The Roths at CLM

January 2011

2011-01-12T09:31:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has been so long since we lasted updated all of you on our status here in Brazil. December passed by quickly with all the activities associated with Christmas and New Year's.

To start off the kids got out of school for the summer in December. My job has been to work with the boys ages six on up with the farm cleanup. The farm has been overgrown with weeds and there was a lot of wood behind the barn that has needed to be chopped up for firewood. I have been working with Kevin, Sam and Steve (two short-term missionaries) and the boys to get all the wood chopped and cleaned up. We have also been rearranging and organizing the barn. It is a big job because this hasn't been done for five years. It has been hard to try to get the boys working. Many times they have sin issues with their attitude towards work. Unfortunately, when some of the boys are already 15 years old, there isn't much time to address the issue before they are outside of CLM and having to work in the to support themselves.

Katie has been taking care of Joseph which is a full time job in itself. When she has free time she tries to watch the three youngest kids in the mornings. Sometimes she will help with art lessons, or let some of the girls help her out with things around our house. Caring for Joseph is a full time job that has its challenges and rewards. Joseph isn't an easy and content baby, he is fussy and particular wants only mommy all the time. God has been using Joseph to continue to refine Katie and I.

The Christmas season came and left in a hurry. We ended up celebrating Christmas parties with the missionaries, the CLM kids, and then the Judge held a Christmas party for the kids. This all lead up to Christmas Day when the kids received gifts from the Nazarene Church in Sao Paulo. That day the missionaries cooked the meal and the kids swam all afternoon. Then New Year's Eve, Katie, Joseph, and I drove to Curitiba to pick up my parents.

My Parents were happy to see us at the airport. Joseph wasn't happy at first but now he is warming up to them. This past week we have been showing my parents around CLM, the colonies and Guarapuava.

January 5th, we left for Foz do Iguassu. The trip was going well until the car broke down outside of Causcavel. We waited at a truck stop for two hours until a tow truck came for the car, and another two hours until we were on our way for Foz do Iguassu by taxi. By God's grace our car broke down at a gas station, within 4 miles of a city that had a Peugeot dealership. We arrived at our hotel around six at night. We were exhausted but relieved to be at our destination.

The next day we awoke to find that Joseph was teething and I was sick with a fever. By God's grace our hotel did guided tours of the waterfalls so my parents were able to visit the Argentinian side of the waterfalls while Katie, Joseph and I stayed at the hotel. That night my fever broke so Friday we were able to visit the Brazilian side of the waterfalls with Joseph and my parents as well as the Itaipu dam. Our car was ready to pick up Saturday and we made it home safely Saturday afternoon.

Right now we are going through a tough time in our term. We had so many expectations about being here that didn't match reality. This has been very hard on both Katie and I. We don't know when we are coming back home for furlough but honestly we are ready to quit. It is only by relying on God's grace that we make it through each day. So please be praying with us as we are trying to seek God's will and follow him.

This struggle is also part of the reason why we haven't written since November. It is hard to write when I have been struggling with bitterness and frustration. I am sorry I am not one of the perfect missionaries that have “arrived and have it together”. I don't have it together, I am still a sinner and need to rely on our savior's grace. I have been failing as a spiritual leader to my family. I have been so busy with activities related to the ministry that I have been neglecting my intimate time with God and my spouse. I am tired and weary. Going to Church is a chore and a drudgery when I have to sit through an hour of worship songs not understanding what I am singing about, then maybe understanding the first 4 minutes of the sermon before my mind can't follow along because of the language.

I am trying to wait until December to take our furlough but I am tired and ready to quit now. I could write another four pages of my struggles here but it isn't beneficial to any one. Please be praying for us. We appreciate your prayer support during this time.

November Update

2010-11-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

It's hard to imagine all of you digging out your coats and sweaters, bumping up the thermostat and preparing for thanksgiving as the leaves turn and the frost coats the ground. Here at CLM, the kids have started swimming on the weekends and looking forward to summer vacation which is just around the corner. Even though we are enjoying the balmy 80 degree days here, Andy and I miss the fall weather and especially thanksgiving which is our favorite holiday. Andy has convinced me to make him a pumpkin pie with whipped topping when the third Thursday of November arrives.

October was a rough month for us. Andy and I have been struggling with the adjustment to life and work at CLM, but we expected that our first month here would be difficult. For Andy, the biggest struggle has been embracing a new definition of work. He has been used to putting in his eight hours with a very defined goal and objectives to accomplish each day. CLM is all about a lifestyle of relationships and discipleship which is hard to measure. My struggle has been more with feeling isolated and alone. Andy hasn't had the chance to teach me how to drive yet, so I'm dependent on others to take me everywhere. The colony is close enough to walk to, but not close enough to walk to with Joseph. Joseph also makes it hard for me to be too involved in CLM at this point so some days I feel like I spend most of the day alone with him. We also realize that Satan is doing all he can to discourage us and so it is important to put on the whole armor of God, everyday, so we can stand against his schemes.

Last week we accompanied Emma to Sao Paulo on her way home and also made a trip to the U.S. Consulate there to register Joseph as a U.S. citizen. I wish I could say that it was a relaxing few days away, but as all you fellow mothers can probably attest to, traveling with an infant isn't always very relaxing!

