Dear Praying Friends

When I was in South Africa about 17 years ago, I was amazed at how physically strong people were. I remember a little girl who saw me jogging up a hill, and joined me just for fun. By the time we got to the top, I was perspiring, but not she! I saw a middle-aged woman carry a suitcase on her head for over four miles without taking a break. I observed as well that, when given the right situation, Africans have a very healthy diet.

Add Satan to the equation, and you have sickness and death. The first Protestant missionaries who went to east Africa about 100 years ago often carried their belongings in coffins, knowing that malaria would probably take their lives within two years.

Today, there is still malaria in Africa, though there are enough medical resources to eliminate this scourge. HIV/AIDS continues to destroy families in places where the men work far from home, contract AIDS from sex workers, and bring the disease home to their wives. Though there are drugs to inhibit the symptoms of AIDS, the promiscuous behavior that causes it is still active primarily in southern and eastern Africa, even where there is a strong witness.

As we pray for health issues this month, we will intercede for efforts by SIM (Serving In Mission) Int'l. and YWAM to eradicate AIDS and other diseases. These efforts need our prayers, and we should applaud them. Still, we should pray that the men of these highly churched areas would take their rightful place as "husbands," meaning protectors and nurturers of their wives and children. When filled with the Holy Spirit, men will have the self control to be faithful to their wives and to do what is best for their families.

In Christ,


Keith Carey Managing Editor GPD
keith.carey@uscwm.org