Now Noah and Rebecca

Hey Everyone,
It seems as though we are in need of some more prayer. This morning Rebecca woke up with a sore throat and was feeling weak. It has definitely continued throughout the day. Please pray for her to be able to get some rest. One of the major factors of her being able to get some rest really depends on Noah sleeping. Well, now Noah is sick also. He has been coughing more and more and his breathing is definitely raspy. So please do pray for the both of them. Especially tonight as we go to bed, that they as well as everyone else would really be able to get some rest and get beyond this time of sickness.
Thank you all very much for your faithfulness in prayer. We can always use it!

P.S. Don't worry, we will be updating you all on more details than just simply our health soon, this has just really slowed us down in a lot of areas!

Quick Update

Hey everyone,
we wanted to let all of you know that Joey and Aliyah were able to come home on Sunday afternoon. Praise the Lord! Aliyah is still coughing, but things have definitely progressed with her breathing! We want to thank you all for praying! Please do continue to pray for all of our health!
God Bless you all!
We love you!

Update on Aliyah

As some of you know, Aliyah went to the hospital in the middle of the night, Tuesday night because she was having trouble breathing. She had been sick with the cold and before long it went into her throat, making her raspy and very congested. Joey took her Tuesday night and they have now been at the hospital for 4 days. She has been diagnosed with "Pseudo-Krupp" or a mild case of Croup. She is recieving breathing treatments, and prayerfully she will be able to come home soon! We need to pray that the sickness doesn't turn into bronchitis now, but that she will make a turn for the better and be well.
Please pray for her to get better and for Joey, too, as you know his shoulder is still in pain and he wants to come home!!! We thank the Lord for His mercy and faithfulness. He has a purpose for everything that we go through. It seems He has given us this week a hospital ministry! We want to walk in His perfect ways, rejoicing always, remembering that He works all things together for good to those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose!

Please pray for Daisy Merrick

Hello Everyone, I am bringing to you an urgent prayer request. Pastor Britt Merrick's daughter Daisy Love needs all of our prayers. She is only 5 years old I believe. Here is a little update that we just received...

Update on Daisy Merrick... the oncologist says that he is 80% sure that Daisy has a Wilms Tumor. That is a malignant tumor. It is cancer but a highly curable form.They will operate Wednesday or Thursday to remove all or some of it. Daisy will have to have chemo therapy either way. God is the Healer. Please ask Him to heal her that people might see Him

Update on Joey

Hello Everyone,

This is Rebecca writing; I want to let you know how Joey's doing. First of all, his surgery went well on Friday morning- praise the Lord! Hours later he called me as he was coming out of his medication saying he was in a lot of pain. He was released to go home so the kids and I went to Wetzlar hospital to pick him up. At home he tried to rest but was in so much pain and having muscle spasms that he couldn't. A German friend of ours called the hospital for us to ask if he could go back and stay there, explaining he needs more care and medication. The doctor said to take the medicine they gave him and if it didn't work in an hour, then come back. Well, it didn't work, so our sweet friend picked him up and drove him to the hospital, making sure he was admitted. Martina, Vielen Dank für Ihre Hilfe und für Kämpfen für ihn, damit er im Krankenhaus bleiben könnte! (I hope that's right!)
On Saturday the kids and I went to visit him. Our friend Carol who also works at the hospital had just finished her shift and was visiting him. We brought him some goodies, went outside to the playground, had a snack in the cafe, and had a good time with him. He was feeling better but still in a lot of pain. He will stay at the hospital until Monday or Tuesday.
Joey was able to speak with the doctor who did the surgery. The doctor explained that they made 3 incisions in his shoulder-1 in the back and 2 in the front. First they had to fix his Gelenkpfanne, or his joint pan (what the ball joint goes in), because after so many injuries, it was really damaged. After this procedure, then they tightened the muscles around the joint. He will have to wear a sling for 3-6 weeks and begin physical therapy soon.
Thank you all for covering my husband in your prayers! Please keep him in prayer as he has a long recovery ahead. We are so thankful for all of you for your love and prayers and support! God bless you!

