I love my job! Thanks for all of your support!

Well it has been awhile since I've last wrote. I need to get on that more often. Hopefully from now on it will be once a week. I hope everyone is doing well! I've updated the layout of my blog as you can see.

Life is continuing on. Getting to know people has been fun and enjoyable. Lately, it has been work, work, work. But I really like to work, work, work. Philip and I have been working on some ideas to advance the vision of Overland Missions which is always enjoyable, brainstorming... thinking out of the box... how we can better reach and engage more people, more effectively.

As I've posted in previous blogs, we desire to build a real-time tracking network to track the movements of missionaries to better analyze effectiveness and to document our generation's progress to pass the baton on to the next generation. We've been speaking with the developers at Rimrocked. Check it out. They have an active and passive tracking solution. We spoke with him a couple of times this past week and there was a very open dialogue.

In addition to that, I've been working on an update report for Joyce Meyer Ministries. Joyce Meyer has a humanitarian arm called Hand of Hope. They gave a substantial contribution to The LIFE Project, Overland Missions' humanitarian arm. So I just completed that document. With its template we can use it for other donors.

This past weekend Amethyst and I had an opportunity to speak at her church about our future vision. We spoke on how we are raising up a team of over 200 prayer and financial partners to support us when we leave in two years to pilot a sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), specifically in the north-east part near Goma. This area was hit hardest with war, disease and famine. The Rwandan conflict in the mid-1990's spilled over to this area. This area has known nothing but devastation and corruption. We are excited to be deployed in two years.

I hope everyone is doing well and I will try to keep everyone updated on more of a consistent basis. Blessings!

Andrew and Amethyst

Settled in!

Since the last time I wrote, I've gotten everything unpacked and I'm all settled in. Amethyst and I are doing well. We're still busy with wedding plans!

Lately, we've been doing full-time support raising. If you'd like to become a partner in reaching the unreached, we would love to talk with you. Just give us a call. Or, if you would like to become a partner now, you can donate on the side or by clicking here. You can also call 321-452-9696, and reference code 3023.

My position in Overland Missions will be operations/fundraising. I'll be working with Philip in expanding the vision of Overland so that we're able to reach, disciple, and empower more people, more efficiently, in shorter time frames. A big part of this is through expanding sector management in size, budget and resources. Click here to learn more about sector management. Also, I'll be leading some short-term mission teams.

My work in the office is limited because of raising support. However, I've been working with Philip on some projects. We're in the early stages of implementing new GPS tracking technology giving us the ability to monitor the movement of missionaries. With a device the size of a cell phone, we can track the movements of our missionaries in real-time. Their tracking information (heading, route, time active, time stopped, speed, etc.) will then be sent to our server where we'll have real-time tracking on a Google Earth overlay. This will allow us to track the progress of reaching the unreached and allow partners to see results in real-time. Besides that, I've been working on some reports to be sent out to one of our main ministry partners for the LIFE Project.

Thank you for checking in! Don't be hesitant to keep in touch.


Andrew Roth - Operations/Fundraising
Overland Missions
700 S Courtenay Pkwy
Merritt Island, FL 32952

Cell: +1-262-308-5691
Work: +1-321-452-9696
Yahoo: +1-321-422-3692
Yahoo: OMAndrew1
Skype ID: teotem.andrew.roth

1400 miles and one large tropical storm

8/18 - 8/25

Thank you everyone who attended our open house and that we had a chance to talk you. You are a blessing and an encouragement to both of us. Thank you!

Well, Amethyst and I hit our departure time right on the money. We left at 5:30AM; my Explorer was loaded to the brim in Beverly Hillbillies fashion. (Well it wasn't that bad but...)

Amethyst and I drove all day long and stopped to spend the night in Oak Ridge, TN at my cousin's house. It was a great time to see them as they always visit my house but nobody ever visits them. We had a great time sharing about this past summer and about our future endeavors.

The next morning we left at 5:30AM for another day of driving. We planned on stopping just south of Macon, GA at a friend's place but we were watching the weather pattern and it looked like Tropical Storm Fay would hit Cape Canaveral within the day. Unfortunately we were unable to stop and see our friend who coincidentally was on the same mission trip that Amethyst and I met on.

