Family Photo - 2012

Left to right:  Leah, Jacob, John, and Thaine Gregersen, Nana and PawPaw, Sara, Knox, and David Anderson

We gathered in College Station, Texas, this weekend to welcome baby Knox into the family.  Here is the latest news on our family.

Leah and John have two sons:  Jacob, age 2 years, and Thaine, age 4 months.  They have been living in Austin but will be moving to Brady, Texas, in late summer.  John works for Border States Electric and Leah will be teaching Family and Consumer Science at Brady High School. Sara and David live in College Station where Sara is a technology specialist for the Bryan ISD and David works for Suddenlink.

It's Been SOOOO Long - A Personal Update

Two different people last week told me that they still look at my blog occasionally to see if I've written anything.  That motivated me to at least see how long it's been since I posted, and I'm embarrassed to see that my last post was April 19.

I don't have much Zambia news to write about, but here is a personal update.  David and I bought a house three miles outside of Mount Vernon on a 2-acre lot with hills and trees.  We moved in on Memorial Day weekend--just five days after I finished the school year.  We did a lot of painting and are slowly unpacking and getting settled.  We love being out in the country and have enjoyed having our morning coffee on the back deck as we listen to the birds and watch the deer in the woods behind the house.

As I mentioned, I finished my school year.  I taught second grade in Carthage, about 30 miles away.  It was a wonderful year for me professionally.  Most of my students came from non-English speaking families, so there were many challenges, but they made tremendous progress.  The families were extremely supportive, my co-workers were fantastic, and my principal supportive and inspiring.  I'm already looking forward to next year.

Our second grandson Thaine Gregersen was born to John and Leah in February.  He is named after my father.  He is a sweet little guy, and I was thrilled to spend a week at the end of May in Austin taking care of him and big brother Jacob while Leah returned to her job.

Daughter Sara is expecting grandson number three any day now!  I have my bags packed ready to head for College Station, Texas, as soon as we hear that Baby Knox has arrived.

The birth of a new grandbaby is keeping us at home this summer, but we are already looking forward to June, 2013, when we plan to make a trip back to Zambia.  In the meantime, I am keeping busy with the sponsorship program and occasionally talking to our Zambian friends online or by phone.

Summer is always a busy time at Namwianga as the medical team comes for Zambia Medical Mission.  I'll keep you updated as I get news.

I'm Back!

I apologize to any faithful blog readers who are still checking for updates. I have started a new teaching job that is consuming most of my waking hours. I love the work, and I love my sweet second grade students, but right now I have very little time or energy left to blog. I hope to get back into blogging about Namwianga eventually, but for the next few months you can expect only occasional postings.

Here are a few updates:

Meagan Hawley and Louisa Duke spent last weekend here with us. Long-time readers know that Meagan and Louisa worked with us at Namwianga from 2006 on. They became like family to us, and we shared experiences with them that bonded us in ways only other missionaries can probably understand! Meagan is now teaching middle school in Edmond, Oklahoma, and Louisa is a physician's assistant at a clinic for low-income children in Fort Worth. We had a fabulous weekend with them, laughing and crying our way through years of memories and sharing the struggles of re-adjusting to life in the US. It was a blessing that I will treasure.

Jason and George are having their own adjustments at Eric's House. Roy and Kathi Merritt are retiring from full-time parenting in the orphanages. They have built a house next to Eric's House and will still be very involved in the work, but they will no longer be the mom and dad for Eric's House. James and Leah Mwale have moved in and are now in charge. I haven't heard how things are going for them, but I'm sure Jason is giving them lots of advice about how to run things and George is smiling his way into their hearts just like he does with everyone else.

George Benson Christian College held its graduation ceremony in late September. One of our sponsored students, Muyano Siabalumbi, was honored with a Distinction, the highest academic honor a student can receive. She is shown in the top photo. Muyano is now teaching at Sinde Mission. You may remember her as one of the teachers of whom the headmistress said, "They have transformed our school!"

Hanna Boyd, pictured in the lower photo with Jason and George, grew up at the Brentwood Oaks Church in Austin, our sponsoring congregation. Hanna is now spending a semester at Namwianga with the Harding in Zambia program. It has been a thrill to read her blog posts about her experiences and to see Zambia and Namwianga through her eyes. I hope to put some of her posts on the blog in the future.

Thanks for your patience as I learn how to manage this next challenge of dividing my time and my heart between ministries on two different continents!

