Foto Friday - Y-Malawi, Day five: Back with FTS and Nkhoma Hospital

In the morning on our fifth day, we returned with counselors from FTS to a remote village where "The Jesus Film" had been shown a week earlier. Our purpose was to meet the villagers where they were, ask about the film, and pray with them. 

Looking back, I'm not sure why I didn't take many pictures on this particular day, but here is a shot I took from the bus as we were leaving the village.

From the village we returned to the FTS campsite where we arrived to find a World Vision medical team, there to perform circumcisions on young boys from surrounding villages. Circumcision is an important rite of passage in Malawi, and has been practiced for generations. Scientific studies have also shown that male circumcision reduces the chances of the HIV virus passing from a male to a female during sex. However, circumcision has often been practiced in an unsafe way in Malawi, using a single sterilized blade to circumcise many boys at once, leaving them susceptible to infections, including HIV. World Vision has been working with community leaders to encourage them to alter the ceremony so that the circumcision operation can be carried out in the safe environment of a health clinic. Here is a shot I took of two boys who were waiting their turn to be circumcised. The boy on the right had been watching another boy's circumcision through the window.

From the FTS campsite, we returned to Nkhoma Hospital so that we could pray with patients.

I didn't take any photographs while inside the hospital but my friend, Jason Lopez (seen in the shot below taking footage through the windshield of our bus), captured some great video footage.

Jason is a talented filmmaker from California who I very much enjoyed getting to know on our trip. He made a short film called "Visions of Malawi" and he has been gracious enough to allow me to share it here. (At the 2:08 mark, you can see when we were inside the hospital praying with patients.)

Up next, Opportunity International Bank of Malawi.

Mulungu akhale nanu (God be with you),

Aaron

PS - If you are interested in sponsoring a child through WorldVision after reading about what God is doing in Malawi, please let me know. They have provided me with sponsorship forms for children in Nkhoma/Chilenje. Y-Malawi church partners may sponsor more than 5,000 children already, but there are still more than 4,000 on a waiting list. Who knows? Maybe you'll sponsor a child and we'll travel to Malawi together next year to meet him or her! Pray about it.

Foto Friday - Y-Malawi, Day four: Nkhoma Youth Department

On our fourth day in the mission field of Malawi, we were introduced to the Nkhoma Youth Department - led by the incomparable Rev. Richard Kapanda (seen here sporting a Florida Gators ball cap).

Nkhoma Youth Department is a ministry of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP), the largest denomination in Malawi. An interesting side note about this - there are more Presbyterians attending church in Malawi than there are in the United States. Why is that interesting, you ask? The population in the United States is more than 320 million, compared to only 15 million in Malawi. Wow.

Nkhoma Youth Department runs 24 youth clubs in the region, serving nearly 1,500 youth. With a focus on evangelism and discipleship, they also provide training on decision-making and life skills, entrepreneurship, mentoring, and career guidance. Their ministry provides sex education in an effort to reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies and HIV/AIDS among Malawi's teenagers.

This was the scene when we arrived at the youth gathering in which we were privileged to participate.

The gathering began with youth leading worship in song.

This was followed by a drama depicting a pastor preaching to a local villager. This shot is one of my favorites from the trip.

At the conclusion of this drama, I preached a message using Ephesians 2:8-10 (CEB):

8 You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith. This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed. 9 It’s not something you did that you can be proud of. 10 Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives.

At first, I wasn't sure what I would share with the youth of Nkhoma, in spite of having preached before American youth plenty of times. However, listening to Richard share with me about the things with which his youth struggle, I learned that youth in Malawi aren't very different from our youth at all. As I preached this word, Richard became more and more excited with his translating, at one point indicating to me that I was preaching precisely what the youth needed to hear. Thanks be to God for the leading of His Spirit.

Later in the afternoon, as happened every day of the trip, I was drawn to this young man who was quietly watching the gathering from, quite literally, the sidelines. He is leaning against a makeshift soccer goal.

In the late afternoon, we visited the market in Nkhoma.

Up next, more time with FTS and praying at Nkhoma Hospital.

