Good Bye Solo

Ralf (one of our elders) & Pastor Edmund pray for Solo during morning service

Solo sharing from his heart to the church

Aliyah & Solo

The Prayer Ministry praying over Solo at his going away party

At the beginning of this year our worship leader, Solo (Solomon), left for the German military. So we as a church through him a going away party. It was definitely a night with mixed emotions. The church has been so blessed by Solo all of these years and we are so sad to see him leave. And yet we know that the Lord will be with him in these next stages in his life. I do ask all of you that read this, whether you know Solo or not to please just pray for him right now where you are at and ask the Lord to strengthen him and cause to be strong in his faith. Ask the Lord to protect him throughout these next years of his life. Solo we love your very much! You have been a blessing to us as a family! We are going to miss you bro!

"I Feel Connected"

The other night, right after getting all of our internet and phone all connected, we finally went to bed, at one in the morning. As we were about to go to bed, I told Rebecca, "I feel connected!" As soon as those words came out of my mouth, the Lord immediately spoke to me and said, "The more important thing is that you need to be CONNECTED TO ME."
There is nothing wrong with being connected with family, friends, the saints here in Herborn, but the most important thing in my life is that I would be connected to my Heavenly Father. I am reminded of some verses in John 15:4-5 which says, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." I thank the Lord for His constant reminder to me about staying connected to Him.
I want to encourage each of you today, as you begin to think about getting connected to the world via the internet, email, home phone, cell phone, first think about getting connected to Jesus Himself. Throughout the day, may you and I be thinking how we will continue to stay connected to Him and be receiving from Him!
Gott Segne Euch!
God Bless You!

WE HAVE THE INTERNET!

Praise the Lord! We have the internet and home phone! We will continue to be updating our blog now. We should be catching up pretty soon!

thank you all for being patient!

God Bless

Love the Roper Family

Starting 2009 in CC Düsseldorf

Katie & Daddy right before we left

Katie @ C.C. Düsseldorf

Joey teaching with Johannes translating

Johannes and Leah leading worship

Church lunch after church

Joey talking with a Kenyan brother in the church

At the beginning of this year, Pastor Edmund Jr. Coronel asked me if I would be able to come up to Düsseldorf to come and teach at his church, since he had been battling with an eye infection. So I decided to take Katie with me for a road trip up north. When I had told Katie that just her and I would be going up to her friend Karis' house, she was so excited. 1) to spend time with daddy just one on one 2) to go spend the night at Karis' house (Edmund Jr. daughter). So Katie and I had a great time together! It was also a blessing to be able to start the year off challenging the saints in Düsseldorf with going out and preaching the Gospel. We looked at Philippians 1:12-18 and talked about the furtherance of the Gospel. I praise the Lord for the opportunity both to be able to teach His Word to the saints there, but also to spend that one on one time with my daughter Katie!

New Years Eve

I cant believe it, but 2008 is already over! 2008 went by so fast. It is crazy to think that we started the year in one country, knowing that we would be moving to Germany, and then ended the year on the mission field here in Germany. What a blast it was. Something that is so awesome here in Germany is that everyone buys fireworks. Now, I want you to know that it is not just any fireworks, but they are fireworks that are completely illegal in California, but totally legal here. And so when I heard this, you know that I had to get some. So I was like a kid in a candy store going from store to store buying up some different fireworks. Now I will be honest. I have never really bought fireworks before, so with some of them, I really didn't know what I was buying. But now having lit them off on New Years Eve, I know what to buy for the end of 2009! I cant wait! We spent the evening at Pastor Edmund's house with him and his wife, Edmund Jr. and his family, a couple from CC Herborn, Jürgen and Beate, and then us! Pastor Edmund Sr. had also bought some fireworks and so later in the evening we lit them all of. Now this was before it struck New Years, but we still had a blast! But once it hit New Years, we were all in the house looking over Seelbach watching everyone lighting off all of their fireworks for about 30-40 minutes. It was one of the most amazing firework shows that I have ever seen! And I have seen a lot! The amazing thing was, was that these were just normal people - all over the village lighting them off! It was amazing!
Katie made it until around 11:30pm and Aliyah made it all the way to the New Year! We then started off the year with a time of prayer and then went home around two in the morning! it was a blast!
What is the Lord going to do with all of us in 2009? We look forward to it!

