While most Americans sheltered in place in 2020, the family of Bradley and Patricia Gray spent the pandemic improving the lives of the impoverished people of Botswana, Africa.
“I felt a calling to mission since (I was) a teenager,” said Patricia.
She was excited when the chance for a five-week trial came to West Point Church of Doniphan in 2018. Bradley and Patricia discussed the opportunity with their three sons, Zachary, Patrick and Noah. They prayed about it and talked with their pastor. The decision that always made sense to them was to make the trip as a family.
Short introductory mission trips are tools that global mission organizations use to expose potential missionaries to the trials, hazards and rewards of mission work.
Most of the population of Botswana live in long concrete block buildings where entire families share one room. All cooking and washing are done in steel tubs filled from outside spigots. All the families share a single communal toilet facility.
The Grays were not put off by the deprivations of this type of living. They returned to America ready to do more.
“God blessed it,” Bradley said about their efforts to raise the monies for travel back to Africa.
They held many yard sales, sold barbecued foods and visited many churches.
Their efforts were a success and the family flew out of O’Hare International Airport on Dec. 30, 2019. They landed in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Jan. 1, 2020.
The hard work began at the capital city of Gaborone, Botswana, two days later.
The family lived and worked from the local school building. Patricia was the school nurse and teacher of the fourth grade. Bradley assisted the school’s pastor in preaching to the populace. One of his frequent duties was to preach at funerals. Funeral services in Botswana can take up to a week. They include a funeral procession from the funeral home to the family’s home and then on to the gravesite. There are prayer services and singings the entire time.
The Gray boys helped with the mission work as well. The youngest, Noah, recounted the typically meatless meals and families that lived in thatch huts.
The Grays returned to America on Jan. 31, 2021. They are anxious to continue serving the people of Africa and plan to become full-time missionaries. They are busy now fundraising at churches and family and summer camps in the nearby districts of The United Pentecostal Church International. They are working toward a projected return to Botswana by Nov. 1.