Sunday, April 26, 2009

Malawi Isn't in the News Much


Malawi isn’t in the news very much. It doesn’t have a war going on like Iraq or Sudan. It isn’t having atrocities like Congo or Kosovo. It isn’t even having piracy like Somalia or a cholera epidemic like Zimbabwe. What is happening in Malawi is too slow to get the attention of the news. Even the African press doesn’t see much newsworthy about Malawi. What is happening is that people are dying; not by thousands a day, and not in a way that looks gruesome in photos or videos. People are dying of AIDS, slowly, but a lot of them. Not enough to catch world attention, just enough to lose all that attention.

So what to do? Mother Theresa said, “We can’t do great things, just small things with great love.” We give AIDS medicines with great love.

We tested a child who was sick for a couple of months to see if he had AIDS like his mother. When she was told that her son was HIV negative, I saw one of the biggest smiles in my life. The people of Partners in Hope rejoiced with her, loved the woman and her son, and then made an appointment to see her the next month, so that she could keep getting the medicines and the love.

“A man with leprosy came to [Jesus] and begged Him on his knees, ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean.’ ” - Mark 1:40 – 41 (emphasis added)


How do you show love to a person with AIDS? The same way you show it to any other person: a handshake, a look in the eye, a smile, sharing the Word of God.

We look forward to touching the hearts of those with AIDS, and with your help, your prayers, your financial support, you can touch them as well.

"Behold, I will do something new..."

Lorraine, our 12 year old, had her hand up in the air and was tentatively saying “I have one”. We were in a Bible study group talking about God’s answers to our prayer. She went on to say that she had asked God to help her with the stress she felt about saving enough money to go to summer camp; she said “He answered my prayers by having the camp cancelled, so now I don’t have to worry about it!” I was amazed; I knew how much she had wanted to go to camp and how hard she and Alison had worked to save up the part they needed to pay. It reminded me about how God sometimes answers prayers in ways we don’t expect, and sometimes don’t like. The verse in Isaiah 43:19 came to mind..

“Behold I will do something new, now it will spring forth, will you not be aware of it, I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert”

-Isaiah 43:19

God is often doing new things in our life. Even when it seems to be all wilderness, there is a path we need to find and walk, by His grace.