YWAM HIV/AIDS Global Gathering - Full Report

Day 1

Last night a group of about 120 people from many nations gathered at the YWAM Hopeland Base in Jinja, Uganda for the Welcome Event of the first ever YWAM HIV/AIDS Global Gathering. While the group was eating dinner the power went out which is a fairly common occurrence here in Uganda. I asked Sam Kisolo (National Director YWAM Uganda) if we were going to meet in the dark and he responded jokingly by saying that because we are the lights of the world we would be the ones to illuminate the auditorium.

Actually we worshiped by candlelight and then Sam stood up and urged his fellow Ugandans to stand and "give an expression" to welcome all of the conference attendees to Uganda. After Sam was finished he invited Garry Tissingh, a member of the ALT (African Leadership Team), to give us a little background and insight into the "heartbreaking paradox" of all that Africa could be and what Africa is at present. Garry finished by mentioning that he is not involved in an HIV/AIDS ministry but since he is concerned about the continent of Africa he is here at the conference to learn.

Steve Goode, in keeping with YWAM tradition, made sure that we all found out how international we are by asking everyone to stand up and declare what region of the globe they hailed from. One gentleman in the audience raised his arms triumphantly shouting, "We're from the best country in the world, South Korea!" At that moment it was confirmed that all of us were indeed at a YWAM conference.

Steve turned the reins of the meeting over to John Dawson who opened the conference. Drawing from the book of Joshua, John reminded us of the blessing of spiritual authority that God bestows when we are unified; rising up as one man like the children of Israel, and yielded to Christ. John told the story of a European missionary to Vanuatu who boldly claimed the island for Christ over 400 years ago, to illustrate the far-reaching ramifications of prayers spoken in faith and empowered by the Spirit of God.

To conclude, he commended the AIDS workers in attendance saying that even though he didn't know many of them based on what he had heard about them he saluted them. After praying for all those in attendance he sent us to bed with a "kiss from God."

Day 2

After worship, Leo Kiwanuka, IDTS coordinator for East Africa, recapped the main points of obeying God's leading, the necessity of prayer, and the importance of having the Word of the Lord that were brought forth in yesterday's meeting. The children's choir from Orphans Know More danced and sang songs calling for an active response to the cry of the orphans and widows who are suffering from HIV/AIDS. After their presentation we had a time for "Stories from the Nations" where several of the forerunners of HIV/AIDS ministry in YWAM shared how God had stirred compassion within their hearts to do something to respond to the HIV/AIDS emergency.

Sam Kisolo, the YWAM National Director, who has been very instrumental in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Uganda, shared his testimony. Sam knew that he had to act when he and his wife spent time in the Rakai district (Uganda) where the oldest person in the community was 16 years old given that AIDS had wiped out the older generation. The recurring message that Sam and his wife have been met with is, "I will die soon and then who will look after my children." Sam was emphatic when he issued a challenge to the crowd of YWAM leaders saying that we as a Mission have a God-given responsibility to actively respond to the HIV/AIDS pandemic with mercy, compassion, and care. He ended by soberly exhorting us from Proverbs 21 that "If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered."

YWAM Rwanda and Tanzania staff shared about facing prejudice in the church towards HIV. The leaders of Beautiful Gate talked about ministering to families affected by AIDS in South Africa. And Carla van der Kooij from Belo Horizonte Children's Home in Brazil spoke about the great difficulties of pioneering a home for children with HIV/AIDS. Whenever she removes dirty diapers and cleans up vomit she hears the Lord reminding her "whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done to me." She also shared a vision that she had of Jesus surrounded by all the children of the world living with HIV and the realization that hit her that God loves and accepts these little ones even if the whole world rejects them.

John Bills told of his experiences working with AIDS patients in the hospitals and hospices of Los Angeles. He said that AIDS is treated like "modern day leprosy" and the Body of Christ should see people with the disease as an "unreached people group". John ended by sharing his heart with fellow AIDS workers, who have felt isolated battling "in the trenches", to strengthen them by communicating to them that they are not alone because "God is with us on the journey".

In the evening session Jeannette and Johan Lukasse shared the story of the adoption of their son and how God continues using this little boy to display His heart.

Day 3

J.D Wilson and Sagi Mathai (P.A.C.T.) minister to the desperately sick in the poorest communities of Chennai and Hyderabad, India. This morning they testified how God has miraculously extended the lives of countless people in their hospice ministry who were presumably sentenced to die by the AIDS virus. Willing to sacrifice his reputation, Saji befriended a homosexual man and met with him regularly to demonstrate to him that Jesus accepts him and He is willing to cleanse him and forgive him of all of his sins. Through providing care and serving the outcasts in their society, these men have had the opportunity to lead many to salvation in Christ.

Reading from Matthew 22:37 – 40, John Bills (Compassion HIV/AIDS Focus DTS School Leader) explained that the command to love our neighbor is inseparable from and just as binding as our duty to love God. He then submitted four areas for us as Youth With A Mission to consider, regardless of whether we were directly involved in HIV/AIDS ministry or not.

The first issue was the issue of fear of what people will think when it comes to engaging with HIV because of the stigma surrounding particular lifestyles that are linked in people's minds with the disease.

The second issue was the issue of prejudice in our hearts where we are tempted to resist reaching out in love to infected people if we think they are being punished for their sinful choices.

The third issue was the issue of unbelief that prevents us from moving forward in obedience to what the Lord has spoken because we don't have enough faith to believe for the release of all that God wants to do.

