Arnold on Tour

I know you have all been anxiously awaiting it and now, the time is upon us.....Arnold leaves tonight for his long awaited U.S. tour! Ha! Not really, well actually yeah, really. Arnold does leave tonight and will arrive in the US Thursday evening at the Atlanta airport where he will be whisked away to Jonesboro,Ark; Tullahoma,TN; Chattanooga, TN; Summerville, GA; & Murfresboro, TN. (Probably not in that order) He will be with Mike Weaver, our team leader learning how to "cast the vision" to churches about how they can get involved in the Great Commission. He will also be attending his very first missions conference.

He will only be in the states for a week and sad to say, will not be able to visit with any family or friends unless they happen to be in one of these cities for the time he will be there. I don't think that the dust will settle on him too long before they will be up and moving to their next city and next meeting.

Please pray for his trip. It will be a long flight and he has a LONG layover in Mexico but maybe he can get a great Mexican meal while he is there. He will also be traveling most days by either car or air, so please keep him in your prayers.

His
Susie

Feeling a little more like myself

Well, it has been a few days since my surgery and I have been up walking since day one. I must say it hurt and still does a little but the surgeon told me yesterday that the pathology report came back saying that my little gallbladder was definitely sick and it did need to come out. I somehow find that comforting to know since it is out of my body now and knowing that he didn't take something out that was good. This was really good news so I am looking forward to a life without gallbladder pain. Praise the Lord!

Now, I have all kinds of stories of course about my 3rd world surgery experience but all in all I was really pleased and surprised about how well things went. I had this slight preoccupation with having to go pee (Arnold would say it was a little more than a slight preoccupation) and then being on pain medicine and trying to ask, in Spanish of course, for a bedpan. I had no idea what the word for bedpan was and I couldn't even think of the word for bed or pan since I was so loopy. So I asked (in spanish) if they could bring me "un Pan" (it sounds kind of like pon) Well, Arnold busted out laughing because I had just asked the nurse to bring me a piece of bread to pee in. Yeah, I know, but hey, it was the medicine talking.

Anyway, I am feeling better. Everyday is a little better than the day before. God is so good to me! Oh, and I even learned a few new Spanish words in the process. It won't be long till I am 100% back in action!

Thanks for your prayers, emails and calls of encouragement. I love you all so much!

His
Susie

Going into the shop to get fixed!

Tomorrow morning I will be getting up early and heading to the hospital. I will check in at 6:30am and then they will do some blood work and an EKG and then I will be ready for surgery around 8:30am. The surgery should last only about an hour and 1/2 and then I will be in recovery for a few hours. I will be in the hospital for a day and get to go home on Wednesday. Please say a prayer or two for us tomorrow. Pray that this fixes me for good!

His
Susie

It's almost over!

This week has gone by so quickly! We have enjoyed the Babin girls visit so much. There have been a few days that they have had to see the back of our heads while we took care of business but I believe they enjoyed the back porch and the quiet. We were able to go to see some old ruins, shopping at our markets, walking around the area where we live and to the ocean, and also to the beach. Quite a few of them got sunburned, including Kim on her feet!!!! I was really careful because I knew that I didn't want to deal with a sunburn when I had surgery. Today we will do a little more shopping and then they will go to our English fellowship valentines day party. It should be fun, then they will head off to the airport. It has been such a precious time.

Please pray for their safe return and that Sarah recuperates enough before having to start back to school on Monday.

His
Susie

The Babin girls have arrived!

We had a wonderful reunion in the Lima airport with Kim and Sarah in the wee hours of the morning this morning. After all the excitement and catching up, we finally all went to bed around 3:30am. We all woke up early and had a nice day, after a big pan of hot biscuits. It is so great to have my precious friend here with me in the country that we love. They have been able to meet many of our friends and see where we live, work and play. Please pray for all of our health and for the rest of her visit here.

One More Time!

Ok, Lets see if Kim and Sarah will make it here tonight! We are anxiously looking forward to their arrival. Please be in prayer for their safety and health as they head this way. They will stay from Sunday to Sunday.

My surgery has been rescheduled for Feb 12. Please keep me in your prayers.

His
Susie