We arrived in Cape Canaveral just as Fay was arriving. I've never been in a rain storm that bad. It was like a nonstop pressure washer. Visibility was at 30 feet. I've experienced some pretty bad snow storms and it was the equivalent to a white out blizzard.

Fay decided to stick around for the next couple of days. We arrived late on Tuesday but I didn't get a chance to unpack until Friday when the skies let up. Amethyst and I will always remember the day I moved to Florida!

I'm finally settled in but still unpacking a few odds and ends. It was too expensive to rent a U-Haul so unfortunately I'm living on a large blow up mattress until I can buy a bed.

Today was my first day of work... Right now I'm doing full-time support-raising and tomorrow I'm meeting with Phil to discuss my position and job with-in Overland. Wednesday is my new staff overview. Everything is coming together. Thank you everyone for your support! Amethyst and I appreciate it.

My return to the US

8/5 - 8/17

I left from Zambia on Tuesday, August 5 for the United States. I had 65kg worth of baggage as I was bringing back a million different things and luckily I wasn't charged for excess baggage. That was a miracle considering 65kg is 143 pounds! My entire luggage arrived without any problems.

I bought a ticket for Amethyst to meet me in Detroit as my flight path took me from Livingstone, Zambia to Johannesburg, South Africa to Amsterdam, Netherlands to Detroit, MI and then finally to Chicago, IL. It was over 30 hours of traveling including layovers before I finally got to see Amethyst for the first time in a three months.

I got over jetlag rather quickly. My time back to home was short live though as I would be soon leaving for my new home in Florida. But I did have enough time to spend with friends of old in Stevens Point and Lake Geneva. Amethyst and I went to my old employer's company picnic on Saturday. AIG Travel Guard is America's leading travel insurance provider. It also the same company that I received my full college scholarship through. Many were surprised to have seen Amethyst and me. We had an enjoyable time catching up with many familiar faces.

Sunday, was a time to see many people from the church that I attended while in college. Many are supporters of ours. In the evening, we had an open house highlighting my trip to Africa and casting vision for the future.

Monday, we met with a good friend of mine who escaped from the Democratic Republic of Congo during the time of war during the 1990's.

Later in the week we had an opportunity to meet with pastors from my home church to discuss about full-time support and for Amethyst and I to cast vision for the next 5-7 years. At Saturday service we were sent out from Calvary Church and we had an opportunity to set up a booth for after service. On Sunday we had another open house to recap this past summer and to cast vision for the future.

Then it was packing, packing, packing. Amethyst and I planned on leaving at early on Monday.

Coming to America...

7/20 – 8/1

These last days of AMT flew by. I’m excited to be done and I will be returning to the US very soon. Amethyst and I will be in Wisconsin from August 6-17. This is one of the last times we’ll be around for a while. We would love to meet up with you before we leave. We’re hosting an open house at two residences:

Robert & Pam Terrell
3311 Arbor Vitae
Plover, WI 54467
On Sunday, August 10, 2008 from 4 to 6 PM

and

Michael & Mary Deutsch
W 5602 Bonner Lane
Walworth, WI 53184
On Sunday, August 17, 2008 from 4 to 7 PM

If you would like to come, please RSVP to Amethyst Rodriguez at 321-609-1984 or amethyst@overlandmissions.com with which location you’ll be at. This is so that we can plan how much food to prepare. If you’re not able to make either of these times, we would still love to meet up with you, just get in touch with Amethyst.

Last week we had a guest speaker, Amber Whitman. She is an Overland Missions Alum who now teaches at a bible college in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Amber spoke on the hardships of ministry and told us her struggles and joys in being a missionary. We finished up our fundraising course and also worked on our sector research papers and presented. Our sector research papers were well done and very informative.

Last Friday, we left for the bush. We went only 65 miles outside Livingstone but it took 7 hours to travel the rough and dusty road. Our team went to an area called Musukatwani. This area has many remote places and syncretism is prevalent. In many areas they have never had a missionary come there. As a side note, this area was where I did ministry back in 2006 and happened to meet Amethyst on that trip. We were out in the bush until Tuesday.

This trip was an awesome time of ministry. We saw many signs, wonders and miracles. We were able to go hut to hut and village to village and spend lots of time getting to know them and to learn about the problems in the area. Then we shared the Word of God and prayed over the sick. Many were healed of their sickness.

