Masimdumisene - the Drews

May 2010 Newsletter

masimdumisene — Sun, 30 May 2010 22:03:49 +0000

You can read our May 2010 Newsletter here.

If you would like to receive our newsletters automatically (we plan on sending a new one out about every 3 months), please e-mail us at drews.1hope@gmail.com and let us know.

God bless!

~ Donovan & Heather

Spring in Lancaster City

masimdumisene — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 01:47:25 +0000

One of the biggest blessings of living in a region that has changing seasons is seeing and savoring the beauty of spring after a long winter. I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated spring as much as this year after our long, cold, snowy winter. God’s creation is so beautiful! There is nothing more striking than the growth of daffodils and the blooming of trees in spring… and it all pretty much happens in less than 2 weeks! Crazy!

Enjoy these pictures and if you want more you can go to the album by clicking here.

Wonder at the awesome-ness of our Creator to give us such a taste of heaven here on earth! Can’t wait to see what heaven is like if the faintest glimmer of what it’s like is this:

Winter of 2009-2010

masimdumisene — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 01:56:28 +0000

As many of you probably saw on the news, the East Coast was hit with a pretty big snow storm recently. It’s been pretty fun to be part of the changing seasons this year in Lancaster, PA. I thought you’d enjoy seeing some photos from the snow this winter. Apparently, they’re expecting a lot more before the winter’s over. There’s nothing better than having school canceled 3 days in a row and having plenty of time to spend relaxing, drinking hot cocoa, tea, and coffee, spending extra time with God, and reading good books! Enjoy the pictures!

As every good Lancaster city resident knows, you always have to “reserve” your hard-earned and shoveled parking spot using your lawn chairs, if not it will be gone as soon as you drive off.

Our apartment building in the snow…

Our car – buried in the snow

Donovan and I love the snow (except for all the shoveling).

For more pictures of our snow storms this winter click here.

~ Heather

Ministry Website launched, Prayer Card and first Newsletter coming soon…

masimdumisene — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:23:13 +0000

Hi everyone!

As I’ve mentioned on here before, we are preparing to be missionaries in Pretoria, South Africa. We’ll be working with 1Hope, a ministry to orphans and refugees started by Josh and Marda Mack, and will be sent out by Bethel Grace Baptist, the church where we met and served on ministry staff for a time.

If you’d like to know more, please check out our ministry website: www.drewsministry.wordpress.com. We’ll be sending out prayer cards and our first newsletter in a couple weeks: if you’d like to receive these and are not sure if we have your mailing address, please e-mail it to us at drews.1hope@gmail.com.

When will we leave? We don’t know. We’ve been shooting for September of this year, but we’ll see how the pieces come together.

We appreciate your prayers!

Blessings…

Donovan & Heather

Thanksgiving with the Hollingsworths

masimdumisene — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:00:50 +0000

It has been a huge blessing to be so close to my family over these holidays, even though we miss our church family at Bethel Grace terribly. I enjoyed being around my mom over Thanksgiving and learning the tricks of the trade (a.k.a. how to make the renowned Hollingsworth family stuffing). We were a big group and had so much fun! I am so thankful for the family God has blessed me with!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we went in search of a Christmas Tree. It’s the first time I’ve been to a Christmas Tree farm (that I can remember, at least). Despite the fact that we didn’t get to actually chop the tree down ourselves, we had a blast! We looked through rows and rows of trees until we found the perfect one – our little “frazier.” No, we didn’t name the tree based on the T.V. series, it actually is a type of pine with really cool needle shape and color. I think the pictures will do better at explaining what it looks like.

On Monday, I spent the morning decorating the tree to the sound of some good Christmas music. I think this is the earliest we’ve ever gotten or decorated a tree.

There will be more to come as Christmas is approaching (I’m hoping for a white one). Thank you for taking time to share in a little of the family fun from this weekend.

For more pictures from our Thanksgiving weekend click here.

