DREW IS HOME!
DREW IS CHANGED
YET STILL THE SAME. :)


NEW POST COMING SOON
w/Pics and Musings.

Coming Home Soon!

E-MAIL March 8th, 2010

Leaving Yerevan on Wednesday at 11:00 for Georgia.
6 hour bus to T'bilisi, then a 5:ooam flight to Kyiv. pray for a safe journey!

I have enjoyed being in Armenia so much. I wish I could live here (maybe someday!) There is so much that God has done with me even in these last few days, but I think I will save the stories to tell you in person next week :)

We have said our goodbyes and tomorrow are just cleaning and having one last dinner in Armenia...

I am ready to come home. I am really excited about seeing everyone!

I will keep it short for now.
I love you guys a lot!
God wins!
-DREW

E-MAIL March 11th, 2010

I made it to Kyiv again. we have a few pretty easy days to rest this week then next week our schedule is packed. Coming home soon!


EVERYONE,
PRAY FOR DREW
ONE WEEK
HE TRAVELS BACK
TO USA

Little Things Keep Taking Me Back Home...

Hello, it is Monday again!

The weeks are going be very fast! It is crazy!

I got a package from Aunt Tracy and Uncle Scott yesterday! It is awesome! Peanut butter and Snickerdoodles and Chex mix and all sorts of good things! AMAZING! I feel loved. Tell them thanks if you see them!

I have truly seen some amazing things this outreach! It has been really cool. God just keeps showing up (as He always does.) He is teaching me about myself as well as the world and my calling! He has high hopes for me.

Our school leader Lance came in yesterday (he brought the package) So we have been hanging out with him all day today. He's a pretty cool guy. I missed him.

I miss you all like crazy! We listened to Jazz this morning (Miles Davis) and I thought about Nate. If you see him give him a hug. Little things keep taking me back home. I am getting pretty excited about it.

This last week was full and tiring. I am going to be a complete zombie when I come home. Thank God for days off!

LOVE YOU A LOT!

God Wins!

-DREW

God has really opened doors for us...

Monastery in Gyumri

E-MAIL FROM DREW 02-09-2010

Well it's Monday again. DAY OFF!!! Woo-Hoo!!!!

Last week we divided up responsibilities for all the ministries that we are a part of (which is good - now Daniel and Tetyana don't have to do everything).

After praying and talking about it, I am now in charge of the road trip we are going to take to promote DTS and pray for churches in other cities.

YWAM Armenia is a new YWAM base. This is their first DTS. It is a great opportunity, because this country is full of Christians that are proud of being Christian too. They just don't know Jesus or the Bible (which makes their whole religion pointless.) DTS is a great chance to do that.

I have been working my butt off trying to set this up. Right now we have four churches lined up to go to next weekend (well actually two said enthusiastic yes, one was not 100% sure if they could fit us into their service, and the other said He was interested but to call him back later a different day.) None of them spoke any English, so Yulia had to help me a lot.
All of these churches are in Gyumri, which is the second largest city in Armenia. It will be either a 1 or 2 day trip depending on when the services are. Gyumri is about 100 KM away (like an hour drive, unless we get lost in the mountains.) So it is possible to do it in one day. We will see.
Daniel and I were talking (actually more wishful thinking) of having a picnic in the mountains afterward. That be cool! We will see.

Later in the week we will prepare for sharing. It'll be good.

Anyway, God has been speaking very clearly about a lot of things. It has been pretty cool!

I miss you guys. I am getting ready (in my head and heart) to come back home. I am pretty excited about it - because I get to see you all and because of God's plan for the next chapter. It'll be good.

LOVE YOU A LOT!
God Wins!
-DREW

E-MAIL from DREW 02-12-2010

Pray for us this weekend.

We have been preparing all day for speaking at the churches this weekend. We are going to four different churches (splitting into teams). It is going to be pretty awesome! God has really opened doors for us. Most of the churches are really excited about us coming. Pray that we will say all we need to say in order to speak life to them. We are all very tired as well.