Our First Christmas

We had our first Christmas here in Germany! I can't believe it! I have to be honest with you, we were extremely blessed in so many ways. It was very difficult to be away from our family during this time and we missed them very much, but we were so blessed with all of the presents that both our family, friends, and support team sent us. A week or two before Christmas day, Rebecca and I were up late one night just talking about all of the memories we had growing up during the Christmas season. It was so sweet to remember all of the things that we experienced with our family and relatives during those years. Now being on the mission field, we began to talk how we need to begin to start our own traditions with our girls and that one day they would be able to talk about all of the things we did together as a family during Christmas time. As you can see, one of the things that we did do, was get a Christmas tree and lights. I (Joey) went to a couple of different of places to go look for a Christmas tree and then finally found one that I thought would be good for us. And then late that evening we let the girls stay up late and help us set up the tree. Aliyah started to get into the decorations and began to break some of them. Oh well. But it was pretty fun setting it all up together. One of the things that we wanted to make clear to our girls is why we celebrate Christmas. We wanted to let them know that it is Jesus that we celebrate. We celebrate the fact that He came and was born for us. Immanuel - God with us. So it was so great throughout the weeks when we would ask the girls about Christmas, that they would say "Jesus was born."
One of the other things that I think that we learned this year during Christmas is the value of the body of Christ and how we are truly the family of Christ. Being away from family was hard, but the Lord truly blessed us with our time that we had with some of the saints here in Herborn, with the CC Downey mission team, that we were able to have over at our house on Christmas Day, and with the Coronel families. Each of us were able to really celebrate the birth of our Lord together and encourage each other. We ate a lot of awesome food, laughed a lot, and enjoyed the sweet fellowship.
One of the other blessings was that Pastor Edmund asked if I could teach the Christmas Day service. What a blessing that was! Usually Christmas Eve service is the really big service, which this year it was again and we thought that on Christmas Day there would be just a few people. Well, there turned out to be well over 100 people that showed up. I was really shocked and a little nervous. But the Lord really blessed it.
So we had a really good Christmas! Praise the Lord!

CC Downey Outreach

From December 14-29, we had a small outreach team out here to Herborn from CC Downey. For us, this was the first mission team that has come out since being full-time missionaries here in Germany. It was such a blessing to be on the receiving end. I have been so used to being the short term missionary, and so it was definitely a different perspective. They were just a small team, but each of them were such a blessing to us as a family and to our church here in Herborn. We are so thankful for Gina, Sophak, Eddie, Jimmy, and Leo. Each of them were completely empowered by the Holy Spirit and were ready to serve in any way. While they were here, they were able to go into a few different prisons, we were able to take them to the streets in Herborn, up to Düsseldorf, down south a little in Wetzlar, and some other cities. What a blessing they were. We look forward to having a team come out again from CC Downey possibly this year in 2009. Thank you CC Downey for sending out these laborers!

Girls Making Christmas Cookies

Back in December, Marion, invited Rebecca and the girls over to make some Christmas cookies. Rebecca and the girls had a blast with Marion and her girls making the cookies and eating them also. Here are a few pics for you to enjoy. Marion, thanks for the invitation and the great time of fellowship!

C.C. Freirgrund - Knowing the Will of God

Fabian, Joey, and Stefan

Joey and the youth at C.C. Freirgrund

On Friday, December 12, I had the opportunity to teach for the youth group at Calvary Chapel Freirgrund. The night started off by taking a train ride to downtown Siegen. I then spent a few hours at the City Galerie, the mall in downtown Siegen, trying to find a Christmas present for Rebecca. I didn’t find anything. After this I met up with a brother, Fabian, that picked me up and then took me to the church. It was pretty funny because I was to meet him in front of the McDonalds next to the train station in Siegen. I didn’t know what he looked like and he didn’t know what I looked like. But the Lord worked it out and we found each other. On our way to the church we began to get to know each other and talk about the will of the Lord for our lives. Fabian was just about to finish his second year at the Calvary Chapel Bible College there in Siegen and was seeking the Lord for clear direction on what is next for his life. So, I let him know that the message that I would be teaching on that night would be perfect for him. I was going to be teaching on “Knowing the Will of God.” Once we got to the church and spent time in fellowship and prayer, the service started. It is a small youth group, and yet so powerful. I definitely see the Lord doing a work of His Spirit within the lives of the youth there at Calvary Chapel Freirgrund. I was completely blessed and honored to be able to share the Word of God with the youth there. After the study, we had a great time of fellowship, playing some Foosball, eating candy, and just encouraging one another. It is my prayer for the youth their at CC Freirgrund, that the Lord will begin to clearly show them His will for each of their lives and that they will walk in those steps that He has foreordained for their lives. God Bless you CC Freirgrund youth!

