I am studying abroad this summer in Kenya and working with a ministry here called HEART’S WEEP. They minister to 19-40 year old women who have AIDS/HIV who have been completely ostracized from their society by the enormous stigma associated with this disease. Abused and abandoned by their husbands, disowned by their communities, these women have worked together to completely turn their lives around, as well as the lives of their children (some of whom are HIV-positive as well.) Banding together to overcome the immense shame and degradation they lived through, they are now all on ARVs (anti-retroviral drugs) and have learned to sew school uniforms and other goods, which they sell for a profit. Some of the women could barely move and were expected to die any minute when they arrived at our doorstep, but now they are strong and healthy enough to dance and sing songs of praise with us…truly an inspiration. A lot of them told us that they were never expecting to live to see the year 2009, but now they all have so much faith and hope for the future. Maureen, who is 19 with two kids (one 4 years old) used to be so frail and so embarrassed/ashamed that she would hardly uncover her face or mutter a word. Today she stood up, and while still timid, smiled and introduced herself to us, sharing her awesome story. The women find out about the program because they see their friends lives transformed. When they ask these women what happened and how they look so great the women involved with our program bring them to the HEART’s WEEP center in Kibera, Kenya to see for themselves. One woman’s family had sent her away and literally bought her a coffin as they were just waiting for her to die…unimaginable. Today she is strong and is able to raise her children, make money, and empower other women as well. The women have become so strong that HEART’s WEEP just started a program called PROPS (Parent Rescue Orphan Prevention Strategy) where certain women are trained at the HEART’s WEEP center to become counselors to other women, because if we can help the parents fight AIDS and keep them alive, we will be preventing children from becoming orphans in the first place. From the moment I met the these women, they were constantly hugging me, shaking my hand, and thanking me for everything, even though they have done it all. They have come to God through HEART’s WEEP, they pray together, and their prayers have truly been answered…their prayers have saved their lives. And I get to see all of this happen right in front of me and be part of it. I know this summer will change my life forever. I am amazed at what God is doing over here. It makes me realize once more that God wants to use me in whatever situation he puts me in. This coming Fall I am excited to begin serving as a leader for Greek IV and to help transform the Greek system at UVA for Christ. God is moving in me this summer and I can’t wait to see how I will get to use this new found passion for my faith and the skills I am learning over here in Africa this summer this coming Fall.
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The Greek IV story was shared by Allison Leslie Author Website: http:// Author Email: Contact Author Author Bio: Allison is a campus staff worker at the University of Virginia. More Stories by Allison Leslie |
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This post is tagged AIDS, Missions, World Changers Developed
