He got us in touch with Steve Valentine, the Converge missionary recruitment director, who put us on the fast track to participate in a Missionary Assessment Center. January 19-21, 2012, we spent three great days going through the assessment with three couples and two singles at the mac, held at the Converge Collaboration Center in Orlando, Fla.
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March 18 We drove for about an hour to Kakara Baptist Church, one of the
most supportive for village meetings on hiv/aids testing and information. They were singing when we arrived. It was wonderful, worshipful, loud and joyous. The pastor gave a wonderful sermon on “For such a time as this,” relating it to Nigerian Christians being in place right now for the challenges the country faces. We got back about 1, had lunch at 2 and then a Sunday nap. Lying on the bed, a cool breeze blowing over me, hearing bleating sheep, a little laugh in the distance and the sounds of Gembu.
We landed in Abuja and then drove several hours to Gembu. What impressed us most about gechaan was the quality of the mission and the way they approach things. Eight years ago the mission didn’t exist, and now it’s touching thousands of lives. Art and Dorothy Helwig, prompted by the developing hiv/aids pandemic in Africa, had postponed their retirement in 2004 to focus on the issue — one village at a time. They had no medical training, but they gained influence by teaching that the issue was not medical but moral. They began their work in Taraba State, Nigeria, with a simple, practical plan to increase awareness and prevention in rural areas. Their first initiative was the Every Village Visitation Campaign, in which they and trained Nigerian teachers shared vital information in literally every village market square on the Mambilla Plateau. They welcomed people of all faiths and positions and found the villagers very eager to learn what preventative measures they could take.
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March 19
Today Dan taught the carpenter here how to wire feed weld. They are working on solar panels for the solar fridge. Jim and Pete worked on that and putting a zinc roof on the storage shed. Dan and I walked the whole compound, taking pictures and investigating everything. We had a nice long discussion on the future plans and dreams here at gechaan and the future prospects of each ministry with or without grants.
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The gechaan factor n 15,000 AIDS orphans currently receiving foster care
n 7000 visitors to the clinic each month
n 2000 patients currently receiving antiretroviral drug therapy
n Well-baby feeding and care n Quiz-offs, debates and skits in 14 schools to increase hiv/aids knowledge
n Jesus film showings n 20 churches planted in the past 15 months in a multiorganization effort to reach the under-reached Ndolo people
n More than 500 recorded baptisms among the Ndolo
n “Be Faithful” education and support groups for married couples
n An Internet café and computer training
n Foster care placement of hiv/aids orphans
n Care for local widows, orphans and vulnerable children
n Village food distribution n Community-based organizations established for education and widow/orphan care
n Mini-libraries provided to local pastors
n School and church abstinence clubs
Another early awareness and prevention strategy was the radio program Voices of Hope, which continues to air today. The Helwigs also plugged into campaigns in local secondary schools, where teachers shared information to help students avoid hiv infection. gechaan is a very diverse ministry, making a huge impact (see The gechaan factor, at r.). When the Helwigs began their work, doctors estimated that 12 to 15 percent of people in the Sardauna local government were infected. By the end of 2011, the Taraba State Medical Board reported the percentage had dropped to 4.8. fall 2012
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