The fourth issue was the issue of indifference because we have lost our passion making it easier for us to have a business as usual attitude that grieves the Father's heart. According to John, as the Spirit of God enables us to conquer these four areas in our lives, the outcome will be that our global YWAM family will in turn be released from these strongholds.

When John Bills concluded we had time to chew on what the Lord was speaking to us individually and corporately. John Dawson then made a point to honor the "costly obedience" of numerous missionaries present who are walking on the Calvary road with Christ in Frontier Missions.

Speaking to the missionaries involved in fulltime HIV/AIDS ministry in the developing world, Steve Goode apologized on behalf of leadership for not adequately supporting and caring for these workers and their families in the remote outposts where they are giving their lives. And then John Dawson closed by reminding us that we are not to be driven by an "ideology of humanitarianism" but rather it should be the heart of Jesus that motivates us to get involved in the crises affecting our world. Lastly, we had the privilege of being taught by Dr. Mattias Cavassini who gave us non-experts a basic understanding of the AIDS virus.

Day 4

Sam Mugote, our first speaker of the day, founded TAIP (The AIDS Intervention Programme), an extremely successful initiative to train and equip local churches to respond to HIV/AIDS, out of his one-bedroom house nearly 20 years ago. "Any person can do anything, you don't have to be so much," Sam explained. Today TAIP has 245 groups in Uganda that are raising awareness about HIV and providing care for people affected by the virus. He told the crowd that "every generation has a great opportunity from God" and HIV/AIDS is so widespread that it demands that we all get involved. "Change starts with someone like you attending a conference like this one!"

Soon after losing his wife to AIDS, Reverend Canon Gideon Byamugisha of Uganda learned that he too was infected with the lethal virus. The pastor spoke about how he wrestled with how he could disclose his status without being judged and rejected or even excommunicated from the church. But eventually he made the brave decision to be honest about his status and he made history by becoming the first minister in Africa to go public about his HIV-positive status. "My first disclosure was a miracle," said Reverend Gideon, "I told my friends and they told me, 'Gideon, we love you before HIV and we love you after HIV.' I wish every person living with HIV could hear those words." The reverend assigned the Church the task of exhausting every resource available to us to ensure that we have done our part to prevent more unnecessary deaths. "God is on the side of life, He has shown us that we need to defeat AIDS, He has given us role-models to follow, and we will win because He is on our side."

Our next speaker was the First Lady of Uganda, who spearheaded the Abstinence campaigns in Uganda almost a quarter of a century ago in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. As of the early 1980's, she had become deeply alarmed about the rise of HIV and as a result the First Lady through the government began empowering the population to promote sexual abstinence while educating the nation about the AIDS virus. "As a mother, and as the President's wife, I looked at the children of Uganda as if they were my very own," remarked Mrs. Museveni, "and I was concerned about this generation's future." She ended by exclaiming how much promise she sees in the young generation and the hope she has that they will make better choices and lead others by their example.

For the evening of the Memorial of Hope, red ribbons inscribed with people's names were held up by the conference participants to form a giant chain around the darkened auditorium that was lit by lanterns and candles. The ribbons acted were a symbol of each staff member and/or individuals touched by the various ministries present that had lost their lives to HIV/AIDS.

Day 5

"My pain became my passion," said Pastor Martin Ssempa, one of the foremost voices promoting abstinence and faithfulness in marriage to GenXers in Uganda. "I lost my older brother and sister, nieces, nephews, and friends all around me to AIDS. Now I'm in the business of convincing people that it's safer to abstain from sex." Martin later referred back to the NO to AIDS campaigns that occurred in Uganda between 1988 and 1992 that he credits with drastically bringing down HIV/AIDS prevalence in the nation in the years following. The method of the campaign was billboards broadcasting the message of sexual abstinence, each one specifically designed to reach people in particular spheres of society. "Uganda has had so much success in fighting HIV/AIDS that it has now become the battleground over AIDS policies that will affect the entire world… What I love about YWAM is that you guys are all about discipling the nations and the HIV/AIDS pandemic has presented us with many opportunities to disciple the nations," exclaimed Mr. Ssempa.

Commenting on the need for Christians to partner for change, Nigel Marsh from World Vision, challenged us with words of Micah 6:8, which says, "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Mr. Marsh explained how the Church should be concerned enough to do something when they find out that 95% of the people living with HIV/AIDS are from developing countries. Nigel ended with a plea, "We as the Body of Christ need to take action on behalf of the millions of children who have been orphaned by AIDS and the only way to meet the vast needs is through partnerships. We are going to be held accountable! What are people going to say about our generation in years to come? What did we do for the AIDS orphans?"

Day 6

Ida Kouassi, a representative of UNAIDS, from the nation of Togo, was the main speaker on the final day of the conference. The response to the Epidemic is still far from adequate according to the statistics given in Ida's presentation:

• Over 11,000 new infections a day
• 8,000 deaths every day
• Lets put this in context, this like a Tsunami every six weeks- all year, and next year…

"We as a church responded to the Tsunami- What are we doing to reach out to people living with HIV in our town? Who are they? They are most likely to be found amongst the marginalized in our town, the intravenous drug using community, immigrant population and commercial sex workers. Are these people in our church? These are the people that Jesus sat down and ate with when he was on earth," Ms. Kouassi urged during her moving lecture.

John Dawson ended this groundbreaking conference with a time of prayer and thanksgiving to God.