ANDY'S BACKGROUND & Family Heritage

I was born in 1968 in Northern Michigan, where my English speaking mother Lucile Anthony Geesey was born in 1937; she grew up on a farm in Boyne City with 3 brothers and 5 sisters. I have always been interested in the Anthony family history, and have been able to trace her line back to John Anthony who came to America in 1634 and settled in Portsmouth R.I., As our line of Anthony's slowly migrated west through Jefferson, and then Genesee County's in New York State, they were members of the Quakers. In time our line of Anthony's moved further west and north into the State of Michigan.

My father Charles M. Geesey was born in Lancaster County, Pa. in 1938 the son of Dutch [Pennsylvania German] speaking parents, he also was raised on a farm and was one of 11 children. Grandfather Geesey died in 1964 just 4 years before I was born. From all of my grandparents I was influenced the most from Grandmother Marion my father's mother, who had roots in the Dunkard "German Baptist" church. [To learn about the Dunkards please go to our links page] Her ancestors had arrived in Lancaster County in the early 1730's and over the years had passed on their German Dialect from one generation to the next, at least until her generation.

In 1974 my family was called to serve as missionaries, with the Fundamental Baptist Mission, in Trinidad & Tobago. So we began to prepare for the mission field and arrived in Trinidad in 1976. I attended a National school in Trinidad, were I had many friends who were mostly Hindu, Muslim, or Catholic children.

At that time in my life I knew a lot about Jesus but I did not know Jesus, you see he was not my Lord and Savior. In fact it was not until the age of 14, when our family was back home on furlough and ministering at a Baptist church in Kennett Square, Pa for a whole week of Daily Vacation Bible School did I come to realize that while I was a religious person, and knew much about Jesus and the bible, attended church regular and tried hard to be a good kid, I was still lost because I had never received the gift of eternal life and personally trusted Christ as my Lord and Savior.

That is when I repented and turn to Christ apart from any of my own works or good deeds, and personally trusted him as my redeemer.

A few months later my family returns to Trinidad while I remained here, I began to live with a family in the Portsmouth area of Ohio. I would like to be able to say that I went on and served God and that all was well from that day on, but the truth is all was not well. Being a young and impressionable person away from home, it was not long before I was experiencing much of this world's pleasure; you see I was trying to please people.

It would take many years before I came to myself and began to seek after God, who had already promised that he would never leave me nor forsake me.