View source for Andersson, Oscar (1886-1979)

Oscar Andersson was born in Ubby, [[Sweden|Sweden]], and became a member of the Swedish Baptist Church. [[Doering, Alma (1878-1959)|Alma Doering]] visited his community and recruited him for work with the [[Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission|Congo Inland Mission]] (Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission). He joined a pioneering team at Djoko Punda on the Kasai River in 1914.

In his diary Andersson wrote about loneliness while supervising firing of kilns of raw clay bricks; of encounters with African people, language, and culture; and thoughts of how they might best be reached with the Gospel. He also mentioned disagreements among the multinational team over questions of [[Mission (Missiology)|missiology]], and personality clashes. He married one of the team members, Sarah Kroeker, a trained nurse and midwife from the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Church ([[Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches|Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches]]) at [[Henderson (Nebraska, USA)|Henderson]], [[Nebraska (USA)|Nebraska]]. They buried a stillborn son in [[Africa|Africa]].

Differing opinions within the missionary team eventually induced the Anderssons to transfer in 1916 to a mission of Oscar's home church in Kwilu Province west of Djoko. They continued in their service until 1948 when they returned to Sweden.
= Bibliography =
An English translation of Oscar Andersson's diary is found in the [http://www.imhgs.org/ Illinois Mennonite Heritage Center].
{{GAMEO_footer|hp=Vol. 5, p. 27|date=1989|a1_last=Bertsche|a1_first=James E|a2_last= |a2_first= }}
[[Category:Persons]]
[[Category:Missionaries]]
[[Category:Missionaries in Democratic Republic of Congo]]