September 2, 2006

  • September 1, 2006

     

    We had a meeting with the Kazangula Health District during the first couple weeks we were back regarding making us an ART clinic.  That’s a clinic able to distribute the free medications for HIV patients.  It would mean that a group of 3 or 4 from the Health District would come to Sons of Thunder twice a month to distribute medications….a physician, pharmacist, and one of the coordinators for HIV care.  They would continue to come out until Sal and I and the staff are trained.  We now have over 65 patients on ARV therapy and more diagnosed every week. Upon our return, we hired an HIV tester/counselor to start in September, not knowing how valuable he would be in this process.  He will be our Infectious Disease Coordinator and will take care of all our HIV and Tuberculosis patients; testing, counseling, scheduling, coordination of care and medications, documentation and statistics, home visits and other family need assessments such as food and powdered milk.  Home visits will be with Julius, a well known man on the farm, pastor of one of the planted churches and graduate of the Bible School.  He came to us when we got back and told us that in his prayer time with God, he felt he was supposed to do more than pastor a church…he was supposed to help the lost and dying and he asked us if we had a need for him to help in the medical ministry somehow. When he was talking, I immediately thought of a Chaplain…and when I mentioned that word, Julius said “Yes, that’s it!”    Over the last year, Julius has been the only pastor that has asked us to go and see sick people from his church in their huts.  Julius often visits his people at their homes.  Well, all that being said….the meeting with Kazangula was positive and it looks like they are seriously considering it.  We are presently checking in Lusaka for lab equipment to perform CD4 counts and sputum testing for TB.  With adequate lab equipment and a Zambian trained HIV counselor, it would be hard for the Health District to say no. 

    Yesterday, we had a meeting with Livingstone General Hospital regarding unfair charging.  As a result of the meeting, we are no longer permitted to go to Fast Track with our HIV patients….we must go to the low cost Outpatient Department with the ART clinic.  When we expressed our concerns for staff not showing up and our large group of patients being sent home unseen, they told us things had changed and our clients would get priority on Thursdays.  It was not a very good meeting, but since I know that God turns everything to good for the benefit of those who love Him, I know that He has a purpose and a plan.  Yesterday, I couldn’t see through the tears of discouragement and frustration, but today I see K 3,00,000 (about $850) now available to pay an HIV counselor and a chaplain and maybe some lab equipment with a monthly supply of reagents.  The HIV coordinator from the Kazangula District came to the meeting with me and was able to see the difficulties first hand.  Perhaps that was incentive for him to speed up the process of our becoming an ART clinic.

    God does provide when you walk on those stepping stones as He lights them.

    Most of the time you step on that next stone not sure of the whole picture…because there is only one lighted stone in a sea of darkness.  But every time we take a step….we find that He is already there.