update

hello everyone sorry we have not posted for such a long time: We have finished our work in the city area and are now stayiing in a village called Bansang. We are doing teaching and starting a banana plantation. The plantation will be used for evangelism, like hqnding out small tree with the gospel, Here is you tree and here is Jesus. Currently we are in Guinea Conakry, a country south of Gambia, we are learning about contextual church planting and evangelism among the Fulani people group. Who we are missionaries to in Gambia. Sorry this is such a short update, we are running out of time. We will be home in the middle of January and will be happy to see everyone and to speak at anyones church or bible study or whatever. we love you guys
Tom and Andrea

YFC Summer Camp 2007

“Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
James 4:8

This verse was the theme for our Youth for Christ Summer camp 2007. Tom and I left to take Lisa, Hayden and Austin; our friends from Reno back to the airport in Dakar, Senegal and saw them off on the 31st of July. From there we headed to meet everyone else for our annual camp in Bansang, which is about 6 hours up the river from where we live. We had a day to relax before the campers arrived. The campers arrived on the 1st of August ready for an exciting week at camp. The campers listened to two guest speakers and had three seminars on evangelism, purity/HIV/abstinence, and heart transformation. In addition to the teachings the campers, had ample time for volleyball, soccer, and other extracurricular activities. Tom and I were very busy tired and stressed out but we managed to survive by the grace of God. The Bansang area has so many opportunities for ministry and at present we are praying about relocating there to expand the Gospel to the surrounding villages. But before we leave, if we leave to Bansang that is, we have a lot of projects to finish in the urban area we are staying in right now. Tom is working on two youth centers and a main office center for YFC. He is overseeing the construction and establishment of these places. God is really moving here and we are stoked to be a part of His plan for Africa. We are also arranging outreach trips to other parts of Gambia and planning for the future to arrange mission trips to surrounding countries for Gambian youth. Thank you for your continuing prays and support.

With Love, in His service

Tom and Andrea

Hello all, Yes, it has been a long time since our last update, Sorry. Anyway, just a quick update YFC has land, I think I told you that. We are now in the process of finding a contractor to build the new building, the old one is now demolished and cleared out. We have one contractor that will do the job at a good price, we'll probably go with him. Anyway, Lisa Hayden and Austin, some friends of our from home are here for the month of July. It's wonderful to have a taste of home here in The Gambia. We truly appreciate everything they are doing. They are encouraging the staff as well as encouraging us to keep pushing on. We are planning a trip up country with them this next week and are praying that God will use that time for some awesome evangelism. Pray for us. Lisa and I have been reading to Mary from the Book of Luke, recap, Mary came to us very sick and alone and pregnant, she is now hearing God's word everyday and asking great questions. Please keep her in your prayers. We have recently had a huge boom in our YFC staff population, I will begin discipling at least one of the girls, I can't wait to get started. Tom and I continue to pray for God'sdirection here in the Gambia and are still looking into moving up country. We thak you for all your prayers, love and miss you all
Andrea and Tom

praise the Lord

For the first time in 28 years YFC the gambia has its own compound. No more rent or bad buildings! God is good. We are re renovating the property and building a dormitory style structure on the base. We now have two trucks for ministry upcountry and in the city and the taxi has began bringing in money to help the ministry. We miss all you and want to hear from you