Women's Christmas Outreach

On Monday, December 8th, the women of Calvary Chapel Herborn were apart of the one-day Christmas Markt that took place in downtown Herborn. Usually each year they have a huge Christmas breakfast and use it as an opportunity to minister to the women of the church and to share the gospel with the friends that are brought to the breakfast. But, this year the Lord laid it on Martha’s heart to do outreach, to get the women out on the streets sharing the love of Christ.
So they were able to get a booth at the Christmas Markt (by the way, I am not spelling it wrong, that is how you spell it in German), and were able to sell different Christmas items for whatever contribution was given. The contributions that were given were to help the church’s missionaries, and the gifts that were being sold were simply used as a way to begin a conversation in regards to the Gospel. So Martha was completely blessed with the response of the women that came out that day to help out.
I (Joey) had the opportunity to help serve by setting up the booth and tearing it down at the end of the day. I also had the opportunity to share the love of Christ with a lady that was working at the Crepes stand. Of course I had to get some crepes throughout the day, but it was a blessing to be able to tell this women how the truths spoken of by Jesus were completely different than anyone else that ever lived.
In the end, we were able to give her a German New Testament, a few tracts, and a bible teaching from our church. We praise the Lord for the work that He did through the women of the church that day!

Family Night Out

downtown Herborn during Christmas time

Rebecca and the girls

Joey and the girls

Back in December, we decided to have a family night out on the town. It started with dinner at a local Italian restaurant, our favorite, Cicilia’s. We were able to get our favorite pizza, salads, and of course Apfelshorle. It is one of our new favorite drinks out here in Germany. We then went to downtown Herborn. Because it was late in the evening, there was no one out and none of the stores were open. But it was all light up and decorated for the Christmas season. As you can see in the pictures, we were all bundled up due to the cold weather – but it was still pretty cool to spend the evening together out as a family.

Youth Purity Conference @ CC Siegen

On Saturday, November 29, I was asked to teach at the Calvary Chapel Siegen’s Youth Purity Conference. The name of the conference was called “PURE SEX – Sexualität in Reinform.” I was given two topics to teach on. 1) Marriage makes Sex Pure 2) Love makes Sex Pure. The Lord laid it on Pastor Tobee’s heart, (CC Siegen’s youth pastor) to really confront this issue of sex with the youth and to give them the Lord’s heart on the matter.
We live in a generation where sex is constantly being pushed and it is treated as if it is no big deal. In my teachings, I sought to show the youth, through the Word, how it was God who ordained sex and it is the Lord who blesses sex, inside of marriage! We clearly looked at the Scriptures and saw how sex outside of marriage destroys us physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually.
I really tried to emphasize the reality of their wedding days and sought to challenge them to be looking ahead and to be planning for the future. Their decision today will directly affect their wedding days, marriage, and their future family. We also looked at what real love is and how love is patient, love is kind, etc.
I was bummed that I had to leave right after these two session to catch my train back home, but after the conference was over, I talked with Tobee and asked how the rest of the day went. He said that the Lord really blessed it and used all of the teachings and break out sessions to create a repentance in the heart of the youth. So I praise the Lord for being able to be a part of this conference! God Bless you CC Siegen!

MORE TO COME

hey guys
still dont have the internet. just trying to play catch up. But trust me - there is alot more to come. alot of cool things to come.

Rebecca Doing Laundry

Just thought you should see my hard working wife at work!

Thanksgiving with the Jewetts

What a blessed time we were able to have on Thanksgiving Day! We were able to spend the day with the Jewetts. The Jewetts are a missionary family also from CCCH in California and they moved to Heidelberg, Germany a month after we had moved out here to Germany. They were able to borrow a car (with GPS) and drive around 2 hours to our new home. We had just moved in the Saturday before, so this was our first official meal with the new kitchen. What a meal to start with! THANKSGIVING FOOD! So we were able to have all of our favorite foods, drinks, desserts, etc. The fellowship time was really sweet. We were all constantly talking about how we couldn't believe that all of us are our here in GERMANY! What an honor it is to all be called to be His representatives to Deutschland.
We know that this will just be the first of many times together with the Jewitt family! Thanks guys for coming! And thanks for bringing the turkey!

Our First Dishes

When we first were able to move into our new home, our dishwasher and sink were not hooked up for about 3-4 days. And so for those first couple of days we had to do all of our dishes in the bathtub. It was pretty hilarious at first, but then it got pretty old bending over so much. Once we got the sink and dishwasher all hooked up, we were pretty excited. But, all in all, pretty fun way to start.

Du Bist Der Mann! - You are the Man!

Joey & Werner

Rebecca, Patricia, Alfrede, and Werner

We wanted to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU so much to Werner for all of the labor and work that you put into our new home. Du Bist Der Mann! this is a phrase that I continued to tell Werner over and over again as he was installing our new kitchen in our new home! He completely amazed me with all of his handiwork that he knew. We were so blessed with all of work that he did!
We wanted to show our appreciation to him and his family and so we had them over for lunch one Sunday after church and had a good time with them. Thank you once again Werner! Du Bist Der Mann!
We love you bro - the Roper Family!

More Snow

right outside our front door

our new home covered in snow

Aliyah with daddy - getting prepared for the snow

Katie lovin' it!

Here are a couple of pics of the snow that came to Herborn a couple of weeks before Christmas! It was awesome!