Sharing my Testimony with HIV Women

May 16, 2012
Today, I was blessed.  I had the opportunity to go and minister to a group of women infected with HIV.  The interesting thing that I have found here about sharing my testimony is how many people think that Americans don't suffer.  They think that if you have money or education that you have no problems.  At one point, one woman told me that she thought that the devil only attacked black people.  There is such healing for them (and everyone) in knowing that every human experiences devestation.  There is healing in knowing that they are not alone.  I find healing during struggles when I know that others experience the same difficulties. 

Actually, my husband and I now have a saying when we are going through struggles.  Instead of focusing on the difficult situation, we say that we are in the midst of creating an incredible testimony to share with others.  I have learned in life that much of our outcomes have to do with the perceptions and outlooks that we form in regards to our situations.

One of my favorite passages of scriptures is:
       
          "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong." II Corinthians 12:7-10.

It is the difficult situations in life that remind us of our need for a Savior.  In America, we tend to be self-reliant and only rely on God if it is convenient for us to do so.  I have learned to cherish the troubled times and the times of attack because I am humbled and strengthened in the Lord in the midst of these times. 

A Longing for Rwanda

This morning is my third morning being back home from my trip to Rwanda, and I am filled with a deep sadness and longing to be back in Rwanda.  I am not sure how God will work out all the details for me to get back, but I know that he has work for me to do in Rwanda.  I want to walk alongside the women and children that I met.  I want to do life alongside them, encouraging them in their walk with the Lord. 

God's presence was so tangible the past two weeks in the midst of such pain and sorrow.  Truly when we leave our comfortable places and venture to the places of brokeness and weakness, we find a deeper presence of the Almighty.  The joy and hope that I saw in the eyes of the ones who knew Christ was undeniably the work of the Lord; it would not have been humanly possibly to forgive and receive joy in the face of the sheer evil that these people have experienced.  There is an inward strength in these people that is intriguing as the source comes only from the Lord.  Not many people that I know would want to continue living after the experiences of the people that I met; yet, they do and with a peace that surpasses all understanding.

I have some things that God is stirring in me.  I want to pray a bit further before I open up and share.  My desire is to always make sure that I am following in His steps and not my own.  I pray that God expands your territory and that you have daily encounters that undeniably show you the presence of God.

A Visit to an Orphanage

I met with another organization that works with street kids today.  I was shocked to be walking into an orphanage; I wasn't under the impression that it was an orphanage.  We have been told that orphanages are closing here as the government is trying transition to a foster care type system; however, my contacts here do not think that this will work with the culture of the people. 

David, my friend and personal guide through Impact Rwanda, told me that even from a Rwandan perspective that the conditions were not good, but they were better than the street.  For me, that was hard to imagine.  94 kids lived there, and they said that it had a capacity for 105.  I later spoke with Serge, the leader of Imact Rwanda, and he told me that many people profit in these situations while the children suffer.  It sickened me me.  I have seen children's homes that are not only self-sustaining but able to expand and grow.  The lack of fruit here was disheartening.  There has to be a better alternative.  Perhaps, a home/village for orphans is in my future.....

The Land of a Thousand Hills

I thought that I would have more time to blog while here in Africa, but there have been so many things to see and do.  I spent many of my first days calming my husband's fears about me being in Africa.  I struggled so much in the beginning of this trip about the misconceptions that Americans have about Africa.  Perhaps these perceptions hold true in some areas but not all areas.

Rwanda is a beautiful country full of amazing, gracious people.  They have overcome so much in such a short time.  The 1994 Genocide wiped out over 1,000,000 people in 3 months.  I have heard horrible, devestating stories of murder, rape, brutal torture, etc.  One lady was raped by a man and forced to marry him only to find out later than he had murdered her 9 other family member.  She knew he was the murderer when he walked up carrying her uncle's head in his hand taunting her with it.  The story has much more devestation but ends beautifully with the restoration and healing that only Christ can offer.  The joy that exudes from her makes it impossible to imagine the story of her life.  If one has ever wondered if God existed, one only has to come to a place like this and hear these horrible stories, yet experience the miracle of complete healing and forgiveness which is not humanly possible.

Yes, Rwanda has struggled.  However, the people have cried out, and God has responded.  The country has made massive improvements in many areas of society and still have a long way to go.  Many people still struggle eat, to go to school, to forgive.  The street kids that I have been working with struggle with issues of abandonment, abuse, survival, but are very open to help and change.  There is much to be done in this country, and the encouraging part is that this country is responsive to developmental help not just handouts.