love tom and andrea

Jesus is good

Hello everyone sorry it has been so long since we updated our blog. We have been extremely busy last weekend we went upcountry and it was great despite being very sick. Praise the Lord we are healthy. We went to a place called bwiam to preach and do outreach. God did amazing things. We went to a compound where some Christians were staying to encourage them and pray for them. Just before we left we were asked to pray for a young girl named Adama. She would have convulsions and say that someone was trying to kill her and get her. So we all knew that it was a demonic attack. All ten of us started to pray and lay hands on her and soon she went into convulsions, after some strong prayer the demon left and she passed out. She then gave her life to Christ. The next day she came and meet us and we were able to explain the gospel more and what happened to her. She totally knew that she had been helped by the power of Jesus. AMEN! Another lady that same weekend gave her life to Christ and abandoned her traditional religion which lead her to similar dark experiences as Adama had. Please pray that these two new Christians will hold onto the faith and become strong pillars for Jesus and His Kingdom.
We are excited to announce that YFC is in the process of moving into their own office. I am very busy now because I will be in charge of renovation and new construction, along with my evangelism efforts with the ministry. I hope all are doing well. Be praying for Lisa Hayden and Austin who are coming to do the Lords work here in about two weeks. We love all of you.

Tom and Andrea

update

so everything is going fine here. We started the video club last week about 20 people showed up and we shower the Jesus film in Wolof, it was good but kinda of cold and a lot of people left before the film was over. Next time we will show it earlier. We now have a carpentry work shop but we are still waiting for some apprentices. I trust that they will come. We are praying for all of you. we will look at a truck today for YFC so pray that it is a good one. this last weekend we had some free time, i went to the bush and hunted monkeys but i had no success but it was fun to be out in Gods creation. The van got a bad flat tire two days ago but no one was injured and the van did not roll or crash. Andrea and i are still praying for God to lead us where he wants us, we really dont think we belong in the city. Love all you and we pray for all of you

love to all of you

tom and andrea

rite of passage ceremony

Well we thought we were going to a FGM ceremony locally known as a female circumcision ceremony, but that ceremony had already happened. The ceremony we went to was a rite of passage ceremony for the boys. it only comes every twenty years or so. Hence it is a very big deal for the community. It was interesting and there was lots of neat cultural displays but all in all we did not really like it. The ceremony is about a week long and if you want to be a "man" you have to go through it. If you dont go through it you are looked down upon. The first part of the ceremony is open to the public and there is lots of dancing singing, shooting of cannons, and magic displays. After that the boys run into the bush where they spend a week with the elders, and learn about manhood. It sound fine right? Well, it is also known among the boys and the elders that at least one boy will die in the bush, and it happens every time they have the ceremony. Someone does not come out. When they leave the bush all of the boys are covered so no one knows who died until later. We are not ethnocentric, we just don't like to see people dying, and young boys opening the doors of their souls to evil things.
Its quit sad really, which is exactly why we need to be praying for these people continually. Please keep them in your prayers.
Tom and Andrea

Headed up country

Hey all I just wanted to let you guys know that Tom and I and Yaya and Ambroise are headed up country to Sicon, where YFC has the land because there is a Female cimcumcision ceremony and festival. Not a very nice reason to go and party but it should be amazing witnessing opportunities. Please be praying for us this weekend that god will set up divine appointments and prepare the hearts of the people in the Sicon area for God's amazing love for them. This should be a great time, I'm totally excited about this trip and experiencing this angle of the culture here in the Gambia. I have no idea what to expect but it should be fun. We will be driving the YFC van up there because it will be so difficult to find public transport at this time. Apparently this ceremony is one of the really big ones, one that only happens every 20 years or so. It's gonna be huge. I will write on monday a full update as to how it went and what it was all about because I really don't know anything about this kind of thing. I'll let you guys know what's up with that. Peaceand love to you all
Andrea

hello everyone everything is going fine here, God is moving mightly, we are just trying to keep up with Him. There is such a need for christian laborers to be raised up here. Especially gambians, but also for more long term foriegn missionaries. Please pray for God to raise up people for His harvest field.

