Tuesday July 22nd

We had a discussion today about the AIDS epidemic and the atrocities that have occurred. We heard first hand accounts of the despair and loss that occurs from a lack of education and an inability to solve the problem. You hear stories that simple try and break your heart. It is saddening to learn that the missionaries have to learn to become distanced from the kids that they are attempting to help. The encounter stories of small African villages that the solution to the epidemic is to have sex with a young virgin, as in the ages of 5 and 6. This leaves the communities torn apart and creates such a physical and emotional scar on the women and children. We have to come to terms that we are trying to make an impression for the best and that some things are just completely out of our control.
One of the kids in our class, Gio, brought up a very interesting point. He was discussing about when he was in Tijuana on a mission trip and he encountered a homeless person. He was preparing himself to give a standard denial but instead of a being given a call for alms he was given a call to arms. The homeless man asked, “Do I have to beg for you to act? I spent the rest of the day contemplating the true implications of this question. I will be the first to admit that I am a victim of this, that I have a tendency to be complacent. I do not try and look at the injustices that are evident in our society, but merely continue on my day convincing myself that it is beyond my power. I realize that drastic actions such as becoming a missionary aren’t necessarily the best answer for everyone, but the drastic action of being sympathetic to others is. I must pressure all of you to ask yourself the same question. “Do I have to beg for you to act?”