We have had a really long week (that went by really fast, weird.) We went to the orphanage twice (it was awesome!) The kids were so happy to see us. We did a little presentation for them. It was a blast! I think they blessed us more then we blessed them.

I am doing really well, tired, but good. God has been teaching me so much! It is crazy! Daniel and I are reading through “The Chronicles of Narnia” (well only the last three books.) Daniel also has “The Problem of Pain” on his iPod, so lots of C.S. Lewis this week. Good times.

I miss you all a lot and can't wait to see you.
I love you!
God Wins!
DREW

...my heart is really full...

RECENT NEWS & PICS
from ARMENIA
(with some DREW quotes from facebook)

All things work together for good.

I like to make God smile.

There is no lack of people that want to change the world, but there are few who realize the primary objective is to change hearts and minds of the people.

DREAM GOD'S DREAMS

Yes, my jacket is ripped and my shoes are gone, but hey I'm in the mountains!
In the metro station there is a poster with Bruce Willis's face photoshop'd onto a vodka add. We all feel incredible safety and comfort getting to see Bruce every morning and night. :)
JESUS IS LORD! and I can write about it on facebook again. HAHAHAHA... and the internet is faster. Take that Turkey!

E-MAIL (facebook) 02-04-2010
Yesterday we went down to the corner and prayed for the prostitues there. We only got to pray with one person, but God really moved.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE! We won!

This morning we worked at an orphanage for handicaped children. We played with them and fed them. They are the happiest people to be around. I can't imagine how their parents could have given them up.

So as you can imagine my heart is really full right now. It is good.

DREW

Good Times... Good Times...

02-01-10


On Tuesday we are meeting with the YWAM Armenia director about ministry. He had an idea that we could take a road trip to all different towns in Armenia and promote DTS in churches all over the country. I think that is a great idea! It would give us a chance to pray for and bless churches all around. That'd be so cool – and a road trip through the mountains of Armenia would be a blast. I hope we get to do that it would be awesome!

Prostitution is everywhere here. Not hidden at all. The girls stand on the corner near the girls apartment (usually 2 or 3, except on Friday there was like ten) until their "customers" come. Then they go into a dark street just around the corner and get into a car or just go into the bushes. It is heart-breaking. I have been praying for them and hopefully we will figure out a way to pray with them. God loves them.

I am doing awesome! Today is our day off and we're going to get some shaslik and play RISK. Good times, good times.

7 weeks till I come home. Crazy... It seems so close now. I will be really glad to see you all again. I'm also pretty excited about the next chapter of my life. I have no idea what God is going to do with me (which is pretty exciting in itself.)

LOVE YOU!
-DREW

Epic Tales...(CHATTING WITH DREW)

SOME RECENT FUN CORRESPONDENCE
ENJOY THE READING & DON'T FORGET TO
PRAY FOR DREW


DREW – FACEBOOK – 01-23-10
Armenia is a Christian nation. Turkey was a Muslim nation. Here they don’t think they need us because they are all Christians...although Daniel did get threatened with a knife by a drunk man on the metro. But don’t worry I will not die. :)

Yerevan Metro Station

Thanks for all the prayer. God is really moving. I have learned and changed so much.
I love you guys!


DREW – FACEBOOK – 01-28-10
Today we read through the entire book of ACTS. Pretty good stuff. It is our day off (Sabbath. Very relaxing). Journaling is great. I am quite the expert if I do say so myself. I weave epic tales of daring missions with poetic precision. The crowds cheer at my glorious retelling of the marvelous feats that we have endured to accomplish.

DREW – FACEBOOK CHAT w/CN (01-28-10)

I see that you can say JESUS now. What are you guys spending your days on this week?
Praying about what God wants us to do – then we go do it.
We are going to have more concrete opportunities after Daniel and Tonia meet with Andre, but so far I have helped the other team lead a Bible study for leaders in the Apostolic Church and clean the 7-story apartment that we are living in.
We know that God wants us to do prayer ministry for the university and the prostitutes here in Yerevan, but we need to meet with Andre about what that should look like.