love all you and really want to know what is going on in your lives

tom and andrea

the shipment is here

Hello everyone, I just wanted to let you all know that our shipment is here and has arrived safely. I think we got everything. Tom and Yaya spent all day at the port yesterday and finally at like 5:00 came back from Banjul with the shipment. Julianna sent all these really great resources for Bible lessons and studies and everything you can possibly imagine. It's kind of funny. Anyway. Everything is going so great here God is doing amazing things like always. Tom is still working on getting our video club going but I think it will be up and running in no time at all. Very exciting.
THis past weekend we had a leadership retreat for the younger leaders in YFC Tom taught Evangelism with Alieu and I taught Prayer. It went great although it was a really long weekend. But it was really good though. Also this last weekend we saw our first rain, the rainy season is on its way. It poured when we were in church it was so exciting. We were told that the first couple rains come really early to remind the farmers to plant their fields. Isn't that funny.
Life is good in Africa
We miss you all
Love Tom and Andrea

update

Sallam malekum
Everything is good here our shipment came last week and we are in the process of clearing it, in other words paying lots of money to the gambian government, that will never go to the gambian people. O well God is good and in control. We are so blessed and happy to be here and serving God, the work among the muslims is hard though. Their hearts are so calloused to the gospel, that is seems even though they understand the truth in it they are not willing to accept it. However God is still stonger that their (and our own) calloused hearts. The video club is comming close to ready to open, probably in the next week, Brufut fellowship is still going stong but there are some spiritual attacks and not as many people are attending. Andrea and I are trying to learn mandinka. It is going ok but we both know that we have to move to an area where mandinka is only spoken to learn it fully. A cool story... a guy named Modou lives next to us, he is 19. I hang out with him a lot and i have told him the gospel and a lot about christianity, but he is still a muslim. He went away this weekend to work on clearing a plot of land. while he was there these missionaries showed the Jesus film at night in mandinka, his first language. he loved the film and was really excited. I thought that was awesome. God is totally working in his life through different people pray for him, i have to go to the Port now

love all you

Happy Bob Marley Day

Man, so we got an awesome deal on the van, but not so on the customs duty; unfortunately the customs duty was over half the price of the van. Why did we have to pay customs duty on a van that was bought in Gambia? Well, we bought the van from an NGO, so they did not have to pay any duty, but we want to use it for commercial use, so we got shafted. But that’s ok now we know, who to buy vehicles from. Other than that everything is good, we evangelized to some Rasta Muslims the other day, it was really good one said he wanted to become a Christian and how to do it, I told him, and he is meeting us Monday, I don’t know how sincere he was but pray that he gets saved. Bob Marley day was yesterday, there was a program at one of out schools so everyone was blessed to see some awesome dance moves by yours truly. It was embarrassing but I think it will help me build relationships with the students. Andrea and I have been doing ministry in the city area here and we like it but we are praying about moving upcountry to the north bank, or to another place in kombos called Brufut. We really want to live more within a strictly Gambian community that has not been reached. Please pray for us to make decisions that are in the perfect Will of Lord Jesus.

praise the Lord

hello everyone, everything here is rad. YFC just got a van. We bid on it at a silent auction from an NGO called SOS. It was a good price, however since it was from an NGO they did not need to pay the customs duty so YFC will have to pay it, and it is 1/2 the price of the vehicle, o well we learned a lot throught the experience. hopefully soon we can get the van on the road and use it as a taxi to generate some income for YFC. Andrea and i meet the Imam of the mosque next door, he is really nice, and wants to talk more with us, i wasnt able to share a lot with him yet but with time we will. The Gambia is seeing increasing persecution among the christians, last week a priest was beaten up and put in the hospital when a group of muslims attacked him and damaged his church building. Andrea and i are safe though, it is because of our white skin, it seems it is both a blessing and a curse. It keeps us safe and respected, but it is harder to for people to relate to us. But with God all things are possible. there is a fellowship in a place called Brufut that just started a few weeks ago. Man, those people are on fire for Jesus. they sing loud and take Gods word to heart. Brufut is also probably the most hostile muslim area in Gambia so the people who are christians there really need to stand firm in their faith or they will not be able to stand at all. Pray for them please. Even though Brufut is a rough area it is still open to evangelism, that is the beauty of this country, it is predominantly muslim, but it is still open to the Gospel. I hope you all aer well, we enjoy hearing from you guys and pray for you all. Andrea and Brian, man i wish you guys were here, ministry abounds. Pray for God to raise up local laborers for His harverst field.

