CAT-LA-HONG

Within the last couple of months Beth Mack has been in contact with a school in a township, whose population is said to rival Soweto (the largest township in Johannesburg), named Katlehong. I suppose many do not know what I’m talking about when I speak of a township. The best way I know how to describe it is that it is a slum. It is what you would see on a Sunday morning when World Impact is trying to get you to sponsor a kid. It’s that type of living.
So anyway, I’m not sure how, but Beth has a foster parent class on Fridays and around thirty people attend. These people are either going to adopt, are taking care of kids or just showing up for the free tea and sandwiches. But for whatever reason they are coming they are being exposed to some very good things.
This past Friday, Beth was planning on showing a video named, “God’s answers to AIDS: winning the battle against HIV/AIDS” and then having me share the gospel afterwards, but the sound did not work so she gave a PowerPoint presentation on HIV/AIDS.



She postponed the video and gospel presentation until next week (5/25/07). And I would have to say that I have learned more about AIDS in the last three days than I have in my whole life.
There is such a stigma in the US that if you go to Africa you will get AIDS. This is not true. Possible? Yes. Guarantee? No. There are only three ways to get HIV (the virus you need to get AIDS). First way is blood to blood. For example, if two girls pierced their ears with the same needle and the first one had HIV the second will get it. Also in many tribes when boys turn to men they get circumcised. And in a line of 15 boys if the second one in line has HIV, the rest of the boys will get it because they do not switch knives. Secondly is mother to baby. Whether that be in the actual birthing process when the bloods mix, and that is 30-50% of the time when it happens, or while breast feeding. Many kids were contracting the virus when the mother was negative and they couldn't figure out why. And they found that the mothers were leaving the children to be breast fed while they went to work. And the other mothers had the virus. The third way to contract the virus is the exchange of bodily fluids; sex. This accounts for 95% of all infections in Africa. That blows my mind! 95%! There is a solution for AIDS and a cure for AIDS… STOP HAVING SEX OUTSIDE THE CONTEXT OF MARRIAGE. It’s that simple. Be faithful to your mate. Why is this a hard thing to do? Mankind’s desire to rebel against God is the answer. Basically we see Romans 1 right in front of our very eyes.
This is why Beth is out trying to inform people about HIV/AIDS in the townships. One of the biggest reasons for the epidemic is ignorance. She is also trying to break down the stigmas of HIV/AIDS here. Another factor that contributes to such huge numbers of infections is that people are afraid to go get tested. So that means people do not know that they have HIV, because you could not have symptoms for up to 6 years down the line. While they are sleeping around they are infecting more and more people and not even knowing it. People are afraid to get tested because of what others may think.
In addition to that I have learned what you cannot get AIDS from. You can NOT get HIV/AIDS from: coughing, sneezing, sharing a straw or fork, hugging, sharing sheets, shaking hands, kissing, animals, or mosquito bites. So, if you are not living an immoral lifestyle and are wise about what you put in your body, you will be fine. There are not other ways of contracting HIV.
To bring it back on track about Katlehong, Friday mornings was the parenting class and after that we went to the school in the township. This was the saddest thing I’ve seen. It is the worst looking school I have ever seen. There are 1300+ kids ages 5-12 in about 20 shipping containers…and that is generous, shacks would be more accurate. Some of them do not have electricity, and a lot of them have holes in the roofs and holes in the floors, broken windows, and broken doors, and the list could go on.
Grace Christian Church is having a work day up at the school on June 2, 2007 and so we were walking through making a list of what is worth doing in one day, and while we were walking through one of the classrooms, this was one where you would have to climb over desks to get to the front because of the crowding, the teacher started almost worshipping us. She was telling us that we were saviors, pulling them out of the water and saving their lives. She continued telling us that she’s been praying for 10 years that someone would come and help them and that we were redeeming them. My jaw almost hit the floor because no one would ever think about helping them. We were few white people who would actually go in to Katlehong. The sad part is that the government has money but they are unwilling to help give them a place at least that is suitable for learning. And I was talking with Beth and she said that $300,000 American would put up a school. It was very eye opening spending time there, and I’m sure that we will make a little dent in the list of things to be done on June 2, but it will mean the world to the staff, faculty, and students. Please pray that many people will come to the workday and that there will be many opportunities for the gospel to be heard. Thanks.