Yes, we've officially closed . . . all for good reasons. The biggest reason being that our area is a lot healthier. And it felt like it happened overnight!
Several great things happened in the last year that led to this:
1) education about AIDS was everywhere. This opened dialog about a person's status, encouraged people to get tested, and decreased the stigma surrounding AIDS.
2) then the medications to treat the patients started becoming readily available along with more doctors to handle the numbers. The ARVs are incredible- someone can go from being bed bound to up and walking in 2 weeks as their immune system gains strength
3) big companies in our area started supporting their HIV+ workers, providing education at the work site and even mobile clinics to bring them their medications and take blood for testing if necessary.
All of this has caused a dramatic reduction in the number of dying HIV+ people, increased the family acceptance of them, and essentially made us obsolete.
Are we upset by this? Not at all! This means moms and dads are living longer. It means we have more time to reach of the communities with the gospel. It means that HIV+ people are being treated better.
So what next? There is still a lot of work to be done! Lots of kids were "left" behind when their parents died and so many young adults have grown up without learning any life skills. We are praying to see how God wants us to be involved.
Please pray with us!
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