We have a date...

Dear Loved Ones,

This is rather xciting news....January 23rd, we leave for Kenya, Africa. We will be in Africa until Feb 21st. Some of the details are still being worked out and as I wrote in my last update, we still are lacking funds to allow for everyone to go. We now have a date, and we have until January 4th to pay for the tickets. We are still short around $6,500.00 - 7,000. Everyone on the team has been making this need known to supporters back home and we are hoping and praying that God will provide for us in this time of need. Please pray about this rather urgent opportunity, and if you feel lead to donate, you can do so by following the instructions on the donate page. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to trust in God as our provider. Blessings and peace.

-=Andrew=-

Costa Rica Outreach

Dear Loved Ones,

We will continue with our Costa Rica portion of outreach this Saturday in a place called Limon. This is a rough neighborhood in southern Costa Rica near the Panama border. We will be staying t a church there and working with the pastor in various ministries. We are not sure exactly how long we will be there for. part of that is dependant on tickets for Africa. Right now we are preparing for that time and also planning head for the Africa portion of outreach. Unfortunately there is not enough money to pay for all of the students and staff during the Africa portion but we are praying for Gods provision in that area. If you would like to donate for that cause you can do so by following the instructions on the Donate page. I also want to remind those who have already donated that there was a change in the donation process, and if you donated before that change occurred, your donation did not go through. The current process is explained on the donation page. Once again, thank you for all of your prayers, love, and support. You have made it possible for me to be in the mission field and serving God where He has called me. Blessings.

-=Drew=-

Christmas In Costa Rica

Dear Loved Ones,

I am back from our time in Bocas Del Toro, and it was a great time of preparation and ministry. We worked with the new YWAM base on Isla Bastimentos and were actually their first team to come through. In a way we were the guinea pigs. The base has a great location and is surrounded by many different areas with needs to match. We connected with some other missionaries while we were there, it is crazy to see how God is starting to move in that place. Things are honestly just beginning there. Much of our time was spent creating and learning different programs for minstry presentations, drama, dance, etc. We also had a time of growing as a team and praying about Africa. We worked with the Ngobe Tribe and were able to have a childrens ministry where we shared the gospel with the kids through songs, dancing, dramas, and sharing. we also just had a ton of fun with them. It is a foreign thing to have adults invest this kind of time and attention to the Ngobe kids and it was just one way we were able to share Gods love with them. We also were able to give a church service for the Ngobe people and Sunday school for their children. This whole area is very intriguing as it brings in many backpackers, soul-searchers,surfers, and rastafaris. I am praying about the possibility of future ministry there. There is a lot of work that could be done in a place like that, much pioneering. Right now I know my ministry and commitment is to the DTS students and completing this outreach. God will direct me from there. Being out here like this and away from the typical "Christmas" has allowed me to have a new focus on why we celebrate. This is the celebration of our King entering the world and preparing to give us the gift of salvation. This is the celebration of the beginning of a revolution that brought us from darkness to the light of God. This is why we celebrate. So... Merry Christmas. May this be a time to celebrate the birth of our Lord. Blessings to all of you, and thank you for your love and support.

-=Andrew=-

Time to go....

Dear Loved Ones,

First things first, I talked to my parents today and they told me that there have been some problems with the donations going through YWAM, Tyler TX. It seems they can't accept checks for me even if my name is only on a note that has been sent along with it. To make a long explanation short... tax purposes. I talked to my base director tonight and we figured out a solution to that, you can see it on the recently updated "Donate" page. Sorry about that mix up, but this should solve the problem.

Now onto outreach....

We will be leaving by bus for Isla Bastimentos at 4:15 am, Wednesday, Dec 13th. That is five hours from now. We have a complete team of 13, various ages, backgrounds, and nationalities.. but all working together and serving God. The bus trip will last about five hours. We will then take a boat down a canal that was once used for the shipment of bananas. Eventually we will reach the port town that will allow us to take another boat to the island Isla Bastimentos. The details of this trip will be made more clear as we make official contact with the base. This will be a good time for our team to unify, as their have been some difficult issues the students have had to work through. I think this time might even be needed in order to bring our group together for the rest of the outreach. Please be praying for unity, healing, and growth in our team. I will update the site once I return from Isla Bastimentos, this should be in about ten days. Thank you for all of your love and support, please intercede for us as this mission begins. Blessings and peace.

-=Andrew=-

Safe in Costa Rica...

