There is a young man, Mike, who felt called and came to stay with Children’s Cup for two weeks. He is HIV positive. He just left last Friday. He came to share his testimony to a community where HIV is a scary reality. We respect privacy but in Swaziland like so many places there is also a huge sense of fear of letting anyone know you have AIDS. Mike shared his testimony for the first time @ Fonteyn CarePoint at the cooks/teacher devotional just a couple of weeks ago. Was there anything eloquent about Mike’s words that day –no! Just a sincerity to share how God loved him so much despite his past and his desire that others know how great God is. God’s Spirit moved upon the group. At first there was silence and lack of eye contact. I asked,
How long have you been a Christian?
Since I was 6. But I’m the prodigal son.
We then reviewed how the story of the prodigal son and how he had taken his inheritance from his father, ran off and spent it on sinful things and then begged to come home and be as the servants. But that the father had welcomed him with open arms. Mike said
God welcomed me back.
How long have you known you were HIV positive?
6 years (the eyes of the group got wide, I don’t think anyone of them has known anyone who has been positive for that long and is still alive)
A cook asked. Have you been in the hospital?
No, not except when I first got diagnosed. I take my meds daily, I mean every day and that’s what I want to tell people. You can LIVE with HIV but you need to find out if you have it and then take steps to stay healthy. Learn about it, take your meds, share your fears with a trusted friend and give it over to God.
Another person asked. How did you get it?
A homosexual lifestyle. It’s not something I am proud of but it’s part of my story.
One cook said how proud she was of Mike to be bold and share his story. She said that makes her want to be bolder.
Then, something that is just not done, a cook who had been yawning and squirming and who appeared to be bored with the whole thing, said
In 2004 I started having a lot of headaches. I went in to be tested and found out I was HIV positive. I’m afraid now whenever I get a headache.
Oh, my heart leaped! This was a HUGE moment! For someone to feel safe enough to share one of the most private secrets in front of others was amazing. Mike was able to counsel her some about taking her meds and sharing her fears. He shared that God would always be with her no matter what (this was also a cook who had gone forward the previous Thursday at the cooks luncheon). God is amazing! He is taking away Satan’s strongholds of fear! Fear of death, fear of rejection, fear of isolation!
How long have you been a Christian?
Since I was 6. But I’m the prodigal son.
We then reviewed how the story of the prodigal son and how he had taken his inheritance from his father, ran off and spent it on sinful things and then begged to come home and be as the servants. But that the father had welcomed him with open arms. Mike said
God welcomed me back.
How long have you known you were HIV positive?
6 years (the eyes of the group got wide, I don’t think anyone of them has known anyone who has been positive for that long and is still alive)
A cook asked. Have you been in the hospital?
No, not except when I first got diagnosed. I take my meds daily, I mean every day and that’s what I want to tell people. You can LIVE with HIV but you need to find out if you have it and then take steps to stay healthy. Learn about it, take your meds, share your fears with a trusted friend and give it over to God.
Another person asked. How did you get it?
A homosexual lifestyle. It’s not something I am proud of but it’s part of my story.
One cook said how proud she was of Mike to be bold and share his story. She said that makes her want to be bolder.
Then, something that is just not done, a cook who had been yawning and squirming and who appeared to be bored with the whole thing, said
In 2004 I started having a lot of headaches. I went in to be tested and found out I was HIV positive. I’m afraid now whenever I get a headache.
Oh, my heart leaped! This was a HUGE moment! For someone to feel safe enough to share one of the most private secrets in front of others was amazing. Mike was able to counsel her some about taking her meds and sharing her fears. He shared that God would always be with her no matter what (this was also a cook who had gone forward the previous Thursday at the cooks luncheon). God is amazing! He is taking away Satan’s strongholds of fear! Fear of death, fear of rejection, fear of isolation!
We found out Friday that a Babe (Bah-bay=Mr. in a respectful manner) of one of our CarePoint communities who had been a integral part of Children's Cup being able to get the land to start that CarePoint had died. We had heard he had been in the hospital and had visited him last month. Earlier last week he had checked himself out of the hospital and know one knew where he had gone. It was said he had gone to the witchdoctors. Would he have died if he was in the hospital? Quite possibly. But the wake up call is that Swaziland calls itself a Christian nation and there are many churches here, but as Daran (the Swaziland Children's Cup director) pointed out in our weekly office devotion, how much of it is merely faith without substance. When one's faith is shaken you either have faith like Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego who said "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn't, Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up." Daniel 3:17-18 or you run in your lack of faith back to what you came from -- in this case, the deception of witch doctors.
Why did I share these stories? To illustrate that we have victories that are awesome and fantastic but we also must be diligent to disciple and help each other grow in our walk with the Lord. I ask you to pray. Pray for faith in Swaziland and the U.S. that is a deep everlasting faith. So many say we have faith in God and in Christ but we fail to develop that personal relationship of talking with Him daily. A relationship that grows the inner peace and knowledge that no matter what happens
God loves me
God is always with me
God is who He says He is
God can do what He says He can do
I will trust Him in whatever He does or does not do because
God loves me
God is always with me.
Shalom!
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