Fathers play a vital role in the development of children. The spirit of a father is something that a child needs to be affirmed and be told they are valuable and capable. It is often the father that defends and protects. It is often the father that provides. It is often the father that believes. Those characteristics are not solely exclusive to men, but that does not diminish our capacity to appreciate them.

For those with HIV in Kenya, many women live as single parents, having lost their husband to the stigma or to death. This has created a void that the community is trying to fill. As Christians, we believe in the worth of every person. We need men in our children’s lives as much as we need women. We continue to rely on God to provide for the needs, and we thank those who are caring as fathers for others. There is a contribution men need to have in society. We need the wisdom of generations.

Whether you are father, grandfather, or have no biological children of your own, thank you for giving of yourself.

Sunday morning started with an energetic worship service at Kiganjo Deliverance Church.

Sarah sharing the Gospel with a captive audience of Kenyan children.

The more than 200 students that we got to spend the day with. They blessed us with their incredible joy!

Over 100 of our former clients joined us for a day of training. This group represented four years of CARE for AIDS graduates. I got to see some old friends that I hadn’t seen in years. Remember Margaret? Each of these individuals leads a support group of our graduates. They were so eager to learn how to better facilitate these small groups, so they could continue to find emotional support, spiritual growth, and economic success.

Our trainings were led by three incredible women who have been working in Christian counseling for many years. They taught our clients and staff how to be the best counselors that they possibly can be despite the difficult circumstances that they must overcome. I learned that the key to counseling, reduced to its simplest form, is to be curious and humble. I think that is pretty good advice for our lives as well!

Dr. Jay Strack, a long time mentor and friend, was kind enough to teach our staff the best practices of effective teams.

Our staff practicing the counseling principles that they learned during the training. One simple takeaway… remove the desks. They voted unanimously, thanks to the counsel of our trainers, that the desks they sit behind only create a barrier that keeps them from fully  entering into the clients’ circumstances. That is just one of many new ideas that we were challenged with!

I will be in Kenya for the next two weeks, so please continue to pray as we welcome two more teams from the States.

Ubuntu (Oo-buhn-too)
This African philosophy explains that we are dependent on our community and vice versus. “I am because we are.” I am integral and valuable to the whole, both affecting it and being affected by it. It is an appreciation of both uniqueness and otherness.

I often feel that in our individualistic culture, we lack the sense of community that both fails and succeeds together. Now, yes, there are downsides to a “group think” mentality, but that is not what I am referring to. I am referencing the need for all of us to connect and belong. Where we are from and who we relate to matters because it is our context that helps us make sense of the world. This is especially true of our clients in Kenya, not only because they are a part of the African culture, but because like all of us, they are searching for connection.

That is why stigma is so debilitating. The stigma that comes from having the HIV/AIDS disease destroys the connection our clients have by using fear to prevent interaction and ultimately love and compassion. One of the greatest roles our counselors play is in restoring a belief in the ability to connect to their families and communities. They also provides a safe support group of others that are walking the same road. There is a powerful healing property of group cohesiveness. Ubuntu, this we-ness, brings hope and an essence of solidarity. The group counseling model has been proved to be as successful as individual counseling, and produces long term community benefits according to Irvin Slalom, a noted psychotherapist in this field, that are transferable to other relationships in clients’ lives.

CARE for AIDS has seen that these groups are effective in providing lost community and support during a time of life that much encouragement is needed. Our 80 person classes meet at least monthly if not more in various manners that allow clients to build relationship and go through the program with others, rather than alone.

This is the reason that graduations are so celebratory- it is not just one graduating. We are all graduating. 

How have you seen or not seen this in your own community?

As a follower of Christ, I believe that short term missions trips are a necessary and valuable part of the church. I also know that planning and executing a trip can be tricky at times. I have found that when going to another culture, effectiveness is most often determined by timing, appropriateness, and adaptability. So how can you measure if the mission or project is going to be successful? Here are a few basic questions that I think are essential for you to ask yourself before planning a trip or project overseas, to make sure you’re not being American-centric!