Dear Loved Ones,

I arrived safely in Costa Rica last night, Sunday Dec. 10th at around 11:30 pm. I was warmly welcomed by one of my co-leaders, Ryan Bedenkop, and spent the night at his families home right across from the YWAM base. We spent a good amount of time celebrating all of the amazing things that have happened to allow for me to be here with them now. Honestly, I still don't think I realize this is actually happening. I was also filled in on some more information about the outreach, or at least what we know at this point.

There will be 8 students traveling with Ryan, his wife Sarah Dawn, their two kids... Joshua (4), Caleb (2), and myself. We will be traveling down to Panama this wednesday. There is a new YWAM base on an island in the Bocas Del Toro province. The name of this island is Isla Bastimentos, and it is home to the Ngobe people and a Rastafari community. The base there is brand new, and we will be the first group to work with them. It will be an adventure for sure. I will update this blog again as soon as I return which should be on Dec 23rd. I also found out that the outreach will be for 3 months, not 2 months as I had thought before. I know this is where I am supposed to be, and I certainly have peace about being here. God has been so faithful already, it will be exciting to see what happens from here. I will update this again once I get back from Isla Bastimentos. Thank you all for your support during this time. I am here for a purpose, and am excited to see what God will do during my time here. Blessings

-=Andrew=-

Almost Time...

Once again, God has been so graceful in the way He has allowed for so much to come together in such a small amount of time. Honestly, it has been numbing to just sit in the middle of all that He has orchestrated to allow for me to head into the mission field again. The airfare costs have already been provided for through various donations! This is a miracle in itself. There was such short notice of this happening and God has already proven himself faithful in the preparations. I have referenced in earlier entries some of the many other things that have conveniently fallen into place as well. It makes me curious about what else He has in store during these next five months. I am excited to see what he is going to do with me and how I am going to be able to serve Him in these different locations. It seems that He has a purpose for me to be going out again, and this makes my blood flow. It is in serving God that I feel alive, and in following the calling He has placed in my life I feel as though I am truly living. I have been given a heart for the nations. God will remain faithful as I remain in Him. So as days speed by, and final preparations are made, although what is happening seems crazy to many I am at peace serving The Lord. He is good, always, no exceptions. Thank you to all who read this and offer your love and support. You are a part of this mission. Pray for me as you feel lead and know that your prayers make a difference. Blessings.

-=Andrew=-

6 days.....

Much has happened since this decision was made. These are the latest updates.... I now have the plane ticket and will be leaving at 1:15 pm this Sunday, Dec. 10th. Donations are coming in for the Africa portion of the trip which should begin in early to mid-January. It sounds like we will be working in both Kenya and Uganda during that time. I am waiting on the "go ahead" to start planning out the Kenya portion of this outreach but as soon as I get it there will be some more details on this site. It sounds like I will be helping out rather intensely with creating and teaching some dramas to be used by the students during this outreach. Drama ministry, as it turns out, is a great way to reach people in Central America. So I will be planning ahead for that. This week I will be doing my final preparations and saying my goodbyes. Last week just flew by and I am sure that this one will be even faster. Once again, thank you for all of your prayer and support. It has been amazing to see God at work in all of this.

-=Andrew=-

Update...

Dear Loved Ones,

I just wanted to write you a little update about the progress that has been made over the past week.... We have found someone to take my spot in my current apartment. This was a huge blessing and reduces the overall expenses I will need to cover during the trip. All of my classes will end right before I leave, allowing me to finish this semester without penalty. I was able to find a way to have donations be tax deductible, see donations page for more details on that. All of my shots are up to date, so you don't need to worry about me getting typhoid. I have most of the gear that I will need during my time away. I did a trial packing the other day and things are looking good. I will be dedicated and "sent out" this Sunday Dec 3rd during "The Heights" service at 10:45 at North Heights Church in Arden Hills. The only thing left now is receiving funds to help make all of this possible. God has already been orchestrating all of this to work, and many things have lined up to allow for this to happen, all in a very short amount of time and with little to no effort on my part. I am just stepping out in faith and it is almost as if the Lord is laying the ground out before me. It has been amazing to see Him bring all these things together as only He can. He is faithful. Please continue to pray for me as the days quickly pass by and I will soon find myself under the stars of the Costa Rican sky. Thank you for all of your love and support.

-=Andrew=-

Here we go again....

Dear Loved Ones,

It has been too long, but I am about to head out into the mission field again. This time I will be helping to lead an outreach with YWAM (Youth With A Mission). I will leave for the base in Costa Rica on December 10th. I will then join the YWAM staff and leave for outreach on the 12th. Our first stop will be Panama, where we will stay for about two weeks. We will return to Costa Rica for Christmas and spend some time in prayer about our next phase of outreach. We will either remain in Central America or possibly go to East Africa. I will keep you updated as I know more. This is all new information for me and I will have 2 weeks to raise the $3000 needed for travel expenses. As crazy and as sudden as all of this is, I have a peace about all of it that cannot be ignored. God will provide for what He needs done. Thank you for all of your prayer and support as I continue in this ongoing mission.

