Prepare
. . .
Friday
Even
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff
– they comfort me.
– Psalm 23:4
by
Gary Talbert
Prior
to arriving on Mfangano, we heard that this
island in Lake Victoria has one of the highest death rates
in Kenya: TB, malaria, cholera, and HIV/AIDS are rampant.
Official reports indicate the HIV rate alone is 35 percent.
Some locals feel it could be as high as 75 percent.
On
the island we had the privilege of staying at Gethsemane
Garden Christian Centre, a boarding school run by a Kenyan
couple, Nereah Mattah and her husband Naphthali.
The
first day in their home, as we sat having tea and conversation,
the voices of what I thought to be children playing could
be heard off in the distance. As the sound drew nearer,
I realized it was not children but a high-pitched, repetitive
call that we had heard before in Kenya, raised in celebration.
But
this, our hosts told us, was the keening
of mourners passing by in slow procession. All that night
and the next, as we lay in our tents, we could hear loud
music coming from the funeral ceremony next door.
We
were on Mfangano three days and two nights. During that
time there were four deaths in the immediate vicinity. While
visiting a church on the island, we noticed that the ratio
of women to men was very high. When we asked about the imbalance,
the answer was stark and simple, “All the men have
died.” Nearly three quarters of the children at Gethsemane
Garden are orphaned.
Kenya
has a population of approximately 30 million. So far 1.5
million have died as a direct result of AIDS, 150,000 in
2003 alone. With AIDS now a factor, the average life expectancy
in Kenya has dropped from 64 to 51 years. In Africa, two
thousand children a day die from the disease. Staggering
statistics to be sure, but to me, just statistics, until
I visited Mfangano.
Statistics
drawn from www.UNAIDS.org and NPR.
God
our Shepherd, in the midst of the many deaths and funerals
on Mfangano, we pray that you will lead the people beside
still waters. Comfort them with your presence and with
the promise of a much better life to come. We do earnestly
pray for an end to the AIDS crisis in Africa and around
the world. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord,
have mercy. Amen.
An Advent Journey