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After worship Leo Kiwanuka, IDTS coordinator for East Africa, recapped the themes of obeying God's leading, the necessity of prayers, and the importance of having the Word of the Lord that were brought forth in yesterday's evening meeting. The children's choir from Orphans Know More danced and sang songs calling for an active response to the cry of the orphans and widows who are suffering from HIV/AIDS. After their presentation we had a time for 'Stories from the Nations' where several of the forerunners of HIV/AIDS ministry in YWAM shared how God had stirred mercy and compassion within their hearts to begin doing something to respond to the HIV/AIDS emergency. Sam Kisolo, the YWAM National Director, who has been very instrumental in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Uganda, shared his testimony. Sam had a dream more than 15 years ago where he saw scores of infected people who were suffering alone and in the dream he heard the Lord ask him if he was willing to do something. But Mr. Kisolo knew that he had to act when he and his wife spent time in the Rakai district (Uganda) where the oldest person in the community was 16 years of age since AIDS had wiped out an entire generation. The recurring message that Sam and his wife have been met with is, 'I will die soon and then who will look after my children.' Sam was emphatic when he issued a challenge to the crowd of YWAM leaders saying that we as a Mission have a God-given responsibility to actively respond to the HIV/AIDS pandemic with mercy, compassion, and care. He ended by soberly exhorting us from Proverbs 21 that 'If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.' Toby and Aukje Brouwer and Vaughan Stannard (Beautiful Gate Ministries Intl) shared about their ministry to children and families affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Carla van der Kooij from Belo Horizonte Children's Home in Brazil spoke about the great difficulties of pioneering a home for children with HIV/AIDS. She shared a vision that she had of Jesus on the throne surrounded by all the children of the world living with HIV and how she realized at that moment how the Father accepts these little ones even if the whole world rejects them. Lastly, John Bills told of his experiences working with AIDS patients in the hospitals and hospices of Los Angeles. He said that AIDS is treated like 'modern day leprosy' and the Body of Christ should see people with the disease as an 'unreached people group'. John ended by sharing his heart with fellow AIDS workers, who have felt isolated as they battled 'in the trenches', to strengthen them in their work to know that they are not alone because 'God is with us on the journey'. |
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| Report by ywamconncet.net |
About the HIV/AIDS Global Gathering, Uganda, 27 May