For those of you who are wondering how the trip went, it involved no less than 5 diaper blowouts (two on the bus, one on the plane and everywhere in between), lots of waiting in the Sao Paulo airport, some very late nights (er, early mornings), and culminated in an ambulance ride with as supposedly “sick” Joseph who woke up smiling and laughing in the waiting room at the hospital, obviously recovered from his serious illness, but only after we missed our flight home! Nevertheless, we did make it back to CLM and are happy to be back into our routine.

We will miss Emma's help, I got used to here coming in for breakfast every morning and being able to sneak out for a walk on my own. She enjoyed her experience with us here (at least that's what she tells us...) and would like to come back for a visit (eventually). Andy's parents will be our next visitors at the end of December, which isn't too far off.

Here are some prayer requests for this month:
-Andy: Adjustment to the different lifestyle at CLM, contentment in all circumstances. Continued language learning and cultural adjustment.

-Katie: Wisdom in teaching Joseph in all the “little moments” I have with him, wisdom in encouraging Andy and that the Lord will continue to show me the idols I worship in place of Him.

-Joseph: Protection and safety.

Thank your for your prayers and happy Thanksgiving!

October update

2010-10-14T04:28:00.001-07:00

Well, it has been a while since we last wrote. Here is an update of what has happened in the last month. We moved out of our apartment in Guarapuava to CLM Entre Rios. We are on our second week of officially starting our ministry here. Here are some details of what life has been like for this last month.

Before moving into our house at CLM we had to do a little work. We had a dream list of what would be nice to do before moving into the house and before we started our ministry. The list included taking out a cement wall and a wood stove, laying tile, making a baseboard, changing out some light fixtures, painting, installing a sink, installing washing machine hookups, and putting up a new ceiling. Unfortunately, this is Brazil. We only had five days to work on our house before moving in because it was still occupied. I focused on tearing down the wall, and laying the tile. The first day I tore down the wall and took out the sink that was rotting and moved out the wood stove. It was a great day for progress and I was feeling confident. The second day went even better. Mike and I laid a room full of tile and I went home feeling less stressed over the work that we had to do. Unfortunately, as we were working, some of the kids were in the room walking on the tiles while they were setting up. The next day I found 30 tiles that needed to be replaced. So I finished cutting the outer tiles to lay that day while I pondered what to do. The 4th day I replaced all those tiles with Emma's help and laid the outer tiles that I had cut the day before. The fifth Mike and I installed the sink and the washing machine hookup and Emma grouted half of the floor. Then the next day we moved in.

The following week I had to paint the apartment in the city that we lived in because it was in the contract. So I spent two days painting it and then cleaning it. When we went to turn in the keys I found out the color I chose was a shade off (apparently I can't tell the difference between “pale” and “white” without Katie's help). We could either paint it again or pay them to paint it. Also the realtor automatically charges to have the apartment cleaned after us. We would have been better off not doing any thing and paid the fees then spending two long days of my time painting and cleaning, not to mention the cost of paint ($100). Katie and I started laughing the crazy “I think I'm going insane” type of laugh because we didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Then I looked at her and said, “TIB” (this is Brazil.)

I then replaced the light fixtures and Katie and Emma finished grouting the floor. After that we were burnt out and haven't done anything to the house. I don't know what I want to do next for the house, plus it is hard to find time in this type of ministry. I think I will wait until January when my parents come down and put them to work. The important thing is it isn't raining in the house...and the door locks. I guess I can't complain too much of the housing conditions here, some of the other missionaries that we met in Colorado in training were going to countries that were unfriendly to Christians or where they had to rough it in mosquito nets to protect them from malaria. Our biggest danger is being burnt in the sun, surviving car trips with dangerous traffic, or wondering if the kid sitting next to us washed their hands after going to the bathroom while we are all holding hands praying over lunch. Back to the house, it does get cold at night inside.

On October 4th I started a full time schedule here. I don't have many responsibilities yet with the farm but I am learning what goes on during the day with child care. One thing that I am trying to do is organize work for the boys to do in the afternoon. That is one area that has been lacking here because of lack missionaries. The boys we have here don't have a strong work ethic, and because of their grades, the chances of them going to college are slim. If they are to do well outside of CLM we need to teach them how to work, but also there is a wealth of opportunities with the farm to teach them skills that they wouldn't learn otherwise. Plus through working along side with the boys relationships develop and that is when discipleship happens.

One thing I am learning real quickly is the kids have issues with authority. I asked one of the kids to clean their room last week. He said no. He is 15 years old and doesn't like to listen to authority and it caught me by surprise. I didn't know what to do because he understood my Portuguese to clean his room, but he didn't want to. I thought maybe he needs to cool off a little so I picked him up to give him a swirly in their bathroom. Unfortunately because I couldn't hold him and pull the rope at the same time, and I didn't want to bang his head up against the porcelain I first flushed his foot, then his hand, then when it came time for his head, he had changed and became willing to clean his room. Even though I had won and he cleaned his room, I didn't address the heart issue. Monday when I went to ask them to clean their room, I spent a half an hour writing out in portuguese what to say to lead them to seeing what was in their hearts and why they have issues with authority. Unfortunately they cleaned their rooms without putting up a stink and had a good attitude about it. So I think I will keep that speech ready for another time when they won't obey authority.

