If I had a sinus problem in Swaziland . . .

. . . well actually, if I lived in Swaziland the odds are I wouldn’t know that I had a sinus infection.  If I noticed a few symptoms, I wouldn’t think of going to the clinic for what seems like a minor discomfort. There would be no lab tests, no X-rays or CT scans. I wouldn’t worry about taking antibiotics too often and lowering my resistance; there are no antibiotics available. I wouldn’t be considering treatment options; there is no treatment and are no options. I wouldn’t learn how to rinse out my sinuses with warm, clean saline water; there is no clean water available and certainly no place to purchase a little product like a Nettie Pot. I would learn to live with the burning eyes, the green, smelly mucus coming out of my nose, the pressure headache. And as my life went on, if I experienced more pain and discomfort or perhaps even more serious issues like meningitis, brain abscess or infections in my eyes or scull, I would have no idea that these problems were connected to living with an infection that would have been easily treated in most of the world.

The Lazarus Effect

I want to share a few thoughts with you about a new HBO documentary called The Lazarus Effect about the use of Anti-retroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS in Africa. But first, a few comments about the biblical story from which the title comes.


I think it is interesting that before performing the miracle, Jesus stopped in town to pick up the sisters, Mary and Martha, and the crowd of mourners. And he wasn't just looking for an audience; He was looking for partners! Consider His words starting in John 11:38: Then they came to the grave. It was a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. "Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them .

Jesus could have commanded the stone to move. In fact, a stone moving by itself might have made the overall miracle seem even more impressive! But He knew the impact of a miracle shared by an interdependent community, so Jesus made them partners.

But what he asked next would require more from them than simple stone moving. He would ask them to become humble, vulnerable and genuinely compassionate by getting dirty. Touching a dead person would cause them to become unclean, unacceptable themselves. Jesus knew this, yet in verse 43 He said: "Lazarus, come out!" And Lazarus came out, bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him go!"

Rereading this passage, it occurs to me that there are two types of Lazarus effects. First is the obvious and miraculous transformation in the recipient from the healing touch of Jesus. Less obvious but perhaps even more powerful is the transformation that happens in the hearts of the stone rollers and unwrappers. The biblical story ends with Lazarus out of the tomb, unwrapped and alive. We know what happened to Lazarus and can imagine how the memory of being raised from the dead changed him forever. What we don’t know is how those who participated in the miracle were different, yet I think it is fair to imagine they also were also changed forever. When we are willing to get dirty, Jesus uses us and changes us at the same time.

The HBO documentary, The Lazarus Effect depicts the miraculous transformation in AIDS victims, in just 40 days, from getting onto an anti-retroviral regiment that costs just .40 cents per day. As we learn how ARV’s restore life to AIDS victims, we also hear Jesus calling us again to become His partners; to roll away stones and take off grave cloths.

Watch this 30 minute documentary here: The Lazarus Effect

World Aids Day 2009

Today is World AIDS Day. HOW each of us participates in this event is personal. THAT we participate should be a given.  Here are a few participation suggestions:

• Buy something from Product RED and help provide ARV's to Africans suffering from AIDS.  A quick trip to Starbucks will work, or find other RED partners here.
• Dedicate some time to pray specifically about this pandemic.
• Read passages about Jesus’ encounters with the sick. Try these: Matt 8:5-13, 9: 25-34, Mk 1:29-34, 5: 21-43, Lk 13:19-17.
• Meditate on Jesus’ instructions to us, His followers, in Matt 25 about we are to respond to the sick, hungry, thirsty and in great need.
  Set aside some time to search the web and look for reading that will help you understand more about AIDS. You can find two great articles by our partner, Dr. Arnau Van Wyngaard: here and here.
• Download these great free resources from World Vision, the WCA and Fuller Seminary: here.
• Have some intentional conversations.  In the lunch room or around the dinner table, ask some questions and see where the discussion goes.  Here are some discussion starters: "Why does God allow an incurable disease to ravage innocent people," "Why should we become involved when often the African governments are corrupt and uninvolved," "What kind of 'help' is most likely to make a real difference."

The main benefit of World Aids Day is that millions of people around the world will pause, think and pray about what we can do to make a difference in this pandemic.  I believe that those of us who approach today asking questions, desiring a different world and willing to be part of making it so, just might have their own lives changed forever.

Wendi Hammond

9/11 and Facebook

Today, like so many Americans, I am feeling a bit melancholy. I believe this is the correct word for today. Incarta Dictionary says it means “a thoughtful or gentle sadness.” This isn’t the same kind of sadness that engulfed us in 2001. On that day we felt anguish, horror, fury, many other feelings. [What did you feel that day?] In 2001 we were not able to go on with our day or even our week. We were stunned. We were sick. We couldn’t function. It took a while before we could get back to business as usual, but eventually we did.

Allegra-D

I take this drug to help me with allergies and sinus congestion. I’ve been taking it since 2006 and it costs me $25 per month, although the retail is $138. This is one of five different prescriptions I take to help me with sinus and respiratory problems, a retail total of nearly $1000 per month for which I have a co-pay of $25 each. This week, the day after writing the blog post below, I tried to fill my prescription for Allegra-D. The pharmacy clerk told me that my cost would be $67. I objected. “No” I said, “my co-pay is $25.” The clerk politely told me that this is the price my insurance company gave this time, and so I would need to take it up with my insurance company. I left in a huff (poor sales clerk). The next day I called my insurance company. After five futile minutes of attempting to persuade them that THEY had made a mistake and needed to call my pharmacy to rectify the problem, I learned that this drug was now in a new category. It used to be a formulary drug, covered in full by my insurance, and now, all of a sudden, is considered non-formulary, not covered in full – for any of a number of reasons – none of which mattered one bit to me. I complained to the insurance rep about my coverage. I complained about the money-hungry pharmaceutical companies. I told him (like it mattered) about how many different prescriptions I take and how I simply couldn’t afford to pay $67 for Allegra-D, even though within two fillings we will have met our annual out-of-pocket maximum and then will then pay NOTHING for any prescription for the rest of 2009.

When help isn't helpful

Last week a friend from blogsphere asked about Swaziland in an IM conversation. He said “what did you learn?” I told him that I’d learned tons and that I was going to blog about my learnings. I realize as I begin to do so that it will take more than one post to describe it all, mostly because it is still unfolding. I’ll start today with this one: SOMETIMES HELP ISN’T HELPFUL.

Before going on this last trip, during and since coming home, whenever my thoughts turn to Swaziland (which is very often), I have found myself in the middle of a tension. The tension looks something like this: