HIV. We all have some understanding of what it is, or at least we think we do. I have never really paid attention to it, nor have I been to exposed to it. Even being here in Africa I have not really thought about it much. Sure I have heard it exponentially more here then I ever did back home, but I still must say that it is something that lingers in the back of my mind, that is until today.

All of the boys in the Oasis bible studied rose their hand the first week when asked if they had been sexually active, and in a place like Africa, especially on the street, that is not a very safe thing. Amazed at the idea of all of the boys having been sexually active, Lydia thought that the only logical thing to do would to get them all tested. Today was supposed to be that day. We all know the stigmas, and myths that have been tagged with HIV, and even with that being said, I personally feel like there is little being done to eradicate these myths in the youth culture. I spent all day at Oasis today with the boys who live in house one two and three, waiting for them to be tested. Sr. Freda was unable to do it so we decide that we would have Patricia from discover to recover come and do a little session on what HIV actually is. Patricia runs discover to recover, an HIV, Aids center for orphaned children, and she personally has had HIV for ten years. Patricia travels all around the world speaking on HIV, and just recently got back from a trip to Mexico City with Kay Warren. Patricia knows how devastating the stigmas of HIV are to an infected person and it is her life mission to free the world of them. There are few times that you will witness a person so skilled in their trade as Patricia. The Lord has blessed her so much in being able to talk about her disease in a place where it is something that no one wants to talk about. The boys sat for two hours listening intently and even interacting. Granted everything she said was in Swahili, so I ad no idea what was going on, but at the end of the talk when she revealed that she herself was HIV positive to the boys, they laughed and said that she was lying to them because she looked so healthy. There is nothing greater then someone seeing what God has planned for them, and going through 100%, even if it means living with a terrible disease. Patricia should be an example to us all.


Tomorrow is the day that all the boys are going to be tested. These boys are so amazing, and they need lots of prayer. I have grown to love them over the past weeks as if they were brothers, and I know Lydia thinks of them all as sons. God is awesome, and I know that he has amazing plans for each of these boys. Tomorrow is a scary day for them all, as well as Lydia and even I, but I know that the Lord is with us through everything, and that is what makes it all worthwhile.