Chaplain Keith Andrews: Pastor and warrior
Army Chaplain Keith Andrews wanted to be a pastor and a warrior. He realized he could be both serving as a chaplain in the U.S. Army. And he loves soldiers.

Chaplain Keith Andrews participates in a Warrior Resiliency and Thriving Training Course


 
Faith in the Sand – American soldiers in Iraq are not just safeguarding freedom for others. They are also finding it for themselves. See how God is using Southern Baptist chaplains to change lives in one of the most difficult environments on earth.   Download
“Being on the ground with soldiers is probably one of the most rewarding experiences in my life,” says Andrews, chaplain with the 40th Engineer Battalion. “Being away from my wife, Monica, and the kids is hard. But every day when I walk out to give a pre-convoy prayer and a word of hope to a bunch of guys and they say ‘Thanks, chaplain,’ I realize that it all means something.”

Andrews has watched God give soldiers in his battalion a sense of awe during their deployment. Even though they are seeing some things that are hard to understand, Andrews is there to share the greatness of God and share how they can come to know Christ as their personal savior.

“Soldiers sometimes have trouble dealing with the faith part and the warrior part,” says Andrews. “One of the things I often talk to them about is the bigger picture, that we are enabling a large number of people to have freedom and they are able to play a part in that.”

Andrews enjoys visiting soldiers at some of the outlying Forward Operating Bases—soldiers who haven’t seen a chaplain in a few weeks.

“I open up my little Lord's supper kit and share communion with them,” says Andrews. “It's important for them to see that God loves them and that there are people willing to bring the gospel to them.”

While Chaplain Andrews is on the mission field, his wife, Monica, is serving back home. She’s involved with the Family Readiness Group (FRG) teaching parenting classes and supporting other wives whose husbands are also deployed.

Many of the wives are young mothers some of whom are 18 and 19 years old. In Monica, they have a mature role model who's experiencing the same emotions and dealing with the stress of raising young children while dad is away.

“We work as a team,” explains Andrews. “A soldier's spouse will have an issue and Monica will call me. I'll talk to the soldier and we'll get them together. It works very well.”

Within the first six months of Andrews ministry as a chaplain, he did more counseling than most pastors do in their whole career.

He sees it all—everything from suicide to infidelity to just basic lying. “Back home you don't have a factory foreman grabbing a young worker who messes up and sticking them in front of the chaplain's desk or the pastor's desk,” says Andrews. “Here, when a soldier screws up, he's in front of my desk. Sometimes I just need to sit them down and love on them.

“One of the things I do as a chaplain is lift soldiers up so they can do their jobs,” Andrews says.

God has used the time in Iraq to teach Andrews some important lessons and shepherding soldiers and about following Christ.

“One of the great things about being in Iraq is flying over the countryside in a helicopter. You see these shepherds leading their sheep through the desert looking for green grass and the flock follows. There’s a lesson there, for us to follow Jesus wherever he goes, because Jesus knows where the green grass is, we don't.”

Carol Pipes, editor of On Mission, spent two weeks in Iraq reporting on the work of military chaplains.

Support our troops
Care packages are a great way to support our troops, especially during the holidays. Cards and letters are also appreciated. Prepackaged treats, as well as magazines and toiletries (packed separately), are certainly welcome. If you want to send a package but don’t have someone in mind, these websites can help you adopt a soldier. For soldiers’ requests and addresses, go to anysoldier.com/wheretosend. For more nonprofit organizations that help those in the armed services, visit www.ourmilitary.mil.

Socks, Gel insoles and GoldBond powder
Toothbrushes and toothpaste
Toiletries
Disposable cameras
Individually wrapped hard candy
Energy bars and power bars
Beef Jerky (big request)
Crystal Light and powder mixes
Feminine products
Chapstick and sunscreen
Books/CDs/DVDs