Apostolic Church?
The Apostolic Church is a very old church started by Barnabas and Thaddeus. Now it is much like the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church, in that it is very religious and most people don’t know Jesus. Their foundation is sound but they have twisted it a little.

What would a prayer-ministry to prostitutes be like? Would you just go to them and pray w/them or have a place for them???
That is partly what we need to figure out.

From your e-mails and facebook comments you seem like you're doing well...Are you really?
I’M AWESOME! God is good.

We went to a really old monastery on Monday. It was like something out of Lord of the Rings. There are mountains all around. The environment is absolutely beautiful. Anyway, we had some spontaneous worship in the monastery, in this room that echoed. It was so cool.

I have learned that I can sing very well. I have been singing pretty much constantly since the beginning of outreach - well not enough to be annoying, just enough to be fun. If you know what I mean…

I saw some silly video.
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=215298648277&subj=825598817
Looks like your team is a bunch of fun ‘weirdoes’
We are each completely unique.

Are you super busy - or mostly down-time lately?
It is a lot of fun. A perfect mixture I think.

Sleeping well? Do you have your own bed again?
We have all been exhausted since we got here (36 hour bus from Istanbul, tons of adventures on the way as well.)
My bed sucks, even worse than in Istanbul. It is a board with a blanket over it, but at least I don’t have to share with Daniel and Rustam anymore.

Cuddly…Do you have much alone time?
We have an hour of quiet time every morning and enough alone time in between. I like being with everyone though, so it’s all good.

The "Cats from Hell" are gone (THANK GOD!) but there are some birds that chirp really loudly during our prayer times and meetings.

I do miss you guys.

7 Weeks... How do you feel about coming home?
I love being here and doing this. It will be bittersweet to come home. I will miss the friends I have made here.
I am excited about what comes next with college and stuff, God knows what He is doing.

So, you're still planning on SEMO Journalism then

Teaching English as a 2nd Language?
Yes.

Any crazy stuff there in Armenia? Yerevan – What's that town like?
The culture here is awesome! Everyone is like family. They even all kiss each other (which is rather awkward for us Americans.)
Yerevan is very small compared to Kyiv and Istanbul.
1.8 Mil is not small...
Compared to 18 million it is. Istanbul just kept going and going, we only saw a small piece of it.

Istanbul sounds like it was a very different experience...
I can’t explain it on the internet adequately. I have so many stories. Don’t worry I will surely be able to tell a lot of them.

March 20 is the Saturday you fly home.
I will be totally exhausted I predict.
I know...like what, 20 hours on the planes?
23 I think…and that is after staying up all night saying goodbye to everyone and waiting for a 5:00 am plane.
…And after a 12-week outreach.

God wants me to take a day or two (at least) when I get back to pray about what is next.

A DAY or Two? I was thinking like a MONTH! (at least a week)

...you're gonna need to REST…
Well at least. I didn’t say I would go back to work in a day or two. I plan on waiting ‘til at least April to catch up and rest. I do plan on working. In theory I would like to get connected with Human trafficking organizations, as well as other missionary groups, but we will see if that happens. I already sort-of know what to do, but before I talk to anyone about my plans I want to be sure that I know what God wants.

People are gonna want to hear all about it...family, friends, church, etc...
I don’t mind sharing about this experience, but God is first.:) I want to start the next chapter of my life with focused prayer.

Anything you want to say to anyone at home for me to pass along?
Tell all the family that I love and miss them.

We have been doing really intense pushups and wrestling every other night. I am in really good shape now. 40 lbs less.

What's your biggest challenge right now?
What should all of us PRAY for you now?
I don’t know. I’ve been tired, but that is no big deal. It is always good to hear more from God. I love hearing from Him. I’m doing really well.

Is He downloading to your head, your heart, what? How is that working? (…works different for different people)…
That is a question for another time I think, I really need to get going. It is already going to cost me like 800 drum.

