30 November 2006

	A girl stands beside the hospital bed of a loved one in Ethiopia. Melissa Lukenbaugh photo

AIDS. It sends chills down the spine. The effects of AIDS in its first 25 years are startling: millions dead, millions more dying; orphans, widows, and outcasts suffering alone. There is not a nation left untouched by HIV and AIDS.

Every year on December 1, the world comes together to raise awareness. The theme of World AIDS Day 2006 is "Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise." It emphasizes holding leaders and governments accountable to their pledge to provide universal access to treatment in the most remote parts of the globe.

But stopping AIDS and relieving suffering are not only the responsibilities of political leaders. Each member of the global community has a part to play—locally or internationally.

A Christian Response: Christ’s Example

Christ’s example of compassion motivates us as Christians. We must keep our promise to follow Him, wherever He leads us. He will guide us to the broken, the suffering, and the sick.

In SIM, whether it is to those affected by HIV and AIDS, sickness, homelessness, hunger, or poverty, ministry goes hand in hand with sharing the Gospel of Christ. We act because we are God's children. We minister because the Scripture says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress" (James 1:27, NIV). We care.

SIM and HOPE for AIDS’ Response It is our privilege to partner with faithful people across the globe in more than 50 SIM and HOPE for AIDS projects:

	An AEC home-based care volunteer prays with a family outside their home. Chris Bugert photo

• Faithful volunteers from the Africa Evangelical Church (AEC) home-based care program in Malawi take food, medicine, and encouragement to those who are sick at home. They do chores that the ill are no longer able to do. Their help enables children to continue in school rather than working to scrape out a living for their family.
• At Tumelong, “where faith is” in Botswana, church members expanded their counseling and home-based care project to meet the practical needs of the orphans and vulnerable children in the area. Each day, between 40 and 50 children receive care, meals, and help with their schoolwork.
• Counselors in the Medan Volunteer Counseling and Testing Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, give their time and energy to help people like “Hannah,” a commercial sex worker with a positive diagnosis. Thanks to Meseret, an Income Generating Specialist, she now has her own small business and hope in Christ.

On World AIDS Day and every day, SIM and HOPE for AIDS projects are faithfully carrying out the work that God has given them:

• caring for orphans,
• visiting the sick,
• providing ARV treatments,
• conducting awareness and prevention seminars,
• empowering the local church,
• making an impact in individual lives and communities.

As an unnoticed, dripping faucet causes a flood, each act of compassion done in the name of Christ brings glory to God, and one day, the knowledge of His glory will fill the whole earth.

SIM invites you to partner in these efforts. Will you follow Jesus to help those affected by AIDS around the world? You can join hands with Christians in Africa, South America, and Asia, as they respond with Christ’s compassion to HIV and AIDS.

	An AEC home-based care volunteer gives juice to a patient. Jacky Hammond photo

Pray

Your prayers can reach across the globe and bring comfort to the dying or strength to those who are ministering in overwhelming circumstances. Use our prayer guide to pray for those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS.

Give

Your giving to the HOPE for AIDS Master Project (#99383) allows funds to be directed to the project most in need. Visit hopeforaids.org to get to know individual projects and needs.

Go

Is Christ leading you to serve those affected by HIV and AIDS? Check out the opportunities list.