update

Well, we are still not the new house. We are still waiting on the well but there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. A dim light but it is a definite light. We have painted now and Tom has finished all of the plumbing and electrical and everything is all ready for us to move into. Currently we are in a period of rest. We have decided to take a few weeks off and really seek the Lord’s guidance for the rest of our time here in the Gambia. It has been quite a while since we have heard God’s voice directing us on the things we are to be doing. We feel it is a good time right now to take that time and really try and listen and rest and fellowship with other Christians that are here in the city area. That is one thing that is lacking in Bansang for sure, fellowship, but, God is so good and we continue to trust in Him.
Another wonderful thing that has happened recently is that our shipment has FINALLY arrived. AMEN!!!! We had a few problems along the way. Like Not being told that one particular form needed to be filled out before they could even send the shipment off and not realizing until mid July as we are waiting patiently for our shipment to come and wondering why it isn’t here yet. But it is here now, and hopefully we will get it soon.
Please be praying for God to really speak to our heart in this time of rest. Pray that He reveals His plan to us and that we actually recognize His voice. Also please pray for health for both of us as Africa takes its toll on both of our bodies. And once again please continue to pray that God would raise up an able Gambian to take over the work in Bansang. We do have a few in mind, we are looking for confirmation.
Thank you guys so much for all of your prayers and support. God Bless each and every one of you.
Love, Tom and Andrea Loeschner

update

Dear Friends and Family. Well we are now in the city area enjoying some much needed R&R. We have been working hard as the rains have finally met us in Bansang. We have planted a nice crop of rice which will be ready to harvest at the end of October beginning of November. We now have about 100 banana trees fruiting and are expecting to be fairly busy within the next month harvesting and selling. After having fired our workers it was up to Tom and I to take control of the garden ourselves so I (Andrea) was the one to go and water every day until finally the rains did their part. I have also been battling the Baboons on a daily basis until Tom came and scared them away with a shotgun. Now they don’t bother us or our bananas and will not for awhile. We are working hard and the house is still coming along. We are still just waiting on the well, but they have hit water. Praise the Lord!!!!!!!! As soon as the well is finished we will move in. As far as things go there is not much new here. We have added one more donkey and 4 goats to the family. Our farm is growing one again. We have been planting Papaya and Banana trees at our new house, and are really trying to get it ready to live in. It was painted inside this past week and soon we will have a ceiling. Things are happening, slowly but surely. I have a few prayer requests for you all. Tom and I have been praying for someone to come and take over the mission in Bansang. Please partner with us in praying for the right person to come and soon so they can be trained. Also please continue to pray that the well will be finished as soon as possible. The sooner it is ready the sooner we can move in, and the sooner we will be free to do what we want, as far as ministry goes. I guess that is about all I have to say. We really miss you all. Thank you so much for all of your prayer and support.
In Christ’s Service
Tom and Andrea Loeschner

update

Update 2 July 17th 2009
Hi everyone, Tom and I have been back to Bansang to see how everything went while we were gone. And to be completely honest things definitely weren’t as good as we had hoped. The Banana trees aren’t dead, at least not completely dead, but they were not doing as well as they should have been if they were watered properly. We went there thinking that maybe the pump had failed, because we had gotten word from someone that the bananas were not looking well. But, the pump is fine the panels are fine we just have a worker or two who really just don’t want to work for the money they are getting. We have now told the workers that they may finish out the month of July and then they are no longer “needed”. The rains will be in full force at that time and that will give Tom and I some time to pray, think and decide what to do next. On the bright side the Ministry center/house is coming along well and quickly. We are currently digging a well and doing some finishing touches here and there and are hoping to be in it by the end of August. We would like to have water before we go there. The donkeys are fine and we still even have two ducks. Tom and I have been busy and stressed trying to adjust back into Gambian life. We continue to learn new things as each day comes. Please pray that the workers at the house will be honest and not skimp on materials and that the well will be done properly. Thank you all so much for your prayer and support.
Tom and Andrea Loeschner

