YAA Day!

OK, the clock has just struck 12 AM and we are finally into the 6th of December 2008. Its YAA Day!

A good 6 months of work and planning and preparation. The Youth Against AIDS Fest 08 is upon us.

Yours truly is taking a seminar on Pornography. Sheba is slated for one called "For Girls Only" - but has suffered terribly the last few days from an infected sore on her tongue which means she can only talk with great pain (didn't stop her from seeing many patients this morning).

The first drive out to the Free Methodist Church takes place tomorrow at 6.30 AM! Make that today at 6.30! I need to sleep as I am dog-tired, but just want to say that I am very proud of all the folks who have slogged to get us to where we are.

There have been countless hours of behind the scenes work - and now this afternoon at 3 PM the gates will be opened and young people from all over the city are expected to be in for a real treat.

6 concurrent seminars, a mini-film fest, a poster competition, food, different NGOs sharing about their work, a clown... and then an evening meeting at 6.30 with a live band, testimonies, a street play and a strong but heart-felt message.

We have had some hiccups and disappointments along the way - but are very very glad that this day is dawning on us. The biggest one probably was the constant doors shutting on us regarding the venue for the YAA Fest. But now, looking back, we would probably have had to cancel since the security situation has become so tense in the larger academic institutions after the terror attacks that killed over 200 in South Mumbai. On the other hand - we are thrilled to be able to use the Free Methodist Church in Andheri. God knows what He is doing when he says 'no' - how much we need to accept him at His word!

I need to sleep so that I can do justice to the day. But just a word of thanks for our three interns from Union Biblical Seminary who have been with us for the past 7 months thanks to Tearfund. Akshaydeep, Leroy and Silvanus have been a great blessing to us all - and we will have misty eyes when we have a small send off for them on Sunday evening. They have become part of our hearts - and are heart and soul of YAA too!

Gentle reader - Thanks for your prayers and support - and for eye-balling this so patiently!

Bananas from God

I talked to the fruit-seller at the gateway to our housing complex yesterday. I asked him his name.

"Bhagwan" the old man replied.

I have been buying bananas from god!

Back to school

We don't usually hold meetings in schools - but the exceptions validate the rules!

Mrs Angelina Nelson, the Headmistress of DPM school in Mulund E had asked Sheba and myself to do an AIDS awareness session with the class 9 and 10 students.

Being Tuesday, and having the kind help of Dr. Marise at the clinic, we set out to meet the students. The top floor saw one room for girls - which Sheba took - and another chock-a-block with boys - taken by yours truly. Sheba's talk was great - her quiet but confident manner brought the girls to pin-drop silence. My talk had a slightly rowdier crowd - but it was a real privilege to share with these young men.

I was struck by the potential in the room. So many eager faces. Some bored ones too. But overall each young man having so much that can happen through them.

Being a mix of 9 and 10th grades I could also see the vast changes that puberty had wrought. Some of the boys looked tiny - others were the kind you would find at the local boxing gym - stubble beard and all.

After our presentations we gave out slips of paper for questions. What was written was revealing. There were the basic ones about HIV which we had already covered in the presentation - some folks must have been sleeping. Then there were a bunch which showed an intense interest in sexuality. This is clearly a felt need and after the programme we suggested to Mrs. Nelson that they have ACT Nirnaay come and do their life-skills training here. A number ranged on the bizarre ("Can you get HIV from water bottles, homosexuals and lesbians?") while a few asked the origin question.

The pick of the lot, however, was a detailed question asking for advice with a pornography addiction. He said that his father has told him to study and concentrate on other things, but that he still finds it very attractive - and what should he do about it...

We are facing a battle for the mind. For every lecture like this that we give - our young people have hundreds of hours telling them what 'beautiful' and 'handsome' look like - and that you can sleep around and do whatever you want - since you deserve all the pleasure you can get.

Speaking of battles, the police came while we were giving our presentation (unknown to us). They told Mrs. Nelson that there was an alert and that terrorists were planning to attack some schools and colleges.

You can't help think about these kinds of warnings in the context of HIV prevention. We have dealt with death. Young people of 30 and 35 dying. How many of them would have been like the boys and girls that we talked to today. At the talk of terrorism - no-one wants to take a chance. But, when it comes to preventing HIV - suddenly risk goes out the window. Pleasure first. You deserve it. Get what you can. The lies continue. How many more young people will it take before HIV stops its onward spread?

