But do you remember the old woman from a few months back who decided to burn all of her witching items?
She is sweet Margaret's mother, and she had a stroke on New Year's. She is in a coma with brain damage, and the ladies of the church asked me to take them to visit her.
So we all piled into our truck and drove the 30 minutes to Macha Hospital. Macha is an area set up by Johns Hopkins University, and it is very developed. The hospital, however, is mainly Zambian run and is like stepping back into the 1950s. (I guess...I wasn't there :)
So we go in and Margaret's mother is laying there topless in a large room with about 50 other patients. Margaret is there taking care of her--in the hospitals here, you provide your own food.
As we get there and greet Margaret, I notice the lady right beside Margaret's bed is not moving, and a young lady is beside the bed crying. Margaret says "Oh, she died just before you got here." The family all starts filing in..wailing and crying in loud voices. They asked me to pray for Margaret's mother and as I prayed the wailing beside us got louder.I was a little bit shaken by this, and Margaret pointed out.."You see..the way we Africans do things, but all it does is make the rest of us in this room fearful that we will be next." So sad...
It was a very "cultural" experience, and definitely one of those times when I wonder "How did I get here again?!"
Please pray for strength for Margaret as she cares for her mother.
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