~Heather

God’s glory in fall colors

masimdumisene — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:56:05 +0000

I am always amazed at the creativity and the beauty found in God’s creation. Everywhere we’ve lived there are priceless examples of God’s Glory in creation. I love soaking it all in and marveling at His use of color, texture, forms, etc. I will never cease to be in awe of our Creator.

This fall we got to enjoy the display of God’s Glory in the fall colors of Lancaster, PA. I don’t have to say anything more. When you see these pictures, marvel at your Creator and thank him for His wondrous works!

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Romans 1:20

“When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?” Psalm 8:3-4

“The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1

I’ll leave you with lyrics to a great song by Keith and Kristyn Getty called “Don’t Let Me Lose My Wonder”:

I’ve seen days melt into nights in circles of lights,
I’ve watched a spider spin a star between the window box flowers,
I’ve heard you laugh and cry in a single sigh,
And a story form within.

Don’t let me lose my wonder,
Don’t let me lose my wonder.

I saw her broken dreams inside but helping others fly,
I saw his eyes without a doubt though other lights faded out,
And though her calling roared,such graciousness poured
From the vision of her soul.

A baby cried through the dark beneath a jeweled spark,
I knew Your voice upon the hill and heard my lostness still,
I found my home in the light where wrong was made right
And You rose as the morning star.

For more fall colors pictures click here.

~ Heather

Church home in Pennsylvania

masimdumisene — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:51:20 +0000

Lord willing, Crossway Church (a member of the Sovereign Grace family of churches) will be our home for the season we’re here in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We’ve been blessed by the preaching, the worship, and the fellowship. Our good friends, Rob and Kendra Bigley are Crossway members, and we’ve been blown away by the warmth and sincerity of others in the church that we’re only just getting to know. We start the membership class this Sunday.

Living Hope Church, Pretoria, South Africa

masimdumisene — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:55:11 +0000

Living Hope is a church-plant in Pretoria, South Africa. Josh Mack is the pastor, and Grace Fellowship, in eastern Pretoria, is the “mother-church”. Lord willing, we’ll be calling this little church ”home” in a little over a year… : )

On being a Kindergarten teacher…

masimdumisene — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:56:45 +0000

Hi, this is Heather again. I have to keep this brief for now because I have lesson plans to write (one of the many joys of being a teacher).

For those of you who don’t know, this year I am a Kindergarten Spanish Dual Immersion teacher in Pennsylvania. God is so good to have provided me with my dream job this year. There are so many joys and challenges to the job that I could’ve never anticipated.

The first 2 days felt more like subing than anything else, but these students are mine for the whole year! I’m so thankful that I have a whole year to invest in their lives and to develop my classroom management. I’ve learned so much these first 2 days that it’s hard to put in words… Let me start by saying that being a teacher is an incredible JOY!! To see their faces each day, eager to learn and to hear parents telling me their kids were singing the song we learned yesterday in class to them… such a blessing! Every little success is a huge stepping stone for this age.

So far my students have learned our “Buenos Dias” song and a few words like “silencio,” “pintar,” “maestra,” “Yo me llamo,” “linea,” and more! They are so excited about learning Spanish, although every once and a while one of them will ask me, ” why can’t you just tell me what you’re saying?” I know they will be learning and growing so much this year, as will I. I’ve already learned so much about repetition, keeping the kids constantly moving (or they fall asleep), and the importance of establishing solid routines from the very beginning.

I love the staff at my school and the principal. They’ve all been a huge support and encouragement. I look forward to all that God will teach me and grow me this next year. I’m sure you’ll be hearing many stories from my classroom this year. I’ll leave you with this quote from one of my students. During Music class, the teacher asked them what they liked most about class that day. He said, “I like busting out my moves!” *Priceless…

My Classroom

masimdumisene — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:37:52 +0000

Hey everyone! I’ll update you soon on my job, but first, here are some of the promised pictures of my classroom.

Calendar Time – A Kindergarten classic

Play Center – The kids can’t wait for this one to be “open”

Reading Center, Computer, and TV – All essentials.

If you’d like to see more pics, just click here.