World AIDS Day Prayer Meeting

We gathered to pray on World AIDS Day 2008. There were not many of us - but we were talking to a God who doesn't need many to do His work.

Over the 3 hours that we spent together in prayer - we covered a wide range of areas that are linked with HIV/AIDS. For one, we talked to the very Maker of the universe! To think about God actually hearing about the needs of people with HIV who are in prostitution, or trapped in addictions, or sick, or for the government health policies - all of these issues being listened to by our loving God who yearns to hear from His children!

It was important for us to have worship woven into the fabric of our time together. It seemed like a blink of an eye and we were at 10.30 PM, singing "Shine Jesus shine" by candle-light.

One of the joys we have in our work is having Enoch and Asha part of almost everything.

They were with us at this meeting as well as we prayed for some pretty heavy stuff - widows, orphans, the dying... We wish they could have a 'nicer' childhood sometimes - but then again, we know that we are called here - and life is full of some pretty grim stuff.

The key, I think is whether God is in the picture or not.

If we just look at the list of issues - it is too overwhelming. And that is why our prayer is a conversation with God. Not just a 'to-do' list that we send up to Him, but rather an on-going dialogue about seeking His good purposes to be lived out - to be implemented and experienced in our hurting world.

As my old Sunday-school song put it: with Christ in the vessel, we can smile at the storm...

Prayer must become ever more central to us and the life we live. May our conversations with God only grow deeper. Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Smiley Moon

While walking to the World AIDS Day prayer meeting at 7.30 PM, I looked into the night sky and saw... a smile!

Apparently, the crescent moon, Jupiter and Venus had joined to create a pretty lovely picture.

I didn't take a picture (this is off the net) but it was a lovely to see it.

When Enoch came later with Sheba and Asha to the meeting, he said it was Jesus smiling at him. I wish I had had that thought. Unless you come as a child...

Close to the Taj Hotel

Ravi Nischal called us last night.

Ravi and I studied together at Woodstock School. Ravi works at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai.

I had found out from Melvin - an employee of Taj who went off duty at 8 PM on th 26th night - 1.5 hours before the firing and hostage taking started - that Ravi was not seen for some months. Melvin thought he may have been transferred to another property or that Ravi had resigned. That was some comfort for me.

Till the phone call, though, I was waiting for the death-lists to be published in the papers to be able to check if Ravi's name was there.

His call - blessedly! - ended that.

Ravi is in Delhi and has been on a short term assignment there for some months. His wife Shruti and their 9 year old daughter live near the Taj in Colaba. They are safe. Ravi is safe. A big sigh escaped my lips.

Ravi knew 5 of the 10 Taj employees that are known to have lost their lives in the carnage. Death is very close to us all at a time like this. But so is life. Blessed life.

-----------------

Another survivor is our friend Robert Stephens. Having lost a close friend while he was studying at Virginia Tech, Robert had a number of very, very close encounters with the Mumbai carnage. Read more about it by clicking: here.

World AIDS Day 2008

World AIDS Day. Today. Everyday.

How many? Millions. Each precious.

Where? Everywhere. Hidden. Mostly scared and shamed into silence.

Who is there for them? We are. Each one of us is connected - in some way with a person with HIV.

As a family, we have lost a cousin to AIDS. He died this year. Silently.

How many more are going to die before we are able to roll back this disease?

What will it take for us to change our selfish, pleasure-at-all-costs, me-first nature?

Two millennia ago - a man who did no wrong was stretched out on a rude piece of wood. Alive, he had his hands and feet hammered in. For each one of us. For each brother and sister with HIV. Stripped of his few clothes he had - he hung their naked. He was spit on and abused by thieves and religious teachers alike. And yet he said "Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing." Instead of revenge, he took on their shame - all of our shame. He hung there in pain for our sakes.

The story doesn't end at that brutal execution. It continues in a garden where the spat-on corpse had been laid. On the third day it wasn't there any more. Jesus had beaten death. He was, is and always will be - totally, invincibly, for-ever alive.

Today is World AIDS Day. Every day is World AIDS Day.

In a time of death and shame - we see the first rays of the coming light.