Our friends from Tremont came in September. Some of you know Kevin, Elaine, Amanda, and Darren King. We are excited to see them here. It is funny that Entre Rios has the highest Tremont ratio outside of the United States.

Spiritually I am going through a refining time. I would be lying if I said that all is well here and I am adjusting well. I am struggling because I enjoyed driving equipment day to day for a job and what is familiar. We miss our families and friends. I miss going to church and understanding what is being said. Day to day I go through to enjoying being here to ready to leave. It is good having Kevin here because he has gone through this cultural adjusting process at Nepo. He has been reminding me to see things in God's perspective and been encouraging me through God's truth. Plus he is threating to break my legs if we threaten to leave. This is going to be one of the hardest things that we will do but at the same time God is refining us through it and drawing us closer to him. Please keep us in your prayers as the idols of my heart are being stripped away.

Well that is all I have for now. My son just pooped so I am going to give him a bath. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers.

Trusting in Christ

Andy for Katie and Joseph

september update

2010-09-18T17:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Somehow having a two-month old makes emailing a little more of a challenge. Little Joseph is down for a nap right now, so I'll give it my best shot. (Never mind, he just started screaming but fortunately Aunt Emma is here to help!).

My mom and sister arrived for a visit in mid-August. We decided to make the venture to Curitiba to pick them up at the airport. Flavio and Odilene generously offered us their car for the trip so we wouldn't have to take the bus. Things were going well until we got just outside of Curitiba and missed our exit (the signage isn't quite up to par with the U.S. interstate system). All of sudden we were in downtown Curitiba, Joseph screaming to nurse and filling his diaper and Andy praying loudly, “Lord, I don't know where to go, please help us get to the airport.”

Somehow (most likely by God's grace), between two people giving us directions we made it two the airport and hour late. We began looking around for Mom and Emma but didn't see them. I was just about to text my Dad to make sure they had made it on the plane when we finally saw them arrive. Turns out that Mom and Emma had missed their flight to Curitiba because of weather delays and had to take a flight an hour later. God is good, all of us made it to the airport right on time!

Mom stayed with us for three weeks and Emma will be here with us until early November. My mom loved the time she had with Joseph and getting to know Guarapuava. Emma has already been making lots of friends and getting to know Brazilian culture. We have really appreciated their help.

Andy finished up with his formal language lessons in early August and has been going to CLM by bus to help out during the week. On Saturday afternoon, he was going home on the bus when a passenger got off the bus at a stop, went to cross the street in front of the bus and was hit by a car passing the stopped bus. The man was killed on impact.

The incident was a profound experience for Andy, he had never seen anyone die before. One minute the man was a passenger on Andy's bus and the next the man was in eternity. The incident was especially poignant because Andy has been struggling with the sins of worry and fear regarding the difficulties of the work at CLM. He shared with me that it was a powerful reminder why Jesus commands us not to worry. God has only given us today.

Well, Joseph is still screaming so I had better go see if I can comfort him. Thank you for your prayers and support, we love and miss you all.

In Christ,

Katie (for Andy and Joseph)

July 2010

2010-07-30T11:39:00.001-07:00

Dear Supporters,

Sorry it has been a while since I last wrote. To get you up to speed on June 21st Joseph Andrew Roth was born. He arrived at around 5 pounds 14 ounces and measured around 181/2 inches. Since then he has gained about 3 pounds as of his last doctor appointment. We are still getting adjusted to him, the lack of whole sleep, and the crying. We know this will pass as he gets older.

Joseph is very healthy. He likes to stare at lights for entertainment. He has already started smiling at Katie but he is very reluctant to smile at me. We look forward to raising him and discipling him to know Christ, that is if we can maintain our sanity during this early stage. Christ is using Joseph to refine us.

Katie has finished her language studies at Wizard. She is very proficient at Portuguese. She was able to start at level 2 when we started and then was able to finish four days before Joseph came. God's timing is good. I still am working my way through level three. It is a constant struggle as it is very difficult for me to learn another language. Please keep me in your prayers in this area. Lord willing I will finish in two weeks which would be the first part of August. Then I will start taking the bus to CLM to start working on building up relationships with the kids. We will move there the weekend of August 21st.

We still don't know which house at CLM we will move into. There is a little bit of a crunch with the housing. We have to move out by August 25th, there is a house available but Kevin and Elaine could be coming down in that time frame, we don't know yet. Juan and Bethany are behind schedule on their house construction so they might not move out until the beginning of September. Worst case scenario we move to one place for three weeks or so then move to another. Moving is something that we have gotten use to.

Well recently Christ has been pricking our hearts in different ways. In Katie's life he has been show her how much she is enslaved to the fear of man. She is learning how that is an idol in her heart instead of trying to please God to glorify him. She is learning that instead of using people to get praise, she needs to love them and speak up about God's truth.

In my life, I have been struggling with learning the language. Some days after class I am very discouraged and want to quit. I am continually reminded that Christ called us here first an foremost to refine us more in his image. Regardless what I want I need to constantly remind myself that we are not met to go after the idols in our hearts, but to go after Christ's will for our lives. As I read God's word I am reminded the depravity of my sinful life and how much I am still in need of a savior.

