People always seem
to be dying in Malawi. Quoting from a December 31, 2006, article
in the Malawi newspaper, The Nation, “Out of every 100,000
women that go for maternity care, 980 come out on stretchers—dead;
one of the top five highest mortality rates in the world . .
. of every 1,000 newly born babies, 100 die.” Add to this
the under-five-years mortality rate hovering around 20 percent
and the ministry of health estimating more than 50,000 AIDS
deaths annually.
“Where is God in this dying?” writes mission co-worker
Martha Sommers. “God is with us. At places such as Embangweni
in northern Malawi, people are not left alone when suffering.
Christians accompany each other through the suffering, dying,
and mourning, praying together. God assures us, ‘wherever
two or more are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’
“I just left the bedside of a woman struggling to breathe
with pneumocystis pneumonia, a complication of AIDS. There were
three women relatives at the bedside, keeping vigil. As is true
for most of our patients, the two or three praying at the bedside
reassure the sufferer that God is present.
“At every operation, the staff person giving anaesthesia
leads the patient in prayer before the start of the procedure.
The operator, assistant, and all others present join in. Surgeries
are always stressful, and they are especially difficult in Malawi.
There is one doctor for 60,000 people, so most operators are
clinical officers with four years training after secondary school.
We know the situation is difficult, and we are thankful as we
pray with the patient before each surgery that God is with us.” |
