A Calling for the Church

“They are all around us. The people who are suffering from stigma, denial, discrimination and their products of hatred , malice, evil, fear, poverty and inappropriate behaviors. We need resiliency so we can keep our head above water. Is there a plan to combat HIV and AIDS? YES, the plan is to love one another in the name of JESUS.”

That was my part of my preaching some months ago in one of our partner churches when they invited me to speak about what the local church should do in assisting the infected ones with HIV/AIDS within their congregation..I started by asking for a show of hands. Who knows someone…

1. Who is HIV positive?
2. Who has conducted or attended a funeral for someone who died of AIDS?
3. Who is HIV positive in your congregation?

You can guess the answer! Number 1 and 2 were a 100% hands up, while the third question was 100% no hands up!!!

And I said, if you do know someone, you really don’t need me to tell you what situation is. If you don’t know anyone…shame on you!! You are too isolated from what is happening in your community. That isolation could take one of two forms: You really don’t know very many people and those you know are very protected OR you don’t know enough about the people around to know what they are experiencing. In either case, you are not making a connection with people who are hurting and need your care and concern.

HIV/AIDS is not asking anything new of the church community, rather AIDS is confronting us with the necessity of becoming more fully the kind of people we have been called to be. We need to take up our role to:

• Provide Hope, Courage, and Healing.
• Work with God to confront the evils of the pandemic.
• Save the lives of many who are suffering and dying.
• Provide spiritual guidance and counsel.
• Bring salvation to humankind, and finally
• Share and use the knowledge that God has allowed through science to fight against AIDS.

Lastly, I questioned on how the church will respond to the Lord’s word in the face of civil disruption or to challenges faced by specific communities. There are stories that stretch the imagination of how much individuals suffer and sacrifice. However, there are success stories, in CARE for AIDS for example, where churches have woken up to the realization that admitting there is a problem is the first step. We are not going to be talking about being overwhelmed by HIV and AIDS. We are to be talking about the opportunities to represent our God, to minister to God’s children and our brothers and sisters who need our caring.

What do you think about Duncan’s message to the Kenyan church?  What issues are facing OUR churches that we should be addressing as the body of believers?   How are we being too passive or ignoring the reality here in America?  Leave Duncan a comment and we’ll get back to you!

Life Changing Stories

I recently read a book by John Eldridge called “Epic”. What I got from the book is this: God is telling a story in the world and in our lives. It’s an epic story that involves redeeming His people who were lost, healing them and bringing them back to Himself. It’s a beautiful story. Each one of us has a part in that story and we all have our own role to play.

It got me thinking. First, about how blessed I am to be a part of that story along with CFA, seeing God change lives. Second, about how everyone loves powerful stories. Or better yet, how we need moving stories. Maybe it’s the way we are made. We watch movies, read books, and share life with others because great stories inspire us, empower us, and energize us.

Unfortunately, when it comes to work, I sometimes get caught up in the numbers and figures. Don’t get me wrong, statistics and metrics are great tools (and they show that CFA is doing amazing work!). But they are not everything. There must be a personal connection. I think that organizations like CARE for AIDS can’t be evaluated by mere facts alone, you have to know the testimonies of those that have been touched.

I have the fortunate privilege of being on the ground in Kenya, close to the lives being affected every day. And I realize that it is harder to feel the impact for those further away, those who support the ministry and make this all possible. Believe me when I tell you, CARE for AIDS is changing lives. I have seen it myself. CFA is bringing spiritual, social, and emotional rebirth for individuals who thought their lives were over.

I spoke with the Thika and Limuru staff last weekend at the monthly staff meeting and encouraged each counselor to keep record of the success stories they are seeing every day. Together we want to share with you the stories that touch and affect us, the stories that really move us and keep us doing what we do. I want to bring you those stories. I want you to know that the work being done here is not just about the numbers to us. It’s about God’s bigger plan of redemption and salvation. It’s about life change, and every single person counts.

Meet Sharon Anyango Ouma. When she found out her HIV status, she was outcast and alone. While at the CFA program at Nanga Baptist Church, she accepted Jesus as her personal Savior. After being saved, she was baptized in Lake Victoria by Pastor George and joined the church. This is just one of many more stories to come!

Lucy’s Story

The following is a guest post from Amanda Carpenter. Amanda volunteers with the CFA administrative team in Kenya, helping with empowerment and reporting.

As I was looking through my notes from a day of home visits in the slums of Kia-ndutu, I asked myself how to write a client’s story so that you as a reader are able to experience what has happened in their life. I’d like to share one particular story of redemption, grace, and repentance in a woman from Kia-ndutu whose life has been forever changed as a client in the CARE for AIDS program.

Lucy Wairimu is 47 years old, married, childless, HIV+ and is currently in the third month of the CFA program. At the age of 17, she ran away from home and moved to Mombasa, where desperation led her to eventually turn to prostitution. She said she didn’t want to feel anything, so over time she became a drug addict.  Lucy lived in this vicious cycle for 17 years.   She had no idea she was HIV+ until 2008 but wondered why she kept getting sick. Unable to afford to go to the doctor or get medicine, and with no understanding of HIV/AIDS or how it is transmitted, she kept living as before. In between her prostitution jobs she would wash clothes to earn extra income, and, searching for something to make herself feel better, she even tried being a Buddhist. Anytime she saw something that might make her feel accepted, she jumped in headfirst.

Eventually Lucy decided she could make a better living trafficking drugs from Mombasa to Tanzania. She would eat the drugs or hide them in her body to get them across the border. She did this for about a year before she got caught at the border one day and was sentenced to 3 years in prison.  She had been in and out of prison 17 times by this point for various crimes, so she says it felt like her second home. Talking about her past, Lucy started crying and buried her head in her hands.

This shame led her to believe that she could never be accepted by a program in a church, but she was surprised to be welcomed at the CARE for AIDS center in Kia-ndutu with open arms. Lucy was raised to believe the truth and knows a lot of Scripture, but she had never accepted Christ as her personal Savior. Finding a place of comfort in the center, she asked lots of questions and told the counselors about her fear of going back to her former life.  More than anything, she wants to be transformed.

Just a few weeks ago, the Regional Coordinator Francis and I met with Lucy. She told me something I will never forget: knowing what Jesus sacrificed on the cross for her, she was afraid that if she accepts Him, but then rebels, she will hurt or disappoint Jesus.  We explained that this is what grace is all about. Even when we mess up, Jesus extends His grace to us over and over again. We talked for 2 hours with Lucy, and we asked her if she would like to become a child of God.  She shook her head with tears rolling down her cheeks and said yes, today is the day. Francis led her through a prayer of salvation, and we all joined around her in prayer, even her mom. That day in that one-room home, we experienced true repentance, restoration, and forgiveness.

We are thankful that Lucy has 6 more months with CARE for AIDS. Pray that the Lord will use the program to encourage her and spur her on to her new life in Christ. She needs to be able to stand strong even when her husband discourages her by making her think she chose the wrong religion. In the midst of all the other components of the program, Lucy is learning her how to trust the Lord in everything.

Please join us in praising God for the eternal change that has taken place in Lucy’s life!  Over the next six month, Lucy will continue to receive counseling, home-based care, empowerment seminars, and the tools that she needs to live an empowered life full of hope.  We look forward to sharing with you more about her growth in the future!