Gearing up for Nicaragua

Sue is getting ready for her second mission trip to Nicaragua in June. She is going with our church again, and is hoping to go and meet with a missionary couple that may be able to guide her to a deaf school Sue wants to contact and learn about. She is hoping that in 2012 she and some deaf friends can go down and serve at the deaf school and maybe even put on a VBS and share the Good News with the kids there. Please pray for her safety and guidance as she navigates these new experiences with the Lord. Go, Sue!

Sue's book has been (self) published!

Last year when Sue was getting ready for her first mission trip to Nicaragua she was inspired by God to write devotions leading up to the actual trip. After she got back she was so moved by the whole thing that she wrote more devotions, asked a friend to edit them, and put them together as a book she calls "50 Days of Preparation for Missions". She's very proud and humbled to have an actual book out there that she wrote, and hopes that it will help those getting ready for a mission trip to focus their hearts on God.

You can learn more and order a copy of the book (paper or ebook) at http://www.preparationformissions.info. We appreciate your support and prayers as we go with this endeavor!

Sue teaching herselft Spanish sign language!

She bought a book on sign language from Nicaragua and is going through it translating the Spanish words to English so she can learn the signs. It's slow going because there are over 800 signs in the book and she is having to use Google Translate to figure out what each word means. She is hoping this helps her on her next mission trip to Nicaragua. Way to go, Sue!

Good birthday

Sue had a lot of fun - her "sisters in the Spirit" came over and had fun doing a Bible study, then she hung out with me, then she took Kevin to karate, then her brother Dan came home with Jacob and spent the evening with us, and we had a good dinner and a tropical fruit pie with bavarian cream. A good way to celebrate!

Good trip to see Cathleen

Sue went down to St. Mary's to be with her friend Cathleen on Cathleen's birthday and had a great time. Then Sue went down to Penney Farms to spend New Year's Eve with her mother. Sue and the kids said it was kind of quiet but they had a good time. Way to go, Sue!

Sue worked hard on wreath night

Sue is heavily involved in the PTO at Kevin's school, and enjoys it for the most part. She is disappointed in some of the decisions that are made, but enjoys helping to raise money to make our community's children's school experience better. This week she helped by making and helping to sell Cmas wreaths at the school. People could walk by an dbid on the wreath, and this fundraiser helped to make the PTO lots of money this week. Good job, Sue!

Sue enjoyed "Seize the day"

Sue had a good time at the "Seize the Day" event in downtown Atlanta today. She got to see Sarah Palin, Bill O'Reilly, Laura Bush, and others speak on how to improve her business and "seize the day". She took one of her friends from her Bible study group, which made it a lot of fun for her. It was hard to carve out the time from our busy schedule, but I'm glad she sets such a high priority on learning and expanding her horizons.

Sue came in first on game

Sue was very cute riding the motorcycle in the game room. She was going at it really well, and was sooooo surprised when she won the game! I was lucky enough to capture that surprise in a picture :-)

Sue did well on mission trip to Nicaragua

She raised all the money she needed to go on the trip, and then lined everything up so that she could go even in the midst of Jacob's graduation and family coming in to town and all that. She spent a week in Jiquilillo, Nicaragua, working with others from our church to help orphans and children living in the area. She said that it was a good experience overall, though the conditions were not pleasant. She also says that she is changed on the inside. Good job, Sue!

Enjoying coaching soccer

Sue has done this long enough that's she's getting good at it. She's helping out with the coaching of both Stephen and Kevin's teams this season, and is in there taking it pretty seriously. She was cute, walking the sideline with her clipboard and yelling encouragement at all the kids. Way to go, Sue!

Sue enjoyed GBCD

Sue had a good time this weekend at the Georgia Baptist Convention of the Deaf (GBCD). They talked about deaf culture, one of Sue's favorite subjects, and she got a lot out of it. She said that they had interpreting for the hearing using a microphone and an in-ear system for those that weren't as proficient in sign language as they could be, which was interesting. She came back refreshed and energized to serve the Lord even more!

Carnival and Senior Night a success

Sue coordinated the elementary school's fall carnival this year, and it was a great success! They made over $1900 for PTO, and everyone seemed to have a good time.

She did well coordinating, too - she had to leave just as the carnival got going so she could be at Senior Night for Jacob. We had fun with that, then Sue took off to make sure things were still going well at the carnival.

What a great woman!

Sue still grieving

She was cleaning out the big van this afternoon and came in crying. She had found one of the flyers from the memorial service for her sister under one of the seats, and had just put it away in her filing cabinet when it struck her: Nancy's gone. She cried for a while, and we talked. The grieving process is hard, and we have so many unanswered questions. Thanks for your continued prayers...

Too much?

Today Sue something I have never heard her say:  "I have too much going on!"  Between the Cub Scout campout this weekend, the school carnival she is helping to coordinate, the kids and all their activites, and my chemo creme tiredness, she is running in several circles.  Sue actually said it today: She said that she had "too much to do" and that she was feeling "overwhelmed" by everything she had going on! Wow, that's huge for her to admit! It was pretty funny to hear, and I am sure it will all work out.  She makes me so proud! 

Sue interpretes for the DPMN

She was invites by a deaf pastor she's known for a number of years to interpret a conference for the Deaf Prison Ministry Network this week.  She got to go and interpret the meet-and-greet and then ride with them to a prison.  While on the tour she got to counsel a prisoner and shared the gospel with the man.  She said it was an onteresting experience ans ahe got to meet a number of deaf professionals ans ministers she had never met before.  She haa no desire to get n to prison ministry bit would be more than willing to interpret this conference again. 

Sue helping with PTO again this year

She's having a lot of fun with it as one of the ring-leaders this time. She's coordinating the room-parents and coordinated an appreciation breakfast that she and the others are holding this morning. Whew, she's staying busy with it!

Sue with straight hair

Sue's friends Crystal and KT took her out today to be pampered, and surprised her with a hair straightening and lunch! Sue said it took about 90 minutes, but this was the result when the stylist was done. She said that it feels good, but it feels really cool when it blows in the wind, something she hasn't had in the past. I have to admit that I like the look :-)

They had a great time! Thanks, Crystal and KT!

Sue is sick

She rarely gets sick, but this cold that's going around got her this week. I had it first, now she's got. We're hoping that the rest of the family resists it, but we'll see...

Sue elected to PTO office again

She volunteered and was elected to continue as the Special Events Coordinator for the elementary school next year. She enjoyed doing It this year and is looking forward to another great time next year. Woohoo!

Sue coached soccer today

She volunteered to be the assistant coach for Stephen's team this season, and the main coach was out of town today so she was it! She did good, walking around with her clipboard and substituting kids on a re gulard basis to keep players fresh. The team won 3-2, so she did pretty good :-)