Letter to a Christian sister from Mukinge 2001

Dear Lisa,
Thank you for the unexpected pleasure of your email. I really appreciate the letter here which is at times so different from home.
I can’t tell you how priveledged it feels to be here with these people. Today I was able to see a smile on a child’s face which is 1-3 Burkitt’s Lymphoma, to talk to a man about his Leprosy and to help a man with Kaposi’s Sarcoma (& almost undoubtedly AIDS) get some sleep. A little 1 day old girl who was seizuring all Sun & Monday is going to survive perhaps with my help.
But the greatest privledge is the amazing experience of coming so far and only to find myself in the middle of a Christian family. Cultural differences are real and language is a huge barrier but we are all just sinners who for no good reason have been forgiven and brought into the family. These subsistence farmers have a much better sense of who they are and what is important than many of us including me.
Tomorrow, the school here is going to climb the little hill behind the hospital for sunrise services. I am on-call this weekend but have traded off to get the time free for the service. I will have the joy of celebrating Easter a good 8 hours before you, the same time zone as Jerusalem, I find.
Your brother in Jesus our Living lord,
Walt B