The Roberts Family

December, 2006

Dear Friends and Family,

This is the perfect time to write our Christmas newsletter. A few days ago, the temperature dropped from the 70s to the 30s, it sleeted for six hours, and then it began to SNOW! Some of it has since melted, but there's still enough of the wonderful white stuff to boost my mood and get my creative writing juices flowing.

It's been longer than usual since our last family newsletter, so we have more than the usual number of exciting exploits share. As you know, our family never just "does" something; we always have some level of an adventure.

Scott has made a couple trips to China this fall; in fact, he is abroad as I type. God has opened some tremendous opportunities for Mission China, and we are now thrilled to be investing into and mentoring the leaders of a church, a Bible school, AND a missionary training center. People are being saved (three new Family members just this week!), taught, trained, and equipped to impact their nation with God's very best news. That's what Christmas is all about, anyway!

When in the States, Scott has not been a couch potato. In addition to his average 20 hours per week of Mission China work, he works virtually fulltime for ANPAC (sometimes in Springfield and sometimes from home), and he is very creative in spending special time with the kids and me. Whether he's biking with Andrew, fixing things with Josiah, cheering Katie on in her academic conquests, rejoicing in Jessica's evangelistic efforts, or carving out some much-appreciated solitude for me, he is a wonderful family man, first and foremost.

Here's what the other family members have been up to. Andrew is always full of energy, and lately a lot of it has been directed into the kitchen. This boy LOVES to cook. However, it is not enough for him to simply cook tried-and-true recipes. Oh, no. He spends lots of time writing up his own recipes and then urging me to buy ingredients so he can prepare them. So far, we have tried Walnut Gooey Butter Cake (not too bad), Cream Cheese Cake (bad enough that he asked if we could throw it out), and Tomato Vegetable Soup (good enough that Katie picked it for dinner over my own yummy Broccoli Soup). If Andrew's not cooking, he is liable to be found reading, bouncing on the trampoline, riding his bike, writing letters to friends, or re-arranging the furniture in his room. Andrew is a natural speller, and he has just about mastered subtraction with borrowing. We are hoping 2007 will be the year he masters obedience!

I have recently become the second-shortest member of our family team. Josiah is quite a bit taller than I, and he reminds me of this at least once a day. He is outgrowing his size nine-and-a-half shoes, and he regularly bemoans the fact that he has to buy new clothes every few weeks. If I happen to telephone the house and he answers, I mistake him for Scott. There are two MEN in the house now, the younger of whom eats more than the older!

Physical growth aside, Josiah has made great strides in maturity and responsibility. Scott and I decided that anyone taller than his mother should be treated as a young adult, and for the most part, Josiah is playing that role well. He generally gets his schoolwork done, doesn't complain about his chores (when he remembers to do them), and manages his own money. His dishwashing skills need a little work, but with regular practice twice a day, I think his dishpan hands will eventually prove competent. Josiah has also turned out to be a pretty decent cook. He recently took over making supper once a week, and not only were there no fatalities; the results were edible and tasty.

Josiah started cooking on Mondays (Jessica's night to cook) because Jessica took a six-week mission trip to the East Coast with AIM (Action Impact Missions) this fall. It was a life-changing adventure. Following an intense (boot camp?) week of training in North Carolina, the team hit the road: 15 people (including three very young children of chaperones) crammed into a 15 passenger van for nearly 2000 miles. They spent three days in each location, leading Bible studies, training other teens and children in mime, drama, sign language, and public speaking, and serving in any way possible. They stayed in homes, slept on floors, and ate lots of peanut butter and jelly. The team ministered in North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, and Washington, DC. They worked with homeschool groups, church groups, and other groups, did street ministry and service projects, toured loads of neat historic places (causing this mom to become a unique shade of green with envy), and were able to present the Gospel in mime-to-music over thirty times. One of their presentations was on the steps of the US Capitol!

We missed Jessica a lot - and not just because we had to do her chores. She is a sparkly, energetic, helpful person, and since arriving home, she's been even more sparkly, energetic, and helpful than before. She has grown up a LOT, and we are excited about what God has done and is doing in her. She has loads of potential. May she use every ounce of it to full advantage.

Katie, our local Research Consultant has donned the hat of Contest Queen lately. She is determined to amass as much money for college as possible, and she is undyingly competitive, so she has chosen to enter quite a number of essay contests. Most of them have a patriotic and/or historical bent, so she is enjoying the researching and writing. So far, I think she has sent entries in to three contests, won one, and has about four more in progress. Along with some 10,000 other teens, she took an online test to be on the television show, Jeopardy! Due to her high score, she was one of 300 students picked to compete in person and be interviewed for the show. She traveled with Scott to Chicago for that event, where the competition was pretty stiff. Whether or not she actually makes the show, we are proud of her ability and attitude. Schoolwork and contests take a lot of Katie's time, but she also handles (with panache, I might add) all the publication layout and video production for Mission China. These are her areas of expertise. In fact, give Katie something to research, write, design, or edit, and she will blow your socks off every time.

Katie's also very involved in AIM leadership, and she does design and layout work for that ministry, as well. In addition, she is helping lead AIM Branson's Pennies for Heaven project, the goal of which is to get the Gospel to Branson's 7+ million annual tourists (see penniesforheaven.net). To promote this project, Katie has done a couple of early morning radio interviews. I'm talking live, on the air. As in, saying words into a microphone in the presence of others. No, I'm not talking about Jessica, The Outgoing One. I'm talking about KATIE, The Quiet One! It is hard for me to imagine Katie getting up at 6:00 AM to do anything, much less speak on the radio, but she really did it. She is also diligently mentoring a couple of the younger girls on the AIM team, and, having done that kind of ministry myself, and knowing exactly what is involved, I have to say that I am impressed at her commitment and skill. She has really stepped up to the plate and is handling the extra responsibilities very well.

As usual, I stay pretty much behind-the-scenes, generally hanging on for the ride. I've been helping Scott with ministry stuff, trying to keep up with all our crazy schedules, collecting books for the fun of it, writing whenever I can, cooking as little as possible, and today, enjoying the snow and thinking about how much we love and appreciate each of you.

May you fill your Christmas with the people and things that matter most. May it be a memorable, meaningful celebration of God's One and Only, One-Savior-Fits-All, Perfect Gift!

Merry Christmas!

Scott, Patty, Katie, Jessica, Josiah, and Andrew Roberts