We are thankful for this time in the city to get use to the culture, the language, and also being parents. We are excited to start ministering at CLM and building up relationships with the kids at the same time we are sad to move away from the friends we have made in Guarapuava. We are also anticipating Kathy and Emma (Katie's mom and sister) coming and meeting Joseph and helping take care of him during the transition. They arrive the 16th of August. Thank you for praying for us and supporting us in serving the Lord here in Brazil.

Trusting in Christ,

Andy Katie and Joseph

May 28, 2010

2010-05-28T08:46:00.001-07:00

May 28, 2010

We can hardly believe it is almost June of 2010. Our time in Guarapuava is half-way finished and Baby will arrive in the next 2-4 weeks. Yesterday we finished getting Baby's things organized and put away so we're ready (although I don't think we'll ever be completely “ready” for how this little one will change our family!)

We have been humbled by the support and encouragement we've received from the Methodist church in Guarapuava as we anticipate the arrival of our baby. A few weeks ago, our Bible Study group surprised us with a baby shower. It was a humbling and joyful surprise and we I received many of the last-minute items I was needing.

As we've continued to build friendships here, we are reminded of how materially blessed we are in the United States. I'll share some examples of how being in Brazil has revealed how Andy and I take our things for granted.

We have been planning to buy a car since we arrived here but because of a higher cost of living in Guarapuava, we have decided to delay that purchase until we move to CLM. When we first realized that we would have to wait for a car, both Andy and I were feeling deprived and frustrated. Andy shared his frustration with a Brazilian friend and his friend sympathetically told him that it must be hard for Andy to got through this because when Andy wanted something like a car in the U.S., he could just work a little harder and save for a few months, and viola, he could have what he wanted. After the conversation Andy said it hit him that he must sound like a spoiled brat complaining about not having a car when many people in Brazil never own one. While we still see a need for a car when we are at CLM, not having one for now has made us more aware of idols of our hearts that we have set up.

In addition to the whole car situation, we forget how financially blessed we are as well. Even though we don't have a large budget by U.S. standards, we are still receiving more per month than many Brazilians couples earn from two full-time salaries. We don't have to choose between paying for my doctor appointment and buying any necessary clothing, we can do both. In fact, we take for granted doing both. One of our friends shared how she accidently broke her daughter's glasses but how she couldn't afford to replace them until the next month. We don't get any sense of complaining from our friends, they share these things as a matter-of-fact.

Yesterday again, both Andy and I were aware of our “pride of possessions” as we spent the afternoon with a Brazilian family who are friends of ours. When discussing jobs, Andy asked the husband what his dream job was. The husband responded, “Just something with regular hours and when I can have the weekend off.” Right now this man works at a gas station full time for about $3 and hour U.S. while trying to complete his degree in mathematics. Andy was humbled by his response because since we have been in Brazil, Andy has been struggling with missing his job, dreaming about what jobs he could do sometime again in the future. He admitted that for him a regular job is an idol he thinks will make him happy.

I was humbled as well yesterday when one of the ladies from church took me aside and gave me some encouraging words and then proceeded to give me R$50 and tell me that she wanted to support us this way each month. Proportionally, that is a lot of money for a Brazilian, and I was humbled by this gesture. I tried to tell her it wasn't necessary but she told me not refuse her the blessing of giving. Lord, teach us!

We share these things with you not to beat up on the U.S. culture or elevate Brazilian culture or condemn the owning of nice things, but to share how our time few months away have made us aware of what we do have materially in the U.S. and how we are learning to, as Paul puts it, “to be content in every situation.” God is using this time to show us what we are truly worshipping, and so far it hasn't been pretty!

Please continue to pray that God will teach us to be content in all situations, and that He will teach us to “keep ourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). Praise God that He is using our time in Guarapuava to conform us into the image of His precious Son and our Savior Jesus Christ!

Love in Jesus,

Katie

My web log

2010-05-06T06:07:00.000-07:00

Hello people who read our blog. It has been awhile since I last posted something so I thought I would write today. First and foremost, Katie is doing well with her pregnancy. She is healthy, and the baby is healthy. We had our first and only ultrasound done and I could see the baby's face. It brought to mind Psalm 139 :14 “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it well.” I still don't know if our baby is a boy or girl but I already love that child, even though it is still born a sinner like his or her parents.

Well the last post I wrote was more light-hearted but this one is more serious. I would appreciate your prayer support. First of all I am a sinner and still struggle with issues of worry, discontentment, and spiritual idolatry. These are all sins in God's eyes that are just as bad as murder, gossip, lying, and adultery.

To start off I have been struggling with discontentment here in Brazil. I am not able to live the same lifestyle that I had in the U.S. I can't talk well so it is hard to have any deep conversations with other guys here. More importantly I am struggling with not being able to buy stuff freely. We lived comfortably in the U.S. I had a good job at F.S. that I enjoyed. In my heart I want to turn back and head home where it is easy and comfortable. I have to remind myself and hide this scripture in my heart and meditate on it. Philippians 2:5-8 “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” I am reminding myself of this truth that even though we went from one culture to another, it is still not as humiliating as Christ coming from heaven and living on this earth as a human. He even died the most humiliating deaths. He is not asking us to do anything that he hasn't done.

