thoughts from Paul

Have I mentioned that the title of this blog seems completely trite to me now?
Anyway, Paul Warren is a good talker and writer.  I thought I would share some of his reflections today, as he has been here many times.

He writes: "One of the best moments for me personally was last Monday morning when we arrived at the project office for the first time.  There is a woman named Jerusalem who has been a beneficiary almost since the very inception of the project.  Some of you will remember her from our previous trips and the stories we have told of visiting her home as she lay sick in bed near death's door.  Across the room from her bed sat a framed photo of a strikingly beautiful young woman who was a model.  Of course, it was Jerusalem before this horrible disease had inflicted her.  I can still remember sitting beside her bed one afternoon in the darkness of the tiny house, holding her hand and praying as she struggled to draw each breathe. Jerusalem had touched so many of us because she had become a Christian and even in the face of death exuded a vibrant joy in Christ.  As we left the house that day I thought that I probably would not see Jerusalem again on this side of heaven. But when we were here last February, Rose Rode asked one of the staff how she was doing.  The project had begun an antiretroviral treatment program and Jerusalem was one of the first beneficiaries to receive the life saving drugs.  We were all amazed and thrilled to hear that she was doing well.  We could hardly wait to go and see her, but even though we tried about three times to visit her at home, she was never there.  The staff told us that she was out working and visiting others who were sick. We left Addis last February without ever seeing her.

So when we walked into the project office this Monday and I stuck my head in the little office where ARV's are distributed to the beneficiaries, you can imagine my joy in seeing Jerusalem sitting there counting out medicines.  She is now an employee of the project, working as an expert patient helping other beneficiaries with adherence and compliance to the ARV program.  I immediately called Rose and when she walked in and saw Jerusalem, they both lit up and embraced.

Jerusalem was baptized not too long ago and is now an active member in the church.  She is a trophy of God's grace and just one of many examples of how your support is helping change peoples lives here in this amazing place.

As you can imagine, our time here has been very full.  Our first two days were spent out in the community doing home visits with the beneficiaries.  I had the joy of going to see my little friend, Mikias, and his mother Ainelum.  Ainelum hosted the very first project Bible study, which I had the privilege of leading.  One of my best friends, Steve Smallman was with me. Steve is here to produce a film documenting the work that God is doing through the project.  Steve got some great footage of my reunion with these dear friends, but as we started to visit, he turned the cameras off.  At one point as we were visiting, Ainelum asked Teddy, the project director, who was translating for us, to please tell us that when we return to America she wants us to tell all our friends and families how grateful she is to them for sending us to Ethiopia and for supporting the work of the project. She said, 'My son and I are alive today because of them and God is doing a great work in our hearts and we are thankful.'  When Teddy finished translating, Steve sheepishly asked Teddy if he would ask her to say that all again for the camera."