Mulungu akhale nanu (God be with you),

Aaron 

PS - If you are interested in sponsoring a child through WorldVision after reading about what God is doing in Malawi, please let me know. They have provided me with sponsorship forms for children in Nkhoma/Chilenje. Y-Malawi church partners may sponsor more than 5,000 children already, but there are still more than 4,000 on a waiting list. Who knows? Maybe you'll sponsor a child and we'll travel to Malawi together next year to meet him or her! Pray about it.

Foto Friday - Y-Malawi, Day three: PB&J and Nkhoma Hospital

On our third day in the mission field, we began by returning to the FTS campsite where we listened to a lecture on Islam by Louise Laubscher. The intent of her teaching was to help the FTS counselors better understand the religion and equip them for encounters with Muslims living in the villages where they are spreading the gospel message of Jesus Christ. 

We also spent more time with the local villagers. This is my favorite photograph from the morning - the expression on the face of the little girl looking up at Kylie is precious.

Our next stop was to tour the facility of a ministry called PB&J - Peanut Butter & Jesus. This ministry was formerly part of Nkhoma Hospital and a ministry partner of Y-Malawi that has since established itself as its own entity as it works to meet the standards required of them by UNICEF. PB&J exists to help fight malnutrition in young children, a widespread problem in Malawi - especially when the country experiences droughts and they fail to produce enough crops to meet the needs. 

 
When famines happen, families are forced to ration their food. I was surprised to learn, however, that rather than dividing the food equally among family members so all may eat, they instead feed the family beginning with the father (since he needs strength to work and support the family), followed by the mother (since she has to care for the children), and then the oldest children (since they have survived the longest). If there is food remaining after they have eaten, the youngest are fed. Sadly, there often isn't enough food and as a result the youngest suffer from severe hunger and malnutrition. If the children become ill or frail enough from malnutrition that they are brought to Nkhoma Hospital or a village clinic for treatment, the fortified peanut butter packets made by PB&J can restore them to health.

PB&J makes a mixture of locally grown ground nuts, palm oil, brown sugar, and vitamix...

 

...and packages it in single-serving size pouches.

One box contains 150 pouches, which can save the lives of two children. The cost for each box is about $60. 

From PB & J, we visited Nkhoma Hospital. Nkhoma Hospital has male and female wards with 26 beds each and two pediatric wards. The missionary administration is working to turn the hospital over to Malawian doctors by 2018. This is the mission statement of the hospital painted on the wall inside the entrance.

 

About 15 children are born at the hospital each day and many are born premature. There are no warmers for the premature babies, so they lie on the chests of their mothers for warmth. The goal weight for sending premature babies home is 4.4 lbs but the hospital usually cannot accommodate them that long. If the babies are nursing well, they are often sent home weighing only 2-2.5 lbs. Here is our Director of Missions, Ted Grueser, holding a premature baby.

Nkhoma Hospital is a pay hospital. The hospital doesn't provide linens or food service, so it is up to the patient's families to provide this care. This was taken outside the hospital where patient's families live while their loved ones are hospitalized.

In 2012, there were twelve children admitted to Nkhoma Hospital with malaria per day. Today, that number has been cut in half thanks to the efforts of Nkhoma Hospital and organizations like WorldVision working to educate the Malawian people and employing prevention measures like the distribution of mosquito nets and a village spraying program. This little boy was admitted one month before this photograph was taken with Y-Malawi President, John Gash. Fighting malaria, pneumonia, and malnutrition, the staff didn't think he would survive, especially since he was unconscious for more than two weeks following his arrival! The smile on his face speaks volumes about the tireless dedication of the hospital staff and the healing they seek to provide in the name of Jesus.

Up next, Nkhoma Youth Department.

Mulungu akhale nanu (God be with you),

Aaron 

PS - If you are interested in sponsoring a child through WorldVision after reading about what God is doing in Malawi, please let me know. This week they provided me with sponsorship forms for children in Nkhoma/Chilenge. Y-Malawi church partners may sponsor more than 5,000 children already, but there are still more than 4,000 on a waiting list. Who knows? Maybe you'll sponsor a child and we'll travel to Malawi together next year to meet him or her! Pray about it.