SURGERY

Well
I am going to bed now, will be waking up early to spend time with Jesus and head off to the hospital at 6:00am (9:00pm Thursday night Cali time).
Please be praying!
thanks!

Russia Mission Team Prayer Requests

Hello Everyone,
From September 17-22, we will be having a small missions team going to St. Petersburg, Russia and I wanted to get to you the prayer requests of our Mission Team. Please do be praying for them!

Prayer requests :

1. Saturday they will be at the Women's Retreat - pray the Lord will use Martha to teach His word and refresh the women. She desires to be empowered by His Spirit.
2. For the team - that the unity will be there - and God's will be done and not theirs.
3. Everyone will find their place to minister to the Russian saints.
4. Please pray for health of each of the team members
5. Safe travel and no one would get lost or get there things stolen in the Metro.
6. We want this trip to be fruitful and full of God's Grace that He can use us for His glory.

Treasuring Him

Just Days Later

On The Move from Joey Roper on Vimeo.

Taufe 2009

CC Herborn Baptism 2009 from Joey Roper on Vimeo.

On Sunday, August 30th we had our annual church baptism. This was our first one since being here in Deutschland! The Lord really blessed the day. He granted us great weather, many of the church members brought friends and family, Pastor Edmund gave a great message, Pastor Edmund and Michael were able to baptize 9 people! It was amazing! Enjoy the video!

Power Through Prayer in German

To all of our German readers, I was blessed by a sister who did a little research and found the book auf Deutsch. So you can click on the link below to get the book!
Kraft durch Gebet

Gott Segne Euch!

Power Through Prayer

Since I had so much waiting time in the waiting rooms with my doctor visits, I finished reading this amazing book on Prayer! I want to highly suggest, no, better yet, if I could, I would command every one of you who declare that you love Jesus as your Lord and Savior to get this book (if you don't have it already) and read it!!! This little 105 page book on prayer will radically challenge you on your walk with the Lord! For those of you who do have it and have not read it, READ IT! For those of you who have read it, READ IT AGAIN! I guarantee you that the Lord will radically challenge you in the area of Prayer. In fact, here is so more information so that you can possibly order it online or at a Christian Book Store. Obviously you can see the title and author, but here is the ISBN #.
0-88368-117-X. Now that I have thoroughly bugged you about getting this book and reading it, I want to share with you how it ministered to me.
Well, I started to read this book before the Missions Conference last month. The Lord began to speak to me through this book and time in His Word on the topic of prayer. Then as I was at the Missions Conference, there was a definite them that took place with the teachings on the topic of prayer. So the Lord really began to confirm what He was already speaking to me in His Word and through this book. Since I have come back from the conference, I picked up the book again to finish it. WOW! What can I say? I believe that every believer in Jesus Christ should read this book! Did I already say that? Oh well. E.M. Bounds really takes this topic of prayer and radically challenges pastors, preachers, those in ministry, and I believe, a person who really calls themself a Christian to get back into prayer.
Let me share with you a few quotes to wet your appetite...

"The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men...What the Church needs today is not more or better machinery, not new organizations or more and novel methods. She needs men whom the Holy Spirit can use - men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men-men of prayer!"

"So we come to one of the crying evils of these times, maybe of all times -- little or no praying. Of these two evils, perhaps little praying is worse than no praying. Little praying is a kind of make-believe, a salve for the conscience, a farce and a delusion. The little regard we give prayer is evident from the little time we spend in it..."

"A prayerful ministry is the only ministry qualified for the high offices and responsibilities of the preacher. Colleges, knowledge, books, theology, and preaching do not make a preacher, but praying does."

"God's true preachers can be distinguished by one great feature: they are men of prayer... To them, God is the center of attraction, and prayer is the path which led to God. These men do not pray occasionally - not a little or at odd times. But, they so pray that their prayers enter into and shape their very characters. They pray so as to affect their own lives, the lives of others, and to make the history of the Church influence the current of the times. They spend much time in prayer, not because they watch the shadow on the dial or the hands on the clock, but because it is to them so momentous and engaging a business that they can scarcely quit."