we are back in gambia

Hello everyone we have arrived safely in the Gambia. It was a long journey, drive from incline to San Francisco, flight to Washington, and then flight to Dakar Senegal our first plane was delayed so we almost missed our second flight, but they waited for us and we were the last passengers to board, after running through the entire airport of course. Once in Dakar we took an 8 hour taxi route to Banjul where we are right now. It was a difficult journey but we thank God that we made it. So far life in Gambia is as we left it, very hard. We are going to Bansang next week so please pray we will find the garden ok and that we will have good relationships with our host family. Also pray that we are able to finish the mission center and that God would provide a national missionary to come along side us and learn about the garden and be willing to join in the work that is going on in the Bansang area. We are now trying to readjust to Gambian life and are slowly adapting once again. It’s nice to have a couple days in the city to just get used to being back. Our friend Hayden Moore is here with us now, he will be staying in the city area but it is nice to know he is around. We have been able to meet up with friends and are feeling fairly welcome. Not too bad of a change. Anyway, of course we miss you all, and we thank you once again for all of your prayer and support.

we will really try to update this regularly

love tom and andrea

Back in America

Hey all, I know, I know I am terrible at updating, but I'm really going to try and be better at it. Tom and I are back in America, we are working on fund raising and are home to see our families and friends. This past year has been really rough for us. We have had many disappointments and alot of really tough times. But God is so good. We have come to a decision. The gospel is going to be spread through the nationals. Because of this realization, we have decided to change our focus to Natioal Empowerment. We really feel as though this is what God is calling us to, and we are really excited about it. We are still growing Bananas but now have decided that any money coming from them will be going towards sending national missionaries out to do ministry. Currently we have quite a number who are ready to do missions in their own country but are worried about funds and feeding their families. We are hoping this will be the answer to the problem. We really feel that God is leading us to do this. We believe that the nationals will be much more effective in sharing the Gospel with their fellow country men than some foreigner coming in. Please join with us in prayer, that God would over come the obstacles that may stand in our way. Also pray for the nationals and that they would continue to be ready and stoked to go out and share their new found faith.

Back in the city

We are currently back in the city. We have decided to come down for two conferences, a retreat with YFC and also a Muslim convert conference, where Christians from a Muslim background are invited to come and share their thoughts and be taught about Christian life. Here is our update on the Muslim Convert conference it was Awesome!!!!!!
The conference was a Huge success. Praise the Lord. Gambians, Guineans, Senegalese, Malians, and even one man from Guinea Bissau came together to share ideas and thoughts about their new found faith ( as well as old found faith) Each person that was in attendance was a Christian from a Muslim background. We had about 130 people in attendance and God really moved throughout that place. We were able to come together for 4 days and dig deep into God's word. Christian family and marriage was taught, and what it looks like to have a Christian family and what the Bible says about living in a Christian home, we also heard from one Missionary about the problems between Missionaries and the national Church, and we discussed possible solutions. This was also a time for people to voice their opinions and concerns. It is interesting to see how the past is still being dwelt on. Very sad, that people have so many misconceptions about each other. I feel that one of the main reason the conference was held was to bring unity back into the Missionary/Chruch relationship. We had one man come as a Seeker and decided to give his life to Christ. Tom and I were able to meet not only missionaries from Gambia but also missionaries from Guinea Conakry and Mali. We were able to hear about their experiences and share our own. We were greatly encouraged by these missionaries and hope to continue to build relationships with them. Tom and I were so greatful to hear both sides of the many problems between Missionaries and Nationals, with this new found information we hope to try and rebuild the missionary/National relationship. Many nationals are never happy about Missionaries we are hoping to show them that not all missionaries are the same by coming in with a new focus, a focus on working for the nationals instead of the nationals working for the missionary. As far as the Missionaries go we are trying to assist the Missionaries to understand the nationals and build trust between themselves and to take the step of faith to look past nationality and work together as one Body of Christ. All in all we really enjoyed this time together and learned so much. Please be praying that we are able to find our own piece of land to live on and use as a Mission base. We feel ready to leave the family compound that we are currently residing in. Also pray for the missionaries of this area as well as the nationals that they would put aside their differences and finally come together for the work of God's Kingdom. Amen
Thank you so much for all your prayers and love and support.
Tom and Andrea