1. Who initiated the project? Often, who initiated the project is the greatest predictor of how successful it will be. Why? Because people on the ground have the most accurate understanding of the real needs in a community. Too often, people come in with ideas and projects that just will not work (or are impossible or inappropriate to the culture). It is also much more likely that the people who initiate are the ones who will take ownership, and getting local ownership is essential.
2. What is culturally relevant? I heard of a project recently that wanted to build a house for a pastor, which is a great idea. However, they did not first consider what is appropriate. The team built the bathroom inside the house. And in that specific culture, bathrooms should never be in the house. The bathroom and the house were never used after the team left. Despite good intention, breaking cultural norms can be very damaging to your work.
3. When are you doing it? Timing can be everything. You have to consider if the people you are working for are available and ready for it. Are you doing a VBS while the kids are supposed to be at school? Timing also means knowing if the people are ready for your work. Have the locals shown the passion and initiative to be apart of it? At CFA, we do not open a center at a church unless the church has first taken the intiative and demonstrated interest in helping people with HIV. 
4. Where will the project be in ten years? You have to think longterm and sustainable. I have seen many projects that were started and never finished or not maintained, like half built churches or water pumps that are too rusty to use anymore. Who will maintain the work? What is your follow up plan? Obviously a lot is unknown, but try to think what the implications of the project are. You are not just done when you leave, there are always left behind effects of what you do. If its an outreach event, who is shepherding the people who came to know Christ?
5. Why are you doing it? This requires an honest assessment of your intentions. Are you trying to make yourselves better known or feel more accomplished? Or are you humbly wanting to serve people who need to know Gods love? Is it to share Gods love, or to build a resume? Your intentions will certainly come out when the work begins through the way that you serve. If you go out of pride and fullness, you will not have maximum impact. But if you go in humility with brokenness, you will be sharing in the grace and the joy of the Gospel together with those you are serving.
6. How will you implement the project?  It’s important to use the right avenue for change. This will also determine the success and effectiveness of the mission. Will you go through the church? Will it just be your team? Will you involve local volunteers? Use the channels and avenues that will be most effective. I think the most effective projects are ones where locals take ownership and involve the local community and church body.

Sharing the Gospel must be our motivation and focus while working overseas. Ultimately, the point of our work is to fulfill the great commission and share Christ with every nation and culture, not diluting our message with our own selfishness or cultural biases. This needs to be demonstrated in any work that we do overseas. In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul says, “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified…so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom but on Gods power.”

At the end of the day, I hope that we bring the pure and simple Gospel message of Christ to the nations; nothing more and nothing less.

Pastor Joshua will always share with any guest visiting the dark past of the location where the church is situated.  The place was very busy.  It was mainly used by the thugs in the slum for two main purposes: to hide and to dump the dead bodies they had killed.  The pastor did not like that.  He prayed to God about it and God assured him that the place will no longer be for the dead but SPRINGS OF LIFE.  The pastor wanted the people walking out of this place to have life, and the best way to do it is by starting a church in the same spot.  They bought the land, cleared the ground, and started the church there in 2006.

When he heard the news about CFA, he did not stop bothering me about partnering with them.  He wanted the people rejected (dead in spirit) because of HIV to receive life from this place because it is in line with his vision for the place.

On the day after Justin assured me that there was enough money to start a new center, I drove the pastor to two of the existing centers.  After the end of the trip, I could see tears rolling from his eyes.  Back at my office I asked him: “Pastor, what can I do for you?” “What I have seen is always what I have wanted for my church,” he said. “Please come to my church so that we can do this together,” he added.  Thank God it was the right timing. The program was then launched officially last month.

One of his main goals is to see sad people walk out of the church happy and smiling.  One day he came to the church during a center day when our center staff were conducting a one-on-one counseling.  He was a happy man to see his dreams come true.  Almost all the clients were walking to the church door very sad, but by the time they were walking out, they were happy  and smiling.  This prompted him to invite the committee members to come and share with him this happiness.  The next center visit, the four committee members were seated with him at a strategic place watching the clients walking in and out one by one.  They were surprised to see close to 40 clients walk out of the church smiling and very jovial. 

Velma can now smile

There was just one concern from a committee member.  He wanted to know why  a client came to the center drunk.  The pastor then went to the office and pulled out a brochure that talks about the church aim.  He took the opportunity to teach them that the church exists to give love, among other things, to all regardless of who they were or where they came from.

I am a happy person too, because I am a witness of what God is doing in this community.  A lot of lives have been changed within this short time and smile has been put in so many faces.  Just today at a seminar one lady just gave her live to Christ.  It has just been one month. How much more will the Lord do in these eight remaining month?

Kindly join us in this business of putting smiles in people faces.

Our job in Kenya is simple… to empower: to give them the power or authority to do for themselves. I’m referring to our responsibility to empower local leadership to change their community, country, and culture. It has taken me a long time to truly understand what my role is in helping to empower the Kenyan people. We have made a case in the past for employing local leaders in the work of CARE for AIDS, and while that is one essential part, what is our role in standing with them to reach their full potential and achieve maximum impact?

Pray – This may seem like a cliché place to begin, but I assure you it’s not. I have seen just a glimpse of the darkness that our workers face on a daily basis. This is true of social workers, missionaries, pastors, and Christians in these parts of the world. They face enormous risks and endure unimaginable conditions. Most recently, one of our workers, David, defended his family one night against a barrage of thieves wielding machetes. The next morning, he was ready to lead our team as we visited clients in their homes. If we are going to empower local leaders, we must first commit to stand with them in prayer because they are definitely under attack.

Encourage – I’ve always heard my dad say, “How do you know if someone needs encouragement? If they are breathing!!” Our staff and local leaders need to know that they have friends around the world that care about them and care about the work they are doing. We all want to know that our work matters, and our staff is no different. So, let’s continue to call, write, and visit our leaders around the world because sometimes that is the greatest service we can offer.

