To Feel the Presence of God

To say that the first day working in Zambia was overwhelming would be an understatement. In 8 short hours most of us experienced a range of emotion unmatched by few days in our collective pasts. The day was spent in Misisi, a very large, overpopulated "slum" (I do not prefer this term though it is the easiest way to convey the area in one word) in Lusaka, the capitol of Zambia. Our operation was housed in a small and rudimentary, though beautiful, Anglican church in the heart of Misisi. The day began with a song by local women and a prayer by Emmanuel, the pastor of the church. His words, beautifully spoken and arranged, were accompanied by a choir of children's voices playing outside that was channeled through the doors of the church from all four sides. To say that God was present in this moment would once again be an understatement.

The operation for which we traveled 2 days began with a fury following the introduction ceremony. Many children and some adults, over 250 in total, flowed through the doors and along the conveyer belt of church-delivered medical care: from the check-in table to the "nurses station" (manned by the manly (and nursely) Pete Walter and his sister Hattie) to one of three doctor's stations run by the three physicians, two nurses, and one medical student, and finally to the pharmacy where four team members furiously cranked out prescription after prescription, including disproportionate amounts of Tylenol, anti-fungals, and anti-biotics and more anti-malarials than one would hope to dispense.

One story in particular that I would like to share occurred at the end of the day when a small group was asked to travel through Misisi by foot to make home visits. The first home was inhabited by a family of 5, four of whom are HIV positive and three of whom (two children and the mother) have serious co-existing infections. Emmanuel told us of the situation that turned out to be somewhat of a miracle: they were all receiving medications for their co-existing illness, all of which are very expensive and difficult to come by in such an impoverished place (they were donated by another charity). However, none of the three are currently taking the medication because it must be taken with food and there is no food to be found. Our initial reaction was blunted by the rest of the day's activities but a later group discussion unveiled very real emotion among the members of our team. I personally am not sure how to feel at this point: angry at the situation, ashamed of how much I have, or empowered to change this situation; the answer will hopefully come with more thought and a lot more prayer. At this moment, we are all thankful that we have been given the opportunity to experience the realities of the world and to share them with you and others in the future.

Regardless of the outcome of the day's events, our emotions as we experienced them, and those that we continue to have this week, God's presence today was undoubtable and more palpable and real than ever before.

Thank you for your continued prayers and for everything you have done to make this experience possible for all of us!

Sincerely,
Will Bynum on behalf of the Zambia Team