Missionaries
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I will be serving as a Physical Education teacher at Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya, as well as assisting with communications for the school. As a former Team USA athlete, I’m excited to use the skills I developed from my years of training in a missions capacity.
God has redeemed broken circumstances in my life, and it is my hope that He will use these experiences to strengthen and equip the next generation - not only through physical fitness but spiritual health as well. I’m passionate about seeing people find healing, freedom, purpose, and hope through the only One who can provide them. It is with a grateful and humble heart that God has given me this opportunity to serve at RVA, and that you have chosen to partner with me in it.
Elly has served in a number of roles with Africa Inland Mission, including outreach among an unreached people group in the mountains of South Sudan, and most recently, serving as part of the team at AIM's Retirement Center in Florida.
Currently, Elly is preparing to return to South Sudan where she'll serve as part of an ongoing outreach among the Didinga people.
Bruce and Amber have served in various churches and ministries around the world whenever and wherever God calls. They are currently returning as furlough relief missionaries to Rift Valley Academy, a school for children whose parents are missionaries throughout Africa.
Our names are Rachel and Tyler and we are following God's call in pursuing full-time ministry in Kwale, Kenya.
We will be serving and reaching the Digo people who are located on the South East Coast of Kenya. Our two main goals are evangelism and discipleship to the Digo people while sharing the love of Christ.
Rachel will be using her nursing skills to provide community outreach and building relationships with those around her, and Tyler will be working alongside a local pastor as we all share the Gospel with the Digo.
It's through our personal and thriving relationships with God that we strive each day to follow the Lord and grow to know Him more deeply, and it's through Him that we are sustained and able to do all things.
We greatly value your partnership and obedience to God's call to further God's Kingdom in Kwale, Kenya.
"Let all that you do be done in love." 1 Corinthians 16:14
Andy and Margaret have served for 30 years as disciple makers and church planters in Tanzania, East Africa.
Their current assignment began in 2015 to the region of Tabora, to work among the Nyamwezi people, who largely have remained in the stronghold of Islam. The Nyamwezi are the second largest tribe in Tanzania. They embrace Islam, African traditional beliefs, and Christianity. They have much respect for their ancestors, "the living dead", to whom they offer sacrifices and rely on for benevolences. Most claim to be Muslims and follow the five pillars of Islam.
Working under the Africa Inland Church, the Andersen's vision is to teach Biblical principles, train and equip church leaders and new believers, and start churches. They teach religious education in public schools, equip local churches through theological education, discipleship, and a Bible and Literature project.
Evangelism methods include showing the Jesus Film, orally communicating Bible stories chronologically, preaching, initiating discovery Bible studies, and Community Bible Study. They encourage churches to be missions minded, and participate with the church in weekly and monthly prayer meetings for the Nyamwezi.
Nyamwezi Breakthrough Prayer:
“Lord, remove the veil from the eyes of the Nyamwezi and give them a longing to know your truth, that they may have new life in Jesus.”
Much of the Andersen’s focus is within Tabora Bible School, begun by the AIC in 2017, which over a two year period, provides students with six months of Biblical training. The Andersens teach church planting strategies, Biblical foundations for believers to grow to maturity, and train and equip students to reach Muslims. The men and women at the school are emerging church leaders who come for two-week sessions held throughout the year, practice methods in the classroom, and return to their ministry venues to immediately apply what they have learned. Between teaching sessions, the Andersens visit Tabora Bible School students and graduates and oversea AIM’s project for the capital development of the school campus.
The Andersen’s other projects address needs in their community, sharing Jesus through word and deed through conservation agriculture and clean water procurement. Additional ministries among the Nyamwezi include health ministries and Bible translation.
Andy was born and raised in Kenya. From 1997-2015, the Andersens planted multiple churches on the islands of Lake Victoria and started an elementary school, Lake Victoria Christian. They have three children who were raised on the mission field. Abigail graduated from Biola in 2020 with a BSN degree, and now works as a nurse in Maternal-Child Health. Ben graduated from Biola in 2021 with a BA in Psychology. Caleb is studying to become an EMT, aspiring to be a firefighter.
If you would like to help with AIM’s development of the Tabora Bible School campus, please click here: Tabora Bible School Development Project.
Pray with us asking the Lord for reproducing, Christ-centered Nyamwezi churches throughout the Tabora Region.
Thank you for your prayerful consideration of these additional projects.
Eddie and Rachel Andersen live in Dukana, Kenya, a small town just a few miles south of Ethiopia, with their six children. Since 2008 they have lived and worked in East Africa. They currently serve the Gabbra, an unreached people group.
The Gabbra live in a land that is marked by desert, lava fields, and scrub bush. They are nomadic pastoralists and raise camels, sheep, goats, and cattle. 89,000 Gabbra live in Northern Kenya and approximately 200 follow evangelical Christianity.
Eddie and Rachel serve the Gabbra through various means. Famine relief, well drilling, mechanical skills, and medical care are some of the ways they help the Gabbra with their every day needs. They also distribute audio Scriptures, have Bible studies, and hold church services. Eddie & Rachel oversee a radio tower and studio which broadcasts among the Gabbra as well as to several neighboring tribes.
Related AIM Projects:
We also have three kids. They're sort of crazy and absolutely incredible. They teach us so much about rolling with the punches and and accepting people as they are. That's what Jesus modeled, and kids are the outright best at it.
We’d love for you to partner with us through prayer, financial support or by simply following our journey on our blog (andresinafrica.com).
Brian and Patty Arensen have served with AIM for over 35 years in Africa. For the past ten years they served in Nairobi where Brian worked in the AIM Eastern Region office as the regional administrative officer.
In the summer of 2017 they returned to Minneapolis Minnesota to accompany their daughter, Kerith, who is enrolled in a two-year college program for special-needs young adults at Bethany Global University in Minneapolis.
AIM has loaned Brian to Bethany Gateways which is an interdenominational mission with similar goals and vision to AIM. Brian will be working with their personnel department in the home office in Minneapolis. Patty will continue to use her passion for quilting and inductive Bible study as God opens up doors for ministry and outreach. Although temporarily based in Minnesota, they continue to rely on support through AIM for their financial needs.
Nicki Armand is preparing to serve in Chad, Africa. She will attend language school to learn French in the Fall of 2019 and then to Chad in 2020. Nicki served at Wellspring Academy in the capital city from 2014-2015 and is now very excited to return long term to work among the 70 unreached people groups and to be a part of God’s work in Chad.
Wendy serves with AIM through the ministry of Ethnomusicology, helping African believers to craft worship music in their own distinct style, and traveling to different parts of Africa to conduct seminars to teach worship music composition. During her many years in Central African Republic, Wendy worked closely with a national missionary and the Zande church to build relational bridges with the unreached Mbororo people.
She has also played an active role in helping displaced peoples in central Africa through participation in Trauma Healing Seminars.
We are called to go to the Rift Valley Academy for the 2022-2023 school year, which will be a sabbatical leave for Steve from LeTourneau University.
We plan to minister to the RVA students through teaching math and physics and by mentoring them. We hope to strengthen the connection between RVA and LeTourneau University.
As a Christian couple we would like to develop friendships with other missionaries serving at the RVA and partner with them in their ministry. Our goal is to serve others during this year. Our home is in Longview, Texas, where we love to host missionaries coming through.