Equip – I use the term equip with regard to knowledge and skills. Based on our background, experiences, or education, we may have access to knowledge that those in the developing world do not. We need to share that generously, not to prescribe a certain course of action but to equip people and organizations to lead well and make the best decisions in their context.

Resource – I use this term with regard to finances. The proper application of funds is essential, but it looks dramatically different for every situation. Sometimes the resources are needed for relief or rehabilitation or development. Sometimes it is an investment that will produce financial returns or one that will create other social impact. Every circumstance calls for a different response, and we must use our best judgment in determining that response.

On my most recent trip to Kenya, I saw our staff take a huge step in understanding how they have been empowered. They took the initiative to put on a one-day leadership conference for the Nairobi community. Over 150 leaders from non-profits, corporations, and churches attended. Not only did the conference raise money for CARE for AIDS, but it established us as a credible voice in that community.

The staff decided that while our model may never be fully financially sustainable through Kenyan sources, that didn’t mean that they couldn’t contribute to the marketing and development of the work that they are so proud of. They resolved not to just exist in submission to the authority of our Western arm but to take ownership of this organization.

This has been an exciting shift in my thinking, and I am working harder than ever to empower these incredible Kenyan leaders in such a way that will give more ownership over this incredible vision, not less.

What steps are you taking to intentionally empower leaders around the world? 

So l stepped out of the church into what l would describe evangelistic ministry. Moving from one church, one community, one country doing missions and evangelism in hopes that l could find the solution to my problems. My crisis of faith had come as a conclusion that the church was a meaningless social club, while l certainly realized there were some exceptions out there- but l didn’t find any.

I know this sounds harsh or mean, but it is the truth that led me to stepping out of the church and getting involved with CARE for AIDS ministry, l came to realize most of our churches did not step out of the four corners of their buildings. For the most part, their impact on the day to day lives of most people is nonexistent.

One day as l was ministering to an ailing couple, they literally kicked me out of their house as they said that the Jesus l was sharing with them was no practical use in their lives. They argued “Where was He, when we got infected with AIDS, where is He now that we are dying in bed of the disease?” If He was present, they would not have gone hungry for days, left alone in the stigma and isolation they had received from the church and the community. They had lost everything in life, and, with no friends, they had given up to a point of what they were waiting for. It was only death.

CARE for AIDS is here to bridge this gap between the torn society and Christ the Savior. John 13:34, 35 stood out very clearly in me during this moment. l began to realize that people are turned off by the hypocrisy and irrelevance of much of modern church. People want to be a part of something that has a purpose. They want action and not lip service. Works and not just words. They want something authentic and compelling. They want Christ in us, the hope of glory, even if they do not yet know it.

They need someone to show the way and this is why we are commanded to let our light to shine before men, that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. Matthew 5:6. – How long will we hide our lamps under the basket, shuttered within the safety of our church walls in the fields that are ripe for harvest? Men and women of God, may Christ find your lamps trimmed, brightly burning when He returns.

Living in a country  like the United States where food, particularly processed food, is readily available from restaurants and grocery stores and where kitchens are a norm makes it difficult to comprehend what a daily investment food preparation can be. There are places in the United States that healthy food is scarce, especially for families living in under resourced areas, but, in Kenya, most people rely on local food markets or growing their own crops to put meals on the table.

This is very different than my experience growing up, which is also probably the case for many of you. Can you imagine what it would look like to live in a culture where food takes a lot of time and energy? For our clients, this is a huge concern in providing for themselves and their families.

Food production is changing in Kenya through the programs of USAID and others and will continue to emerge and transform like in the United States during the Agricultural Revolution. This will take time and investment in local business, something that CARE for AIDS is passionate about supporting. Our centers host two seminars a month that train clients in entrepreneurial skills and organized lending groups. We hope that this education and training will prepare our clients to be a part of this growing economy.

Regardless of how you pronounce it, potato or kiazi, hope feels the same in any language.

Over the past year students at Vanderbilt, Furman, and Truman State have worked hard to raise money and awareness on their campuses. It has been a year of trials and growth opportunities, but also a year of success! Collectively our chapters raised close to $75,000 through personal and campus wide fundraising initiatives and packed almost 230,000 meals to be sent directly to our clients in Kenya. We are looking forward to what the future holds for CFAU.

We are excited to be returning to each of the campuses that have kicked off CFAU for us this past year, but we are also ready to expand and see how college students all over the U.S. come together to make a difference in the lives of our current and future Kenyan clients.

If you’d like to join the CARE for AIDS CFAU team, we’re currently looking for highly motivated college students that are passionate about impacting their campus and the world. CFAU is the perfect opportunity to learn what it looks like to advocate, fundraise, and connect internationally. Look for the new updated CFAU page this summer with information on how you can get involved or contact our team at team@careforaids.org.

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.