What is the relationship of this vision trip to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa?
Subsaharan Africa (including the Congo) has by far the largest proportion of HIV/AIDS sufferers in the world. The impact of the disease on this continent is devastating beyond imagination, and the suffering unfathomable. God is calling churches throughout the world to action, not least of all here in the U.S. where the church is blessed with significant resources and therefore has both means and responsibility to help mitigate the crisis. There may or may not be a medical aspect to our ultimate assistance. It is possible we might work with churches to provide health care or victim support or orphan support. What is exciting, even though we dont know yet if or how we might fit into this ministry, is that the Congolese Free Church already has specific programs they are designing to minister to HIV-affected children and widows. We dont have to come up with the solutions; we only have to be willing to serve where the Lord calls us.
