Melisa and I were looking at some of the photos she got from her trip to Mozambique, and one struck me more than others. In the picture below, the people are gathered for Sunday worship in the village of Chiamete. As you can see, all of the people on the right side of the photo are women, sitting on the floor. On the left side, you can see some people sitting on chairs. Melisa explained that most of the people on the left were from the Chapel team or were from World Relief. The lone exception was a man from the village. He was the ONLY man from the village at the service. That’s not to say he was the only man in the village, however. Melisa said on one occasion, she and another Chapel team member and one World Relief person went for a walk to see the water station. On the way, they saw a man in his front yard, and he greeted them warmly. Other than him and the man at the church, Melisa only saw one other man from the village.
When one thinks about what the Bible says about men and women being joined in marriage, and about the role of the husband in the marriage, particularly relating to spiritual leadership, you can easily see how difficult it must be for families to thrive when the men are not present. I asked Melisa what she had learned about where the men were. Simply, they were either away at work – usually in another country – or they were dead. The reports of the impact of AIDS in Africa are not overstated. Entire villages and families have been decimated by the impact of this disease. Unlike the spread of the disease in the U.S. and other countries, AIDS in Africa is often spread through heterosexual contact. Men go away to work for long periods of time and get involved with other women. They contract the disease and bring it home to their wives. This, along with the absence of proper medical care for virtually any illness, contributes to a very high mortality rate among young people. For many, life expectancy in the villages is 37 years.
Thankfully, the availability of fresh water in these villages has contributed to a decrease in crocodile deaths and has led to a 90% decrease in the rate of cholera. But there is so much need for basic medical care, AIDS education and other things we consider elementary parts of life. Please pray for these people!
