Disturbing, disturbing!

Yesterday I had a disturbing conversation.  We have an African Senior Couple from Durban who work full-time right along side us in the Temple.  Their name is Nyasulu and they are people of very simple means.  One day Bro. Nyasulu asked me how much property we own back in the United States and I told him one acre.  He said, "Oh, you have a small farm.  Do you raise crops to sell?" And I replied, "No, just grass and trees, lots of trees".  He then asked, "Do you cut your trees for sale?" and I replied, "No, we just enjoy their shade."  Then he asked, "So you have animals like chickens, goats or cows, for food to sell?"  And I said, "No, just two cats and they didn't produce anything."  He couldn't understand what I did with my land.

Anyway, his wife is traveling home to Durban next week because their daughter is going in for an operation-- a cesarian birth of her child.  Bro Nyasulu said his daughter has to pay $400 to the hospital for the operation.  There is no insurance and this is quite an expense for a young family.  I asked him if there is some kind of welfare that helps pay for these medical issues.  He said, "No, since the new government has come in (over 20 years ago), there is very limited money for such things.  What money there is to help women and children, is assigned out geographically and when it is gone there is no more."  I thought for a moment and asked, "If you are a women with such a medical problem and you don't have money for medical care, what do you do?  The medical problem is not going away."  He looked at the floor for a moment and then looked at me and said, "Then she dies."

I thought,  "Oh my, we are not in Kansas any more."