'Mission' accomplished:
TBC missions director back from Africa

By AMY DAVIS
for Tennessee Bible College

COOKEVILLE -- The all-encompassing sound of a bull horn signals the beginning of the day's events. It's 7:30 a.m. Sunday, and almost 1,900 natives gather for their annual brush arbor meeting in the bush of Zambia, Africa.

The final day of the meeting has arrived, and many of the worshipers have been camping on the dry, sandy grounds since Friday, for hour after hour of edifying gospel sermons delivered from sunny morning until starry night. Most had traveled more than a day's journey by foot to get there.

They sit on rocks or logs as they listen intently, hanging on every word of the preacher's message of hope. Sheltering them from the August sun is a makeshift rooftop, overlain with brown elephant grass and upheld by thin, crooked tree limbs. No one is wearing a watch, and no one seems weary of the intensity and longevity of the day. Quite the contrary: the audience appears eager for more.

"They are hungry after the Bible," said Ronald D. Gilbert, one of several Bible preachers taking turns behind the pulpit on this occasion. An interpreter relays his message to the Tonga-speaking listeners.

Gilbert, director of missions at Cookeville's Tennessee Bible College, and fellow American Chris Dawson of Michigan, a former TBC student, are hard to miss in the sea of ebony faces -- a real curiosity for the locals.

It's Gilbert's 12th and Dawson's first in what has become an annual pilgrimage to Africa for missionary purposes.

In addition to their goal of strengthening the African church congregations, Gilbert and previous traveling companions have gone each year bearing funds donated by local church of Christ congregations and individuals for the purchasing of various needed items, including Bibles, bicycles for preachers, and white corn -- a staple food item in the average South African diet.

The two men set out on July 31, and two days and several airport stops later they arrived at a town called Livingstone in the nation of Zambia -- temporarily forgoing the comforts of home for an approximate three-week excursion in a primitive and remote land where they must wear plenty of mosquito repellant and boil their water before drinking it.

But, of course, the differences don't end there.

Back home, Gilbert enjoys preaching in an air-conditioned auditorium while the congregation sits comfortably on padded church pews. He even has a microphone so that those on the back row can easily hear the message. Meals take place in the building's fellowship hall with plenty of tables, chairs and eating utensils.

Not so in the African bush.

At this particular brush arbor meeting -- a five-hour drive from Gilbert's and Dawson's accommodations in Livingstone -- the people assemble under the elephant-grass canopy as best they can for a large dose of continual gospel preaching, with the final sermon of the day ending at 10 p.m.

"It works us pretty hard as preachers," Gilbert said.

Half a mile away from the camp is a river for those who are "pricked in their heart," (The Bible: Acts 2:37) and want to be baptized.

When it's time to eat, they break into groups. Three brown cows saw their last days during the meeting, having been purchased especially for the occasion with monies from America so that attendees could fill their stomachs with the rare treat. Sixty large cabbages helped complete the meal.

And Gilbert found that it isn't an oddity to see pigs wandering in and out of tents. Chickens, goats and dogs explore the camp as well.

It's a different world there in the bush, he says. A different way of life.

"The average fellow lives in a mud hut with a dirt floor and grass roof," Gilbert said. "They could probably put everything they own in a basket and put it on their head and move to the next town."

He said it's hard for one to mentally prepare for the drastic differences in living conditions as compared to the United States... the sights, the sounds, the smells.

"They're a hundred years behind us in Zambia," Gilbert said. "If you could go back in time a hundred years here in Cookeville, Tenn., most people would be walking or riding a horse -- and, of course, the Africans' horse is their bicycle! The average fellow here a hundred years ago probably didn't have a job. His job was to raise enough food to feed his family from one crop to the next. And that's basically what the Africans do."

Survival of the average bush man depends primarily on raising enough corn each year, with most of them using nothing but hand-held farming tools. Lack of water is a constant concern. Crops are planted in November, which is Africa's spring time, followed by the long, arduous dry season -- not one drop of rain water from March to October.

Nevertheless, most have gardens throughout the year, and women have the task of transporting water from the river or village water pump. They walk along, in a seemingly effortless manner, carrying five-gallon buckets of water on their heads. Firewood is transported in the same manner. Little girls scamper about balancing tea cups on their heads, practicing for the days to come.

Some villages have wells with fresh, clean drinking water. Others aren't as fortunate. There is much suffering and death brought on by dehydration and diseases like cholera due to the "bad water" in the river which many must drink, having no other feasible option. Malaria and AIDS are also common enemies of the people. The area's average life expectancy is 39 years.

The majority of Gilbert's and Dawson's time in Africa was spent in the town of Livingstone teaching courses at the Zambia School of Biblical Studies and conducting seminars to help strengthen local churches. Their first weekend was spent at the Highland Church of Christ, where they preached, addressed church issues and conducted question and answer sessions for more than a dozen area congregations in attendance.

Unlike the bush, the town of Livingstone is much closer to what Gilbert considers modern. There are grocery stores, restaurants, flea markets.... even cell phones. And the schools are now teaching English to the children.

While in Livingstone, Gilbert and Dawson lodged in a small brick house next to the Zambia School of Biblical Studies, where they taught six hours a day for 10 days. After their departure, the school's regular instructors picked up where Gilbert and Dawson left off.

The Zambia school also saw the commencement of one of its own during this time, as instructor Amos Simuliye became Tennessee Bible College's third distance learning graduate. In a ceremony officiated by Gilbert on Aug. 14, Simuliye received a bachelor's degree in religious education, joining the ranks of fellow instructor Peter Masiya, TBC's first long-distance graduate. The remaining three instructors at the school are pursuing TBC degrees as well. In fact, the vast majority of TBC's students are enrolled in the distance learning program. Fourteen states and 11 countries are represented.