"To be little with God is to be little for God."

I could keep going and going, but like I said, get the book, read it, and begin to live a life of prayer that is well pleasing to your Lord!

Joey Will Need Surgery

Hello Everyone,
So I want to give you the update of what is going on with my right shoulder. I went to the hospital today and met with the doctor that would go over my MRI (MRT for the German readers). So as he was looking over the images, the first words that came out of his mouth were, "You are going to need an operation." He then began to go over the possible scenarios that would take place with me. After this, he asked me to go get a few X-Rays done on my shoulder and to get them back to him. After doing this, we then met again and finalized what will be done. So here is the information in a nutshell:

• I will be going in tomorrow once again to get my blood taken, have an EKG test, and to meet with the anesthesiologist.
• I then have an appointment for next Friday for my surgery. Friday, September 18
  
• I go in at 6:30am (9:30pm, September 17, California time) to get the process going for the surgery
• Once the surgery starts, this is what he will do
• He will give me three cuts, one in the back of my right shoulder and two in the front. He will then go in and tighten the tendons. Anything else that will need to fixed, he will do also.
• After the surgery is finished, I will be able to go home on the same day.
• I will then have my arm in a sling for the next 3 weeks.
• After those 3 weeks, I am able to not use the sling for the next three weeks, but I am definitely not allowed to make certain movements with my arms. (So I will probably continue to use the sling).
• After these 6 weeks, I will then begin therapy for my arm and shoulder
• I will not be able to do any serious sports for the next 6 months
• Regarding, playing the guitar, we will have to see during therapy what I will be able to do.

So there is the update with my shoulder. I do please ask all of you to be praying for this whole process. As you know, we have 3 little kids, so it is going to be very important for me that I protect my shoulder. Please do be praying for Rebecca to have the extra strength and endurance during this time also, as I will not be able to help out in many different ways due to this situation.
God Bless you all!
Love the Roper Family!

Schritte 4

Well, I want to give all of you an update as to what is going on with my German lessons. I am currently on Schritte Vier (Step 4). As I have already mentioned, we have been here for one year now and I am pretty shocked on how much German I am able to speak already. Praise the Lord for that! As most of you know I go to my German lessons from Monday-Thursday, 9am-12:15pm. It is a pretty intensive course, which is good for me. I am very thankful for this class, as it is really helping me with my German. I do continue to struggle with my classes on Monday and Tuesday, but on Wednesday and Thursday, things are so much better. One of the other reasons why I enjoy the class is because of the rest of the students. Like I said in the past, we have students from all over the world in our class and each of them have their unique characteristics about them. We have a blast in the class, as we learn the language. I am normally quiet in the class, as I really do learn a lot by listening, but also for the fact that I just crack up laughing at all of the jokes that go on in the class. I am very thankful for Frau Hiltz, as she does an awesome job in teaching us this very difficult language. She really explains things very thurough and clear. Frau Hiltz, I know that you might be reading this, so thank you for all that you do for us. I know all of the students are really blessed by you.
I do ask all of you to continue to be praying for me in learning and applying the language. Deutsch is a very hard language, but I know that the Lord is definitely helping me with it. It is truly my desire to learn this language so that I can completely communicate with the people in the church, in the class, in the city, and so on. So please do pray for all of us in this area!
I think that one of the funniest things about the language is this...
Many times I will ask some of the people in the church about something that I am learning or ask them to make sure that I am spelling the words correctly. Many times their response will be, "I don't know. German is so hard." So I then go on to tell them, "What do you mean? You are German, you should know this, right?" So it is pretty funny!

Trust in the Lord

We read in Proverbs 3:5-6,

"​Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; ​In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall ​direct your paths."