This also applies to my discontentment. I think that if my situation was different than I would be happy. I am not content with where God has placed me. I am also having to hide Philippians 4 :11-13 in my heart. “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Paul wrote that and he was ship wrecked, imprisoned, beaten, stoned and left for dead, and that he battled a thorn in his flesh. If Christ can make him content in every situation than he can do the same for me.

I am also struggling with spiritual idolatry. I think that God isn't enough. Only changing my situation to live more at ease can make me happy. I am worshiping the god of pleasure and ease which isn't any better than the Israelites worshiping other gods instead of worshiping the one true God. Isaiah 44:9 “All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.” Isaiah 44:20 “He [the one who worships idols] feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has lead him astray, and he can not deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

To top it off I also am sinning by worrying about our family at CLM. I am worry about how to protect my relationship with my wife. I also want to raise our baby to know God and glorify Him. I don't want to neglect my wife and children to minister to neglected children. I know if I have to choose between ministry and my family, I have to choose my family according to God's word. 1 Timothy 3:1-13. This could send us off the mission field if I can't spiritually lead my family effectively. I am having to hide Philippians 4: 6-7 in my heart, and continue to give this over to the Lord.

I know this is real heavy stuff but please remember us in your prayers. It is neat how Jesus can redeem sinners like us, and use us while we still are sinners. Better yet, he continues to refine us to grow and become more like Him. Thank you Jesus!

Trusting in Christ

Andy and Katie

Language Learning

2010-04-10T03:57:00.000-07:00

I don't think my teacher likes my American accent. I think it adds a little bit of charm. In the class this week she stopped me for four minutes to work on my accent. Ovo avos and ovos. What is the difference? Based on how the word was said it can mean many things. Ovo means grandfather, ovo with a goofy looking mark can mean grandmother. Both sound exactly the same to me. Yet they supposedly sound differently. Ovos means grandparents. Avos means eggs. Both sounding the same by the way. So my teacher didn't like the fact that I was saying I want to visit my eggs. I like to eat my grandparents with a slice of cheese and bread. I just don't think my teacher likes my charming American accent.

My book loving language learning wife just love Portuguese. She just loves the way the words glide off the tongue and flow together like a peaceful brook meandering down a waterfall. I have a two words for her. Showoff. Honestly, sometimes I don't think I was made to speak another language. I can't talk or wrote English good so how can I get learned good in Portuguese?

I think I will recommend to the missionary committee that we raise money for an interpreter to follow me around. I think I could hire 2 to interpret for me 16 hours a day. One for an 8 hour shift and another one for another 8 hour shift. But then again I would need another one for the weekends. 3 interpreters would do me well down here. They would probably only cost an extra 3000 per month. But they could also be used to help watch the kids. So really instead of sending 2 missionaries you would be getting 5, well actually 5 1/2 with our little one coming along. I really think that would be the best thing instead of learning the language. I am still irritated with the people in the tower of Babel making things that much harder!

Trusting in Christ

Andy and Katie

First month plus in Brazil

2010-04-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

We have been here in Brazil for over a month. We arrived on February 18th. Things are different now. The culture is different, the language is different. Katie's stomach is looking more different as the baby is growing. Life is hard here. We miss our church, we miss our families and friends. All our materialistic stuff that we have been used to is gone. It is strange not having a car and driving. Instead we have to walk everywhere. Every thing that I have been used to has been stripped away except our computer, some clothes, a few kitchen appliances, my bike, and our 30 dollar air mattress that we bought at walmart. Right now we are being stripped for the Lord!

Sorry, I hit the wrong button and it published which would be a unique phrase to end on. What I was going to say is we are the most useless we have been for the longest time. I don't have a job so we don't have much to give a way, I can't speak the language well enough to glorify Christ that way, I have nothing to offer but my heart to Christ.

Yet Christ still loves me. He died on the cross for my sins while a was still a sinner and even though I have nothing to offer. That is true love. The more and more I dwell on this I can't fathom how deep his love is for us.

As more and more of what was familiar is being taken away, I am falling more in love with Christ. I know it is not a love that is because he is blessing me with stuff, but it is a love based on a relationship which is growing deeper each day as we have to cling on to the Lord for dear life. I don't know how God can use a person like me who has nothing to offer in Brazil, but if all this experience does is draw a closer and refine us than I would say it is worth it. This relationship is becoming something I cherish more and more each day.

Also we don't have internet at our house. I don't know how to update our blog without our computer. Blogs here will be few and far between until we have steady access to the internet with our computer. I will also add pictures now if I can figure it out.
I can't do it the connection is too slow. I will describe the pictures. The first picture is of Katie. She is wearing clothes. Her shirt looks like there is a basket ball underneath it. The next picture is the kitchen of our house. It is white paint with a washing machine, table, and sink. Next picture is of our living room. It has brown couches, and tile floors. That is all the pictures I tried adding.

Trusting in Christ

Andy and Katie

On the Way Out

2010-02-11T07:56:00.000-08:00

There were some moments of weakness when Andy and I doubted if this day would come, yet here it is: we got our stamped passports back today!