Well guess what. The truck is still not ok. We had it in the workshop for 4 days they changed the disk, the mounts, the fuel pump and then they decided to get the carburetor serviced. we thought it was running better so we loaded our entire shipment into it and headed off, back home. We got two hours up the road and the truck was not doing well, it may even be said that it all got worse. So we turned around and came straight back to the Mechanic. We had to unload all of our stuff (we're talking alot of stuff) and left it with the mechanic. So who knows how much longer it will be. Anyway, with that said, one can guess how we are feeling right now, tired, depressed, discouraged, to name a few. Please pray that God would give us rest in His love and peace about everything. We are anxious to get back home, especially sine it hasn't rained much, we have to water the Bananas. Keep us in your prayers.
Andrea and Tom

Hello everyone, I just wanted to let you all know about everything. We are now in the city once again, our truck was very sick and we don't really have any good mechanics in Bansang, so we prayed like crazy that God would get us back to the city in one piece, Thank you Lord for being faithful! The mechanic ended up dropping the entire engine and changing the clutch disc and some mount things and also the fuel pump. Anyway hopefully it will be good now. We have our shipment out of the dock now it is in the care of one of our pastor friends, we'll take it home this trip. Anyway, prayer requests, we are part of a team that is hosting a conference, it is a Muslim Convert conference, Christians from a Muslim Background will be coming from all over West Africa to The Gambia this will be happening Aug 20-24th Please pray for safe travels, for everyone, pray for the speakers and the team that is hosting everyone, pray that God will really call these nationals into a life of ministry and devotion to the Lord. Please also join Tom and myself in praying for our vision of sending out nationals from Gambia to neighboring countries and also finding support for all of them. We are so greatful to have an amazing group of Prayer Warriors behind us, God will bless each one of you
Love
Andrea

bananas are growing!

Hello everyone,

This Andrea Johnson, Tom and Andrea’s friend. I called them last week and got a good update from them. They are still waiting on some final paperwork and other things to get their shipment. The Gambia is a very corrupt country so if you are not willing to pay bribes you have to wait a long time to get what you want. They said they are doing well back in Bansang and that they have half the plantation planted with bananas, so that is keeping them both busy. They have two dogs now that are going to serve as watchdogs on the land. Andrea told me that they are very healthy for the most part but we could pray for their health to stay that way. She also told me about the spiritual warfare that is going on there. There are people that are “falling down” and it is getting worse and worse, please pray for the stronghold of evil in this town would be broken and people would find the comfort they need in God. They are praying a lot and feeling led to help start a program in west Africa like Gospel for Asia (www.gfa.org) to help support the local Christians to go out in their country to their people and tell them about the hope and life they have in Christ. Please pray that God would make this clear to them and lead them in the right steps to bring this opportunity to the people of The Gambia and West Africa.

tower

here is the water tower that me and a mason built for a plantation in the kombo area it took the two of us about three weeks and cost about 1500 USD. It has a holding capacity of about 2000-2500 liters. I have installed two out of the 4 taps it will supply and soon i plan to install the well pump. Its a lot of work but once it is all complete it will help provide some income for a ministry called house of wisdom that outreaches to muslims and helps muslim converts learn how to live with their new faith and outreach to their friends and family. House of wisdom has one church in gambia and a affiliate church in Guinea, each church is composed of 95-100 nationals from muslim backgrounds. That is extremely uncommon in west africa for those of you that dont know. Most Churches have christians from nigeria, ghana, the west, or people who were born in a christian home. The muslims who comprise of 95% of west africas population have still been unreached despite years and years of effort by missions and churches. Yet with house of wisdom they are effectively evangelizing and seeing people come to the Lord. However they have no constant support and are a grassroots ministry struggling to do more ministry and outreach. So feel our current mission work in gambia and west africa will be to help empower their ministry by any means we can. Please pray for them and us to do mighty exploits for the kingdom that will never end! Hallelujah shouts and cheers from all people....

hello everyone we are still in the kombos the shipment has arrived we are now waiting for the duty wavier to be approved feel free to call or email us we miss you all

Ok God, Where is the boat?

