Six days after leaving Evanston, we finally did the first “service” part of our trip yesterday. Our meeting with the National Institute of Pathology was a good first step. NIP operates 36 lab sites across Namibia, and their system for testing infants is better than in many African countries. About half of the infants who need to be tested using DNA PCR (a DNA-based test, which can be used as early as 6 weeks, instead of 18 months). It takes about 1.5 weeks for a mother to learn the result of the test, which is better than in many other locations in Africa, which can take up to 3-4 weeks. We also toured a lab. Although it was a somewhat busy day, we are hoping to increase our number of meetings to 2-3/day, so Jordan and I are hitting the phones today (actually Skype) to get some more contacts.
I also must tell you about the incredible youth mass that Jordan and I attended at St. Mary’s Cathedral on Sunday. Nearly 50 youth, ranging in age from about 5 to 20 years, were involved in all aspects of mass – from singing beautiful, African songs to respectfully dancing down the aisle to reading prayer intentions. In a country where 55% of the population lives on less than $2 per day and many witness death at a very young age, it was inspiring and humbling to hear the congregation pray in thanksgiving for peace in their country and for employment opportunities, as well as requests to have a heart of service and for the well-being of all children across the world. I am having trouble uploading the clip of the kids dancing and singing outside the church, but I'll let you know when we're successful.
Finally, belated happy wedding weekend to our ND/Chicago friends, Brad and Aubrey. We were thinking of you on Saturday night and wish that we could have been in Iowa with you, your family and friends to celebrate. Congratulations!!!
