Here’s something I never thought I’d say…
I love my HIV/AIDS support group! haha there it is. I am a member of an HIV/AIDS support group here in Uganda. We meet on Fridays from 2-4pm and have a ball. There’s about 50 other women in the group and a couple of guys.
I suppose I thought that everyone would be depressed and have terrible stories to tell about their fight with HIV/AIDs. I thought it would be a place where people would be lonely, sad and struggling. And I’m not saying, that the people in the group don’t experience heart-breaking hardships or devastating loses, but overall, their stories and lives are filled with hope and joy. These are people who get up everyday and fully realize what it mens to rely on their Creator for EVERYTHING.
To welcome us to the group, the members performed several songs and dances, all in the local language here. There were women fist pumping, jumping back and forth and pouring their hearts out through music. There was a blind woman lifting her hands to the sky and a woman wearing a old breast cancer t-shirt running around in circles. Everyone was moving, clapping, laughing and dancing, my (awkward) self included.
Because I didn’t understand the language, I assumed these songs were about fun and joyful things–songs about God, family and friends. However, it was only after the music-making was done that the translator told us the meaning behind the music. All the songs were about what a JOY it is to live with HIV/AIDs. Not a pain, not a struggle, not a challenge…a joy. All I could do was sit there and try to understand how people can live with such amazement and energy in the face of something like AIDs.
They told me something amazing that day: Life is about living and living loved. We are loved by our Creator and that is enough. He will see us through each day and nothing is too great for Him. What have we to fear from sicknesses like HIV/AIDs when He is at our side? So it’s okay to laugh and to dance and to live each day with joy.
Love you all, talk to you soon!
Katy
