Had lunch with the Gregersons today

David and Linda Gregerson were ministers at Brentwood the last 10 years or so we were there, for those who don’t know them. Well, David was paid to be a minister. Linda just ministered. While at Brentwood they went to Zambia several times for medical campaigns and such, and finally decided to pick up and move there. Their children were grown and their heart was in Africa, so they sold everything and went to teach at George Benson College and work at the Namwianga mission school located at Kalomo, Zambia, Southern Province. Here’s a link to their blog.

Since they are in the states on furlough and not blogging much, the last few entries concern a “Women’s Meeting” that occurred just after they left. They planned for two thousand. Four thousand women and uncounted children showed up. There was no chance of “housing” this many – they were simply looking for enough flat space for people to sleep on. And then there was the little matter of feeding them. A large amount of money came out of someone’s pocket for the mealy meal (no, I don’t know what that is, and I’m not sure I want to) that they had to go buy. It took 3 hours to serve a meal to all those people, but no one – no one – said one cross word about waiting that long. Linda said then it was the custom for the women to sing. All. Night.

Life in Africa is really, really different. I recall from visiting our friends in Guatemala that so much of the local Indian’s life was spent in just trying to stay alive. The Indians in Guatemala were fairly well off compared to most Zambians. AIDS is rampant, starvation is the next door neighbor and you only go to the local hospital to die. But we constantly read in the blog that the Zambians are among the happiest and most amenable people in the world. Except maybe for those who break in your house several times a year, or hold you at gunpoint for the school tuition money. But after that they went into Kalomo and dragged the policemen out of the bars and brought them back to the Mission so they could fire their AK-47s in the air to “tell the bad guys that they owned this earth.” I don’t think I could do what the Gregersons do. I don’t think I could even sit in an airplane for as long as it takes to get where they live.

By the way, Rob & Julie – John Gregerson is getting married in June to a young woman related to Cynthia Winters. Sara is teaching in Oklahoma, but she and a young man from Houston are helping Southwest Airlines have another profitable year.