While health care institutions
were mainly concerned with the physical concerns of the patients,
the Church experienced the pains of broken hope, broken relationships,
and despair wrecking the mental and spiritual health of the families
and the communities. The Synod organized LISAP (Livingstonia Synod
AIDS Program) to provide holistic care for people living with
AIDS (PLWA) and to demonstrate the healing power of Jesus.
LISAP provides care at the homes of the “infected”
through a network of volunteers from the local congregations.
Volunteers receive two weeks of training on home care of the patient,
nutrition basics, and the counseling of family members. The program
aims to mobilize the community to provide the care for the “infected”
and “affected” rather than giving help to the communities.
The volunteers visit the patients at home and bathe them, put
on ointments, and give them medications to help ease the physical
pain. They share the hope in Christ with the patients and their
family members. The PC(USA) provides funds for training and the
medical and care supplies for the home-based care visiting team.
LISAP quickly learned that the nutritional needs of PLWA are
a critical component of the care program. In a creative effort
to involve the community, the program provides seeds and fertilizers
while the community members provide the land and the labor for
farming. Food items from these efforts are given to the affected
family and a portion is saved as seed for the following season.
LISAP also provides job skills training for the teenagers who
will become heads of households responsible for the younger siblings.
The Church looked beyond just the disease to the whole family
and the welfare of the family in the long run. Dr. Andy Gaston,
coordinator of the program, shares a story of true healing. When
the volunteer care-givers visited the patients and cared for them
without fear or judgment, the family and community members began
to overcome the stigma and accept the patients again as their
fathers, mothers, and neighbors. The affected ones began to care
for the infected ones. In fact, many of the volunteers are the
ones who lost loved ones to AIDS, and they get comforted by sharing
their love. More important than the temporary relief of physical
suffering, the broken relationships are restored. We believe that
would have been Jesus’ priority and our God is blessed by
this healing in Christ’s love.
We also believe this program demonstrates the basic difference
between Christian work and other aid programs: we address the
people in a holistic way rather than the “problems,”
and our motivation comes from “obedience to God” rather
than personal desire to do good. Others fight the disease, but
Jesus heals the people, not only the “infected” but
also the “affected” and the relationships between
them. You can read more comprehensive descriptions of AIDS and
other programs of PC(USA) International Health Ministries at http://www.pcusa.org/health/international/.
We will be returning to the United States in late December for
six months of interpretation assignment. Although our plans are
not firm yet, we want to share our preliminary plans hoping that
would also help you plan for our interpretation visits.
We plan to stop in Seoul for a week (December 16-21) and arrive
in Louisville, Kentucky, in time for Christmas. We plan to be
in Louisville during the month of January getting our physical
examination, renewing driver’s licenses, and finishing other
urgent “getting back” activities. We hope to spend
February and March in Denver, making mission interpretation visits
in that part of the country while sharing love and stories with
our friends. We also look forward to tasting the joy of being
a part of the life at our home church, Central Presbyterian Church,
in downtown Denver. We will return to the Louisville area, perhaps
to central Indiana, for the rest of our time in the States. If
our next assignment gets finalized in time, we will leave at the
end of June, otherwise we will continue our discernment while
sharing the story of mission with you. At the moment, we are free
to visit with you any time except for our commitment in Iowa City
on the first Sunday in May 2005.
Several of you asked when we plan to be in your area, and you
would like to fix a date close to our other visits in your area.
Why don’t you be the first one to suggest a date in your
area, then we will ask others to schedule accordingly. Though
many of you already know, please allow us to repeat: we do not
accept honoraria for our visit, although your church is responsible
for a share of the transportation cost and lodging. We will come
whenever you ask, but if you could take advantage of our time
in Denver and in Indiana we can perhaps minimize travel expenses.
If you are interested in our visit, please write to us and we
can work out the arrangements. We are very excited about renewing
friendship and making new friends in God’s garden.
Kevin moved to New York City in June and started working for
Beethoven Piano near Central Park as a piano technician. We thank
God for the talent God has given him and the opportunity to grow
in new experience. John continues his work in Boston. Please remember
them in your prayer.
On this Independence Day we wish you a dependence on God.
Simon & Haejung
The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
203
|
