Back to School

Hi everyone! Hope you had a great summer!
Ours is ending this week as we start classes again on July 23rd. Keep us in your prayers!

Changed Plans

Hi everyone, this is the female half of the Roetteles writing to let you know that our travel plans changed. We found out that I am going to have to have surgery on June 20th. It's a common procedure, out patient surgery, but there are a few unknowns, so we would appreciate your prayers. I would really appreciate them...having never even been admitted to the hospital before. Thankfully, I have a husband who worked in outpatient surgery to keep me calm! I am so glad to know that I have all of you lifting me up.
If you want to know more, just email me or call:
er.roettele@gmail.com
elizabeth_roettele@sil.org
918-857-5202

New tentative schedule:
June 10-15 Ohio
June 16-22 Dallas
June 23-July 5 At some point in this two week block we plan to be in Tulsa, OK.
July 5--- Dallas
July 23 Classes begin!

Here's a cute picture of my niece. Isn't she a doll?

Summer Time...Almost!

We’re about to finish up our first semester at GIAL in Dallas. We’ve just got about two weeks left before our seven week summer break. Sessions 1-3 were great, and we studied Grammar, Phonetics, and Phonology. During session 4, we’ve been studying cultural anthropology. We are learning how to define culture, to be aware of cultural themes, culture shock, and many practical techniques that will be so valuable when we are living in a different culture. Our favorite hands-on assignment has been our cultural “immersion” project. We’ve been visiting a church whose members are from Kerala, India. It has been so good to worship with them in their services and enjoy food and fellowship in their homes. At the same time, we get a glimpse of their language, Malayalam, and their culture.

Our tentative summer travel schedule:
June 6-10th Oklahoma
June 10-15th Ohio
June 16-20th Illinois
June 20th-23rd Indiana
June 23-July 5th Oklahoma
July 5th—Back to Texas!

We’d love to see you while we travel! Give us a call or an email to get in touch:

John’s info: 918-406-6721
john_roettele@sil.org

Elizabeth’s info: 918-857-5202
elizabeth_roettele@sil.org

We’ve really enjoyed this semester of studying, learning, and growing. We’ve also had a lot of fun! Here are just a few photos…

Baby shower for Elizabeth’s sister, Sarah















A visit from Sarah & Lindsey Dubberly















Planting a garden















Hiking with Stefanie & Jimmy Nance















Meeting Emilie Grace Skinner



















Enjoying a visit from the Briscoe family

It’s official!

We’re on our way to Dallas! This week we’ll be organizing, packing, and moving to our new home in Dallas, Texas to begin classes at the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Here are some ways you can pray for us:

EMOTIONS: We are excited, thrilled, nervous, and sad all at the same time! Both of us have spent most of our lives in Jenks, Oklahoma. Although we’ll be joining John’s mom and sisters in the state of Texas, we’ll be moving away from his dad, as well as all of Elizabeth’s immediate family and grandparents. We are looking forward to seeing friends in the Dallas area, but as you can imagine, we will be missing our good friends in Oklahoma at the same time. Pray that we will be joyful in the Lord. Pray that we will be able to maintain good communication with everyone we will be moving away from. Please pray that we’ll make good friends among our fellow students soon.

CLASSES: We will be taking a full load of graduate level courses in the area of applied linguistics. Classes begin January 9^th. Please pray for diligence in our studies, ability to retain all that we learn, and good grades. We are eager to learn and really desire to honor the Lord by doing WELL in school.

FINANCES: We are moving out in faith, trusting the Lord’s leading that it is His time for us to begin our training. In addition to living costs, we are also responsible to pay for our tuition, books, and fees at school. We are blessed to see His hand of provision for us DAILY. The stories we could tell you… just ask! He reminds us all the time of His knowledge of our needs by providing in ways we could never think of. Please pray that our financial partnerships would continue to grow. Please pray that the Lord would guide us in making wise financial decisions. Praise Him for His faithfulness and pray for His continued blessing on our lives.

SPIRITUAL LIFE: We are facing busy, challenging months. Please pray for our continued personal times studying the Bible and in prayer. Please ask the Lord to help us grow in Him as a couple. Pray for our marriage- that it continues to grow stronger. Pray that He will teach us NOW how to be a family that worships Him together. Please pray that we will find a solid, Bible-teaching church with a heart for missions at home and around the world to be a part of and serve in while we are in Dallas. Ask for our protection on all fronts.

We are so thankful to be surrounded by your love, prayers, and encouragement. May you all have a Happy New Year!!

Blessings Despite Broken Bones

"Hey, honey! Guess where I am!"
(You've only been gone 45 minutes.) "Okay, where are you?"
"Minor Emergency... I think I dislocated my finger."
(Yeah right.) "Stop joking."

John wasn't joking. But he was wrong. The right-hand ring finger wasn't dislocated, it was broken. The minor emergency care physician gave him the name of a hand specialist to call on Monday morning. He needed to be sure the bone was set correctly and to determine if he surgery was in order. However, when he called the specialist, they told him they couldn't see him for about 2 weeks!
But God provided a way for John to see a doctor. Our Sunday school teacher's wife works for a hand specialist, and she was able to get John in on Monday morning. The doctor did a great job! John doesn't need surgery, and he's just in a small splint for about three weeks.
Thank God with us for getting John into the doctor quickly and that he doesn't need surgery! Please pray with us that his finger will heal quickly and be restored to full movement and use.
For those of you who are interested, check out these broken finger pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/er.roettele/JohnSFinger. Just copy and paste the link into your browser.

Boxes, boxes everywhere....

We are in the moving zone! Our lease is up on our apartment, so John's dad is kindly letting us stay with him for the next few months until we leave Tulsa. (Thanks Bob!)
Last Friday, Elizabeth's mom helped start the packing extravaganza. (Thanks Roxanne!) We had to take a break on Saturday for my cousin Amanda's wedding in Yukon, OK. (Congratulations Amanda & Trey!) Sunday we continued-- we even went to Walmart at 1:30am to scrounge for boxes!
We have packed a lot, but it seems like there is still so much to do. We are packing some things for our time left in Tulsa, some things for Dallas, and some things to go to Grandmother's storage building in Pryor. (Thanks Grandmother!) The boxes have created a kind of maze and obstacle course in our living room area. =)
Please be praying for us that we can get it all done by Saturday so we can move all the big items. And if you're in Tulsa on Saturday, August 25th, and you are bored... let us know!

VOM

The best magazine that we read is VOM: Voice of the Martyrs. We'd encourage everyone to sign up to recieve this free magazine. Every month, VOM tells stories of the courage, perseverance, and faithfulness of followers of Christ around the world. They will give you opportunities to pray for specific people, send letters to Christians in prison around the world, and give towards furthering the gospel of Christ around the world. Not to mention, your heart will be touched and encouraged by those who do not consider even their lives of value as they follow Jesus. We always say that reading VOM puts our life into perspective! Check them out at www.persecution.com !!