We are leaving one week from today on February 18th. We are thrilled but it still feels surreal. We just moved back to Andy's parents' house where we are concentrating on packing only what we really need. Please keep us in your prayers in this busy upcoming week.

I'll try to write more later, hopefully my next post will be from Brazil!

A few more details...

2009-12-30T12:55:00.000-08:00

As you have probably guessed from Andy’s previous post, he was a little perturbed by my foot-dragging in regards to updating our blog. “I know what you could do today,” he would hint, “You could update our blog.” “Yeah, that’s a good idea,” I would reply and then blithely go about the rest of my day, the blog woefully untouched. I suppose I could chalk it up to pregnancy forgetfulness but in all reality my abandonment of our fledgling blog has had more to do with my discouragement over our current situation than an abnormal amount of blonde moments.

Over the last four months:

- We have continued to wait on our visa. While we have continued to get regular updates from our Expediter in Chicago, we have yet to receive our coveted visas so we can buy plane tickets.

-We have moved four (count ‘em, four) times, and it will be five as of next week although we’re not sure where to yet (which has become “normal”).

-God has continued to provide work for Andy with both his brother as a truck driver, and with his dad as harvest help. A soggy and prolonged harvest benefited Andy work wise, and even though I always miss him during harvest and hauling we’re grateful for the work hours. Andy also has been helping Joe Gingrich with some construction work off and on, also a blessing.

-We have enjoyed the chance to spend time with family. My sister Carrie is back from her three months at CLM and she will be leaving next week for Moody. I’m so glad for the time with her. Andy and I got to meet our new niece last week, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

-We have become parents. Well, actually we’re enjoying the months of parenting where we don’t have to wake up to crying and our baby never disobeys us or challenges our authority or tries our patience. Just wait until June 25th…then the real fun (and real parenting starts). In answer to the question we have been asked multiple times, this does not change our plans for Brazil, babies are born in Brazil all the time and we hope that’s where we will have ours!

Andy Hijacked The Blogging

2009-12-24T19:41:00.000-08:00

Hello. This is Andy. I guess I am blogging. We are still in the United States. Since the last post we have lived at the cabin for two months, Kevin and Elaine King's house, and now we are residing at Roger and Gwen Stuber's house until they get back. Currently are visa is being processed in Brazil. We don't know the status on it. We have been waiting on that end since mid August. We don't know when our visa will be approved. Another thing that makes our lives more interesting is Katie is pregnant. She is due June 25th. We are holding on to God for dear life. We still are planning on going to Brazil and have our baby down there if The Lord wills it. That is all. My wife will probably write soon to make things sound better.

Andy Roth

Desert Blooms

2009-08-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

“The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and He will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure.” Isaiah 33:5-6

Waiting. Andy and I have been waiting for the two years since we became husband and wife. I have been waiting almost four years since I returned from CLM. We have been waiting since April when we began our tumultuous visa process.

Many times as Andy and I have talked about our waiting in the terms of a desert. Right now, it is easy for Andy and I to dream about what we would be doing if we were staying here. We often catch each other saying things like, “If we were staying here we would look into buying a house or getting a dog or finding a job or going back to school or getting involved in this ministry or...” It is easy for us to look back and long for what we've experienced in the past, a stable physical home, my own kitchen in my case, a pick-up truck in Andy's case. Being stripped of what we knew has shown us how dependent we are on things as opposed to Christ. None of these things we long for are evil inherently, but Andy and I have set up so many of these things as idols. We forget the manna and the quail God has fed us with as we journey to where He has called us. He has indeed fed us abundantly.

We also catch ourselves overly focused on the future. Once again we find ourselves focused on saying things like “When we get to CLM...” or even, “When we get back from Brazil...” Even what God has called us to can become an idol! Yes, God has called us to minister to His precious children at CLM but we are first called to glorify God and become more like Chris, regardless of where we are physically. Please pray that Christ will make us alert to all the idols in our hearts!

“He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.” Psalm 107:35

The pools and springs of our desert give way to beautiful desert blooms! Let me share just some of the blooms we've admired even as we are in our desert.

Dwelling: God has provided gracious hosts for us to live with. First Gary & Mary K who gave out of their extreme busyness and opened their home. Then there are Andy's parents who have to be some of the easiest in-laws to live with. Now we have the opportunity to live at the old church cabin that my uncle owns and offered to us to live in completely unlooked for!

Fellowship: We have had the blessing of deeper and new friendships with Brothers and Sisters literally from across the country and around the world! There are the dear friends from MTI, especially David and Janna Wilson who have encouraged us so much. Then there's the ECHO family. We are so privileged to have spent time with Scott and Martha Britton and George and Lollie, what fellowship! We were also blessed with the opportunity to attend a Brazilian church in Ft. Myers and spend some time talking to the congregation members there and being reminded of the culture and language we are going to be adopting. We are also so grateful for more time with our supporting churches here: Northfield Christian and First Mennonite.

Time with our families: Andy and were able to take my three youngest siblings to St. Louis and spend some time with them at the zoo and Grant's Farm.

