No words are sufficient!

Love you all and miss you so much!

His
Susie

There's a Man in the house!!!!

This morning I woke up to realize that there was a man in my house!!!! He had somehow gotten in the house overnight and taken the place of Ben in his bed! Just joking! Today is Ben's 15th birthday and he is turning into such a fine young man. His voice has changed, he has more hair on his chin than he has on his head (actually not because he really needs a haircut) and he is just about the same height as his father. Boy time flies!!!

Ben started out just a little bitty thing. He was a little over a month premature and struggled with respiratory problems, mainly apnea for the first part of his life. In fact, for his first 8 months of life, he had to constantly wear a monitor to check on his breathing and heart rate. We just praise the Lord that His hands held Ben's tiny body as it grew and got stronger and that He held us as we spent many sleepless nights listening for the monitor's alarm to sound.

Of course I am his mother so I guess you know that I am crazy about my kids, but let me tell you. There are few kids like Ben Austin. He is kind and considerate, always placing the needs of others before himself. He is so dependable that there are times (many times) that he gets taken advantage of because people know that when he does something, he will do it right and without complaint. (Arnold and I are guilty of doing that as well when there is something to do around the house) We are very fortunate to have Ben in our family and we are thankful that he is such a special guy to so many!

Please be in prayer for Ben for his birthday and for his life here in Peru. May he always seek to be a man after God's own heart and who desires to serve Him and glorify Him in all things.

Wonderful Christmas!

The Austin family has experienced such a wonderful Christmas this year. This being our first Christmas in our own home in 3 years has made it really special. Seeing all the old ornaments and decorations for the first time in a while and also getting a few new ones to make up for the ones that we chose not to bring was exciting.

Throughout the Christmas season, we were blessed to spend time with lots of friends, go to lots of parties and get togethers and eat LOTS of food. (Time to get serious again about my diet!)
In the Austin family, it has been a tradition on Christmas eve to have gumbo, both Chicken and Sausage and also a Seafood Gumbo. We have always done this with Arnold's mothers family so
when it came time to decide what to do for Christmas eve, we chose to share this tradition with some of friends here.
On Christmas eve night, about 24 of us gathered together here in our home and ate lots of gumbo! It was a first for several of our guests. Even though it was hot outside, it was still a great time for gumbo!


Also for this get together, we wanted to incorporate one of our families traditions. Back 2 years before as we prepared to move to Costa Rica, we could not buy each other presents because we had limited space in our luggage so we gave the kids $5 and told
them to go purchase a consumable gift (something to eat that they liked, like ice cream, candy, chips and dip etc) Then we played a white elephant type of gift and everyone ended up with something really good to eat. (and we all ended up sharing)SO we decided to incorporate this into part of our celebration. Let me tell you, it was so fun! I really believe that everyone else enjoyed it too.
And then, we started a new tradition this year. A few of us were joking around about recycling stuff at a restaurant. We ended up challenging each other to see who could be the most creative with junk, trash etc and make the best ornament for the tree. I sent out the challenge and we had many entries.
It was great to see how creative each one of the ornaments were. This will definitely remain as one of our favorite memories and new traditions.


Even though we had a great Christmas season, we did miss spending it with family. Our hearts were saddened to know that this was the first Christmas without MawMaw Akee. We know how much she loved Christmas, so we enjoyed reminising about past Christmases. We pray that your Christmas was as enjoyable as ours and that you spent it with those that you love. We also pray that each of you hold dear and cherish the whole reason that we celebrate this special day! God bless you all!

His
Susie

English Fellowship Christmas Party

Last night we held our Christmas Party for English Fellowship. We had such a great time. In all we had over 55 people attend!!! Instead of treating them to something American for Christmas, we chose to embrace their traditions and have Hot Chocolate and Paneton (a Peruvian version of a Fruitcake....and it is yucky!!!) So we chose 7 different brands and flavors of Paneton and made up 4 huge pots of hot chocolate. They were all so happy!

Then we played Dirty Santa or White Elephant gift. It seemed to take a few turns for everyone to get the idea of the whole game but before we knew it, they were stealing gifts.

There are always a few sneaky funny gifts, I will tell you about some. I must say, there were a couple that were just well...I was speechless! Ok, Arnold and I brought a pencil holder that we made out of a liter coke bottle that had our pictures and Sandi's pictures plastered all over it. It turned out cute and I at least placed 12 SHARPENED pencils in it! There was a small box wrapped really pretty with a tea bag inside. There was one that only had 2 rolls of toilet paper inside. Then, there was the most unbelievable one. Someone wrapped up a gift and when one of the girls opened it, it was a live bird!!!! I believe it was a quail! She screamed, we screamed, the bird flew around and she ended up taking it home with her.

It was so much fun! We all laughed and made lots of memories and brought home some pretty interesting gifts! Wish you could have been there!