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.

Update

I left Namwianga last Monday morning at 8:30. I was supposed to take an Air France flight out of Johannesburg, South Africa, that afternoon, but the flight was delayed 12 hours. That meant I couldn't make my connecting flights, so Air France booked me on a Delta flight for Tuesday night and put me up in a nice hotel across from the airport. Tuesday afternoon I arrived at the Delta counter and found out I was not even in the Delta computer system and was not going anywhere. After another night in Johannesburg, I finally flew out on Wednesday night and got home Thursday night. My luggage didn't make it here until Saturday. Oh well, I'm finally home and unpacked. It was a great trip and I brought home great memories to treasure.

The Gregersen Family Photo - Christmas, 2010

Lately I have concentrated my posts on Namwianga news. But I took a look at my loyal blog followers and realized many of you are our friends and would like to know what's happening in our family. So that, plus the fact that I am ridiculously crazy about the people in the photo above, prompts me to give you a look at the Gregersens and tell you about our recent life events.

Son John and wife Leah are shown on the left with baby Jacob. John is handsome, thoughtful, and has the second most gorgeous set of blue eyes in the world. He's also very sweet to his mama, in case you're wondering. Besides being a great son to me, loving husband to Leah, and devoted dad to Jacob, John works for Border States Electric in Austin. He's also loyal fan of the UT Longhorns.

Leah, my absolute favorite daughter-in-love, may just be the best mother ever. I'm sure having a degree in family and consumer science and a masters in early childhood helps, but she also has an innate ability to relax and enjoy her baby while she efficiently manages a household and a challenging job. Leah works in a school district near Austin. She teaches parenting classes at two high schools and also goes to the homes of the young moms after they've had their babies to keep them up with their courses.

Baby Jacob has the most gorgeous blue eyes in the world, and of course he got those from his dad. He is now nine months old and practically perfect in every way. He is happy almost all the time and can melt my heart just about anytime with his adorable smile. His recent accomplishments include crawling, clapping with delight, and playing peek-a-boo with his grandfather.

David Anderson became the newest addition to our family when he married our daughter in June. He is my favorite son-in-love, thanks to his great personality, good looks, and how sweet he is to me. He also adores my daughter, so that gives him a few points too. David works for Suddenlink internet and is a devoted Aggies fan. We try to forgive him for the latter and seldom miss an opportunity to say "Hook 'em Horns."

David and our daughter Sara now live in College Station. Sara works as a technology specialist for the Bryan ISD. That means she helps teachers use Smartboards in their classes and assists them with all things computer-related. I'm counting on some one-on-one help from her when I go back to teaching. She's also taking online graduate courses through A & M. As if that's not enough, she works with the college women at the A & M Church of Christ. You go, girl.

My David, or First David, or Bwana--whatever we choose to call him--keeps busy as minister for the Mt. Vernon Church of Christ. He loves small town life as much as I do and looks forward to things like the Monday morning breakfast with the not-so-young guys at the Courthouse Cafe. He drives a Silverado pickup and hunts deer when he gets a chance.

Right now I'm unemployed and loving it, although I'm going to be applying for jobs for next year and hopefully will be substitute teaching this spring. I'm still coordinating the student sponsorship program at Namwianga via e-mail and Skype. I also teach a women's Bible study here and work with a Monday night girls' class. All of that plus re-adjusting to life in America has kept me occupied and pretty much out of trouble.

I loved being with my family at Christmas time. Leah and John hosted all of us at their house in Manor, just outside Austin. It was the first time David and I had been with our kids at Christmas since 2006, so it was extra special for us. And having a baby there to enjoy--well, it doesn't get much better than that.

Now that we have fast internet, I promise to post and respond to blog comments--something I had trouble doing in Zambia. So I'd love to hear from blog readers about what you would like to see on the blog and what you enjoy reading.

Back in the USA

I left Namwianga on Tuesday morning and arrived back in the USA on Wednesday. The trip home was uneventful in all the right ways. I had three seats to myself on the long 16-hour flight from Johannesburg to Atlanta, so I stretched out and slept several hours.

I left the heat and dust of Africa and came home to the cool autumn beauty of southwest Missouri. The trees are vibrant shades of red, orange, and gold now. Mornings are crisp and chilly, afternoons are warm and pleasant. I am a world away from my other home in Zambia.

I'll try to get caught up on the stories of my trip that didn't make it to the blog yet.