Adventure Awaits at Journey Camp Romania

Pastor Donnie is 52, loves baseball, French Fries, and estate sale hunting with his wife Karen. His favorite verse is 1 John 3:16 and enjoys preparing  younger generations for ministry. 

When asked what day he would live over again Donnie replied, "Today. Today is the greatest day of my life. My aim is to live each day to the fullest and leave nothing undone."

"My passion for this ministry is to give students in Romania the opportunity to experience church camp like we do in America. I want them to know what it's like to leave the world behind and just let God work in their hearts."

Pray for Pastor Donnie as he and Matt French lead the Journey Camp Romania Team.

Pastor Matthew French is 42 loves football and Hockey, and his favorite athlete is Steve Wojciechoswki. Seafood is his favorite food and relishes teaching his kids to hunt, fish and exploring new trails with his wife Rachelle and their four children.

His favorite bible book is Romans and his verse is John 3:30. Matt’s favorite ministry moment took place one day, “After preaching what I felt like was one of my best sermons ever, a visitor little boy walked up to me with worn out clothes and dingy hair and motioned for me to bend down.  I expected him to say, ‘Good job.’ or, ‘I really like this church.’  Instead of praising words, he said, ‘Mr. Sir, will you tie my shoes?’  The Holy Spirit has a way of always humbling his servants.”

If he could relive one day it would be Thanksgiving Day 2004.  “It was the day that I asked the most beautiful woman in the world to spend a lifetime of craziness with me…spoiler alert, she said yes.”

Pastor Matt brings his incredible leadership skills and will have a hand in teaching and leading our team.

 Michael Draper is 41, loves American football and basketball, and his favorite athlete is the great Dirk Nowitzki. Enjoying seafood, hunting, fishing, camping, and sports are among his favorite pastimes. His favorite book of the Bible is John and his verse is John 16:33.

One of the events Michael relishes from his past is, “A moment when our worship team finished practice and everyone sat in a circle off the stage, and started worshipping. There was no audience, no applause to be had, just us and God. That moment it didn’t matter the timing, the harmony, or the participants. The only thing that mattered was worshipping Jesus.”

The greatest day of his life was December 28, 1998, when he gave his life to Christ while attending Winter Camp in Colorado. Michael has a great deal of experience leading worship and we are blessed he and his wife Kori as part of our team! 

 Andrew Vandergriff is the student pastor at Aurora Baptist Church and has served as a camp director at Minnetonka Christian Camp for 20 years. He also serves as the board chair for Minnetonka, helping shape and cast their vision for the future.

Droo, as he is affectionately called, has been on at least 40 different mission trips, including speaking at a youth camp in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal! His favorite thing about air travel is eating and his least favorite is sitting. We will try to get Droo some snacks to eat on the flight while he makes laps through the aisles!

This will be Droo’s first summer camp in Romania, however he has preached the last two winters in Romania helping promote the camp.

 

 Korian “Kori” Draper  

Kori loves hiking, being outside, spending time with family, and reading, especially Jane Austen and William Shakespeare. Her favorite thing to eat is seafood! She loves the Gospel of Matthew, and her verse is Jeremiah 29:11.

“This is my second year with Journey Camp Romania, and I am thrilled to be able to be a part of it. I love traveling and seeing all that the world has to offer.”

Her role with Journey camp 2025 will be teaching,  counseling, and using compassion to spread the love and life of Jesus Christ.

“I love traveling, it’s a dream of mine to see the world and experience the different cultures, food and atmosphere.”

Kori’s favorite thing about traveling is getting to experience it all with her husband Michael, who is also part of the team. My least favorite thing about traveling is the lack of leg room on the planes. Maybe Kori will get a first class upgrade this year!

Begin praying for her and the entire team as we get ready for JCR25.
 

Supporting Journey Camp Romania financially helps couples like Jeff and Christa take the Gospel to those who need to know about the love of Christ. Prayerfully consider supporting this ministry today! 

Jeff and Christa are members of Aurora Baptist Church. Jeff has been to India with Aurora in the past and served mightily. 

For Christa, this will be her first official mission trip, but she has been the nurse at Minnetonka Christian Camp for many years.
Christa’s favorite aspect of traveling is seeing new places and meeting new people!

Her least favorite thing about traveling waiting at the airports. Let’s pray there are no delays!

 Brock is 15 years old, loves baseball, Mexican food, playing video games, and playing his guitars. His favorite book of the Bible is Revelation and his verse is Colossians 1:20. A favorite ministry moment is the night he surrendered to be a missionary. The one day he would enjoy reliving is the day the Texas Rangers won the World Series. Brock says, "I'm going to bring fun, hard work, and worship to the team!" 

 Bryson French is from Hillside Christian Church. This will be his second mission trip. Although he was a rookie last year, his servant's heart shined brightly as one of the most versatile members of our team.

This year he will serve as our Tech guy and leader's aide. Bryson says, "My favorite thing about air travel is being in the plane, and my least favorite thing is all lines and stuff at the airport." Hopefully the "stuff" will be minimal this summer!

Start praying for Bryson and the whole team. We are just two months from JCR25! 

 Brock is 15 years old, loves baseball, Mexican food, playing video games, and playing his guitars. His favorite book of the Bible is Revelation and his verse is Colossians 1:20. A favorite ministry moment is the night he surrendered to be a missionary. The one day he would enjoy reliving is the day the Texas Rangers won the World Series. Brock says, "I'm going to bring fun, hard work, and worship to the team!"