The Roberts Family

February, 2005

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings to you from the balmy Ozarks! It has been so warm here that the bulbs we planted last fall are up three inches. A couple days ago, I told the kids that if it didn’t get cold soon, they would have to mow the grass. That was a depressing thought for them. Nobody should have to mow in January. This weather is great for the propane bill, but that’s about it.

It still hasn’t gotten cold (it’s 40 F right now), but we did wake up to some lovely snow this morning! It was big, thick, wet, flakes, and they were coming down hard for a couple hours. We had about an inch, but, unfortunately, it began melting immediately. The kids persuaded Scott to leave his gainful employment for a few minutes to help them stack the balls of a snowman. It was perfect snowball snow, and the creation of the snowman used up most of it. Correction: it’s a snow LADY, and she is wearing a purple wig. Simply lovely.

Scott has reminded us that we are not cold; furthermore, we don’t even know the meaning of cold. He just returned from a couple weeks in China, during which he overnighted in three different "countryside" (rural) locations. The buildings were not heated, so the Bible school students wore their coats indoors as well as out. The bathroom facilities in one place consisted of a hole in the ground between two buildings, where the snow had been pushed aside in a heap. Very cold!

Most humbling was the place where the local believers made special accommodations when they learned that Scott would be coming. The floor of his room was smooth cement – like we would have in a basement. Because they were concerned about Scott being cold in the unheated room, they jack-hammered out a three-foot by six-foot section of the floor. They laid straw in the hole and added pipes for intake and exhaust. They then re-laid the cement floor and lit the straw. It burned slowly for a long time, making the floor in that one area warm. It took them seven days to do all this work, and Scott was there for one night. Wow.

He had another opportunity to "chill out" when the windshield of a van in which he was riding was hit by a rock and shattered. All the glass fell out, and the group got to travel for three-and-a-half hours on the freeway in 20 degree weather, with no windshield. He said that was the coldest he’s ever been in his life.

While Scott was freezing (and having a very successful ministry trip) in China, the children and I were warm and toasty at home. Life in Walnut Shade is not quite as exciting as ministering in China, but there is usually enough activity to keep us hopping.

Our family had received a huge blessing just a few days before Christmas. I think I have mentioned that Jessica has been taking piano lessons for about a year from a young lady named Amber. A number of years ago, when Amber and her older sister began studying piano, they practiced at home on an old, upright player piano. After a period of time, their family was given a baby grand piano! Even though they have eight children, they didn’t need two pianos. Last fall, their family asked if we would like to have the upright! (We said yes.) Jessica had been practicing on a keyboard of Scott’s mom’s, and the thought of having a REAL piano was simply wonderful. Sure enough, in late December, Amber’s family arranged transportation and brought us the piano. Jessica is thoroughly enjoying it, and here is a little-known secret: I studied piano for many years as a child and, although my four years of college (stretched out over . . . ahem. . . eight years) culminated in a psychology degree, I was a music minor. I studied organ in college, but haven’t touched a keyboard in twenty-five years. I have now downloaded some sheet music that I like, and I am practicing the piano – of my own free will. Somehow, the practicing is much more fun and rewarding as an adult.

The other big shake-up around here has been (on?) the trampoline. After years of thinking about it, weighing the risks, etc., we decided to give the kids a trampoline for Christmas. Three injured backs, two chiropractic visits, one strained neck, and several pulled ankles later, we are still convinced it was a great choice. Our formerly couch screen potato kids are really enjoying jumping, and under Jessica’s leadership, they even choreographed elaborate routines to several of their favorite songs! That’s right; in Walnut Shade, we (or rather, they) bounce to the music. Of course, this spring-like weather hasn’t hurt the tramp’s popularity at all, and at its current frantic pace of use, we will have gotten our money’s worth from the Jump King purchase well before Easter. In fact, I just went looking for Katie, and the three big kids were all out tramping.

Katie picked up a substantial stack of books at the library yesterday, in preparation for her History Day project. The theme this year is communication, and her paper is going to be about the Navajo Code Talkers in WWII. It’s a fascinating topic and I’m sure she will do an excellent job. She is also studying Biology now, not by her own choice, and she is doing very well with some fairly rigorous material. There’s been a sweet satisfaction in this for me. Katie has to do some experiments with a microscope for this course. Now, microscopes aren’t cheap, but I remembered that my parents had given me a microscope when I was in high school. I score one point for remembering, two points for (Jessica’s) knowing where to find it, and three points for it still being in fine working order! It’s not quite as fancy-schmancy as the one that is recommended for the course, but after we figured out a way to rig its antiquated light source, she was in business. We all got to see (yee hah!) the little bacterial beasties (yuck!) she cultured in pond water. Katie’s also doing lots of computer design work for Mission China, and her academic load will get even heavier in the near future with Geometry and probably literature.

Jessica has been doing some nifty goal-setting (thanks to a recent message by our pastor), and she is eager to return to China. She is studying Chinese now, and she can confirm that it is MUCH more difficult to learn than Spanish. She is also reading voraciously – mostly books of the spiritual warfare genre – when she can bear to break away from solving her beloved (NOT!) algebra equations and practicing for the upcoming Spelling Bee. Jessica thrives on being unique, which is a good thing for a Roberts. We are, after all, a rather weird family, and it doesn’t look like we’ll be moving any closer to normal any time soon. Like Arby’s, Jessica’s motto could be, "Different is good."

Josiah, lover of rocks and all things scientific, received a real, live rock tumbler from his grandparents, and today, after a month of tumbling, he unveiled the truly amazing results. Basically, you put rocks and water and some special abrasive grit in the tumbler, plug it in, and let it spin 24/7 for about a month. When it’s all said and done, even if you started with gravel, you have beautiful smooth stones, of the kind you can buy in those divided bins at the rock shop at Silver Dollar City. They are really beautiful, and he gave me one to keep. Josiah has also developed into the man of the house when his dad is gone. He handles the role well, opening my doors, pumping my gas, changing light bulbs, and doing various handyman-type things around the house.

Andrew has not changed a lot since our last newsletter. I am admittedly biased, but he is still handsome, bright, creative, athletic, energetic, and strong-willed. He enjoys sending emails, drawing pictures, reading, riding his new red bike, jumping on the trampoline, playing games, and cooking. He does not enjoy obeying right away, doing his laundry, or vacuuming the living room. He is presently very interested in weddings and baptisms, having recently witnessed one of each. The other night, we sent him to take a bath. After a few minutes, Scott went to check on him and found him thoroughly soaked, sitting in the water, wearing his sweatshirt and underpants! Asked for an explanation of why he was partially clothed in the tub, he wailed, "Da-a-a-ad!!! You weren’t supposed to come in yet. I was playing baptism." What a day it will be when he’s not playing it!

We really appreciate your reading these newsletters and keeping in touch. May God continue bless you, your marriage, your family, your work, and your service for Him. We love you!

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