"When people ask, 'What can I do for you? I tell them, come be with me.' These wise words were spoken by Bishop John Rucyahana.

"I believe we should make space in the Body of Christ for storytelling. We really can’t survive without stories. When people who live with the virus tell their stories, they name and claim their identities. Instead of others labeling you or on your behalf, you name your experience of your reality. Telling our stories also helps us to make sense of what is happening."
-Denise Ackerman, After the Locusts: Letters from a Landscape of Faith (p. 86)

As our group looks toward our coming trip in July, these thoughts from one of my favorite authors speak powerfully to our purposes. Ackerman’s writings are shaped by her experiences living through apartheid in South Africa. Her experiences challenge and refine faith. She speaks powerfully of the importance of storytelling in our common life as followers of Christ, offering a helpful perspective for us as we prepare for our trip.

As our newsletter articulates, this particular trip is not centered on any major “project.” You may wonder, “Why are you going to Africa then? There is so much hurt and poverty. You must be planning to do something?”

We are indeed! Our mission is to understand, to learn, and to share. We are part of a tapestry of faith stretching through time and location, woven with our own stories and those of our sisters. At present our tapestry is quite familiar and limited. We recognize our need for the threads of our other sisters’ faith stories in order to begin to fill in the missing patterns, colors, and artistry, even as we continue to weave our own tapestry.

Ackerman writes the following on the implications of HIV/AIDS for women and children and the role the family of faith in this current crisis:

"I have heard stories that speak of triumph, of resistance, and of hope. Imagine a kaleidoscope with thousands of different-colored fragments. As it moves, it forms patterns. The myriad of stories of suffering and joy make up the big story of AIDS, in which each fragment is unique. My life has been changed by knowing the stories of people living with the HIV virus. Hearing and telling stories challenges stigmas and prejudices…Stigmas can paralyze us. They deny the active, meaningful, and contributing lives of many (HIV-positive) people. Through telling and hearing stories, we discover connections and then, hopefully, we begin to care in new ways because the shared story of our faith is our sounding board. It shows that not only Jesus’ care and concern for the suffering but confronts us with a person whose life makes sense and gives hope even when he suffers death on a cross." (p. 86)

We eagerly anticipate discovering this tapestry and invite you to join us in the journey. Stay tuned to this blog or feel free to contact us directly to do so. One day we look forward to seeing our pieces completed and added to the final masterpiece of the true Artist Creator.