“Now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Faith, hope, and love are priceless gifts, and knowing that we have played a part in helping someone else find those things brings a certain satisfaction that nothing else can. I am still savoring the memory of one such recent experience.
Our volunteer work with the Family International includes counseling mothers who are HIV positive. We also assist a local NGO in their dedicated work with HIV/AIDS families. The incentive packages that we provide contain various needs and supplies, and this gives the mothers extra motivation to attend their support groups where they receive prayer, counseling, and encouragement. Expectant mothers also receive antiretroviral medication that helps to prevent the virus from being passed on to their unborn children.
At one of the support groups, we met a woman who lost her husband to AIDS and is HIV-positive herself. She has three children, ages 4 to 10, and is becoming increasingly weak as the virus takes its toll. She explained that she has no way to support herself and must rely on the begrudging assistance of her late husband’s family. She was overwhelmed with helplessness, as she couldn’t see how her situation could be remedied or how she could live a productive life.
We took care of the practical first. Through the help of local sponsors, we set her up with a kiosk and an initial stock of basic provisions for her to sell. Her 10-year-old son helps her after school, and the local NGO provides oversight and is training her to budget and to rotate her stock. This is our first project of this type, but we hope only the first of many.
She now has faith in God to help her support her family, as well as renewed faith in herself to be able to do her part; she has hope that her children will grow healthy and strong now that she can give them adequate food; and she feels loved by us and others who have extended a helping hand. But most importantly she feels loved by God. Faith, hope, and love have changed another life.