The All-Clear

We finally got the green light!

Back in April, I was in Chicago at a conference for work when Rachel started having chest pains. I got a call late one night from my mom who relayed what had happened. She had some sort of attack -- a sharp pain when she inhaled. She was scared it was some sort of heart attack.

She went to the doctor and they weren't sure what it might be, so they wanted her to get an x-ray. She did, but it was inconclusive. Her doctor wanted a second opinion and for her to get another x-ray 4 weeks later. She did that, and the best they can come up with is that her lungs and her ribs were rubbing together and cause some inflammation. It's not getting worse, and she's not experiencing pain on a regular basis, so the doctor will finally sign her medical release.

We're finally sure we can go to Malawi this summer. It's been hard praying and thinking and planning for this trip when we haven't been absolutely sure we'd actually get to go. Now we know, and we're full speed ahead. Hooray!

Keep praying for us and the other 48 some-odd people who are going -- we could certainly use it.

Malawi: the "Orphan Nation"

Sometime last year, a group from Children of the Nations (COTN) came to our church to tell us what's going on in Malawi. Prior to that Sunday, I knew very little about Malawi. I knew it was in Africa. That's pretty much it. I just sort of lumped it in with the "rest of Africa" and figured they had the "same old problems" there as they did all over the Dark Continent.

A group of children -- all orphans -- were there, and performed several songs. One of them even talked a little bit about his life before he came to be cared for by COTN. He was 19 years old at the time, and his name was Innocent. This struck me as strangely appropriate. He, like many of the other children, lost his parents to the AIDS pandemic that is crushing whole generations in Africa.

Innocent was asked what seemed most different between Malawi and the U.S. His answer has been rolling around in my head ever since. He said what really stood out to him was that most everyone here eats 3 meals a day. That was it. That seemed unreal to him.

Now, I wouldn't consider myself wealthy or rich by our standards. But when I heard Innocent talk about the reality he's lived thorugh in Malawi, I realized that I'm a lot more well-off than I think. The mere fact that I can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner (plus a few extra snacks in between) makes me feel a strong sense of responsibility. All of a sudden, I realize that I really can do something to help others. Anything I do is probably more than someone like Innocent could imagine.

That's why I'm going to Malawi this summer. I want to see it for myself. I want to know first-hand what we can do to help. I want to help them hope.