love to all of you

tom and andrea

God is Good

hey we are doing good i was sick for a day but now im better our cell phone was stolen, horray, but i had to get a new one, and that number is 220 760 7583. God is doing good stuff here there is evangelism going on and lots of felloship among the christians. I am teaching bible knowledge in a girls vocational school, i will teach about deborah tommorow. Every week i meet with a muslim guy and we read the book of John pray for him his name is Lamin. Andrea is doing great too she also teaches in the vocational school, she is always so joyful. It makes me proud. I hope all of you are doing great, and serving the Lord. we miss all you. Soon i think we will be starting a free movie theater and be showing the Jesus film and some other inspirational films. pray for that please. Also the compound next door to us has been broken into 3 times in the last month one time even when the people were inside sleeping. Andrea and i have been a bit scared about facing a thief in the middle of the night. So please pray that that doesnt happen and that God will comfort us, or andrea, becasue i am afraid of nothing....... Cool we are praying for all of you

Here we are

Hello, I just wanted to let everyone know that Tom and I are here and we are safe, happy and very spoiled. We are settling in and getting things going in the ministry. I will be starting to teach at a school next week, and will be teaching girls about the same age as me. I will also probably be getting to start in an orphanage a couple times a week and the rest of my time will be working out the shambles in the office. Tom is also teaching at the same school and wants to start a brothers fellowship asap. He's really busy looking for vehicles and land and all that jazz. There is so much to do and there is such a need for the laborers. (if God lays it on your heart, Please come and join us we'll put you to work) I do have a cell phone here and an office phone and would love to hear from you all although it probably is pretty expensive, it's very expensive from here, like a dollar a minute. Our cell phone # is (220) 760-1591. We are also 7 hours ahead of you so don't call too late I will be sleeping.
Please don't worry God is doing such amazing things here in The Gambia
Please pray for Women's ministries as it is difficult to break down barriers between us
Pray for more people to do God's work and be apart of His plan
Pray for boldness and initiative in evangelism
Pray for God to provide land for the ministry that is our own.
Thank you so much for all your prayers
We love you
Andrea and Tom

we have arrived

hi everyone we are here and are making plans for ministry, our travel was long but fine. Everyone here at YFC is cool and there are a few new staff, we will write more when more happens


miss you guys

tom and andrea

still here

yes, Tom and Andrea are still here in America. We have been painting the house and moving out extremely slowly. The time just doesn't go fast enough. everything is all set and we are now just waiting for that day to come. (April 9th) As far as we know we have two seperate groups coming over so far to help us out. One in the summer and one at Christmas time. So, if anyone else wants to come on over there is plenty to do and we'll put you to work right away. this is a wide open invitation to anyone who feels a call into ministry and has a heart for Africa.
Please be praying for us as our time approaches quickly and the house is a disaster. also pray that God continues to work in our lives and prepare us for what is to come.
thank you for all your prayers
keep on praying
you are all in our prayers and we love you
Andrea

In the Beginning...

As many, many, many of you know Tom and I are headed off to the Western coast of Africa. We will reside in a small country called The Gambia. There we will be working along side Youth for Christ working in schools and possibly an orphanage or two. We also have huge plans to build up country on land that was purchased on our last trip.
Tom and I have been waiting for citizenship, passports, and visas to all come through for so long that it is hard to believe that the time is approaching so quickly for us to leave. We will be heading out on the 9th of April at 12:20 am (sick that's like the middle of the night) As of now we are packing up the house, waiting on Visas and waiting to go. It's all kind of that hurry up and wait mentality really.
Just to let you all know, I feel this is going to be the easiest way for me to keep you all posted on everything. I'll post pictures and comments as often as I can and you can all still email me at my old address too if you like or if there is something you don't want the whole world to read. No worries.
Peace