Learning: We feel so much more prepared to help with the farm at CLM after our two weeks at ECHO. If we had our way we would have already been in Brazil and missed the opportunity to study there.

Self-examination before God: He has been showing us so much through this time, revealing sinful attitudes in our hearts and reminding us our identity is not in what we are doing for Him but who we are in Him!

What is This Chill in the Air?

2009-08-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

We arrived back in Illinois on Saturday night after a mere 20 hour car ride from North Ft. Myers, Florida. After spending two weeks working in 90 degree heat and 90 percent humidity, 70 degrees here in central Illinois seems downright chilly.

The last two weeks I have learned more information about small-scale agriculture than I ever thought was possible to stuff in my artistically minded brain, but I did find it quite interesting. ECHO is a non-profit organization that trains missionaries how to minister through agriculture and meet not only the world's spiritual needs but it's physical needs as well.

Andy and I found out about ECHO during our training at MTI earlier this summer. Andy was immediately interested in visiting ECHO because he will be helping out on the CLM farm as part of his duties. Even though he was a lot of experience with large-scale commercial farming, he wanted to learn more about small-scale subsistence agriculture. He arranged for a two week work-study program and I agreed to go along party because I didn't know what I'd do without him for two weeks and his passion and vision for the CLM farm is infectious.

We spent the mornings working with the interns at ECHO weeding, planting, constructing raised beds, fixing irrigation systems and helping with animals. We spent the afternoons studying in ECHO's wonderful library or attending seminars presented by the ECHO staff about soil fertility and water filtration. The work was hard but we enjoyed being outside and getting hands on experience.

In addition to our work and study, we enjoyed getting to know some of the interns and visitors at ECHO. The interns spend a year taking care of a specific area of the farm and learning about techniques for farming in various regions of the world. We shared a duplex with one of the interns, Scott Britton and his wife Martha and their daughter, Liliana. They were so much fun and we loved sharing some meals with them and getting to know their family. I've found that in our travels this summer, the hardest thing is getting to know our precious brothers and sisters in Christ and then having to say goodbye. We will miss the ECHO family!

Visa Update

2009-08-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since we have actually had something to report about our visas but we finally have bit of news to share!

We sent in our documents to our expediter the end of July. He spent some time looking over our documents first and getting some of our documents legalized at the consulate. After the prep work he submitted our documents to the consulate for review the second week of August. The only error the consulate found was that Andy's ordination certificate had not been legalized which was easily remedied. The staff at the consulate even commented on how complete our application was because they usually find a bunch of mistakes (!) that have to be corrected. Our expediter resubmitted our documents last week and they were sent to Brasilia last weekend for processing.

The consulate told us the processing time is 30-45 days. Our expediter will be asking each week at the consulate for us and he seemed very positive that that processing time is about accurate. Please be praying that our visas will be processed quickly and we can be in Brazil by September or October. My younger sister is currently spending three months at CLM Turvo and we would love to be able to spend some time with her in Brazil before she returns to the States in November.

We are so thankful God led us to this expediter through the recommendation of PAZ (Project Amazon). He has done a great job and we highly recommend his service if you are applying for a Brazilian visa. Thank you all for your prayers, we're not finished with the process yet but we are encouraged by the progress and we hope you as our ministry partners are as well.

Update on our Increasingly Crazy yet Blessed Life

2009-07-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

A new entry is far overdue. I'll start by giving you all a summary of our past month or so...

-We finished our time at MTI on June 26th. The PILAT language program was very beneficial and we are looking forward to implementing the techniques we learned during our six months in language school and throughout our time at CLM. We highly recommend both the SPLICE and PILAT programs to any future missionaries.

-On our way home from MTI we stopped off at Willow Springs Boys Ranch in Chandler, Oklahoma. The high school youth group from our church was in the midst of a short-term mission trip there and we swung by to talk to the leadership there and see how the staff at Willow Springs run their boys home. We thought it was worth going out of the way for and the staff was quite helpful.

-Upon our arrival back in good old Central Illinois we moved in with Andy's parents. Andy is doing odd jobs around the farm, working for his dad and brother. I'm working on our visa paperwork and packing.

-We spent last weekend in St. Louis with Andy's family for one last hurrah of family togetherness before we leave for Brazil. We did all the fun St. Louis stuff such as ascending the arch and having Italian on the Hill. We enjoyed the family time.

-On Tuesday we received our much anticipated paperwork from Brazil. Since we last attempted to apply, we have been networking with PAZ (another mission organization working in Brazil). The people from PAZ have been so helpful, they gave us the name of the expediter they have used and a lawyer in Brazil who can help push our case through. We are hoping to send in our paperwork in early next week.

-As of June, we have 72% of our monthly support and 85% of our one time costs pledged. We are so humbled at how God has been providing.

-We just got back today from a very relaxing two days at Mission Oak Inn, a bed and breakfast in Henry. We loved our time there, and also highly recommend it.

-Next week we are enjoying our last Bike Trip to Indiana for awhile. We will be riding our bikes to Huntington, Indiana. This trip has a special place in our hearts since that is where we met.

-Andy's hoping to go to back to Colorado Springs the first week of August to get some additional training about sustainable and renewable technologies that would help CLM become more self-sufficient.

