Beat The Drum

Hello friends! Long time no blog post. Things are still kicking on this side of the globe. We just finished an outreach called Beat The Drum up in Transkei. Beat The Drum is an HIV/AIDS awareness and abstinence program that is taught in high schools throughout the continent of Africa. There were 150 of us from various ministries and countries (lots of Americans, South Africans and a few from Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Lesotho) and we taught in four high schools in Lusikisiki.

The students were very shy at first and didn't want to open up and talk. Sex and AIDS is something that is not spoken of very much in these communities, which is a reason why it continues to plague these areas. On the first day my teaching partner, who was from Zimbabwe, shared with the class about how his friends began to die one by one of AIDS. His father also died of AIDS. He was selling paintings in Cape Town, when he met a short term missionary from America who shared a teaching on sexual abstinence. That is how he came to know Christ and became a missionary himself.

We then asked each student to write down their own stories. Reading these stories broke my heart. Many students suffered from sexual abuse and rape. Some were forced to marry when they were only thirteen or fourteen and were trapped in marital bondage away from home. Lots of kids were addicted to sleeping around, but didn't know how to quit. So many had mothers and fathers and relatives who had died of AIDS. Few of these young people have seen what a healthy relationship looks like and it was difficult to teach what has never really been modeled for them.

On the second to the last day, we had a volunteer HIV testing area in each of the schools. My students were super nervous about finding out their status. I held their hands and prayed with them as they nervously waited to get tested. As we waited in line, each one shared with me their dreams for the future. Many wanted to be nurses, social workers, and teachers. Thankfully, every one of my students tested negative. On the last day, many stood up in front of the class and announced that they choose to be abstinent until marriage. They are truly breaking the cycle and becoming part of the solution to this pandemic.

Listening to story after story of sexual brokenness and seeing the effects of AIDS really brought me to a low place. We saw a lot of amazing healing and change in these four schools and the brave young people who represent them, but there are thousands and thousands of schools across the continent of Africa who need to hear this message. There are 12 million AIDS orphans in Africa. Every minute a child dies because of AIDS. The battle is overwhelming. Good thing God is the conqueror and wins in the end. I am learning to rejoice in this fact no matter what evidence is present against it. I am comforted by the fact that God heals and restores like He's breathing. It's what He does. And we can pray. Please pray with me.

This week i am resting and preparing in Tramskei with my friend Lucia. On friday we fly to Malawi! As we travel higher up into Africa, i am seeing more and more brokenness. Please pray that God is close to me during these times. And please pray for the youth leaders we will ministering to and sharing with. I am nothing without the prayer support of Christ's family at home.