Photography and Guest Blog by Bob Miller (plusbob.com)

There are certain tasks in any profession that make you think long and hard about the nature of what you do. As a photographer, walking among strangers and peering into their lives for a few short moments may be among the most challenging. So when I was asked to join CARE for AIDS for one week to document the lives of people living with AIDS in Kenya, I knew a familiar helplessness would set in. It's a good helplessness though - one that is based on a knowledge of photography's shortcomings, and the fact that photographs are ultimately only glimpses into a person's full story.

I joined Justin and the CARE for AIDS staff Sunday of this week, and the last four days have been full of photographing, interviewing, and generally documenting the lives of the Kenyans who have participated in the CARE for AIDS program. Some of the individuals I've documented have endured great suffering. Some have even been bedridden on the edge of death. Yet somehow they have reclaimed life on Earth and hope for life eternal with God, and from a bedridden, emaciated state, these people have found hope not only to continue living, but to start businesses, build their families, and fight the stigma associated with their disease.

In situations like these it's important to remember we cannot truly know the life of another unless we make it our own. We will never fully know what it's like to fight the stigma associated with AIDS or build a business in an environment of destitute poverty until we ourselves have faced the same challenges. My hope is that these images might bring us a little closer to their reality and that by peering into the lives of others we might get a sense of what it's like to live in their shoes.

These few images will give a sense of the stories we've been witnessing here in Kenya. To see and hear their complete stories, keep an eye out on the CARE for AIDS website in the coming months (www.careforaids.org).

Defining Moment!

Much has happened the last few days that I wish to share with you, but I will try to spread it out over the next few posts. Being without internet in Western Kenya has set me back a few days. However, there is one specific encounter that I want to share which has been the defining moment of my trip thus far.

On Saturday, before leaving for Kisumu, Cornel, Steve, and I were waiting in Limuru for Duncan to handle some business at the bank. A lady approached us in the parking lot with a huge smile on her face. I realized immediately that she must have been a former client of CARE for AIDS, but I couldn't place her face. She extended her hand, and I offered my usual rudimentary Kenyan greeting. After exchanging a few words in Swahili with Cornel and Steve, she went on her way. After she had gone, Cornel told me that, in fact, she was the bedridden woman from our last video named Sarah. I could not believe it! Nearly two years ago, Sarah could barely sit up in her bed, much less walk. I saw a completely different woman in Limuru, a confident, healthy and happy woman. Cornel translated the brief conversation for me. She said, "I will never forget what you guys did for me. You changed my life. There was a time that I couldn't walk, but now that I can, I walk as much as I can."

This encounter reaffirmed for me that lives are being changed. People are receiving physical and spiritual healing. As CARE for AIDS ages as an organization, it is encouraging to see how our earlier clients have sustained their health and well-being over time. Seeing Sarah has given me a renewed sense of purpose and passion for CARE for AIDS, and I am as excited as ever to get home and tell others how they can be a part of this incredible life-transforming vision.

The Beauty of Kenya!

Since being in Kenya for the last 24 hours, I have been reminded of the many reasons why I love this country. Here are a few highlights from day one:

1. Bargaining my way out of a $150 customs fee. I guess the guy really didn't want my CARE for AIDS shirts after all.

2. Waking up to sunshine and 75 degrees.

3. Eating a terrific lunch of beef stew and rice at the nicest restaurant in Limuru for only $3.

4. And the best part, spending all day with three guys who share my same passion for the vision and mission of CARE for AIDS.

All that to say, my first day in Kenya has been great. Our leadership team spent much of today talking about the future of the ministry and what CARE for AIDS will look like with 20 centers, 50 centers, 100 centers... I believe that if we are not totally dependent on God for success, then we are not dreaming big enough. That was definitely not the case today.

However, it does beg the question, "What areas of our lives is God calling us to relinquish control and depend completely on Him?"

Are you in on it?

In the Message translation of I Corinthians 9:22-23, Paul says, “I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all of this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!”

At no other time in my life have I felt more “in on it.” God has given me a holy discontent to help people in the United States get in on it. “It” being sharing the love of Christ with those infected with HIV. I don’t want my friends and neighbors to simply talk about the Gospel or the devastation of the AIDS crisis; I want to see them get in on it.

I am excited to introduce a new series of blog posts that will span the next three weeks. As you are reading this, I am most likely already on my way to Nairobi, Kenya where I will be spending the better part of the next month. More than anything else, I am anxious to see our leadership team there and encourage them in any way I can as they continue to execute this incredible vision. In addition to that, I will be visiting our newest center in Western Kenya, helping direct some new media pieces with a very talented artist named Bob Miller (no relation), and sharing the vision of CARE for AIDS with a team of 8 individuals from the States. It is shaping up to be an amazing trip!

I tell you all this because I want all of you to be a part of this experience. Through my writing and posts by my fellow vision trip participants, I want to bring Kenya to you. I’m not implying that it is an adequate substitute for the real thing, but I hope it will help you see CARE for AIDS in a different light. I hope it will help you identify with our clients in new ways. I hope you will be moved to “get in on it.”

As you read about the experiences of our team, please be praying for our continued safety and effectiveness as we try to minister to the people of Kenya living with HIV/AIDS.

Meanwhile, I encourage you to ask yourself, “Am I in on it?” You don’t have to be in Kenya or in any other part of the world for that matter, but right where you are, “Are you in on it?”

Update on Ultimate Gift Campaign

Dear friends,

I would like to thank you for responding to our request for year-end donations. Thanks to your generosity, God has tremendously blessed this campaign. We still have a long way to go, but as of now, we have received enough support to give care to 33 individuals and their families next year. Those are 33 families that will be radically changed thanks to your selfless acts of giving. That is an amazing feat in itself, but we believe God will continue to provide until we reach 75.

Remember...

$200 TOTAL for one family to receive life-saving and life-transforming care like Mike and his family (pictured right).

OR

$20 PER MONTH to support a family on an ongoing basis throughout next year.

Click the link below to donate.

https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=17ccde

Keep up the good work! Only 8 days left until the end of 2009...

Merry Christmas!

Update on Ultimate Gift Campaign

Dear friends,

I would like to thank you for responding to our request for year-end donations. Thanks to your generosity, God has tremendously blessed this campaign. We still have a long way to go, but as of now, we have received enough support to give care to 33 individuals and their families next year. Those are 33 families that will be radically changed thanks to your selfless acts of giving. That is an amazing feat in itself, but we believe God will continue to provide until we reach 75.

Remember...

$200 TOTAL for one family to receive life-saving and life-transforming care like Mike and his family (pictured right).

OR

$20 PER MONTH to support a family on an ongoing basis throughout next year.

Click the link below to donate.

https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=17ccde

Keep up the good work! Only 8 more days until the end of 2009...

Merry Christmas!

Give the Gift of Life this Christmas

Friends,

CARE for AIDS has successfully provided life saving and transforming care to over 300 families since our conception. This Christmas, I am asking you to help us give this gift of life to 75 more people and their families in 2010. Below is a graphic that represents the 75 individuals that we want to raise support for in gifts and pledges before December 31, 2009. So, if you are praying about where to give year-end gifts, please consider CARE for AIDS. Or, if you want to make a monthly pledge to support one of these people throughout next year, now would be a great time to do so. If each person that reads this post would give $5 or $10 towards this goal, it would make all the difference. Let's try and make this logo turn from white to red. Please check back periodically as I will be posting updates as we get closer to our goal.

One-time Gifts
$20 for one month of care for one client and his/her family
$60 for three months of care for one client and his/her family
$200 total per client to complete the CARE for AIDS program

Monthly Gifts
$20 per month to support one client in the program

While you may not think your small donation will make a difference. It may very well be the difference between life and death for a Kenyan man or woman. Please read Susan's story that Nick wrote about a couple weeks ago.

"The second story that I heard was about a woman named

Susan Muthoni. Esther has known Susan for quite a few years, and just two years ago it looked to everyone around her that Susan was close to death. Her family sent her to their traditional homeland to live out her remaining days, and all of her neighbors in Ruaka assumed that she had died, just like the flowers that perished in the house that she left behind. Esther recalls calling Susan on the phone and being told, "Esther, please pray for me to die"- life with HIV/AIDS was just too difficult. Miraculously, a year passed, and Susan held on, so her family brought her back to Ruaka. At the same time, the CFA center in Ruaka was recruiting its first group of clients, and Esther went to see Susan and ask her to be a part of the program. We she found Susan in her home, Esther remembers her being so weak that she couldn't even swallow a spoonfull of porridge. Susan was excited about the CFA program, though, and as time went on she slowly grew stronger and healthier. She loved the trainings and seminars that the center held every other week, and she took what she learned and used it to start a small business selling charcoal and kerosene in Ruaka. Over the past year this business has grown, and Susan has managed to save enough money to buy a small plot of land and start building a house that she can own for herself and her daughter! This is a huge step for her, and it is so encouraging for her to see the fruits of all the work she has put in - praise God for such a drastic change in the life of Susan Muthoni! Two years ago no one would have pictured her as the smiling face you see here..."

If you want to make a difference in the lives of people like Susan, please click the link below to donate or go to our website, careforaids.org.

https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=17ccde

Merry Christmas!