Mali: (David and Linda write) We’re going through the greatest heartbreak. This whole e-mail is about us struggling to handle this new situation. One of our young Malian pastors, Esaie (Isaiah) Makono Diarra, 32 years old, has an awesome, incredible testimony. He was totally insane, wandering the streets of Bamako half-naked, when one of our pastors took him in, gave him food, shelter, clothing, and much prayer. After a period of time, Isaiah was totally healed and restored to his right mind. Pastor Adama taught him how to read, then two years later sent him off to Bible School after he’d expressed his conviction that God had called him into the ministry. He married one of the lovely young Christian women in the church (she’s not yet 22 years old), finished his 3 years at Bible School with passing and quite decent grades (mostly “C’s"), and began pastoring a church in a suburb of Bamako (Sarambougou). He turns out to be one of the finest Malian preachers we’ve got!

Recently, after 5 years of marriage, Isaiah and Annie have been submitting themselves to a plethora of medical tests because they have not had any children. It was recently discovered that Isaiah is totally sterile. But that’s just the beginning of his troubles. Isaiah has also had thyroid problems, and a medical test that just came back after over a 1 year delay in France confirms that he has a benign growth on his thyroid which should be surgically removed as soon as possible. He has also had for the last 2 years some kind of recurring severe eczema or lesions all over his body. We and the Swedish missionaries have paid several times to get him healed up with antibiotics, only for him to fall sick again. Well, last Friday we were informed he’s HIV sero-positive. We are devastated.

This is so so complicated. First, one of them obviously picked up AIDS during his or her pre-Christian life. Second, this is our first personal face-to-face with someone we know and love who has AIDS. We obviously have had to test Isaiah’s wife, and we are waiting for the blood test results on Annie later today (update: David and Linda later confirmed that Annie is also HIV sero-positive). Third, culturally, it is not acceptable in Mali to be the bearer of bad news, and neither a patient nor his family is ever informed about incurable illnesses (e.g. AIDS, cancer, etc), not even by medical doctors. This means that, culturally, Isaiah and Annie have no socially built-in mental equipment to handle such “terminal” news. I dread it even inspiring profound depression or attempts at suicide.

Fourth, we have to struggle with the impulse to feel “disappointment with God.” Why, God would you heal this man so miraculously of insanity, only to let him die of AIDS? But fifth, this is a huge opportunity to stretch and exercise our faith and trust God for a miracle. It’s just that most of us really hesitate about things like cancer and AIDS. We’re not nearly so sure God can heal such hideous diseases. So we have to pray, “I believe, help thou my unbelief!”

Of course, it doesn’t change the bottom line : Isaiah was once “darkness,” and is now “light.” He was once a “child of wrath,” and is now a “child of God.” His name is written in the Lamb’s book of life, with or without the breath of life in his lungs. God’s gifts to him have already been humungous. With gratitude for the past, we are praying for one more: a total healing.