Drew, I'm glad to talk to you, bud.
You too. I love you.

I love you too, lots - Bye, man. DAD
GOOD BYE.

NIGHT AND DAY - DIFFERENT

RECENT E-MAIL from ARMENIA

Hello!
We are ten hours ahead now.

Armenia is totally different than Turkey.
It’s a Christian nation, it’s a lot smaller (1.5 million as opposed to 18 million, in the city,) and all the people are incredibly nice and friendly.
This city is a lot poorer.

We are still not sure what we are going to be doing yet. There are a lot of options.

The other team (which it was so nice to see by the way, I missed them) has been working with churches, orphans, a nursing home, and all sorts of other things. There is a lot that we could do, but we want to make sure we are doing what we are supposed to do (it only the third day here).

We've been praying pretty intensely, but so far all God has told us is that it will be really difficult and meticulous work.
God knows what He is doing though.

I honestly just love having time to just focus on seeking Him about this. He is AWESOME!

The culture is night and day different from Turkey.

The people are incredibly friendly and they are all Christian (at least by name.) With this comes the attitude that missionaries are not necessary here. They do need us though, because God called us here for a purpose.

Talk to you again soon.
DREW

EVERYONE, THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING THIS BLOG - AND
FOR CONTINUING TO HOLD DREW UP IN YOUR PRAYERS!
FLIGHT DETAILS
Returning Home March 20th (7-Weeks & 4-Days)

Depart Kiev, Ukraine 5:35 am (Kiev Time)
Arrive in Frankfurt, Germany 7:20am (Frankfurt Time)

Depart Frankfurt 10:05am (Frankfurt Time)
Arrive Newark, NJ 2:15pm (Newark Time)
. . .U S A !
Depart Newark 6:00pm (Newark Time)
Arrive Saint Louis, MO 7:45pm (StL TIME)

COUNTING DOWN UNTIL THAT DAY
DON'T FORGET TO ALWAYS PRAY

OFF TO ARMENIA! (...already...)

I wish we had another month in Turkey! It has been awesome! There are so many awesome things that have happened. Even in the last month I have grown a ton.

We leave on Wednesday morning (if everything goes according to plan.)

I can't even begin to describe all that's happened (not because I don't want to, but because there are strangers around.)

[ Armenian City beneath Mt. Ararat ]

I have officially lost 40 lbs since I started DTS (we found a scale.) Pretty Crazy.

Everyone on our team has been taking turns with a cold. Sickness sucks!

I am taking advantage of the washing Machine today (I might not get to use it again until I get to America. :) )

I have no idea what communication will be like when I get there. The other team is able to send e-mails and stuff so I am assuming that there is internet around somewhere. I will keep in touch the best I can.

Have fun as you all start school again! I'll be there in March (I like the countdown by the way.)

I want to hear all about the family and what is going on there in Cape.
I like your long e-mails (facebook messages) even if I can't send equally long ones.

Turkish Delight is AWESOME!
It's gooey and covered in coconut and so tasty. :)






I wish I could tell you more (I really do.) I hope to hear from you soon.

I love you guys.
DREW

CULTURE CHOCK GALORE!

Hello. Thıs ıs Drew. I'm stıll alıve. :)
I can't say much about what I've been doıng. Sorry. I wıll tell you ın March I suppose.

Every day so far has been a crazy adventure! Turkey ıs really dıfferent. CULTURE SHOCK GALORE! Its fun! Everythıng ıs so surreal. It's lıke lıvıng ın a fıctıon story. Thıs cıty ıs huge. Even from the plane we couldn't see the end of ıt. I wısh I could tell you more.

Thıs ıs one of the most stretchıng and ıntense thıngs I've ever done. Its awesome!

There are mosques on every corner almost.

There ıs so much to say I don't know how I'll ever even get close to explaınıng ıt even after I get back.

Say HELLO to everyone for me. Tell them I'm fıne.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I love you.

Be careful what you e-maıl back untıl I get to Armenıa. But tell me how everyone ıs doıng at home.

DREW