His
Susie

Hot and Sunny Week before Christmas

Well, I am sitting here sweating in my house with all my windows and doors open. The sun is shining and it is a gorgeous day! Ben and some friends walked down to the ocean after their exams and it is almost hot enough for them to want to get into the water. Alisha and a friend were laying out on our patio getting some sun while eating their lunch. We have been invited to several "pool" parties in celebration of the Christmas season. Nope, it isn't beginning to look alot like Christmas, it is beginning to feel alot like summer.
Tomorrow is the kids last day of school for this semester. They will be out from Dec 22 and return February 11. The regular Peruvian schools have off until the middle of March. With the school that they attend being an International School they have decided to adopt both ways of having a vacation but only at 6 week intervals. Once in the winter (which is summer here) and once in the summer in the states. So the kids get two extended breaks. It has proven to be a nice change. Not enough time to get bored.
We are all in the Christmas spirit here though even though the weather is different. Arnold and a friend of ours named LJ has been perfecting their egg-nog making skills, and I have been making cookies and getting the presents wrapped. I have also begun getting our traditional Christmas Eve Gumbos ready (Chicken and Sausage and one with seafood!)
We love you all! Miss you all and appreciate your love and encouragement! Please continue to pray for us in this time that we may share the real meaning of Christmas with all those we come into contact with! God Bless you and Merry Christmas.

(Several of you have inquired to my health...so here is an update. I have gone through several different tests (blood work, ultrasound, CAT scan etc) and we have gone through several different theories, the first being my gall bladder, followed by my appendix, then divertiulitus, then gas and now back to my gall bladder. The doc stated yesterday that he feels pretty confident that it is my gallbladder and that I will need to have it out at the beginning of the year. I just pray he is correct. Thank you for your concern and your prayers. Keep Praying!)


His
Susie

How time flies!

Well today we mark our 1 year anniversary in Peru. Yep, it has already been a whole year since we landed at the Lima Airport and began our new life as missionaries here. It has been a crazy year as we not only got our feet wet, but we jumped in head first! We have met so many wonderful people and made so many great friendships. We have seen the hand of God work in so many lives. It has been a great year.
Yesterday at one of our fellowships, a new guy was asking why we were here. It was amazing to once again tell about how God worked in our hearts and gave us a love for the Peruvian people and how we felt like Peru was our home even before we even came here.
So 2 years down, only 2 more to go until we get back to the states to see all of you. That fills me with many mixed emotions as I now call Peru home but also as I realize that in just 2 short years, we will be coming back to the states and Alisha will officially be graduated and on her own.
Please be in prayer for our next 2 years as we see what the Lord is up to in Peru!

His
Susie

An odd appointment

This morning, Patrick had to go to the dermatologist to get a small knot taken out of his back. The doctor called it a tumor but assured me that there were no worries. Supposedly this is a common thing that kids get and most of the time they are benign. I would tell you the official clinical name of it but when the doc told me in spanish and then in english I just couldn't get it either time! The name was a mile long.

It was very interesting because I was able to sit as close to the surgery as the doctor himself. It was odd to be a part of the slicing and sewing. The really crazy thing was when he took the little growth out, he placed it in a glass vial and let us look at it and then instructed us to take it downstairs and give it to the receptionist to send off to pathology. So we took this gray little bb down the stairs and it sat on the counter while we paid our bill.

Patrick is doing ok tonight. His back hurts because the stuff they gave him to deaden the area is wearing off, but he will be ok. He got 2 stitches and will get them out in 2 weeks...on Christmas eve!!!! Poor guy!

He and I actually had a bit of fun while we waited and during the surgery. I took lots of pictures with my cell phone and showed him what was going on. If I can figure out how to get my pictures from my phone to my computer, I will share the pics with you all. I just know you are all dying to see them.

Just another crazy day here in Peru! Thanks for your prayers!

His
Susie

No news is hopefully good news!

Good morning all. I had asked Arnold not to worry you all about my appointment until we knew something but he had already posted something. He reminded me that we need the prayers of you faithful warriors, so I thank each of you for your continued prayers for our family.

I went to the doctor yesterday for an ultrasound of mainly my gallbladder and liver. The guy doing the ultrasound told me that he did not see any stones which is good I am assuming. I am awaiting word from my doctor. I am sure that I won't hear anything until Monday.

I do feel much better today, praise the Lord. Thank you for all of your prayers. We will update you whenever we get some news. Love you all!

His
Susie

Prayer Request

Please pray for Susie. She has been having symptoms of gall stones. She has an appointment tomorrow for an ultrasound at 9:30am. We'll post an update as we know more.

Vision Casting

It's been a few weeks since my trip with Graceworks to Orurillo, so I figured I better catch up on my blogging.

Orurillo is home to a people group called Quechua. They make their living as farmers and shepherds. They live simple lives. They are a people lacking the gospel message of Jesus Christ.

As we go into the Christmas season, pray that the Quechua of Orurillo will know the true reason Jesus came to this earth and died, so that they too can have a restored relationship with our heavenly father.

Pray for Graceworks as they take on the task of planting a church among the people there that is evangelistic in nature, with members with a heart for reaching their own people.

Here are some pictures from the trip.

Out of Touch!

Hey Friends and Family,

Arnold and I have been out of touch for a week now because we have been traveling together. We along with our REAPSouth team traveled to Nazca, Peru to hold a National Pastors Conference. We left on Monday morning and returned Friday evening. There was a good turn out for the conference and it was a good time of learning for Arnold and I.

The kids stayed here in Lima with one of our team members named Sandi. They had a great week with her. She is such a blessing to us.

When we came back, I came back sick as a D-O-G! Alisha was sick too, but we are finally both feeling a little better. Please pray for us as we recover and for the rest of the crew that they will be protected against whatever we both had.

Also, while we were gone, our email server went down and we could not receive or send out emails (actually our whole team couldn't) So if you sent one of us an email in the past week, please resend it to us because we probably did not get it.

Have a great week. It is beginning to look alot like Christmas. BUT IT IS HOT!

His
Susie