Verlin or Debbie Anderson
5275 Joe Martin Rd
Cookeville, TN 38501-8145 USA

To send financial contributions for ministry, please see our 'Links' page for both mail and electronic gift instructions. Sending us something personal to Cote d'Ivoire takes 3 to 6 weeks for delivery, IF it's delivered to us. If you've something to send, like a card, but have no other address, someone in the family or our support network checks the following PO Box address every month or so and will get it to us:

Verlin or Debbie Anderson
900 S. Willow Ave #3738
Cookeville, TN 38502-3738

Q: Does your family seriously like living in Africa ?
A: As bizarre as this may sound, yes. Go ahead and go to the Culture page to see what we love about Africa (and things that, well, we don't love so much).

Q: Do you live in one of those mud huts with thatched roofs and no door or windows?
A: Nope, we settled on the next best thing: a nice concrete house with a tin roof. We have electricity and running water (usually). No air-conditioning, but we make sure that our houses have lots of windows, so that there is usually a nice cross-breeze.

Q: How on earth do your children get a western education and yet still be at home?
A: Through the way of the past and the wave of the future: home schooling. During the elementary years Debbie teaches through Calvert curriculum (Calvert's Web Site). At high school age the children switch over to Northstar Academy, which is a Christian on-line school (Northstar's Web Site).

Q: How does an on-line school like Northstar Academy work?
A: Typically, teachers will post weekly lessons on the internet that the students will download. After the students have completed that week's work they will send it back via internet to the teacher to be graded. The text books and other necessary physical materials are shipped to you at the beginning of the school year, and then you ship them back at the end.

Q: What sort of wild creatures do you keep as pets?
A: Right now we have satisfied ourselves with guard dogs, a cat here or there, a hamster, and a turtle. During our first term we owned more exotic pets like a chameleon, a parrot, and a wild hedgehog; we have also turned down several deer and monkeys, and snakes are allowed in the yard only under penalty of death.

Q: What language do they speak in Cote d'Ivoire ?
A: Officially it is French. However, there are over 60 different tribal groups with their own language! Most Ivorians know at least two languages: French and their own tribal language.

Q: Are your neighbors black?
A: Yes, this is Africa after all. The only “pale faces” we see in our area are fellow missionaries, some Catholic nuns, a few Lebanese, and a United Nation chap here or there.

Q: Are you black?
A: Sadly, no. It is unfortunate, seeing as we have to wear sun-screen whenever we go out between 11 AM and 3 PM .

Q: What is your ministry in Cote d'Ivoire ?
A: Our primary ministry is training Africans to plant churches using the CHE strategy. In addition to CHE , we also preach, teach in other settings, hold English classes, translate materials into French, give medical help, assist our African pastors, and counsel regularly.

Q: What is CHE ?
A: CHE (pronounced “chay”) is an acronym for Community Health Evangelism. This ministry was developed by LifeWind International (formerly known as Medical Ambassadors International), and operates in over 100 countries around the world. At the heart of CHE is teaching people to be at peace with God through Jesus Christ, which in turn allows them to have peace with themselves, with others, and with their environment, too. CHE teaches people to use the resources they have locally to change their lives.