Understanding the Basics

Since getting here, I have had the wonderful opportunity to take a basic course in HIV Prevention, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management. The course is offered by an American professor who has been teaching this information for the past few years to the people in KwaZulu-Natal. Starting off the class the professor has been wanting us (which is about 50 people, of which I am the only American, other than the teacher) to fully understand the impact that HIV is having on a global basis, national basis, and local basis. He has given statistics like:

In South Africa there are 5,700,000 people living with HIV
The highest group of individuals being newly infected with HIV are Females between the age 15-24 at approx. 160,000/yr and the second highest is males ages 15-24 at 80,000 / yr.
In KwaZulu-Natal 40% of pregnant mothers are HIV positive, some clinics report >60% are positive.
Life expectancy at Birth in South Africa in 1990 was 63 yrs. and in 2007 it was 42.45 yrs.

I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around these statistics. For the KwaZulu- Natal people it is a fact of life. For this reasaon KwaZulu-Natal is considered the HIV epicenter of the world. Translated this means if you were standing in a line at the grocery and there were 10 pregnant women standing in front of you 4 of them would be HIV positive. In certain areas of KwaZulu-Natal 6 out of the 10 would be positive.

Another aspect of the course is watching videos related to the topics of the lectures. There is a movie called Living with Slim. It is a documentary of 6 Uganda youth talking about their experiences growing-up living with HIV. The ages of the children range from 6-16. All of the children contracted HIV from their mothers at birth (I know there is a website that you can get the video from, but I don’t have it right now. I will try and post it later). Watching the movie, I was heart broken to see these children pour out their life stories about the disease that will eventually kill them. Talking about being sick, the abuse they get at home and school (physical and emotional), the fact that they can’t tell friends about it because no one will want to play or be friends with them. How can your heart not be broken for these children or any children for that matter infected with HIV.

One way that I process things is through listening to music. As I was processing materials that we reviewed in the class, I was listening to one of my favorite artists David Crowder. There are two songs that I would like to recommend people listen to. It is on his Remedy album and the two songs are Remedy and Surely We Can Change. There are a few parts of each song that I would like to highlight.

From the Remedy track:
Here we are
The broken and used
Mistreated, abused
Here we are

Here You are
Here You are
The beautiful one
Who came like a Son
Here You are…

He is the one
Who embraced us
He is the one who has come
And is coming again
He’s the remedy…

Here we are
Here we are
Bandaged and bruised
Awaiting a cure
Here we are….

Oh, I can’t comprehend
I can’t take it all in
Never understand
Such perfect love come
For the broken and beat
For the wounded and weak
Oh, come fall at His feet
He’s the remedy
He’s the remedy

(From Sure We Change track)
And the problem is this
We were bought with a kiss
But the cheek still turned
Even when it wasn't hit

And I don't know
What to do with a love like that
And I don't know
How to be a love like that

When all the love in the world
Is right here among us
And hatred too
And so we must choose
What our hands will do

Where there is pain
Let there be grace
Where there is suffering
Bring serenity
For those afraid
Help them be brave
Where there is misery
Bring expectancy
And surely we can change
Surely we can change
Something

And the problem it seems
Is with you and me
Not the Love who came
To repair everything

These songs and the words broke me. As I was processing this, I was thinking what can I do about this. How can I give hope to the patients that I am caring for in hospice or the patients that are coming out of hospice knowing that they have to take pills every day for the rest of their life to keep them alive. As I read the words above, I am utterly reminded that it is not about me. It’s not about what I say or how I say it, its not about how well I educate patients about AVR treatment, or how much time I spending studying treatment plans for patients. It’s about knowing that each person is broken, myself included and its about knowing that God can fix all of that. It’s about communicating that HIV is a disease, not a definition of who someone is. And this doesn’t just go for people who are suffering with HIV, although it is something that is staring me in the face right now. This is for people living in poverty, in the suburbs, the unemployed, the overworked, the divorced businessman, the grandmother with loving children and grandchildren. It is for everyone, we are not to be defined by the idols, the diseases, the addictions (drug, money, porn, relationships, comfort) and so on. Those two songs broke me because I was reminded that I am nothing without hope found in Christ. Which is so hard to remember at times.

I have been going over a book Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. It is one of my favorite books and rereading it has only rekindled a passion to see change (have probably handed out at least 20-30 copies of the book). In Shane’s book, he talks about being reborn after spending time with homeless mothers and children who had moved into an abandoned church and were being kicked out. He explains that as he spent time with the homeless the church came alive for him. Reading Shane’s experience with the homeless, listening to stories about children being infected with HIV, and caring for patients dying with HIV has brought alive the gospel with renewed hope and insight for me these past few weeks. The beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-10 have jumped off the page of the Bible.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven,
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger
And thirst for
Righteousness,
For they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they will be called sons of
God.
Blessed are those who are
Persecuted because of righteousness,
For theirs is the kingdom of
Heaven.”

These verses have challenged me to understand that God is the great physician and comforter. He alone can comfort those mourning the loss of a childhood or family member due to HIV. But, that means that we have to be willing to be used by God to be his hands and feet to provide that comfort. Like in the David Crowder song, where there is pain, let us be God’s grace. Where there is suffering, let us be God’s serenity. As a 24 yo, I realize that I have no life experiences that can be used to comfort people as their loved one dies or is just diagnosed with HIV. But, the best part is that I don’t need a life experience that equates to what others are going through. I need to have compassion and truth to speak into their lives. Truth that each person is valued, loved, and seen by God and that their worth is not defined by a disease, addiction, relationship, or job. Jesus shows this when he talks with the Samaritan women in John 4:1-26.

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts over the past few weeks. I have felt a lot of support and prayer from all of you. It seems as though these past few weeks have flown by. The homesickness that I had been feeling has seemed to pass. I look forward to sharing more experiences in the weeks to come. Please feel free to email me.