Berean Baptist

People waiting for clinic

One of our patients


As I mentioned, there is a short-term team visiting from Berean Baptist church in Burnsville, MN. They have been a big encouragement to us and we (Mike and I) have been fortunate to join them in their medical clinics a few times this week. It was a good opportunity to practice medicine and practice our Chichewa, but I must admit it was a bit overwhelming as well. There were about 400 patients waiting for us when we arrived. I don't think we saw them all but it was a busy day. I was fortunate to have Diana work with me as an interpreter. She is a surgical nurse at the Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe. She was fabulous--not only with her interpreting but also with patient rapport and honest discussion about needing testing for HIV and other difficult issues. It was sad to hear so many patients' stories of deaths in their families. One 12 year old HIV-positive girl had lost both her parents and was now living with her grandmother. She came alone to the clinic to be seen for a cough and otherwise was quite healthy. But she started crying when talking about her parents and she was scared for her own future. Diana was wonderful with her, able to listen and encourage her, and give her hope for her future with HIV medicines and with Christ.
Diana and me after a busy day