Jones

This morning I stood in a room filled with people from our community living with HIV/AIDS. They gathered to support their sister and friend, a lady named Jones. She is a widow and mother of two sons. In 2005, Jones was diagnosed with HIV and has been receiving treatment since that time. She has also battled cancer for the past three years. It has caused her left eye to be removed and is now threatening to take her right eye. Generous and compassionate doctors, working in the nearby HIV clinic, have been moved by her story and have, against odds, made arrangements for her to travel to Indiana University for the extensive treatment she needs.
Life for this kind and simple lady is hard. She struggles to pay her monthly rent of $5. Without a steady income, she works daily to feed her children. She has never traveled outside of this local community. Packing for her journey will be very light; before today, she did not even own a suitcase. In three days, she will board a plane for a land that is far away and foreign to anything she has ever experienced. She will enter a hospital where she won’t be required to share the bed with other patients. She won’t be denied necessary treatment because she is poor. When I think of this, joy resonates within my heart. It is not about her opportunity to travel to America. Rather, it is that, beyond what she owns or lacks, she will be treated as a person of value.
Critics may say that it is not cost effective and question if this is the best use of funds. But for today, I am grateful for the miracle that Jones has received. Standing in the middle of a circle, she was surrounded by twenty others who understand what it means to live with a virus that steals so much; and yet, there was such a sense of hope as they sang, in Swahili, about grace that has been given to them. As we committed our dear friend before God in prayer, I was struck by the words of Jesus that are written on the wall of the Tumaini na Afya Center (Hope & Health) which say:
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’” (Matthew 25:34-40).

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. I am deeply grateful.