Nominate the Unsung Heroes in Your Life

About 18 months ago, CARE for AIDS was honored with the People’s Choice Award at the 2011 Epoch Missions Gala. Epoch is a black tie affair to celebrate the work of “unsung heroes” serving across the street and around the world. These are people sharing the transformative message of the Gospel by addressing issues of poverty, HIV/AIDS, homelessness, and countless other social injustices. To read more about that night in 2011, please read my earlier blog here.

In the ministry world, it feels awkward to give or receive praise and recognition, because we all know that God is the provider and sustainer of our work. We are simply stewards of what He has entrusted to us. Honor for a leader or an organization seems misplaced. That being said, our ministry leaders and missionaries need that encouragement and support more than anyone. They live, sleep, and eat the work they have been called to, and they suffer rejection and failure along the way. We need them to be focused and inspired because the work they are doing has eternal consequence. The best gift you can offer to a ministry you support right now is to nominate its leader for an Epoch Award. It could result in greater funding for the ministry, new connections to potential partners, but most importantly, it will energize and encourage all involved in that great work. All of the above were true for CARE for AIDS.

Take a look at this short promotional video that Epoch produced of me telling about CARE for AIDS and my experience at Epoch. With only two weeks until nominations close, please take a few minutes to nominate one ministry that you believe best embodies the values of Epoch.

The Manyatta Mission

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to visit our newest center in Kisumu. It is the first one in the slum of Manyatta, one of the largest slums in Kisumu. I was so impressed by the two staff members that were selected to lead this project. Their names are Beatrice and Timon. The church is currently meeting under a tent as they construct their first building. We were only there for about an hour, and in that time, about 10 potential clients stopped by the church to enlist in the new CARE for AIDS program. It is amazing to see how word has already gotten out about how this local church is embracing those living with HIV. As I looked back over the enrollment list, I was amazed to see that most of the clients were members of local cults where the truth of the Gospel has been corrupted. I thank God that before too long, these men and women will hear what it truly means to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Please pray for Beatrice and Timon as they prepare to launch the program with the first 80 clients in the next couple weeks.

I was moved by the passion and the vision of the senior pastor of this church, Reverend Joshua. He is truly a light in a very dark place. Below is a short 3-minute video where he describes the challenges they face in this community and his vision for bringing life into that place.

Favorite Quotes:

“I felt like God was calling me to work in the slums of Kisumu and leave the bigger church.”

“This property was a bushy place where people were being killed and dumped along the roadside. When I came, I said, ‘There will be no more death and there will be life coming out of this place.’”

“This community has more cultic churches. Very few churches here share the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

“We shall share the whole Gospel! The holistic Gospel. Dealing with their emotions, spiritual life, and health. Looking on how they can live and develop their skills for life.”

The church tent and the new building construction

A line of potential clients waiting to speak with the counselors

Beatrice and Timon, the newest members of the CARE for AIDS team

Conference Call on the Road in Kenya

This past week our 1st Impact Team traveled to Kenya to learn more about, encourage, and serve the CARE for AIDS ministry.  It has been an incredible week and our trip participants were able to respond on a conference call on Tuesday about what they’d experienced. After they pulled off on the side of the road, we got them on the line with 25 callers from the United States who were able to listen in and ask questions.

Justin Miller spoke about how CARE for AIDS has changed in the last five years since the organization first started their work in 2007.  It’s amazing to see what God has done. The main question we originally asked, and are continuing to ask is, “How can we as the American church respond to this need in Kenya?”  When we first began, ”There was no one supporting these parents with HIV/AIDS, and consequently, many were dying and leaving behind their children as orphans.” Now, five years later, we’ve seen almost 2,400 men and women claim their lives and are raising beautiful families. To date, almost 100 HIV- children have been born to HIV+ parents which is a huge success!

Here is some of what our Impact Trip participants said was meaningful to them thus far on the trip: