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.
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