Packing, Preparing, and HIV/AIDS Information (those things go together, right?)

We are packing, unpacking, and repacking over and over.  It is very hard to decide what to take and what to leave behind.  Today we are putting together photo albums for each of the boys to show them where we live, where we go to church, their room, our pets, and each of our family members.  Overall, we feel pretty prepared (for the trip, at least!).

In the past week, we have had several unexpected financial contributions trickle in that have amazingly been in specific amounts for specific things we need to cover, like visas for the boys, plane tickets, passports for the boys, etc.  I picked up a check from our local consignment shop, Forget Me Nots, where we have placed some items that have been donated to us to sell and it was double what I was expecting.  One of my doctors called and said our insurance covered more than we had expected so they owed us some money.  Things like this just keep happening.  It is just very cool to see how God works!

Now on to something that has been on my mind lately - HIV/AIDS awareness.  I read a news article about a sibling set in the Arkansas foster care system who are rumored to be HIV-positive and are not being allowed into the public school in their area.  This is happening now, not back in the 80's!   It is so outrageous!  Misconceptions are still so prevalent so I thought I would share some facts on the issue.

• In 2010, there were 3,400,000 children living with HIV/AIDS.
• Every 3 minutes, a child dies from AIDS somewhere in the world.
• Children by the thousands are orphaned daily due to AIDS.
• If a mother is given the proper medication, there is a 95% chance of not passing the virus on to her infant during childbirth.
• With proper medication, an HIV-positive child can live a productive, happy, and fulfilling life.
• There are 3 main ways that HIV is transmitted:

            unprotected sex with a person who has the virus
            direct contact with infected blood through infected needles or blood transfusions
            during childbirth

• One can not contract HIV through casual contact like drinking from the same cup, sharing a bathroom, hugging, kissing, playing together, etc.
• There are no known cases of a care giver of an HIV/AIDS-positive person EVER contracting HIV/AIDS.

"You can't care for orphans without caring about AIDS, and you can't care about AIDS without caring for orphans."  Elizabeth Styffe, Director of Saddleback Church's AIDS Initiative

Johnny Carr points out in his book, Orphan Justice, that Jesus spent much of his time on earth caring for the sick, the lame, the outcast.  There was no illness that he shunned.  "I was sick and you took care of Me. Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me." Matthew 25:36,40.  Again I go back to Ephesians 5:1, "Be imitators of God."  To me, that covers a multitude of issues.