The Roberts Family

April, 2005

Dear Friends and Family,

We have good news today: "He is risen! He is not here." Of course, this is good news every day, and we celebrate Easter continually. The designated day this year was cool, cloudy, and rainy, so it was good that we carried the message in our hearts. We trust you do, too.

Our family has been going ninety-to-nothing in recent weeks, but that is not news. Between chores, academics, gainful employment, drama, church responsibilities, competitions, Mission China, and recreational pursuits, we do find that we meet ourselves coming and going. Thankfully, we are still able to eat suppers together each night, so we are able to re-connect after all the daily activities. I am also thankful that it is only 13 months and 20 days until Katie can get a driver's license, and oh, what a day that will be! I can see the headlines now: "Shuttle Service Hires New Driver, PTL"

Andrew is keeping us hopping lately. In addition to cutting his hair (curl removal, front and center), stealing various items of value from family members and friends, and honing his skills as a defense attorney, he has also experienced strong discipline lately for expressing his anger by threatening people with weapons. Unbelievable. After three children, I honestly thought I had already faced the full range of parenting challenges, but Andrew has proven me wrong (sigh). He tests every limit to the max and it becomes wearying to be consistent with him all day every day. However, we are reminded that God knew what it would take to parent this particular child when He chose to give him to us, so we seek His guidance daily (hourly? minute-by-minute?!?) for just how to do that.

On the flip side, Andrew is adorable, charming, generous, sensitive, creative, musical, and intelligent. He is a natural athlete, and he loves to worship God. He already asks questions about the Bible that I can't answer, he is doing very well in his study of Spanish, he can clean a room as well as most of his siblings and better than some, he has a good sense of fashion, he turns flips on the trampoline like popcorn, and he reads like an eight-year-old. There is nothing this young man won't be able to do, but he will first have to live to adulthood. You can do it, Andrew!

Josiah spent his birthday money, plus almost every penny of his savings, to buy a real computer. He had had a dinosaur laptop, which he used, abused, and thoroughly wore out. I was blessed with a new computer, and Josiah was given the opportunity to buy my old one. I don't think I have EVER seen a person as happy as he was the day we did the big switch. He is, for the most part, proving himself responsible with his computer time, and he is totally enjoying being able to customize his machine to the max. I enjoy the fact that he no longer customizes mine!

Josiah has also made big strides in academics lately, improving in reading and handwriting, working diligently in math, and continually fascinated with most things science. His brain seems to be hardwired in the "on" position. Sitting in church Wednesday night, during a time of serious worship, he turned to me and whispered, "Mom, why do some people get motion sick and other people don't?" I whispered back, "I don't know, but you can probably find out online or in the encyclopedia." (Thank goodness for the Internet!) One day, he told me that glass is not a solid, but a liquid. No way! He claims that it is always flowing, just extremely slowly, which is why very old windows, like the ones in his bedroom, look "wavy." Hmmmm...? Other recent questions have involved heat in general and fire in particular. Did I know that a toothpick held against the electric stove's (hot) heating element would ignite? Actually, yes. Then there was the day we were burning downed wood. Josiah was tending the burn pile. (I guess he found that more interesting than picking up and hauling wheelbarrow loads of sticks, which is what Katie and I were doing.) There was some bamboo nearby. He asked me if I thought the sections of the bamboo were completely sealed off. Now, how on earth should I know that? I couldn't imagine that they would be completely airtight. He said he thought they were and wanted to prove it. We had been discussing the scientific method for one of his Cub Scout activities. He said he knew a way to test his hypothesis. If the sections were airtight and he heated them up, the air in the sections would expand and eventually explode. Sounded logical to me. He laid the bamboo across the fire and waited. Sure enough, in a couple of minutes, those puppies started exploding, and it sounded like a bunch of firecrackers going off! Incredible! Nothing like having a scientist on site.
Jessica competed in the homeschoolers spelling bee (7th grade) on March 5. She was up against "Rachel," a super speller, and the two of them went toe-to-toe for a long time. It was very intense. Jessica finally prevailed by spelling "labyrinth" and (because it was a double elimination round) "tableau." We were all proud and happy, and when I resumed breathing after seven minutes, I was both laughing and crying! Now Jessica is studying for the Southwest Missouri Regional Bee on April 30, where she will compete against the 7th grade winners from all the area public and private schools. You go, girl!

Jessica's other really big deal right now is her participation with the Action Impact Ministries (AIM) mime group in Branson. A fair number of Christian homeschoolers meet weekly for an afternoon of Bible study and rehearsal of dramatic routines, which are choreographed to Christian music. So far, we are pretty impressed. The focus is on excellence - first in the kids' Christian walk, and then in the quality of their presentations. There are actually three groups, and they will be presenting their ministry in various venues: street evangelism, local fairs, etc. This is a really remarkable opportunity for Jessica, and right up her alley. Anytime she can combine evangelism, being on stage, and working with like-minded people, she is in her element! We were very impressed with the attitude of the kids and the excellence of their work, when we first saw them perform last week. Hopefully, Jessica will continue to be involved and will both give to and receive from this group.

Katie is waiting with bated breath to get results on two projects she has entered. Katie has her dad's competitive spirit, and her mom's proclivity for writing. She entered a high school essay contest, sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists. Never mind that she had never written an essay before; she just went online to learn how to do it. The assigned topic was "Why Free News Media Are Important." There were eighteen essays entered, and hers is one of four that made it to the final round of judging. The notification email says, ". . . All four essays will be awarded a certificate and submitted to newspapers in southwest Missouri for publication. Only the top 3, however, are sent on to the national SPJ where the winner is eligible for $1,000." While I type, we are waiting to hear more on that.
As if that were not enough for one's nerves, Katie is also eagerly anticipating Wednesday, April 13. She submitted her paper, "The Navajo Code Talkers" to the Southwest Missouri Regional History Day competition in the senior papers division. While Jessica was in the process of winning her spelling bee, Katie was being interviewed about her paper. That afternoon, at the awards ceremony, she took first place! She was invited to submit it to the statewide Missouri History Day competition, which she did. The judges have received her paper along with nineteen others, so far. On the afternoon of April 13, she is to call to find out if her paper made it to the state finals. If so, we will be traveling to Columbia on April 16 for her to be interviewed at the state level. What a neat opportunity!

April 16 will also be the day My Hero leaves for China. He'll be gone three weeks and will be traveling many places, doing much teaching, and arranging for the printing and distribution of 20,000 copies of the Chinese version of the Pressing Toward the Mark discipleship curriculum! We are really excited. I am also very proud of his diligent work at ANPAC. He recently re-negotiated his contract with that company for another year, and he was blessed with God's favor to have an hourly raise, a reduction in weekly hours (meaning more time for Mission China) and flexibility to make up to four three-week trips abroad in the next twelve months. What an awesome God we serve!

We really do appreciate your staying in touch with us through the years. After our fellowship with God through Jesus, our relationships with you, our friends and family, are our most precious possessions!

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