Where is Andrew Today?

I knew my life would forever change after the birth of Andrew. I keep calling him Andrew, but truth be known he wasn't named for 2 whole days after his birth. This drove my father crazy. He wanted me to name the baby immediately, but I thought about it for a while because I realized that once I made my decision it would be his name for the rest of his life. During my pregnancy I was planning on the name Joey, but about one week before his birth, I was watching an Andy Williams Christmas special and I began to ponder a name change.

Ray, my husband of almost 30 years, came into our lives when Andy was just 2 months old. within a year we were married and he adopted Andrew soon afterword. Within 5 years our family had grown from three to six. Andy the oldest of the four children, took on the role of big brother wore it well. Raymie the second oldest, was never far behind Andrew. Kristen the third and only girl, was soon to follow and Jeremy the youngest, did his best to keep up and be a part of things. Andrew had a way of making mundane moments in life seem exciting. Everything seemed fun for him, which drew the other kids to want to be with him.

This picture was taken when Kristen was only 2 months old. Andrew and Raymie both loved her


The 80's were crazy...it was Halloween. Andy wanted to be a break dancer so they all wanted to be break dancers:)

As a baby, unless he was sick, Andy was either smiling or giggling. He had a very pleasant disposition and more energy than most babies. As he got older he became the toddler who liked to have fun. Andy was always looking for something fun to do which kept me pretty busy most days. As long as his eyes were open he was on the go and talk? This kid was a chatterbox and a delight to the adults in his life.

Though we didn't know Jesus personally we were members of a church for 7 years before making our big move to Wisconsin. We went to church regularly and the kids were involved in musicals, youth outing and Sunday school. Being in church seemed good for our family. We struggled with life's issues outside of church, but it seemed as long as we were in church on Sunday we had something to feel good about.

In this picture you can see fun written all over Andrew's face


Olan Mills church photo the year before we moved

Having no idea what was in store for us, we moved to Wisconsin during the summer before Andy's senior year of high school. All of the children were in favor of the move, but today they tell me they thought it would be like when we visited the year prior to the move. Looking back I realize now some of the difficulties our move to Wisconsin brought for our four children. Andrew was a good sport about the move. Even though it was his senior year in high school he found ways to make it fun and positive. The turn of events that took place shortly afterwords is something I would not trade for anything.

Andy became interested in a girl named Kristine who had also moved to the same community at the same time. (coincidence or move of God?)Soon after that he began going to church with her. Her father was Pastor of a small church on the edge of town. I won't go into how it all happened from my point of view because what happened in Andrew is his story to tell, but I will say it was within that church community that Andrew gave his heart to the Lord. Jesus captured Andrews Heart and he wanted us all to see the truth.

Andrew had gone to Spencer Lake Youth Camp and upon his return something was noticeably different about him. He did nothing but talk about the Lord. I remember getting upset with him. This all seemed strange to me. I thought he had gotten involved in something weird and wanting him to come back to church with me, but he didn't; he couldn't. He had found something that added to his life in ways I never could. I didn't know the reason why I was so resistant to this change in Andrew and his attempts to help me to see. I felt I knew the truth already and was not about to listen to this 18 year old kid tell me different. We went round and round about it for weeks even months. It seemed every time we spoke to one another it turned into a fight. Today I realize my resistance was my feelings of losing control. If I began to see as Andrew did, I would have to face the ugly truth about the person I was. I wasn't ready for that just yet, but God was at work.

At this same time all this was going on with Andrew, something pretty amazing was happening in my heart as well. I had been going to a main line church that was the same denomination as the one I went to in New York for 7 years. I had been meeting regularly with the Pastor there because I was beginning to see things about myself that needed to change and I yearned for wholeness. Teetering on top of the fence between the difficulty of letting go of control and embracing freedom was a scary place for me. I was afraid to let go of what my mind thought was real in order to grab hold of the reality the Lord wanted to show me. Little did I know there was a tiny church family that was praying intensely for my salvation just on the edge of town.

Within a few short months our entire family had come to know Jesus and we were beginning down the difficult road of the process of transformation. All six of us ended up calling that little church on the edge of town our family for a number of years. Andrew was instrumental in that awakening in our hearts. Andrew announced in church one Sunday morning that he felt the Lord was calling him into ministry. He and Kristine were married about a year later and the two of them moved to Missouri to begin their new life together. Andrew began going to Central Bible College and perused his life in service to the Lord. Following that he began working as a children's pastor for a church in Missouri, which opened doors to other opportunities to serve God.

These are my kids on Andrews wedding day. Andrew is in the middle with Kristen, Jeremy on the left and Ray on the right.

Andrew will be 30 on December 27th this year. My how time flies. Today he can be found here He has given his heart to children's ministries and is the Pastor in charge of K-6 kids church at Aurora First Assembly of God in Colorado. He and Kristine are investing their lives in the children as well as the families of those children through this ministry. Andrew has turned out to be a very dynamic yet playful person in the lives of many. He has many talents (still has the gift of gab and knows how to have fun). I think he could talk just about anyone into seeing things differently once given the opportunity.

Another one of his attributes is his ability to make people feel they are capable of doing more than they had ever dreamed of doing. He is a natural encourager; always looking toward the positive and casting light in dark areas. I feel honored and blessed to have been given him as a gift. I can't imagine how our lives would have ended up had he not been with us and I thank God for Andrew every day. Oh yeah, one more thing...Andrew has the uncanny ability to take something seemingly negative and making something positive out of it. Each challenge he faces he somehow makes good of it. I always say, "Andy, I don't know how you do it, but it seems each time you step in a pile of poop you turn it into rosebuds and make something good out of it." God is good!

As you have probably guessed, Ray and I are very proud of Andrew, but the best part of this story is not about Andrew, it's about how the Lord took something that seemed like a mistake and used it to glorify himself. The purposes in Andrew's life continue to unfold daily within his sphere of influence. God isn't finished with him yet. I am encouraged and blessed. Good is faithful. I thought this was a story worth sharing.


Andrew, Kristine and the wonderful three! Can't forget how Andrew and Kristine made me a Grandma three times:) That is a story for another day.