On Sunday, we ministered in the different churches in the area. There was lots of singing and dancing. We preached the Word and made several relationships. It was encouraging to see the same people we prayed for the day before at church. That night we had a large gathering and ate nshema and relish with the villagers. They loved that we went out of our way to have a feast for them.

Monday morning we went to the villages that we had not yet visited. We continued to preach and pray. Then on Monday afternoon we had a soccer match that was played to a 2-2 draw where we scored with minutes left in the game. Following the soccer match we had a large outreach where we shared the Word, encouraged the believers and prayed for the sick. We saw many be healed.

The healings that took place were amazing to see. Some had limps others weren’t able to lift their hands or do daily tasks, we could see it plainly. We had the opportunity to share the Word and to tell them of the power of God to perform healings. In one instance a man at the large outreach had a major limp in his walk. He was there with his wife and she testified that he wasn’t able to walk very well for a long time. We prayed over him and he was able to run around the field. He was smiling and so happy! In another instance a man was unable to touch his toes because of a bad back. We asked him to try to touch his toes and he was unable to go even halfway. We prayed over him and he was able to touch his toes without any pain. In yet another instance a woman was unable to lift her arm because of severe pain. Full range of motion returned. She was so excited. You can see pictures from ministry by clicking here.

Tuesday we left Musukatwani and returned back to Livingstone. We went out to eat at Rhapsody’s, a popular restaurant in town. One of our team members blessed us and bought for everyone. What a blessing!

Wednesday morning the staff prepared breakfast for AMT. Then we went on a game drive in town. We saw some gazelle, warthogs, zebras, giraffes, waterbucks and a herd of elephants. The elephants got a bit testy with us but all was well. You can see the pictures here.

Yesterday was AMT graduation. We had a graduation ceremony and feast at the base. We had a slideshow recap and ate an amazing meal. Afterwards, we had a time of reflection. We sat around a campfire and went around and said what we liked best about everyone. It went way into the evening but it was a great time of fellowship. It’s exciting to be done. Here are some pictures and HERE is the slide show.

Now it’s time to relax and pack. I leave for the States on August 5 and arrive home on August 6. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Less than three weeks…

7/5 – 7/19

Greetings again from Zambia. AMT is soon coming to a screeching halt, there is less than three weeks remaining. I leave Zambia on August 5. I’ll be back in the US before you know it. When I return, I will be having an open house telling the tales of the summer and what's in store for the future. There will be one in Stevens Point and one in the Lake Geneva area so check your inbox soon for more details.

Thank you for voting for the North Face Photo Challenge. We achieved in three days what people had nearly three months to do. We finished 160 and 162 for both pictures so both made the top 250. The North Face editors will review the photos and then I find out in August who won. I think we have a pretty good shot at winning. Thank you again!

There are new photos up. Check it out on the right side of this page or by clicking here.

We’ve been really busy lately! Last week we had more leadership training, finished GPS, had 4x4 recovery and driving and Bible theology. This week we finished 4x4 recovery and driving. I had the opportunity to teach some of the classes for 4x4 (winching, jacking and driving strategy). Also this week we had fundraising, Come Back Alive, World’s Most Dangerous Places and more Bible theology.

Come Back Alive is a book talking about survival in the most unpleasant and uncompromising situations and what to do to Come Back Alive such as kidnapping, wilderness survival and driving. World’s Most Dangerous Places is a book explaining all the nasty unpleasantries in the world such as landmines, bribes, getting arrested, kidnappings and terrorism.

We’ve also been working on our final project which is researching and implementing a Sector Management plan in Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Each group is assigned to one of the countries and they are responsible for researching and developing a ministry plan including expeditions, LIFE Project, SAM Project, Rural Pastors Network and Mandate 3.

• Expeditions are all of the short-term expeditions who come alongside what the sector manager is doing.
• LIFE Project stands for living in family environments. The goal is to provide rural villagers with a family support structure, particularly those affected by famine, disease, unclean water and HIV/AIDS.
• SAM Project is sustainable agriculture and micro-economy. The goal is to provide villages with a viable food source for themselves but also they can sell their crops in local markets to make a living.
• Rural Pastors Network is a resource to equip and empower rural pastors through discipleship and training.
• Mandate 3 seeks to train rural villagers with basic medical training and prevention so that they can improve the quality of life recognizing that you must heal mind, body and spirit and they all three are connected together.

