After a few weeks of meeting with Esther and Samuel, Ann made the decision to give her life to Christ and start living her life as a Christian. The first step she took was quitting her job at the pub - between the food supplement she received weekly from CFA and the banana-leaf artwork her son was trying to sell, Ann had enough food to get by. This was a huge step for her, and she was so grateful to be able to stop living a "double life." Esther remembers, "After that experience Ann changed dramatically." The changes weren't limited to her beliefs, though - in the subsequent months, thanks to proper nutrition and medical treatment, Ann changed from looking like an "old lady" to a "young girl," and she started applying the business knowledge and training that she was receiving to her son's art business, helping him to make marketable products and sell them to craft vendors. She was also taught how to grow a "kitchen garden" in her small home, which helped her to get nutritious vegetables and fruits, and which she is still keeping today.
Ann had been plagued with mysterious health issues for a long time, and with the help of Esther's health counseling, she realized that she might have cervical cancer, a common malady that comes along with HIV/AIDS in women. After getting tested at a hospital, Ann underwent an operation last year to remove her uterus and has now made a full recovery - praise God! After completing her recovery, Ann enrolled in a Community Health Worker training course at a hospital that CFA works closely with, and she is currently in the process of being trained to work with other patients in her community. As this training has given her exposure to many people at the hospital who are HIV+, Ann has been very outspoken about CFA and has so far recruited 3 of the clients that are currently coming to the center. It is so exciting to see a person like Ann whose life has changed dramatically and who is using her "new life" to glorify God and to help other people who are in situations like hers.
The second story that I heard was about a woman named
Susan Muthoni. Esther has known Susan for quite a few years, and just two years ago it looked to everyone around her that Susan was close to death. Her family sent her to their traditional homeland to live out her remaining days, and all of her neighbors in Ruaka assumed that she had died, just like the flowers that perished in the house that she left behind. Esther recalls calling Susan on the phone and being told, "Esther, please pray for me to die"- life with HIV/AIDS was just too difficult. Miraculously, a year passed, and Susan held on, so her family brought her back to Ruaka. At the same time, the CFA center in Ruaka was recruiting its first group of clients, and Esther went to see Susan and ask her to be a part of the program. We she found Susan in her home, Esther remembers her being so weak that she couldn't even swallow a spoonfull of porridge. Susan was excited about the CFA program, though, and as time went on she slowly grew stronger and healthier. She loved the trainings and seminars that the center held every other week, and she took what she learned and used it to start a small business selling charcoal and kerosene in Ruaka. Over the past year this business has grown, and Susan has managed to save enough money to buy a small plot of land and start building a house that she can own for herself and her daughter! This is a huge step for her, and it is so encouraging for her to see the fruits of all the work she has put in - praise God for such a drastic change in the life of Susan Muthoni! Two years ago no one would have pictured her as the smiling face you see here...I hope that you will join me in praising God for these stories and praying that we will see many, many more like them in the coming years!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment