Audrey Laura Osei-Mensah was born in East Ham and professed faith in Christ aged 14, through her confirmation class in Wanstead. In 1955 she went up to Birmingham University to read geography. As she wrote in her memoirs: ‘It was during my first year that Bible study replaced geography as my first love, which it has remained ever since!’
She served on the Birmingham CU Exec alongside a thoughtful student from Ghana: Gottfried Osei-Mensah, with whom she maintained a friendship while teaching at Clarendon School from 1959 to 1962. In 1962 she applied for a position with SIM in Nigeria, whereupon Gottfried, by now with Mobil Oil in Accra, proposed to her. At her father’s suggestion, she first went to Ghana for three months to get to know Gottfried’s family and context. They married the following year.
As well as having a keen intellect, she was highly-organised. With two small children (Stephen b.1966 and Ruth b.1969), she ran clubs in the neighbourhood – initially for children keen to improve their English. This grew to a weekly Bible class of over 50. Gottfried left Mobil Oil in 1965 to become the Travelling Secretary (West Africa) for IFES.