These projects will be used by Overland Missions to further the Gospel through implementing sector management to systematically reach nations around the world.

We’re finishing up with AMT really quick. In a week we’re going out to the bush for ministry and then AMT is over. I’m excited to be done but it has been a great time meeting so many like minded individuals. It’s been really busy lately as we’re cramming everything into the last few weeks here.

Thank you for reading and I look forward to talking personally with everyone soon!

Please vote! North Face Photo Challenge...

6/25 - 7/4 - Hello and happy 4th of July everyone! I entered into a North Face photo contest. Please vote for my pictures! There is a competition for the most popular and most viral, meaning the most amount of spread over the internet. Follow these links here and here. Please vote for both of them. Have your friends and family vote as well! If I should win, it will be published in Outside Magazine.

Since the last time I wrote, we started our welding course, leadership training, and GPS navigation.

We've had a great time welding, although it is only stick welding, that is often the reality of third world nations... MAG, MIG, and TIG are out of the question. We're welding together a fire cage for the patio at the main center.

For leadership training we're going through the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell. I've enjoyed the course and is very practical.

Also, we had GPS navigation. We went for some crazy globetrotting! We were given points and then had to go track them down on a route.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and support. I appreciate it very much.

Wilderness First Responder is in full swing

6/20 – 6/25

Friday-Wednesday – We started our SOLO Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course. Dr. Frank Hubbell the founder of SOLO came out with Paul Richardson and Overland Missions alumni Rowan. The basis of the WFR course is to equip those going into the backcountry and remote areas with the necessary medical skills to assess, diagnose and treat injuries where a proper medical team would take hours if not days to reach. WFR approaches the course not with a recipe for what to do but teaches one how to diagnose a problem and use common sense to treat the injury. This course teaches physiology of an injury so you can diagnose and treat an injury where an hour might be the difference between life and death when the nearest adequate facility may be a day away.

I took the course three years ago as part of my Adventure Education minor but it is time for the refresher. What a great opportunity to take the course with Dr. Frank, the founder of SOLO. He is a very knowledgeable and intelligent man, with a passion for medicine and training others with his knowledge.

We have class for 8-10 hours a day. The course is for ten days. We’re half way through. We have classroom time where we learn about the physiology of an injury and then we go out and practice what we’ve learned in mock scenarios. We practice as if we were a real life rescue time set out to rescue a person.

So far we’ve learned how to diagnose and treat: head, neck and back injuries; sprains; broken bones; heart conditions; brain conditions; seizures; strokes; diabetes; and wounds. We’ve learned how to monitor a patient over time which is very necessary. Also we’ve learned how to do the correct paperwork associated with documenting an injury.

This is a very enjoyable course and a great refresher. More details to come!

Village Ministry!

6/12 – 6/19

Thursday – We finished the final part of mechanics. In the afternoon we prepared for our ministry trip to the bush, Friday through Sunday. We had to prepare the truck to fit more seats. What a mission! We had to re-drill holes, remove and rearrange the seats, then we had to bolt down the new seats. It took all afternoon and all night.

Friday-Sunday – We went to the Katapazi area of Zambia, about 40 km outside of Livingstone. The road deteriorated to gravel to worse but all things considered, not the most remote places Overland Missions goes. We were in the bush from Friday to Sunday.

- Friday we travelled half the day and then set up camp. We had lunch and then a soccer game. Soccer games are a great ministry tool and a great way to build friendships. We won 2-1. I played in goal and made a couple of good saves.

Friday evening we had a large meeting after the soccer game. There were a couple hundred people there. We had some song and dance and a couple of people gave a message. Then we had an alter call for salvation and time for prayer for those in need. We saw several people pray for salvation and many came forward to be prayed for. We saw some miracles. A man was healed of terrible foot pains and another woman had pain in her jaw that prevented her from speaking and she was able to speak better.

- Saturday we went hut to hut, village to village sharing the word, encouraging believers and praying for those in need. My group was able to minister to five homesteads. Everyone we came across was a believer so we gave a word of encouragement. We answered several questions that they had. At all of the places we prayed a blessing.