Can I ask you a few questions? Are you doing that? Are you trusting in the LORD with all of your heart? Are you not leaning on your own understanding? Are you acknowledging Him? Do you believe that He will direct your paths? Think about this. You know how easy it is to lean on our own understanding?
Let me give you a personal example that we are currently going through. We are in a situation where we might have to move but we are not sure if we have to or not. We are being told by one group that the water is going to be turned off on September 22 (this month). On the other side, we are being told not to worry about it, but to simply "trust" in what they are doing. The more that I talk to both sides, the more concern it brings to my heart. Why? Because, who am I supposed to listen to? Who am I supposed to trust? Ultimately I want to be a man of faith, one who walks by faith and not by sight, a faithful husband and father to make sure that I am taking care of and providing for my family. I do have a few more weeks until this situation with the water really takes place. So what am I to do? Do I trust one side and start packing? Or - do I trust the other side and just stay put?
Obviously I know that we are to "be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with ​thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;" (Philippians 4:6) To be honest with you, I can tell you that I have constantly been offering this situation to the Lord. I have constantly been asking Him to speak to me a clear direction. I am asking. I am seeking. I am knocking. In fact, Rebecca and I just finished praying over this whole situation once again, giving it over to the Lord.
This is what I want to share with you. When I come across verses like Proverbs 3:5-6 or verses like Psalm 37:3-7a which states,

"Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 ​Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your ​​heart.
5 ​Commit ​​your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 ​He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, ​and wait patiently for Him;"

What am I commanded to do? He simply tells me to Trust in Him, Delight in Him, Commit my way to Him, Trust in Him, Rest in Him, and Wait for Him. I don't know what this does for you and your relationship with Jesus, but for me, it reassures me that HE is in complete control! After all, He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the Great I AM!
I want to encourage you this day to once again TRUST IN THE LORD! He will be faithful. He always is! Although I am not sure how this whole situation is going to end up, I know that I can TRUST HIM with it all! He is not shocked or surprised by it, He is simply using it to work in us a faith that will continue to trust Him!

I pray you do to!

Noah Starting to Crawl

Noah Starting to Crawl from Joey Roper on Vimeo.

Update on Joey's Shoulder

Hello Everyone, I want to give you a little update as to what is going on with my shoulder. First of all, I want to thank all of you that have been praying! What a blessing! In fact, last night at our leadership meeting, Ralf and Dirk (the elders of our church) anointed me with oil, laid their hands on me and prayed over me. That was a blessing!
Today, I went to the hospital and had my MRI (MRT for the German readers). I waited for about an hour to have my turn. Then the MRI took about 15 minutes. They then asked me to wait outside until they could get all of the pictures together. Once that was finished, they gave me the CD that has all of the pics of my shoulder. I will be bringing this CD with me on Thursday to the hospital once again and go over the details with the doctor.
So I know that isn't the most exciting news, but it is an update. Please continue to pray. I will let you know in a couple days what will be taking place next!
Thanks and God Bless!

EIN JAHR IN DEUTSCHLAND

Hello Everyone! Today marks ONE YEAR for us here in Herborn, Germany! Can you believe it? The time has gone by so fast and yet so much has happened within this last year! Just the other day Rebecca and I were sitting outside our home while the kids were playing around outside and we began to talk about all of the things that have taken place within this past year. So we wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some things that have happened. We are going to break it up into three areas:

1. Personal
One of the main things that we would say would be a theme for us is that this past year has been a year of new beginnings. We have experienced a lot of firsts this year. So here we go. It has been the first time that we have moved to a foreign country, first time living with other people (thank you so much Pastor Edmund and Martha for your wonderful hospitality), first time being “auslanders” (foreigners), first time having a baby boy, first time delivering with a midwife (no drugs), first time celebrating holidays away from home, first time living in the snow during the winter, first time being submerged into a new language, new culture. We have been blessed with new friendships and a new home (we live in an old military barrack). As part of integrating into the culture, I have been going to German lessons, Katie started kindergarten last week, and we now have coffee and cake time almost every afternoon! Last but not least, this is the first time we have traveled to so many countries in such a short amount of time: Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France (stopped at a McDonalds), Belgium, (my dad & I), and Luxemburg (my dad & I). But I guess that is what you are able to do when they are so close to each other. So as you can see, there has been a lot that has happened in this year and we want to thank the Lord for His faithfulness to us in every new experience.