-Beginning August 10th we will be in Fort Meyers, Florida for two weeks for training at ECHO, a non-profit organization that teaches missionaries about subsistence agriculture. Andy is very interested in learning more about the small-scale farming that he will be involved in at CLM.

We are still hoping to leave for CLM in early September, but that hinges on our visa. We know God has us still in the US for a reason and we are glad we can take advantage of the unplanned time here to enjoy being close to our family and friends a little longer. Let us know if you want to get together!

Palmer Lake, Colorado: MTI

2009-06-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

We've made it to the 3rd week of our training at MTI. We are in the last week of our SPLICE training which is the program that covers the personal aspects of missionary life. Next week we will start PILAT which covers language learning techniques. So far we've been very impressed with the training offered here at MTI and we definitely feel it has been valuable and we highly recommend it.

One of the elements that is emphasized by the staff at MTI is building a community among the participants. They told us that their goal is for us to have painful goodbyes when we part ways with our fellow SPLICE attendees. We have gotten to know our fellow future missionaries very well and we can already tell it will be hard to say good bye. We have been encouraged by the fellowship we've had with the many like-minded people around us, and it have been refreshing to talk with those who are wrestling with many of the same issues we are.

We've been taking advantage of the plethora of hiking trails around this area. We've also been biking when possible which isn't all that often because the weather up here is rather finicky. We used to think that the weather in Illinois changed quickly but it's nothing compared to the mountains. It has also been pretty cold, one day last week the high was only 50 degrees. I will admit it is pretty cool to enjoy a morning bike ride with a view of Pike's Peak.

We will keep you all updated as we continue to learn and explore the area around Palmer lake.

Colorado: Colt Ranch

2009-05-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

On Friday May 22nd Andy and I left for our required training in Colorado Springs. Our training here at MTI begins officially today, but we decided to take a few days over the weekend to relax and reconnect after a busy and stressful semester. Andy picked out a wonderful bed & breakfast (Colt Ranch) in Southern Colorado, just North of the New Mexico boarder.

The couple who run Colt Ranch breed highland cattle and have several horses and burros. Their property also includes what is now the abandoned mining town of Primero. We had a beautiful view of the mountains from out window and went hiking between the rain showers. The local scenery reminded us a lot of Turvo with all the pine trees, hills and adobe-style homes.I had never been west of Missouri so I have been soaking up all the new scenery, we are definitely enjoying the diversity of God's beautiful creation.

This morning we drove our last 2 1/2 hours up to MTI. We'll have our orientation later on this afternoon.

Follow this link to more pictures.

Visa Drama

2009-05-08T05:08:00.000-07:00

Finish school: check. Move out of our house: check. Begin fund raising: check. Turn in visa application: not quite.

Here's an update on our visa situation so far. Our applications have been turned down twice by the Brazilian consulate in Chicago. The first time we were rejected because applicants for a missionary visa much apply in person. After some last minute scrambling, Andy made the trip up to Chicago on April 24th. We were rejected again, this time because we lacked a necessary document from Brazil. Currently we are waiting for this necessary document to arrive. We were hoping to receive it on May 7th (yesterday) and go to Chicago today but that didn't happen.

Both Andy and I are frustrated about the visa situation, and even though we would love to just have deliverance we suspect God's trying to develop us. We hope we can get our applications turned in before we have to leave for Colorado on May 22nd. We covet your prayers.

Update

2009-03-16T03:53:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened since I wrote our first post back in December. Here's a brief update for those who are interested.

On April 18th we will move out of our little rental house and move in with Gary and Mary K Rumbold who have graciously agreed to house us for a month before we leave for training in Colorado on May 23rd. We are hoping that we can use the month with the Rumbold's to save up some additional money (plus, they're a lot of fun to hang out with).

We almost have all the necessary paperwork to apply for our visas. If all goes smoothly we will turn in our paperwork for processing in the next two weeks. Jake and Amanda Teater (fellow CLM missionaries) just received their visas and it took about 4 months for their processing. We're hoping that we will receive our visas by August but we're bracing for a longer wait.

The first Sunday in May we will begin fund raising at Northfield (our home church). We have figured out our monthly budget and one-time expenses.

I have four weeks of school left and then I'll officially be a college graduate. I'm really looking forward to being done! Andy will finish work on May 22nd, right before we leave for Colorado.

Overall things have been very busy but we are getting more and more excited as we go through the process of preparing to leave. We are looking forward to seeing how God provides for all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus!

Welcome

2008-12-15T06:16:00.000-08:00

I decided it's probably time to start a blog as Andy and I begin our journey to Southern Brazil.
A little history on where we are right now:
-We've been approved by the ACCF missionary committee to go to CLM
-We're hoping to leave for Brazil in August of 2009
-Meanwhile, I'm finishing my bachelor's at Illinois State University and Andy's working full time
-In mid-May we will leave for Colorado to attend the Missionary Training International prep courses on missionary life and language learning

A few prayer requests as we prepare:
-Continued growth in Christ as individuals and as couple
-God's timing in the visa process
-Learning Portuguese! Pray the Spirit will loosen our tongues to learn quickly and with God's ability not by our own strength
-Continued enthusiasm and confidence in God's calling for our lives