In the evening we had another soccer match against a different team. This time we lost 2-1. I played the field for the first half and had several scoring chances. Then second half I played in goal. We may have been able to win 1-0 but no worries. I made several good saves. The Africans were very impressed and the head master even asked if I could be their keeper, he offered to pay me.

After our soccer match we had another large group meeting. There weren’t as many people but it was a great time. We had a time of praise and worship, dancing, a word, a powerful drama and we ended with prayer. There were a few salvations and a few received prayer. Then after the meeting, there was a pastor and elders meeting that some stayed for. It was a time of question and answer on tough theological issues

- Sunday we went to several churches in small ministry groups. My service was particularly interesting. They weren’t very welcoming. They had their whole service and then ended it before we were allowed to speak. The message was on being strong in the Lord and wearing the full armor. I gave a word of encouragement about the full armor of God. I went into detail explaining the spiritual significance of each piece of armor.

Then when we all got done with our services, we drove back to our base.

Monday – We had our mechanics practical skills test with general maintenance including pre-trip checklists, inspecting brakes, removing air locks and other general maintenance. Then in the afternoon we had ministry ethics. We read a couple articles about effective cross-cultural missions.

Tuesday-Wednesday – This marked the half way point of AMT. So we had free time. Some of us went on an overnight whitewater rafting trip down the Zambezi. We ran some class five rapids and several class fours. We went from rapid 14 down to rapid 25. All of us were really worked from all of the paddling. On rapid 16a, we went overboard so I was a long swimmer through rapid 16b, another class five rapid. Another time the whole crew went overboard and I was the only one who remained in the raft. It was a great trip!

Wednesday night all of us went into town as a group for pizza. Then we went to the Victoria Falls in the moonlight. We saw a lunar rainbow. Stunning is an understatement! Check out my pictures!

Today (Thursday) – Today we cleared brush and trees for our new road to the property. Also, this will allow us to have electricity instead of relying on our generator for power.

Thank you everyone for your support! I appreciate all of your prayer and support. It’s such a blessing.

It's been a while...

6/7 - 6/11

Saturday - It's always a blessing to have some of America in Zambia. Well the Pro Beach Volleyball Tour was all that anyone could've hoped for and more! We had some amazing bump, set, spike action. We topped it off with Coke and sweets.

We also worked on Maverick... the center bolt was still messed up and we needed to get the truck ready for Botswana... Diesel is like roughly twice as cheap so driving to Botswana is well worth it to buy fuel.

Sunday - We had church at the base, Ciaran gave the word. Then we played soccer against Nsongwe Village. We lost 1-0. It was unfortunate. There was nothing I could do to stop it. There was a breakdown 10 yards out where it was a 2-0 with only me to beat.

Monday - Wednesday - In the morning we had diesel mechanics and in the afternoons we had cultural studies. Cultural studies is very interesting. We are learning about the many different cultures of the world and specifically Africa Tribal Religions. Then in the evenings we worked on Maverick and got caught up with our loads of homework.

Last night was Ciaran's birthday party. It was a guys night out. We went to a restaurant with small portions and then decided we would stop at another restaurant to top off our stomachs. During our second stop we realized that there were only girls on base... that means terror for Ciaran's tent. We returned to base just before midnight and it's an Overland tradition to soak the person whose birthday it is. Ciaran had his camera and phone on him. I asked to see his photos and then Charlie took a big pitcher of water and dumped it on him. It was very hilarious. A good night all around.

Today we found out that Ciaran went to bed (wet, no less) to see some pranks in his tent... a bed full of beans, tp everywhere, and a few other things...

Mechanics!

6/2 - 6/6

This past week we finished ministry ethics and started cultural studies. This is an overview of worldviews and how to do ministry in these places. Also, we started our diesel mechanics course. We learned about the inner workings of diesel vehicles. A bit of review but there was plenty outside of class opportunities to get our hands greasy.

Outside of our regular class time we worked on one of the Land Rovers. We spent over two hours trying to bleed the fuel line of air. It ended up that a wire got disconnected from the fuel pump of which is belt driven but also has wires going to it. Figure that one out... Also, one of our big Mercedes-Benz 1017 trucks has a rear u-bolt issue. That is a huge fiasco... we have to jack up the rear end (four tons) and then replace the u-bolts... sounds like it should be easy...well it isn't!