-=Drew=-

The happenings of a former DTS student...

I am now a graduate from the YWAM discipleship training school. This has been a ver amazing time in my life, and I have been able to see God at work in new ways. I have a change in plans from my last update. I will not be flying to Bocas Del Torro between here and Mexico. A number of things have happened that seem to be guiding this time in a different direction. So, I will be staying around the Ywam Panama base until the 10th, when I will make my way to Mexico and meet up with Kalley and the others helping in Juarez. Once again, thank you for all of your prayers and support. This has been an amazing time where God has really used our group to reach many people. peace.

-=Andrew=-

Last update??? We'll see...

My time in Panama is coming to an end… once again, Thank You to all of you who have had me in your prayers and supported me in so many different ways during my time here. We are back in Panama City, and we are still going strong. I am sorry again for the lapse in time since my last update, it is not always easy to have the time or computer access, but somehow I managed to get both again. I have been given many different opportunities to evangelize and minister during this outreach. Our group kind of stumbled across a gift that God has given me, and that is to preach. I was given my first chance to preach a sermon at a church in Honduras, Easter Sunday, and just last week I was even given the honor of preaching at the youth service (college age) at Hosanna Church, which I found out is the biggest church in the country. I have also had the blessing to participate in different types of street ministry, God has such a wonderful variety in the ways that He is at work. I have talked to people of all different types with a huge range of backgrounds, from Panamanian Rastafarians to Honduran street children to short-term Wisconsinites. I have learned many things during my time here, and I know God has much more in store. After my graduation from the DTS program, June 2nd, I plan on flying to an area in Panama called Bocas Del Torro. This is an area near Costa Rica that has a very diverse culture and a lot of hippies and Rastafarians with a huge Caribbean influence, and I plan on spending my time between DTS and Mexico doing ministry there. It will be very interesting to see what comes from that time, and I am very excited to see the way God will work. From there I will be flying to El Paso, Texas to help out North Heights Church with a short-term mission project in Juarez, Mexico. We will be preparing for a group of students coming there the week after we leave. It will be so nice to see everyone again. I will finally be back at my Minnesota Homeland on the 17th of June. God still has a lot of work for me here, and I have plenty of stories to share when I get back. Thank you all so much for the time, money, prayers, everything you have put into this time of ministry. God has been faithful and done a great work in my life since being here. May God bless you and keep you.

-=Andrew=-

half'way through outreach

Hello to everyone. I am sorry I have been unable to update in such a long time. We have been extremely busy, and communication has been very difficult to maintain with people back home. I found some time to get on a computer, so here I go....

The outreach has been quite amazing so far. We began, as planned, heading to Costa Rica to do differnt types of ministry there. We did many different types of ministry, worked with different churches, worked with children in poor communities, and worked with college age people around San Jose. We presented many dramas and had a lot to ftime to share with people afterwards. The people were very acceptive of the message that we were sharing and many people gave their lives to Christ while we were there. One of my most memorable times was when our group split up and went into different bars near a university campus and talked to people there. God was able to break down some barriers with that act of obedience. Places like that are untouched by the majority of Latin American churches. we were able to bring some much needed light into those dark areas. Our time in Costa Rica was very successful, and it prepared us for some amazing things that yçtook place in our next destination.

We made our way to Honduras, where we had about a week and a half to work with several different ministries that pastor Johnny had scheduled. Johnny is an amazing individual and was a great example to all of us of what it means to serve the Lord and act on faith. Our group was split up and divided among different houses to live with the families during our time in Honduras. Myself and two other guys lived with a sweet lady named Irene, she is a wonderful servant of the Lord and became our sweet little grandma during our time under her roof. During our time in Hoduras we were all stretched in different ways. I was given the honor of preaching the sermon to Johnnys church Easter Sunday, I had one day to prepare it. I felt very much at home when i was sharing the message in front of everyone, i spoke on the importance of the ressurection, and two commands that Christ gave us. To love God, and to love others. It went very well, and i was invited back to preach again at some point, actually Pastor Johnny made me promise I would.
Some other opportunities that we had included working with street kids, and with people who lived in the city dump. Seeing first hand the situations that these people were in was cutting. There is so much need in these areas, and Johnny is doing amazing things for the people, and has such a great vision for how their lives can be transformed, but he needs the resources to make his dreams reality. He has already started a school for the 150 some children that live in the dump, and he has a program to get the kids off the street. These things are just the beginning. I have stories to tell of my time in Honduras, and from thoses experiences i know for certain that i cannot just do short-term missions. God has called us to share the gospel, but also to have relationships, and to disciple, and I will follow through with his calling. During that time of awakening, i gained a responsibility to react to what i have seen. When my stories finally make it home, those who hear it will have that same responsibility, and i am willing to talk.

