GBCC Graduate Ministers in Northern Zambia

One of the first sponsored students I worked with at George Benson Christian College was Steward Chiradza.  He was quiet and reserved in class, but his grades were always high and his work was always excellent.  

            Steward finished his classes in 2008 and volunteered for Northreach, a program that places GBCC graduates in areas of Zambia where the church is weak. He was sent alone to Nakonde, a border town with all of the challenges and turmoil associated with border towns.  He did a very effective work with the congregation there before being posted to Luwingu in northern Zambia. 

            Recently Steward contacted me by e-mail.   He teaches high school English and religious education at Luwingu High School.  He is married and has twin daughters.  Steward works with a local congregation in preaching, teaching, and evangelism.  Under his leadership, the congregation now has 40 members and is in the process of building a brick building to replace the thatch enclosure they meet in now.

            Steward says that GBCC prepared him for his roles of teacher and evangelist by giving him courage, Bible knowledge, and leadership training. He is another success story who demonstrates the effectiveness of preparing self-supporting church planters.    

            Steward would not be teaching and serving today without the US Sponsorship program.  Both of his parents had died, and without sponsorship Steward could not have attended George Benson Christian College.   Many other orphans and needy students are waiting right now to hear whether or not they will have a place at Namwianga when the new school year begins in January.  If you would like to make a difference in someone's life, consider sponsoring a student or making a one-time donation to the sponsorship program.  

Sponsorship payments may be made by check, automatic debit, debit/credit card, or PayPal.  Checks should be made payable to Zambia Mission Fund and mailed to Zambia Mission Fund, Box 3393, Abilene, TX  79604.  PayPal or credit/debit card payments may be made on the Zambia Mission website:  www.zambiamission.org .  Click on Donate and be sure to specify that your donation is for student sponsorship.  If you have questions, please contact me at dlgregersen@mac.com.

Student Teachers Accomplish Great Things

They faced crowded classrooms, worked long hours, and lived in basic accommodations with few conveniences.  They were asked to coach teams, sponsor clubs, and take on extra duties.  And they also jumped into the local congregations and became leaders.  These were the challenges faced by student teachers who fanned out from George Benson Christian College in May to do their Student Teaching Practice, or STP as it is called.   For three months, over 150 student teachers made a difference for students, schools, and churches all over Zambia. 

One student teacher walked 12 kilometers in order to attend the nearest congregation. She studied with two college students who were also student teaching, and they were baptized.

Another found that the local congregation had all but disbanded.  He and others who were doing their student teaching helped to reconcile the broken relationships and started the congregation meeting again.  They also formed two new singing groups. 

A student teacher was selected to lead a Scripture Club.  The club led two outreaches that resulted in five baptisms. 

One student teacher writes:  “I want to tell you that my experience as a student teacher was very wonderful!  I enjoyed every bit of it because it made me feel good . . . to know that I can shape another person’s future as a role model—because that is what being a teacher is about.”

On student taught at Kalomo High School where there is congregation composed entirely of high school students.  He writes:  “I congregated with the pupils from this school who did not have an (older) person to guide them in certain things.  It was an inspiration to the pupils having someone from a Christian college.  We started a singing group . . .    We also evangelized to the people within our vicinity. “

Another student teacher was appointed to coordinate the Christian Movement Choir in his school and led them on three outreaches.  He also coached the soccer team and helped them win first place in two tournaments. 

These teachers in training are already fulfilling the purpose of  George Benson Christian College:  to prepare self-supporting evangelists who will spread the gospel in the communities where they teach.  

Many students cannot attend college without sponsorship.  The new school year starts in January.  Won’t you consider investing in the future of Zambia by sponsoring a college student?  Just $150 per month provides tuition, boarding, and fees to send a student to college.  When that student graduates, he or she will be ready to serve a community, a congregation, and the country of Zambia.  For more information, see the Zambia Mission website or contact Linda Gregersen at dlgregersen@mac.com.  

Missionary Teacher

Dimuna Habeenzu was in the very first class I taught at George Benson Christian College in September, 2005. He recently visited Roy Merritt, and Roy sent out this report:

Dimuna Habeenzu has worked as a self-supporting missionary in North Western province for almost four and a half years.

He teaches school at Kabulamema—which means “There is no water” in the local Luvale language.

No water? The place sprawls a hill overlooking lush vegetation along the wide Kabompo River.

Dimuna and his college friend Joseph Moono have started two new congregations in North Western province, Kawanda and Manyinga. They revived a congregation in Kabompo.

“What is it like, Tongas preaching among Luvales?” I asked. “Are you welcome? Respected? Do you have problems communicating?”

“Luvales always welcome us Tongas,” Dimuna chuckled. “After all, we are cousins.”

Back to School

Some personal news: I started a new job last week. I am teaching second grade in Carthage, a town about 30 miles west of Mount Vernon. So far I've had six days of in-service training and spent many hours getting my classroom ready for the first day of school on August 18.

I have thought many times about the contrast between back-to-school preparations here in the US and those in Zambia, so I thought I would re-post a blog from 2007 about Brian Siakuba's student teaching experience.

Today we made another grueling drive to Chiili to pick up Brian Siakuba, a GBCC student teacher who had been there since May. The community came to say goodbye and gathered for this final photo. Brian is on the left side in the front row wearing a white shirt.


The community leaders were sad to see him go. He had proven himself to be an excellent teacher and a great worker in the local congregation. The woman who serves as head of the village begged us to send more teachers from GBCC. We hope to do just that!


On the way home, I asked Brian to describe the greatest challenge he encountered. He told us about facing the start of the term alone. We had taken him to Chiili on the first Saturday in May before the term was to begin on Monday. No other teachers were there, but we assumed they would be arriving on Sunday. As it turns out, Brian was the only teacher at the school for the first two weeks of the term. One teacher arrived after two weeks, and the head teacher arrived three weeks after the term began. Poor Brian had to figure out what to teach without any guidance! He seemed to have taken it all in stride and recommended that we send more student teachers there next year.


We are proud of students like Brian and look forward to hearing more of their stories as they return from their first experiences in the field.

Update on Brian: Brian graduated in 2008 and spent two years working with a newly planted church in northern Zambia. Currently he is back in the Namwianga area and teaches in a rural school. His wife is also a graduate of GBCC and teaches at the same school.

Studying at the Gregersens

This was a familiar scene on our veranda this weekend. My students are writing research papers--a daunting task for most of them.

Our veranda makes a great study area where they can use my resource books to gather information and also get some extra help from me when they need it.

Report from Student Teachers

Shown here are some of the sponsored students who did their student teaching May - August of this year. We invited them to come over on Sunday afternoon for cake and punch so we could hear about their experiences. What stories they shared! Some of them were sent to northern Zambia where they had to learn a new language in order to communicate with their pupils and other church members. Many of them faced opposition to their evangelistic efforts. One couple had to move from their first assignment because there was no place for them to stay at the original post. In spite of the difficulties, three new congregations were planted by members of this group, and many other congregations were blessed by their energy, enthusiasm, and love for the Lord.