May 30, 2008
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God's On The Move
A lot has been happening!!!! I just returned to the farm from an all expense paid two weeks at the Riverside Lodge in Choma. Sounds interesting, huh? Well, it was a workshop that the Kazungula District Health Ministry had decided I should attend. As a matter of fact, they gave us two slots in the class so Sal and I decided it would be beneficial for Geoffrey to attend also. So Geoffrey and I went to the class in Choma and Sal stayed back at the clinic holding down the fort so to speak. The workshop was PMTCT: Preventing Mother to Child Transmission of HIV. It was a two week course sponsored by Boston University. Boston University is supplying HIV test kits, RPR test kits (for testing for syphilis) and Antiretroviral medications or ARVs for HIV treatment to Zambia and so they decided to also sponsor some of the training to the health centers. All in all a good class with updated national guidelines. I had to share a room with another female and had all the nshima I can stomach for awhile!
The second exciting thing happened of course while I was in Choma…the Container arrived on the farm!!!! A call was sent out late at night to all the villages and at 8am the following morning, 30 or more volunteers came in force to unload the 40 foot truck loaded with medical goodies. All the contents were put into a large storage room adjacent to the church. Sal promised he wouldn’t touch anything until I got home so we could go through it together. The first things we pulled out were IV poles so we don’t have to move nails from place to place. Then we moved in the hospital beds…3 in the male ward and 4 in the female ward. We put two beds on one side of the Maternity Suite for those ladies in labor and the Delivery Bed on the other separated by a curtain. We even plugged in some beds with transformers and demonstrated how the head and feet go up and down…our staff were amazed and took turns lying on the beds. J I think today we are going to dig out the Ultrasound!!!! There is still so much to go through….it will take some time and perhaps some reorganization of rooms, but we have been blessed and we thank God for always providing what we need when we need it.
Thirdly, this coming Saturday night, Sal will be presenting at a youth conference in Livingstone on “Choices,” a teaching/preaching session Sal put together on HIV, STDs and sexual immorality. Sal has felt God say to “also work the other end”….instead of just treating HIV, to do something to prevent it before it is contracted. I think this teaching is something we will be doing in many different arenas…schools, churches, health facilities etc., but we will wait for God’s direction and timing. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Weekly outreach to Kasiya is going strong. People are waiting every Wednesday morning as we pull in with the Land Rover filled with packed supplies and medicines. We have been averaging over 100 regular patients every week and when we add Under 5 week or Child Health week, we cross over the 200 mark! A relationship is being built as we provide care. Traditions, myths and misconceptions must be met head on with education and the Truth of God’s Word. I think in my next update or newsletter article I will tell you about some of the traditions and myths that challenge us here while we attempt to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the people. Be on the lookout!
Last, and one of my promised disclosures….one thing we felt God was speaking but we couldn’t share at the time because we had to get permission from the Director of the Kazungula District and meet with the other four health centers to discuss….as of June 6th and every subsequent Friday thereafter, Sal and I along with Alex and Pastor Winfred will be taking ART clinics out to surrounding villages. No longer will we be sending out the lorry on Thursdays to pick up two loads of HIV patients to bring them to Sons of Thunder. Instead we will see them in their communities where they can be linked to other support services. We will go to Kabuyu the first Friday of the month, Katapazi the second Friday of the month, Sinde the third, and Siakasipa the fourth. This is a pilot that the Director was very pleased with and she, along with the Southern Province (over the District level) will be watching outcomes. God’s building an intricate network of care involving a widespread area and involving many facets. Stigma and discrimination will not have the stronghold it has had preventing people from surfacing for help. Only when they come forth physically for help can you even hope to help them spiritually. We are excited to continue moving forward!!!
Please continue to pray for us here at the clinic…not just Sal and I, but all the staff as we are moving in unchartered waters! J Thank you again for all your love and support.
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