Mary Beth's Reflections

Mary Beth McCown, shown above with Ruhtt Mbumwae, agreed to record her reflections on her time with us. She writes:

I will always remember our trip to Zambia. As guests of the Gregersens we spent 15 days meeting the people and going to the places that readers of this blog have visited in print. Since returning three days ago I have awakened with a Tonga gospel song in my mind the last two mornings. Shadowing the Gregersens led to our learning Tonga phrases and the Tonga handshake so we could politely meet and greet dozens of people at the school, in the community schools, in outlying villages as well as the town and marketplace in Lusaka.

I will always remember Jane, the hospitable head mistress of the Chiili community school whose nshema, dried fish, goat offal with gravy we enjoyed eating Zambian style with the fingers of our right hand. While the men were in worship Linda and I and Jane led a Bible class with 30+ children. Telling the story of Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego was doubly animated as Jane translated for me as I gestured even more than usual to keep the children’s attention while they awaited translation. These children related to this story because they live with fiery furnances their parents use to fire mud bricks for structures in their community. This trip into the boonies was my favorite adventure.

I will always remember the effects of AIDS on Zambian family infrastructure. I visited
two orphanages, met many orphaned students, heard of several abandoned orphans and several adults who provide food and shelter for orphaned nieces and nephews. Handling the effects of devastation of AIDS is a way of life here.

We thought we had come to Africa to only shadow the Gregersens. We left with our own experiences and impressions of unforgettable people like Peter, Rogers, Ruhtt, Jane, Prince, and those melodic Tongan gospel songs deeply imbedded in our memories. Those 15 days could make a couple of former missionaries homesick for the peculiar calling to cross-cultural ministry!