Well tomorrow the AMT group is cooking for the entire base in the evening. But, during the day is round two of the PBT Zambia Tour Stop 2! It will be fast paced volleyball action!

Sunday will be my first international cap of the year. I'll be starting in goal for the Musungus! Hopefully we'll pull out a win against the Nsongwe Village Crocodiles. I'll keep you informed. More to come... Also, I added some more pictures.

Are you a professional?

5/29 - 6/1

Friday, we finished with bush cooking. We cooked for the whole base, that's over 40 people. The whole team went into Livingstone to buy the dinner on a shoestring budget of 200,000 kwacha. (That translates into about $60 USD.) The whole AMT group made an amazing chicken stirfry dinner with rice and we even had bread! It was delicious! Note, we cooked everything over an open fire. That was no small task.

I brought my camera with me and got so many questions about whether or not I was a professional photographer! "Andrew, are you a professional photographer..." as I brought out my Nikon D200. So many people thought I was a professional... I humbly replied, "Well I'm an alright photographer, see the pictures for yourself." I went on a photojournalism shoot around Livingstone while everyone purchased the supplies for our feast!

Pastor Vaughn gave a good word of encouragement to the AMTer's. He has been a blessing. When pastor comes in, he serves the purpose of a catalyst. He comes as a fire starter to ignite a passion in the believers.
____

Saturday was a free day. We had a great day of rest and relaxation. What do you get when you combine three flat beds worth of sand, two poles and a net? Beach volleyball in the bush! We had the first ever Overland Missions PBV Tour. See my pictures to see some of the action!
____

Sunday we went to Temple of Power in Livingstone. Worship in Africa is more vibrant and a wonderful experience. Everyone must visit a church in Africa where the Holy Spirit is moving. The frevernecy of worship is hard to find anywhere else in the world. Pastor Vaughn was the guest speaker. What a wonderful message he gave about how the Church in Livingstone needs to reach out to the poor and in doing so will be blessed!
After church, everyone went out to eat and went shopping for necessities.

After returning to base it was homework, homework, homework. I finally got caught up from being late. I edited some photos and hit the sack!

AMT (cont'd)

5/28 & 5/29 - Pastor Vaughn Jarold arrived and spoke in the morning. He spoke on what it takes to be a missionary and submission to authority. He spoke on faith and what it means to live on God's provision and His alone.

In the afternoon, we had third world diseases and bush cooking. There are some pretty crazy diseases out there that I would be alright not having... malaria, yellow fever, tape worms, trypanosomiasis and some pretty crazy other things...

Our bush cooking team has made some pretty good foods. We made a nice stew yesterday and chicken and mushroom sauce t0day. They tasted amazing... all cooked over an open fire with utensils one would only have on an expedition.

I'm still playing catch up with homework... I have to read six chapters of a book and answer questions, complete six reading packets with questions and keep up with other base duties.

Thanks for all of your prayers. Please don't hesitate to call me. See my first post for it. Bless you!

AMT Classes

5/27 - I jumped full in to AMT classes! I have a lot of catch up to do as I arrived two weeks late. Pray that I can get everything in on time.

5/28 - Today everyone preached. We all preached on a different subject. It was a blessing to hear so many different talks! It was refreshing to hear such an overload of insights from the Word. Also, we learned about third world diseases and bush cooking. My group cooked up an amazing chicken and beef stir-fry over noodles. It was some gourmet cooking out in the bush over a fire.

Arrived at Rapid 14, Zambia

5/22 to 5/23 - Left the US on an 8 hour flight to Amsterdam, Nth. then after an hour layover, I took a 10 hour flight to Johannesburg, SA. My bags unfortunately had to spend the night at the Jo'burg airport... because they made me check my bags all the way through to Zambia!

I made it to Zambia with all my bags in check without any problems! Nothing got stolen! Thank God for zip ties!

5/24 - Got acclimated to the base in Zambia. Went into town, changed money, bought a SIM card, a few other things...

My number in Zambia is +26 097-625-9243

5/25 - We went to church at New Life Bible Church for All Nations in Zambia. It was very lively and enjoyable. The message was from Hebrews 11 about having faith. Nothing like a two hour service!