U.S. HIV/AIDS Funding Cuts

The following is a message on the status of the HIV/AIDS program at Faith Alive Hospital, from Dr. Chris Isichei, founder. As government funding decreases for HIV/AIDS, it becomes increasingly more important for private contributions to increase to fill this funding gap. Please pray with us for the Faith Alive patients.

I returned from a trip [for training at the Haggai Institute] and met with our team yesterday over a decision to halt fresh enrollment of newly diagnosed HIV cases into our program whether ARVs [Anti-Retrovirals] or Care [due to U.S. funding cuts]. We were however advised to refer to certain sites that still have vacancies.

On my first day back to work, we had about 15 new cases most insisting they will not go anywhere but rather die in Faith Alive. We had no choice but to accompany them to the various places we referred them to and assured them that they will continue to be part of Faith Alive family. We will follow them up to the end wherever they may be. This helped to some extent. I have insisted that pregnant women and children be excluded while I work out something for them….

It has dawned on me with bleeding heart that with this God given vision, I will have to watch and see some persons turned back from specifically ART [Anti-Retroviral Treatment] services but I pray that the follow up program instituted by the U.S. government will still allow us impact them for Christ. God bless."

Partners Prepare for Nigeria

Last summer, Faith Alive determined that the civil unrest in Jos presented risks that were too great for them to host their missionary partners. Since the election of Nigerian President Jonathan Goodluck, our partners in Nigeria are accepting visitors. A wonderful church that we partner with here in Timonium, The Church of Nativity is glad to be getting ready again for another missionary trip in August. This is the church that I am a member of and the missionary team that I traveled to Nigeria with in both 2008 and 2009. This post is from Brian Crook, the Director of Missions at Nativity:

The 2011 Nativity:Nigeria teams are about a month away from their departure date for a two-week mission trip to Nigeria. Church of the Nativity sends mission teams each summer to support and share life with their Nigerian partners, the Faith Alive Hospital and the Sisters of the Poorest of the Poor.
To ensure each missionary has a full experience, the mission teams engage in months of preparation that includes everything from shots and vaccinations to team building, prayer, and a half-day retreat. The focus of the short-term mission trips is on building relationships. By sending teams that are bonded and well connected, they have a tremendous opportunity to connect with the people in the communities of Jos and Abuja, to listen to and learn from them, and to share their experiences when they return home. By sending groups each year, Church of the Nativity stays closely connected with their partner communities and hopes to be ever-strengthening their long-term partnerships.
In addition to building relationships, in the weeks leading up to their departure, Nativity:Nigeria also hosts a Vitamin Drive. The teams will haul hundreds of pounds of vitamins with them that the partners will use to serve their local communities. Church of the Nativity is immensely grateful for its partnership with HFWAF and looks forward to working together on many future projects.

Photos:
top-Anawim team
bottom - Faith Alive team