Dr. Jon Fielder, a member of Christ the King Lutheran Church, is currently spending two years in Kenya directing the Kijabe HIV project at a clinic 40 kilometers north/northwest of Nairobi. The project is dedicated to AIDS/HIV care and prevention. This email was received December 11.
Dear Friends at Christ The King:
Greetings to you from Kenya! I apologize for not writing last month. My fiancée Amanda came for a visit, and we were able to explore the country's vast beauty, traveling both to the stunning Maasai Mara and the pristine coast. We also had the opportunity to worship with a young Maasai church in the Rift Valley, where the seeds of Christianity have taken root. Kenya is a land of startling contrasts: wondrous natural splendor amid devastating poverty and disease.
The fight against disease and despair continues at Kijabe Hospital. I recently compiled a list of adults who received HIV medications at Kijabe in November. Of 21 patients, I am happy to report that nine of them received the triple cocktail. We are making progress in providing more patients with the best therapy available, but we still have much work to do.
This past week I saw an HIV-positive man in consultation. He, his wife, and seven-year old boy have been receiving medications from a family practitioner at Kijabe. He is a photographer and better educated than most of our patients. They had managed to pay for all their medications until now. However, the burden was getting too great, so we have worked out a plan to help them with our fund. He was admitted to the hospital with TB last December and, although he stands six feet three inches, he weighed only 117 pounds. After he received treatment for TB and started HIV medications, his weight increased to 174 pounds! Unfortunately, he has started to lose weight again, and part of our plan is to change his medications. His wife and son are doing well. Thank God for His provision.
I have been taking care of another infected couple and their young healthy son. I am sad to report that the husband became very ill. I diagnosed TB. Then, at home, he experienced a seizure and fell into a fire, suffering severe burns to his hand. He passed away two weeks ago, leaving his wife alone and terrified. The family has been run off of their homestead. Please pray for her and for their son. I have sent a picture of this family.
Jamie Weisman, a young physician afflicted with a rare immune deficiency, has written of her experiences as a doctor and a patient: "Human beings are a tangle of emotion and memory, of aspirations and compulsions, of passion and faith. When a human being dies, nothing can replace him . . . . [It] is like a species becoming extinct." God puts His energy into the creation of every human being, and provides him with a soul. Our responsibility is to fight that each soul may realize its potential, and God's energy not be wasted.
We have been helped by several donations of medications and equipment. A Christian respiratory therapist in New Hampshire gave three nebulizers for treating severe asthma. Another Christian, director of the HIV clinic at the medical school in Dallas, provided HIV and other medications, as did some friends at Hopkins. A close friend of mine, who is Jewish, as well as his family, have given generously to our work. Those of us involved know that this human catastrophe requires the commitment and cooperation of all people of good will. By our actions we must give testimony to the love of God. I thank God for this generosity and pray that He may continue to touch the hearts and lives of many. Thank you for your prayers and support.
Grace and Peace,
Jon Fielder
Last April the Church Council voted to endorse Jon's work with regular prayers and by encouraging monetary support for the Kijabe HIV project. Jon has explained that funds contributed to the project will be earmarked for purchase of HIV medications for poor patients or for possible acquisition of laboratory equipment needed to monitor therapy. If you would like to contribute to the Kijabe HIV project, make checks payable to "Africa Inland Mission" and designate the money for the "Kijabe HIV patient fund." Checks may be given to Christ the King Church, which will forward funds to the project.