Remember Me?

Our women’s ministry team joined with Great Commission Ministry’s Lydia Ministry to visit women with HIV/AIDS.  These women and their families have been ostracized from society, have difficulty finding employment, and live in extremely poor neighborhoods.  Here is Hannah M.’s take on the experience.

As the group of girls walked into the straw and mud plastered house, we knew we would forever have a new perspective on life.  This was the women’s ministry team’s first time going into the homes of the HIV positive Ethiopian women. Our main goal was to go into the homes of the women who have been diagnosed with the virus and to talk to them and ask about their lives and pretty much show them the love of God. Then to finish off we would pray with them. This would normally take up to 10-15 minutes, and with four groups assigned to 5 women each, it took about 3 hours.

These women who we were talking with suffered depression, lost family members, and saw little or no hope in life. But even with all these miseries, they still had some of the most giving hearts we had ever seen. They all wanted to make us food and coffee. Some of the women even wanted to give away their valuables, such as the only picture they had of their son. This all happened just because they wanted to be remembered.

 When our group debriefed and discussed all that we had seen, we all agreed that it was emotionally draining; it was bitter-sweet. The second day we went out, one of the groups had the privilege of seeing two women pray to receive Christ.  What a blessing.

Just reflecting on all that occurred, I can say that every one of those girls that went to the HIV visits has had a whole new perspective on value. Just a few days ago we were complaining on not having hot water and the electricity going out every other hour, but after seeing the homes and the lives that the women lived in, we will never forget how blessed we are.