from AIDS Is Real and It's in Our Church by Jean Garland
I sit quietly and absorb the atmosphere created in a room filled to capacity with friends greeting and chatting with one another. This November afternoon, I am at an HIV/AIDS Support Club. But this is no ordinary meeting of people living with HIV/AIDS. There is no sense of hopelessness or despair here. There is laughter, and joy. I look at the faces of those present. Some are extremely thin. The faces of three of the young women have severe scarring, caused by the herpes virus infection that often accompanies HIV. One has already lost the sight of one eye and has had a cosmetic replacement implanted in a successful effort to improve her appearance. They noisily exchange news and greeting with their friends.
“Good to see you again. How is your family? How are the children? How is the sickness?” They are talking and embracing their sisters and brothers, delighted again to be here with their equals, fighting together in the struggle to live optimistically with HIV. Some are extremely thin, but several of those around me are still strong and healthy looking, with clear skin and bright eyes. No one would guess that their common enemy, HIV, is hiding in their bodies.
As I look around the gathering, I notice that there are more women present than men and later find out that most of the women are widows whose husbands have already died from AIDS. Often men are slower to come for support, but some men are here today too. All the participants are young, some are single, but all have a common bond with their friends at the club. HIV has come to stay with all of them.
But what is the secret of their strength and joy, when all of them are facing sorrow, shame, sickness, pain and premature death?
The leader of the group is asking how many of them have been involved in trading. Most of the women raise their hands. She says, “When you trade, you give something away in return for something better.” They all understand the concept. The leader continues, “We are going to sing our theme song again today, which tells us that we can trade with God. And as we trade, our loving Father gives us something much better in return.”
With heart-felt fervour they all start to sing the following words. (Hear a recording of the song here, hopefully)
“I’m trading my sorrows, I’m trading my shame, I’m laying them down for the joy of the Lord.”
“I’m trading my sickness, I’m trading my pain, I’m laying them down for the joy of the Lord.”
Their voices become stronger as they sing and almost shout the chorus to the song,
“Yes Lord, Yes Lord, YES, YES Lord, Amen.”
As they sing, all of the participants raise their hands, punching the air, creating a defining moment together as they affirm that what they are singing is indeed true.
As I watch their radiant faces my eyes fill up with tears because I know that miracles are happening in this room. These dear men and women all know the agonizing sorrow AIDS is bringing to their families. They know the burdening shame they feel at their illness. They know the persistent sicknesses they are enduring. They know the real pain they feel in their bodies, and often worse, the hurt of rejection by those close to them. They have come together today, united in experiencing that when they come to the Lord Jesus, and lay down their sorrow, shame, sickness and pain at his feet, that God in his kindness gives them His pardon, peace and joy. These dear friends know that the joy of the Lord is their strength.
One young woman beside me stands shyly before the group. She tells them with quiet voice and a smile, “For a long time I have been very bitter about how my husband brought me AIDS. But now, I am no longer bitter because God has helped me to forgive my husband. And now I am trusting Jesus to forgive my sin too.” The group rejoiced with her.
Another attractive young lady tells of how she recently asked a pastor to pray for her, and of how God has been giving her renewed physical strength. Others stand confidently and tell of answers to prayer in their lives.
A young man tells me of how he planned to marry, but with compulsory testing before his wedding he found he had HIV infection. And now he says he wants to use his experience to talk to many young people about how to avoid AIDS. He says, “I want God to use what is happening to me as a warning to others.”
One lady has her two young children with her. Both of them also have HIV and show the signs of it as infections are appearing on their skin. Their mother tells me of how her husband died from AIDS five years before, and how her oldest son, now in secondary school, is the only one in the family without AIDS. “It is not easy for us. It is only God who helps me. I am often lonely. But it is only God who gives me strength. I am trying to roof a small house for my son so that he will have somewhere to live when we all go.”
Later I talk to another widow. She married her husband five years before. He died two years ago. One child has already died from AIDS. The other, a little boy of two needs to be tested again to see if he is infected. Once again, I hear the testimony, “God is helping me.”
As the afternoon progresses we eat together, we talk about diet, medicines and exercise, and we have fun together in a “treasure hunt” as we search for little treats hidden around the building. The place reverberates with squeals and laughter. Later we spend time praying for each other’s needs. Next month we plan to go on a picnic outside the city. Everyone agrees that the picnic is something to look forward to with eagerness. The encouragement of being together means so much to these dear ones. Today one woman even paid 1300 naira (US$10) in transport money in order to attend the club.
Many of us are expert traders, and as AIDS is bringing untold suffering and death, the product of the enemy, these friends of mine are learning to trade with God. They are surrendering to him their sorrows, shame, sickness and pain. In return, He is giving them an abundance of his joy and peace. I see this as an exchange that passes human understanding, but also one that gives abundant hope. And where there Christ, there is hope, and where there is hope there is life.