Our plans changed from our original intent to do ministry in Nicaragua. Due to a lack of communication with the people there, we made our way back to Cosat Rica and will be here uintil May 1st.. i think. From here we will be traveling to different major cities in Panama. it is hard to believe that we are nearly half-way done. Both because so much has happened that it seems longer, and because the time has gone by so fast. Thank you all so much for your support and prayers. I will try to update this again while i am in Panama. Don´t worry about me though, i am being taken care of. God bless you.

-Andrew

In San Juan

 

Anuncio

Many things have happened since my last update, which is why it has been so long since I last wrote something here... We just completed a program called NIKO, which is separate from JuCUM but many DTS programs have as part of the lecture phase. Unfortunately, due to the nature of this program, I am not allowed to share specific details about what happened. It is a program designed to challenge you physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I did learn a lot about Gods character from my time in that program. Before that we went to an Embera village for a short outreach. The Embera are one of the indigenous tribes that live in Panama. We had to take a two hour boat ride to get to the secluded location. While we were there we focused a great deal on children ministries. One of the most amazing things that happened during our stay there was the chief deciding to give his heart over to the Lord. This was a great experience, and God really did a lot through our obedience to him there. Almost all of our original plans for the outreach there ended up changing. It seems God had something better in mind.
Now the moment many of you have been waiting for... We have our final outreach outlined and it is very exciting. Our focus is on major cities, and impacting the Latin American church. We will be very heavily focused on evangelism, as opposed to building projects, or medical help, etc. And we have a lot of traveling we plan on doing. This is something that we are all very excited about. This, as of now, is our itinerary...
On April 8th, we will fly from Panama to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. We will stay there until the 19th, at which poin twe will bus down to Managua, Nicaragua, working there until the 26th. We will then travel down to a surf town called Libreria in Costa Rica and stay there ministering until the 30th. I am very excited about Cosat Rica. The rest of our outreach will be done in major cities in Panama. starting with Volcan, where JuCUM is trying to start another Panama base, we will go to; David, Santiago, Chitre/Las Tablas, Colon, Panama city, and anywhere else we feel God leading us. this is very exciting for all of us. Thank you for all of your prayeres and support. I am blessed that you have decided to be a part of this mission with me.

-=Andrew=-

dive into the river

Life so far...

Hello to all,

Things have been going very well here in Panama. I have had some very wise teachers adn a variety of really great classes. We have been doing some outreach at a town nearby called San Vincente and so far we are still uncertain about where we will be doing outreach, it seems the sky is the limit but I will let you all know as soon as I can. Please be praying against the spiritual warefare at the base here, there is some intense stuff going on, but God is very good and his truth and love are stronger than the power of the enemy. Thank you for all of your prayers and support, and blessings to you...

-=Andrew=-

Update!

Hello to all my loved ones. God is very good. I am learning so much from the classes we have had. This past week we were taught about the "Father Heart of God". This was a lesson based around Gods character as our Heavenly Father and the loving desire he has for all of his children. we have a new lesson starting this week "The Love and Fear of God". This should be very interesting. Thank you again for all of your support. You can rest assured that i am being safe... enough. Really though, thank you for everything and God bless you!

-=Drew=

Peace from Panama...

Peace... Peace has been the most intense feeling I have yet to receive during my time here. Above any fear, Peace. Above any anxiety, Peace. Above any confusion, Peace. Above any understanding, Peace. My time in Panama has been an amazing answer to prayer and seeking Gods direction in my life. I am confident that this is where I am supposed to be. I am not saying that I don't miss people back home, or that I am not amazed that now I am in Panama, but that there is a deep peace covering me, and calming my spirit. Thank you to all who helped to get me here safely and thank you for all of your support throughout the mission. I will try to update this site as more things happen here. So far we have had teachings on quiet times and scriptural study. Both have been very helpful and insightful. You can share in my peace and know that i am safe and secure in my new home. Once again thank you for all of your support and i appreciate your onoing support as my mission contnues. Gods blessing be over you.

-=Drew=-