Gilbert's mission trip also consisted of distributing 20 bicycles to area preachers. The bikes cost $100 each, which is three month's salary for the average worker.

"We're working hard to ensure that all the preachers have bicycles because some of them will go out and walk an hour or two to go preach on Sunday morning," Gilbert said. "They could ride there in 30 minutes or so if they had a bicycle."

Unfortunately, the dry African sand is a foe to the bicycle's mechanical parts, and thorns are unfriendly to tires -- so it isn't long before replacements are necessary.

Also supplied are Bibles, tracts, song books and monetary relief for several with medical needs, including 10-year-old cancer patient Anna Nyanisi, who lost an eye because of the disease. She and her family live in the bush, where her father, Albert, has started a small, primitive preacher's training school - - complete with a dirt floor, grass rooftop and small library. One of Anna's little brothers was named after Gilbert.

Gilbert described the people of Africa as "very family-oriented."

"The extended family is important to the average African, unlike the Americans who many times finish high school, go to college, marry and move away," he said. "Most of the time they stay close to their family."

The children enjoy playing soccer, and tea time is a treat for the adults.

In the city of Livingstone, independent selling prevails, rather than industry.

"They have kids on the street and women on the street, selling bananas or oranges, and they go buy them from somebody at one price and try to sell them to the tourists and make a little bit of money," Gilbert said.

And with that money they buy things like cooking oil, salt, sugar and tea.

The area also flourishes with flea markets, where a variety of clothing articles can be purchased, many of which are second-hand from other countries. So it isn't unusual to, perhaps, find a young man wearing a bright orange t- shirt bearing the University of Tennessee logo.

"They don't have a clue who the Vols are -- they just like that pretty orange shirt!" Gilbert said.

Gilbert himself did some clothes shopping in Africa, due to lost luggage at the airport. It was no easy task, however, finding pants to fit when the average African waistline is 26-30 inches.

"Mine's a little bit bigger than that!" he said.

He'll also be sure to tell you that it's hard to find a hair brush in southern Africa.

In preparing for the trip, Gilbert and Dawson took antibiotics and purchased insurance that would enable them to be flown out by helicopter in the event of a medical emergency. The water they used for drinking and cleaning their tooth brushes had to first be boiled to prevent sickness. Mosquito repellant aided against malaria. They also took along a first-aid kit.

"We try to be self-sufficient," Gilbert said. "We don't really depend on their local doctors."

Their meals in Livingstone mostly consisted of cereal or toast for breakfast, rice with beans or cabbage for lunch and corn with chicken or beef for supper - - or whatever they could find at the local Shop-Rite. Other times, they joined friends for meals, sharing a bowl of what Gilbert describes as "liquid cornbread." The Africans call it shema.

"They eat with their hands," Gilbert said. "They'll set that big bowl of shema in front, and they surround it. And maybe they have turnip greens boiled, and they'll take the shema and make a ball (rolling it between their hands) and stick their thumb in it and make an indention. They'll stick the shema over in the turnip greens and, with their thumb, put some turnip greens in the hole that they made in their bread. Then they'll pop it in their mouth."

So how did Gilbert eat the shema?

"Sometimes I'd eat it with a fork, sometimes I'd eat it will my hand the way they do," he said. "It just depended on how I felt and what I wanted to do."

There were plenty of other differences to adjust to as well, including a slower-paced way of life in a land where wrist watches are a rarity. That means longer church services.

"We're oriented to our clocks," Gilbert said. "We come in and have a 20-minute Bible study and a 30-minute sermon, and we're through. But they may take three or four hours to do their Sunday morning service. They don't come back Sunday night, but they actually do more time at the church building on Sunday in one meeting than we do in two meetings."

At Highland Church of Christ in Livingstone, a piece of metal is secured to a tree which, when hit, makes a bell sound, signifying the beginning of Bible study and worship. And much more time is spent in observance of the Lord's Supper than Gilbert sees at his home church. The Africans even make their own unleavened bread for that portion of the worship. Outside, a watering trough serves for baptismal purposes.

During his stay in Africa, Gilbert saw a total of 22 baptized and 140 restored to the church -- and that's what makes the whole thing worth while.

"It's a unique experience because it's one of the few times during the year that you feel like everybody is just hanging on every word you say, and they want you to preach longer," Gilbert said. "They never complain on how long the services are. They're asking questions, and they're eager to learn the Bible. And in this day and time that's sort of a rare thing to find people who are just hungry after the Bible... I've had people complain that I didn't preach long enough!"

He continued, "They appreciate you being there. The men at the school, they appreciate us coming. They're learning, they're continuing their education, and they're getting a lot out of this as well. And the area churches seem to be strengthened and edified when we're there. We see people obey the Gospel."

What keeps Gilbert going year after year?

"The love of the work and the receptiveness of the people and the accomplishments we are able to make," he said. "The growth. Helping the school. We appreciate the men over there. I'm very close to all the instructors. They are very good friends, and I'm committed to helping them as long as I can to go over. I look forward to it every year, and they look forward to me coming every year and our getting to work together."

Now that Gilbert is back in Cookeville, Tenn., he once again enjoys the many comforts of home, especially "good country cooking."

"And it's wonderful to be able to go to the sink and turn the water on and drink it!" he said.

What would one of his African friends say if they could visit him in America?

Gilbert said, "I'm sure they would think we're the richest people in the world."

* Gilbert welcomes donations for future mission trips to Africa. Those wishing to assist may call him at Tennessee Bible College, (931) 526-2616. The college is located at 1616 McCulley Road, Cookeville, TN 38506.