34Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? 4
0 And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.
- Matthew 25:34-40
One of our great joys and privileges comes in providing food to the HIV+ women of the WHM Kwejuna Project for the Prevention-of-Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV. Today 150 women came forward to receive a bag of 40 pounds of beans, two mosquito nets, a bag of salt, and for about a third of the women, a long-term contraceptive injection. Luring these women out of their homes to receive food is no small challenge, as we know from previous surveys that as many as 90% of women who are found to be HIV+ through testing in prenatal clinics never tell ANYONE-not their husbands, mothers, sisters, neighbors.... So getting the opportunity to talk to them, encourage them, teach them, weigh them, test their kids for HIV, and just make sure they're alive is no small miracle.
At the distribution today, our visiting team from the States (including our Executive Director, Bob Osborne) received women in groups of 3-5 who responded to their offer for prayers. Sharing their hearts, their fears, their worries...holy moments. One woman came in with huge purple shiners under each eye. Her husband beat her to a pulp because he said she was shaming him by coming to receive food through the Kwejuna Project. She took her beating, but came anyway. Was it for the $20 worth of beans or because she knew it was a place she would be respected and encouraged? Probably for the beans, but the love and respect may help.
There are a lot of pictures of these precious women and their kids here.
(PS-The food given out to women today was made possible through a generous gift from a donor at the Redeemer Presbyterian Church of New York City)
3 comments:
Thank you over and over again for your love to these people. You are the Lord's hands.
And thanks to Redeemer for making this possible.
Love you all,
Claire
These are beautiful women and children..thank you for sharing these pictures.
So thankful that the tough, strong woman had enough courage to come even with the hardships (a horror that I can't even imagine) that she had to endure. Thank you all for your efforts to reach these precious ladies/children for the Kingdom. Thank you, Redeemer Church donor/donors, for your important role in this as well.
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