Hello everyone,
Tom and I are still here in the city, our boat with the shipment has
yet to arrive still now, this is The Gambia and nothing goes at
planned really, it's just something we had to learn the hard way. We
were told it would come on the 20th of April and here we are in the
middle of May and still waiting. Tom has been working on a plantation
for a national Pastor to help him raise money for his ministry. He is
off working most days. We are really looking forward to getting back
to Bansang and to our own plantation. We had our first rain shower of
the season yesterday, this is the rain that the locals claim is a
warning to the farmers to get their fields ready for the season. We
won't have another rain for like a month, just enough time to get
planting. This is why Tom and I need to get back home, to plant our
own garden. But we have realized that God has a perfect plan and His
time is the best time. We hope all is well at home and we are
constantly in prayer for you all. Thank you for all of your prayers
and support.
In His service
Tom and Andrea

hey everyone so first the ship was to come april 22, then it was delayed till may 5th now they are telling me may 10th So we will see. meanwhile we are still waiting here in Kombos. please tell us what is happening in all your lives we really want to know.

update

hello everyone we are here life has been hard but we praise God for sustainign us,presently we have 300 holes dug for the banana trees and we want to plant within two weeks if possible. Right now im in the city are awiting our crate to try to clear it at the ports. We have been working with Pastor Modou Camara and helping develop his own garden to empower his mininstry. We had a chance to see Pastor Lamin from Guinea last week and we are looking forward to partnering with him in the future in ministry. God seems to really be leading us to working with those two people and their congregations. We are praying and ask you also to pray with us, about starting to send national missionairys out into Gambia, there are presently a few weel equipped Gambians that are ready and many more that are awaiting training but willing to be sent. The plantations we are starting will help sponsor these missionairys, but andrea and i are also praying about starting something along the lines of a Gospel for Asia type thing, were we create pampletes of the missionairy and then maybe a video (we want you cassie and andrea to come here) which we can then use back in the states to raise funds. But we are only praying about that now and still trying to focus on what we already have to do here. We love all you and pray for you. Please pray that God strengthens our relationship here, as satan seems to attack that aspect of our lives. Also please pray God guides and gives us disernment to know his voice.

later

tom and andrea

Pictures

Hello everyone My name is Andrea Johnson and I am great friends with Tom and Andrea. My husband Brian and I have been to the Gambia many times and we were just there with Tom and Andrea this last Dec/Jan. We are going to help Tom and Andrea update there blog when they can't get to internet. Here is a slide show of pictures from our last trip to the Gambia.

And we're back

Yes, we are back in the Gambia. After a nice break in the US Tom and I are back and we are refreshed and ready to go once again. We have huge plans for the banana plantation and will be heading home to Bansang tomorrow to get started on those plans. We spent the past week in the city area trying to ease our way back into the culture. We are fully stocked with supplies for building and reinforcing and are going. Please be praying for us. Pray for patience for the Gambians, and for the opportunities to speak to people that we have been building relationships with about the love of Christ. Pray that Tom and I feel comfortable back in the Gambia and that God comforts and protects us and really pushes us to be bold. Thank you all for al of you prayer and support until now and please continue. We\ll try and update every month or so but you all know how bad we are at that but we really are going to try hard to keep everyone enformed.
Andrea and Tom

we are in the hood, for about a month doing research, getting supplies, raising support, and resting. Give us a email or drop by.

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