2. Ministry
In regards to ministry, God has given me some new responsibilities in assisting Pastor Edmund. There are two responsibilities that I knew about coming over here. One would be to assist Edmund Sr. in organizing ministries in the church along with other administrative duties. The second was to start a School of Ministry here at CC Herborn. The Lord has definitely been teaching me a lot about being an assistant pastor, so much more than I could have imagined. One of the major duties that I have learned in being an assistant is filling in where there is a need. Well, at the beginning of this year, I took over the worship ministry. This was not something that I anticipated to happen, and yet the Lord is using it in a major way to refine me, strengthen me, teach me, and stretch me. So as of right now, the School of Ministry is on hold, but I do look forward to the day we will move forward with it.
Some events that have taken place throughout this year are:
- Many Teaching Opportunities
- Martini Markt Outreach
- Women’s Christmas Outreach
- European Pastors Conference
- Allianzgebetswoche (Alliance Prayer Week)
- Prophecy Conference
- Leadership Conference
- Marriage Seminar
- CCH Family Summer Retreat in Austria
- Missions Conference in Austria

3. Visitors
- Our first visitors were actually a mission team from CC Downey. They had an outreach here with us during Christmas. We were blessed to be able to spend the Christmas with them. They were truly a blessing to us!
- Our moms were next. They came out in February for 3 weeks. They were here for the arrival of Noah! We were tremendously honored to have them here for his birth.
- Jenny & Lorena (Rebecca’s friends) were next. They came and spent a week with us and also traveled throughout Europe for a week! We had a blast with them.
- Ken, Vivian, and Nick Radford were next. They came out for about a week to come and work on the church building. We needed some electrical work finished at the church and so they came with servant’s hearts and blessed the church and us tremendously. The work that they did really helped us get back into the building sooner.
- My sister Stephanie was next. Probably a week or so after the Radfords left, my sister came out for a visit. It was truly a blessing to have her here with us. She shared with us that her time with us had been one of the best times that she had in a long time. Praise the Lord for that!
- Shortly after Stephanie left, we were honored to have Hannah Gurney come for the whole month of July. She came here to help out in any way she could. She was not only a tremendous help for us as a family, but she was also able to help out around the church a little and to help do the children’s ministry during our church retreat.
- Last, but not least, my parents were able to come out for two weeks. During this time, my dad and I were able to go to Belgium for three days together to go check out some WWII historical sites. We had a blast with them.

We cannot believe that so much has happened in this past year. As we look back, we see all the times that God has been faithful to give us strength and encouragement when we needed it. Throughout this year we have had a few people share with us how they cannot believe that we left California to come to Germany. With that in mind we wanted to share a few verses out of Hebrews 11 that ministered to us the other day. “By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God… These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:9-10, 13-16
As much as we love living in Germany, there are times that we miss the familiarity of home in California. Through these verses the Lord reminded us that our true home is in heaven. In Philippians 3:13-14 & 20 it states, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus… For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,” This is the desire of our heart for this next year, to continue to press on to fulfill the calling the Lord has placed on our lives! Please do continue to keep CC Herborn and us in your prayers!

We want to thank our family, friends, and awesome support team for all of their love, prayers, notes of encouragement, support, and goodies in the mail! May the Lord radically bless each of you for all that you have done to affect the work of the Lord here in Germany. THANK YOU!

We love you all! Gott Segne Euch (God Bless You)!
The Roper Family

Our Growing Boy

Our little man is growing up so fast! He is almost 7 months old already! He is starting to crawl and received his first tooth on his 6 month birthday. At such a young age he is already attracting all the women in Germany (ok, so most of them are 65 or older, but you get my drift). He is such a happy baby and brings such joy to his sisters and mommy and daddy!

God's Chisel