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A letter from Charlotte Gott in Malawi |
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November 11, 2004
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first
heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no
longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming
down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully
dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne
saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will
live with them. They will be his people and God himself will
be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from
their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying
or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Revelation 21:1-4.
No more tears
The life expectancy in Malawi is about 39 years. About 50 percent
of the population in Malawi is under the age of 15. About a million
of them are orphans. These are a few of the consequences of the
epidemic of HIV/AIDS. Every day, as health care providers, we
meet those struggling to live with this disease—older adults,
infants and children, and especially those between the ages of
15 and 49. We are experiencing the “hungry months”
as Malawians plant the maize seed they have the cash to buy, waiting
for the rains, left with little-to-nothing from last year’s
harvest to eat. So, as the above Bible passage was read yesterday,
we wept for the hope of this promise. |
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It is acceptable in Malawian culture for people of the same sex
to hold hands in public, but it is not acceptable for people of
the opposite sex to hold hands. HIV/AIDS is a disease of heterosexuality
in Malawi. |
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Yesterday, Dr. Sue Makin and I took our housekeeper,
Edith, and our local Presbyterian pastor, J.B., to the premiere
of the video “Tonthola, Usalire” (“No More Tears”)
at Limbe CCAP Church. This film was produced by Christian Audio
Visual Action (CAVA), out of Zimbabwe, and funded by Oikonomos Foundation,
out of the Netherlands. It is based on a book by Cecile Perold,
a longtime missionary to Zimbabwe, who in the face of the HIV/AIDS
epidemic in Africa, was inspired by the verse from Revelation 21:1-4. |
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Available in three languages of
Africa—English, Chewa and Shona—the Chewa version
of it was filmed in Mulanje. Much of it was filmed at the hospital
and in Sue’s house, using local people (including our housekeeper)
who donated their services as the actors. The gathering for this
premiere included many people from the church, the leadership
of the Blantyre Synod, a few of the actors (many could not afford
to come) and representatives from CAVA .
This one-hour film is the story of an HIV-infected couple dealing
with sin, love, forgiveness, death, and renewal. It portrays a
community of believers coming together to support this couple
so that God can work “for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28) |
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At Mulanje, we had already started to play the
video for the patients in the outpatient department as they sit
on benches waiting to be seen. We hope it will be produced in many
African languages and that its message of love will help promote
the healing, physical and spiritual, that can be achieved as we
follow the example of Christ. Reverend Gunya, general secretary
of the Blantyre Synod, requested that every congregation see this
video, and with over a million in the synod, it should be widely
viewed. |
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The covers for the Chewa- and English-language versions of "No
More Tears." |
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It is estimated that 15-20 percent
of Malawians are HIV positive and most of them do not know their
status. It is sadly routine to see a steady stream of emaciated
patients with a variety of complaints who have never been tested
for HIV. Now that antiretrovirals (ARVs) are available here at
Mulanje and other places in Malawi, I am frustrated that we see
many of these patients so late in the course of the disease, and
that despite appropriate interventions testing is quickly followed
by death.
Here at Mulanje, women are more willing to be tested for HIV
than men. Most of those on ARVs are female. Wives are also more
willing than husbands to be tested if their partner is HIV positive,
and women are more at risk to be left by their husband if they
are HIV positive. This is a disease that can be transmitted from
mother to child while the mother is pregnant, during labor and
through breastfeeding. A widowed woman, a woman whose husband
has abandoned her in her illness, who has their children to feed,
has little means of support for food. Malnutrition greatly exacerbates
the effects of HIV/AIDS.
Our viewing of the video was interrupted by a rainstorm and the
customary power outage. One of the choirs sang as rain pelted
the iron roof and the wind blew the curtains off the windows.
Despite the interruption, videos were distributed to any actors
present and sold to others for 800 kwachas each (less than $8.00).
Sue bought several, one to be donated to the local “Kung
Fu” video viewing place down the dirt road from us. Let
us pray that this message of love and forgiveness is well received.
For more information regarding this film, you may contact cava@mango.zw.
In Christ,
Charlotte
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