Wede Beero (At the Office)

I am slowly sinking into my work with the AIDS project.

For instance, this week I led a devotion for the women support groups. What is a support group? All the beneficiaries in the project (yes, they are all HIV+) are split into small groups to help one another deal with their disease. In physical, emotional and personal ways they aid one another through adherence, moral support and friendly fellowship. They meet formally every two weeks at the office in Lideta and on the alternating week they meet at one of their homes. Sometimes, during the formal meetings, we organize health teaching or entrepreneurial activities (so they can earn a little cash to supplement the support from the program). They do always take prayer requests at every meeting and spend time praying on the needs of the group.

So, they asked me to lead a devotion. What sort of direction do you take with a bunch of HIV+ Ethiopian women who are destitute without the WHO meds and financial support from the project? Most do not have husbands and many have children. As a white girl from Georgia, it is an interesting place to start.

We talked through John 3:1-8. We talked about who the Pharisees were (Ethiopian culture puts a high importance on knowledgeable, learned people) and the specific type of greeting that Nicodemus uses when addressing Jesus (Ethiopians are also big on greetings). We also talked about the human-ridiculousness of being reborn. Just as Nicodemus says, 'how can an old man reenter his mother's womb?' Who would want to have their grown son crawl back into their womb to be born again? Hmmm? Then, we talked about the rebirth that Jesus talks about is a spiritual rebirth. And how he goes on to explain that the Spirit is like the wind -- invisible but it blows where it will. You can feel the effects of the Spirit and likewise you can see change people's lives. Just as the wind shapes and molds the earth on its own will.


PS: The photo at the top is of one of our beneficiaries at our clinic last month. Photos of the support group are forthcoming.