Heartbreaking

As many of you know, I just returned from a trip to Kenya and Uganda. It was my first visit to those countries. My purpose was to observe the work we are doing there. I'd read the plans, the proposals, the legal government documents, and some of our reports to our government donor. None of that prepared me for what I was going to see. It is completely different to see the faces, to meet the people, and to be involved in the activities on the ground. Though I like my job and feel that I have incredible influence over helping those affected by the AIDS crisis - my job is still a desk job. I still only get to visit the sights from time to time. I'm just glad I get to visit at all and tell the story of what I see.

This was my favorite picture from the trip. It isn't because it has exquisite composition, because it doesn't. I took it looking over someone's shoulder trying to capture a moment. This is my favorite picture because of what it represents - God's love.

The woman in blue, the one who is a living skeleton, she is suffering with AIDS. Her husband died of this terrible disease sometime in the last two years (it's hard to know for sure because we were working through translators). She was literally on her death bed. She was in so much pain. She has reached the point where she has lost all appetite. We were looking at someone who was facing the end of her life. What a tragedy! The real tragedy is it could have all been prevented. AIDS is a preventable disease. Even after the infection, her life could have been preserved. We don't have a cure for AIDS, but we do have treatment that extends the life of those who have access. The woman in this picture lives in rural Uganda. The nearest clinic that administers treatment is miles away. At this point she can't even be transported to the clinic due to her ailing condition. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that she has four children who are soon to be orphaned. Four young children! I looked at them and could cry. Even now I look at the pictures I took of them and my heart breaks. Because of the stigma related to AIDS her family doesn't want to care for her or the children. What will become of them?

So, you are probably wondering - why do you like this picture? How does it represent God's love? See the woman behind the woman in blue. The one with her arms wrapped around her in an embrace. That woman in pink is one of our youth educators. Prior to volunteering with our program the two were strangers. One of the requirements we ask of volunteers is that they participate in compassionate care activities with those suffering with the disease. The educators are mentoring youth and they are to bring the youth along as an incentive for them to make healthy and wise sexual choices. It seems to be working because our participants are reporting fewer sexual partners, delayed sexual debut, and decisions to adhere to secondary abstinence behaviors. This volunteer in our program comes daily to wash the other woman's mat, to feed her and her children. The day we visited, she had two youth with her helping collect water and such. In the midst of the sorrow, I saw something of beauty. I saw God's love being lived out in a tangible way. The God I serve loves like that. He doesn't discriminate because we make bad choices that had deadly consequences. He loves us even with our short comings. He cares about our needs - food, shelter, companionship. I serve a God who cares about individual lives and to me, the woman in pink is His representative. To me, that is a thing of beauty.