David Mason, 145 Main St., Malden, a former Brocktonian who grew up in Easton, has about as improbable a background for a medical missionary as you will ever find. Yet Dave and his family will leave shortly for Brussels, Belgium, on the first step of a trip to the Congo for this work.

Born in Brockton, Dave went to Easton schools and attended agricultural school. He was a State Police trooper for a time, worked as an insurance claims adjuster, and was an outstanding weightlifter.

In fact, Dave won the state championship in the 181-pound class in 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1962; was New England champ in his class in 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1962; and placed third nationally in 1959. He has a shelf full of trophies.

About five years ago, the Masons made the decision to become medical missionaries. Dave and his wife, Marilyn, sold their home in Easton and enrolled at Gordon College to study. For the past four years, he has conducted services in a church in a black neigh-borhood in Boston. He has worked at the same time in Malden Hospital to complete his training in laboratory work.

Why the decision? "I didn't come from a Christian home," Mason points out. "I became a Christian at the age of 25. I became more interested in doing the Lord's work and eventually made the decision that my work lay in the mission field."

Possibly some events in David's younger life may have made him feel that he was picked for some special work. On one occasion, he fell 40 feet from a tree in Brockton and escaped without serious injury. On another, he dove into a pool in Easton, hit his head on a rock, and was rescued from drowning by a companion. He suffered a head wound which took 70 stitches to close and also a neck injury.

Starting the trip, the Masons, with their three children, Mary Ellen, 7; David, Jr., 6; and Gerard, 4, will go to Brussels for a year to study French and complete preparations for their work.

The destination will be Nyankunde in northeastern Congo, where they will work at the Africa Inland Mission, an Interdenominational Mission Board facility which has served the Congo for 75 years. This particular medical center was formed five years ago after the rebellion in the Congo, which had destroyed all medical facilities [in the area].

Five Protestant mission groups work together in the center, serving a 500-square mile area. Several outlying dispensaries and small hospitals have been set up and six doctors from the center travel throughout the area to treat the natives. The center has no organized laboratory and Mason will set up this facility.

The center also has a school where they train medical assistants, who staff the dispensaries and can assist the doctors in their work. Mason hopes to add a training course for medical technicians at the school.

Marilyn, a Lynn native, has been busy taking care of the three lively Mason children. However, she was a secretary before their marriage and plans to assist at the medical center in that capacity.

How do the children like the idea? "I'm going to get a monkey and a parrot for Christmas after we get to Africa," David, Jr., declared. "Gerard wants a gorilla."

The Masons will be supported in large measure by members of the Evangelical Congregational Church of Easton, where David was ordained into the ministry. They were accompanied on their visit to the Enterprise by the Rev. Harold E. Milner, pastor. Sunday will be observed as David Mason Sunday at the church in honor of the family and a group of the church members will accompany the family to New York on Jan. 6 when they leave for their new work.

Related Links