How Hungry Are You?

I was helping out at a pastor's conference today. I was "The Greeter" (i.e., "Hello! Good morning! Welcome! How are you? Goeie môre! Registrasie is in die saal. Accommodations are in the building across the parking lot.")

I met people from all over South Africa, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Zambia, Mozambique, and Malawi. I asked the man from Malawi how long it took him to travel to Pretoria. He smiled broadly and said, "Four days, traveling 14 hours each day. The potholes were terrible, but we only had two flat tyres!" He then commented on how South Africa is so different from Malawi. When I asked him how so, he replied, "Well, Malawi isn't as.... developed."

Another person I met was a sweet gogo (grandma) from a township outside of Pretoria. Her husband had recently passed away. He was, as she puts it, the shepherd of that area. She then asked me, "When the shepherd goes away, what happens to the sheep?" Gogo Setty decided something had to be done, so she enrolled in Bible college (she has two semesters left), deciding to pick up the mantle of leadership left behind by her deceased husband. How's that for taking initiative?

I can only imagine what life is like for this pastor out in rural Malawi, and for the elderly gogo. If they need to talk to someone, where do they go? In whom can they confide? This man and woman were so excited to be at the conference and talk to other people who are in similar situations, as well as gain valuable education. They are hungry to learn, and will go to great lengths to do so.

So... how hungry are you?